Clik here to view.
May 24 UPDATE: Latest scheduled new/returning shows
Updated weekly, this feature includes details on returning and new productions in the West End, elsewhere in London, around the UK and at festivals, and on Broadway This weekly column keeps track of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 25: (Some of) the changes wrought by COVID
And how some have turned crisis into opportunity and new ways of living and working The last 14 months have been a period of unimaginable loss and unfathomable change, since Covid first started...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 26: The show(s) must go on
(Or must they, or can they?) The show must go on is one of the oldest theatrical sayings in the book. And theatres, after more than 14 months of closure (apart from two short-lived comebacks last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 27: Shooting the messenger
How some in the theatre, as in government, seek to put a new spin on the facts to re-write the narrative There’s a shattering song in Ragtime, Ahrens and Flaherty’s gorgeously-scored 1998 Broadway...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 28: What a drag….
Drag shows are all the rage, but Death Drop tried only my patience I’m all for representing queer stories on stage — and especially queer stories told by queer people. Just as we all want — and need —...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 29: My depression anniversary
But I found a way out by going into the woods (and Sondheim helped) I was reminded (by Facebook, of course) that it was two years ago today that was last extended bout of depression was triggered. It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
That Was the Week That Was….
The week in theatre tweets, columns and reviews in London, the regions, Broadway and birthdays May 23-29 Critics, it seems, are no longer allowed to criticise. Or, if we do, we need to stick to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Walden (Harold Pinter Theatre, London SW1)
The last play to open at the Harold Pinter Theatre before the pandemic arrived was a star-led production of Uncle Vanya, led by Toby Jones in the title role and Richard Armitage as Astrov that also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
May 31 UPDATE: Latest scheduled new/returning shows
Updated weekly, this feature includes details on returning and new productions in the West End, elsewhere in London, around the UK and at festivals, and on Broadway This weekly column keeps track of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 1: June is bustin’ out all over
How songs from musicals accompany me through my life Today is the first of June, which always has me spontaneously singing ‘June is Bustin’ Out All Over’ to myself (though in fact we’ll have to wait...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 2: Recalibrating my role as a critic
If there’s no such thing as objectivity in responses to the theatre, where does this leave the critic? The American playwright Paula Vogel (whose How I Learned to Drive won the 1998 Pulizer prize for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 3: Theatres we’ll miss if/when they’re gone
What does the future hold for The Other Palace and the Menier Chocolate Factory? There are some theatres whose very existence is owed to entrepreneurial and/or philanthropic excellence. And we may have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Amélie
I previously reviewed this entrancing musical version of the 2001 French movie when it received its London premiere in December 2019 in a new production that had launched at tiny Watermill Theatre in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ShenTens: My Top 10 Outdoor Venues This Summer
This is the time of year when we typically defy Britain’s unpredictable weather and decide that since its summer, we will sit in the outdoors to watch theatre, come rain or come shine (and it’s often...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 5: Quotable quotes that make a mockery of the audience
Is the public being duped by the quotes in ads for the West End’s Les Miserables? There’s a long tradition of ‘Quotes ads’ for West End shows — plastering a full page in one of the papers with quotes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
That was the week that was…
The week in theatre tweets, columns and reviews in London, the regions, Broadway and birthdays, May 30-June 5 Last Thursday saw the theatre world reeling, as things pivoted from farce to tragedy. First...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 7 UPDATE: Latest scheduled new/returning shows
Updated weekly, this feature includes details on returning and new productions in the West End, elsewhere in London, around the UK and at festivals, and on Broadway This weekly column, updated every...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 8: Theatre’s latest “cancellation”
There seems to be no limit — or sense of perspective — to Twitter’s calls for summary judgement and execution It’s not enough, it seems, that theatre has been cancelled for most of the last 14 months....
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 9: Is opening Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella really a priority?
Isn’t the health of the nation more important? In a front page scoop in today’s Daily Telegraph, the paper lines up three heavy-hitting bylines — chief reporter Robert Mendick, political editor Ben...
View ArticleClik here to view.
June 10: Should Covid passports be required to go to the theatre?
Andrew Lloyd Webber insists that theatres open at full capacity on June 21. Maybe he should insist that audience members are fully vaccinated, too. It was announced this week by UEFA that vaccine...
View Article