As we wind down for the festive period, lets take a quick look back through the week!
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Top Theatre News Stories of the Week include:
My Son’s a Queer, (But what can you do?) is returning to the main stage! The show will transfer again from the living room, but this time to the Ambassadors Theatre, in London’s West End from 25 January 2023. Tickets are on sale now, and start at £25! You can read our 5* review from the Fringe, here! Joining the star studded cast of Steel Magnolias in 2023, is Harriet Thorpe (The Brittas Empire, Absolutely Fabulous)! The tour opens in Bromley in January. In other news, original cast member Paul Whitehouse is reprising his role of Grandad in Only Fools and Horses the Musical. The show’s run has been extended until the end of April 2023, and Whitehouse will be back in the armchair from January 9th. And arguably, the most exciting news of the week, two of the tracks from Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club’s original cast recording have been released. You can listen to ‘Willkommen’ and ‘Mein Herr’ on Apple Music or Spotify. Details of the release of the rest of the album have yet to be announced.
In Off West News, the full cast of Sonali Bhattacharya’s Two Billion Beats has been announced. Nimmo Ismail and Tian Brown- Sampson will direct Shala Nyx (Asha) and Tanvi Virmani (Bettina) in the return of this exhilarating production following its acclaimed world premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre in 2022. Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood announced further UK tour dates.
Lastly, Theatrical Charity Acting for Others released a Christmas Special episode of their new podcast Acting for Others Presents... featuring panto legends Christopher Biggins and Su Pollard talking all things… Pantomime!
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK
Our top rated shows of the week are;
CIRCUS 1903
‘Circus 1903 is very well curated and wonderfully pulled together by the ringmaster. It has wonderful lighting design, great costumes, and musical director Evan Jolly creates a cohesive sound that took me back to my childhood, by invoking childlike wonder as I sat watching this great spectacle.’
– Anne
POTTED PANTO
‘If you are looking for a way to introduce your little ones to panto, or just can’t decide which of London’s many offerings to choose from, come and see them all in Potted Panto.’
– Jenny
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
‘As an avid Dickens Fan for whom A Muppet Christmas Carol is the gold standard of adaptations, this is a very worthy addition to anyone’s holiday theatre viewing. Thoroughly enjoyable and as true to the text as they come.’
– Jenny
INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK
Amy catches up with Georgina Castle who is currently starring as Jovie in Elf the Musical on at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End. You can read the interview in full – here!
SHOWS OPENING THIS WEEK
As it’s the week of Christmas, there aren’t many shows opening. But here are a couple of fringe theatre delights opening soon!
The Human Voice – Poulenc’s final opera, is based on Jean Cocteau’s play ‘La Voix Humaine.’ The opera is the last conversation between a young woman and her lover, who is abandoning her. Through her little lies, and his thunderous lies, the truth of their relationship becomes clear. It is an overwhelming account of love, and love’s ending. Strictly limited season of 5 performances at London’s Charing Cross Theatre (23 December – 30 December, 2022) – tickets from £20. Find out more here.
One Man Poe – Renowned as the ‘Godfather of Gothic Horror’, Edgar Allan Poe has left a timeless mark on the horror genre. Using his original publications from the 19th century, one actor faithfully brings Poe’s words to life, live on stage, performing back-to-back three of the finest examples of gothic literature: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Raven. Opening at Kings Head Theatre on the 27th December and running until 7th January. Tickets from £10 – Find out more here.
CATCH THEM BEFORE THEY LEAVE!
During the first week of January a host of beloved shows are departing from the West End. Come From Away, Mary Poppins, Get Up Stand Up!, and The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe are all closing. So if you’ve not seen these shows, make sure you do! I’m attending the last performance of Mary Poppins, and I expect to cry a lot!
TICKET DEAL OF THE WEEK
Today Tix’s Boxing Day Sale is now live on their app with a range of shows included, some from just £15!
REVIEWS TO EXPECT NEXT WEEK
Jenny is heading over to the Royal Albert Hall for some Ballet after Christmas, in the form of The Nutcracker. So keep your eyes peeled for her review!
FINALLY
This is us signing off for Christmas, we’ll be back from the 30th with a review of The Nutcracker, and our team’s round up of the Best Shows of 2022, most of the LIT Team are taking part in this, so there are a range of shows included that our team LOVED this year. Also expect a round up of Fringe shows coming to London on January!
From our team, thank you for all your support over the past few months. We only began reviewing in May this year and now have a team of 16, and (will) have reviewed a whopping 296 shows! We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings!
Have a Merry Christmas! Xx
- A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503 - PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE - GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, High Tide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE - CINDERELLA – REVIEW – LYRIC HAMMERSMITH
Drum roll please…(Cue a literal drum rolling across the stage.) The Lyric pantomime is one of traditions with the return of many well-loved jokes and skits. Costumes and sets are all made at the Lyric itself by Good Teeth, with set pieces being reused year on year. This year Cinderella gets the Hammersmith makeover, with … More CINDERELLA – REVIEW – LYRIC HAMMERSMITH - INTERVIEW – LINUS KARP – DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY
Amy catches up with Linus Karp ahead of his performance of Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, at London’s Clapham Grand. Linus and Joseph of Awkward Productions are also the masterminds behind the new show Gwyneth Goes Skiing. Hello Your Majesty/ Candle Entrepreneur, how are you feeling coming back from a hugely successful fringe and … More INTERVIEW – LINUS KARP – DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY
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