I’m unashamedly a friend and champion of the theatre; but I can never been a simple cheerleader for it, regardless of the circumstances or my connections with people in a show I’m seeing. As honest critics find out all too often, we’re loved when we love something we see; but that can quickly pivot to becoming the enemy when we don’t.
Mark Shenton picks out his favourite regional theatres for the latest ShenTens podcast
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The post ShenTens: My Top 10 Favourite Regional Theatre Venues first appeared on Shenton Stage.
Remember all the many creatives who have brought us theatre online, not just the big-hitters
There’s no question that, apart from his undoubted brilliance as a composer of instantly memorable melodies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s greatest gift is as (self) publicist. He’s just wonderful at getting people to speak about him and his shows; and thereby promote them.
Mark recaps last week: Ruthie Ann Miles, Ian McKellen, Moulin Rouge, big openings & best reviews
From news headlines and Twitter gems to must-read columns and the biggest openings in London, New York and Edinburgh, Mark Shenton – currently resident in Provincetown, Massachusetts for the summer – rounds up the most interesting theatre goings-on that made his finely tuned radar. Ian McKellen, Rosemary Harris, Laura Wade, Mark Rylance, Dominic Dromgoole and desperate EdFringe review pleas all feature this week…
The farmer and the cowman can be friends: How Twitter led to a critic and writer becoming friends
I’m reminded more than ever of a time, not so very long ago, where instead of using Twitter to attack each other, we used to use it to engage with each other and find common ground, even friendship.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations this week (20 June)
In Mark Shenton’s regularly updated list of top ten ticket recommendations, new entries this week include The Spoils, Blue/Orange, The Deep Blue Sea and The Go-Between.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations this week (30 May)
New entries this week are The Invisible Hand at the Tricycle Theatre and The 3 Penny Opera at the Natonal, and its the last chance to see Les Blancs, The Flick and People, Places and Things
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations this week (9 May)
New entries this week are the return of Funny Girl, transferred from the Menier to the Savoy, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations this week (26 Apr)
The night after opening in the West End, Daniel Evans Sheffield Crucible production of Show Boat shoots straight into the top slot of Mark Shenton’s regularly updated list of top ten ticket recommendations. What are the other risers and fallers. Follow links to book tickets.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Maggie Smith and me – and sharing a hip surgeon!
I’ve seen twenty shows in the last three weeks, including a welcome return visit to The Book of Mormon – and also discovered that Maggie Smith and I share a hip replacement surgeon!
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (28 Mar)
After re-visiting The Book of Mormon, it makes it into this week’s Top Ten; so does People, Places and Things, newly transferred from the National to the West End. Plus, this week’s openings and other recommendations.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: 49 shows in six weeks, getting up to date
I’ve not updated my diary of a theatre addict for six weeks now — I was last here on January 31 — since when I’ve seen all of 49 shows, including outings to Newbury, Dartford, Clwyd, Manchester, Bromley and Cardiff, plus a week in New York. I’ve also taken an active part in two more shows by appearing onstage as a contestant in a theatrical re-run of Mr and Mrs with husband (so it was really Mr and Mr, we’re pictured above with host Samuel Holmes) and as part of David Bedella and Friends, his monthly chat show at the St James Studio.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (22 Feb)
Top ten of the week, with new addition for Simon McBurney’s phenomenal The Encounter.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (1 Feb)
Mark Shenton’s top ten of the week, including Florian Zeller’s The Mother that has followed his play The Father (soon to return to the West End) to London from Bath. Plus, this week’s biggest openings.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: From New York to Edinburgh & Eastbourne, plus meeting Judi Dench
I’ve not been here with my usual weekly diary of a theatre addict for a month now. So today I’m catching up, not on a week, but on an entire month — during which time I’ve been to Edinburgh, Barbados, New York, Eastbourne and of course London. I’ve interviewed Andy Nyman, Sheridan Smith, Joe McElderry, composer Lucy Simon, Janie Dee and Diana Rigg.
TICKETS: Mark’s Top Ten recommendations + this week’s openings (25 Jan)
Top ten of the week, including Bend it Like Beckham, Close to You and In the Heights, three shows I’ve already re-visited again and again, and intend to yet again!
News and reviews from New York: Broadway box office makes history and my top shows this spring
Broadway breaks all previous records for a single week, and I choose the half dozen shows I am most looking forward to this spring in New York.
Mark Shenton: My top ten ticket picks for 2016
Looking ahead to this year’s highlights, from Broadway imports and Pulitzer prize winners to Kenneth Branagh and Matthew Warchus’s ongoing seasons.