We awarded 14 monstas for the best pop, theatre, TV and film of 2019 in December – and here we look at the cream of 2020 so far and what’s to come. Sheridan Smith, Jade Anouka, Imelda Staunton, Sharon D. Clarke and Monica Dolan are previous winners in this category.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE? Old Vic RUNTIME: 130 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
WHEN? 28/1/20, press night 5/2, runs to 28/3/20
Samuel Beckett’s bleak Endgame is preceded here by the author’s lighter short Rough For Theatre II in an attempt to sugar the pill for fans of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe (pictured above right) who appears here.
2019’s Madame X collection made our Album of 2019 shortlist and was Madonna’s best since 2005’s Confessions. We were at her last London gig at The 02 in 2015 and are looking forward to the shift from arenas to theatres for this 15-gig run. Tickets The tour opened in the US in the autumn and, despite the late starts, promises much. We’re just glad we don’t have to be up early after what is shaping up to be a late night albeit in thrall to the Queen of Pop.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Royal Court Theatre
WHEN: 9/4, press night 13/4 runs to 19/5/18
Hari and Max are mourning the loss of their son but have found a novel coping mechanism, they are going to build a flat-pack replacement of him.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Old Vic
WHEN: 28/10, runs to 3/12
How long is too long in the theatre? It’s a question which crosses our mind during this three-hour-and-45-minute production with one 15-minute interval.
This 18-song David Bowie musical ran off Broadway for three months from November 2015 and features hits including Life On Mars?, Heroes and Absolute Beginners. It was written by Bowie with Once author Enda Walsh. Starring Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and directed by Ivo van Hove, it runs 25/10 – 22/1 at the King’s Cross Theatre and seems a fitting salute to the star who died 10 days before curtain down on the US show. Tickets.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Young Vic
WHEN: 11/3, press night 16/3, runs to 16/4
SETLIST: Anthrax (Gang Of Four); Atrocity Exhibition (Joy Division); Fiction Romance (Buzzcocks); Isolation (Joy Division); Nag Nag Nag (Cabaret Voltaire); What Do I Get (Buzzcocks); Empire State Human (The Human League); Hot On The Heels Of Love (Throbbing Gristle); My New House (The Fall); Memorabilia (Soft Cell); I Know It’s Over (The Smiths); Life Is A Pigsty (Morrissey); Temptation (New Order).
We loved Jane Horrocks in Little Voice and Absolutely Fabulous and when we discovered the premise of this show we were at the front of the queue to buy tickets.
We’ve never seen Adele live. We’re going to Glasto and are still hoping she’s headlining Saturday. Her 22-date UK tour begins in Belfast 29/2 and we’ll be reporting from her eight-night run at The 02 in March. Picture via Facebook courtesy Adele.
monstagigz 