By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Sunday 8 December 2024, runs through 12 January 2025 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)
What would Morecambe and Wise do?
You, dear reader, are given the chance to vote in 17 categories from October this year to tell us your favourite theatre, music, TV, film and podcast of 2024.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Thursday 4 April 2024, tour runs through 7 September 2024
SETLIST: I Heard A Rumour; Last Thing On My Mind; Movin’ On; Trick Of The Night; Cruel Summer; Masquerade; Move In My Direction; Love, Truth and Honesty; I Want You Back; Looking For Someone; Atomic; Supernova; Only Your Love; Preacher Man; Really Saying Something; Nathan Jones; Forever Young; Lost In Music; Stuff Like That; Look On The Floor; Favourite; Love Don’t Live Here; Feel The Love; Robert De Niro’s Waiting; Love In The First Degree; You Spin Me Round (Like A Record); Venus
Bananarama’s imperial phase may have ended after we saw them on their 1st tour headlining Wembley Arena in 1989 but you would never know it from this raucous celebration of their 40-plus years in pop.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK: ****
TRACKLIST: Really Saying Something; Cruel Summer; Robert De Niro’s Waiting; Venus; More Than Physical; A Trick Of The Night; I Heard A Rumour; Love In The First Degree; Only Your Love; Preacher Man; I Could Be Persuaded; Movin’ On; Last Thing On My Mind; Every Shade Of Blue; Take Me To Your Heart; Prove Your Love; If; Crazy; Move In My Direction; Look On The Floor; Feel For You; Love Bite; Love Comes; Love Don’t Live Here; 17; Extraordinary; Baby It’s Christmas; Now Or Never; La La Love; Stuff Like That; Looking For Someone; I’m On Fire; It’s Gonna Be Alright; Favourite; Masquerade; Forever Young; Running With The Night; Cruel Summer (3am Mix); Feel the Love; Supernova
Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin have been a duo as Bananarama for the last 33 years of their 44-year career and so this curated album finds them choosing 10 tracks from each of the 4 decades of their career thus far.
Director Robert Icke (Oresteia and Hamlet, Almeida) combines Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and McKellen (Mother Goose, Duke Of York’s Theatre) plays Falstaff alongside Richard Coyle’s (Ink, Almeida) Henry and Toheeb Jimoh’s (Romeo and Juliet, Almeida) Hal. Runs at the Noel Coward Theatre 1 April through 22 June 2024. Tickets McKellen’s ‘performance of a lifetime’ Player Kings review
Smith (Shirley Valentine, Duke Of York’s Theatre) stars in this new musical directed by Ivo van Hove (A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre) based on the John Cassavetes film with music and lyrics by Rufus Wainwright. Runs at the Gielgud Theatre 6 March through 27 July 2024. Tickets Our review
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHEN?: Sunday 10 December (matinee), runs through 14 January 2024
This year’s Palladium pantomime is dedicated to its former star Paul O’Grady (Goldilocks and Cinderella) and during it Julian Clary says of him: ‘A year ago he sent me a card wishing me a warm hand on my opening adding that these days I probably needed 2.’
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Wednesday 30 March, tour runs until 6 March 2023
SETLIST: Take Me Home; Disco Inferno; Wild Forever; Over and Over; All Night Long; Hypnotised; Mixed Up World; Young Blood; There Are Worse Things I Could Do; Love Is a Camera; Dancing Queen; Get Over You; Lady; Groovejet; Sing It Back; Crying At The Discoteque; Like A Prayer; Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer); Murder On The Dancefloor; Our House; My Favourite Things
It’s hard to imagine this Kitchen Disco Tour being quite so successful if Sophie Ellis Bextor hadn’t broadcast shows live from her home on social media featuring her family during the Covid lockdowns.
The most memorable time the Game Of Thrones star performed in the West End was at the Duke Of York’s in 2016 for Jamie Lloyd’s Doctor Faustus. It was our 2nd best read piece that year which may have had something to do with Harington flashing his bum during the performance. Hard to know what to expect from his Henry V (Harington pictured) at the Donmar which is in previews from 12 February and is booking until 9 April. Directed by Max Webster (Cover My Tracks, The Lorax, Old Vic). Tickets Update: due to Covid-19-related absences in the company the 1st 4 previews have been cancelled
This musical version of the 2001 film won 10 Tonys in 2020 and opened in London in 2021 although Covid delayed its press night and, as we write, it is still in previews with a 1st official night pushed back to 9 January 2022. We hope to visit the jukebox musical ahead of its revised press night and check out our site for a review. Tickets
