Though I’ve spent most of the last nine months really missing the real theatre that has fuelled my life for the last 40 or so years since I started going compulsively from the age of around 16, I’ve spent more time than I’d have liked in a different kind of theatre — an operating one, when I had three spinal surgeries in the space of 15 days in September. And I’ve become particularly obsessed by another kind of theatre, too: political theatre.
As commercial producers yearn for a return to normal, will subsidised theatre play it safe or break the mould?
Some commercial producers, it appears, wanted the old order to be restored and business to proceed as normal, hence the rush to re-open as quickly as it was legally possible to do so back in November after we emerged from the second lockdown.
From stage to screen (small & big): The adaptations keep on coming
In the last 30 years or more, roughly half of every new musical that arrives on Broadway or in the West End seems to be based on a film.
From The Beatles to Brexit, from Cats to Covid, Mark Shenton reflects on the latest industry news
Now that I’m getting into a rhythm on these daily columns, I’m going to try to introduce some regular features. And starting today, I’m planning on launching the week with column of disparate “diary” items — some fun, some not, that of stories that have made the news in the previous week.
Being at home with who & what you are: Is actors’ openness about their sexuality the sign of a better future?
Mark Shenton reflects on the careers of two young gay actors, the late Marcus D’Amico and Jonathan Bailey (recently seen in Bridgerton), & their different experiences of the arts industry in different eras.
‘I wouldn’t count on us being safe until the summer at the earliest’: Mark Shenton shares his thoughts with a new daily blog for 2021
One of my new year resolutions — and one I intend to keep — is to revitalise this personal website ShentonStage as my primary editorial home this year.
Calling for changes to theatrical diversity is all very well, but how can we implement it?
In beginning conversations about theatrical diversity, theatres and critics alike need to recognise that we need each other. Looking for solutions together rather than attacking might be a more constructive route.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Mark recalls more summer pleasures, on and offstage, in Provincetown
If I have found some relief from my habit of compulsive theatregoing that I typically adopt in London and New York whenever I’m there, the temptation is never too far away. So I’m particularly proud of myself that despite contemplating a quick jaunt to New York this coming weekend, I’ve resisted it (so far).
Diary of a theatre addict: Time for a critical reboot
I came to a belated realisation: my life was not a dress rehearsal — and it really didn’t matter if I missed a few (dozen) shows. So when it came to booking this year’s P-town trip, which we do every January, we asked about availability for an extended stay.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: 13 shows in London, 5 beyond, 11 in New York in April
Across April I’ve duly seen 13 shows in London, one of them twice within the space of four days – namely the current revival of Guys and Dolls. I’d seen it twice before that, first when it originated at Chichester two summers ago and then when it transferred to the Savoy in January, and now again when it moved across town to the Phoenix with a substantially re-cast set of principals and I reviewed it for a third time. Then I returned to it yet again the same weekend to accompany a friend who was in town visiting from New York (yes, it’s that good!).
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!
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.
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.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Doing the timewarp again, revisiting Gypsy on TV, and catching up with Linda
I’ve been out and about over the pre- and post-Christmas week, including trips to Brighton, Manchester and Leeds, with lots of catching up to do in London, too.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: School’s out (sort of), but I’m still catching up
At Thursday night’s opening of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse, it felt like the last day of term for many critics, so some were demob happy: it was the last big London first night of the year, at the end of a day that had earlier embraced two more press openings for the West End returns of The Gruffalo in the morning and Goodnight Mister Tom in the afternoon.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: School’s out (sort of), but I’m still catching up
At Thursday night’s opening of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse, it felt like the last day of term for many critics, so some were demob happy: it was the last big London first night of the year, at the end of a day that had earlier embraced two more press openings for the West End returns of The Gruffalo in the morning and Goodnight Mister Tom in the afternoon.
Diary of a theatre addict: Peter Pan goes right, the National lacks Wonder, Funny Girl is very funny
I’ve been consciously taking it easy (or at least easier than I usually do!) over the last week after dislocating my newly replaced hip the week before, as I described in a posting here last week was a bit of a wake-up call — I had actually scheduled some ten shows (including out-of-town trips to Leicester and Leeds) just ten days after coming out hospital the first time; but then had the wake-up call that took me out of commission entirely.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Being forced to take a break by disclocating my new hip
I’m being forced to take a theatre break thanks to dislocating my brand-new hip! But perhaps I can finally catch up some movies and TV series…..
Diary of a theatre addict: from a pool in Gran Canaria, a sense of perspective, at last
I am writing this sitting beside a pool, in glorious sunshine, at a private hotel across the street from a beach in Gran Canaria. This is the sort of holiday my husband and I always give ourselves at least once a year — a place with no theatre at all.
Diary of a Theatre Addict: Officiating at a New York wedding (and catching some shows while I was there!)
My theatre addiction still saw me seeing 7 shows in New York last week – but it all faded into insignificance next to the show I presided over: the wedding of my friends Dana P Rowe and Andrew Scharf!