THEATRE REVIEW: Fallen Angels starring Janie Dee at the Menier Chocolate Factory

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? ****

WHEN? Saturday 22 November (matinee), opens 2 December and runs through 21 February 2026 RUNTIME 120 minutes (including interval)

This Noel Coward comedy about 2 married women admitting to premarital sex and contemplating adultery was 1st performed in London 100 years ago with the theatre censor initially recommending it shouldn’t be staged because the morals of the female leads ‘would cause too great a scandal’.

  • Read on for reasons including how this production is as frivolous, light and intoxicating as the champagne bubbles that its leading ladies savour so enthusiastically here
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FILM REVIEW: Wicked: For Good starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Jonathan Bailey

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? 21 November 2025 on its day of release RUNTIME: 137 minutes

Wicked (Part 1) was a 5-star hit because it built on the beloved Act 1 of a classic musical giving it the visual flair and world-building that only cinema can with a superstar cast.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the satisfying conclusion to a tale which speaks to our lives now set up beautifully by its magical 1st film
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AWARDS SHORTLIST: MONSTAS: Best Film of 2025

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 2025? Over the next month we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2025.

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THEATRE REVIEW: All My Sons starring Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste & Paapa Essiedu at the Wyndham’s Theatre

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? *****

WHEN? Saturday 15 November, opens 21 November and runs through 7 March 2026 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (no interval)

Cranston (from TV’s Breaking Bad) plays under-fire US businessman Joe Keller post World War 2 in this Arthur Miller classic and occasionally sports a red baseball cap that can’t help but bring to mind the current US President.

  • Read on for reasons including how this exploration of the dark side of the American dream is the best production of this classic we’ve ever seen
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SONG OF THE MONTH: Dopamine by Robyn (November 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK? ****

Robyn’s 1st new music for 7 years breaks no new ground but serves instead as a reminder of why we fell in love with her brand of electronica served with her trademark glacial vocals.

  • Read on for reasons including how we hope Dopamine triggers a new album release
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: LUX by Rosalía (November 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Tracklist: Sexo, Violencia y Llantas; Reliquia; Divinize; Porcelana; Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti; Berghain; La Perla; Mudo Nuevo; De Madruga; Dios Es Un Stalker; La Yugular; Sauvignon Blanc; La Rumba Del Perdon; Memoria; Magnolias

Music is the original international tongue and Rosalía’s use here of 13 languages appears to be an attempt to maximise its appeal.

  • Read on for reasons including how the need for repeat listening is required to appreciate the ambition, breadth of ideas and astonishing realisation of them here
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THEATRE REVIEW: Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? ****

WHEN? Friday 14 November, opens 1 December and runs through 25 October 2026 RUNTIME: 165 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

They say the devil has the best tunes and this new musical’s showstopper is reserved for its taxidermist villainess – Pretty Little Dead Things (listen below).

  • Read on for reasons including how it’s the strength of the songs that made us enjoy this show so much more than we expected
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AWARDS SHORTLIST: MONSTAS: Best New Musical of 2025

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 2025? Over the next 2 months we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2025.

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THEATRE REVIEW: The Weir starring Brendan Gleeson at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK? *****

WHEN? Tuesday 11 November, runs through 6 December 2025 RUNTIME: 100 minutes (no interval)

Conor McPherson (The Brightening Air, Old Vic) adapts The Hunger Games which opens this week in London and this won the Best New Play Olivier in 1999.

  • Read on for reasons including how Gleeson is spellbinding especially because he allows others to shine
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GIG REVIEW: ABC at Sheffield City Hall

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Andrew Mosley

WHEN?: Friday 7 November, tour runs through 10 July 2026

It’s bouncing off the bumps of Yorkshire’s country roads in Richard Gostling’s VW Beatle while When Smokey Sings blasts from the cheap radio. It’s cringing in the pub as Phil Robinson quotes lyrics from the band’s songs as chat-up lines to what he sees as potential girlfriends.

  • Read on for reasons including the joys of being a New Romantic in a tough northern industrial city
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