Jukebox musicals have become a staple of Broadway and the West End for a while now; familiarity, you could say, breeds contented audiences. As Mamma Mia! used to tag the show in their advertising: “You already know you’ve going to love it!”
Best of the Blogs: Upstart Crow, The Prince Of Egypt, Macbeth & more
In our continuing series, editor Lisa Martland picks out some of her Top Picks from the last week of theatre (to 1 March 2020), ranging from Love London Love Culture’s thoughts on David Mitchell’s West End debut in the stage adaptation of TV favourite Upstart Crow at the Gielgud Theatre.
NEWS: Rachel O’Riordan’s debut season at Lyric Hammersmith continues with Chris Bush’s Faustus: That Damned Woman
Rachel O’Riordan’s debut season as artistic director at Lyric Hammersmith continues this month with Faustus: That Damned Woman, a co-production between the Lyric and Headlong, in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
NEWS: Olivier Award winner Alice Krige stars in stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona at newly opened Riverside Studios
Olivier Award winner Alice Krige, Nobuhle Ketelo, Paul Schoolman and William Close and his Earth Harp will star in the world premiere of a new stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona, the opening production of Riverside Studios.
‘Reminds us that we can handle our obstacles’: SPARK – Edinburgh Fringe
Using the word ‘strong’ to describe women and girls is redundant. Putting up with all the trash that women have to deal with as a result of their gender, on top of everything else life throws at them, makes them strong by default.
‘Who knew one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies could be funny?’: OTHELLO – Shakespeare’s Globe
Who knew one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies could be funny? Director and composer Claire van Kampen has tapped into a rare rhythm that sees Iago as a weaselly, clownish man lacking power and finesse, yet still manages to twist Othello into knots
‘On-the-money portrayal of dating & sex in 2018’: LOVE ME NOW – Tristan Bates Theatre
B is an independent, modern woman, who for the last few months has been enjoying a casual sexual relationship with A.
Text of the Day: Beginning
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
Text of the Day: Misalliance
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
Could Hamilton become the new symbol of the Leave campaign?
This pro-immigration, hip-hop reinvention of the all-American musical about a country gaining independence from a distant, tyrannical overlord resonates rather differently in Brexit Britain than it does in America. Forget the NHS bus – could Hamilton be the new symbol of the Leave campaign?
BAD ROADS – Royal Court Theatre
Whilst war rages in the Ukraine, a journalist goes to the front lines and falls in love. Girls sit on a park bench, waiting for their soldier boyfriends.
THIS BEAUTIFUL FUTURE – Yard Theatre
France 1944. A young French girl Elodike runs to meet her lover, a German soldier Otto. Their love is innocent and pure, the exact opposite of the world around them.
DOUBLE TROUBLE – Intermission Youth Theatre
It can be tough to get kids to engage with Shakespeare. Many of them see the foreign-sounding language and old-fashioned stories as irrelevant to the issues they battle as growing up today.
BEGINNING – National Theatre & West End
It’s about three in the morning on a Saturday night in the living room of a one-bedroom flat in Crouch End. Laura is a 38-year-old managing director, and it’s the tail end of her housewarming party.
THE RED LION – Trafalgar Studios
The tempestuous story of two ideologically opposed, minor league football men and the young player caught between them has little to do with the actual game and has a compelling, emotional narrative.
TRESTLE – Southwark Playhouse
Small is beautiful. And that is because two-handers can sometimes reach parts that other, bigger, plays fail to touch. This is certainly the case with Stewart Pringle’s Trestle.
JOY – Theatre Royal Stratford East
Joy, in which learning disabled characters are played by trained actors with learning disabilities, is a play and a directorial choice commendably at the forefront of diversity and accessibility, but like all vanguard work with no previous models to follow, it needs further shaping and development.
SKIN TIGHT – Hope Theatre
Skin Tight declares that all good things must end and heartbreak is inevitable – but these are the secrets to a fulfilling life. Gary Henderson’s modern classic is reflective and moving, but the production doesn’t fully serve these ends.
TRYST – Tabard Theatre
George Joseph Smith was a petty thief and con man who preyed on the most vulnerable women he could find. He would win their love, persuade them to elope, then strand them on their honeymoon after cleaning out their bank account.
IN MEMORY OF LEAVES – Fordham Gallery Barge
Since 2013, Natasha Langridge has watched her neighbourhood become unrecognisable. As the developers and their machinery creep ever closer with every passing month, she documents their journey along side her love life.