Author: mrmonstagigz

THEATRE REVIEW: Torch Song starring Matthew Needham and Dino Fetscher at the Turbine Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Turbine Theatre RUNTIME: 150 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 25/8, opens 6/9 and runs to 13/10/19

Welcome to London’s newest theatre at a venue close to Battersea Power Station which we last visited in the late 90s for a pop gig starring Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow and All Saints.

  • Read on for reasons including what Su Pollard and Years and Years actor Maxim Baldry were doing here

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GIG REVIEW: Victorious Festival: New Order, The Zutons, The Hives, Dub Pistols and Republica

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Carron Stacey

WHERE?: Southsea Common (press ticket)

WHEN?: 23 – 25/8/19

Southsea seafront’s festival is in its seventh year and, if the weather is right, it’s unbeatable. Watching bands on the three stages, sweltering in the heat, ships sailing by… But if it rains, like last year, it’s still perfect, but different, and you get to boast for the next year, “I stayed through the rain, I made it”.

  • Read on for my Humdrum review of the sometimes quieter, less mainstream, side of this Victorious weekend 

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THEATRE REVIEW: Fleabag starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the Wyndhams Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE? Noel Coward Theatre RUNTIME: 65 minutes (no interval)

WHEN? 20/8, opens 28/8 and runs to 14/9/19

No Time To Die is revealed as the title of the new Bond film Waller-Bridge co-wrote moments before she takes to the West End stage to kill off the character with which she made her name.

  • Read on for reasons including how this 1st preview earned its standing ovation

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THEATRE REVIEW: Les Miserables: The Staged Concert starring Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Carrie Hope Fletcher & Matt Lucas

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Gielgud Theatre RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 17/8 and runs to 30/11/19

STOP PRESS: This production returns at the Sondheim Theatre for 6 weeks from 5/12/20 Tickets

This year’s BBC adaptation of Les Miserables was song-free and here that idea is very much reversed with the focus on the score of the behemoth musical with the labyrinthine plot far less well explained.

  • Read on for reasons including which songs in the score work especially well

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SONG OF THE MONTH: For Every Moment By Frances Barber and Pet Shop Boys (August 2019)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

67584815_10157178941856285_4987440848749723648_nWORTH A LOOK?: *****

OUT: now

This is the stand-out tune from the 6-song cabaret MUSIK starring character Billie Trix played by Frances Barber from 2001 Pet Shop Boys musical Closer To Heaven.

  • Read on for reasons including where to catch MUSIK in London in September

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THEATRE REVIEW: Appropriate starring Monica Dolan, Steven Mackintosh & Edward Hogg at the Donmar

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE? Donmar Warehouse RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 16/8, opens 22/8 and runs to 5/10/19

The stage is so cluttered that at a suitably dramatic moment lead Monica Dolan turns on her heels, loses her balance, falls off the stage and ends up in an unsuspecting audience member’s lap.

  • Read on for reasons including what Dolan did after winning the Best Supporting Actress Olivier

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THEATRE REVIEW: The Doctor starring Juliet Stevenson at the Almeida

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE? Almeida Theatre RUNTIME: 170 minutes (with 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 12/8, opens 20/8 and runs to 28/9/19

STOP PRESS: The Doctor transfers to the Duke Of Yorks in the West End from April 2020 Tickets

Welcome to writer/director Robert Icke’s final production as Associate Director at this venue in a remarkable run which has seen 3 West End transfers at 5 attempts.

  • Read on for reasons including how Stevenson sits on the end of the stage with her legs hanging immediately in front of us

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THEATRE REVIEW: Blues In The Night starring Sharon D. Clarke at the Kiln Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE? Kiln Theatre RUNTIME: 120 minutes (including 20-minute interval)

WHEN? 3/8, runs to 7/9/19

It’s our 1st visit to north London’s refurbished Kiln Theatre and we’re in the centre of the front row to see Olivier Award-winning Sharon D. Clarke’s (pictured above) turn in this musical set in a rundown Chicago hotel in 1938 and concentrating on the lives of 3 women.

  • Read on for reasons including why it is the live music and impressive singing you’ll remember here

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AWARDS MONSTAS: Our Best New Musical of 2019 so far

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

We awarded 14 monstas for the best pop, theatre, TV and film of 2018 in December – and here we look at the cream of 2019 so far and what’s to come. Eugenius, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Groundhog Day are previous winners in this category.

  • Read on for our top 5 best new musicals of 2019 so far and our hopes for the next half year

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GIG REVIEW: Eurythmics Songbook starring Dave Stewart, Nile Rodgers, Beverley Knight & Emeli Sande

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

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

WHERE? Royal Festival Hall

WHEN? 9/8/19

SETLIST: Intro: Take Me To Your Heart/Never Gonna Cry Again/The Walk/The City Never Sleeps; Love Is A Stranger; I Love You Like A Ball And Chain; I Need A Man; You Have Placed A Chill; I Saved The World Today; Who’s That Girl?; There Must Be An Angel; Miracle Of Love; When Tomorrow Comes; Baby’s Gonna Cry; Thorn In My Side; Here Comes The Rain Again; When The Day Goes Down; I’ve Got A Life; It’s Alright; Missionary Man; Would I Lie To You?; Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves; Sweet Dreams

We’re sitting in the front row next to a fan wearing a Eurythmics tour T-shirt from 1989 and we think the only time we ever saw the band live was probably around then at the old Wembley Arena.

  • Read on for reasons including why the Eurythmics never recorded later than 7.30pm

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