London Archives - Page 98 of 107

West End Musical Celebration – Palace Theatre

11Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

West End Musical Celebration – Palace Theatre

Originally planned to be A West End Musical Christmas, and devised by the producers of West End Musical Drive In and West End Musical Brunch, in association with Nica Burns, this all-star concert morphed into a celebration of the gradual re-opening of the West End after the 15-month enforced hiatus. The stellar cast of Ben Forster, Alice Fearn, Sophie Evans, Layton Williams, Rachel John, Trevor Dion Nicholas and Shanay Holmes represent the very best of what the West End has to offer and this show provides a great showcase for their talents. There are many high points in a show full of great moments. John blows away the audience with "Don't Rain On My Parade", Dion Nicholas reminds the audience of what a perfect genie he was with Aladdin's "You Never Had A Friend Like Me", and Forster re...

9Jun

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

HEMATOMA – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

I’ve never been to the Lion and Unicorn Theatre which as a born and bred north Londoner is, I know, disgraceful. I was met by a very polite and welcoming front of house who was clearly as pleased to be back to live performances as I was and directed through to my seat. It’s a simple black box auditorium, intimate but with one of the better seating setups I’ve seen in this kind of venue, all Covid-compliant, spacious and clean. Hematoma bills itself as a ‘road play’ - like a road movie, but on the stage. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t sure if one man and his thoughts would be the return to being in a live audience that I wanted, but I definitely needn’t have worried. This felt to me like a true coming of age piece, and I spent an hour utterly engrossed in writer and performer ...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

8Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

As the theatres gradually re-open, audiences are like kids in a toy shop, wide-eyed, rushing around not sure what to see first. Well it's a no-brainer. Book tickets for Showstopper! It sounds absolutely crazy - a musical improvised on the fly with suggestions of setting, musical styles and show title provided by the audience - but it has been running to incredible and well-deserved success since 2008. After a long stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the show had two West End runs and a series on BBC Radio 4. And along the way they picked up an Olivier award. It's funny, clever, interactive and unique, each night becoming a completely different show full of references to styles the audience can recognise. A bit of Shakespeare here, a Hamilton-esque sequence there, an homage to ...

The Death of A Black Man – Hampstead Theatre

5Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Death of A Black Man – Hampstead Theatre

In 1975, The Death of a Black Man by Aflred Fogan made its premiere at the Hampstead Theatre. 46 years later, the darkly compelling drama makes a return to its Main House as part of an effort to remember, and celebrate, a range of plays from every era of Hampstead’s history. Directed by Dawn Walton and starring Natalie Simpson, Toyin Omari-Kinch and Nickcolia King-N’da, this show captures the trials and tribulations of young working class Black British citizens as they set out to carve a future for themselves and the limits to which they’ll go in order to succeed. At the centre of the story is a flat in Chelsea, London where we meet Shakie, played by King-N’da, an 18-year old entrepreneur whose business of selling African art and handicraft items (which are actually sourced locally from...

The Language of Kindness – Shoreditch Town Hall

4Jun

By Jessica BattisonNo Comments

London

The Language of Kindness – Shoreditch Town Hall

“I don’t remember the doctors, I don’t remember the medicine, all I remember is the nurse.” Arriving at Shoreditch Town Hall for the final leg of its three-stop tour, The Language of Kindness is a beautiful celebration of NHS nurses. Based on Christie Watson’s bestselling memoir of her 20 years a nurse, Wayward Productions present the touching true tale, embracing the seamless physicality of Complicité. Directed by Sasha Milavic Davies and James Yeatman, the dance-theatre piece is simply gorgeous. There is a true poignancy throughout as the love letter production explores themes of humour, tragedy, and grief. Showcasing the work of hospital nurses and staff, we witness the emotions nurses both feel and impose as they go about their day-to-day job. The Language of Kindness highlights ...

4Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Money – County Hall

If you only had sixty minutes to make a potentially life-changing decision with a group of strangers you’ve never met before, what do you think could happen? Would you keep your nerves and follow a logical and rational decision-making process or allow yourself to be swayed by the emotion and energy of the room? And what happens when you know you’re being watched? No, these aren’t hypothetical questions asked in a job interview (those are nerve-wracking as it is) but the central dilemma of an interactive theatre piece called ‘The Money’ by Exeter-based production studio Kaleider. This show invites you, the audience, to be in-charge of deciding how to spend a briefcase full of money (amounting to GBP £240 at the start of the night) along with a group of other strangers. Presented at th...

3Jun

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Amélie The Musical – Criterion Theatre

Based on the hit 2001 French film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant of the same name, Amélie tells the story of a young Parisian waitress living in her own little vibrant world. Following a sell-out tour in 2019, the musical adaptation has finally arrived in the West End. I must confess, I have not yet seen the motion picture although I am familiar with it, but after watching the show, Amélie is certainly at the top of my must watch list. Michael Fentiman’s production certainly creates the imaginative world of the young heroine I was hoping for. From the joyful opening number to Dik Downey’s creative puppetry of Amélie as a child struggling to cope with her distant father (Jez Unwin), the production really delves into the colourful imagination of the quirky lead. Audrey Bri...

No Strings Attached – King’s Head Theatre

28May

By Jessica BattisonNo Comments

London

No Strings Attached – King’s Head Theatre

“You asked ‘who are you then?’ I don’t think I know the answer to that.” The debut play by Charles Entsie marks the King’s Head Theatre’s return to live performances after 436 days. Directed by Aileen Gonsalves, the audience are exposed to, and reminded of, the lengths gay men feel they must go to hide in the closet. Sorcha Corcoran’s skeletal car structure against a concrete backdrop, set in an underground car park, brilliantly highlights the claustrophobia felt by the two men. At very different stages in their lives, they are equally lost in trying to find themselves, “tired of just surviving”. The play is riddled with their anxieties, distraught and pain, despite attempts to suppress. Utilising Gonsalves’s own method, of the audience feeling what the actor does in each moment, ...

28May

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Public Domain – Vaudeville Theatre

There is a fresh breeze blowing through the world of musical theatre from the general direction of Forristal and Clarke. This very on-trend musical does not hold back in its dissection of social media, and as we emerge, bleary eyed from the latest lockdown, it is making a very relevant point. It is all too easy to reach for the smart phone, iPad or laptop to see what is going on outside your front door, when you cannot leave the house, we are sociable animals and need interaction. Hidden, lurking behind this online socialisation is a world of capitalism, where every click is monitored, every search is logged. With this in mind, ‘Public Domain’ attempts to give us a musical, collating the words of others, via Tweets, Instagram posts and You Tube videos. T...

27May

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Here Come The Boys – London Palladium

After more than a year starved of live theatre, it is not surprising that the socially distanced and masked audience for Here Come The Boys is champing at the bit, wildly enthusiastic, and totally up for an evening of sparkling entertainment. And they certainly get that in this show. Here Come The Boys toured to sold-out theatres in 2019 and the performers are clearly as keen to get back into the swing as the audience. The four lead dancers, calling themselves the "Kings of Dance", are Strictly stars present and past Aljaž Škorjanec, Pasha Kovalev, Graziano di Prima and Robin Windsor. They are joined by Nadiya Bychkova representing the ladies, Strictly finalist Karim Zeroual as dancer and MC, and a large dance ensemble. The vibe of the show is Strictly on steroids, a dance p...