Category Archives: Journalism

Why do Strictly viewers hate Ashley Roberts?

Posted on December 10, 2018 by mkmswain

This weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing semi-final saw a third consecutive trip to the dreaded dance-off for ex-Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts – despite topping the leaderboard with pro partner Pasha Kovalev after notching four nines for a fierce Paso Doble and a perfect … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged alexandra burke, american, article, ashley roberts, ballroom, bbc, blog, celebrity, comment, competition, dance, dance off, dancing, danny john-jules, debbie mcgee, faye tozer, final, joe mcfadden, latin, lauren steadman, pasha kovalev, pop, pussycat dolls, semi final, strictly, strictly come dancing, telegraph, theatre, training, tv | Leave a comment

Strictly Speaking: Week 12

Posted on December 10, 2018 by mkmswain

Semi-final week saw the usual quality drop-off with two dances – although in some cases such technical lack was rebranded as “authenticity” by the ever-erratic judges. We also had the dance and music lottery either boosting or limiting celebs, depending … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged american smooth, argentine tango, ashley roberts, ballroom, bbc, blog, celebrity, craig revel-horwood, dance, dance off, dancing, dancing times, eliminated, faye tozer, final, joe sugg, latin, lauren steadman, recap, review, semi final, shirley ballas, stacey dooley, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, tango, tv | Leave a comment

Is Strictly’s judging going to pot?

Posted on December 9, 2018 by mkmswain

In these divisive times, we can count on the BBC’s sequin-fest to get all the generations round the telly on a Saturday night, becoming armchair experts on fleckerls and voltas. In this 16th series, however, the good ship Strictly has hit more icebergs … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged alexandra burke, ashley roberts, ballroom, bbc, bruno tonioli, celebrity, charles venn, column, competition, contemporary, couples choice, craig revel-horwood, dance, dance off, dancing, danny john-jules, darcey bussell, ed balls, hip hop, joe sugg, judges, judging, katya jones, kevin clifton, latin, les miserables, musical theatre, opinion, same sex dancing, score, seann walsh, shirley ballas, stacey dooley, strictly, strictly come dancing, telegraph, tv, unfair | Leave a comment

Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory

Posted on December 6, 2018 by mkmswain

There’s a welcome alternative to panto hijinks in this gem of a Trevor Nunn musical revival – more attuned to the biting hardships of winter, and to the elegiac aspect of change, than to festive jollies. Which is not to say that there … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged andy nyman, dancing, daughter, faith, family, father, fiddler on the roof, if i were a rich man, immigrant, jew, jewish, judaism, judy kuhn, london, love, marriage, menier chocolate factory, musical, religion, review, revolution, russia, singing, theartsdesk, theatre, tradition, trevor nunn, tsar | Leave a comment

Strictly Speaking: Week 11

Posted on December 3, 2018 by mkmswain

Musicals Week! The quarter-finals! All to play for on this jazz hands show, and the combination of high-stakes competition and rampant theming produced… mixed results. Some dances fit beautifully with their songs, others were swallowed whole – and the judges … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged aladdin, ashley roberts, ballroom, bbc, blog, celebrity, charles venn, dance, dance off, dancing, dancing times, funny girl, joe sugg, joseph, judge, latin, les miserables, musicals, musicals week, quarter finals, quickstep, recap, review, rumba, south pacific, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, the sound of music, trevor dion nicholas, tv, week 11, west end, west side story | Leave a comment

True West leads December’s Top 10 new London shows

Posted on December 2, 2018 by mkmswain

From a starry revival to new plays and the return of a modern classic. Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged almeida, barbican, best, black panther, book tickets, broadwayworld, caroline or change, cheap tickets, christmas, comedy, december, doctor faustus, donmar warehouse, drama, fiddler on the roof, Games of Thrones, globe, johnny flynn, Kit Harrington, letitia wright, london, lynn nottage, marianne elliott, mark haddon, marlowe, martha plimpton, menier chocolate factory, musical, natasha gordon, national theatre, nine night, piccadilly theatre, picks, play, playhouse theatre, richard ii, rsc, sale, save, shakespeare, sharon d clarke, simon russell beale, sweat, the convert, the curious incident, the merry wives of windsor, theatre, ticket deal, top 10, trafalgar studios, trevor nunn, true west, trump, vaudeville theatre, wakanda, west end, young vic | Leave a comment

Interview: Sharon D Clarke

Posted on November 27, 2018 by mkmswain

The actress discusses her role in musical Caroline, or Change. Read my full TodayTix interview here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 1960s, african-american, america, black, book tickets, caroline or change, chichester festival theatre, civil rights, daniel evans, family, interview, jeanine tesori, maid, motown, musical, playhouse theatre, race, racism, sharon d clarke, singing, todaytix, tony kushner, west end | Leave a comment

Book review: Dramatic Exchanges, ed. Daniel Rosenthal

Posted on November 26, 2018 by mkmswain

This fascinating tome offers an insider’s history of the National Theatre, via some 800 letters exchanged between Artistic Directors, actors, directors, playwrights, politicians, agents, critics and more. From arcane trivia through to vigorous words on the very nature and purpose … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged actor, amadeus, arthur miller, artistic director, book, broadwayworld, daniel rosenthal, director, dramatic exchanges, eileen atkins, harold pinter, harry potter, history, ian mckellen, john osborne, judi dench, laurence olivier, letter, maggie smith, national theatre, paul mccartney, peter hall, play, review, the crucible, the curious incident, the history boys, theatre, tom stoppard | Leave a comment

Strictly Speaking: Week 10

Posted on November 26, 2018 by mkmswain

So, we could talk about the post-Blackpool hangover pervading the week (this show very much brought to you by paracetamol and Alka-Seltzer). We could talk about scoring monstrosities, or the continuing bafflement of Couple’s Choice, or how the ghost of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged ashley roberts, ballroom, bbc, blackpool, blog, celebrity, couples choice, dance, dance off, dancing, dancing times, faye tozer, graeme swann, joe sugg, judges, latin, lindy hop, lindy hopathon, oti mabuse, quickstep, recap, review, samba, shirley ballas, street, strictly, strictly come dancing, strictly speaking, tv, waltz, week 10 | Leave a comment

BWW Interview: Robert North

Posted on November 22, 2018 by mkmswain

The choreographer discusses the creation and enduring popularity of The Snowman. Read my full BroadwayWorld interview here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged ballet, book tickets, broadwayworld, cheap tickets, children, choreographer, christmas, dance, dancing, director, family, interview, kids, london, peacock theatre, raymond briggs, robert north, sadlers wells, the snowman, ticket deal, visit london, we're walking in the air, young audience | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Journalism

Why do Strictly viewers hate Ashley Roberts?

Strictly Speaking: Week 12

Is Strictly’s judging going to pot?

Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory

Strictly Speaking: Week 11

True West leads December’s Top 10 new London shows

Interview: Sharon D Clarke

Book review: Dramatic Exchanges, ed. Daniel Rosenthal

Strictly Speaking: Week 10

BWW Interview: Robert North

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