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2021 Offie & ONCOMM Award Winners

In this ‘special circumstances’ year, the Offies 2021 Awards Ceremony celebrated the creativity and resilience of artists in fringe, alternative and independent theatre in a time of crisis who have found new ways to produce fresh and inventive work for thousands of stay-at-home audiences.

The Offies are OffWestEnd’s main awards, for shows with at least 10 performances, and awards were given to the best of the shows presented before lockdown and the few who managed to go ahead in the summer
months.

The OnComm is the new award for online shows from across the UK (and beyond) and was introduced in May 2020. Additionally, the winner of the OffFest award for theatre shows in festivals was also announced, alongside extra OneOff awards for innovative work and initiatives in 2020, especially in the light of the Covid lockdown. Continue reading “2021 Offie & ONCOMM Award Winners”

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The finalists of The Offies 2021

The finalists for the 2021 Offies (for productions in 2020) have been announced and congratulations to the 47 finalists across 16 of the 28 Offies categories. The winners will be announced at the Offies Awards Ceremony, being held online on 21 February 2021.

The following categories are not going forward for 2021 awards as there were insufficient nominations due to theatre closures arising from Covid-19 lockdowns:

  • Design: Costume
  • Design: Video
  • Choreography
  • Company Ensemble
  • Musicals: New Musical
  • Opera
  • Panto
  • Plays: Most Promising New Playwright
  • Plays: Production
  • Theatre for Young People: Production (0-7)
  • Theatre for Young People: Production (13+)
  • Theatre for Young People: Production (8+)

Continue reading “The finalists of The Offies 2021”

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Review: The Fabulist Fox Sister

New musical theatre gets haunted by the intriguing charms and waspish humour of The Fabulist Fox Sister

“Tonight is going to be different”

There’s something just a little bit perverse about the scheduling of new musical The Fabulist Fox Sister, seeing its third and final performance up against Strictly Come Dancing’s much-heralded Musicals Week. Of course, any spotlight on the world of musical theatre is to be welcomed in these trying times and it was nice to see the likes of fresher shows Waitress and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie alongside the all-too-predictable Phantom. But the continued focus on big West End shows does make it trickier for small shows to break through, to reach those audiences who’ve been conditioned to expect crashing chandeliers at every turn.

With music by Luke Bateman and book and lyrics by Michael Conley The Fabulist Fox Sister ably demonstrates that a reduction in scale doesn’t necessarily equate a loss in impact. Indeed, the particular intimacy gained in a live-streamed environment like that far outweighs the experience of straining to see from the balcony of any number of West End venues. Taking the true story of Kate Fox – who with her sisters pioneered the movement of spiritualism – as a starting point and fashioning from it an entertaining monologue with songs, this is a thrilling taste of what musicals can also be. Continue reading “Review: The Fabulist Fox Sister”

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Review: The Poltergeist

Philip Ridley’s The Poltergeist is a vivid monologue, performed well by Joseph Potter

“I’ve woken up with a headache”

From the tiny flat above a dry-cleaners in Ilford which he shares with his boyfriend Chet, Sasha seethes. Once fêted by the art world as a teenage prodigy, he crashed and burned spectacularly and has never really recovered. An invitation to his niece’s birthday party seems like a good opportunity to get out but between his pill-popping, catastrophising and near-boiling resentment towards his family, it is clear we’re in for a bumpy ride. 

The Poltergeist sees Philip Ridley maintain his long-standing relationship with the Southwark Playhouse with a customarily intense monologue which proves a gift of a role for Joseph Potter. Sasha is a young man very much in his head, so as Potter rattles wonderfully through all the various roles, there’s the sense that we’re seeing exaggerated versions of these characters as Sasha bristles against the indignity of having to make small talk when he could be exercising his vengeful streak. Continue reading “Review: The Poltergeist”

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News: new musicals for Christmas and New Year

It’s a theatre that reliably creates memorable Christmas productions so it is good to hear that Forever Plaid will return to Upstairs at the Gatehouse from 16th December. The cast features Cameron Burt, George Crawford, Christopher Short and Alexander Zane, with Ian Oakley (musical director) and Jess Martin.

