With uncertainty surrounding when theatres might be reopened, Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon selects a few musicals that she would love to see revived in London.
NEWS: Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park will reopen in August with a special concert staging of Jesus Christ Superstar
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will be the first London theatre to welcome back audiences with a special concert staging of their production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, running for six weeks from 14 August until 27 September 2020.
NEWS: Local lockdown unease leads to Six drive-in UK tour being cancelled
The drive-in tour of the hit musical Six, due to be performed across the UK in August and September 2020, has been cancelled due to concerns about local lockdowns.
NEWS: RSC confirms rescheduled programme for winter 2021
The Royal Shakespeare Company has confirmed full performance dates for its previously scheduled productions of The Magician’s Elephant and The Wars of The Roses Part 1 and 2 which will now take place in Winter 2021.
‘A well-crafted drama with an important message’: THE TAILOR-MADE MAN (Online review)
The Tailor-Made Man was turned into a musical in 2013. This current iteration was filmed in 2017 at the White Bear Theatre when a 25th anniversary production was mounted.
NEWS: Edinburgh Festival Fringe announces 2020 digital programme
Following the announcement that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will not be going ahead as planned in 2020, the Fringe Society has unveiled alternative digital plans taking place this summer.
’It is crystal clear that the cast are loving every moment’: JOSEPH & THE AMAZING ALL STAR CONCERT (Online review)
Joseph and the Amazing All Star Concert brings cast members from across the world together virtually for an all too brief sing-song that will have you dancing in your seat.
’It’s perfect to adapt for the internet’: Writers Henry Roadnight & Adam Johnson on musical theatre web series Third Wheel
Writers Henry Roadnight and Adam Johnson have set about adapting their musical Third Wheel into an online production.
NEWS: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cinderella is delayed to April 2021
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Cinderella will now world premiere at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London on 7 April 2021, with previews from 19 March 2021. The previous opening night had been scheduled for 28 October.
‘It is emotional to watch from start to finish’: HAMILTON – Disney Plus (Online review) ★★★★★
Spectacularly unique and filled with passion, this filmed version of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton is exquisite to watch – no matter how many times you have seen it.
Measuring love: Rent is a musical of not just a generation but of a pandemic
Rent recently marked its 24th anniversary since its Broadway opening. Every year I try to write something. This year, in particular, it seemed important to.
‘A courtroom setting gets round socially distanced difficulties’: THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS – Guildford Shakespeare Company (Online review)
Guildford Shakespeare Company first performed their adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic in 2015. After a successful series of Zoom murder mystery evenings, they decided to recreate their hit family production.
‘A quick diversion at just 11.5 minutes’: LAG – A ZOOMSICAL COMEDY (Online review)
At just eleven and a half minutes, this satirical musical by Haddon Kime is a quick diversion on YouTube from the Atlanta-based company Out of Hand.
NEWS: Drive-in production of Six makes it the first West End musical to perform again after lockdown
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ hit musical Six looks likely to become the first West End musical to resume performances across the UK in August and September 2020.
How important is theatre photography to the success of a show?
Theatre photography is one of the most important ways to promote a new production and simultaneously one of the elements audiences – and probably most creatives – actively think least about.
‘An entertaining & fresh take on Shakespeare’s canon’: BARD FROM THE BARN – Barn Theatre (Online review)
The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has built on its broadcast earlier in lockdown of Henry V to develop a sequence of thirty-five monologues from Shakespeare’s plays.
Series one begins with the theatre itself and a stirring speech from Henry V, but as …
‘Charmingly quirky’: Amélie The Musical ★★★★★ (Album review)
This charmingly quirky musical is captured wonderfully on this newly released cast recording.
NEWS: Sleepless reschedules month’s run from 25 Aug with social distancing measures
SLEEPLESS, A Musical Romance, based on the original screenplay Sleepless in Seattle, has rescheduled its premiere at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre for 25 August to 27 September 2020.
NEWS: Hairspray postpones for a second time, now runs for 19 weeks from April 2021
The return of Hairspray the Musical has been postponed again. It will now return next April, a full year after originally scheduled, but now for a longer, 19-week season, rather than ten weeks.
‘An uplifting & enjoyable production’: PETER PAN LIVE! – The Shows Must Go On ★★★★ (Online review)
Confession time: I have found it difficult in the past to really enjoy or appreciate Peter Pan. This isn’t so much down to JM Barrie’s classic story but in the way it has been staged or filmed.