Month: March 2015

West End Men Announce New Tour

News, Touring
The West End Men are about to embark on their third UK Tour

The West End Men have announced that X Factor star Marcus Collins will be joining their new UK Tour. Following two hit tours in 2012 and 2013, the West End Men are preparing for their third tour. Joining Marcus Collins will be Glenn Carter, James Bisp and Alexis Gerred. The West End Men have appeared in West End hits including Jesus Christ Superstar, Hairspray, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. The repertoire for this concert tour will include a showcase of much-loved musical theatre standards from shows including Les Miserables, West Side Story, and South Pacific alongside pop classics from artists as diverse as Queen and Stevie Wonder. Special guest star Nadia Forder will be appearing at concerts in Dublin, Watford, Guildford and Liverpool. The West End Men 2015 UK Tour Sunday 24th May 2015 Milton Keynes Theatre Monday 25th May 2015 The Swan … Read more

DVD Review: The Day We Sang

DVD, Reviews
Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball in Victoria Woods The Day We Sang now on DVD

If, like me you had been relaxing over the Christmas break and were tuned into your TV, you might have been lucky enough to catch a little gem of a programme called The Day We Sang which has now been released on DVD. Written by national treasure Victoria Wood, The Day We Sang was originally commissioned as a play for the Manchester International festival. It is the story of Enid and Tubby, two adults who as children were involved in the children’s choir recording of Nymphs and Shepherds in the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1929 and how their lives had changed many years later. The Day We Sang stars Michael Ball as Tubby and Imelda Staunton as Enid. They bring massive amounts of heart to the heartfelt story of two people facing a second chance in life. Balls portrayal of the over-enthusiastic, always smiling, overly likeable Tubby played against … Read more

REVIEW: A Breakfast Of Eels, Print Room At The Coronet ✭✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
A Breakfast Of Eels at The Print Room

The text is like a huge tapestry – there are many elements sewn into it: moments of silence, of banality, of revelation, of humour, of intense longing, of possibility, of heartbreak, of examination, of acceptance, of desolation. Quite a lot of the dialogue is lyrical, evocative. But there is a shimmering through-line of unspoken hurt and non-alignment which positively aches. Andrew Sheridan and Matthew Tennyson complement each other perfectly and the gradual changes in each over the course of the play are finely judged. Complex and absorbing.

REVIEW: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction), Bloomsbury ✭✭✭✭✭

Reviews
Pop Up Opera perform The Abduction

The discipline of stripping a work down to its basics and re-inventing it in numerous very different locations night after night recaptures the spirit of repertory tradition that was the foundation of core value and strength of so much of British Theatre, and gives potential lessons from which the grandest of directors and opera houses might benefit. This production could transform the way you think about opera as an art form!

Farinelli And The King – Cast Announced – Tickets On Sale

News, West End
Mark Rylance in Farinelli at the Sam Wanamker Playhouse

Following a sell-out season at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Claire Van Kampen’s new play Farinelli And The King will transfer to London’s Duke Of York’s Theatre for a strictly limited season commencing on September 14, 2015. Many of the cast of the original production will return to reprise their roles including award-winning actor Mark Rylance as King Philippe V of Spain, Sam Crane as Farinelli, Huss Harblya as Dr Jose Cervi, Meoldy Grove as Isabella Farnese, Colin Hurley as Metastasio and Edward Peel as De la Cuadra. The singing roles will be shared by Iestyn Davies and Rupert Enticknap. Set in eighteenth-century Spain, Claire van Kampen’s moving and mesmerising new play tells the intriguing true story of Farinelli, once the world’s most famous castrato and one of the greatest celebrities of his time, and his decision to trade fame and fortune in the opera-houses of Europe for a life of … Read more

Twelve Angry Men UK Tour 2015

Touring
The stage adaptation of Reginald Rose's 12 ~Angry Men is currently touring the UK

Twelve Angry Men follows twelve jurors who are asked to deliberate a murder trial of a young man accused of killing his father. This deliberation is different though as what appears to be an open and shut case slowly changes and becomes problematic for the twelve jurors as one by one the prejudices and preconceptions of the jurors changes leading to a nail-biting climax. Best known for its 1957 movie adaptation starring Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men originated as a television play and was also adapted for the stage and radio. This production of Twelve Angry Men is directed by Christopher Haydon and designed by Michael Pavelka. TWELVE ANGRY MEN 2015 UK TOUR 30th March – 4 April 2015 Theatre Royal Bath BOOK ONLINE 6th – 11 April 2016 Grand Theatre, Leeds BOOK ONLINE 13th – 18th April 2015 Grand Opera Theatre, York BOOK ONLINE 20th – 25th … Read more

REVIEW: Trainspotting, King’s Head Theatre ✭✭✭✭

Off West End, Reviews
Trainspotting at the King's Head Theatre, London

With the audience sat and stood around three sides, the action regularly erupts off the stage, from projectile soiled sheets to splashes of murky toilet water. At 65 minutes, it moves along at a cracking and sometimes disorienting pace that leaves you staggering out of the theatre feeling like you’ve been assaulted (but in a good way).

Bomber’s Moon Transfers to Trafalgar 2

News, West End
James Bolam and Steve John Shepherd in Bomber's Moon.

Following it’s acclaimed run at the Park Theatre in 2014, the play Bomber’s Moon will transfer to Trafalgar Studios 2 from April 20, 2015. Former RAF gunner Jimmy finds his routine disrupted when sensitive care assistant David arrives – and his cantankerous outlook and colourful language seem to be more than David can handle. As Jimmy increasingly snaps back to the adrenaline-fuelled terror of his WWII bombing raids, and David’s new found faith is tested to breaking point, both men discover that a lasting peace is not easily won. With acerbic wit and searing honesty, Bomber’s Moon is a bittersweet tour-de-force, full of gritty realism and razor-sharp humour. The play by William Ivory will star James Bolam ( New Tricks, Born and Bred, The Likely Lads, When The Boat Comes In) and Steve John Shepherd (EastEnders, This Life). Bomber’s Moon will be directed by Matt Aston, designed by Laura McEwen, … Read more