Playing for a few nights at Wilton’s Music Hall as part of a nationwide tour, Anders Lustgarten’s new play The City and the Town is about the confrontation between past and present, about the consequences of staying and leaving, and whether the ones who leave have any right at all to decide what happens to the ones who stay.
‘Live entertainment has come back with an encouraging roar’: Alun Hood celebrates his Top 20 new theatre shows of 2022
As somebody who loves a listicle plus a bandwagon to jump on, how could I NOT compile my list of my top 20 new (to me) shows of 2022? It’s been 12 months in which live entertainment has come back with an encouraging roar, although the impending cost of living crisis is inevitably, and understandably, causing anxiety in theatrical circles. Please do get out there, if you can, and support your local venue in 2023.
‘The fun is in the modern message’: THE WIND IN THE WILTON’S – Wilton’s Music Hall ★★★★
For The Wind in the Wilton’s at Wilton’s Music Hall Piers Torday has adapted the up-Thames rural setting of Kenneth Grahame’s book to be an urban take, London’s own stretch of river. And the weasels? You’ve guessed it: the Wild Wood is the City, the weasels and stoats the financiers and developers.
‘Tremendous energy but misses a trick’: A DEAD BODY IN TAOS – Touring
David Farr’s new play A Dead Body In Taos, briefly in London following performances in Bristol and Plymouth and before moving on to Warwick Arts Centre, is an earnest addition to an underpopulated genre. Undeniably ambitious, but more ponderous than engaging, it doesn’t make a great case for creating stage dramas in this mould.
‘These are two true artists at the very top of their game’: ONLY AN OCTAVE APART – Wilton’s Music Hall ★★★★★
Pitched somewhere between cabaret and recital, but most definitely a piece of true theatre, Only An Octave Apart (the title refers to the fact that Anthony Roth Costanzo is a classical counter tenor while Justin Vivian Bond possesses a resonant deep baritone at home singing everything from torch songs to disco… so they literally do sing an octave apart) is a strange and compelling melange of the screamingly funny and just (exquisitely controlled) screaming.
INTERVIEW: Connor Delves reprises the role of Mercutio in Starcrossed at Wilton’s Music Hall
Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon chatted to Connor Delves about starring in Rachel Garnet’s Starcrossed at Wilton’s Music Hall.
‘An evening of escapism, wonder & joy’: HMS PINAFORE – Wilton’s Music Hall ★★★★
It’s not just the nice girls who love a sailor, everybody who has the chance to see this show will fall in love with the ridiculously talented crew of HMS Pinafore
‘Outstanding tribute’: QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE – Stream Theatre (Online review) ★★★★★
Famous flamboyant, charasmatic homosexual writer, raconteur and actor Quentin Crisp aka Denis Pratt returns to the stage through an entertaining and heartfelt performance by the extremely talented writer and actor Mark Farrelly.
‘Dazzling’: QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope is a fitting tribute to a complex and elegant man who celebrated his own brand of queerness. “I am notorious,” is the cry of this survivor.
‘Murphy is a master of his craft’: Friend (The One With Gunther) – Stream.Theatre (Online review)
Definitely a bold valley to travel down, Friends fans should explore Friend (The One With Gunther), a nugget of not-so-guilty pleasure watching.
Streaming now: Mark Farrelly celebrates the legendary Quentin Crisp in Naked Hope
Quentin: Crisp, written and performed by Mark Farrelly and directed by Linda Marlowe, is now available globally via Stream Theatre until Sunday 1 August 2021.
Streaming now: Brendan Murphy does sitcom solo in FRIEND (The One With Gunther)
Hilarious sitcom homage FRIEND (The One With Gunther), written and performed by Brendan Murphy, is now available globally via Stream Theatre until Sunday 25 July 2021.
‘Campbell has developed a deep affinity with Simone’: BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY VOICE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
Apphia Campbell’s show Black is the Color of My Voice, based on the life and works of Nina Simone, comes to digital theatre. This version was recorded this summer at Wilton’s Music Hall and is presented by Seabright Productions.
‘Madeleine MacMahon puts in a spellbinding performance’: A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) – Silent Uproar (Online review) ★★★★★
After the year we’ve all had with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) is sure to strike a chord with many people and it provides a voice for those experiencing mental health issues.
Streaming now: Apphia Campbell conjures Nina Simone in Black Is the Color of My Voice
Black Is the Color of My Voice, inspired by Nina Simone and written and performed by Fringe First winner Apphia Campbell, is now available globally via Stream Theatre until Sunday 18 July 2021.
‘Dark story cut through with comedy & songs’: A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) – Silent Uproar (Online review)
Recorded in June 2021 before a socially-distanced audience at Wilton’s Music Hall, A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) brings Silent Uproar’s show back to the stage following previous successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Vaults Festival.
It’s ok to not be ok: A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) is streaming now
A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad), the multi-award-winning cabaret musical that explores how it’s OK to not be OK, is now available globally via Stream Theatre until Sunday 11 July 2021.
NEWS: Four new streaming premieres, filmed live at Wilton’s Music Hall
Four more acclaimed productions from Olivier Award-winning producer James Seabright will stream globally over the next month via Stream Theatre, running from 1 to 25 July 2021. The four critically acclaimed shows were curated by Seabright and filmed last month before socially distanced audiences at east London’s Wilton’s Music Hall, the oldest surviving Grand Music Hall in the world. The streaming season comprises: multi-award-winning …
NEWS: OffWestEnd announces 47 finalists for its Offies Awards 2021
OffWestEnd announces 47 finalists for its Offies Awards 2021, across 15 categories, covering 24 venues across London.
10 of Ought To Be Clowns’ top moments of the decade
Ever behind the curve, I present 10 of my top moments in a theatre over the last ten years (plus a few bonus extra ones because whittling down this list was hard, and it will probably be different tomorrow anyway!).