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Theatre News and Reviews

News
30 Sep
News
Oliver Mitford

Thriller Live extends booking for another year!

Thriller Live Thriller Live, the global hit Michael Jackson tribute show that is currently entertaining audiences at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End has extended its booking period through to 6 September 2015.

Now in its incredibly successful sixth year on Theatreland’s Shaftesbury Avenue, Thriller Live had been booking until 26 April 2015, but due to the high demand for tickets, the shows producers have extended through to September.

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Reviews
29 Sep
Reviews
Phil Willmott

Review of Otello

Otello This much anticipated new staging of Verdi’s masterpiece is directed by David Alden, a veteran of many fine productions who enjoyed a particular success recently with his haunting and startling revival of Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britain, at this same address.

I call it a masterpiece to give Verdi due reverence but if I’m honest I didn’t find the music anything like as powerful as Grimes.

It all starts well enough with a gripping storm scene in which a vast crowd of chorus singers hurl themselves around bellowing chunky harmonies to magnificent crashing music as they watch a ship wreck. This is one of a number of powerful group scenes which bring much needed excitement to proceedings. Otherwise it’s all a bit dry and static.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream - Permanently Bard
22 Sep
Reviews
Daniel Perks

Review of A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Permanently Bard

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Permanently Bard This adaptation proves that anything is possible when it comes to Shakespeare. The Globe beware because Shakespeare Bard definitely has a modern take on things.

One of the things I love about the summer months is that everything in London moves outside – you can enjoy great food, drink and theatre in the beauty of the evening summer sun and surrounded by nature. Some plays lend themselves really well to being performed in the open air and none more so than Shakespeare. So when I was invited to see an open air performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed by Permanently Bard theatre company, I was absolutely on board. Even better, the performance was in a pub beer garden, which combines two of my favourite things – theatre and alcohol.

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Reviews
19 Sep
Reviews
Daniel Perks

Review: Forbidden Broadway at the Vaudeville Theatre

Forbidden Broadway A great spoof of musicals old and new, but it only works if you know the original shows. Take out a couple of the more abstract references to give it a wider audience appeal.

As a regular theatregoer, I love getting caught up in the atmosphere that surrounds the West End. Each production is unique, with moments that make you laugh, cry and cheer (hopefully). Of course, no show is flawless and each has its eccentricities. So when I heard that Forbidden Broadway, a musical revue that makes fun out of all of these weird and wonderful nuances, was coming to the Vaudeville Theatre I knew I had to go along. I wondered whether this show would pick out the same things that I noticed when seeing a musical for the first time. It did, but it also opened my eyes to some completely new and hilarious moments that I will definitely watch out for in the future.

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Reviews
18 Sep
Reviews
Daniel Perks

Review of Wicked

Wicked What is this feeling, so sudden and new? My excitement at seeing Wicked again, that’s what! Kerry Ellis returns to this record breaking show in a blaze of green glory.

In my mind, a show like Wicked needs no introduction; it’s hard to imagine walking through London Victoria without seeing the eye-catching green signs adorning the Apollo Victoria Theatre. After winning over 100 international awards and defining the careers of many musical theatre performers, I have to remind myself that Wicked has only been around for 9 years. But like any musical, it often goes through cast changes to keep the performances fresh. So I went along to watch this spectacle once again but now with a new leading lady playing the green witch Elphaba herself.

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