By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Friday 22 August 2025 (press ticket)
There was a different feeling about this 12th annual south coast festival (the two years previous to this, it was held in the Dockyard).
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Lightning Seeds setlist: Change; Sugar Coated Iceberg; Sense; Perfect; Whole Wide World; You Showed Me; Lucky You; Pure; The Life Of Riley
Madness setlist: One Step Beyond; Embarrassment; The Prince; C’est La Vie; NW5; My Girl; The Sun And The Rain; Hour Of Need; Wings Of A Dove; Lovestruck; Run For Your Life; Bed And Breakfast Man; Shut Up; Round We Go; Mr Apples; House Of Fun; Baggy Trousers; Our House; It Must Be Love; Madness; Night Boat To Cairo
The Uptown Festival returned for its 2nd outing on Blackheath in south-east London and Camden’s ska/pop band Madness were the suitably raucous headliners.
Staunton won our Best Theatre Actress monsta for Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2017 and here stars at the London Palladium in the titular role in this classic 1964 musical about a matchmaker who travels to New York. The starry cast includes Jenna Russell (STEVE, Seven Dials Playhouse), Tyrone Huntley (The View UpStairs, Soho Theatre) and Harry Hepple (Boy Meets Girl Q&A, BFI). Runs 6 July through 14 September 2024. Tickets Our 1st preview review
By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Friday 27 August 2021
It’s said you get all sorts at festivals. Whilst that is true, we found that you get all sorts en route to a festival here. Walking alongside an elderly man in a mobility scooter, who was blasting out Jim Reeves (or some other crooner) from a ghetto blaster in his basket, turned out to set the scene for our return to festival-land on the south coast.
By Carron Stacey
WHEN?: 25-27/8
WHERE: Southsea Common
Don’t read that, read this. This is the heavy, heavy Victorious sound. The Southsea-est sound around. So if you’ve come in off the street, and you’re beginning to feel the heat, well listen buster, you’d better start to move your feet, to the rockin-est, rocksteady beat of Victorious. One Step Beyond!
