By Aline Mahrud
WORTH A LOOK? ****
The winner of this year’s British Independent Film Award for best film revels in being both an unflinching look at a BDSM relationship while colliding with a very embarrassed British sense of humour more likely found in fare like Four Weddings And A Funeral.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Friday 23 May 2025, tour runs through 15 August 2025
AG Setlist: Ride A White Horse; Number 1; Dreaming; Believer; Find Xanadu; Reverberotic; Rocket; Ooh La La; Strict Machine; Fever
SS Setlist: Laura; Better Luck; She’s My Man; Tits On The Radio; I Can’t Decide; Lovers In The Back Seat; Running Out; Take Your Mama; Paul McCartney; Fire With Fire; Mary; It Can’t Come Quickly Enough; Sex And Violence; Any Which Way; Comfortably Numb; Invisible Light; Let’s Have A Kiki; I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’; Return To Oz; Filthy Gorgeous; Music Is The Victim
It’s the Friday night of a bank holiday weekend and we arrive at our seats early to see an extraordinary greatest hits support set from 1 of our favourite pop stars.
Our most read content of 2024 was this preview review of the West End debut of Alien star Weaver in Jamie Lloyd’s take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest which runs at Theatre Royal Drury Lane until 1 February 2025. Tickets
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ***** RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN?: Saturday 30 September 2023 (matinee), booking through 28 September 2024
You may know Rebecca Lucy Taylor as indie pop star Self Esteem, this is her West End debut and she is, as her character Sally Bowles might put it, deliciously divine.
You, dear reader, are given the chance to vote in 16 categories from late November this year to tell us your favourite theatre, music, TV, film and podcast of 2023.
Last year’s televised show celebrating the work of the late great Sondheim was a real thrill and this month stars including Peters and Salonga perform some of the composer’s best-loved songs alongside Haydn Gwynne (The Welkin, National Theatre), Janie Dee (Follies, National Theatre) and Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, London Palladium). Runs at the West End’s Gielgud Theatre 16 September through 6 January 2024. Tickets Update: Performances now begin 21 September without Gwynne. Review
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By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
TRACKLIST: Too Much Music; Do The Television; Voices; I Used To Be In Love; Really Big Deal; Last Man Dancing; 8 Ball; Devil Came Down The Dancefloor; Mess Of Me; Doses; Radio Eyes; Diamonds Don’t Burn
SETLIST: Too Much Music; Really Big Deal; Any Which Way; Meltdown; Do The Television; Voices; Comfortably Numb; I Used To Be In Love; Creep City; Laura; Take Your Mama; Last Man Dancing; I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’; Devil Came Down The Dancefloor; 8 Ball; Destiny; Invisible Light; Filthy/Gorgeous
We’ve recently read Shears’ memoir Boys Keep Swinging and it’s a fascinating insight into the mindset of the former Scissor Sisters’ frontman who has struggled for inspiration.
The winner of 2 2022 Tonys is written by Michael R. Jackson and is the story of Usher, a black queer man writing a musical about a black queer man writing a musical. Starring Kyle Ramar Freeman and Jason Pennycooke (Hamilton, Victoria Palace) it runs at the Barbican 17 June through 9 September 2023. Tickets Review
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Shears has a new solo album Last Man Dancing released 2 June and this is the 2nd single from it and it’s uptempo and lots of fun.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Saturday 22 October (matinee), runs to 3 December 2022 RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
There are so many male reasons – music by Elton John, lyrics by the Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and a book by James (Ink) Graham – to be excited for this musical life story of US tele-evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker but, ultimately, it is its leading lady Katie Brayben whose input shines brightest.
