MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

Strictly Speaking: Week 12

Posted on December 9, 2019 by mkmswain

The semi-final offered up the two-dance challenge, which usually gives a strong indication of who’s ready for the final itself. But, in case you were in any doubt, the judges made their views very clear – i.e. no Chris under any circumstances! His (admittedly just OK) dances were given the full killing them with kindness treatment, the panel all but shoving him into a taxi while screaming “THE NORTH, GO GO GO!”.

Read my full Dancing Times blog here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged american smooth, anton du beke, ballroom, bbc, blog, celebrity, chris ramsey, dance off, dancing, dancing times, emma barton, final, judges, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, oti mabuse, paso doble, quickstep, recap, review, rumba, semi final, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, tv, waltz, week 12 | Leave a comment

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 semi-final: who danced it best? Kelvin Fletcher is the technical master across two dances

Posted on December 8, 2019 by mkmswain

By this stage, our celebrities can handle one dance – but two? That separates the contenders from the pretenders, as Len Goodman used to say. Leading contender, and surely hot favourite for the trophy, is Kelvin Fletcher, who impressed in a starkly contrasting pair of numbers.

Read my full Telegraph article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged american smooth, anton du beke, ballroom, bbc, celebrity, cha cha, chris ramsey, dance off, emma barton, judges, karen hauer, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, oti mabuse, paso doble, quickstep, recap, review, rumba, semi final, technique, telegraph, tv, viennese waltz, waltz, week 12 | Leave a comment

End of the 2010s: BroadwayWorld’s Best Shows of the Decade

Posted on December 8, 2019 by mkmswain

As the 2010s draw to a close, we thought we’d look back at all the incredible theatre of the past decade. What’s been your highlight? Here, BroadwayWorld reviewers share some of theirs!

Read the full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 2010s, 2020, a very expensive poison, amadeus, annie baker, ballet, best, broadwayworld, come from away, company, curious incident, decade, emma rice, end, follies, gillian anderson, globe, hamilton, kinky boots, lest we forget, list, matilda, mischief theatre, musical, national theatre, new decade, new vic, new year, old vic, patti lupone, play, review, reviewer, roundup, shakespeare, show, sondheim, succession, sunny afternoon, theatre, top, west end | Leave a comment

Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer, Hampstead Theatre

Posted on December 6, 2019 by mkmswain

We’ve had Chess the musical; now, here’s Chess the play. Tom Morton-Smith, who has experience wrestling recent history into dramatic form with the acclaimed Oppenheimer, turns his attention to the 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavík, in which American challenger Bobby Fischer battled the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky. The event gained outsize importance from the Cold War propaganda battle – the two men pawns in their countries’ games, and the match characterised as the lone hero versus the Soviet machine.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 70s, america, bobby fischer, boris spassky, chess, cold war, hampstead theatre, iceland, london, play, ravens, review, soviet union, theartsdesk, theatre, tom morton-smith, world chess championship | Leave a comment

The Boy Friend, Menier Chocolate Factory

Posted on December 4, 2019 by mkmswain

How ripping! A saucy French maid doing the Charleston with a handsome chap in tennis whites sets the scene for the most delightful escapism in town: Matthew White’s gossamer-light revival of Sandy Wilson’s 1953 love letter to the Roaring Twenties. It was once the third-longest-running stage musical, and boosted Julie Andrews’ career on Broadway.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 20s, adrian edmondson, amara okereke, bill deamer, book tickets, broadwayworld, cheap tickets, christmas, dancing, flapper, france, janie dee, julie andrews, london, love, matthew white, menier chocolate factory, musical, review, riviera, romance, sandy wilson, singing, the boy friend, theatre, ticket deal | Leave a comment

Strictly Speaking: Week 11

Posted on December 2, 2019 by mkmswain

Ah, Musicals Week – AKA Dressing-up Box Explosion 2: Wig Warz!. Pretty unsubtle work here from the Strictly producers and judges, with a clear division between sensible theme/dance matches and bizarre combos, and between sky-high quarter-final scores and mediocre ones. Add in bias in the show’s running order, plus the online system going down for a chunk of the voting time, and let those conspiracy theories run riot!

Read my full Dancing Times blog here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged 40, alex scott, ballroom, bbc, beauty and the beast, blog, celebrity, chris ramsey, craig revel-horwood, dance, dance off, dancing, dancing times, elimination, foxtrot, gaston, hairspray, jive, judges, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, musical, musicals week, quarter finals, recap, review, samba, scd, shirley ballas, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, tv, week 11 | Leave a comment

Strictly Come Dancing 2019, Musicals Week: Karim Zeroual’s technique stops the show – and finally locates Craig’s 10 paddle

Posted on December 1, 2019 by mkmswain

Dancing a jive to Hairspray’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat” might be unoriginal (it’s the fourth on Strictly so far), but it proved a perfect match for Karim Zeroual’s boundless energy – and gave us the first perfect score this series, with even panto villain judge Craig Revel Horwood unable to find fault.

Read my full Telegraph article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged 40, alex scott, ballroom, bbc, beauty and the beast, blog, celebrity, chris ramsey, craig revel-horwood, dance, dance off, dancing, elimination, foxtrot, gaston, hairspray, jive, judges, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, musical, musicals week, quarter finals, recap, review, samba, scd, shirley ballas, strictly, strictly come dancing, technique, telegraph, tv, week 11 | Leave a comment

Strictly Fabulous

Posted on November 30, 2019 by mkmswain

New Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse shares her thoughts on glamming up, learning to dance, and family time.

Read my full Dancing Times interview here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged ballroom, bbc, celebrity, competition, dance, dancing, dancing times, emma barton, family, germany, interview, judge, judging, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, learn to dance, lets dance, motsi mabuse, oti mabuse, scd, sister, south africa, strictly, strictly come dancing, tv | Leave a comment

REDD, Barbican

Posted on November 30, 2019 by mkmswain

The recent development of hip-hop theatre has had a crucial advocate in company Boy Blue, formed by Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante. Their 2017 Blak, Whyte, Gray drew acclaim for its restrained, stylised and sophisticated drama, rather than relying on some of hip-hop’s more easily engaging qualities, and they now return to the venue where Boy Blue is an Artistic Associate with the even more formally challenging Redd.

Read my full Dancing Times review here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged barbican, boy blue, dance, dance umbrella, dancing, dancing times, hip hop, london, redd, review, theatre | Leave a comment

Strictly Speaking: Week 10

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mkmswain

So, there are flat post-Blackpool shows, and there’s…whatever this was. Barely one rung up from everyone calling in sick while still nursing their hangovers on the tour bus. We’re in the closing stages of hard-fought competition, and yet by far the highlight this week was Bruno Tonioli “singing”. I know!

Read my full Dancing Times blog here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged alex scott, argentine tango, ballroom, bbc, blackpool, blog, bruno tonioli, celebrity, chris ramsey, competition, couples choice, dance, dance off, dancing, dancing times, judges, karim zeroual, kelvin fletcher, latin, leaderboard, paso doble, recap, review, saffron barker, samba, singing, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, technique, tv, week 10 | Leave a comment

MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

Strictly Speaking: Week 12

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 semi-final: who danced it best? Kelvin Fletcher is the technical master across two dances

Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer, Hampstead Theatre

The Boy Friend, Menier Chocolate Factory

Strictly Speaking: Week 11

Strictly Come Dancing 2019, Musicals Week: Karim Zeroual’s technique stops the show – and finally locates Craig’s 10 paddle

Strictly Fabulous

REDD, Barbican

Strictly Speaking: Week 10

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