Lemons, Lemons, Lemons starring Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman
Our most read content of 2023 was this preview review of a play by Sam Steiner about a society where spoken words were rationed to 140 a day in a two-hander starring Aidan Turner (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Noel Coward Theatre) and Jenna Coleman (All My Sons, Old Vic). Our review also caught the attention of Mail Online (see below).
Read on for reasons includingCabaret starring Jake Shears and Self Esteem, Guys And Dolls andThe Motive And The Cue
WHEN?: Saturday 21 October, opens 31 October and runs through 9 December 2023 RUNTIME: 120 minutes without interval
At 62 years old director Branagh is considerably younger than the last 2 actors we’ve seen take on the role of Shakespeare’s King Lear – Sir Ian McKellen who was 78 in 2017 and the late Glenda Jackson 80 in 2016.
Read on for reasons includinghow Branagh’s casting is less A Haunting In Venice and more a vanity in London
Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear reigns in the West End
We haven’t seen Branagh in the West End since The Kenneth Branagh Company’s year-long run of six plays at the Garrick Theatre closed in 2016 on its highest high with its star taking the lead in The Entertainer. Branagh also directs at the Wyndham’s Theatre 21 October through 9 December. Tickets Our recent Lears have included Sir Ian McKellen and the late Glenda Jackson. 1st preview review
Read on for reasons including Madonna, S Club reunion, Dear England‘s West End transfer and new Agnetha ABBA
National Theatre returns with Death of England: Delroy
Death of England, written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, boasted one of the most accomplished leading roles of the year as well as being one of 2020’s best new plays. Death of England: Delroy has the same authors as its near namesake and stars one of the characters mentioned in the previous work and played by Giles Terera (Rosmersholm, Duke Of Yorks). The National has closed its doors since March and this is the show it has chosen for curtain up, running 21/10 through 28/11/20. Tickets
STOP PRESS: National Theatre announces Terera will no longer perform after emergency surgery and understudy Michael Balogun will take on the role.
Read on for reasons including Divine Comedy, Mel C album and Bananarama book
2. Annie releases Dark Hearts album
We’ve heard 4 of the 13 tracks on the Norwegian’s 1st album for 11 years and The Streets Where I Belong (listen above) is our favourite: a soft vocal reminding of St Etienne and a gorgeously understated tune evoking nostalgia while weaving a story of hometown glory. The title track was a Song Of The Week for us in September and the album is out 16/10/20. Tickets
3. Divine Comedy play the Barbican
Divine Comedy won our Best Gig monsta last year and release 12 2CD collection Venus, Folly and Time to celebrate their 30-year back catalogue 9/10/20. They play a gig at the Barbican 5 days later which will be live-streamed ahead of a rescheduled run of 5 nights at the venue in September 2021 at which they play 2 different albums in full each night. Tickets
4. Sophie Ellis Bextor serves up Songs From The Kitchen Disco
A Humdrum Mum gave us 5 reasons why we love Sophie Ellis Bextor and on 23/10/20 the star releases her Songs From The Kitchen Disco album which combines her greatest hits with covers she performed on Friday nights during lockdown ahead of a tour next year including dates with Steps. Tickets include a solo London Palladium gig as well as a Steps show at The 02
5. Melanie C releases Colour and Light album
The artist formerly known as Sporty Spice unleashed her 8th solo album Colour and Light on 2/10 and we previewed it thanks to a fun livestream the night ahead of release. Tickets are now on sale for her 2021 tour including a gig at London’s 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
6. Bananarama release Really Saying Something book
The ‘Nanas won our Best Gig monsta in 2017 when their original line-up reunited and Siobhan left afterwards as Keren and Sara recorded a new album and toured with a Q&A thrown in. On 29/10/20 book Really Saying Something: Sara & Keren Our Story is released and we can’t wait. Details
7. French and Saunders star in Death On The Nile film
We’ve seen so much French and Saunders over the years that it’s impossible to see Dawn and Jennifer in this trailer without thinking of the over enthusiastic extras they used to portray in that series. Released in the UK 16/10/20, Wonder Woman Gadot looks stunning in this remake of the Agatha Christie classic directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot. The impressive supporting cast includes monstagigz favourites Sophie Okonedoand Letitia Wright.
8. T’Shan Williams and Aimie Atkinson play Theatre Cafe Night Caps series
The Turbine Theatre‘s artistic director Paul Taylor-Mills hosts this series of performances titled Night Caps in association with the Theatre Cafe by West End stars including T’Shan Williams (Heathers, Other Palace) on the 8/10 and Aimie Atkinson (Pretty Woman, Piccadilly Theatre) on the 22/10. Tickets
9. Rupert Everett’s Tainted Glory book
Everett starred in, wrote and directed The Happy Prince which won our 2018 Best Film monsta and this highly anticipated third memoir, To The End Of The World: Travels With Oscar Wilde: Tainted Glory tells the story of the playwright’s last days, and how that ten-year quest to make The Happy Prince almost destroyed Everett. We’ve always enjoyed Everett’s writing and his first memoir, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, was a Sunday Times bestseller while its sequel, Vanished Years, won the Sheridan Morley Prize for Biography. Published 8/10/20
Picture courtesy of National Theatre via Facebook
Have you seen any of these shows or films or heard the albums or read the books? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
‘It was the best piece of writing I’d ever read,’ remembers Sir John Hurt reflecting on TV’s The Naked Civil Servant (pictured above)after a showing at the BFI.
Read on for how Danny La Rue almost played ‘stately homo’ Quentin Crisp
The Kenneth Branagh Company’s year-long run of six plays at the Garrick Theatre closed tonight on its highest high with its star taking the lead in The Entertainer.
Read on for reasons including Greta Scacci’s amazing turn
It’s the news every partner of a theatre lover dreads: the tickets you bought eight months earlier to celebrate a birthday are no longer valid. And you find out that birthday morning. By email.
Read on to find out what happened when Romeos Richard Madden and Tom Hanson bowed out
Super is our album of the year so far and the Boys’ only 2016 UK dates are during their four-date Inner Sanctum residency at the Royal Opera House. We saw Rufus Wainwright there a while back and it’s a venue Neil and Chris were born to play. Tickets have sold out but we’d check here for returns.
Read on for reasons including Looking: The Movie, Shura, Ab Fab & Groundhog Day premiere
We awarded our first monstas for 2015’s best pop, theatre, TV and film and below we review the best of 2016 so far – and look forward to what the rest of the year has in store.
Sir Ian McKellen is telling the BFI audience about his relationship with Shakespeare because the venue has put his Richard III at the heart of its celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death later this month.
Read on for details of Sir Ian’s new app version of The Tempest out 23/4
