Review: FANNY at The King’s Head

Date: 16th October 2025

Stars: 4

History has a way of forgetting the wrong people. Felix Mendelssohn’s name is practically stitched into the fabric of classical music, but his sister Fanny’s? It’s been scribbled in the margins. She was every bit as gifted as her famous brother, but nineteenth-century Europe wasn’t exactly built for brilliant women with loud ideas. Some of her best work ended up published under Felix’s name – including “Italien,” a favourite of Queen Victoria. Fanny, a new comedy by Calum Finlay, isn’t just telling her story; it’s giving her the floorboards back.

Charlie Russell is irresistible in the title role. She plays Fanny with sharp wit, warmth and just enough steel to make you root for her from the first scene. She knows exactly when to go big and when to let a line drop like a quiet hammer, and there’s a real sense she isn’t just playing Fanny — she’s defending her.

Jeremy Lloyd is a scene-stealer in the best sense – he moves between characters with the speed of someone who clearly loves being on stage. His Paul is a delightfully bumbling brother, and his turn as a rhyming ferryman is so joyously absurd it almost threatens to capsize the show – until it turns nasty and the audience goes quiet. Kim Ismay plays the role of Mrs Mendelssohn with delicious theatrical flair, clutching social etiquette like it’s the family silver. Riad Richie’s Wilhelm wields puns like a weapon, Danielle Phillips as Rebecca brings sweetness with bite, and Daniel Abbott gives Felix enough charm to stop him feeling like the villain in someone else’s story.

The production itself has a lovely looseness to it. Katie-Ann McDonough’s direction keeps the pace light and quick, like a carriage tearing down a cobbled street, swerving neatly around sentimentality. The comedy lands, but there’s a quiet undertow too – a reminder of how much brilliance history has stuffed into attics. Sophia Pardon’s set works like clever clockwork, all hidden turns and practical elegance, and her costumes have the kind of lived-in period feel that makes the world convincing without fuss. David Howe’s lighting shapes everything with warmth, while the music under Yshani Perinpanayagam brings a wink to the past.

There’s a moment late in the show when the laughter softens and Fanny sits at the piano again, alone. It’s a pause that lands harder than any grand flourish could. For all its wit, Fanny knows when to stop playing around and hit a clean note. This isn’t a history lesson – it’s a reclamation, and it sparkles, hitting all the right notes, but in its own key.

Catch Fanny at the King’s Head until 15th November: https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/fanny-qft1