Circus 1903 may lack the charm and authenticity of a tented touring circus but it is also a well polished, artistically sound and slick production boosted by a hardworking cast and crew.
‘A gem of a show’: THE BARRICADE BOYS CHRISTMAS CABARET – The Other Palace ★★★★★
The Barricade Boys are back in London with their Christmas Cabaret – a fun-filled festive show that you just can’t help but love.
‘Great, grown-up entertainment’: LA CLIQUE – Leicester Square Spiegeltent ★★★★
There is a festive start to the La Clique cabaret of song and acrobatic show but naturally, it is ironic. This is the church of misfits and weirdos where difference is celebrated in a decadent, saucy and sometimes humorous way.
‘A show for the mischievous & open-minded’: LA CLIQUE – Leicester Square Spiegeltent ★★★★★
Christmas in Leicester Square has arrived with all its sparkles, mulled wine and red carpet, presenting the return of the award-winning, La Clique.
The Show People Podcast: Paul ‘Paulus’ L. Martin loves Marmite
The Show People Podcast is back and in this episode host Andrew Keates is joined by Paul L. Martin, best known for being the Marmite judge on the BBC reality series All Together Now.
‘This is cabaret in its purest form’: LORNA DALLS – Crazy Coqs ★★★★
Lorna Dallas is the essence of old school cabaret distilled. She oozes glamour and combines the look of Blanche Deveraux with a spirit of a proper Illinois broad.
‘Not to be missed’: SINATRA: RAW – Wilton’s Music Hall ★★★★
No wonder Richard Shelton received an Offie Award nomination for Best Male Performance – his portrayal of the legend that is Frank Sinatra in Sinatra: Raw is real, natural, emotional and warms you up inside listening to him sing.
‘Fantastic, filthy fun’: ROUGE – Underbelly Festival ★★★★
Rouge, a ‘Circus for Grownups’, is a glorious night of escapism and joy. The tone is more cheeky than sultry, with the burlesque elements full of fun, and the male performers eagerly becoming the butt of jokes and laughter.
‘Burlesque & circus are a match made in heaven’: ROUGE – Underbelly Festival
Promising ‘a decadent and astonishing blend of sensational acrobatics, soaring aerial trapeze, operatic cabaret and tongue in cheek burlesque’, Rouge transfers to London straight off the back of its UK premiere for Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
‘Fierce, unapologetic, thought-provoking & radical’: EVERYTHING I SEE I SWALLOW – Edinburgh Fringe
Fierce, unapologetic, thought-provoking and radical, Everything I See I Swallow may not the circus show you wanted, but it’s the circus show you needed.
‘Jazz-swing is a lovely, friendly style’: Greg Mosse on his collaboration with John Gleadall on Separate Ways
Since meeting in Chichester in 2015, Greg Mosse and John Gleadall have been busy writing a string of musical shows, including jazz-swing cabaret Separate Ways, which they’re now staging at Theatro Technis from 21 to 24 August 2019 during Camden Fringe. Mosse told us about the key to their collaboration. Time to get booking!
‘People need to take notice’: ALONG – Edinburgh Fringe
The rhythms of TS Crew’s bounding, twisting, spinning bodies in Along are timed to perfection with the music, whether boy-band synchronised or splitting into physical polyphony.
‘I saw Victoria Wood on TV doing funny songs & thought, I can do that’: Celia Delaney on her new solo show at Camden Fringe
Could there be a more perfect venue for solo show Celia Delaney is… Angelic? than the aptly named Angel Comedy Club? The fact that Victoria Wood, who inspired Delaney as a child, is on the mural there makes it even more heavenly. We caught up with this multi-talented performer ahead of her Camden Fringe debut.
‘Fascinating, funny & surprising’: XOXO MOONGIRL – Edinburgh Fringe
Overall xoxo moongirl is fascinating, funny, and surprising. It held my attention throughout.
‘One of the finest voices to be found in London’: Rodgers & Hammerstein (& Me Too) – Bread & Roses Theatre ★★★
For this week only, the capital can again savour the vocal excellence of Molly Lynch in her one-woman show Rodgers and Hammerstein & Me Too
Feminism at the fore: 10 female-led shows fighting back at Camden Fringe
From real-life incels to microaggressions: the 2019 Camden Fringe Festival line-up tackles sexism head on. Almost two years on from the birth of the #MeToo movement, this year’s line-up shows there’s still a lot to fight for – and plenty of women willing to step up.
‘It does hold your attention’: THE ILLUSIONISTS – West End ★★★
The Illusionists is not overpriced, it does hold your attention – even the row of 11 just-out-of-school-for-the-holidays girls on booster cushions behind me didn’t talk or fidget during the show – so if you have some, take them.
CAMDEN FRINGE NEWS: One-woman comedy Celia Delaney is… Angelic? premieres at Bill Murray
Comedian and keynote speaker Celia Delaney makes her Camden Fringe with her debut solo show Celia Delaney is… Angelic?. The comedy cabaret runs for three performances only at the Angel Comedy Club at The Bill Murray pub from 15 to 19 August 2019. Time to get booking!
CAMDEN FRINGE NEWS: Gleadall & Mosse’s jazz-swing cabaret Separate Ways revived with new young cast
Gleadall & Mosse’s jazz-swing cabaret Separate Ways gets a fresh outing with a new young cast next month at Camden Fringe, where it’s running for four performances only from 21 to 24 August 2019 at London’s Theatro Technis. Time to get booking!
Pride continues through August: 8 LGBTQ shows you should see at Camden Fringe
Pride month may be finished, but fear not, Camden Fringe has a wealth of LGBTQIA+ shows this year to keep the celebrations going. Here, festival organisers have highlighted eight that should be in your fringe diary.