THEATRE REVIEW: Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World at Theatre Royal Stratford East

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 18 June (matinee), running to 17 July 2022 RUNTIME: 85 minutes (no interval) UPDATE: Transfers to the Other Palace Theatre 20 July through 8 September 2024 Tickets

11-year-old schoolgirl Jade gets lost in a museum on a school trip and stumbles across a secret Gallery of Greatness where she encounters the titular Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World.

  • Read on for reasons including how songwriter Miranda Cooper has co-written number 1s for Sugababes and Girls Aloud
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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for July 2022 starring Sister Act and Beverley Knight

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  1. Sister Act starring Beverley Knight and Jennifer Saunders at the Eventim Apollo

Knight (The Drifters Girl, Garrick Theatre) steps in for original star Whoopi Goldberg and leads a stellar cast including the hilarious Jennifer Saunders (Blithe Spirit, Harold Pinter Theatre), amazing Keala Settle (& Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre) and fabulous Lizzie Bea (Hairspray, The Coliseum). This revival of the musical based on the Goldberg-starring film runs at the Eventim Apollo 19 July through 28 August 2022. Tickets

  • Read on for reasons including 101 Dalmatians, Lady Gaga, Duran Duran and Tears For Fears live
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SONG OF THE WEEK: She Still Leads Me On by Suede (week beginning 11 June 2022)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We’ve enjoyed but not especially loved the 3 albums this beloved band have made since their reformation in 2013 but think this single is their best they’ve released since their 90s imperial phase.

  • Read on for reasons including everything we know about new album Autofiction
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GIG REVIEW: Macy Gray, Kim Wilde, Tia Kofi X Little Boots, Five Star and Sugababes at Mighty Hoopla

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 4 June 2022

We’ll be at Glastonbury Festival in 3 weeks’ time and we wouldn’t be surprised if Macy Gray pitches up on the strength of this 4pm main stage slot during which she absolutely achieves the goal of getting this 25,000-strong capacity party started.

  • Read on for reasons including Kim Wilde, Tia Kofi X Little Boots and Five Star
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GIG REVIEW: Lorde at Camden Roundhouse

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 2 June 2022, tour runs to 18 March 2023

SETLIST: Leader Of A New Regime; Homemade Dynamite; Buzzcut Season; Stoned At The Nail Salon; Fallen Fruit; The Path; California; Ribs; Hard Feelings; Dominoes; Loveless; Liability; Secrets From A Girl; Mood Ring; Sober; Supercut; Perfect Places; Solar Power; Green Light; Oceanic Feeling; Helen Of Troy; Royals; Team

There is a moment during the piano-led ballad Liability when the music goes quiet three-quarters of the way through, a fan shouts ‘We love you’, Lorde looks genuinelly moved and the crowd responds with a crescendo of applause.

  • Read on for reasons including how this gig was the best this reviewer has seen in a long, long time
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SONG OF THE WEEK: I Specialise In Love by Tia Kofi X Little Boots (week beginning 2 June 2022)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Little Boots has released what is probably already our favourite album of the year so far and here teams up once again with a drag queen who is making a name for herself thanks to some brilliant pop collaborations.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Tia Kofi X Little Boots in London on Saturday
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GIG REVIEW: ABBA Voyage at ABBA Arena

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By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, booking until 28 May 2023

SETLIST: The Visitors; Hole In Your Soul; SOS; Knowing Me, Knowing You; Chiquitita; Fernando; Mamma Mia; Does Your Mother Know?; Eagle; Lay All Your Love On Me; Summer Night City; Gimme Gimme Gimme; Voulez Vouz; When All’s Said And Done; Don’t Shut Me Down; I Still Have Faith In You; Waterloo; Dancing Queen; Thank You For The Music; The Winner Takes It All

Can 2 seemingly opposed theories co-exist? Could this celebration of live music be its biggest threat?

  • Read on for reasons including how brilliantly rendered this re-imagination of 1 of the world’s most joyous and beloved bands is
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GIG REVIEW: Heaven 17 at Concorde 2, Brighton

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, tour runs to 6 October 2022

My admissions pre-review: I’m a sort of fair weather Heaven 17 fan plus akin to Princess Di’s statement that there were three people in her marriage, there are three people in my relationship. Me, Mr Humdrum and Martyn Ware.

  • Read on for reasons including why you should check out the Electronically Yours podcast
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Glass Menagerie starring Amy Adams at Duke Of York’s Theatre

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By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, opens 31 May and runs to 27 August 2022 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (including 20-minute interval)

We’re in a lengthy queue for the toilets at this venue in the interval when we overhear someone asking: ‘Do you think Amy Adams is hoarse?’

  • Read on for reasons including how both Paul Hilton and Tom Glynn-Carney shine here
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