New Wimbledon Theatre Archives - Page 4 of 5

8Jun

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Foundations – New Wimbledon Theatre

As part of a series of Fringe shows, WrongTree Theatre and Ultraviolet Production’s Foundations had its one-night run at the snug New Wimbledon theatre studio. MJ finds herself dissatisfied with her workplace and out of curiosity, wanders around the factory where she discovers another factory within a different world. This coraline-esque show is dazzling in its fluidity and imagination. It is a tale of friendship but also offers insights about humankind, stimulating for both children and adults. The simple but captivating plot was easy to follow, and the writing was accessible and flowed well. The concept is unique whilst also evoking nostalgia as it reminds me of Charlie and Lola which I watched growing up. The cast brought vividly brought their world to life with cleverly co-or...

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,...

19May

By Lewis DownhamNo Comments

North West

Chicago – New Wimbledon Theatre

New Wimbledon Theatre had it coming as the show razzle dazzled its way onto the stage, with popular musical hits such as Cell Block Tango, Mister Cellophane and many more. The show is set in 1920’s Chicago and follows the story of Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes) and Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott) as they battle for a space on the front of the newspaper to gain fame and stardom, after murdering various lovers after not getting their way. Billy Flynn (Russell Watson) takes the case of the two stars. The set for this production was stripped back, which by no means takes away from the show but frames the stage and band quite literally as they take centre stage while being immersed into the show and given a character of their own. Interacting with the cast led by Andrew Hilton (Musical Director) ...

11May

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Dreamgirls – New Wimbledon Theatre

Loosely based on the story of The Supremes, the multi–award winning musical Dreamgirls is back with a new UK tour. Dreamgirls tells the story of the fictional pop group Dreametts, a talented trio of black female singers from 1960s Chicago as they navigate fame, fortune, and the ruthless realities of show business, pushing their friendships to the limit. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the dancing was certainly a highlight of this show. From the slick quick changes to the non-stop energy of the supporting cast as they jumped and twirled across the stage, the production was extremely fast paced and kept the audience engaged throughout. The set was mostly kept minimal, except for a few changes between scenes, so the real focus was the colourful costumes. Designed by Tim Hatle...

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – New Wimbledon Theatre

14Apr

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – New Wimbledon Theatre

C.S Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe absolutely mesmerised me as a young child – and it’s a fixation that has followed me into adult life. Narnia has always held a special kind of magic for me. Notwithstanding the troubling alternative readings of C.S Lewis’s works, the concept of a door to another world full of talking beasts, dwarves and other mythical creatures, only accessible to children who are able to become national heroes, was just too seductive. Add some Christmassy undertones, some genuinely scary creatures and storylines and a feel-good character arch or two and it’s a pretty perfect story. It’s also a story that’s been told many, many times - from the 1988 BBC dramatization (which I tracked down on DVD in later years), listening to the full Chronicles of Narnia ...

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – New Wimbledon Theatre

6Apr

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – New Wimbledon Theatre

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has begun its tour and taken a stop at New Wimbledon Theatre. As with musical theatre fans, the energy in the audience is always high and excited so arriving into that really leaped me into the piece. This evening’s performance was led by the Jamie understudy, Adam Taylor who was fantastic with really beautiful vocals and a great confidence in the character. As well as this shining performance, Sharan Phull playing Pritti Pasha truly stole so many hearts in their emotion and passion. The story itself is famous for inspiring so many young people in their passion to be different during school and to see the journey for these kids is heart-warming and done so well. However, it was unfortunate that to no fault of the performers the speakers were faulty and...

22Mar

By Chloe StallibrassNo Comments

London

School of Rock – New Wimbledon Theatre

School is in session at New Wimbledon Theatre as The School of Rock invites you to be 'in the band' until 26th of March. The story follows Dewey Finn (Jake Sharp) struggling to stay a member of a rock band whilst living with his old high school band mate Ned Schneebly (Matthew Rowland). He poses as Ned to undertake a position as a teacher in a prestigious school to pay his rent and to help boost his chances of winning The Battle of the Bands, leading to him creating his own band made up of the talented and gifted children of Horace Green. As always, I'm keen eyed towards the sets on the shows I see. This set was gorgeous for its transitions and used clever tricks to set the scene and create the key locations within the storyline. I particularly loved the giant sliding and rotating do...

The Addams Family – New Wimbledon Theatre

17Feb

By Lewis DownhamNo Comments

London

The Addams Family – New Wimbledon Theatre

The hit musical The Addams Family transports you to Central Park for an evening of wild entertainment for all, with renowned songs such as ‘When You’re An Addams’ and the famous Addams Family theme song featured in the overture that fans love and adore. Along with witty jokes and spectacular sets throughout. Directed by Matthew White and choregraphed by Alistair David, this show immerses you within the beautiful design created by Diego Pitarch and transports you into the quirky and strange Addams Family household. The story follows The Addams Family, Gomez (Cameron Blakely) and Mortcia (Joanne Clifton) the perfect husband and wife, Wednesday (Kingsley Morton) the beloved daughter who has a secret about Lucas Beineke (Ahmed Hamad) and keeping it could be more difficult than it seems with...

9Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Blood Brothers – New Wimbledon Theatre

Willy Russell's Blood Brothers is back and it's back with a bang. In the 40 years since the show was first performed in Liverpool, Blood Brothers has garnered global acclaim and success. The themes are broad - the class divide, nature versus nurture, poverty, friendship, sibling rivalry, family relationships. Twins Mickey and Eddie are born to working class mother Mrs Johnstone, already a mother of five, who is struggling to feed and clothe them all. Living on the "never-never", she has bailiffs at the door, so in the depths of her despair, she agrees to give up one of the new-borns to the wealthy Mrs Lyons who has been unable to have children. Mrs Lyons has one major condition in this arrangement; the boys must never find out that they are brothers. As the tale unfolds of the ...

19Jan

By Chloe StallibrassNo Comments

London

Bat Out of Hell – New Wimbledon Theatre

The award-winning musical ‘Bat Out of Hell’ revved its way into The New Wimbledon Theatre. Multiple hits rolled into one action packed musical that will get you on your feet by the end of the night, with hit songs from Jim Steinman and Meatloaf. This musical tells the story of the main characters Raven the daughter of Falco, and Strat who fall in love against family wishes. Strat is the leader of The Lost, a group of teenagers that never grow up. The reasoning behind The Lost never growing up was never quite explained in detail, however, shows a remarkable resemblance to The Lost Boys in ‘Peter Pan’ giving the audience familiarity in a childhood favourite story with a dystopian take. There are multiple subplots thought the show supporting the overarching love story with Ravens parents a...