Back in the midst of the first pandemic, a new multimedia home for theatre emerged called Thespie, which allows visitors to access more than 1,000 theatre performances, artist talks, TV shows and live streams, right at their fingertips.

Break Free was probably up there as my favourite so far. It is a high quality, thrilling and empowering musical celebration with LGBT+ theatre artists leading the way for this 66-minute concert. There is real heart as a fantastic group of stage stars share with you their personal journeys and perform songs; either pop or musical theatre which have inspired them in some way. It was one of the most beautiful and empowering concert-style performances, executed in a celebratory style that makes you feel good. 

The cast for this show are exceptional, including Natasha Agnew, Paul Baker, Allie Daniel, Eloise Davis, Andrew Derbyshire, Nick Hayes, Mark Inscoe, Eleanor Kane, Millie O'Connell, Andrew Patrick-Walker Alex Thomas Smith, Courtney Stapleton, La Voix, Shona White, Layton Williams and Charlotte Yorke. All of these individuals come from varying walks of life and personal experiences, representing just a snippet of the LGBT+ community and the strength it has within theatre. Their performances come at different levels and this builds a great journey for us to experience as we watch it. We have an emotional rendition of Alex Thomas Smith singing The Wall In My Head, to gorgeous vocals from Thespie's producer Aimie Atkinson as her harmonies perfectly align with Millie O'Connell in their version of pop track, Secret Love Song.

There are also moments you can absolutely just get off your feet and bring the disco into your living room. La Voix does a superb job in providing an uplifting number, whilst also making some tongue in cheek references to Boris and the 2-metre rule. The finale is safe in Layton Williams' hands as he performs his unforgettable rendition of Out of the Darkness from the hit musical, Everybody's Talking About Jamie. It's the perfect conclusion to a fantastic night of celebration.

Time passes so quickly whilst watching Break Free, it absolutely leaves you wanting more! The level of execution in the casting, the musical choices and visual set up for the concert are absolutely spot on. Absolutely one of the best concert-style stream experiences in the past year. Thespie have set themselves high on the platform for this style of performance.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Emmie Newitt

Proceeds from purchasing a ticket for Break Free go to Stonewall UK. Stonewall campaigns for the equality of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people across Britain.

You can access this stream from over 100 countries, and it is available to purchase in various currencies. You have on-demand access for 72 hours, therefore you can watch it again afterwards. To book tickets and find out further information, please click here.

Please note this review also appears on Carpe Diem Emmie’s blog page.