Waitress opens in the West End this week and I grabbed a rare, brief opportunity to chat with the musical’s Tony-winning director Diane Paulus about the show.
FEATURED VENUE: Producer Jamie Chapman Dixon joins Barn Theatre team ahead of One Minute & Little Voice
As we continue our feature series in the lead up to Iwan Lewis’ major new, social media-focused production of Simon Stephens’ One Minute, let’s catch you up on other developments at the newly opened Barn Theatre in Cirencester, which has got Mates co-founders Terri Paddock and Mark Shenton so excited. Have you seen the news about the Barn’s recent recruiting coup?
‘Why is this show being revived now?: PIPPIN – Southwark Playhouse
I want to like the fantasy and the colours of Pippin, to totally give in to the world of the play, but its problems are too many. Though I’m likely to be the humming the opening number for at least the next fortnight.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse
Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Stephen Schwartz’s musical transfers to London from Manchester. Here’s a guide to what critics have had to say about the musical’s Southwark Playhouse run… WhatsOnStage: ***** “a gorgeous piece of theatre: endlessly inventive, the magic tricks are up close and real, William Whelton’s Fosse-style choreography is often breathtaking, Maeve Black’s garishly… Read More
‘Unmissable musical theatre’: PIPPIN – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★★
This Pippin is one of those productions rarely seen on the fringe. It captures the sparkle of Broadway, transporting it to south London in a whirl of unmissable musical theatre.
‘Barrel-scraping wit’ – PIPPIN – Southwark Playhouse ★★★
What shafts this production of Pippin royally in its fishnet and suspender-clad buttocks is its slavishly dated adherence to Fosse style costume and choreography as though no other interpretation could flatter the music or illuminate the story.
‘Performances are stellar across the board’: PIPPIN – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
For a mystical, magical, mystical, whimsical show that will surprise, make sure you get along to the Southwark Playhouse for the limited run of Pippin.
NEWS: Manchester’s Hope Mill revival of Pippin transfers to Southwark Playhouse
After Yank! and Hair, Manchester’s recently opened Hope Mill Theatre transfers its third production in less than a year to London. Jonathan O’Boyle’s revival of Stephen Schwartz’ PIPPIN will have a month’s run at Southwark Playhouse.
What were our Top 25 reviews & other blogs in September 2017?
What were the reviews and other blogs that got readers clicking most? Any surprises? Our Top 25 Mates Blogs from September 2017 are listed below with summaries and links to read more.
What were our Top 25 reviews & other blogs in September 2017?
What were the reviews and other blogs that got readers clicking most? Any surprises? Our Top 25 Mates Blogs from September 2017 are listed below with summaries and links to read more.
PIPPIN – Manchester ★★★★★
Pippin closed this weekend at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre with, yet again, this Northern powerhouse of fringe theatre delivering a stunning take on a Broadway Tony-winner.
NEWS: Broadway musical Little Women gets Euro premiere in Manchester
The Broadway musical version of Louisa May Alcott‘s 1869 literary classic Little Women, first seen in New York in 2005, will get its European premiere this autumn at Manchester’s acclaimed Hope Mill Theatre. The production, directed by Bronagh Lagan, runs from 9 November to 9 December 2017. Alcott’s captivating and critically-acclaimed tale is the latest collaboration between Katy Lipson of Aria …
ANNE REID & STEFAN BEDNARCZYK IN CABARET – The Pheasantry
Most famous perhaps for the story and screenplay of Singin’ In The Rain (though incredibly their only contribution to that movie’s musical numbers was Moses Supposes), the Comden & Green partnership was to last the best part of 60 years, going on to include On The Town and Wonderful Town amongst a string of successes.
Reid and Bednarczyk are as enlightening as they are enchanting with a shared respect for Comden & Green that is infectiously appealing. Together, these talented performers bring a masterful combination of humour and pathos to a selection of numbers that reflect some of the best of the American Songbook.
A diary of theatrical addiction
I’m the first to admit it: I have a theatre addiction. But it is at least an addiction that I work at and make work for me (in every sense, including financially) to give my life shape and meaning. At its best, it fills the existential hole that we all have to face. (Sometimes, of course, it opens up a chasm, too; just see me after a run of bad shows!)
… Read More