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What do the Old Vic and Labour Party regime changes have in common?

In Features, London theatre, News, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Terri PaddockLeave a Comment

I’ve witnessed at first-hand two regime changes over the past few days and curiously they have a man in common: Ed Miliband. The political regime change, the announcement of Jeremy Corbyn as Miliband’s Labour Party leadership successor, has of course dominated the news this weekend. As a Labour Party member myself – and one who […]

HIGH SOCIETY – Old Vic Theatre

In London theatre, Musicals, Reviews by Libby PurvesLeave a Comment

Joe Stilgoe, the piano man, holds the stage as we settle, receiving a fusillade of unhelpful audience requests (“Bolero! Summertime! Pink Panther! Prokoffiev’s ninth!” – that last from Andrew Marr, cheeky monkey). Brilliantly, he delivers them simultaneously, singing Summertime over Bolero chords, and getting audience participation in Fever. Crafty to set a cabaret mood before we get down to business with “Come see the rich of Oyster Bay / On this their daughter’s wedding day!” as the silver piano sinks ingeniously into the floor.

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DEATH OF A SALESMAN – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews by Johnny FoxLeave a Comment

Dear RSC: I’d like to return this Death of a Salesman. It just doesn’t fit. Apart from its unravelling from not being a Shakespeare play in your theatres over the 23 April ‘birthday weekend’ for the first time, the ‘perfect match’ between Willy Loman and tragic heroes like Coriolanus or Lear wasn’t knit together any […]

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Press pass: All the news, interviews and opinions on the Old Vic’s changing of the guard

In Features, Interviews, London theatre, Musicals, News, Opinion, Plays by Terri PaddockLeave a Comment

Less than two days after the star-studded gala to bid farewell to Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic, his successor Matthew Warchus is making headlines with an inaugural year-long season and commanding statement of intent. It’s undoubtedly a whole new era down Waterloo way – the award-laden Young Vic down the road, be warned. Warchus […]

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Matthew Warchus brings real star-quality – and a major rebrand – to his first season at the Old Vic

In Features, London theatre, Musicals, News, Opinion, Plays by Terri PaddockLeave a Comment

One of the most awkward moments at the Olivier Awards last week came during Kevin Spacey‘s acceptance of his Special Award – when he forgot the name of his successor. “As nice as this is,” said Spacey, Olivier in hand, “I don’t want to necessarily spend a lot of time looking back at the past […]

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Oliviers: 23 priceless quotes and 8 more-than-words moments from the Royal Opera House

In Awards, Features, London theatre, Opinion by Terri PaddockLeave a Comment

This afternoon I caught up with the ITV highlights programme of last night’s Olivier Awards. While quite entertaining, it’s no surprise that the telecast missed out a lot of good stuff – sometimes right in the middle of a quote. (Ahem, see Kevin Spacey, oh what’s his name… Matthew Warchus.) The TV version was just […]

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Terri Paddock vs Whatsonstage.com

In Features, London theatre, News, Opinion by Mark ShentonLeave a Comment

You can see Kevin Spacey reprising his performance as legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow at the Old Vic Theatre at the moment. We also recently had the chilling, thrilling musical The Scottsboro Boys at the Garrick (itself now unjustly replaced by Let It Be), which told the true story of nine young black men falsely accused of murder in 1930s Alabama.
Those theatrical versions of real-life stories cast long shadows about injustice, and the Scottsboro Boys only recently got a long overdue pardon  more than 80 years later in 2013.

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Review: Inherit The Wind (The Old Vic)

In Reviews by Johnny FoxLeave a Comment

Kevin Spacey’s timing is exemplary. Not just in his personal performance but in bringing to the Old Vic such a dynamic production of the 1955 American war horse ‘Inherit The Wind’ – a courtroom drama based on the true-life story of a young Tennessee school teacher arraigned for promoting the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin […]

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