REVIEW: Banana, Crabtree, Simon, Drayton Arms Theatre ✭
The auditorium was virtually empty when I attended, and it is quite plain that they are struggling to find an audience for this dry and lifeless text.
Month: March 2018
Caroline, Or Change Transfers To Playhouse Theatre
Sharon D Clarke is to reprise her acclaimed role in the award-winning musical Caroline, or Change when it opens at London’s PlyahouseTheatre later this year. Caroline, Or Change, the critically acclaimed musical by Angels In America playwright Tony Kushner and Tony Award-winning composer of Fun Home Janine Tesori is to transfer to the Playhouse Theatre from 20 November 2018 to 9 February 2019. Caroline, Or Change tickets are now on sale. Sharon D Clarke will reprise her acclaimed role as Caroline and further caasting will be announced soon. Louisiana, 1963. Revolution is in the air, though not so much for Caroline, the poorly paid maid toiling endlessly in the sweltering basement of the Gellman household. It’s a fantastical, magical place amidst the piles of laundry and singing washing machines, especially for eight-year-old Noah Gellman who sneaks downstairs to see her whenever he can. Yet a simple gesture to leave more … Read more
REVIEW: Working, London Cast Recording 2018 ✭✭✭✭
This new cast album is of such a high standard that there will doubtless be many new productions of Working around the globe as a result of this recording. It’s a first class calling card for this undervalued gem of a show.
REVIEW: Soldier On, Playground Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭
Julian Eaves reviews Soldier On at the Playground Theatre.
INTERVIEW: Matthew Bourne Talks About Cinderella
Sir Matthew Bourne talks about New Adventures and their re-telling of the classic story Cinderella which is touring the UK. The most striking aspect of this re-telling of the Cinderella story is the setting. Why did you choose to set the world’s most famous fairy tale during the London Blitz in 1940? I first fell in love with Prokofiev’s score through watching Frederick Ashton’s version of the ballet for The Royal Ballet. Although composed as a fairy-tale piece, in the style of the great Tchaikovsky ballets, such as “The Sleeping Beauty”, it has Prokofiev’s particular 20th century musical personality stamped all over it. True, it has Grand Waltzes, Fairy variations, mazurka’s and “national” dances, in the manner of Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballet works, but lurking beneath the fairy-tale magic, there beats a darker heart with real emotions and dramatic longing. These are the features of Prokofiev’s music that keep you … Read more
UPCOMING: Crazytown: The World Of Ryan Scott Oliver
Julian Eaves takes a look at Crazytown : The World of Ryan Scott Oliver which is being presented at The Other Palace Studio on Monday 26 March 2018. There’s a welcome return to London coming up for the multi-talented Ryan Scott Oliver, one of the most original – and accomplished – musical theatre voices in New York. Having made a sensational splash in this building last year in the debut staging of ‘35MM: A Musical Exhibition‘, and a kind of love-letter to his husband-to-be, the photographer Matthew Murphy: in fact, it remains his one non-commissioned work; everything he has done has been to order. Anyway, the same team that made that remarkable show such a hit – director Adam Lenson and MD Joe Bunker – have gone the whole hog and turned themselves into producers as well, in order to ensure that this show gets before the public. And what … Read more
REVIEW: Assassins, Pleasance Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Not only did I leave the Pleasance with a smile on my face, but Assassins also sent me into a tailspin of historical research when I got home, as I yearned to find out more about these intriguing characters.
REVIEW: Rabbit, Mercury Theatre Colchester ✭✭✭✭
Nina Raine’s Rabbit presented by Protocol Is a play of much verbal jousting, with brilliantly timed direction from Robbie Taylor Hunt and a top draw cast.
