Author: mrmonstagigz

INVESTIGATION: Should you join your favourite theatre as a member? (2020 update, part one)

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The Old Vic was the second winner of our Best Theatre Venue monsta last year and in part two are details of what you can expect from patron membership which for us meant sharing a rehearsal room with actors including Fleabag‘s Andrew Scott (pictured above).

  • Read on to find out what membership of the Almeida, ATG, Bridge Theatre, British Film Institute, Delfont Mackintosh, Donmar Warehouse and Globe Theatre gets you

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GIG REVIEW: Jordan Luke Gage via Leave A Light On

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Livestreaming via Leave A Light On courtesy the Theatre Cafe

WHEN: 31/3/20

We first saw Gage in Bat Out Of Hell  and he was starring as Romeo in & Juliet  before the lockdown and so we leapt at the chance to catch him in a more intimate gig.

  • Read on for reasons including what Gage’s dream role in a musical would be

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PREDICTIONS: Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Semi 1 starring Little Big, The Mamas and Lesley Roy

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WHEN?: 12/5/2020 (semi 1 now cancelled, although the BBC is planning a Eurovision moment for the night of what would have been the final, 16/5/20)

WHERE?: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam

Coronavirus has caused the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in its 65-year history but we’re not letting it spoil our fun and, because we know the 41 songs which would have participated, we’re predicting who would’ve made the final here from Semi 1.

  • Who would’ve been through and who would’ve been on the 1st plane out of Rotterdam? Read on for our semi 1 predictions 

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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t/couldn’t wait for April 2020 starring Dua Lipa

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Dua Lipa releases Future Nostalgia LP

Lipa makes the leap from theatres to arenas with the release of this second LP out 3/4/20 although it was actually brought forward a week after it leaked. Her May gigs at London’s O2 have been rescheduled. Tickets The album is very well named as the 11-song collection weaves 80s hooks into radio-friendly dance floor classics. The sound of a coronavirus-beating summer perhaps? Current single Physical is available to watch below.

  • Read on for reasons including Lady Gaga, Rumer, Jennifer Saunders, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Alphabeat

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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Manchester Calling by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott (March 2020)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

OUT: now

TRACKLIST: The Only Exercise I Get Is You; If You Could See Your Faults; Somebody’s Superhero; Big News in a Little World; You and Me (Were Meant To Be Together); The Outskirts Of The Dancefloor; So Happy; A Good Day Is Hard To Find; Fat Of The Land; All Of My Friends; The Prison; House Party 2; He’s Got What I Had; New York Ivy; MCR Calling; My Legal High

Over 30 years ago on BBC Radio One’s much-missed Round Table single review show star Cyndi Lauper misheard the lyric of The Beautiful South’s brilliant Song For Whoever as: ‘I love you from the bottom of my pants OK.’

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Heaton and Abbott on tour this Autumn (coronavirus permitting)

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THEATRE REVIEW: City Of Angels starring Vanessa Williams, Theo James, Hadley Fraser, Rosalie Craig, Rebecca Trehearn and Nicola Roberts at the Garrick Theatre

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

WHERE? Garrick Theatre RUNTIME: 160 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 14/3, press night 24/3 booking to 5/9/20

The Donmar revival of this musical homage to the film noir genre of motion pictures that rose to prominence in the 1940s was one of the reasons the authors of this blog started writing monstagigz.

  • Read on for reasons including details of the West End debuts of Williams, Jones and Roberts

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THEATRE REVIEW: Shoe Lady starring Katherine Parkinson at the Royal Court

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WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Downstairs) RUNTIME: 65 minutes (no interval)

WHEN? 14/2 (matinee), runs to 21/3/20

Author E V Crowe is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme ‘super group’ and here tells the story of working mother Viv who loses a shoe on her way to work as an estate agent as her life begins to unravel.

  • Read on for reasons including how The IT Crowd‘s Parkinson needs to be at her most engaging here

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THEATRE REVIEW: Waiter There’s A Murder In My Soup at Studio 5ive, the Troubadour, Wembley Park Theatre

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Studio 5ive, the Troubadour, Wembley Park Theatre RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including three breaks for three courses)

WHEN? 8/3, booking to 29/3/20

Immersive theatre is all the rage and here award-winning Fat Rascal Theatre serve up three courses around a murder mystery dining experience.

  • Read on for reasons including how Robyn Grant is a camp comedy star in the making 

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