Author: mrmonstagigz

AWARDS SHORTLIST: MONSTAS: Best Venue of 2024

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

It’s been quite the year, it’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2024? Over the next 3 months we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2024.

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FILM REVIEW: Joker: Folie à Deux starring Joaquin Phoenix & ALBUM OF THE WEEK Harlequin by Lady Gaga

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *** (film)/ **** (album)

Harlequin tracklist: Good Morning; Get Happy; Oh, When The Saints; World On A String; If My Friends Could See Me Now; That’s Entertainment; Smile; The Joker; Folie à Deux; Gonna Build A Mountain; Close To You; Happy Mistake; That’s Life

Lady Gaga is definitely the best thing about this sequel to the 2019 original Joker film which won Oscars for Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Score.

  • Read on for reasons including how this film proves what a musical talent Lady Gaga is
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THEATRE REVIEW: Oedipus starring Mark Strong & Lesley Manville

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 5 October, runs through 4 January 2025 RUNTIME: 120 minutes without interval

Robert Icke won the 2016 best director Olivier for Oresteia and perhaps in a nod to that there is a digital clock counting down above the stage until past secrets explode into the present.

  • Read on for reasons including how we were hoping for a more laser-like focus on the central story
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THEATRE REVIEW: Waiting For Godot starring Ben Whishaw & Lucian Msamati at Theatre Royal Haymarket

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By Neil Durham

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

WHEN?: Saturday 28 September (matinee), runs through 21 December 2024 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for Godot and, apart from that, it’s possible to read any number of interpretations into what Samuel Beckett’s classic 1948/49 play is actually about.

  • Read on for reasons including how this production warmed our heart in a way we weren’t expecting
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AWARDS SHORTLIST: MONSTAS: Best Podcast of 2024

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

It’s been quite the year, it’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2024? Over the next 3 months we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2024.

  • Read on for the nominees for the monsta for Best Podcast of 2024 2023 winner AussieVision 2021 and 2022 winner Second Cherry
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GIG REVIEW: The The at the Alexandra Palace

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Friday 27 September, tour runs until 27 November 2024

Having never seen The The, nor been to the Ally Pally, this was a night of many a first, including attending a gig with a shoulder that had been broken the day before.

  • Read on for reasons including how Johnson knows exactly how to work an audience
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THEATRE REVIEW: Juno and the Paycock starring Mark Rylance at the Gielgud Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Tuesday 1 October, runs through 23 November 2024 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Rylance is the titular peacock – pronounced ‘paycock’ in an Irish accent – who plays workshy father-of-2 ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle, a man never short of tall tales of adventure.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the funniest comedy in London’s West End right now with a very memorable central performance
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THEATRE REVIEW: Giant starring John Lithgow & Romola Garai at the Royal Court Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 28 September, runs through 16 November 2024 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (with a 20-minute interval) Update: Transfers to Harold Pinter Theatre 26 April through 2 August 2025

Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony award winner John Lithgow plays author Roald Dahl here under fire for an antisemetic article he had written on the eve of the launch of his 1983 book The Witches.

  • Read on for reasons including how it’s the central performance of Lithgow’s which will both shock and enthral you
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Other Place after Antigone starring Emma D’Arcy at National Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Friday 27 September, opens Tuesday 8 October and runs through 9 November 2024 RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

You may be most familiar with actor Emma D’Arcy from their role as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in HBO’s impressive House Of The Dragon but with this modern day re-imagining of a Greek tragedy they have made 2 of the most interesting theatrical choices of 2024 so far.

  • Read on for reasons including how this was flawed but features an intelligent performance from 1 of this country’s brightest up-and-coming stars
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THEATRE REVIEW: Look Back In Anger starring Billy Howle, Ellora Torchia & Morfydd Clark at Almeida Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 25 September 2024, runs through 23 November 2024 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Middle class Alison irons while her educated husband Jimmy and their Welsh working class lodger Cliff read the Sunday papers as the weekend in their Midlands flat draws to a close.

  • Read on for reasons including how this remains a fascinating if difficult watch that is occasionally funny but will make you think about class and masculinity
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