Tag Archives: pop

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

Simply the best

Posted on April 25, 2018 by mkmswain

Actress Adrienne Warren discusses playing Tina Turner in new West End musical Tina. Read my full Dancing Times article here

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged adrienne warren, dancing, dancing times, interview, london, musical, pop, rock, singer, singing, song, theatre, tina, tina turner, west end | Leave a comment

Bat Out of Hell, Dominion Theatre

Posted on April 19, 2018 by mkmswain

Back by feverishly popular demand, Jim Steinman’s mega-musical is no longer in danger of alarming unsuspecting operagoers. A year on from its Coliseum debut, this indisputably bonkers show moves to the West End venue it was surely always destined for – … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged andrew polec, bat out of hell, christina bennington, dominion theatre, dystopia, jim steinman, jukebox musical, london, love, meat loaf, musical, new york, opera, peter pan, pop, review, rock, romance, romeo and juliet, west end | Leave a comment

Thank you for the music

Posted on February 13, 2018 by mkmswain

A new exhibition celebrates ABBA – the band that gets everyone dancing. Read my full Dancing Times article here

Posted in Art, Dance, Journalism | Tagged abba, abba super troupers, band, costumes, dance, dancer, dancing times, exhibition, festival hall, magazine, mamma mia, music, pop, southbank centre, swedish | Leave a comment

We Made It: Stufish Entertainment Architects

Posted on February 21, 2016 by mkmswain

Set designer and architect Ric Lipson on creating work for U2, Madonna, Chinese theatre and a new West End version of The War of the Worlds. Read my full theartsdesk interview here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged architect, beijing olympics, china, cirque du soleil, dai show, designer, dominion theatre, drama, london, madonna, martian fighting machine, music, pink floyd, play, pop, queen, ric lipson, rock, set design, stadium, stufish entertainment architects, the rolling stones, the war of the worlds, theatre, tour, u2, west end | Leave a comment

Stepping Out

Posted on January 9, 2016 by mkmswain

Marianka Swain looks back on a busy year and previews 2016 Same-sex dance made headlines again in 2015 with the Strictly debate, but the real news was on the dancefloor, with improvements in outreach and visibility leading to exciting competitions … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Theatre | Tagged 2015, 2016, ballroom, bbc, berlin, blackpool, competition, dance, dancing, dancing times, eurogames, gay, germany, helsinki, latin, lesbian, london, magazine, music, pink jukebox, pop, preview, same sex, same sex ballroom, same sex dancing, scd, stockholm, strictly, strictly come dancing, tv, video | Leave a comment

Xanadu, Southwark Playhouse

Posted on November 3, 2015 by mkmswain

It trashed Olivia Newton-John’s film career, halted the movie-musical revival, and was so critically reviled it led to the creation of the Razzies. How, then, could the stage version of hubristic 1980 flop Xanadu become a 2007 Broadway hit? The answer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 1980s, 80s, america, ancient greece, andrew lloyd webber, andrews sisters, art, artist, australian, broadway, california, calliope, camp, christmas, clio, comedy, dancing, disco, drama, eighties, elo, evil woman, festive, film, gene kelly, greek, jazz, jeff lynne, leg warmers, london, mount olympus, movie, muse, musical, Nathan M Wright, olivia newton-john, pastiche, physical, play, pop, review, rock, roller skate, rolling skating, satire, singing, skating, southwark playhouse, swing, tap, the arts desk, theartsdesk, theatre, thriller, venice beach, vogue, xanadu, zeus | Leave a comment

A schmaltzy sizzling hit

Posted on October 27, 2015 by mkmswain

King’s Cross, our latest “new city quarter”, is an apt setting for this 2008 Tony Award winner, which focuses on New York’s Dominican-dominated Washington Heights. The local immigrant population values their close-knit community, but gentrification threatens: as rents go up … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged american dream, dance, dancing, david bedella, drew mconie, ham and high, hip hop, hispanic, in the heights, jade ewen, kings cross, kings cross theatre, lin-manuel miranda, london, luke sheppard, musical, new york, pop, rap, review, theatre, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, washington heights, west end, west side story | Leave a comment

In the Heights, King’s Cross Theatre

Posted on October 14, 2015 by mkmswain

Rents are going up, local businesses priced out, and the rich folk and hipsters are invading. That’s in Washington Heights, New York’s largely Dominican-American quarter, but it could as easily describe King’s Cross, one of multiple London areas undergoing gentrification. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre | Tagged america, dance, dancing, development, dominican, drama, drew mconie, gentrification, hamilton, hip hop, hipster, hispanic, immigrant, in the heights, kings cross, kings cross theatre, latin, lin-manuel miranda, london, music, musical, new york, pop, rap, rent, review, salsa, sing, singing, song, southwark playhouse, the railway children, theatre, tony award, washington heights, west end, west side story | Leave a comment

Pick of the Week

Posted on June 25, 2015 by mkmswain

It’s the best of the festivals this week on theartsdesk, with reports from Glastonbury, Hyde Park and Vortex Jazz Club, plus Rob Delaney, the Welsh in Patagonia and David Suchet’s Lady Bracknell. Read my full newsletter here

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged apple, catastrophe, comedy, concert, david suchet, drama, festival, freedom festival, glastonbury, grammy, improvisation, interview, jazz, kafka, lady bracknell, london, met office, music, national theatre wales, newsletter, opera, oscar wilde, patagonia, pick of the week, play, poirot, pop, preview, review, rob delaney, robert glasper, rock, rory kinner, rossini, royal opera house, taylor swift, the arts desk, the importance of being earnest, the trial, the who, theartsdesk, theatre, vortex jazz club, wales, weather, welsh, west end, young vic | Leave a comment

Tag Archives: pop

Why do Strictly viewers hate Ashley Roberts?

Simply the best

Bat Out of Hell, Dominion Theatre

Thank you for the music

We Made It: Stufish Entertainment Architects

Stepping Out

Xanadu, Southwark Playhouse

A schmaltzy sizzling hit

In the Heights, King’s Cross Theatre

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