UPCOMING: January The Musical Revue

January The Musical Revue

JANUARY : The Musical Revue The Crazy Coqs 24th January 2017 It was lovely to get to see another outing for this charming seasonal work-in-progress feast last week. First launched last year at the Canal Cafe Theatre, with a different line-up, this show made a terrific initial impact. Perfectly suited to the spontaneous, almost improvisational atmosphere of the home of the News Revue, this show made a big splash. Then, the authors said it was their intention to go away and improve upon it, and this – glamorously repositioned into the West End – is the result of a year’s further labour. The three-hander offers about a dozen songs – and a couple of brief sketches – loosely linked by the common factor that they all belong in the first month of the year. It’s a clever idea, and given witty and sometimes touching expression in the songs of Patrick … Read more

Julie Atherton and Andy Coxon join Made In Ldn Line Up

Julie Atherton joins the cast of Made In Ldn

Julie Atheron (Avenue Q, Sister Act) and Andy Coxon (Les Miserables, Beautiful) will join the new monthly showcase for British Musical Theatre talent entitled made In Ldn presented by Interval Productions and The Cock Pit Theatre. Made In Ldn launches this Sunday 13th March at 7pm. This exciting cast will be performing work from Aaron Lee Lambert’s From Up Here, Sam Cassidy and Matt Wills’ 27, Luke Bateman and Mary Evans’ H.R.Haitch, Scott Morgan’s Strange People, Tori Allen-Martin and Tim Prottey Jones’ Equally, Sarah Henley and James Fox’s The Unblinding and Tim Gilvin’s original pieces, plus excerpts from Stay Awake Jake. Joining Julie and Andy are Sabrina Aloueche (Les Miserables, We Will Rock You) and Greg Oliver (The Prodigals,Muted) Vince Kidd (BBC’s The Voice), Richard Carson (Miss Saigon), Natalie Green (Wicked), Liberty Buckland (Yarico, Bye Bye Birdie), Matthew Pennington (H.R.Haitch) and Jean Luke Worrell (Yarico). Book Tickets for Made In … Read more

REVIEW: Pure Imagination, St James Theatre ✭✭✭

Giles Terera Interview

Bricusse’s output is so prodigious and so tuneful that only the tone deaf would not find lots of numbers here satisfying and delicious. Many will find something to enjoy in every song, and certainly Musical Director, Michael England, does a terrific job accompanying the singers with a six piece band (including England on piano) that does real justice to England’s arrangements. As ever, there could have been more strings to swell the underscoring, but that is a small quibble.

Casting Announced For Pure Imagination

Pure Imagination at the St James Theatre

Danielle Tarento has today announced casting for Pure Imagination, a review celebrating the songs of Leslie Bricusse, one of the most extraordinary musical theatre and film songwriters of our time. Leslie Briscusse was one of the world’s most prolific songwriters writing over 1000 songs in collaboration with some of the world’s most celebrated writers including Anthony Newley, Henry Mancini, John Williams and John Barry. His shows and movies achieved iconic status including Stop the World – I Want to Get Off; The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd; Pickwick; Harvey; The Good Old Bad Old Days; Goodbye Mr Chips; Henry’s Wives; Scrooge; Sherlock Holmes; Jekyll and Hyde; Noah’s Ark; Sammy; Cyrano de Bergerac Kennedy; Victor/Victoria and It’s a Dog’s Life! and the film score for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Doctor Doolittle. During his career he amassed nominations for 10 Oscars, nine Grammys and … Read more

REVIEW: I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, Above The Arts ✭✭✭

I Love You You're Perfect Now Change - Above The Arts Theatre

Watching Julie Atherton, Simon Lipkin, Gina Best and Samuel Holmes work their magic, individually, in couples, and as a quartet, it was difficult not to wonder if there was actually anything, any material, into which these four could not breathe life, and let fly higher than it has any business flying. They certainly give I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change an energy, an enthusiasm, an ineffable joy which far exceeds its obvious potential.

REVIEW: Shock Treatment, Kings Head Theatre ✭✭✭

Richard O'Brien's Shock Treatment at the King's Head Theatre

Julie Atherton can play dowdy geek character, svelte seductive siren, and camp fetish magnet (complete with vinyl Nurse’s outfit just covering her pert derrière and barely containing her heaving bosom) seamlessly, as part of the one character. Atherton’s performance encapsulates the underlying promise of the piece: Geeks and Outsiders can have sex, drugs and Rock’n’Roll too! So too do the two other magnetic, but polar opposite, performances of totally committed seductive power. Ben Kerr is hilariously straight as Brad, the quiet, slightly dull husband of Janet with the body of a Greek God and Mateo Oxley milks every comic nanosecond in his turn as the outrageously camp, one-foot-leaping-out-of-the-closet Ralph Hapschatt.