The show was written and originally directed and choreographed by Stuart Ross and has musical continuity, supervision and arrangements by James Raitt. This production is directed by John Plews and choreographed by Racky Plews. Continue reading “News: new musicals for Christmas and New Year”

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News: winter 2020 season at Southwark Playhouse

Southwark Playhouse continue to knock it out of the park with their programming with new musicals livestreaming and a revival of one of the best new plays of the last 10 years – Nick Payne’s Constellations

CONSTELLATIONS
Written by Nick Payne. Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle. Lighting design by Jamie Platt. Sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite. Set and costume design by Lee Newby.
Cast: Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo and Oliver Johnstone.

Dates: Thursday 26 November – Saturday 19 December 2020­­­

One relationship. Infinite possibilities.

Nick Payne’s Constellations explores how even the smallest change in our lives can dramatically alter the course we take. It is a spellbinding exploration of love, science, heartbreak and hope.

Premiering at the Royal Court in 2012, Constellations went on to receive critical acclaim in the West End and on Broadway. It returns to London this Christmas, starring Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Three Sisters – NT, Been So Long) and Oliver Johnstone (All My Sons – Old Vic, On Chesil Beach), directed by Jonathan O’Boyle (The Last Five Years, The View Upstairs).

Winner of the 2012 Evening Standard Award for Best New Play, Constellations speaks to the power of human connection against all odds. Continue reading “News: winter 2020 season at Southwark Playhouse”

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News: Jenna Russell joins A Night at the Musicals

Jenna Russell will join Christina Modestou as a live special guest for A Night at the Musicals on Sunday, 25 October 2020 at 7pm.

This performance will be live streamed while it plays to a socially distanced audience in The Large using a multi-camera set-up, broadcast globally with unlimited £10 tickets available up until 18 October 2020, increasing to £15 from 19 October 2020 during show week. There is only one chance to catch the performance; it will not be available to catch-up with afterwards. There are live socially distanced audience tickets available to purchase for £22 for those who can make it to the venue. Continue reading “News: Jenna Russell joins A Night at the Musicals”

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News: September theatre news gathers apace

Lockdown may have returned but theatres are boldly looking ahead – the David Tennant-starring Good and Six the Musical are moving theatres, Haydn Gwynne is back and The Last Five Years extends at the Southwark Playhouse

CP Taylor’s Good, starring David Tennant, Fenella Woolgar and Elliot Levey and directed by Dominic Cooke, which was due to open this October, has announced new dates for 2021 and a new run at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Produced by Fictionhouse and Playful Productions, Good was originally scheduled to begin performances at the Playhouse Theatre on Tuesday 6th October. Due to the current global situation, the production was postponed and will now preview at the Harold Pinter Theatre from Wednesday 21st April  to Saturday 17st July 2021.

Current ticket holders will be given priority for the new dates and do not need to do anything. The point of purchase will be in touch with ticket holders to reschedule or refund their booking. Extra tickets for the new dates for Good at The Harold Pinter Theatre go on sale at 10am, Monday 12 October 2020. Continue reading “News: September theatre news gathers apace”

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Casting news for early September

As some theatres look to a careful reopening and others consolidate their online offers, casting news of four intriguing shows breaks 

The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouse will star Molly Lynch (Cathy) and Oli Higginson (Jamie) who return to their roles after they were cut short on 16 March. They will be appearing in the show from 1 – 31 October and will be in the same ‘support bubble’ so the show won’t adhere to socially distancing staging.

However, in the venue, there will be strict social distancing measures in place. For full info on that head here and click on the Covid-19 FAQS tab: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/the-large/the-last-five-years/#covidfaqs Continue reading “Casting news for early September”

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News: Rosalie Craig and Hadley Fraser to star online in Before After

Southwark Playhouse continue to offer up new musical theatre by bringing together Rosalie Craig and Hadley Fraser to star online in Before After

Not that real-life husband and wife duo Rosalie Craig (Company) and Hadley Fraser (City of Angels) need that much bringing together, but after their West End co-starring gig was cruelly truncated, this online show should prove some recompense and in any case, new live theatre is always a real treat. 

Before After is a staged reading of a brand new musical love story by Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman. A cast recording of the show (with Fraser and Caroline Sheen) was released a few years ago by SimG Productions and I was a big fan, so I am fully onboard with this enterprise and you should be too. Continue reading “News: Rosalie Craig and Hadley Fraser to star online in Before After”