It’s Thanksgiving 1983 in Washington and the Pascal family are preparing for the holiday. Jackie-O is overly excited by the fact that her twin brother Marty is coming home for the occasion. When he arrives having driven through a hurricane, he brings with him Lesly, his fiancée and Jackie-O is apoplectic for The House Of Yes is a dark tale of incest, jealousy and a … [Read more...]
A Taste of Honey at Richmond Theatre | Review
When A Taste Of Honey was first produced at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in May 1958, it caused a sensation and soon transferred to the West End. Written by nineteen-year-old Shelagh Delaney, it was her first attempt at writing a play and she soon got tagged an “angry young woman” (something she hated) and bracketed with the likes of John Osborn and Harold Pinter … [Read more...]
Brooklyn The Musical at Greenwich Theatre | Review
The thing that grabs your attention as you enter the auditorium at the Greenwich Theatre is Justin Williams’ amazing set for Brooklyn the Musical. The crumbling, graffiti covered brick walls of a decaying, derelict building rise up into the highest reaches of the theatre with glassless windows, an enormous plastic curtain, rubble and the detritus of a run-down squat … [Read more...]
All You Need Is Love with The National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
In January 1963 I was lucky enough to see The Beatles at the Finsbury Park Astoria in their Christmas show. And see them is what I did as a combination of two thousand or so screaming pre-pubescent girls and the tiny amps they used in those days meant I couldn’t hear a thing! I was a big fan of the band buying all their records the day they came out and seeing their … [Read more...]
Angela’s Ashes – The Musical at the Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon
After being closed for three years and at a refurbishment cost of around £42 million, the Fairfield Halls in Croydon has finally re-opened. Within its bright, shiny interior is the much-missed Ashcroft Playhouse (previously the Ashcroft Theatre) named after Dame Peggy Ashcroft who was born nearby and last night it had its first professional production since being … [Read more...]
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story at Wilton’s Music Hall
A large red shipping container dominates the stage at Wilton’s Music Hall as the audience enters the auditorium. Then the lights go down and a man with an even larger strawberry blonde beard and top hat pops out of the roof and starts to sing “Travelers Curse”. This is Ben Caplan as “The Wanderer” and Old Stock - a Refugee Love Story is up and running and what an … [Read more...]
Review of Torch Song at The Turbine Theatre
Harvey Fierstein’s semi-autobiographical, Tony award-winning play Torch Song seems to have been around forever. It was originally three one-act plays International Stud, Fugue In A Nursery and Widows And Children First!, the first of which was produced off-Broadway in 1978. Then in 1981, the three became one in Torch Song Trilogy starring Fierstein as the thinly … [Read more...]
Parade by The National Youth Music Theatre at The Other Palace
The National Youth Music Theatre have been training and inspiring young people in that discipline for over forty years. Their alumni include Idris Elba, Kerry Ellis, Michael Jibson and Jasper Britton. These are big boots to fill but the class of 2019 are doing them proud as they showcase their talents in Parade at The Other Palace. First performed on Broadway in … [Read more...]
God Save the Tea – Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival
It’s been said that sometimes it’s better to journey than arrive and that was the case when I went to see God Save The Tea. It all augured well as we were met in the lobby of the new, very shiny Camden Council offices in St Pancras Square where a number of enthusiastic people in blue t-shirts from Tête Á Téte, the company putting on the local opera festival, made sure … [Read more...]