Yesterday I watched Skye Hallam’s excellent one-woman show, Heads or Tails, one of the headline acts at the new Living Record Festival. It’s a gently confessional monologue about the afterlife spoken by 25-year-old Steph, who has – as they say – been “taken too soon”.
News, Reviews and Features
These are all of our in-house news and features as well as syndicated article excerpts from our 45+ theatre bloggers. You can also access All Our Mates' Posts in comprehensive list form and view individual author pages.
Mark Shenton’s latest ShenTens podcast throws the spotlight on his top ten favourite movie musicals
Last week I launched a new podcast series ShenTens here, counting down my top ten favourite musicals, and today the second episode is released.
NEWS: Curve announces plans to stream its production of The Color Purple
Following the success of its recent five-star production of Sunset Boulevard – at Home, Curve has announced plans to also stream The Color Purple online between 16 February and 7 March 2021, in association with Birmingham Hippodrome.
NEWS: Filmed theatre production of Romeo & Juliet will star Derek Jacobi alongside Sam Tutty & Emily Redpath
Derek Jacobi has joined the cast of the new filmed theatre production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet starring Sam Tutty and Emily Redpath in the title roles.
‘Rich, multi-layered play that is clever in its storytelling’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review) ★★★★
Travis Alabanza’s play Overflow is set in the toilet of a club from where transgirl Rosie (Reece Lyons) has locked herself in.
NEWS: Felicity Kendal & Gary Wilmot join the cast of Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre
Award winning actress Felicity Kendal will make her West End musical debut starring as Evangeline Harcourt, alongside leading actor Gary Wilmot as Elisha Whitney, in Anything Goes at London’s Barbican Theatre, running for a strictly limited season from 5 June to 22 August 2021.
‘Exploring difficult topics like addiction through drama can hoist warning flags’: ROSEGOLD / GOOD ENOUGH – Online@TheSpaceUK (Online review)
Donna Kay Yarborough and Ted McGrath are to be applauded for putting their monologues Rosegold and Good Enough about coming through the rigours of addiction online.
NEWS: Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre announces that 101 Dalmatians is no longer part of the 2021 season
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre has confirmed that the venue will be unable to go ahead with its plans to present 101 Dalmatians as part of their 2021 season.
‘Part Zoom meeting, part supernatural chiller’: BROKEN LINK – Living Record Festival (Online review)
What starts as a glimpse into a private chat between friends becomes something much more complicated and dark as Broken Link progresses.
‘Mesmerising, fascinating & imaginative story’: FLIGHT PATHS – Extant (Online review) ★★★★
Overall, Flight Paths is an absorbing and educational experience that really captures the attention and imagination from start to finish.
NEWS: Come From Away: The Concert is cancelled as ATG suspends performances at its UK venues until April 2021
A specially staged concert version of award-winning hit musical Come From Away, due to play at London’s Phoenix Theatre from 10-27 February 2021, has been cancelled following the Ambassador Theatre Group’s announcement that performances at the company’s UK venues have been suspended until 3 April 2021.
‘Promising play which packs an emotional punch’: STAR MAN (Online review)
Following a staged reading last year at London’s Old Red Lion Theatre, new play Star Man has made its livestream debut to raise vital funds for LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity akt.
‘Getting up close & personal is often what the style demands’: AVALANCHE / WALK OF SHAME (Online review)
Two short plays about a difficult subject, Bloom Theatre’s Avalanche and Glass Half Full’s Walk Of Shame.
As commercial producers yearn for a return to normal, will subsidised theatre play it safe or break the mould?
Some commercial producers, it appears, wanted the old order to be restored and business to proceed as normal, hence the rush to re-open as quickly as it was legally possible to do so back in November after we emerged from the second lockdown.
‘Open, thought-provoking, funny & heartbreaking’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review)
New play Overflow by Travis Alabanza returns as a digital stream and proves to be an intriguing hour about the politics of women’s bathrooms and who is allowed in them.
‘Engaging insights into living with & exploring the nature of disability’: Unlimited Festival – Southbank Centre (Online review)
Festivals are a vital part of the theatre ecosystem, a place to try out new material, explore form and style while giving a valuable platform to all kinds of performance. These activities have been among the hardest hit during the period of closur…
NEWS: Lockdown measures force West End production of Disney’s Frozen to be postponed
The West End production of Disney’s Frozen, planned to open at the newly refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 April 2021, with previews from 2 April, has been postponed due to the current national lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions.
‘Would transfer well to a live onstage situation’: CUPID’S CORNER (Online review)
OnComm nominated production Cupid’s Corner features a young, committed ensemble cast which demonstrates potential.
‘Fun, witty & incredibly creative’: PUBLIC DOMAIN – Southwark Playhouse (Online review) ★★★★
The cast and creative team involved in Public Domain, streamed from Southwark Playhouse, succeeded in creating a brilliant show which is timely and incredibly thought-provoking.
‘A delight to watch from start to finish’: NUTCRACKER DELIGHTS – English National Ballet (Online review) ★★★★★
Having had its run of live performances cut short, thank goodness the English National Ballet recorded Nutcracker Delights, this gorgeous scaled back treat for audiences to enjoy at home.