Musical Theatre

Musical Theatre

REVIEW: ‘Stiletto’ @ Charing Cross Theatre

It’s Venice, it’s 1751, and everyone is at it like rabbits. A stiletto – a small, but deadly dagger is at the heart of this rumbustious romp of a musical, with book by Tim Luscombe and music and lyrics by Matthew Wilder (creator of Mulan). The hiss-boo racist and villainous Count Pietro (Douglas Han

By Brian Butler • 2 min read

Arts

REVIEW: Calamity Jane @ Theatre Royal Brighton

Calamity Jane -West End actress and singer Carrie Hope Fletcher drives this stagecoach with relentless toe tapping energy

By Eric Page • 2 min read

Arts

REVIEW: Kinky Boots @ Theatre Royal Brighton

Sequins, Salvation, and Societal Transformation at Kinky Boots, a fiercely luminous testament to resilience, identity, and radical empathy.

By Eric Page • 3 min read

Arts

REVIEW: La Bohème @ Theatre Royal

This renowned romantic opera, telling the heartbreaking story of the consumptive Mimi and her penniless writer lover, was beautifully brought to life on stage.

By Eric Page • 2 min read

Musical Theatre

“I want to evoke nightmares.” The Vivienne speaks ahead of playing the Child Catcher in UK tour of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’

The Vivienne – first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – has a new mission in life onstage – “I want to evoke nightmares,” she tells me as she is about to bring the villainous Child Catcher to Eastbourne in the UK tour of musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Her drag name derives from her […]

By Brian Butler • 3 min read

Arts

REVIEW: Breach Theatre: After the Act @ Corn Exchange

Overall, After the Act is a powerful and timely theatrical experience that shines a light on a dark chapter of LGBTQ+ history while celebrating the resilience and activism of the community. It is a must-see for anyone interested in queer stories and the ongoing fight for equality, just don’t go expe

By Eric Page • 5 min read

Musical Theatre

REVIEW: ‘Barbra and Liza Live’ at Charing Cross Theatre

As they tell us in their opening number, this is a show where “two legends are together forever.” Steven Brinberg brings us a quietly confident, laid-back Barbra Streisand, whereas Rick Skye is a feisty Liza Minnelli – all staccato hand gestures and with a sky-full of twinkles in her eyes. Much of t

By Brian Butler • 2 min read

Musical Theatre

Rick Skye gets under the skin of gay icon Liza Minnelli

For over two decades actor Rick Skye has been getting under the skin of gay icon Liza Minnelli but his career could have gone in a totally different direction. He hit the stage as a child as Max in the Sound of Music and his teacher told his mother: “this one’s a character.” At 14 […]

By Brian Butler • 3 min read

Musical Theatre

REVIEW: ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ @ Theatre Royal Brighton

Evan Hansen is an isolated high school student with no friends and no life and on medication for social anxiety disorder- and he’s fallen out of a tree and broken his arm, now in plaster. When his doctor prescribes that he writes a daily letter to himself – hence the show title Dear Evan Hansen […]

By Brian Butler • 3 min read

Musical Theatre

‘Fizzing, fiery…’ Breach Theatre’s AFTER THE ACT at Brighton Dome is the story of Thatcher’s Section 28 and how a moral panic gripped a nation

Thatcher’s Section 28, which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, was the landmark legislation that silenced a generation, offered a global blueprint for LGBTQ+ oppression and galvanised a movement. Showing at Brighton Dome in November, After the Act: A Section 28 Musical is funny, ca

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ Choirs

‘Everything’s Coming Up Pinkies: A Musical Theatre Spectacular’ from Europe’s longest running LGBTQ+ choir

Join the Pink Singers, Europe’s longest-running LGBTQ+ choir, at Cadogan Hall, London for a celebration of all things musical theatre on Saturday, July 20. Everything’s Coming Up Pinkies will feature songs from a range of musicals, including A Chorus Line, Company, Les Misérables, and Cabaret as wel

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Arts

Judy: I’m Still Here- A musical celebration

Brian Butler thinks another star has been born

By Brian Butler • 3 min read