WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Barbican Theatre
WHEN: 30/6, runs to 18/8
Simon Russell Beale is one of the finest actors of his generation and therefore it’s curious that he should choose to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company after 20 years in something quite so overcooked.
27/7 will mark the 50th anniversary of the repeal of the law against homosexuality and BBC4 has commissioned the filming of eight monologues curated by Mark Gatiss and featuring authors including Jackie Clune performed by stars such as Ben Whishaw (pictured above), Russell Tovey and Alan Cumming. UPDATE: 4/7: No sign of Whishaw or Cumming in the Old Vic casting announced today but it does include Tovey, Gemma Whelan, Sarah Crowe, Ian Gelder, Mark Bonnar & Kadiff Kirwan. Tickets
BY: Carron Stacey
WHERE: Wedgwood Rooms, Portsmouth
WHEN: 24/6
Having seen this Cure tribute band at the Butlins Shiiine On Weekend last year, I decided to give them another go in my home town.
Melodrama is our favourite album of the year so far and made number 5 in the UK charts this week as well as topping them in the US. Liability broke our hearts and Perfect Places proved she’s the fire in her belly to be one of pop’s most interesting stars for a long time yet. She played her fans at the Other Stage a video of Kate Bush’s epic Running Up That Hill on Friday immediately before she appeared. And that probably tells you all you need to know about her ambition. BBC coverage
Second album Melodrama out on Friday is our favourite of 2017 so far. Writer In The Dark is pure Kate Bush, Perfect Places where we’d love Robyn to go and the lyrics are as brimful of character (she’s 19 and she’s on fire) as the likes of Green Light and Supercut are dancefloor friendly.
WORTH A LOOK: *****
WHERE: Almeida Theatre
WHEN: 19/6, press night 27/6, runs to 5/8
Star Bertie Carvel’s father John worked on the Guardian for 36 years before retiring in 2009. UPDATE 17/7: INK transfers to the Duke Of York’s Theatre from 9/9. TICKETS
WORTH A LOOK: *****
WHERE: Wyndham’s Theatre
WHEN: 17/6, press night 27/6, runs to 9/9
SETLIST: I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone; When A Woman Loves A Man; Crazy He Calls Me; Gimme A Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer); Baby Doll; God Bless The Child; Foolin’ Myself; Somebody’s On My Mind; Easy Livin’; Strange Fruit; Blues Break; T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do; Don’t Explain; What A Little Moonlight Can Do; Deep Song
It’s March 1959 and Billie Holiday is singing in South Philadelphia at the titular run-down bar in one of her last performances before her death just four months later.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Royal Albert Hall
WHEN: 16/6
SETLIST: Queen Of Swords; Seasons Of Love; Don’t Rain On My Parade; Everybody Knows; Cake/Black Dog; I’m Not That Girl; Wind Beneath My Wings; Defying Gravity; I Do; Bridge Over Troubled Water; Rock Steady; No Day But Today; Dear Prudence/Do You Want To Build A Snowman?; For Good; Let It Go; I See You; Ev’ry Time I Say Goodbye
We’ve been working away in Liverpool and it’s taken us four hours to travel several hundred miles to make it here with a rucksack shortly after curtain up.
We awarded 12 monstas for the best pop, theatre, TV and film of 2016 in December – and here we look at the cream of 2017 so far and what’s to come. Funny Girl and Groundhog Day are previous winners in this category.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 9/6, runs to 17/6
‘Gig theatre’ is the term used to describe this 70-minute show currently running on the same stage as John Boyega’s Woyzeck just half an hour after its curtain down.
