End of the Rainbow

We all know the tragic story of Judy Garland: a yellow brick road that never led to happiness, awash with booze and littered with drugs and car-crash marriages. Don't expect fresh revelations from Peter Quilter's musical play, directed with efficient elan by Terry Johnson. Essentially a schmaltzy exercise in showbiz cliche, its appeal lies almost entirely in a bravura performance by Tracie Bennett. Her portrayal is uncannily accurate: an unsettling blend of emotional hunger, raddled decline and consuming, supernova charisma.