By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: Saturday 15 February 2025 7pm UK time
WHERE?: ABB Arena, Västerås
Established male MF stars have won the 1st 2 Melodifestivalen heats and this week we believe it’s the turn of newcomer Greczula to shine.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Monday 10 February, opens 18 February and runs through 10 May 2025 RUNTIME: 160 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)
Bailey is perhaps best known as Fiyero in film Wicked, nominated for 10 Oscars on 2 March, although we have previously reviewed him in Shakespeare (King Lear, Chichester Festival Theatre) but never as the leading man.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Saturday 8 February, opens 13 February and runs through 22 March 2025 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
Bush Emerging Writers’ Group alumni Coral Wylie (pictured above right) writes and stars as 19-year-old Pip who identifies as non-binary, has dropped out of education and feels misunderstood by their parents.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Saturday 8 February (matinee), opens 13 February and runs through 26 April 2025 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)
We’re at dinner with friends the night before we see this and they mention they caught it on its 1st preview.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2 RUNTIME: 90 minutes
Culkin won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar in the same category while his co-star Jesse Eisenberg who wrote and directed this quiet gem of a movie receives a similar Best Original Screenplay nod.
By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: Saturday 8 February 2025 7pm UK time
WHERE?: Scandinavium, Gothenburg
Melodifestivalen showed its strength in depth last week with a 1st heat strong on musical diversity and there is much that is different to again appreciate here in this 2nd outing.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: **** RUNTIME: 90 minutes (without interval)
WHEN?: Saturday 1 February (matinee), runs through 22 February 2025 Update: now extended through 1 March 2025
It’s not difficult to imagine what might have attracted former child star Asa Butterfield, now best known for Netflix’s Sex Education, to make his stage debut in this tale of the actor who was second choice to Daniel Radcliffe (Endgame, Old Vic) to play Harry Potter (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Palace Theatre).
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
The controversial exclusion of One Morning Left’s hard rock novelty song Puppy from Finland’s Eurovision selection show UMK on 8 February leaves this sticky and sexually explicit joy the clear favourite to triumph.
By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: Saturday 1 February 2025 7pm UK time
WHERE?: Coop Norrbotten Arena, Luleå
There’s lots of variety in the 60-second snippets we’ve heard in this opening of 5 heats with the S Club-ish closing number by Linnea Henriksson being our pick of the bunch so far.
Bailey (film Wicked and COCK, Ambassadors) stars in this Shakespeare directed by Nicholas Hytner (Giant, Royal Court and transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre) at the Bridge Theatre. Runs 10 February through 10 May 2025 Tickets Our review
