Olivier winners D. Clarke and Clive Rowe take part in this compilation of 26 hot and torchy blues numbers that frame the lives and loves of four residents of a downtown hotel. Runs 18/7 to 7/9/19 at the Kiln Theatre. Tickets
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHERE: Park Theatre
WHEN: 9/6, press night 11/6, runs to 7/7/18
RUN TIME: 2 hours 10 minutes (with 20 minute interval)
Janie Dee starred in our favourite revival of last year, Follies, which also saw her shortlisted for monstas for Best Actress and Performance Of A Song and she returns to it at the National Theatre early next year.
Catch the world premiere of the season 2 finale of HBO’s superior sci-fi series about a theme park peopled by robots who revolt starring Thandie Newton (pictured) and a Q&A with its creators at the BFI on London’s South Bank 19/6. Tickets
It’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2017? Over the next month we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 13 categories for our Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2017.
Dan Gillespie Sells is frontman of The Feeling and we gave his debut musical the full 5* when we saw it in Sheffield in February. It’s a real celebration of mothers and sons and transfers to the West End 6/11 booking to 21/4/18. Tickets. The soundtrack is an absolute treat but our favourite is cross-dressing musical-within-a-song The Legend Of Loco Chanel. Don’t. Miss.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Park Theatre
WHEN: 19/8, press night 23/8 runs to 24/9
Playwright Joe Orton was murdered half a century ago and this production of one of his greatest hits Loot is the first of the comedy in its uncensored form.
Imelda Staunton made our Best Theatre Actress of 2017 shortlist so far for Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf and stars here at the National with Tracie Bennett and Janie Dee in the Sondheim classic (which features Losing My Mind, see below). Runs 22/8 through 3/1/18. Picture courtesy National Theatre. Tickets
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Park Theatre
WHEN: 3/7 (matinee), runs to 3/7
It’s Pride weekend in London and Sir Ian McKellen is reaching the end of a week-long series of shows during which he has raised an astonishing £250,000 for north London’s four-year-old Park Theatre, which receives no government funding.
We awarded 12 monstas for the best pop, theatre, TV and film of 2016 in December – and here we look at the cream of 2017 so far and what’s to come. Temple and Oddshaped Balls are previous winners in this category.
27/7 will mark the 50th anniversary of the repeal of the law against homosexuality and BBC4 has commissioned the filming of eight monologues curated by Mark Gatiss and featuring authors including Jackie Clune performed by stars such as Ben Whishaw (pictured above), Russell Tovey and Alan Cumming. UPDATE: 4/7: No sign of Whishaw or Cumming in the Old Vic casting announced today but it does include Tovey, Gemma Whelan, Sarah Crowe, Ian Gelder, Mark Bonnar & Kadiff Kirwan. Tickets
