These Theatre Thoughts

  EXTRA PERFORMANCE ADDED DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND FOR MY FAVORITE THINGS: THE RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT AT LONDON’S THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE   Due to high demand, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization today announce an additional 2.30pm matinee performance of My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80 th Anniversary Concert playing on Tuesday, 12 December at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The previously announced 7.30pm evening performance has limited remaining availability. Tickets are on sale now at RH80Concert.com .   As previously announced, the concert will feature Emmy ® , two-time GRAMMY ® and six-time Tony Award ® winner Audra McDonald ; Olivier Award ® nominee Julian Ovenden ; Olivier Award nominee Marisha Wallace ; and two-time Tony, two-time Golden Globe ® and Emmy Award nominee Patrick Wilson. Additional headliners will be announced shortly.   Directed and staged by Tony Award-winning director and choreographer

  ACCLAIMED NEW MUSICAL THE LITTLE BIG THINGS TO MAKE EXCLUSIVE CAST ALBUM RECORDING   ALL THE SONGS FROM THE NEW BRITISH MUSICAL THE LITTLE BIG THINGS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME   Highlights include “Miles And Miles”, “One to Seventeen” and the title track “The Little Big Things”     The critically acclaimed new British musical The Little Big Things - based on the Sunday Times best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser - is to release an official West End cast recording.   The 19-song collection, which has music by Nick Butcher and lyrics by Nick Butcher & Tom Ling , will be available digitally worldwide and on CD from @sohoplace. Release date and full details to be announced.  Michael Harrison and Nica Burns production of The Little Big Things , based on the best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser , with music by Nick Butcher , lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling and book by Joe White , opened @sohoplace on 2 September 2023, and has now extended until

  Date: 25nd October 2023  Seat: Unallocated Rating: 2 Stars It’s always hard to reinvent a classic story that people know well, and although it can work beautifully when it’s done right, when it’s done wrong, it leaves an audience with more questions than answers, the main one being “why?”  Rope , a modern adaptation of the original 1929 Patrick Hamilton play and the 1948 Hitchcock film , unfortunately, falls into the second category. In this production, it’s been brought right up to date, but the many mentions of Uber and Tinder/Grindr and the use of smartphones does nothing to improve the story or make it more interesting, and this modernisation, along with some added swearing and the fact that the original gay undertones are no longer hidden, seem to be gimmicks more than anything that really does much.  The story is that of Brandon Wyndham and Gregg Charles, a couple living in Brandon’s expensive London flat, left to him by a recently deceased uncle. The pair decide to murder a m

  Production images have been released for the UK and Ireland tour of PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL , currently playing at the Birmingham Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 28 October. Photo Marc Brenner PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL stars Amber Davies as Vivian Ward, Ore Oduba as Happy Man/ Mr Thompson , Oliver Savile as Edward Lewis and Natalie Paris as Kit De Luca.   They are joined by Becky Anderson , Rebekah Bryant , Josh Damer-Jennings , Ben Darcy , Andrew Davison , Lila Falce-Bass , Noah Harrison , Sydnie Hocknell , Elly Jay , Rachael Kendall Brown , Michael Kholwadia , Joshua Lear , Stuart Maciver , Victoria Rachael McCabe , Eleanor Morrison-Halliday , LJ Neilson, Annell Odartey , Curtis Patrick and Chomba Taulo .   PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL features original music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance , a book by Garry Marshall and the film’s screenwriter J.F. Lawton , it is directed and choreographed by the two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitc

  From the LATEST book by Julia Donaldson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler BRAND NEW STAGE ADAPTATION TO PREMIERE AT THE ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE EDINBURGH IN OCTOBER 2024 THEY’RE FUNNY…THEY’RE SILLY… AND THEY’RE REALLY, REALLY BAD https://www.thebaddieslive.com/   A brand-new stage adaptation of THE BADDIES , Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s smash-hit 2022 story, will have its world premiere at The Royal Lyceum Theatre next year, playing in Edinburgh from 4 – 20 October, with a press performance on Tuesday 8 October 2024. The Baddies will then play at the Warwick Arts Centre from 26 – 27 October, and then Rose Theatre Kingston from 29 October – 3 November, with further tour dates to be announced.   Meet the very worst Baddies in the world! Don’t you dare to come too close to a witch, a troll and an ancient ghost! The Baddies love being bad. They roar, spook and cast wicked spells to try and scare a girl out of her wits…who will succeed? Or perhaps the girl is braver than they thi

  Tickets: Paid for Date: 22nd October 2023  Seat: E1 Rating: 4 Stars Frank and Percy , a new play by Ben Weatherill and directed by Sean Mathias, is a beautiful story of friendship and love and how one can become the other (and vice versa). It’s sweet and playful, but that’s not to say there aren’t some truly heart-breaking moments in there as well. It’s everything life is distilled down into a two-hour two-hander, and it’s just what’s needed to lift the spirits and bring a smile to your face.  Frank and Percy, two older gentlemen, meet while walking their dogs (Frank has Toffee and Percy has Bruno – neither dog is ever technically seen, but Weatherill’s writing and the convincing performances by Ian McKellen as Percy and Roger Allam as Frank are enough for the audience to see them nonetheless). That’s the setup, and that’s the beauty of  Frank and Percy ; it’s so simple, but there’s still a lot it has to say.  Frank is a recent widower and retired history teacher. Percy is a professo

