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Thespie presents: Unlimited – The Songs Of Stephen Schwartz

16Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Thespie presents: Unlimited – The Songs Of Stephen Schwartz

It’s a sad fact that theatre is suffering greatly during these strange days so it is always welcoming when companies like Thespie can produce live performance streaming of such calibre. Stephen Schwartz is probably one of the most underrated of musical theatre talents and certainly (in my opinion) up there with the Lloyd Webbers and Sondheim’s of this world. From the sublime “Pippin” to the dazzling “Wicked” his music and lyrics positively shine through and it’s to Thespie’s credit that they have produced a superlative showcase of his songs featuring nine excellent West End performers – Nikki Bentley, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Alexia Khadime, Melanie La Barrie, Carl Man, Dianne Pilkington, Liam Tamne and Oliver Tompsett. The concert starts with the wonderful “Magic To Do” from “P...

Mark Ravenhill’s new play is the highlight of Sound Stage

14Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Mark Ravenhill’s new play is the highlight of Sound Stage

Pitlochry Festival Theatre, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in collaboration with Naked Productions have created Sound Stage featuring a new play by Mark Ravenhill. This new immersive audio digital theatre experience has hit the jackpot with the world premiere of Ravenhill’s, Angela, as he offers his first autobiographical play exploring the way culture high and low impacted his mother’s life and that of his family. The season kicking off on 26th March will premiere eight new co-productions from Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh written by Roy Williams, Timberlake Wertenbaker, and Tutti Frutti writer John Byrne. “The original idea came from my experience last year making the audio premiere of Adventures with the Painted People with David, Polly, and ...

The Corporate Knobs – Online @theSpaceUK

14Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Corporate Knobs – Online @theSpaceUK

Earl & Grace Productions’ The Corporate Knobs is a short comedy variety show exposing the truth about life in corporate America and how the pandemic has changed corporate work lives for better and worse. Performed by Lori Hamilton, the show opens with a short film showing the shady history of company, Landalor Industries as it grew from a small family business to the government’s main irresponsible disposer of nuclear waste. Diane Prenderghast (Lori Hamilton) is the exhausted and HR Director who leads us through our journey with the company. COVID, she tells us, has made many of us realise that we hate our jobs, but no one wants to quit when they can get a severance package, so she runs a short course in how to be a bad manager so that you can get fired and paid off. Or, if you d...

Sunset Boulevard – Leicester Curve Online

13Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

East Midlands

Sunset Boulevard – Leicester Curve Online

As it toured the country, Leicester Curve’s 2017 production was praised by audiences and critics alike. Now, the team has come back together and filmed the musical for home viewings, whilst the theatres it visited sadly remain closed. Nikolai Foster’s artistic take on the iconic show has elevated the plot, and in doing so, has created an even more captivating piece. The first number embodies the chaos and desperation of late-40's Hollywood, set to the familiar melodies of Webber. “Did I hear that chord sequence in Joseph, or was it Jesus? Or have I just heard it earlier on in this song?” Webber’s signature style is stamped onto the show from the get-go. Another thing that is noticeable straight away is the appeal of the leading man. Narrating directly to camera, Danny Mac (White Christm...

Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert – Online@TheSpaceUK

12Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert – Online@TheSpaceUK

Melanie Gall, a Canadian opera singer who works internationally bringing the singers and songs of the past back to life, now focuses on the greatest of French musical icons: Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel. The concert is not impossible because of the music, but because these two legends never worked together or even met. Piaf (1915-1963), her adopted name causing her to be nicknamed “The Little Sparrow” was born into Parisian poverty, a daughter of street and circus performers. Brel (1929-1978) was born in Brussels and is considered to be the master of the modern chanson. Vocalist Gall clearly feels both affinity and affection with the music associated with both artists, and despite not being a native French speaker her diction is impeccable, mining the meaning deep within her song choi...

Witness for the Prosecution returns to London County Hall

12Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Witness for the Prosecution returns to London County Hall

Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Rebecca Stafford Productions are today delighted to announce that performances of Witness for the Prosecution will resume from 18th May 2021 at London County Hall on the Southbank. Tickets are back on sale today and can be booked here www.witnesscountyhall.com with casting to be announced soon. Eleanor Lloyd and Rebecca Stafford said ‘We cannot wait to bring ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ back to the magnificent setting of London County Hall and share Agatha Christie's courtroom spectacle with audiences once again. When the theatres were closed last March we had just celebrated our 1000th performance having played to over 325,000 people over two and a half years. Last year was tough for everyone in the theatre industry. In order to be able to re-open as soon...

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

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

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

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

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

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

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 ...