From the Heart at Garrick Theatre

A celebration of his five-decade career, Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black’s From the Heart is an unusual beast: featuring no plot or characters and only a few lines of narration in between songs, it is mainly a showcase of more than 15 musical numbers Black has been planning on putting together in a show for years. Performed by a stellar cast consisting of Caroline O’Connor, Frances Mayli McCann, Shona McGarty, Michael D Xavier and Clive Rowe, it’s a dazzling evening full of catchy tunes and brilliant lyrics.

The music is written by various composers and differs greatly in character, from the hilarious Doctors (composed by Mike Batt), sassy Straight Men (composed by Geoff Stephens), melancholic I’d Go to Bed Earlier (by Gay-Yee Westerhoff) to the devastating Guessing Alone (again Mike Batt). Further pieces are composed by David Arnold, George Fenton, Alexander Rudd, Gary Barlow, Geoff Morrow and Natasha Bedingfield with Fraser T Smith. All the numbers are wonderful, resulting in a feast for the ears. Towards the end of the show, the cast also performs a medley of Don Black’s most famous songs, such as Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Born Free and As If We Never Said Goodbye. Each performance also has a guest star; for press night, this was Michael Ball, who performed Love Changes Everything.

The cast is supported by Musical Director Joseph Church on the keyboards and Oliver Copeland on the bass, who accompany the songs effortlessly; Ben Cracknell’s outstanding lighting design floods the stage in atmosphere each time, adding some more pizzazz to the already powerful performances.

From the Heart is an unusual show – both in that it is more of a concert of Don Black songs, but also in that it largely consists of new works written specifically for this production. But that is hardly a negative: the variety of music and the sheer quality of the performances guarantee a delightful evening.

Michael Higgs
Photos: Eamonn B Shanahan

From the Heart is at Garrick Theatre from 8^th until 18^th October 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for From the Heart at Garrick Theatre here: