London Archives - Page 2 of 41

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe – Gillian Lynne Theatre

29Jul

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe – Gillian Lynne Theatre

“It’s all in the wardrobe like I told you” The story of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis has been engrossing all readers, both young and old, for over 70 years. Selling over 85 million copies and in 60 languages, this book has been one of the ten best-selling books of all time and will continue to enchant readers and now viewers. As the audience arrive, they are immediately transported back in time to World War II as we are welcomed by a solo pianist playing on stage. Starting the show with the piano and a rendition of “We’ll Meet Again” is an emotional opening, reminding audiences of past turmoil and loss, while setting the scene for where the story and the opening of The Wardrobe. Music is tremendously important throughout the show and the choice to have the en...

Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy – Eventim Apollo

28Jul

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

London

Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy – Eventim Apollo

This latest revival of Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner’s divine comedy has been a long time coming. Initially conceived as an opportunity to return Whoopi Goldberg to the role she created in the hit nineties film, the planned second coming fell foul of the pandemic. So, two years after its planned debut Beverley Knight is rocking the habit, and the Eventim Apollo, in Bill Buckhurst’s revised production. The production is not short of spectacle with Knight and the singing nuns bringing enough glitz to hold their own amongst the long list of performers who have graced the Eventim Apollo stage over the years. The musical is fairly faithful to the film’s plot - having witnessed a murder Deloris Van Cartier is forced to hide out in a convent helping her ‘...

24Jul

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

The Gunpowder Plot – Tower Hill Vaults

“Remember, remember the 5th of November” The Gunpowder Plot is a new, innovative and immersive experience set in the heart of tourist London. The experience takes place in the Tower Vaults, at the UNESCO World Heritage Tower of London. At once, you feel immersed in history as the vaults under Tower Hill are famous for where much of the prelude to the Gunpowder Plot took place. As an immersive experience, there was huge anticipation before the show started and a tense atmosphere. The introduction by one of the cast members provided much excitement, giving a background to the lead up to the Gunpowder Plot and to life in London in 1605. The show’s concept is for the audience to live history, instead of watching it. This is not an ordinary format for a show, and for the majority of t...

101 Dalmatians – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

23Jul

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

101 Dalmatians – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Loosely based on the 1956 classic tale by Dodie Smith, ‘101 Dalmatians’ see Dominic and Danielle literally bumping into each other and falling in love while out walking their dotty dogs Pongo and Perdi. Local influencer Cruella DeVil thinks the dogs would look great in her upcoming photoshoot, but during the shoot, the dogs severe dislike of Cruella causes one of them to bite her. She attacks the dogs with a stick, and her retaliation is caught on social media, going viral within minutes. Cruella quickly swears revenge on the dogs, and plots to dognap the spotted pooches and make herself a coat that no-one will ever forget. It’s a timeless story that audiences already knows, but does the Regent’s Park production have legs, or is it more of a dog’s dinner? Visually, the show...

22Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Mosquito – Seven Dials Playhouse

The role of the ‘other woman’ in popular culture over the years has tended to sit at either end of a spectrum. Typically speaking she is either sexy, fearless, bordering on cold-hearted, a temptress, or she is meek, downtrodden, obsessed with a man who she knows will never leave his wife for her and suffering from low-self-esteem. Lemy (Aoife Boyle) is very much in the latter camp. When we first meet her and her love interest James (Seamus Dillane) we quickly establish that they are – or were – having an affair, and that James has now tired of Lemy and is returning to his wife and baby. James is cold – polishing off his Pret lunch while he ends his affair to enable him to get straight back to the office – while Lemy is clearly anxious and unsure, swinging from begging James to stay to ...

22Jul

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Closer – Lyric Hammersmith

An obituary writer’s life is changed when he meets Alice, a reckless free spirit. Her habit of not looking as she crosses the road lands her in hospital where the two have flirtatious banter with Alice seeking intimacy through bizarre personal questions. From there unfolds the messy interweaving of four characters’ lives as they struggle and scheme to hold onto love or what they think is love. Patrick Marber’s play, first performed in 1997 feels as relevant and as shocking as it would have been then. With hints of the 90s as well as modern aspects and a minimalistic bright red stage designed by Soutra Gilmour, it gives the story a timeless feel. Marber’s dialogue fascinates and entertains, particularly the consistently surprising quips from Larry’s character. It was engaging and intrig...

Jean Paul’s Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show – Roundhouse

20Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Jean Paul’s Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show – Roundhouse

If one had been unaware of Gaultier’s work under Pierre Cardin, or his first collection in 1976, that changed in 1984 when he launched his line of skirts for men (actually kilts). The high-octane sensation this caused was akin to a cultural earthquake. This move was mocked and talked about from school playgrounds to the tabloids. Fashion’s enfant terrible had arrived. Jean Paul’s Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show has landed at London’s Roundhouse and is a hot romp through the career of a designer who didn’t just break the rules of fashion, but provoked a paradigm shift on gender, sexuality and perceptions of beauty. It’s a slick, erotic circus that takes the catwalk as a concept and injects it with the high production values of an arena gig, while keeping a well-heeled toe in the ...

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

16Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

A Plague On All Your Houses, a new play by writer/director Marcia Kelson presently playing at the Riverside Studios, is a hilarious romp depicting plagues through the ages. Scenes, not in chronological order, imagined the impact, on rulers and ordinary people, of the plagues including those of biblical times, pestilence in French wine fields, the Black Death, which caused so many problems for the budding playwright William Shakespeare, up to recent Covid events and a very worrying peek into the not too distant future. It was presented on a largely bare stage against a black backdrop, with a few boxes as props, and a keyboard musician to one side of the stage. All the characters in all the various historical pieces were played four actors who changed their costumes at the side of ...

15Jul

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Millennials – The Other Palace

A pink pop frenzy is the best way to describe Elliot Clay’s new pop song cycle Millennials, which has transformed the Studio of The Other Palace. Written and composed by Clay and directed by Hannah Benson, the musical tells the highs and lows of life as a millennial right now, from crippling social anxiety to first loves, the show packs in plenty in just over an hour. The show features a small but strong cast which includes Hannah Lowther, Luke Bayer, Hiba Elchikhe, Georgina Onuorah, Luke Latchman and What’s Onstage award winner Rob Madge. Designed by Andrew Exeter, the immersive set wowed the moment you walked through the curtain of pink pool noodles. There was a dizzying blend of sparkles, pink lights, inflatables, rubber ducks and slinkies everywhere. Normal seats were replaced w...

15Jul

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Anything Goes – Barbican Theatre

Put together three pairs of (almost) lovers and their muddled relationships, against the backdrop of a grand ship with scintillating choreography and music, and you get a spirited production of Anything Goes. There isn’t very much else to the plot, just a classic case of entangled couples, falling in love and attempting to see it through. But the story is not what the audience comes for. It is the escape into this magical world of a magnificent ship where everyone talks in song and dance, makes silly jokes and enthrals the audience with contagious energy! Cole Porter’s classic masterpiece is back with an award-winning cast including Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney, Denis Lawson as Moonface Martin, Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney, Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt, Samuel Edwards as Bil...