- My Fair Lady starring Amara Okereke at the Coliseum
We saw lead Okereke in both The Boy Friend (Menier) and Spring Awakening (Almeida) and so know how deserved this casting is. We last saw Martine McCutcheon’s triumphant take on this Lerner and Loewe classic in 2001 and it returns to the West End at the Coliseum 7 May through 27 August 2022. Tickets 1st preview review
- Read on for reasons including Legally Blonde, Amy Adams’ West End debut and last Little Mix gig
2. Legally Blonde at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
We saw Sheridan Smith’s Olivier Award-winning performance in the title role of this musical based on a film and know new lead Courtney Bowman has big shoes to fill although we are in capable hands with director Lucy Moss who co-wrote and directed the phenomenal SIX. Runs 13 May through 2 July 2022 at 1 of our favourite outdoor venues. Tickets Review
3. Amy Adams’ West End debut in The Glass Menagerie
Adams is best known for film roles for which she has been nominated 6 times for an Oscar including Vice, American Hustle and Arrival. We last saw this Tennessee Williams classic in the West End in a memorable version in 2017 and it runs 23 May through 27 August 2022 at the same venue, the Duke Of York’s Theatre. Tickets
4. Last Little Mix tour before split
Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock are taking an indefinite hiatus this year after a farewell arena tour to rest and pursue solo projects. Former member Jesy Nelson left in December 2020. The 25-date arena Confetti Tour finishes with 3 dates in London this month at The 02. Tickets
5. ABBA Voyage live experience
ABBA may have been 1 of the world’s most popular bands but they notoriously didn’t like touring and haven’t played in the UK since 6 nights at Wembley Arena in November 1979. This series of live performances called ABBA Voyage, after the band’s 1st studio album for 40 years, will feature a live show by a band fronted by ABBA avatars at a purpose-built east London location from this month. Booking 27 May through 4 December 2022. Tickets
6. UK in with a shot at Eurovision
This year’s UK Eurovision entry Space Man by Sam Ryder may not necessarily be a winner but it’s a big hit with the contest’s die-hard fans which feels like a victory in itself. We’ve ranked the pre-qualified acts’ chances in the 14 May final in Turin, Italy in this preview. Our predictions for who is qualifying from Semi 1 and Semi 2 have been made.
7. New Florence and the Machine album
We 1st saw them live in Lovebox, east London, in 2009 shortly after the release of debut album Lungs and it’s fair to say that it’s on a stage that the band and its lead singer really come alive and let loose. 3rd album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful won our inaugural Best Album monsta in 2015. 5th album Dance Fever drops 13 May and highlights already released from its 14 tracks include the upbeat My Love (see above). F+TM tour the world this year including 2 nights at The 02 in London in November. Tickets
8. Pet Shop Boys tour
We’ve not written a great deal about them but, if pressed, Pet Shop Boys could lay claim to our favourite ever band. The Dreamworld: Greatest Hits Live tour has been much rearranged because of Covid but opens in Milan this month, features 10 UK dates including at London’s The 02 and Glastonbury before heading back to Europe, the US and Canada. Tickets Discovery: Live In Rio was an album of the month for us.
9. Sophomore Sigrid album
How To Let Go is released 6 May 2022 and includes our song of the month for April, It Gets Dark. We haven’t seen our favourite Norwegian pop star live since the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith in December 2019 at the end of the tour promoting her debut album. We saw her twice in 2018 on the rise at 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and 02 Brixton Academy and, while it felt then that we really needed her debut album, she’s not delaying releasing its follow up which was likely written during the pandemic. We’re hoping to see Sigrid at Glastonbury this year and she tours the UK this winter including a gig at Wembley Arena. Tickets
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