writing

THEATRE REVIEW: Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody starring Zheng Xi Yong and Joseph Dann at the Underbelly Boulevard Soho

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN?: Saturday 24 October and runs through 1 November 2026 RUNTIME: 70 minutes (no interval)

Heated Rivalry is a Canadian TV show and gay love story set in the unlikely world of ice hockey which was a surprise hit this year and has spawned at least 2 musical parodies of which this is 1.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a lot of bawdy fun and a good representation for fans of the show
Read More

GIG REVIEW: Transvision Vamp at the 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 22 October and tour running through 1 November 2026

Setlist: Trash City; Tell That Girl To Shut Up; I Want Your Love; Speedball; Sister Moon; Pressure Times; You’re A Dirtbomb, Lester; The Only One; If Looks Could Kill; Born To Be Sold; Down On You; Revolution Baby; Pay The Ghosts; Landslide Of Love; Baby I Don’t Care; The Impression Of Normalcy; Bad Valentine; Velveteen

We haven’t seen Transvision Vamp live since Portsmouth Guildhall in 1991 and are here for the hits but the added joy of this gig is the occasional nods in the set to lead singer Wendy James’ fascinating continuing solo career.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is 1 of the best gigs we’ve seen all year
Read More

THEATRE REVIEW: Ilford Boy starring Leo Whitfield Harris, Craig Stein, Ria Zmitrowicz & Lindsey Coulson at the Donmar Warehouse

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Monday 12 October, opens 20 October and runs through 28 November 2026 RUNTIME: 155 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

It’s the day of his nan’s funeral and impressionable 14-year-old Ted meets his mum’s gay best friend and suddenly his world doesn’t feel so lonely.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is 1 of the best new plays of the year so far
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Danceteria by Soft Cell (October 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Elusive; Danceteria; The Space Inside; Times Square; Two Of A Kind; The Rainbow Room; In Heaven (When I Dance With You); Decadence Is Hard Work; Crackland; What Is Your Morality?; Losing Yourself; After Hours; Wave To America; Out Come The Freaks

Keyboardist Dave Ball died last October shortly after finishing work on Soft Cell’s final album which sees them perfecting some of the best work of their career while lyrically returning to early 80s New York, a pivotal time for the duo.

  • Read on for reasons including Danceteria is a wildly entertaining, reflective and fitting epitaph to both Soft Cell and Dave Ball
Read More

THEATRE REVIEW: TRU starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the Menier Chocolate Factory

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 19 September, opens 27 September and runs through 14 November 2026 RUNTIME: 85 minutes (no interval)

You join us in the New York apartment belonging to writer Truman Capote at Christmas in 1975 as Manhattan socialites who were once his confidants turn their backs on him when they recognise thinly-veiled versions of themselves in an excerpt of his new novel published in Esquire magazine.

  • Read on for reasons including how TRU boasts a commanding central performance of 1 of history’s more colourful if perhaps occasionally loathed characters
Read More

PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for October 2026 starring Keira Knightley & Luke Thompson

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

  1. Keira Knightley in The Lives Of Others

Knightley performs in the West End for the 1st time since 2011 opposite Bridgerton‘s Luke Thompson (A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre) in this story of a writer and actor under surveillance in 1984 at the Adelphi Theatre. Written, adapted and directed by Robert Icke (Romeo and Juliet, Harold Pinter Theatre) Runs 14 October through 9 January 2027. Tickets Our review

  • Read on for reasons including Kristin Scott Thomas, Tilda Swinton and Michelle Dockery in the new Ava Pickett
Read More

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Live! by Pulp (week beginning Wednesday 9 September 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Spike Island; Slow Jam; Sorted For Es And Whizz; Disco 2000; Help The Aged; Farmers’ Market; This Is Hardcore; Sunrise; Something’s Changed; Grown Ups; O.U.; Do You Remember The First Time?; Mis-Shapes; Got To Have Love; Babies; Common People; A Sunset

Actress Kelly Macdonald, arguably best known for 1996’s iconic Trainspotting, welcomes this encore performance and bids the audience farewell with a charming: ‘Goodnight and safe travels – and remember, take care of each other.’

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the story of pop’s greatest resurrection of recent years
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Jenius by Paul Heaton (September 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Can’t Get Next To You; Favourite Kind Of Idiot; I Want The Job; Sad Songs And Lawsuits; She Ain’t Pretty; One Eye Open; Send In The Clowns; Do Not Ask Me; Don’t Lean On Me; Jet Black Sky; The Whisky Did; Before Before; Good For The Bees; Go Upstream; A Son Of A Father

We 1st saw Heaton live at Aldershot’s West End Centre with his 2nd band The Beautiful South as chart-topper Song For Whoever was released in 1989.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see Heaton on tour where tickets are less than £40 each
Read More