1. Sheridan Smith stars in new Rufus Wainwright musical

Smith (Shirley Valentine, Duke Of York’s Theatre) stars in this new musical directed by Ivo van Hove (A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre) based on the John Cassavetes film with music and lyrics by Rufus Wainwright. Runs at the Gielgud Theatre 6 March through 27 July 2024. Tickets Our review

• Read on for reasons including the UK’s Eurovision entry, new musical Cable Street & Bananarama’s Glorious

2. UK Eurovision entry – Dizzy by Olly Alexander – released

The former Years and Years’ frontman releases his UK Eurovision entry Dizzy on 1 March. Co-written with Dua Lipa songwriter Daniel Harle, we’ve everything crossed for a banger that made his band’s mark at Glastonbury and we’ve every faith that the star of TV’s It’s A Sin can do it justice live. Tickets Sweden’s Melodifestivalen selects its Eurovision entry 9 March 2024. We’ve everything crossed for Norwegian twins Marcus and Martinus. Why Dizzy is our song of the month.

3. Cable Street at Southwark Playhouse

Tim Gilvin (Unfortunate, Southwark Playhouse) and Alex Kanefsky write this musical set in London’s East End in October 1936 as Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists start to march on it. Half a million Jews, Irish workers and communists unite to blockade the road they call home. Runs 16 February through 16 March at the venue’s Large site in Borough. Tickets Our review

4. Bananarama’s Glorious

Released on 8 March, Glorious – The Ultimate Collection is a 40-strong album of curated songs from their 40-plus-year career including current single Supernova and its predecessor Feel The Love, a song of the week for us in October 2023. Next month they play 3 gigs in celebration at London’s Palladium. Tickets Album of the month review

5. Disfrutar in Barcelona

This month we visit Barcelona and return to this restaurant. It now has 3 Michelin stars and is ranked 2nd best in the world and the best in Europe according to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Our review from 2023 said: ‘Our waiting staff explained 1 of the themes of the menu was a sense of playfulness and fun combined with a sense of surprise and so when we were served with what appeared to be a green and red pepper, a nod to pimientos di padron, towards the end of the menu we weren’t quite sure what to expect.’ Reservations

6. Film Dune 2 released

Timothee Chalamet recently starred in film Wonka and returns for the 2nd part of sci-fi classic Dune which was released to much acclaim in 2021. Dune: Part Two is once again directed by Denis Villeneuve and is released 1 March 2024. Tickets are already on sale to watch it at Britain’s largest screen at the BFI IMAX in Waterloo, London. Tickets

7. My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican

Totoro won 6 Oliviers last year – best entertainment, best director, best set design, best costume design, best lighting design and best sound design – and has returned to the Barbican for an encore run which finishes 23 March 2024. We see it for the 1st time this month and will review. Tickets

8. Nachtland at the Young Vic

Jane Horrocks (If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Young Vic), John Heffernan (What If If Only, Royal Court), Angus Wright (Hamlet, Almeida) and Gunnar Cauthery (Dear England, National) star in this satire by Marius von Mayenburg about the rise of the new right, marriage and legacy directed by Patrick Marber (Don Juan In Soho, Wyndhams Theatre). Runs at the Young Vic 20 February through 20 April 2024. Tickets

9. Till The Stars Come Down at the National

Beth Steel’s new play directed by Bijan Sheibani (Barber Shop Chronicles, National) tells the story of a wedding on a hot summer’s day when things get out of hand. Starring Lorraine Ashbourne from TV’s Sherwood and Lisa McGrillis from TV’s Mum and Sex Education, we’re catching it before it closes on the 16 March 2024 at the Dorfman. Tickets Our last night review and campaign for a West End transfer

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy DMT
• Have you seen a Sheridan Smith show before and are what did you think of this production? Tickets
• Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this review? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook