PREDICTIONS/PREVIEW Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Final starring Monroe & Look Mum No Computer

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By Neil Durham

WHEN? 16 May 2026 HOW TO WATCH? BBC1 in the UK at 8pm

WHERE? Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna

Rehearsals have begun for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest and we’ll update this preview after each semi final with our predictions for the qualifiers joining the host country and remaining Big 4 after Spain’s boycott.

  • Read on for reasons including predictions for France’s Monroe and the UK’s Look Mum No Computer
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GIG REVIEW: Hackney Colliery Band at The Lens, Portsmouth

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: 25 April 2026, tour runs through 9 May 2026

Hackney Colliery Band (HCB) are a jazz band that fuses electronics with a double percussion outfit.

  • Read on for reasons including how you must follow HCB for a real soulful jazz experience
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THEATRE REVIEW: Tender starring Dex Lee at Soho Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 2 May (matinee) and runs through 30 May 2026 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (includes a 20-minute interval)

1 of the joys of the West End is that early casting news means we know Lee, who here bares his washboard abs, bottom and soul as a troubled stripper, will play Prince Charming opposite French and Saunders in Cinderella in the Palladium pantomime this Christmas.

  • Read on for reasons including how giving the audience the opportunity to be complicit in the torture inflicted feels troubling
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SONG OF THE MONTH: Maggie’s Song by Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem) (May 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

It’s arguably theatre’s most memorable moment of the year so far and now the song is available to listen to and watch (see below).

  • Read on for reasons including how allowing Taylor this moment to update the play with music is nothing short of astonishing
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THEATRE REVIEW: Please, Please Me starring Calam Lynch & Noah Ritter at Kiln Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Thursday 30 April and runs through 29 May 2026 RUNTIME: 130 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The depth of the relationship between John Lennon and Beatles manager Brian Epstein has been much speculated upon and here Calam Lynch and Noah Ritter explore what was certainly an unusually close friendship.

  • Read on for reasons including how it’s the talented cast that is the best reason to see this show
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SONG OF THE WEEK: Undefeated Champion by Melanie C (week beginning Tuesday 28 April 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Former Spice Girl Melanie C embraces 80s pop soul on new single Undefeated Champion ahead of the release of her 9th solo album.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about Melanie C’s new album Sweat out on Friday
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FILM OF THE MONTH/Q&A: Rose Of Nevada starring George MacKay and Callum Turner with Mark Jenkin (April 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Thursday 23 April, at BFI Southbank, opens 24 April 2026 FILM RUNTIME: 114 minutes

How would you feel if you went back in time 30 years and your partner and your child were no longer there but a couple who thought you were their lost son were pleased at your return?

  • Read on for reasons including how this mystery of fishermen seemingly lost in time could be just the film to catch
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THEATRE REVIEW: Mass starring Monica Dolan & Adeel Akhtar at Donmar Warehouse

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Monday 20 April, opens 29 April and through 6 June 2026 RUNTIME: 105 minutes (no interval)

It’s just when you think Mass has run its considerable dramatic course that Monica Dolan’s mother Linda re-appears after bidding farewell to unpin an emotional grenade that can’t fail to obliterate the viewer.

  • Read on for reasons including how Mass boasts a fantastic cast which gets the most from some difficult emotional material
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SONG OF THE MONTH: I Feel So Free by Madonna (April 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Madonna (Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona) chooses not to ape Hung Up, the all-conquering, chart-topping, ABBA-sampling banger that launched album Confessions On A Dancefloor 21 years ago.

  • Read on for reasons including how Madonna is perpetuating her career by growing old both joyously and disgracefully and we wouldn’t have it any other way
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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for May 2026 starring Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape

Oscar winner Oldman (Apple’s Slow Horses) directs and stars in this monologue about a man on his 69th birthday who sits alone and listens to the echoes of his younger self. The play returns to the Royal Court where it ran in 1958 in this York Theatre Royal production. The run is sold out although tickets are available on Mondays. Runs 8 through 30 May 2026. Tickets

  • Read on for reasons including Rosalia at The 02, High Society and Delta Goodrem at Eurovision
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