WORTH A LOOK?: **1/2
WHERE: Young Vic (The Maria)
WHEN: runs to 17/10
The most remarkable thing about this revival is the involving way it is staged. At first we see the two former lovers’ faces on screens before us as they sit on a platform above us with their backs to the audience, acting out what we see on screen.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
OUT: 9/10
Tracklist: Intro; Grey Tickles, Black Pressure; Snug Slacks; Guess How I Know; You and Him; Down Here; Voodoo Doll; Global Warming; Magma Arrives; Black Blizzard; Disappointing; No More Tangles; Geraldine; Outro.
John Grant’s third album is not out until Friday but we’ve had a sneak preview and can give you the lowdown here.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Donmar Warehouse
WHEN: 5/10, press night 7/10 runs to 5/12
Gay suicides in US universities are a sensitive subject and one that receives no easy answers or solutions despite a great deal of exploration from all angles here.
By Carron Stacey
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: The Brook, Southampton
WHEN: 2/10
I knew he was good live (I saw him at Portsmouth’s Victorious Festival) and I knew the likely set list (I’ve done my research). Yet still Hooky managed to blow my mind with his buzzing set that leaves me, two days later, almost in shellshock. (See what I did there?)
WHERE: BFI
WHEN: 3/10
‘You might think that; I couldn’t possibly comment.’ It’s the phrase common to both the original BBC show and the US remake of House of Cards. Beau Willimon, creator and show runner of the US version, is explaining during the BAFTA – BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series that it’s included in the reboot as homage to its source material.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
WHEN: 2/10 runs to 18/10
Looking for something truthful, utterly of the West End yet edgy, heartfelt and celebratory? Look no further than Ushers – the front of house musical.
You may have read recently about plans for a tour by a hologram of Whitney Houston, well here the latest 3D technology and digital media makes it appear as if Dusty Springfield is actually singing before us. The hologram performs three songs and a giant screen means archive footage is also used throughout the production to ensure the image of the actual 60s singing sensation is rarely out of our thoughts.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN: Screening nationwide from 2/10
#BestGameOfThronesEpisodeEver? Obvs – yet more beautifully shot and with greater poetry.
New Order – Music Complete *****
Disclosure – Caracal ***
CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye ***
There are three new albums out this week vying to top Friday’s albums chart and, although our money would definitely be on electronic duo Disclosure, New Order’s Music Complete is the welcome surprise – a fantastic return to form.
Leslie Bricusse is an 84-year-old British composer, lyricist and playwright with a songbook bursting with tunes that you’ll remember predominantly from musicals or films but not necessarily know he penned. Running at the St James Theatre until 17/10 (we saw the 30/9 matinee), this show features a cast of five singing some of his best-loved songs as characters in a series of scenes without a great deal of dialogue but some storyline. There’s much emotion on show and Goldfinger could be incongruous but is played for laughs in a segment paying tribute to this and his other Bond work. Writing’s On The Wall? Nowhere close.
