ENGLISH TOURING OPERA, the only English professional touring opera company, working on a minuscule Arts Council subsidy when compared to other, less adventurous organisations, is about to open its first post-Covid production in London, at the historic Matcham Hackney Empire (1 October 7.30 pm), before touring all over the country from Tunbridge Wells to Hexham via Exeter, mostly in venues which otherwise see no opera. This Autumn the opera is AMADIGI, Handel’s fifth opera, dating from 1715, … [Read more...]
Tête à Tête Opera Festival: Rune | Review
The penultimate production of the 2021 Tête à Tête Opera Festival, based at London’s Cockpit Theatre and showcasing contemporary and avant-garde new works by young composers, is RUNE, written and composed by Alastair White. This 50-minute piece of music theatre was first seen in August in a live performance at the Round Chapel, Hackney, and can now be found in an interactive form online for the modest price of £1. White’s opera is a “vast cosmological fantasy.....set on a planet where history … [Read more...]
Mario: A Super Musical! at The Union Theatre | Review
For those who don’t know, MARIO is the title character of the bestselling video game franchise of all time, which began in 1983. These days he is an established Pop Culture Icon and has appeared in a variety of merchandise: people and places have been nicknamed after him. MARIO - A SUPER MUSICAL, presently showing at the Union Theatre, London, is a highly successful parody of the Mario universe, and hugely appreciated by the audience who all appeared to have a thorough knowledge of Mario and his … [Read more...]
Curtain Raisers at Wilton’s Music Hall | Review
Opera della Luna, under the direction of Jeff Clarke, has built a well-deserved reputation for staging inventive productions of ‘forgotten’ musical works of the last 150 or so years. Running at Wilton’s until 4th September is the company’s latest offering, a double bill of CURTAIN RAISERS, short works that were often played before the main piece in Victorian and Edwardian theatres, until WW1. Both are some of the best works of their type, tuneful, lightweight and great fun! Offenbach’s … [Read more...]
Gay Generations – White Bear Theatre | Review
Gay Generations is a contrasting double bill of new plays. The first is A Certain Term by Michael McManus, whose latest play Maggie and Ted is being staged at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in October, having received a showing at the Garrick Theatre recently. It concerns Graham who, each year, organises a party to ‘raise a glass’ to those friends who were lost in the Aids epidemic. The action begins an hour before the party, when a young work colleague, Joe, unexpectedly turns up to help … [Read more...]