THEATRE REVIEW

THEATRE REVIEW: Death of England: Delroy starring Michael Balogun at the National Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE?: National Theatre RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

WHEN: 21/10/20, opens 5/11/20, runs to 28/11/20 STOP PRESS: The 2nd lockdown means the last performance will now be 4/11/20 Watch this production for free on YouTube from 27/11/20 for 24 hours from 7pm

It’s a big week for UK theatre with the rescheduled Olivier Awards on Sunday and tonight (Wednesday 21 October) the National Theatre re-opened for the 1st time since lockdown in March.

  • Read on for reasons including what National Theatre director Rufus Norris took to the stage to say
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THEATRE REVIEW: SIX reunion with Aimie Atkinson

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: Oval Space RUNTIME: 60 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 10/10/20 (late show)

SIX is well-suited to being a socially distanced show because it is 75 minutes long without interval and its stars perform as a six-strong girl group with little interplay between each other.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see 3 of this cast in SIX from November

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THEATRE REVIEW: Night Cap with T’Shan Williams and Paul Taylor-Mills

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: The Theatre Cafe RUNTIME: 25 minutes

WHEN?: Available 8/10/20 from 8pm until 15/10/20

SETLIST: He’s No Good (The Life),  Heartless (Prince Of Egypt), So Much Better (Legally Blonde)

Williams stars this weekend in Hair The Musical: An Outdoor Concert in Norwich and, if you can’t catch up with her there,  she takes part in the Theatre Cafe’s Night Cap series.

  • Read on for reasons including how to buy a ticket for this Night Cap event

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THEATRE REVIEW: The Last Five Years starring Oli Higginson and Molly Lynch at Southwark Playhouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Southwark Playhouse RUNTIME: 90 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 6/10/20 (matinee), runs to 14/11/20 UPDATE: This production streams here from 26 – 29/11/20 NEW UPDATE: This production transfers into the West End 17 September 2021 through 13 October 2021 Tickets

This production opened in March shortly before lockdown and has returned to this venue which has added Perspex screens between groups in the audience.

  • Read on for reasons including to watch two clips of songs from the show

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THEATRE REVIEW: Talking Heads starring Maxine Peake and Tamsin Greig at Bridge Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

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

WHERE?: Bridge Theatre

WHEN?: 1/10/20, season runs to 24/10/20. (Maxine Peake transfers with Imelda Staunton to Sheffield Theatres 9-11/11/20 and Leeds Playhouse 12-14/11/20)

Miss Fozzard is the funniest of the 2nd run of Talking Heads premiered on BBC1 in 1998 and here Peake makes the most of every line.

  • Read on for reasons including how Greig’s character is another of Bennett’s thwarted women

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GIG REVIEW: Cassidy Janson Tonight at the London Coliseum

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: London Coliseum

WHEN?: 2/10/20

SETLIST: I Feel The Earth Move; Tight Connection To My Heart; Here, There and Everywhere; Will You Love Me Tomorrow?; When A Woman; It’s Too Late; So Far Away; That’s The Way It Is; I’ll Never Love Again; Rain and Fire; You’ve Got A Friend; Beautiful; Natural Woman

Janson is shortlisted as Best Actress in a supporting role in a musical in the rescheduled Olivier Awards this month for her role as Anne Hathaway in Max Martin’s & Juliet.

  • Read on for reasons including the reasons behind some of the song choices in tonight’s set including 1 by Lady Gaga

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THEATRE REVIEW: Talking Heads starring Imelda Staunton and Lucian Msamati at the Bridge Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Bridge Theatre

WHEN?: 1/10/20 (matinee), season runs to 31/10/20 (Imelda Staunton transfers with Maxine Peake to Sheffield Theatres 9-11/11 and Leeds Playhouse 12-14)

The indomitable Patricia Routledge played Irene Ruddock in the original A Lady Of Letters and Staunton’s is quieter but no less successful. 

  • Read on for reasons including how this role underlines Staunton’s versatility

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LAST NIGHT: THEATRE REVIEW: Sleepless: A Musical Romance starring Jay McGuiness and Kimberley Walsh at the Troubadour, Wembley Park Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Troubadour, Wembley Park Theatre

WHEN?: 27/9/20 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including 20-minute interval)

Based on the 1993 film written and directed by Nora Ephron, Sleepless: A Musical Romance tells the story of architect Sam mourning the loss of his wife Maggie who is persuaded by his young son Jonah to tell a Christmas Eve radio show how much he misses her.

  • Read on for reasons including how McGuiness and Walsh shine in their second big musical opposite each other

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THEATRE REVIEW: Before After starring Rosalie Craig and Hadley Fraser at the Southwark Playhouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: Southwark Playhouse

WHEN?: 26/9 (matinee) closes 26/9/20

Hadley Fraser and Rosalie Craig are a real-life husband and wife and their easy chemistry is the best thing about this story of a relationship told both before and after a life-changing event.

  • Read on for reasons including how to watch productions from this venue even while it is closed for performances

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THEATRE REVIEW: Talking Heads starring Monica Dolan and Lesley Manville at the Bridge Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHERE?: Bridge Theatre RUNTIME: 75 minutes (no interval)

WHEN?: 12/9 (matinee) runs to 22/9, season runs to 31/10/10

We’re inside a theatre and watching a production for the first time in 182 days and, although we’re wearing a mask, it’s exhilarating to be enjoying such a shared experience again albeit socially distanced in an audience of 250 where there would normally have been 900.

  • Read on for reasons including why a COVID-19 consolation is that we have two new Talking Heads and this season

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