Tag: Fra Fee

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News: A Little Night Music comes to Holland Park

Stephen Sondheim’s wry and beautiful comedy of love and regret, A Little Night Music, comes to Holland Park for a single al fresco concert performance in the year of his 90th birthday. 

Presented by Quick Fantastic and Janie Dee in association with Opera Holland Park

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film, Smiles of a Summer Night, and named after Mozart’s serenade, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Sondheim’s musical weaves a tapestry of songs and waltzes as new romances begin, ex-lovers reunite, and secret passions are revealed. The night smiles three times: first on the young, second on fools, third on the old. Last seen together in the National Theatre’s celebrated production of Follies, Janie Dee and Joanna Riding lead a cast of Olivier Award-winning performers (Sharif Afifi, Hiba Elchikhe, Danielle Fiamanya, Fra Fee, Hilary Harwood, Emma Kingston, Emma Harrold, Nadim Naaman, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Ella Tronson and Kayi Ushe), directed by Alastair Knights. Alex Parker conducts an eight piece ensemble of instrumentalists in Jason Carr’s critically acclaimed orchestration of Sondheim’s score.

In accordance with current guidelines on social distancing, capacity is strictly limited to 200. Tickets go onsale on 3rd August.

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News: Stiles and Drewe Prize to host online concert

A host of West End stars have been enlisted to perform the shortlist of 15 compositions in the running for the 2020 Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize in a virtual concert to be streamed today (5th July 2020).

Recorded by each singer in isolation, the videos which have been produced by Bartek Podkowa and mix engineer Kevin Porée will be presented as a virtual concert with the winning song announced in the online ceremony. Continue reading “News: Stiles and Drewe Prize to host online concert”

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Review: Kings of Broadway 2020

Jule Styne, Jerry Herman & Stephen Sondheim get a worthy lockdown tribute in Kings of Broadway 2020

“Knock-knock! Is anybody there?”

There certainly was a whole lot of people there as the online concert of Kings of Broadway 2020 in support of NHS Charities Together and Acting for Others brought a large dose of classic musical theatre back into our lives. Expertly marshaled by musical director and pianist Alex Parker, the choice to spotlight Black Lives Matter through a recital of Maya Angelou’s ‘And Still I Rise’ was a good one, even if it showed the relative caucasity of the main line up. Continue reading “Review: Kings of Broadway 2020”

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News: Kings of Broadway 2020 concert announced

The works of Jule Styne, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim will be celebrated in a concert to support NHS Charities Together and Acting for Others

Participating remotely in the suitably testosteroney entitled Kings of Broadway 2020 will be Liz Callaway, Michael Colbourne, Deborah Crowe, Jordan Lee Davies, Louise Dearman, Janie Dee, Fra Fee, Rob Houchen, Damian Humbley, Ramin Karimloo, Claudia Kariuki, Emma Kingston, L Morgan Lee, Rebecca Lock, Nadim Naaman, Anna O’Byrne, Fiona O’Carroll, Jamie Parker, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Clive Rowe, Jenna Russell, Lucy Schaufer, Celinde Schoenmaker, Caroline Sheen, Samantha Spiro, Laura Tebbutt, Michael Xavier and Alex Young.

Creatively, the evening will feature musical direction from Alex Parker, it will be mixed by Jack Blume, edited by Ben Hewis and will have additional mixing and editing support from Martin Higgins.

Not a bad line-up eh? You can watch the show on Quick Fantastic’s YouTube channel at 7pm on Sunday 31st May and though it is billed as free, please think about making a donation, however small you think it might be, every little helps.

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News: line-up for week 3 of Leave A Light On

The schedule has been announced for week 3 of Leave A Light On, a series of live-streamed concerts.

The shows will be live streamed as part of the Leave A Light on series of concerts produced by Lambert Jackson and The Theatre Café, which aims not only to provide financial support for the performers involved, but also to provide entertainment for people in self-isolation.

Tickets to watch the live streams are a bargainous £7.50, just click on this links to book.

The full lineup is as follows:

Monday 6th April
2:30pm Lara Denning
4:30pm Lauren Drew
6:30pm Alice Fearn 

Tuesday 7th April
2:30pm Janique Charles
4:30pm Olivia Moore & Piers Bate
6:30pm Zoe Birkett

Wednesday 8th April
2:30pm Raquel Jones
4:30pm Sabrina Aloueche
6:30pm Josh Piterman

Thursday 9th April
2:30pm Paul Wilkins
4:30pm Nadim Naaman
6:30pm Jodie Steele

Friday 10th April
2:30pm Tim Mahendran
4:30pm Renee Lamb
6:30pm Fra Fee 

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Film Review: Animals (2019)

Holliday Grainger excels in Laura Jane Unsworth’s ferociously compelling Animals

“What do you do when you’re not standing around in bars being enigmatic?”

Based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel of the same name, Animals is a pretty darn special film from Sophie Hyde, perhaps a little unassuming at first glance but soon revealing itself as richly layered with something special in every frame, especially when Holliday Grainger – delivering a career-best performance – is in shot.

The film hooks on the friendship between Laura and Tyler, BFFs who have literally painted the town (Dublin) red throughout their twenties, and how their relationship alters once Laura meets handsome pianist Jim and priorities start to shift. All the messiness of friendship is here in a brilliantly complex portrayal of the difficulties that come with having to grow up. Continue reading “Film Review: Animals (2019)”

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Album Review: The Clockmaker’s Daughter (2019 Studio Cast Recording)

Webborn and Finn’s cracking new musical The Clockmaker’s Daughter receives a delectable Cast Recording treatment that features the likes of Ramin Karimloo, Hannah Waddingham, Christine Allado and Fra Fee

“Come gather round!
Come gather young and old
Tall and small…
Come gather all!”

I was a huge fan of Michael Webborn and Daniel Finn’s musical The Clockmaker’s Daughter when it premiered at the Landor back in 2015, and loved getting to revisit the show when Trinity Laban’s final year students mounted the show a year later. So news of a cast recording was excitedly received in the Clowns household, especially once the company was revealed, featuring the likes of Ramin Karimloo, Hannah Waddingham, Christine Allado and Fra Fee. 

And with those stalwart supporters of new musical theatre Auburn Jam at the helm (Joe Davison producing) and David Ball Productions executive producing, the album sounds like an absolute dream. The show describes itself as “a musical faerytale” and the richness of the score reflects the considerable folk heritage of the British Isles, utilising Celtic influences as it is set in the fictional Irish village of Spindlewood but widening out its focus to produce something joyously universal. Continue reading “Album Review: The Clockmaker’s Daughter (2019 Studio Cast Recording)”

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Someone to hold you too close – 10 takes on Being Alive to celebrate Company’s opening

My top 10 Losing My Minds post has been one of the most popular on the site (the most recent spike sadly being because of Marin Mazzie’s untimely passing – RIP), so I thought I would repeat the exercise with what is arguably Company’s most iconic song ‘Being Alive’. 

“Somebody make me come through”

1. Alice Fearn
An unexpected favourite mainly due to the combination of its achingly beautiful strings (arranged by Ben Goddard) and the delicacy of Fearn’s beautiful delivery.

2. Raúl Esparza
This. In all its ferocious power, I just can’t imagine it being better done by a man.

Continue reading “Someone to hold you too close – 10 takes on Being Alive to celebrate Company’s opening”