Month: April 2024

THEATRE REVIEW: Player Kings starring Sir Ian McKellen at the Noel Coward Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 6 April 2024, opens 11 April and runs through 22 June 2024 RUNTIME: 220 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

McKellen (Mother Goose, Duke Of York’s Theatre) dons a fatsuit and gives the performance of a lifetime as Falstaff in writer/director Robert Icke’s (Oresteia and Hamlet, Almeida) combination of Shakespeare’s  Henry IV parts 1 and 2.

  • Read on for reasons including how you should grab the chance to see McKellen on stage while you have the chance
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SONG OF THE MONTH: Dancing Star by Pet Shop Boys (April 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

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

Archive footage of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev features in the video for this song about a rule breaker seeking freedom from oppression and it reminds us why Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant is pop’s finest lyricist.

  • Read on for reasons including why Pet Shop Boys are our favourite act
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GIG REVIEW: Bananarama at the Palladium

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 4 April 2024, tour runs through 7 September 2024

SETLIST: I Heard A Rumour; Last Thing On My Mind; Movin’ On; Trick Of The Night; Cruel Summer; Masquerade; Move In My Direction; Love, Truth and Honesty; I Want You Back; Looking For Someone; Atomic; Supernova; Only Your Love; Preacher Man; Really Saying Something; Nathan Jones; Forever Young; Lost In Music; Stuff Like That; Look On The Floor; Favourite; Love Don’t Live Here; Feel The Love; Robert De Niro’s Waiting; Love In The First Degree; You Spin Me Round (Like A Record); Venus

Bananarama’s imperial phase may have ended after we saw them on their 1st tour headlining Wembley Arena in 1989 but you would never know it from this raucous celebration of their 40-plus years in pop.

  • Read on for reasons including what the secret of Bananarama’s longevity is
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GIG REVIEW: Dagny at the 02 Academy Islington

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 3 April 2024, tour runs through 24 August 2024

SETLIST: Same Again (For Love); Backbeat; Ray-Bans; Please Look At Me; Used To You; Bye Bye Baby; Highs And Lows; Pretty; Come Over; Strawberry Dream; Love You Like That; Heartbreak In The Making; Brightsider; Somebody

‘You know I play Norway all the time?’ It’s Dagny’s 1st London gig this year and she understands people have come a long way to see her and so she wasn’t expecting someone to shout ‘Norway’ when she asks this north London audience where they’re from.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about Dagny’s new single
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THEATRE REVIEW: Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN?: Saturday 23 March 2024 (matinee), runs through 22 December 2024 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

This production faces stiff competition from Guys And Dolls (Bridge Theatre), Groundhog Day (Old Vic) and Sunset Boulevard (Savoy Theatre) for the Best Musical Theatre revival at this month’s Olivier Awards.

  • Read on for reasons including how performers including Gloria Onitiri and Melanie La Barrie are a treat
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