We couldn’t be happier that theatres are reopening. Thank you to all those who have streamed theatre to our homes during Covid and ‘break a leg’ to everyone involved in bringing live theatre back to the ‘new normal’. If we can help promote your project, online or offline, give us a shout!
MyTheatreMates is a portal for independent theatre bloggers in London and around the UK. We have dozens of bloggers whose sites and content are regularly featured here. Find out more about all our Mates and access their posts.
Terri Paddock co-founded MyTheatreMates in 2015 with the help of leading theatre critic and industry commentator Mark Shenton, a mate for life! Find out more about the original ethos behind the website.
Featured shows
‘The questions that resonate really do feel pertinent’: ASSISTED – Golden Goose Theatre
3rd December 2021Golden Goose Theatre, London - until 4 December 2021 Hey Siri, can you write this theatre review for me? No? At the moment, voice assistants have their limitations but in a time of extraordinary technological progression and a wide-ranging societal… .. Read more
‘An entertaining & engaging production’: RUMBLE! – Drayton Arms Theatre
2nd December 2021Drayton Arms Theatre, London - until 4 December 2021 Guest reviewer: Jake Laverde Business and boxing collide in this revival of Yasir Senna’s play by Razor Sharp Productions. Alisha Harper-Gill is on the ropes, fighting for her career when faced with… .. Read more
‘Don’t be too quick in judging the covetous old sinner’: Paul Nolan on playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol in Coventry
2nd December 2021Paul Nolan returns to the stage in Coventry to take on the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Albany Theatre's new locally-set adaptation of A Christmas Carol. He took a break from final rehearsals to talk to us about the… .. Read more
‘When you hear the NHS is at breaking point, that means the people in the NHS’: Adam Kay on Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
30th November 2021Junior doctor turned multi-award-winning writer and comedian Adam Kay returns to the stage this festive season with a reminder to spare a thought for the hard-working staff of the NHS as we gorge on our mince pies and mulled wine. Terri… .. Read more
Other recent articles
FROM DOWN UNDER: The Australian premiere of Moulin Rouge!
7th December 2021A spectacular spectacular, Moulin Rouge! the Musical arrives in Melbourne in ravishing form for its Australian premiere season. While local theatregoers have historically had to endure a variety of wait times for Best Musical Tony Award winners to play here,… .. Read more
BOOK REVIEW: My Name Is Not Wigs! by Angela Cobbin
6th December 2021The title of this fascinating theatrical memoir is more than just a nod to one of the many amusing anecdotes found within its pages. How many of us theatre lovers, hand on heart, could name the wig designer working on… .. Read more
‘Beverley Knight once again proves what a powerhouse she is’: THE DRIFTERS GIRL – West End
6th December 2021Garrick Theatre, London It should be first pointed out that I went into The Drifters Girl not knowing very much about The Drifters and their manager Faye Treadwell, but by the time I came I found myself curious finding out… .. Read more
‘Filled with imagination, love & heartbreak’: LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL – Park Theatre ★★★★
6th December 2021Park Theatre, London – until 19 December 2021 Guest reviewer: Emily Cliff Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic Little Women has gone from book to music to film in the century and a half that it has been out. From the… .. Read more
‘A panto mashup of mayhem, song & storytelling’: SLEEPING BEAUTY & THE BEAST – Battersea Arts Centre
5th December 2021Battersea Arts Centre, London - until 30 December 2021 Following the success of 2019 mashup ‘slumber party panto’ Goldilocks and the Three Musketeers, Sleeping Trees are back for a live residency of mayhem, song, and storytelling in the Council Chamber… .. Read more
‘Reaching out for the meaning of those moments of eternity’: FOUR QUARTETS – West End ★★★★★
5th December 2021Harold Pinter Theatre, London - until 18 December 2021 This is wonderful. Sometimes a simple short performance can shake, rouse, even change you. So step away, I beg you, from the mundane rush of earning and spending, leave the gaudy… .. Read more
‘A beautiful reunion for Michael Xavier & Emma Williams’: LOVE STORY 10th Anniversary Concert – Cadogan Hall
4th December 2021The 10th Anniversary Concert of Howard Goodall’s gorgeous musical Love Story was a beautiful reunion for its stars Michael D Xavier and Emma Williams at Cadogan Hall. Delayed from last year by, what else, the pandemic, this 10th Anniversary Concert of Love… .. Read more
What won’t now come to pass: Stephen Sondheim was in the midst of writing a new musical
4th December 2021Last Friday (26 November 2021), Stephen Sondheim - Broadway’s musical theatre’s greatest innovator and powerhouse over the last seven decades - left us, after 91 years, in the midst of writing another new musical that he revealed only weeks ago. (On Stephen Colbert’s… .. Read more
‘This play can’t help but end up as something of a disappointment’: MANOR – National Theatre
3rd December 2021National Theatre, Lyttelton – until 1 January 2022 Truth is, Manor can’t help but end up as something of a disappointment. Starring national treasure-in-the-making Nancy Carroll and Vigil-hot Shaun Evans, written by Moira Buffini who has been doing interesting things… .. Read more
‘Absolutely outstanding in just about every single aspect’: LIFE OF PI – West End
3rd December 2021Wyndham's Theatre, London The wait has been worth it! A truly stupendous show from beginning to end... It’s only happened a handful of times in my theatregoing life, but at the West End's Wyndham's Theatre I had the urge to leap to my… .. Read more