Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, at the Ambassadors Theatre, London

Hand on heart, I didn't think I would get the opportunity to see what folks say is the best British musical in years. With it ending in just a couple of days, I thought I wouldn't get the chance. But then a cheap ticket came up and I jumped at it.

It being the 2025 Olivier Best New Musical Award Winner The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

For anyone not familiar with the story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a short story written by F Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born old and ages in reverse. This musical production, which premiered in 2019 and then again in 2023 (this time with Jamie Parker (Next To Normal) in the title role) at the Southwark Playhouse, relocates the American story to the Cornish coast, where writer and director Jethro Compton was raised, set throughout the 20th century, and given the actor-musician twist. 

It then transferred to the Ambassador's Theatre last year, to great acclaim, picking up 3 Olivier Awards (for Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for John Dagleish, and Outstanding Musical Contribution), as well as a Best Actress in a Musical nomination for Clare Foster. 

If you allow yourself the time, the experience starts before you even step inside the theatre

Outside the Ambassador's, you can pick up a pint at The Pickled Crab, the Ambassador's very own pub. (Sadly for me they'd ran out of cider, boo!) A very cute and cosy shack resembling the Cornish pub that serves as a base for many important events in the show. It is a similar idea that Cabaret has, but in a much smaller scale that fits in with the show. 

Speaking of pre-show rituals, I always give the programme a read, and I must say I'm impressed how detailed this programme is, in an age where half of the booklet seems to be adverts these days. Jethro Compton and his team's passion for not only this show, but for Cornish theatre and Cornish stories shines through the pages. 

Upon entering the theatre, you enter Compton's set (yes, he's a set designer too!), and are greeted to the rugged Cornish coast, built upon many different levels like cliffs. According to Compton's notes, many of the items used on the set are reclaimed items that were washed up on Cornish beaches. Not only does it feel authentic, but I love that a show like this takes the opportunity to re-use items and make our beaches cleaner. 

Then the show starts, and you get to witness the most emotional and creative piece of theatre I have ever seen 

I think I need to first off mention the music. I have not wanted to download cast albums for many shows I have seen this year, but this one I wanted to save this to my Musicals playlist the minute I got out of the theatre. The music is folk based, played by a company of actor-musicians who throw everything but the kitchen sink at it. Though this show is not entirely sung through as something like Les Mis or Miss Saigon, much of the story and songs are woven together by this group of storytellers called The Strangers. It feels almost like story time when you were a kid. It's warm, homely, inviting. The company switch between characters who pop up for little cameos on occasion then various different instruments effortlessly. 

Also, importantly, the music is memorable. I have been humming and had the songs stuck in my head for the past week since I saw it (yes I know I'm late reviewing, again). Songs such as A Little Life, When 'Ere She Looked At Me, and especially Shippin' Out Tomorrow, are not only catchy, but, I hope, also make you want to dance. 

The story itself almost feels like a fairy-tale. Whimsical and with a moral that doesn't need to blare itself out to the universe

With a concept such as a man ageing backwards, and how it affects those around him, it is perhaps unsurprising that this show can pack a punch. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are times and tiny moments of expert comic timing and line writing that made me giggle a lot, but, and no spoilers, there was a gut punch in Act 2 which had me in bits from then on until the end of the show. In fact, I was asking the lady next to me for a spare tissue because I stupidly came unprepared. You, dear readers who have known me a long time, know that I don't normally cry at pieces. But I sobbed during Benjamin Button. And I wasn't the only one. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, until the unanimous standing ovation at the bows. 

The final strand that ties this masterful piece together is this cast 

I have already mention the insanely talented actor-musician ensemble, switching between characters and instruments seamlessly. But I particularly want to bring up our two leads who did not play either Southwark run before: they being Clare Foster and the Olivier winning John Dagleish. 

Starting with Foster, she played Elowen Keene, the local barmaid who is "the only woman Benjamin had ever loved." Stepping out onto the stage in an orange dress as bright as the Sun amidst the brown and blue/grey of the set, Foster truly shines as the girl-next-door type figure taken to a new level. Yes, she's endearing and sweet, but also a quiet strength about her, and a presence that draws you in with just one look from her eyes. Don't ask me if she should have won the Olivier, as I did not see Hello Dolly and Imelda Staunton's winning turn, but Foster not being nominated would have been a travesty. 

Last but not least, is Dagleish; and while his 2015 win over Jon Jon Briones is still controversial, it is more than justified here. I'm not sure how you even try and begin in terms of acting a man who ages backwards, but the remarkable thing was that Dalgleish was believable at every single age. You believed his Benjamin to be an old man in the beginning just as much you believed him to be a young man in his 20s near the end of the piece. You cannot help but be utterly transfixed on him as he de-ages, and as he tells Benjamin's story. 

I truly believe that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is now up there as one of the best pieces of musical theatre I have ever seen

Part of the reason, aside from working, and having to get the 13 Going on 30 piece out of the way, that I have taken my time writing about this masterful work, is that I have struggled to articulate just how much I not only enjoyed this show, but how it moved me. 

I said before that this story moved me to tears, so much that I couldn't stop until this cast took their bows and played the Encore (which made me start again). I haven't mentioned yet that I was so moved I felt I had to go to stage door for the first time in years, even though I probably looked like a mess and had no markers. (Thankfully, a very lovely girl let me borrow hers - hi Ellie if you're reading this!) And that I had to let the cast know how much the story had moved me. 

Sadly, Benjamin Button's last gig at The Pickled Crab is this very Saturday, 11th October. Even though the whistle-stop tour seeing it in London left me whacked, I do not regret it whatsoever. I haven't felt this moved by a show for a long time, not since Emilia. I envy all those going to these final few shows. 

Benjamin Button's story has to tour the UK

Being a British story, the whole of the country has the right to see this masterpiece. I feel very lucky to have caught one of it's final performances, but that is purely due to luck/the stars aligning. Seeing as Jethro Compton has turned a very American story into a very British musical, it deserves to be seen across the country. 

And why? It is because Benjamin Button ultimately challenges us to embrace life and to live it. To appreciate the smaller things in life, live in the present, and to enjoy every moment as much as we can.