Strictly Come Dancing 2021, week 5

Posted on October 24, 2021 by mkmswain

Three celebrities score 10s in a high-standard show, and it’s a shock visit to the dance-off for Rhys Stephenson.

Read my Telegraph talking points for the main show and results show

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The Shark is Broken, Ambassadors Theatre

Posted on October 22, 2021 by mkmswain

“We’re going to need a bigger theatre.” Back in summer 2019, this fascinating behind-the-scenes tale took a bite out of the Edinburgh Festival.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

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The BBC’s A-List attempt to fix Britain’s Eurovision problem is doomed

Posted on October 21, 2021 by mkmswain

There are few constancies in our turbulent world, but one certainty, cemented over the past decade, is that the UK will always bomb at Eurovision.

Read my full Telegraph article here

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Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Posted on October 21, 2021 by mkmswain

How to demystify the icon that is Bob Marley, to separate the man from the mantles placed upon him: reggae superstar, Black hero, poetic advocate of peace and love, ganja-smoking Rasta inspiration, or cool dude splashed across T-shirts and posters in student halls? 

Read my full London Theatre review here

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Strictly Speaking: Week 4

Posted on October 18, 2021 by mkmswain

Ah, the theme week hangover. Saturday’s show was very much the bleary, old contact lenses stuck to eyelids, two Alka-Seltzers dissolved in ginger ale, nibbling at cold leftover pizza while moaning softly morning-after to Movie Week’s night of ecstatic clubbing.

Read my full Dancing Times blog here

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Strictly Come Dancing 2021, week 4

Posted on October 17, 2021 by mkmswain

Greg Wise bows out after a Macarena samba, while Sara Davies tangos to the top.

Read my full Telegraph talking points from the main show and results show

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West End musicals that celebrate great musicians and pop music

Posted on October 16, 2021 by mkmswain

From the new Bob Marley musical to the return of Jersey Boys.

Read my full London Theatre article here

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Strictly is more gruelling than anyone imagines – as Robert Webb just found out

Posted on October 14, 2021 by mkmswain

The actor has withdrawn from the competition on health grounds. But he’s far from the first – or last.

Read my full Telegraph article here

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The Cherry Orchard, Theatre Royal Windsor

Posted on October 14, 2021 by mkmswain

This summer, the 82-year-old Ian McKellen became the oldest Hamlet on record in Sean Mathias’s age-, gender- and colour-blind production at Theatre Royal Windsor. Now that same company shifts from Shakespeare to Chekhov.

Read my full Telegraph review here

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Strictly Speaking: Week 3

Posted on October 11, 2021 by mkmswain

Ah, Strictly theme weeks: synonymous with high drama, rampant scoring inflation, and a heady mix of glamour and the dredges of a three-year-old’s dressing-up box.

Read my full Dancing Times blog here

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