There was a time when a visit to the National Theater guaranteed the very best in productions and performances and we rushed to book when the season’s program dropped through our letter box, now we wait for the reviews to tempt us to go online to book a visit to the ageing concrete venue that … Read more
Known as the “Ratatousical,” Ratatouille was a musical theater retelling of the popular Pixar movie of the same name. This cultural phenomenon began with Emily Jacobsen’s song about Remy, the main character from the film. The song took off, and soon other users began adding on, creating full orchestras, harmonies, dances, and eventually more songs. … Read more
What does it mean to be a Black woman? Who gets to tell our stories? Over the years, there have been plenty of depictions of Black womanhood in the media. Many of these depictions have been of stereotypical recollections of the idea of Black women through the lens of white supremacy, from hypersexualization to mammification. … Read more
Ugly Bucket Theater are a Liverpool-based physical theater and clown company not afraid to delve into uncomfortable subject matters and make us laugh about it. As recipients of the New Diorama, Underbelly and Methuen Drama’s Untapped Award 2022, there is clearly energy behind this young company making their latest show, Good Grief, a contender for … Read more
The musical Half a Sixpence first came to the stage in 1963 and its romantic story of rags to riches to rags and back to riches of Arthur Kipps became a hit for Tommy Steele on film and on stage. It’s rather dated feel of class attitudes and female roles were updated in 2016 by … Read more
Alexandra Skochilenko is a thirty-year-old artist from St. Petersburg—the city where I lived before Russia attacked Ukraine. She made music and films, drew comics about depression, and worked as a photojournalist. On 11 April 2022, Skochilenko was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center, where she is currently still being held. A criminal case … Read more
Performance and war are intertwined, perhaps more closely than we would like. War is immanently performative, as is the conduct of war. The actions of the military and politicians who wage war are rooted in their desire to demonstrate power and influence the shape of the world. Lindsey Mantoan writes about this in detail in … Read more
Alexandra Skochilenko is a thirty-year-old artist from St. Petersburg—the city where I lived before Russia attacked Ukraine. She made music and films, drew comics about depression, and worked as a photojournalist. On 11 April 2022, Skochilenko was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center, where she is currently still being held. A criminal case … Read more
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1996 musical Whistle Down the Wind represents an ambitious production to mount in the intimate space at the Watermill in Newbury but Director Tom Jackson Greaves has assembled an adult and junior cast that rises magnificently to the task. The first half is stupendous as they create believable well-defined characters, move with … Read more
Sister Act The Musical is no stranger to UK theatres, having premiered in 2009 at the London Palladium, the original production went on to capture the hearts of critics and audiences alike on both sides of the pond. Featuring original music by Tony and 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted, Little Shop of … Read more