Events

Star-studded cast announced for Grenfell Tower benefit concert this weekend.

Events, News, West End
Songs and Solidarity Grenfell Tower Fire Charity Concert

Giles Terera and Danielle Tarento are presenting a West End fundraising gala evening of song, dance and comedy for the hundreds of families made homeless and the relatives of those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire. SONGS AND SOLIDARITY will take place at Trafalgar Studios 1 on Sunday 25 June at 7.30pm. Among a host of people taking part are Jason Manford, Mark Thomas, Dreamgirls star Tyrone Huntley, Wicked star Rachel Tucker, West End composers Stiles and Drewe, playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster Bonnie Greer and the West End Gospel Choir. Giles Terera said: “I’m sure for all of us our immediate response is to want to try and reach out and help, either as an individual or collectively. The community that has suffered this horror has always been a strong, close knit, diverse, creative one. As an artistic community we aim for those same values. At … Read more

West End Bares reveals 2017 show

Events, News, West End
West End Bares 2017

Tickets have gone on sale for this year’s West End Bares which mixes burlesque with musical theatre, featuring the hottest male and female performers. Now in its eighth year, it returns to the Novello Theatre on Sunday October 29, 2017, at both 7pm and 9.30pm. The shows are organised to support the Make A Difference Trust which raises funds for HIV and Aids projects that build awareness and provide care, support and education in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa. West End Bares combines the naughtiness of burlesque along with the razzle-dazzle of the West End and promises over 100 of the hottest male and female dancers from the West End and beyond plus a whole host of celebrity guests. This year’s theme and celebrity guests will be announced in the summer. Previous celebrity supporters have included Graham Norton, Ramin Karimloo, Sheridan Smith, John Barrowman, Paul O’Grady, Joe Lycett, Harriet Thorpe, Bianca Del Rio, Michelle Visage, Helen Lederer and Beverley Knight. West End … Read more

Mark Gatiss joins actors and comedians in coming-out show

Events, LGBT, News, West End
Mark Gatiss leads celebrity coming out show

Mark Gatiss and other actors and comedians are lined up to take part in a charity gala presentation of a show about coming out. They will take the stage at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End for Outings, a powerful, funny and confessional collation of over 20 true-life tales. It will play one night only on Monday 26 June, 2017. The show premiered to huge acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has since delighted audiences on tour around the UK. It was created by award-winning writers after a campaign for submissions that was supported by Stephen Fry among many others. Now Outings comes to the West End for the first time, in an exclusive one-night gala presentation in aid of the LGBT+ helpine charity Switchboard. Alongside Gatiss who is a patron of Switchboard, the cast of over 20 – each telling a different story – will include comedians … Read more

Brighton Fringe Preview – Our Top Picks

Events, News, Regional
Brighton Fringe 2017

From small beginnings, Brighton Fringe has grown over the past five years and now features nearly 1,000 events from comedy, cabaret and music to theatre, dance and visual arts. With a programme running from May 5 to June 4, we pick out some of the theatre highlights. For more, look out for the 160-page free A4 brochure or visit www.brightonfringe.org. The world premiere of Blooming, Patrick Sandford’s take on experiences of happiness, follows his hit show Groomed, which won three Brighton Fringe theatre awards in 2016. Patrick asked 100 people, “How do you know when you are happy?”. The answers – provocative, kaleidoscopic, astonishing – were the starting point for this optimistic-in-spite-of-everything show. Sweet Dukebox, May 19-21, 25-27 Shell Shock tells one soldier’s story of coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, adapted from the novel, Shell Shock: The Diary of Tommy Atkins, by Iraq … Read more

Olivier Awards 2017 – The Winners

Events, Features, News, West End
Olivier Awards 2020

The Olivier Awards 2017 are now underway. We’ll be updating this post as the awards are underway to let you know who has won what. OLIVIER AWARDS 2017 – THE WINNERS Best Actress Glenda Jackson for King Lear at The Old Vic Cherry Jones for The Glass Menagerie at Duke of York’s Theatre Billie Piper for Yerma at Young Vic – WINNER Ruth Wilson for Hedda Gabler at National Theatre – Lyttelton Best New Comedy The Comedy About A Bank Robbery at Criterion Theatre Nice Fish at Harold Pinter Theatre Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour at National Theatre – Dorfman – WINNER The Truth at Wyndham’s Theatre Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre Cuttin’ It at The Maria, Young Vic The Government Inspector at Theatre Royal Stratford East The Invisible Hand at Tricycle Theatre It Is Easy To Be Dead at Trafalgar Studios 2 Rotterdam at Trafalgar Studios 2 – … Read more

Olivier Awards 2017 – What To Expect

Events, Features, News, West End
Olivier Awards 2020

We’ve put together a guide for theatre fans to give you an idea of what to expect at this year’s Olivier Awards which are being held tomorrow. WHERE ARE THE OLIVIER AWARDS BEING HELD? The Olivier Awards 2017 will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Red carpet arrivals will start at 4.30pm with the ceremony scheduled to start at 6pm. WHO IS PRESENTING THIS YEAR’S OLIVIER AWARDS? the ceremony will be hosted by Jason Manford. Joining him on stage will be Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, John Boyega, Ben Forster, Mark Rylance, Nathan Lane, Russell Tovey, Sophie Okonedo, Paul O’Grady, Michaela Cole, Alfie Boe, Charlotte Ritchie, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Alfie Boe, Audra McDonald, Rose Leslie, Julian Clary, Leanne Cope, Ruthie Henshall, Denise Gough, David Baddiel, Robert Fairchild, Matt Henry, Cush Jumbo, Maureen Lipman, Danny Mac, Amanda Holden, Laura Mvula, Rufus Hound, and Phoebe Fox. WHO IS NOMINATED AT THIS YEAR’S AWARDS? … Read more