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Some alternatives for festive shows in London, if panto ain’t your thing

Not up for seeing panto but still fancy getting out of the house before Omicron burns it all down? Here’s some alternatives to pantomimes over the coming month, plus a mention for some seriously good deals on West End shows over at Seatplan

Les Misérables and The Phantom Of The Opera star John Owen-Jones will be joining fellow Welsh West End singing sensation Lucie Jones to celebrate the festive season in style at her exclusive December concerts. John – who has starred to great acclaim as both Jean Valjean and The Phantom – will appear at the Lucie Jones at Christmas concerts at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, and at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London.

The intimate and exclusive shows will feature Lucie, who has just finished playing Jenna Hunterson on the UK tour of Waitress and will soon take on the iconic role of Elphaba, and John performing all their favourite Christmas songs and showtunes, accompanied by Lucie’s live band. The dates are Monday December 13 at St David’s Hall, Cardiff and Tuesday, December 14 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London.

Tickets are on sale now from www.cuffeandtaylor.com Continue reading “Some alternatives for festive shows in London, if panto ain’t your thing”

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Review: Life of Pi, Wyndham’s Theatre

If it isn’t necessarily the best play around, Life of Pi at the Wyndham’s Theatre can seriously lay claim to being one of the finest productions open right now 

“I’ve had a terrible trip”

West End theatres may not seem like the most flexible of spaces but there’s clearly an appetite for reconfiguring them at the moment. The Playhouse Theatre has properly transformed into the Kit Kat Club for Cabaret and over at the Wyndham’s Theatre, something really quite special has been done for Life of Pi. It is so cleverly done and the transformation allows Tim Hatley’s set design to recapture much of what made the show work in its highly successful run in Sheffield back in 2019.

I must confess to not having read Yann Martel’s original book nor seen Ang Lee’s film adaptation. And a show that features puppetry so heavily would hardly seem like a natural fit for someone as easily freaked out by would-be naturalistic puppets as I. But the word of mouth was so strong and I do like to try and challenge my preconceptions occasionally (if only to prove I’m right ;-)). And I’m kinda glad I did, as the show really is a visual treat like no other, to borrow from another soon-to-open-in-the-West-End show, truly spectacular spectacular. Continue reading “Review: Life of Pi, Wyndham’s Theatre”

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News: Ruth Wilson and Ivo van Hove reunite for The Human Voice

After the pandemic robbed us of the chance to see 24 hours of Ruth Wilson, the celebrated (not least by me) actress has revealed her plans to return to the London stage. She’s set to star in The Human Voice, an adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s monologue by Ivo van Hove and designed by Jan Versweyveld, at the Harold Pinter Theatre for three short weeks from 17th March until 9th April.

The production brings back together Wilson and van Hove after their vibrant take on Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre back in 2016. And it is a show has been in Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s (or Toneelgroep Amsterdam as was) repertoire for a good few years now, with the marvellous actress Halina Reijn having performed it one way or another every year from 2008 to 2019! Continue reading “News: Ruth Wilson and Ivo van Hove reunite for The Human Voice”

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News: full cast announced for Rumi: The Musical at the London Coliseum

Final casting is today annouced for Rumi: The Musical by Dana Al Fardan, one of the Middle East’s leading contemporary composers, and West End star Nadim Naaman, which will get its world premiere at the London Coliseum in November 2021.

Based on a story about the 13th century philosopher and poet Rumi by Evren Sharma, Rumi: The Musical follows Al Fardan and Naaman’s 2018 debut musical, ‘Broken Wings’, which premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket before touring the Middle East. Continue reading “News: full cast announced for Rumi: The Musical at the London Coliseum”

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News: Wicked announces 2022 London cast

Wicked, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is proud to announce that Lucie Jones (Elphaba), Ryan Reid (Fiyero), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madame Morrible) and Gary Wilmot (The Wizard) will lead the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre from Tuesday 1 February 2022.

