My latest ShenTens is particularly bittersweet, as we can’t actually go to any at the moment: my favourite West End theatres.
‘There’s always something new to speak to me’: Mark Shenton chooses his top ten Sondheim songs
We are now onto the third of my new weekly musical theatre podcast series ShenTens. This week I count down my top ten favourite Sondheim songs — at least my favourites right now.
NEWS: Bridge Theatre extends season as Talking Heads shows visit Sheffield & Leeds
Additional performances have gone on sale for David Hare’s Beat the Devil and Inua Ellams’ and Fuel’s production of An Evening with an Immigrant, the one-person plays at London’s Bridge Theatre now extended until 7 November 2020.
‘I left very happy’: PLAYING SANDWICHES / LADY OF LETTERS – Bridge Theatre
With the West End dark and real fear for theatre’s survival, trips to the – unsubsidised, gallant – Bridge Theatre to see productions like Alan Bennett’s Playing Sandwiches and Lady Of Letters are sustaining.
NEWS: Bridge Theatre announces plans to reopen with star-studded rep season
London Theatre Company has announced its repertoire plans to reopen the Bridge Theatre during September and October 2020, “assuming that the Government gives the go ahead for indoor performances with socially distanced audiences”.
’An absolute ray of sunshine’: Hello, Harry! A Celebration of 40 Years at Stage Door (Online review)
Hello Harry!, an online concert celebrating the incredible 40-year career of Harry Gabriel, the Shaftesbury Theatre’s Stage Door Keeper, was an absolute ray of sunshine.
11 actresses I’d love to see onstage more often post-lockdown
While there might not be quite as many meaty stage roles for actresses as there are actors (is that changing?), the plethora of acting talent I’ve seen over the past 10 years made this quite tricky to narrow down.
NEWS: West End revival of Hello Dolly!, starring Imelda Staunton, postpones ‘until the time is right’
The hugely-anticipated new West End production of Hello, Dolly! starring Imelda Staunton, which was due to begin performances at the Adelphi Theatre in London on Tuesday 11 August 2020, has been indefinitely postponed.
What am I missing? 8 musicals where I just didn’t get the hype
For every person who is a major fan of a show, there is someone on the other end of the spectrum who doesn’t like it. What would be the fun if we all liked the same things?!
NEWS: Nicholas Hytner remakes Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads during lockdown
Filming has begun on new productions of Alan Bennett’s critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning Talking Heads monologues, to be broadcast on BBC One with an all-star cast.
NEWS: Tyrone Huntley, Clare Halse & Harry Hepple join the West End production of Hello, Dolly!
Joining the previously announced Imelda Staunton, Andy Nyman and Jenna Russell in the West End production of Hello, Dolly! at the Adelphi Theatre this summer will be Clare Halse, Tyrone Huntley and Harry Hepple.
NEWS: Andy Nyman & Jenna Russell join the West End cast of Hello Dolly!
Andy Nyman and Jenna Russell are to join the cast of Hello, Dolly! when the iconic musical arrives at the Adelphi Theatre this summer.
Stars on stage in 2020
Here’s our guide to some of the familiar faces that you can expect to see on stage this year…
NEWS: Imelda Staunton will headline new West End production of Hello, Dolly! in summer 2020
Imelda Staunton will star as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, alongside Jenna Russell as Irene Molloy, in a brand new London production of the musical at the Adelphi Theatre in 2020.
CD Review: Company 2018 London cast / Follies 2018 National Theatre cast
We should celebrate the fact that within the space of a year London has played host to stagings of not one but two Sondheim masterpieces that have all but redefined them in theatrical terms: Company and Follies.
‘Andrew Lloyd Webber dominated the Melbourne scene’: Musical Theatre Year in Review 2018
Five decades into his storied career, Andrew Lloyd Webber dominated the Melbourne musical theatre scene in 2018.
NEWS: Hamilton & The Ferryman dominate 2018 Olivier Awards shortlists, Imelda Staunton double nominated
Nominations for the Olivier Awards 2018 are announced today. The shortlists are dominated by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton and Jez Butterworth’s latest play The Ferryman. Headlines include: New American musical Hamilton becomes the most nominated production in Oliviers history with 13 nominations The Ferryman, currently running in the West End before transferring to Broadway, is the most nominated new play with 8 …
FOLLIES – National Theatre
The massive space of the Olivier Theatre houses a staging rich in period detail. Even the air itself seems to have a tinge of sepia tone.
Olivia’s top 10 musicals of 2017
This year I saw 105 shows so picking my top 10 was pretty tricky!