There’s hardly a more insistent ear worm of a song in all of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ear-wormy repertoire than ‘Memory’, the breakout hit of his 1981 musical Cats, which last night celebrated the 40th anniversary of its premiere at the then New London Theatre (now itself renamed for Gillian Lynne, the choreographer whose work on the show ignited a revolution in global musical theatre, and accidentally created the West End’s first authentic dance-based musical).
Have theatrical producers of old forgotten how to treat the people who helped them reach the top in the first place?
Now we’ve seen Cameron Mackintosh here in London twice in the last year throw his original investors overboard on his two biggest hits: Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera.
NEWS: West End productions of Hamilton, Mary Poppins & more set return dates
Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh, producers of the West End production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, are delighted to announce that from 19 August 2021 the show will resume performances at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
FROM DOWN UNDER – Hamilton in Sydney
Deservedly drenched with international awards and accolades, megahit musical Hamilton arrives in Australia in pristine form, the terrific local cast members not throwing away their shots at future superstardom.
Will an older generation of creatives be altruistic enough to make room for young talent?
A constantly recurring theme as we hopefully start emerging from this pandemic — and even long before it actually happened — was about creating space for new voices and talents, and preferably younger and more diverse voices, whether as writers, directors, producers, designers, actors or even theatre critics.
Mark Shenton asks why a person of colour has never played the West End Phantom?
It’s both surprising, and not, in the light of this that Phantom — a fictional character whose physicality is almost entirely shrouded by a cloak and whose face is 50% covered — has never been played by a black or Asian actor yet in its 35-year run in the West End.
Love London Love Culture picks out her favourite songs performed by leading ladies
Emma Clarendon selects some of her favourite songs performed by leading lady characters in musicals….
Mark Shenton offers a bittersweet celebration of his Top Ten Favourite West End Theatres
My latest ShenTens is particularly bittersweet, as we can’t actually go to any at the moment: my favourite West End theatres.
NEWS: The Black British Theatre Awards reveal 2020 nominees & announce the ceremony will be broadcast on Sky Arts
The BBTAs have revealed the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards nominee list, voted almost entirely by the public and representing some of the finest work by Black performers and creatives in UK theatre. The 2020 awards ceremony will air on Sky Arts this autumn, as part of the channel’s free to air line-up.
NEWS: Cameron Mackintosh tells Evening Standard West End Phantom is being ‘shut down’
In a candid self-penned article in the Evening Standard, producer Cameron Mackintosh has revealed that he and Andrew Lloyd Webber have been forced to “sadly permanently shut down” the iconic West End production of The Phantom of the Opera as a consequence of the Coronavirus crisis.
NEWS: The Stage Debut Awards will be back as an online ceremony
The Stage Debut Awards will return on 27 September 2020 as a virtual ceremony.
‘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.
NEWS: Cameron Mackintosh announces West End closures until 2021, starts redundancy consultations
Cameron Mackintosh has delayed the return of his West End productions of Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Hamilton and The Phantom of the Opera until as early as practical in 2021.
Decade Round-Up: The Musicals
And so here it is… my top 10 musicals of the decade. It turned out to be a slightly emotional journey. But it turns out musicals meant a lot in that time and I’ll fight anyone who says musicals aren’t a serious artform.
NEWS: Karl Queensborough leads new cast of Hamilton in London, more tickets released
As the West End production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s HAMILTON enters its third year at the Victoria Palace Theatre, new casting has been announced and further tickets have been released, with bookings now being taken through to 28 March 2020.
NEWS: Record theatre box office figures are boosted by the performance of hit musicals like Hamilton
Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre have released data for ticket sales across their member venues in 2018. The figures reveal a combined audience of over 34 million and ticket revenue of nearly £1.28 billion, from a total of 62,945 performances over the course of the year in the West End and across the UK.
‘Theatre has been the lodestar’: A Top 10 of Theatre in 2018
“The inheritance of wisdom, community and self” – Matthew Lopez. Each year, around March, I think of a brilliant way to start the Best of the Year list. Each year, around December, I forget it. In the year when football nearly came home and the UK has been stuck on a political pause, theatre has been the lodestar.
The Best Theatre & Performances of 2018
Normally I do two of these – Top Ten Shows and Top Ten Performances – but this year I’m combining the two – plus some sundry other awards.
NEWS: Big wins for Company, Hamilton & the National Theatre’s Antony & Cleopatra at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018
The winners of the 64th Evening Standard Theatre Awards have been announced, with double wins for the National Theatre’s Antony & Cleopatra and the West End productions of Company and Hamilton.
‘We dream in the dark’: The power of Hamilton track ‘The Room Where It Happens’
The Hamilton track ‘The Room Where It Happens’ stands up well as a track to listen to on the cast recording, but something really special happens when you watch it being performed.