London Archives - Page 115 of 150

The Concrete Jungle Book – The Pleasance Theatre

2Jun

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The Concrete Jungle Book – The Pleasance Theatre

Twisting the colourful Disney version of The Jungle Book, reproducing the grimness of Rudyard Kipling’s classic, interpolating it with live rap music, grime, reggae and spoken word, the Highrise present a dynamic and reverberating Hip-hop musical The Concrete Jungle Book at the Pleasance. Written and directed by Dominic Garfield, the play explores homelessness, abandonment, and survival in a concrete jungle where “there’s no fair when there’s hunger in the air…” Set on the streets of London, the opening scene invites the audience into a run-down, dark, sketchy neighbourhood with a pulsating score often drowning the words of the actors. Nonetheless, their performance energy and commitment to the ensemble successfully transports the audience into a surreal world created brilliantly by jux...

We Will Rock You – New Wimbledon Theatre

31May

By Lewis DownhamNo Comments

London

We Will Rock You – New Wimbledon Theatre

It’s hardly 'A night at the opera' as Queen and Ben Elton’s musical We Will Rock You stomps into New Wimbledon Theatre. This jukebox musical features all the classic Queen songs you know and love intertwined with a quirky and futuristic storyline. The show is set far in the future in a dystopian world where children choose to live their lives through social media. They forget what it means to live in the real world and how to make real friends that aren’t just followers online, while listening to new and upcoming autotuned state-controlled songs. However, the bohemians lead by 'Cliff’ (Michael Mckell) slowly learn of the musical legends from the past and make it their mission to bring rock and roll back into the world. This show falls into the trap that many juke box musicals follow,...

Tomorrow May Be My Last – Old Red Lion Theatre

27May

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Tomorrow May Be My Last – Old Red Lion Theatre

In the Second Summer of Love, during the late ‘80s, I went full-tilt psychedelic. I tie-dyed my clothes, listened to Janis Joplin’s Pearl and read the infamous sex and drugs memoir, ‘Going Down with Janis’ by Peggy Casserta. Unlike Janis, I lived to tell the tale. In post-modern 2022, that teenage flirtation with psilocybin and flares seems very distant. Tomorrow May Be My Last delivered a patchouli flavoured flashback to my flower powered youth and is probably the nearest one can get to experiencing a Janis Joplin live show. Nobody sings like Joplin. That’s a fact, but Collette Cooper brings an impressive range to the table in this one-woman show, exploring the life and work of the iconic rock goddess. It’s a tall order, but at times, Cooper totally nails the vocals, esp...

Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

26May

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

It’s inspiring when women want to be more than a pretty face, which is the popular appeal of Legally Blonde. Based on the 2001 movie, Lucy Moss has revamped the story for today’s audience, while still keeping the nostalgia cues alive for those who love the original. The plot is simple: boy ditches girl because she’s not clever enough for him and his glittering Harvard Law School career. Girl decides to prove him wrong and turns her fun, party life around securing a place at Harvard where the plan is to win back the douche-bag by proving she’s not an air-head, but a totally ass-busting-legal-whizz. For me, that’s the first (of many) yawning stereotypes and a source of friction, but I tried to set my morals aside and get into the fizzy, fun time. This is a big stage production and the ...

24May

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Happenings – Hope Theatre

Since I started writing for North West End UK, I’ve spent longer than the average person sitting in small theatres above pubs watching plays about mental health. This suits me down to the ground – I like theatre, I like pubs, and I’m really delighted that we live in a society where mental health is being explored through the arts. To my mind, this can only lead to better understanding, greater empathy, higher quality conversations, and ultimately more support. I have the utmost respect for people who are brave enough to write about or portray their own lived experience onstage, and I will keep supporting this movement to create safer spaces and common points of reference for those conversations. All that aside, Happenings didn’t have the profound effect on me that the synopsis suggested...

The Rocky Horror Show – Richmond Theatre

24May

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

The Rocky Horror Show – Richmond Theatre

A spectacular, innovative, and fun rock and roll musical, Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show is a guaranteed party and enjoyable evening for all. The popular and timeless classic songs are of course featured, including Sweet Transvestite, Damn It Janet, and the entertaining, wacky, and fabulous Time Warp, that is sure to leave audiences feeling overwhelming elation. Before the show begins, you can feel the electric atmosphere in the building. This cult classic, first premiered in 1973, has a huge following of all ages, with many in the audience dressed in cosplay and in the spirit of the characters in the show. There was huge anticipation before the show began, and as soon as the instrumental of Time Warp began, the audience was captivated. The show opened with the character of Bett...

22May

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Everyday – New Diorama Theatre

Deafinitely Theatre’s Everyday, commissioned by New Diorama explores the term witches as a group of people come together on the new moon to refresh, revive spirit and release from the traumas they have experienced. Newcomer Aislinn is open and eager to explore with others to help them heal but struggles to admit her recent trauma but with watching her friend be brave, she too can come forward and release from the bind. Deafinitely Theatre is deaf theatre company which was really incredible to see a story for a deaf audience that wasn’t about being deaf but about life, their complexities and surviving relationships with toxic people. It’s a story we don’t often see in theatre and felt really warming to be a part of that audience and to broaden my horizon of different theatre. Paired wit...

20May

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Kabul Goes Pop – Brixton House

Brixton House is a sparky new venue, in the centre of ever-gentrified Brixton, boasting superbly friendly staff. So, it’s a bit of a shame and a tragic oversight that the seating in the theatre is cramped, awkward and after a short time, quite uncomfortable. The café bar, in contrast, is a spacious, beautiful area with designer sofas and room to ponder, luxuriate and roller-skate, should the mood take you. Like going from EasyJet to private jet. With Kabul Goes Pop starting 25 minutes late, it meant many in the audience were already antsy and wishing to stretch their ligaments before a shape had been thrown or a poetic word spoken. The unfortunate delay gave us time to ponder the impressive set, which was a high-tech mock up of a flashy TV studio featuring video screens and more f...

Dirty Dancing in Concert- Eventim Apollo

20May

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Dirty Dancing in Concert- Eventim Apollo

The timeless classic, Dirty Dancing, hit the cinema screen once again celebrating the film’s 35th anniversary at Eventim Apollo on 19 May 2022. But this time, it returned with a powerful live band to give the audience ‘the time of their lives…’ Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the 1987 summer romance was brought to life by Lionsgate, TEG MJR, GEA Live and the producer of the stage musical version of the film, Karl Sydow. The audience cheered as the concert performers took centre stage and started their rendition of ‘Be my Baby…’ while the opening credits played on the screen. Set in Catskills resort in the summer of 1963, the film portrays the summer romance of Baby Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze...

20May

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

My Fair Lady – London Coliseum

It’s hard to believe that ‘My Fair Lady’ is rapidly approaching its 60th anniversary. The classic tale, based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play ‘Pygmalion’, hasn’t been seen in London since the National Theatre’s Oliver-winning production in the early 2000s. Director Bartlett Sher’s 2018 Broadway production has now taken up residence at London’s Coliseum, where it plays until late summer. But is the story of plucky Eliza Doolittle’s transformation from common flower girl to sophisticated socialite at the teachings of Professor Henry Higgins still as “loverly” as it once was? The world has changed massively in the decades since the play and subsequent musical were written, in terms of attitudes towards women and gender equality, and in this regard “My Fair Lady” does s...