  Date: 19th October 2023  Seat: Unallocated Rating: 3 Stars It’s spooky season, so of course, it’s time to watch scary theatre productions, complete with a true air of menace and a few jumps along the way. That’s something The Nag’s Head , a Make It Beautiful Theatre Company production, has managed to pull off, but it’s combined with a lot of laugh out loud humour which tones it all down and takes away that potentially nasty edge. This is a scary play for people who don’t generally like scary plays.   Three siblings, Jack (Felix Grainger), Sarah (Cara Steele), and Connor (Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson) come together after their father dies after living completely separate lives for what seems to be a number of years (Connor doesn’t even know Jack’s girlfriend’s name, and they’ve been going out for 15 years). They have to take care of things, which includes his pub - The Nag’s Head – they grew up in and which their father pretty much ran into the ground.  Discovering that scares sell after

  FULL CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH STARRING RALPH FIENNES AND INDIRA VARMA DIRECTED BY SIMON GODWIN MORE SEATS RELEASED FOR SALE IN LIVERPOOL, EDINBURGH AND LONDON   Wessex Grove, Underbelly, Gavin Kalin Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions, Winkler & Smalberg, and Cultura in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, D.C. are delighted to announce the full cast and creative team for MACBETH starring Tony and BAFTA Award-winning Ralph Fiennes as Macbeth and Olivier Award-winning Indira Varma as Lady Macbeth at The Depot, Liverpool (18 November – 20 December 2023), Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh (12 – 27 January 2024) Dock X, Canada Water, London (10 February – 23 March 2024) and Washington, D.C. (9 April – 5 May 2024).   More seats are also released today for the seasons in Liverpool, Edinburgh and London. For tickets please go to MacbethTheShow.com .   Photo credit Oliver Rosser Joinin

  From the book by Julia Donaldson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler The smash-hit stage adaptation WILL SPEND CHRISTMAS IN NORTHAMPTON PLAYING AT ROYAL & DERNGATE 7 – 31 DECEMBER 2023 Stick Man is leaving his family tree and heading to Royal & Derngate in Northampton this festive season!    Photo credit: Pamela Raith Photography The venue has recently reopened following a brief temporary closure, after the discovery of RAAC concrete in the foyer. Based on the book by Julia Donaldson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler, Stick Man will play at Royal & Derngate from 7 – 31 December, with a press performance on Saturday 9 December.  'Stick Man lives in the family tree With his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three...’ What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree

My review of   Sunset Boulevard  at The Savoy Theatre, on behalf of West End Best Friend:  “With one look, I can break your heart…” So sings Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd’s stripped-back yet beautiful reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, a gothic, cautionary tale of Hollywood glitz and glamour and what happens when the cameras stop turning and the fans stop caring. And she can. And she does. Oh, how she does. She’s ready for her close-up, and she delivers.  Read more at:  https://www.westendbestfriend.co.uk/news/review-sunset-boulevard-savoy-theatre    

  SONIA FRIEDMAN PRODUCTIONS AND NEAL STREET PRESENT   A NEW PLAY BY JEZ BUTTERWORTH DIRECTED BY SAM MENDES   RUNNING AT HAROLD PINTER THEATRE FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON FROM 27 JANUARY – 15 JUNE 2024   REUNITING THE PARTNERSHIP BEHIND THE MULTI - AWARD-WINNING PLAY THE FERRYMAN   Following their multi-award-winning triumph, The Ferryman , Jez Butterworth,   writer of  Jerusalem,  and Sam Mendes, director of  The Lehman Trilogy,  return to the West End to bring you  The Hills of California . The latest play from the acclaimed playwright will run at Harold Pinter Theatre, for a limited season, from 27 January to 15 June 2024.   Casting for the production will be announced in due course.   This house. It’s called ‘Sea View’.  It’s just I’ve looked out of every window, and you can’t. You can’t see the sea.   Blackpool, 1976. The driest summer in 200 years. The beaches are packed. The hotels are heaving. In the sweltering backstreets, far from the choc

  Photo credit: Charles Flint Tickets: Gifted Date: 2nd October 2023  Seat: Unallocated  Rating: 4 Stars In Lazarus Theatre Company’s bold and innovative adaptation of The Changeling , a striking vision meets some of the most visceral storytelling you’re likely to see, takes the audience with the characters on a real journey – and it’s a dark one (perhaps because you’ll have your eyes closed in fear or shock or disgust for at least some of it).  The Changeling is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, in collaboration with William Rowley. Usually set in 17th-century Spain, the play revolves around the dark and complex themes of love, betrayal, and madness. The central character, Beatrice-Joanna, is engaged to one man but falls passionately in love with another, Alsemero, and to rid herself of her unwanted fiancé, she conspires with her servant, De Flores, to have him killed, as you do. However, this plot sets off a series of tragic events as De Flores becomes obsessed with Be

Ahead of their performance in Sleeping Beauty this Christmas West End superstar Carrie Hope Fletcher (Carrabosse), CBeebies favourite Andy Day (Jangles) and Crawley's number one Dame Michael J Batchelor headed to The Hawth to launch the show, alongside West End star Scott Paige (The Good Spirit), Chrystine Symone (Aurora) and Luke Walsh (Prince Michael). Carrie Hope Fletcher's impressive West End credits include Les Misérables, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins and WhatsOnStage award-winning roles in Heathers, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, and The Addams Family. She recently completed a sell-out solo UK tour An Open Book. C Beebies favourite Andy Day as the loveable Jangles is sure to delight the thousands of families who are fans of his BAFTA-nominated series, Andy's Wild Adventures as well as Andy's Dinosaur Adventures, Andy's Prehistoric Adventures, and Andy & The Band among many others. Scott Paige recently appeared The Great British Bake Off T