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News: Lambert Jackson Productions and The Theatre Café announce the return of Leave A Light On

Lambert Jackson Productions and The Theatre Café have announced the return of popular online concert series Leave A Light On, with 70 performances being re-streamed via stream.theatre.

Shows from across the two series’ feature Zoe Birkett, Jordan Luke Gage, David Hunter, Cassidy Janson, Lucie Jones, Beverley Knight and Layton Williams many more famous West End faces.

Shows will be available to watch every day at 5pm and 8pm from 15 March to 24 April. Continue reading “News: Lambert Jackson Productions and The Theatre Café announce the return of Leave A Light On”

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News: Tristram Kenton’s stage archive – the musicals edition

Since it is the season of goodwill to all men, I’m not going to belabour the point that it is a shame that ‘musicals’ have been lumped together as a category here, whereas the likes of Pinter and Kane got their own specials, whither Sondheim, Herman and Tesori. Still, it’s lovely as ever to stretch back over years of musical theatre productions to see some of Tristram Kenton’s most iconic shots for the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2020/dec/02/musicals-on-stage-in-pictures-tristram-kenton

Photos: Tristram Kenton

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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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Review: Rent, Greenwich Theatre

“In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife”

Just a brief note on Rent as it is closing tomorrow and sadly I could find little constructive to say about it. I somehow have remained immune to the charms of Jonathan Larson’s show despite it gaining a fanatical following amongst some and so the prospect of seeing it filled me with much less anticipation than it did my companions for the evening. And for me, Paul Taylor-Mills’ production at the Greenwich Theatre did little to convince me to change my mind. 

A 90s pop-rock updating of Puccini’s La Bohème, the focus becomes a community of bohemians in New York’s Lower East Side as HIV/AIDS spreads its lethal influence as they all struggle to hold onto their dreams. There’s undoubtedly a dated feel to the material, something exacerbated by the low budget design of set and costume which feels rough around the edges but not in a way which really worked with the show. Continue reading “Review: Rent, Greenwich Theatre”

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Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Palace

“Everyone likes to dress up, wear some sequins, get in touch with their feminine side…apart from lesbians that is”

When I found out a great Canadian friend who just happens to be a huge musicals fan was stopping in town briefly in the festive season, I had little doubt of what would be the best thing for us to see: Priscilla Queen of the Desert. For this is not a show about about subtlety: using a carefully judged collection of familiar pop songs, some amazing costumes and a production design team whose maxim was clearly ‘more more more’, this is a fun-packed, crowd-pleasing spectacular that was the perfect anecdote to the horrible weather.

It’s based on the film of the same name, where three ill-matched drag performers take a road trip from Sydney to Alice Springs to meet up with the estranged wife and son of one of them, and little has been changed. Of the three leads, Tony Sheldon is superb as the transexual Bernadette, armed with a lifetime’s collection of quick one-liners, a steady grace and an unerring conviction in who she is. The trumpet anecdote is one of the funniest things you will hear all year and Sheldon’s performance holds the show together, elevating it beyond a series of drag turns. Continue reading “Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Palace”