THEATRE REVIEW: The Picture Of Dorian Grey starring Fionn Whitehead, Alfred Enoch, Joanna Lumley, Russell Tovey & Stephen Fry

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHERE?: Digital production 20 March 2021

HOW TO WATCH: Screening online 16-31 March 2021. UPDATE: Now available to 17 April 2021

You probably recognise Fionn Whitehead from Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning World War Two film Dunkirk but we last saw him onstage at the Old Vic in Queers.

  • Read on for reasons including how it is Enoch’s larger-than-life portrayal that you will remember most from this staged film
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SONG OF THE WEEK: 10 Years by Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið (week beginning 19/3/21)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

OUT: 13 March 2021

The question of how the unofficial winner of the 2020 Eurovision-that-never-was would follow up his beloved entry was on the lips of all ESC fans immediately after it was announced by Icelandic broadcaster RUV that Daði Freyr and his band Gagnamagnið would return to represent the country in 2021.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Freyr live in the UK in 2021
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THEATRE REVIEW: Treason – The Musical starring Bradley Jaden, Lucie Jones, Oliver Tompsett and Daniel Boys

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Cadogan Hall, central London

WHEN?: 13 March 2021 (matinee), final show 14 March 2021

Fireworks? Or bonfire bound? Treason – The Musical is still in development and this concert version is performed brilliantly and shows many sparks of potential.

  • Read on for reasons including how this starry West End cast contributed to the staged concert’s success
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6 best gigs of all time starring Suede, Shura, Bananarama, Divine Comedy & Lucy Spraggan

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

Covid-19 and the lockdowns that have followed in its wake have meant gig-going has been impossible for most but the arrival of vaccines mean our chances of live concerts this summer are increasing.

  • Read on for reasons including our thoughts on the best gigs of the last six years

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SONG OF THE MONTH: Little Tot by Dotter (March 2021)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

OUT: 27/2/21

Dotter, real name Johanna Maria Jansson, has written 2 of the most impressive singles of the last 12 months bringing to mind Florence and the Machine with Bulletproof and now Robyn.

  • Read on for reasons including why we need Dotter’s debut album – and now
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INTERVIEW: Lucy Spraggan on her new album Choices

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WHEN?: Thursday 4 March 2021

It’s the afternoon before Lucy Spraggan finds out whether her new album will fulfil its midweek chart position of number 5 and she’s understandably nervous.

  • Read on for reasons including what Spraggan thinks of her fellow X Factor graduate Ella Henderson’s top 30 hit Let’s Go Home Together
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Color Purple starring T’Shan Williams, Carly Mercedes Dyer & Ako Mitchell

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHERE?: Curve Leicester RUNTIME: 150 minutes (10-minute interval)

WHEN?: 2/3/21 runs to 7/3/21 available digitally

Update: now extended to 16/3/21

You won’t find a review of this musical on this site until now but 1 of Team monstagigz did see Cynthia Erivo’s Tony Award-winning role as Celie on Broadway in a production that had originated at south London’s Menier Chocolate Factory.

  • Read on for reasons including how this Curve Leicester theatre production came to be availably digitally

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PREDICTIONS: Melodifestivalen 2021 finalen starring Dotter, Charlotte Perrelli, Danny Saucedo & Eric Saade

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WHEN?: Saturday 13 March 2021

WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm

HOW TO WATCH?: SVTPlay

We’ve enjoyed this Melodifestivalen more than we have for many years which may in part be due to the extra time lockdown has afforded us to obsess about it.

  • Read on for reasons including how we think this year’s finalists would fare at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest

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THEATRE REVIEW: Gatsby – a musical starring Jodie Steele, Ross William Wild, Emma Williams & Blake Patrick Anderson

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: Cadogan Hall, central London

RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 10-minute interval)

WHEN?: 28/2/21

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 book by F.Scott Fitzgerald about the insubstantiality of the American Dream that has been made into a film four times starring most recently both Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio in the titular role.

  • Read on for reasons including how this musical reimagines the story through the eyes of the object of Gatsby’s affection
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SONG OF THE WEEK: Still Young by Charlotte Perrelli (week beginning 2/3/2021)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

OUT: now

Team monstagigz is celebrating a birthday today and so it seems fitting that our newly-crowned song of the week is by this 2021 Melodifestivalen finalist who was also crucially the last Eurovision winner of the 20th Century.

  • Read on for reasons including to watch La Perrelli’s 2021 Melodifestivalen performance
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