Month: July 2023

GIG REVIEW: Alison Goldfrapp at Somerset House

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Sunday 9 July, tour runs until 1 March 2024

SETLIST: Hotel (Suite 23); Love Invention; Believer; Digging Deeper; So Hard So Hot; Number 1; Impossible; Anymore; Ride A White Horse; SloFlo; The Beat Divine; Gatto Gelato; NeverStop; In Electric Blue; Rocket; Strict Machine; Fever (This Is The Real Thing)

It was very much the weekend to see music outdoors in London with friends seeing Blur at Wembley Stadium and Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park but we were more than happy with our choice.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Alison Goldfrapp on tour this year and into 2024 in London
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THEATRE REVIEW: Disruption starring Nathaniel Curtis at Park Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: *** RUNTIME: 125 minutes (including a 15-minute interval)

WHEN?: Saturday 8 July, opens Thursday 13 July runs through 5 August 2023 (public ticket)

The rise of Artifical Intelligence has fuelled fears that it could wipe out humanity or, at the very least, threaten our jobs and so AI as a topic for theatre couldn’t be more now.

  • Read on for reasons including how we would have liked to have seen more of Nathaniel Curtis’ character
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SONG OF THE WEEK: Me, Myself and I by Mae Muller (week beginning Saturday 8 July 2023)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Proving that finishing 25th in May’s joyous Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool doesn’t have to be a career kiss of death, Muller returns with a single that is almost as infectiously catchy as the riot that was I Wrote A Song, April’s song of the month for us.

  • Read on for reasons including details of Muller’s debut album and how to see her on tour this year
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GIG REVIEW: Welly at the Edge Of The Wedge, Portsmouth

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Friday 30 June 2023, tour runs until 2 September 2023

Having “discovered’ Welly on day one of Victorious Festival last year, making our whole weekend (along with the comedy), we have seen this Brighton-based (originally from Southampton) band three times now.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see the band this summer
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THEATRE REVIEW: Crazy For You starring Charlie Stemp at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 1 July (matinee), runs through 20 January 2024 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval) Update: now closing 31 December 2023

Channelling Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, Norman Wisdom and Tommy Steele, Blackheath’s Charlie Stemp is an unconventional leading man although he was nominated for a Best Actor in a Musical Olivier for Half A Sixpence.

  • Read on for reasons including how Stemp is the early favourite for the Best Actor in a Musical Olivier in 2024
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Pillowman starring Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton at the Duke Of York’s Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Friday 30 June, runs through 2 September 2023 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Returning Doctor Who David Tennant (Good, Harold Pinter Theatre) played writer Katurian in the original National Theatre production of this Martin McDonagh play and much has been made of the gender swap of this role now played by Lily Allen (2.22 A Ghost Story, Noel Coward Theatre).

  • Read on for reasons including how The Pillowman is funny, dark yet hugely thought-provoking
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