Reviews GROOVE ON DOWN THE ROAD: ZooNation at Southbank Centre: Review Will we ever tire of Dorothy and her motley crew’s journey along the Yellow Brick Road to Oz? I doubt it as it’s a story that’s perfect for reinvention and investment with new meanings and messages, and Kate Prince has done just that with Groove on Down the Road. Prince is artistic director of the [ By Kat Pope • 4 min read
Reviews THE THEBAN SEASON: The Scoop, London: Review Free theatre in London? What, absolutely free? And running throughout the rest of the summer? Yep, that’s exactly what you get down at The Scoop, right next to Tower Bridge and City Hall, the one catch being that, boy, aren’t those paving slabs hard on the arse! Now in its 11th season, More London t By Kat Pope • 3 min read
Reviews HOME: The Shed, National Theatre: Review In Nadia Fall‘s new production at the National Theatre’s pop-up space, The Shed, she weaves together a narrative from 48 hours of interviews conducted with young people living in a large interim homeless shelter in East London. Listening to these voices could have made for a grim, dispiriting evenin By Kat Pope • 3 min read
Arts KAT CALLS Well, I’m now nearly two months behind with my ‘weekly’ column which shows you either a) how busy I’ve been or b) how deep my suntan is. The answer is a) FYI – I’m no sun-lover and my legs still look like under-cooked Cornish pasties. In fact the only reason I’m sitting here writing this […] By Kat Pope • 16 min read
Reviews THE PRIDE: Trafalgar Studios, London: Review Four stars After the clipped 1950’s tones of the first scene of Alexi Kaye Campbell‘s 2008 Olivier award-winning debut, it’s a bit of a shock when the lights go up again to find Mathew Horne standing there in full Nazi regalia. But The Pride is a shocking play all round. During it’s two and a […] By Kat Pope • 4 min read
Music Patti Smith: St George’s Church, Kemptown: Review The fact that Patti Smith omitted Gloria, with its opener “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine”, from her set-list at St George’s Church, Kemptown was inconsequential when compared with how deftly she interwove songs from her 39-year career with the wistful words of stories pulled from her c By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Features & Longread Adonis Cabaret – Boys! Boys! Boys! Last month I was invited to visit the Adonis Cabaret show at Oceana on Brighton seafront, by Davina Sparkle, the show’s Brighton host. Since its conception in 1998, Adonis has grown into a national brand, starting as just one show in Brighton it now runs six shows throughout the country every Saturd By Besi • 3 min read
Reviews PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT: The Congress Theatre, Eastbourne: Review Five stars: There’s a strong heartbeat underlying Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Yes, the 500 costumes used in each performance are never less than stunning (now iconic even), and the mix of gay anthems and pop classics is a sure-fire winner, but it’s the characters who shine most vividly in Simon By Kat Pope • 5 min read
Community News East End Dames Dash with Biggins On October 27, London’s East End will be filled with pantomime dames endeavouring to raise loads of money for two local charities by running a kilometre. Actually, it’s not only Dames who’ll be welcomed, but anyone who wants to dress up as any panto character that they fancy. The run begins at 1pm a By Kat Pope • 1 min read
Music TÊTE À TÊTE OPERA FESTIVAL – PART ONE: Riverside Studios, Hammersmith: Review I’ve not once, but three times met people who’ve told me that the company they work for had given them tickets to Covent Garden but they never used them as they hated opera. What a waste of tickets, I’ve wailed, appalled. Why not eBay them if you can’t use them? I’ve had more or less […] By Kat Pope • 13 min read
Arts SAME DEEP WATER AS ME: Donmar Warehouse: Review: Stars: Two Big things were expected of Same Deep Water As Me, Nick Payne’s eagerly awaited new play, his first since the award-winning Constellations, but this play about two small time Luton ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors falls flat. Andrew (a subtle Daniel Mays), is a man trying his best to show some decency bu By Kat Pope • 3 min read
Arts GOTTA SING, GOTTA DANCE : Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne: Review: Five stars It was, to be frank, a bit of a new experience to be in a packed Devonshire Park Theatre for the press night of their new summer show, Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance. I’m usually the youngest one in half an audience, but not this time. Full (young) house ahoy! Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance returns this […] By Kat Pope • 4 min read
