By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: 7pm UK time Saturday 25 February 2023
WHERE?: Malmö Arena, Malmö WHERE DO I WATCH?: SVT Play
Last year Loreen’s 2012 Eurovision winner Euphoria lost its crown as the Contest’s best-loved song in the ESC250 and perhaps it’s fitting then that the queen returns to Melodifestivalen in 2023 with a new song.
Smith (Funny Girl, Savoy) returns to the stage for the 1st time since Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Palladium and this beloved Willy Russell one-woman comedy about a woman who finds love on holiday abroad is the perfect choice. Runs 17 February through 3 June at the Duke Of York’s. Tickets 1st preview review
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
Our sister sees a lot of West End musicals and so we take her to see this production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and she later writes on Facebook: ‘I think it was possibly the best show I have ever seen.’
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHEN?: 20 January through to 1 April 2023 RUNTIME: 95 minutes (no interval)
Quietude – what if you could only speak 140 words a day?
By Neil Durham
WHEN?: 7pm UK time 11 February 2023
WHERE?: Næstved Arena in Næstved HOW DO I WATCH?: DR
Denmark hasn’t made a Eurovision final since 2019 and recent Dansk Melodi Grand Prixs have been slated for their blandness although this is a criticism that would be difficult to justify in 2023 given these fine and varied 8 songs.
By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: 7pm UK time Saturday 18 February 2023
WHERE?: Sparbanken Lidköping Arena, Lidköping WHERE DO I WATCH?: SVT Play
Last year our favourite MF entry was a songwriter performing her own tune (Cazzi Opeia’s I Can’t Get Enough) and this heat sees 2 women renowned for their work for others step up to the mike to perform their own work.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt’s 1st new music in 24 years is very reminiscent of the dark electronic dance music with which they had their biggest hits in the 90s.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: **** UPDATE: The Unfriend returns to the West End at the Wyndham’s Theatre from 16 December 2023 Tickets
WHEN?: 15 January through to 16 April 2023 RUNTIME: 115 minutes (including a 15-minute interval)
One of the joys of Steven Moffat’s (BBC 1’s Inside Man) first stage comedy is its no-nonsense precision.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Saturday 14 January, runs through 28 January 2023 RUNNING TIME: 180 minutes (with 20-minute interval)
This production of As You Like It by director Josie Rourke is her 1st theatre work for more than 4 years since Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and it is absolutely bursting with ideas
By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: 7pm UK time Saturday 11 February 2023
WHERE?: Saab Arena, Linköping WHERE DO I WATCH?: SVT Play
Wiktoria (pictured) returns to MF after 4 years away with her 4th entry with 4th being her best ever finish with her debut entry Save Me in 2016.
