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News: new dates announced for Monday Night at the Apollo

Revised dates have now been confirmed for Monday Night at the Apollo – a brand-new concert series for 2021, to be performed in front of socially distanced audiences at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, and simultaneously livestreamed to viewers at home via the theatre discovery platform Thespie, which is dedicated to bringing the best live and recorded theatre to audiences around the world

Originally scheduled for January and February, the concerts have been postponed because of the national government restrictions and venue closures. Tickets are on sale now for Monday 12 April, Monday 26 April and Monday 10 May. In light of the current restrictions, the producers will still review each date as it approaches and react accordingly according to government guidelines at the time. Continue reading “News: new dates announced for Monday Night at the Apollo”

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News: NT launches new streaming service National Theatre at Home

The National Theatre, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, has today launched  National Theatre at Home, a brand-new streaming platform making their much-loved productions available online to watch anytime, anywhere worldwide.

Launching today with productions including the first ever National Theatre Live, Phèdre with Helen Mirren,  Othello  with Adrian Lester and the Young Vic’s Yerma with Billie Piper, new titles from the NT’s unrivalled catalogue of filmed theatre will be added to the platform every month.

In addition to productions previously broadcast to cinemas by National Theatre Live, a selection of plays filmed for the NT’s Archive will be released online for the first time through National Theatre at Home, including Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes with Olivia Colman and Inua Ellams’ new version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters (a co-production with Fuel).   Continue reading “News: NT launches new streaming service National Theatre at Home”

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News: Mondays in January to look distinctly brighter with Monday Night at the Apollo

Tickets are on sale now for Monday Night at the Apollo – a brand-new concert series taking place in front of a socially distanced audience at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. The concerts will take place at 7pm on Monday 11 January 2021, Monday 25 January 2021 and Monday 8 February 2021, and will also be livestreamed to audiences at home.

An intimate evening of conversation and song hosted by Greg Barnett (Miss Littlewood, Duchess of Malfi), Monday Night at the Apollo will see some of the West End’s best-known performers sing an eclectic mix of music from their favourite genres. Performers will share their most cherished memories and experiences from their careers, alongside performances of music which is personal to them, in a relaxed and informal theatrical celebration. Continue reading “News: Mondays in January to look distinctly brighter with Monday Night at the Apollo”

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News: Kings of Broadway live concert announced

Following an online concert that took place earlier this year, Kings of Broadway will entertain live audiences this December. The musical celebration will take place at the Palace Theatre on 9th December, just a week after the upcoming England lockdown is said to end.

Over 30 performers will come together for the concert, celebrating music of Jule Styne, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim. Styne wrote the music for Gypsy and Funny Girl, with Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman and Company by Sondheim. Continue reading “News: Kings of Broadway live concert announced”

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News: cast albums for The Little Prince, HouseFire and Treason

A trio of cast album announcements from the last couple of weeks offers a different way to help support theatres in these trying times

Nicholas Lloyd Webber and James D. Reid have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £200,000 for a special recording of The Little Prince musical album and provide over 70 people in the theatre industry with jobs during the current COVID-19 pandemic

Richard E. Grant, Kevin McKidd, Sierra Boggess, Tracie Bennett, Amara Okereke and Lorna Want will all lend their support to the project by playing principal cast members. Emma Lindars, Emma Harris, Sarah Ryan, Alison Arnopp, Janet Mooney, T’Shan Williams, John Addison, Oliver Lidert, Michael Pickering, James Gant and David Durham will also be part of the cast.

Audiences can choose from a range of available rewards from the crowdfunding campaign whilst also creating essential jobs. The full list of awards can be found here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-little-prince-the-album Continue reading “News: cast albums for The Little Prince, HouseFire and Treason”

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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”

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News: A Song For Our Time winner is announced

After the announcement of the search for ‘A Song For Our Time’, an original song to be written in response the the effect of the global pandemic and the following lockdown, organisers Danielle Tarento and Paul Wilkins are delighted to unveil the chosen song, ‘Looking At The Moon’ by Amir Shoenfeld and Caitlyn Burt.

They said “We were absolutely overwhelmed at the response to this search, with over 260 submissions from across six continents. The standard was incredibly high, with new songs from world-class songwriters from all four corners of the globe. Narrowing them down to a shortlist of three was unbelievably difficult and we are so grateful to Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown for helping us to make the final decision. We are delighted with the chosen song, ‘Looking At The Moon’ and thank Amir and Caitlyn for sharing their message of hope with us.” Continue reading “News: A Song For Our Time winner is announced”

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News: National Theatre at Home Phase 3

The National Theatre has today announced further productions that will be streamed live on YouTube every Thursday at 7PM BST via the National Theatre’s YouTube channel as part of National Theatre at Home; the new initiative to bring content to the public in their homes during the Coronavirus outbreak. The titles announced today include productions from partner theatres which were previously broadcast to cinemas by National Theatre Live. Continue reading “News: National Theatre at Home Phase 3”

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Not-a-review: City of Angels, Garrick Theatre

City of Angels didn’t get its opening night at the Garrick Theatre but there’s still some treats out there

“Greatness can come from the sum of our parts”

City of Angels, Garrick Theatre

Interview with Vanessa Williams
Interview with Theo James
Q&A with City of Angels cast and director Josie Rourke

And if I might have snuck into a preview, I might say that it was a pretty darn slick version of the show once again, Vanessa Williams was everything.

 

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News: City of Angels full cast announced

Just look at those beauties! The Olivier-winning Donmar Warehouse production of City of Angels begins previews tonight at the Garrick Theatre.

First seen in 2014, this revival of City of Angels finds stars Rosalie Craig (Company) as Gabby/Bobbi, Hadley Fraser (Les Misérables) as Stine, and Rebecca Trehearn (Showboat) as Donna/Oolie, reprising their roles in the Larry Gelbart-Cy Coleman-David Zippel musical.

New to the production are film and TV star Theo James (Divergent) as Stone, GIrls Aloud member Nicola Roberts as Avrill/Mallory, and Tony nominee Vanessa Williams (Into the Woods), making her West End debut, as Carla/Alaura. Continue reading “News: City of Angels full cast announced”