They will join Helen Woolf, who returns from maternity leave to continue her acclaimed performance as Glinda, Carina Gillespie (Nessarose), Nicholas McLean (Boq), Simeon Truby (Doctor Dillamond), Amy Webb (Standby for Elphaba) and Charli Baptie* (Standby for Glinda), who all continue in their starring roles. Continue reading “News: Wicked announces 2022 London cast”

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News: 2:22 – A Ghost Story announces casting for its new season at the Gielgud Theatre

Producer Runaway Entertainment is delighted to announce the first casting news for the transfer of Danny Robins’ edge-of-your-seat, supernatural thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story for a new season at the Gielgud Theatre. 

Stephanie Beatriz will play the role of Lauren, James Buckley will play the role of Ben, Elliot Cowan will play the role of Sam and Giovanna Fletcher will play the role of Jenny. Continue reading “News: 2:22 – A Ghost Story announces casting for its new season at the Gielgud Theatre”

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Award-winning West End Musical & Juliet Celebrates Second Birthday

With a generous take on arithmetic, & JULIET is celebrates its second anniversary in London’s West End with the release of brand new production photographs by Johan Persson. The award-winning musical thrilled audiences since it opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 November 2019, though the intervention of the pandemic means I’m not quite sure we can call it 2 years old!

Fabulously fresh and riotously funny, & JULIET explodes with dozens of pop anthems by legendary songwriter Max Martin, including … Baby One More Time, Since U Been Gone, Roar, It’s My Life, I Want It That Way, and Can’t Stop the Feeling! mThe show also includes the brand new song One More Try, written especially for the show by Max.

Continue reading “Award-winning West End Musical & Juliet Celebrates Second Birthday”

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News: National Theatre Live relaunches with new programme of four productions in cinemas worldwide

The National Theatre today announces the return of National Theatre Live with a new programme of four productions to be broadcast to audiences worldwide in cinemas, starting in the UK and Ireland in January, and with tickets now on sale.

The productions are Tom Stoppard’s Olivier-Award winning play Leopoldstadt from Sonia Friedman Productions in the West End which will be broadcast to cinemas from January; Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage from the Bridge Theatre in February; Tanya Ronder, Jim Fortune and Rufus Norris’ new musical Hex from the NT will be broadcast in March and the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Henry V starring Kit Harington will be in cinemas from April.

Since March 2020, National Theatre Live has broadcast in cinemas with special encore screenings of Follies from 2 September 2021 and the NT’s feature film Romeo & Juliet was also broadcast to cinemas from 28 September 2021.

The NT’s next feature film Death of England: Face to Face will be in Curzon cinemas on Tuesday 2 November. The film will then be broadcast, for free, on Sky Arts at 9pm on Thursday 25 November (Freeview channel 11).

Sky Arts is the Headline Partner of National Theatre Live in the UK. Continue reading “News: National Theatre Live relaunches with new programme of four productions in cinemas worldwide”

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News: Jamie Lloyd and Gypsy production updates

Paul Foster’s concert presentation of Gypsy at Alexandra Palace has added to its already exciting castlist. Joining the seven-fold Rose of Tracie Bennett, Nicola Hughes, Melanie La Barrie, Rebecca Lock, Keala Settle, Samantha Spiro and Sally Ann Triplett will be will be Laura Pitt-Pulford as Louise, Carly Mercedes Dyer as June and Christopher Howell as Herbie.

Directed by Paul Foster with choreography by Joanna Goodwin and sound design by Paul Smith, the show will feature a 26-piece orchestra playing the show’s original orchestrations, conducted by Alex Parker. Book your tickets for 21st February 2022 here. Continue reading “News: Jamie Lloyd and Gypsy production updates”

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News: Andrew Lloyd Webber to host a special gala performance of Cinderella with Malala Yousafzai

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit new musical Cinderella is to hold a special gala performance to raise money for Malala Yousafzai’s work to empower women and girls around the world.

With the backdrop of a worsening global refugee crisis, which has interrupted the education of millions of young women, Malala Fund wants those who have lost everything to retain access to the opportunities they need to build a better future.

More than 130 million girls are out of school today and Malala Fund is working for a world where every girl can learn and lead through access to a free, safe and quality education. Continue reading “News: Andrew Lloyd Webber to host a special gala performance of Cinderella with Malala Yousafzai”