London Archives - Page 48 of 149

6Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Medea Gosperia – The Cockpit

I have a mild obsession with Medea, prompted by the realisation that there is not enough time to read, study and analyse The Classics, so probably wise to just focus on one banger until the coffin lid closes on my life. It was Rachel Cusk’s brilliant vision of the Euripides shocker at the Almeida which put me on this path. Kate Fleetwood’s performance and the entire production blew my mind. It moved me as a piece of theatre, but also turned me on to the text. This nouveau fevered enthusiasm led me to the 1969 Pier Paolo Pasolini film with Maria Callas, which gave me full-blown Medea mania. Medea Gosperia is presented as a ‘brand new jazz/gospel opera’ which in many ways, ticked a lot of boxes for me, but led to widespread hoots and horror when mentioned to my peers. It’s fair to s...

I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire – Southwark Playhouse

6Jul

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire – Southwark Playhouse

‘I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire’ takes audiences on a wacky ride, bringing them into the quaint and intimate setting of Southwark Playhouse Borough, which is creatively transformed to resemble a 14-year-old girl’s room. As you might have guessed, this girl is utterly obsessed with Tobey Maguire. Set in 2004, the play is drenched in nostalgia, featuring hit music from the era with songs by Britney Spears, Vanessa Carlton, Natasha Bedingfield, and Avril Lavigne. The story unfolds in Shelby's basement, which she has converted into her personal hub and shrine dedicated to her Tobey Maguire obsession. From the moment the performance begins, Tessa Albertson, playing Shelby, bursts onto the stage with infectious energy. Her portrayal vividly captures the wild infatuation and manic enthus...

3Jul

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

I’m Still Here – Ambassadors Theatre

Debbie Wileman found viral success during the pandemic whilst performing a ‘Song a Day’ as Judy Garland. She has now performed worldwide as Garland, singing the songs that we love and also the songs that we never got the chance to hear. A whirlwind start to her career has allowed her to release a debut album called ‘I’m still here’ in which she impersonates Judy Garland throughout a range of her repertoire and a few personal favourites that she wishes Garland could have sung. There is no doubt that Debbie Wileman possesses an incredible talent- her impersonation is staggeringly accurate and effortless. The difficulty in this performance is expert level but she holds her own. Beginning with a very famous ‘I’m Still Here’ and title of the album, we begin the show with a bang- conductor...

28Jun

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

Next To Normal – Wyndhams Theatre

When cult favourite ‘Next To Normal’ was announced at the Donmar Warehouse in 2023, critical acclaim and incredible word-of-mouth made it a sell-out smash, and one of the highlights of the year for many theatre fans. The Donmar’s intimate space meant many fans missed out on seeing it, and if you were one of them, you need to be heading to Leicester Square’s Wyndhams Theatre, where the show has returned for another limited run. Reassembling the Donmar’s celebrated cast (including Broadway belter Caissie Levy), the multi-award winning musical explores mental illness and grief in the face of trying to maintain a “normal” suburban family life, set to a rock-based score from composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey. Wife and mother Diane Goodman (Caissie Levy) is struggling wi...

28Jun

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

The Marilyn Conspiracy – Park Theatre

Who did it? What caused it? “The Marilyn Conspiracy" is a thought-provoking play that invites the audience to ponder the events leading up to Marilyn Monroe’s death. From the outset, it is clear that extensive research went into creating this magnificent play, which takes you on a journey of what could have happened and the reasons behind it. The play immediately introduces important historical characters who were "friends" of Monroe and perhaps involved in covering up something more sinister. Genevieve Gaunt embodies Monroe, showcasing the strong emotions that Marilyn was feeling on the day she died. Was she depressed, drunk, lonely or perhaps all three? The show highlights these emotions whilst allowing you to draw your own conclusions about what happened that night. The set initia...

28Jun

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

George – Omnibus Theatre

George, penned by the multi-talented French writer and actress Léa des Garets, is an enchanting blend of entertainment and education that delves into the life of George Sand, a French figure whose notoriety for wearing men's clothing has often overshadowed her literary genius. Sand (des Garets) is grappling with her next big literary project. Together with her muse and lover, actress Marie Dorval (Inki Mariano), Sand Birthes "Gabriel," a play on a 17th-century Italian aristocrat who was raised as a man, only to discover at age seventeen they were biologically female. The play proves to be way ahead of its time in 1830s Europe and becomes a vehicle of meta-reflection for Sand’s own gender identity. Developed with the support of the Institut Francais du Royaume-Uni, this collaboration ...

28Jun

By Mary FoggNo Comments

London

Closer To Heaven – Turbine Theatre

A musical by Jonathan Harvey & Pet Shop Boys. "Let us Take you back to the Millennium for the night of your life...London's club-land is thriving. Suddenly what was wrong seems right..." Writer Jonathan Harvey’s zesty and often outrageously risqué gay club land musical has once again landed into London since it first premiered in 2001 at The Arts Theatre. There have been subsequent new productions, more recently in 2015 and 2019 and to celebrate a season of queer love at The Turbine Theatre, Harvey's Closer To Heaven which features an original club score by Pet Shop Boys is once again giving audiences the opportunity to step back in time as the cosy and intimate theatre metamorphises into 'Vic's Club' for an evening. Closer To Heaven the musical is filled with a superb Pet Shop B...

The Secret Garden – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

27Jun

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

The Secret Garden – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

When a new adaptation of a favourite childhood novel is announced, you approach it with trepidation – will the experience of the book be ruined, will they change it so much that it is unrecognisable? With this production of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic, you have nothing to worry about. Created by Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard, it is delightfully fresh and endearing, with new layers of love and acceptance that only add to the tale’s magic. Mary Lennox (played to perfection by Hannah Khalique-Brown) is growing up as a neglected, spoilt child in India when an outbreak of cholera orphans her. She is transplanted from the only life she has known to the foreign new climes of Yorkshire, to Misslethwaite Manor with its 100 rooms. The maid, Martha (Molly Hewitt-Richards), is her fir...

Hourglass: A Suffragette Story – Soho Poly

26Jun

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

London

Hourglass: A Suffragette Story – Soho Poly

‘Hourglass: A Suffragette Story’ was advertised as a dark comedy, but I could count on one hand the number of times any audience member could be heard laughing. It felt as though five acts had been thrown into hamster wheel of amateur dialogue and could not disembark. This was not helped by a hefty running time. Set in the time before and during World War One, we watch a mother, daughter and their maid experience and support first wave British feminism. It seems that the men surrounding them has something to gain they seek to protect their social status, defend their gender or make their money. During Act 1, great ladles of pathos were heaped onto Kitty (Penny Bosworth), the maid-turned-beggar, by swamping the audience with repetitive scenes of her begging us. She is then offered reside...

25Jun

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

The Beckett Trilogy – Coronet Theatre

How much Beckett is too much Beckett? For performer and producer Conor Lovett it seems the limit may not exist. His prodigious memory and inexhaustible articulation are well displayed in this production of three plays from the novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable all written by Samuel Beckett. Alone on stage but very much confederate with a captive audience eager to absorb what they can from his nearly three-hour monologue, Lovett is tremendously impressive and knows it too. Directed and designed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, his conspirator in Gare St Lazare Ireland, a touring production company specializing in “presentations” of Beckett’s various works. The style of this production is extremely presentational and clearly preoccupied with faithful interpretation of the great ...