WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
OUT: now
Covid-19 may have closed theatres in March but technology means social distancing can still be observed if audiobooks are recorded.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Other Palace RUNTIME: 93 minutes
WHEN? shown 31/5/20
Atkinson was starring as the titular Pretty Woman (pictured above) in what was arguably her first West End leading lady role when Covid-19 forced curtain down at the Piccadilly Theatre.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHERE? Garrick Theatre RUNTIME: 160 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 14/3, press night 24/3 booking to 5/9/20
The Donmar revival of this musical homage to the film noir genre of motion pictures that rose to prominence in the 1940s was one of the reasons the authors of this blog started writing monstagigz.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE? Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Downstairs) RUNTIME: 65 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 14/2 (matinee), runs to 21/3/20
Author E V Crowe is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme ‘super group’ and here tells the story of working mother Viv who loses a shoe on her way to work as an estate agent as her life begins to unravel.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Studio 5ive, the Troubadour, Wembley Park Theatre RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including three breaks for three courses)
WHEN? 8/3, booking to 29/3/20
Immersive theatre is all the rage and here award-winning Fat Rascal Theatre serve up three courses around a murder mystery dining experience.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE? Piccadilly Theatre RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 17/2, press night 1/3 booking to 2/1/21
Perhaps the biggest surprises here are that it’s taken quite so long for the 1990 film romcom to reach the stage and that its music and lyrics would be co-written by middle-of-the-road rocker Bryan Adams.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Bridge Theatre RUNTIME: 60 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 14/2, press night 19/2 runs to 14/3/20
Colin Morgan plays three very different characters in this Caryl Churchill revival, two of whom are clones of the other.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Other Palace RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 12/2, press night 18/2 runs to 3/5/20
Would you pop a pill to Be More Chill?
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE? Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre RUNTIME: 100 minutes (no interval)
WHEN? 1/2, press night 6/2 runs to 7/3/20
‘I fell off the stage for the first time – this is really difficult,’ reflects Spall during his standing ovation at the climax of this 2nd preview of an eventful and demanding 100-minute monologue.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Old Vic RUNTIME: 130 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 28/1/20, press night 5/2, runs to 28/3/20
Samuel Beckett’s bleak Endgame is preceded here by the author’s lighter short Rough For Theatre II in an attempt to sugar the pill for fans of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe (pictured above right) who appears here.
