Author: mrmonstagigz

PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for September 2019 starring Frances Barber in MUSIK

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Frances Barber brings MUSIK to London and Pet Shop Boys play Hyde Park

Billie Trix was the most compelling character from Pet Shop Boys musical Closer To Heaven and author Jonathan Harvey has brought the star played by Frances Barber back for an hour-long show with new songs by the duo. For Every Moment was our Song Of The Month for August. An Edinburgh Festival hit, MUSIK takes its bow at the Leicester Square Theatre 3-7/9. Tickets Pet Shop Boys also play Radio 2 Live In Hyde Park 15/9 Tickets

  • Read on for reasons including Reece Shearsmith, Jay McGuiness, Kimberley Walsh and Big

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THEATRE REVIEW: Hansard starring Alex Jennings & Lindsay Duncan at the National Theatre

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WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHERE? National Theatre (Lyttelton) RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

WHEN? 26/8, opens 29/8 and runs to 25/11/19

Stars Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan boast 5 Olivier Awards between them and we really couldn’t be in safer hands.

  • Read on for reasons including how this new play is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny

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INTERVIEW: Ms Humdrum meets Tuba Libres at Victorious Festival

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By Carron Stacey

WHERE?: Southsea Common (press ticket)

WHEN?: 23-25/8/19

Ms Humdrum at monstagigz had the pleasure of meeting Linden McKenzie from Tuba Libres at Victorious Festival at the weekend.

  • Read on for reasons including A Humdrum Mum’s view on the audio/visual spectacle

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

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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

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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

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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

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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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