MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

The Prince of Egypt, Dominion Theatre

Posted on February 26, 2020 by mkmswain

The theatre gods rained down not fire and pestilence, but a 45-minute techincal delay on opening night of this substantially revised musical – a stage adaptation of the 1998 DreamWorks animated movie. But nothing could entirely halt this juggernaut; fittingly, for a show that earnestly values persistence and the unstoppable power of the epic.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged ancient egypt, bible, book tickets, christine allado, dominion theatre, dreamworks, egypt, london, moses, musical, review, stephen schwartz, the prince of egypt, theartsdesk, theatre, west end, when you believe | Leave a comment

15 Top Shows To See During London Theatre Week

Posted on February 24, 2020 by mkmswain

London Theatre Week runs 24 February to 8 March, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to see the West End’s best plays and musicals – with tickets from just £15, £25 and £35! You can even nab some of the best seats in town at only £45. So, get booking now and enjoy the finest shows that the capital has to offer.

Read my full TodayTix article here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged book tickets, cheap tickets, daniel radcliffe, dear evan hansen, emilia clarke, game of thrones, les miserables, london, london theatre week, musical, phantom, play, prince of egypt, sale, show, the seagull, theatre, ticket deal, todaytix, waitress, west end, wicked | Leave a comment

When Caroline Flack shone brightest: the touching story behind her Strictly triumph

Posted on February 18, 2020 by mkmswain

Among the heartfelt tributes to the late Caroline Flack in recent days was a message from Strictly Come Dancing, praising the former contestant’s “infectious energy and passion for dance”. Flack won the 12th series of the show in 2014 with professional partner Pasha Kovalev, and her “journey” (in Strictly parlance) was a truly beautiful one – gradually growing in confidence and ballroom skill to rightly lift that Glitterball trophy.

Read my full Telegraph article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV | Tagged ballroom, bbc, caroline flack, celebrity, craig revel-horwood, dance, dancing, darcey bussell, pasha kovalev, strictly, strictly come dancing, telegraph, tv | Leave a comment

The Visit, National Theatre

Posted on February 14, 2020 by mkmswain

Three years after the National’s enthralling revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, the playwright returns with his new adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomic 1956 parable – which has also been turned into an Ingrid Bergman-starring film and a Kander and Ebb musical.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged book tickets, broadwayworld, drama, hugo weaving, lesley manville, london, national theatre, play, review, the visit, tony kushner | Leave a comment

Leopoldstadt, Wyndham’s Theatre

Posted on February 14, 2020 by mkmswain

Tom Stoppard’s latest – and possibly final – play has few of the dramatic hallmarks you might expect from him: the dazzling linguistic flourishes, the formal trickery, the knotty metaphors and giddy metatheatricality. Instead, we have a relatively straightforward, linear piece, initially overburdened by information, but with an immense accumulative power that leaves audiences awed and tearful.

Read my full BroadwayWorld review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged antisemitism, book tickets, broadwayworld, cheap tickets, ed stoppard, family, holocaust, jew, jewish, leopoldstadt, nazi, patrick marber, play, review, ticket deal, tom stoppard, vienna, west end, wyndhams theatre | Leave a comment

The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre

Posted on February 7, 2020 by mkmswain

With counter-terrorism an urgent concern – and specifically how best to find, track and use the data of suspected threats, without sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties – it’s excellent timing for a meaty drama about the surveillance state. And the second half of this debut full-length stage work from Al Blyth, helmed by Hampstead AD Roxanna Silbert, comes excitingly close to being that play for today.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged al blyth, counter terrorism, data, edward snowden, free press, gchq, government, guardian, hacking, hampstead theatre, james graham, journalist, london, mass data collection, media, nsa, play, press, privacy, review, roxana silbert, security, security services, source, spy, state, surveillance, terrorism, terrorist, the haystack, theartsdesk, theatre, thriller, whistleblower | Leave a comment

Endgame/Rough for Theatre II, Old Vic

Posted on February 5, 2020 by mkmswain

“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness.” Director Richard Jones has certainly taken Beckett’s words to heart in this vividly comic, star-cast Old Vic double bill, pairing Endgame with a lesser-known short play – which acts as a sort of stylistic and thematic amuse bouche. The result is a richly engaging evening, though one that skirts real profundity.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged alan cumming, beckett, daniel radcliffe, death, endgame, existential, harry potter, jane horrocks, karl johnson, london, modernist, old vic, play, review, rough for theatre ii, theartsdesk, theatre | Leave a comment

New Year, New Dances

Posted on January 29, 2020 by mkmswain

From circus and boxing crossover to retro with a twist and the ultimate diva moves: new dance styles to try this year.

Read my full Dancing Times article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism | Tagged 2020, aerial, ballet, bollywood, boss, boxing, Caramelo Latin Dance, circus, class, dance, danceworks, dancing, diva, hula, islandsoul, kizomba, learn to dance, london, new, new year, pineapple dance studios, school, shway, sos, The Dance Studio Leeds, the factory, uk | Leave a comment

Faustus: That Damned Woman, Lyric Hammersmith

Posted on January 29, 2020 by mkmswain

Changing the gender of the title character “highlights the way in which women still operate in a world designed by and for men,” argues Chris Bush, whose reimagining of Marlowe’s play premieres at the Lyric ahead of a UK tour. It’s certainly a compelling idea – albeit one already explored in previous productions like Pauline Randall’s 2018 gender-swapped Faustus at the Globe – but the resulting piece, though impassioned, is unfortunately rather a muddle.

Read my full theartsdesk review here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged chris bush, devil, faustus, feminist, gender, gender swap, hell, london, lyric hammersmith, marlowe, mephistopheles, play, review, that damned woman, theartsdesk, theatre | Leave a comment

The Visit leads February’s Top 10 new London shows

Posted on January 27, 2020 by mkmswain

From a new Tony Kushner adaptation to an epic musical and Shakespeare sitcom.

Read my full BroadwayWorld article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged a doll's house, be more chill, best, book tickets, broadwayworld, Bryan Adams, caryl churchill, cheap tickets, dance, danny mac, david mitchell, dominion theatre, donmar warehouse, far away, february, gielgud theatre, globe, hip hop, hugo weaving, interview, jason robert brown, jessica hynes, kate prince, lesley manville, london, love, message in a bottle, musical, national theatre, new, nora, peacock theatre, piccadilly theatre, play, pretty woman, romance, sam wanamaker playhouse, shakespeare, southwark playhouse, stephen schwartz, sting, tara fitzgerald, the last five years, the other palace, the prince of egypt, the visit, theatre, ticket deal, todaytix, tony kushner, top 10, upstart crow, valentines day, video, west end, women beware women, young vic | Leave a comment

MARIANKA SWAIN ~ WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW

The Prince of Egypt, Dominion Theatre

15 Top Shows To See During London Theatre Week

When Caroline Flack shone brightest: the touching story behind her Strictly triumph

The Visit, National Theatre

Leopoldstadt, Wyndham’s Theatre

The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre

Endgame/Rough for Theatre II, Old Vic

New Year, New Dances

Faustus: That Damned Woman, Lyric Hammersmith

The Visit leads February’s Top 10 new London shows

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