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Tag Archives: sing
Motown the Musical, Shaftesbury Theatre
We’ve reached peak jukebox musical with this latest glossy Broadway import, which crams almost 60 popular hits into its two-and-a-half-hour running time, at the expense, unsurprisingly, of satisfying drama. Not that the latter is high on the list of priorities … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre
Tagged berry gordy, broadway, dance, dancing, dancing times, diana ross, drama, london, magazine, marvin gaye, michael jackson, motown, motown the musical, musical, review, shaftesbury theatre, sing, song, stevie wonder, theatre, west end
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Unsubtle Tartuffe update misses target
Last year, American poet/playwright Marcus Gardley scored a hit at the Tricycle by transporting Lorca to 19th-century New Orleans, and his loose adaptation of Molière’s 1664 Tartuffe seemed equally promising – the hypocritical religious devotee becoming a Deep South charlatan preacher. … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged a wolf in snakeskin shoes, comedy, deep south, drama, farce, gospel, ham and high, Indhu Rubasingham, london, marcus gardley, moliere, play, preacher, religion, review, sharon d clarke, sing, singing, tartuffe, theatre, tricycle theatre
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Farinelli and the King, Duke of York’s Theatre
Make opera, not war. So urges composer-turned-playwright Claire van Kampen’s featherweight historical star vehicle, elevated by husband Mark Rylance – in a tailored role showcasing his beguiling idiosyncrasies – and John Dove’s sumptuous production. Read my full Ham & High review … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged aria, bipolar, castrato, claire van kampen, composer, counter-tenor, cure, depression, drama, duke of york's, faith, farinelli and the king, globe, ham and high, historical, history, Iestyn Davies, king, mad, madness, mark rylance, medicine, monarch, music, music therapy, opera, Philippe V, play, review, royal, sick, sing, singing, spain, the father, theatre, war, west end
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In the Heights, King’s Cross Theatre
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
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Strictly Speaking: Week 3
Ah, Strictly theme weeks. Regular readers will know I look forward to these about as much as emergency root canal surgery with a rusty saw. We reached a nadir last year with the addition of Donnie (Baby!) Osmond during Movie Week. On … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Journalism, TV
Tagged 10, ainsley harriott, andrea bocelli, anthony ogogo, ballroom, bbc, boxer, bruno tonioli, carol kirkwood, celebrity, cha cha, claudia winkleman, competition, dance, dance off, dancing, elimination, experience, film, gleb, happy feet, james bond, jay mcguiness, jive, judges, latin, leaderboard, len goodman, marilyn monroe, movie, movie week, paso doble, penguin, pulp fiction, quickstep, ringer, rocky, sam smith, scandal, scd, sing, song, spectre, star wars, strictly, strictly come dancing, tess daly, the wanted, theme, training, tv
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Strictly’s newbies and the same-sex debate
My articles in the October issue of the new Dancing Times magazine, out now: Strictly Speaking The class of 2015 assessed, from ringers and dark horses to marmite celebs and comedy acts. Stepping Out Is it time for a same-sex couple on Strictly? New in the Dance … Continue reading
Posted in Dance, Journalism, Theatre, TV
Tagged baila brazil, ballroom, bbc, brazil, carlos acosta, celeb, celebrity, come dancing, competition, craig revel-horwood, dance, dance today, dancer, dancing, dancing times, essda, eurogames, european championships, grand hotel, joanna leunis, judge, latin, london, magazine, michael malitowski, musical, open air, peter andre, rachid malki, regents park, retirement, review, royal festival hall, samba, same sex, same sex ballroom, scd, seven brides for seven brothers, sing, singing, southwark playhouse, stockholm, strictly, strictly speaking, sylvie guillem, theatre, tv
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Nell Gwynn, Shakespeare’s Globe
“Comedy, love and a bit with a dog,” counselled Henslowe in Stoppard’s Shakespeare in Love, and his populist advice is taken to heart in this broad, bawdy, big-hearted farce untroubled by nuanced characterisation or context. Jessica Swale’s modern-language Restoration romp ensures a … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged 17th century, actress, attitudes, backstage, brothel, burbage, charles II, cinderella, comedy, director, drama, dryden, Edward Kynaston, fan, farce, female, feminist, globe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, history, horrible histories, jessica swale, king, mistress, monarchy, nell gwynn, oranges, play, playwright, prostitute, restoration, review, royal, sex, shakespeare in love, shakespeares globe, sing, song, theatre, women, writer
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Shattering soliloquy of grief and isolation
The anticipated union of in-vogue director Ivo van Hove and playwright Simon Stephens at theatrical hotspot the Young Vic is surprisingly low-key, but this 75-minute monologue lingers long after the event. Read my full Ham & High review of Song from Far Away … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Theatre
Tagged amsterdam, brother, death, drama, Eelco Smits, family, grief, ham and high, holland, ivo van hove, london, loss, mark eitzel, monologue, music, new york, review, simon stephens, sing, song, song from far away, theatre, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, young vic
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