Art

THEATRE REVIEW: Ghosts starring Callum Scott Howells & Victoria Smurfit at Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

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

WHEN? Saturday 12 April, opens 16 April runs through 10 May 2025 RUNTIME 155 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Playwright Gary Owen explains his modern take on this beloved Ibsen in the programme: ‘There is a point to messing with a classic – if you get it right, you might preserve what was truly startling about the original. You might reproduce the impact this dusty old classic had when it was a snarling, swaggering young play.’

  • Read on for reasons including how you couldn’t ask for a more intense performance than star Scott Howells serves up
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Big In The Suburbs by Welly (April 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

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

Tracklist: Big In The Suburbs; Home For The Weekend; Knock And Run; Deere John; Soak Up The Culture; Shopping; Cul-De-Sac; Pampas Grass; The Roundabout Racehorse; Under Milk Wood; Family Photos; Country Cousins; It’s Not Like This In France; Life Is A Motorway

Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas where the narrator invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of the inhabitants of the fictional small Welsh fishing town, Llareggub.

  • Read on for reasons including why this is the best album of 2025 so far
Read More

GIG REVIEW: The Mary Wallopers & Sexy Tadhg at The Octagon Centre, Sheffield

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Andrew Mosley

WHEN?: 20 March 2025, tour runs through 19 September 2025

As Conor McGregor vows to stand for the Irish presidency on an anti-immigration platform after meeting Donald Trump, it shouldn’t need The Mary Wallopers or myself to point out the stupidity and ignorance behind his message.

  • Read on for reasons including how difficult times provoke bands like The Mary Wallopers
Read More

PREVIEW/PREDICTIONS: Eurovision Song Contest finalists 2025 starring Melody, Remember Monday & Louane

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WHEN?: Saturday 17 May 2025

WHERE?: St Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

HOW DO I WATCH?: BBC1 at 8pm in the UK or eurovision.tv or SVT

Former child star Melody (above and below) threw everything including the kitchen sink at her victorious Benidorm Fest, Spain’s national selection, performance and below we predict how it and the other pre-qualified finalists will fare in the Eurovision Song Contest final.

  • Read on for reasons including how we predict the directly qualified countries will do in 2025’s Eurovision Song Contest final
Read More

GIG REVIEW: Marcus & Martinus at 02 Islington Academy

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN? Wednesday 5 March 2025, tour runs through 23 August 2025

SETLIST: Like It Like It; Die For You; Gimme Your Love; Follow Me; Wonder; When All The Lights Go Out; Wicked Game; Heartbeat; Together; Plystre på deg; Wild Love; Air; Love Flow; We Are Not The Same; Another Life; The Room; Girls; One Flight Away; Elektrisk; Unforgettable

We weren’t expecting that noise – it’s a long time since we’ve been to a sold-out gig where the teenage shrieking is that ear-splitting in response to every little move these 23-year-old Norwegian twins make on stage.

  • Read on for reasons including how the duo’s older material is treated with the greatest appreciation
Read More

9 reasons why we can’t wait for March 2025 starring James Graham’s Punch

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. James Graham’s Punch at the Young Vic

Author Graham (Boys From The Blackstuff, National Theatre) is enjoying a prolific run of theatre and TV writing including Brian And Maggie most recently on Channel 4. This transfers from Nottingham Playhouse and is based on a book by Jacob Dunne about an impulsive punch that leads to fatal consequences at the Young Vic. Runs 1 March through 26 April 2025. Tickets Cast includes Coronation Street‘s Julie Hesmondhalgh. Our review

  • Read on for reasons including Lady Gaga and Welly albums and double Eurovision winner Loreen live
Read More

THEATRE REVIEW: Unicorn starring Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan & Erin Doherty at the Garrick Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 8 February (matinee), opens 13 February and runs through 26 April 2025 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

We’re at dinner with friends the night before we see this and they mention they caught it on its 1st preview.

  • Read on for reasons including why this is hugely funny and the best new play of the year so far
Read More

SONG OF THE WEEK: Big In The Suburbs by Welly (week beginning Saturday 16 November 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

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

‘Don’t spend a lifetime looking for heaven when you can find it on the A27.’ Five-piece band Welly should know because they’re from Southampton and Brighton which are linked by that major road.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see Welly on tour in 2024 and 2025
Read More

AWARDS SHORTLIST: Best Album Of 2024

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 2024? Over the next 2 months we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our Oscars, or 10th annual monstas if you will, of 2024.

Read More