Paul Downham, Author at North West End UK

West End stars unite for online concert revival of Gatsby A Musical at Cadogan Hall

11Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

West End stars unite for online concert revival of Gatsby A Musical at Cadogan Hall

Former Spandau Ballet frontman, Ross William Wild (Elvis Presley in Million Dollar Quartet) and Olivier nominated actress, Charlotte Wakefield (Spring Awakening; The Sound of Music), will take on the famed roles of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan in a digital concert rendition of Gatsby A Musical, following sell-out live success and an Offie nomination for Best New Musical. This captivating socially-distanced revival will be filmed in the historic Cadogan Hall and made available to stream online from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th February 2021. The new concert production also stars leading West End talent, including four-time Olivier Award nominee Emma Williams (Mrs Henderson Presents; Zorro), and Marc Antolin (Little Shop of Horrors; Flying Lovers of Vitebsk). Further casting includes Bl...

Happily Ever After Preview at online@thespaceUK

11Jan

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NEWS

Happily Ever After Preview at online@thespaceUK

In the mockumentary ‘Happily Ever After’ we meet Frank and Gary, a couple who were inspired by their own Disney themed nuptials to go into business planning the weddings of other happy couples. We follow the story of Jasmin as she is aided by Frank and Gary in planning her special day but will all of our protagonists live Happily Ever After? Better Day Productions was established in 2019 by James Coare and Perry Pullman who produce musicals, plays and variety shows across the South East. Both from the education sector, they met at an Amateur production of Mack and Mabel in 2018 and have since performed in a number of shows together. They are due to appear at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2021 in the original comedy ‘Five Hours On A Cliff’ and starred in the mockumentary ‘Har...

11Jan

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NEWS

Scammed Preview – online@thespaceUK

Who is Anne Wood and why is she terrified of the mysterious stranger who claims her as his client? She has lost everything so what can he possibly take from her? There is only one thing left ... Anne Wood is terrified of the world. She hides away each day in an empty office block. One day a stranger enters her office and begins to question her. She has been questioned before, many times, and has no intention of answering. This does not deter the stranger and he eventually gets her to admit that she is Anne Wood. Her admission is somewhat of a relief for her as her life has been taken away by continued internet scams. She has lost everything, and she has nothing left, except her life. Will the stranger take that too? Running time is 20 minutes and starring Julia Munrow as Anne Wood, r...

11Jan

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REVIEWS

Staged (Series 2) – BBC iPlayer

The first series of Staged was one of the surprise successes of 2020, using the boundaries imposed by the pandemic and the shortage of new TV those limitations had imposed to create a low-budget and instantaneous reaction to the situation in six fifteen minute chunks. The overall narrative followed the attempts by fictional versions of Michael Sheen, David Tennant and Simon Evans (played by themselves) to rehearse remotely Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author during lockdown. The attempt is ultimately unsuccessful and the episodes themselves revolve around the different distractions and problems the trio face during this process. As we find ourselves in another lockdown (is this one the second? Or third? What are the criteria?), a second series did make a certain ...

10Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Twenties – Online @theSpaceUK

Funny and relatable, Charlotte Anne-Tilley’s production Twenties, from @theSpaceUK’s new line up of online shows, explores the trials and tribulations of young adulthood from the perspective of 21-year-old Hope. Mostly performed as a monologue interwoven with dialogue, wide-eyed and determined Hope (Charlotte Anne-Tilley) tells the story of leaving her small town life in Cheshire for the bright lights of London. As Hope tells her parents the news, their reaction was certainly one of the most relatable moments in the show. Hope’s concerned mother (Jess Parsons) listing every potential danger she may encounter in London whilst her distracted father (Harry McMullen) responding with indifference, felt pretty bang on to how many parents may react when their child decides to move away. Ann...

An Evening with David Bedella – Crazy Coqs

10Jan

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London

An Evening with David Bedella – Crazy Coqs

Opening with an exciting musical song, I presumed that David Bedella would take us on a journey through his award-winning résumé. A little Frank-N-Furter here, a Max Martin song from &Juliet over there. I was surprised. Instead, we were served an array of music genres, all with the velvety vocals that Bedella delivers. The cabaret had the air of a sophisticated dinner party, with the guests being treated to a song or two from the host. We were given the story behind the choices; from an aspiring country career to his mother’s favourite song. Sitting on a barstool, delivering titbits directly to camera, the performance felt relaxing and intimate. It’s clear that Bedella is a very natural storyteller; through the conversation and the songs themselves. The rapport between perf...

The Late Christmas Show at online@thespaceuk Preview

10Jan

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NEWS

The Late Christmas Show at online@thespaceuk Preview

Christmas 2020. Santa has a persistent cough. Rudolph is self-isolating. Turkey’s on the no-fly list. But it will take more than a pandemic to stop the irrepressible Glummer Twins from celebrating the joys and absurdities of a socially distanced coronavirus Christmas. So David Harmer and Ray Globe (The Glummer Twins) have turned to the wizardry of modern technology to cobble together a virtual Christmas show. And unlike other Christmas shows this one is in January. But how do you recreate a double act experience whilst maintaining social distancing? After days of head scratching, they decided that the way forward would be to film themselves separately and then stick the two bits together. Genius. Throughout their enforced isolation (they’re both of a ‘certain age’) video clips ha...

10Jan

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NEWS

The Same Rain That Falls on Me Preview

It’s the hottest day of the year and Alice is travelling home to say an untimely goodbye. One that will leave a hole in her life forever. Written by Logan Jones and first performed at York Theatre Royal as part of the 2019 TakeOver Festival, The Same Rain That Falls on Me is about family, grief, and finding hope in the face of overwhelming uncertainty. Don’t miss this intimate and powerfully written piece directed by Jay Seldon and performed with ‘precision and grace’ (Unknown Magazine) balancing dark humour and touching pathos in equal measure. York DramaSoc have presented an eclectic mix of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe in recent years, including One Giant Leap for June by Rachel Flanagan, and dark drama Bad Dog by Royal Court Writers’ Group alumna Ashley Milne. Established in ...

10Jan

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NEWS

GirlPlay Online@theSpaceUK Preview

The Dublin Fringe Festival 2019 hit by Sarah Richardson returns as an audio piece under new direction by award-winning artist, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth (All Honey, SAUCE, We Can’t Have Monkeys in the House). GirlPlay comes to Online@theSpaceUK after winning Best Digital Adaptation at Stockholm Fringe Festival 2020. Richardson and Smyth have created a powerful audio piece that follows the journey of one woman’s ever-changing relationship with sex from ages 7 to 31. Join us for a poetic exploration of womanhood. About the Show Meet Lucy. She’s average, awkward and when it comes to sex, what she lacks in experience she makes up for in curiosity. But that’s all set to change. On a night of firsts, she opens the door to a world of relationships and sex that she had only ever dreamt abo...

Ingenie: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood – Online @theSpaceUK

10Jan

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REVIEWS

Ingenie: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood – Online @theSpaceUK

Melanie Gall’s Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood, tells the true story of Durbin’s life growing up in Hollywood, her relationship with Judy Garland, which the world wanted so much to be filled with mutual hate, and why she gave it all up in favour of a life of obscurity in Paris. A one woman musical, the show opens with Durbin (Melanie Gall) sitting in her simply furnished Parisian home in a floral housecoat, singing to herself. She is surprised when a knock on the door results in the arrival of a journalist from the New York Times, who wants to interview her in the wake of Judy Garland’s death and get the dirt on their tempestuous relationship. Durbin maintains that her and Judy were in fact friends, and reluctantly agrees to tell their story as th...