Two of the West End’s hit new shows, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical and Legally Blonde The Musical, have extended their London runs. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical, which opened at the Palace theatre in March 2009, is now booking until 26 February 2011. The exuberant tale[...]
Archive for January, 2010
January 28th, 2010 - 5:09 pm § in Uncategorized
Hairspray closing 28 March 2010
Hairspray will be closing 28 March 2010, after a run of two and half years at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Hairspray, opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre to terrific notices from the popular press on 30 Oct 2007, following previews from 11 Oct: THE INDEPENDENT says, “Was the show worth it? Yes, ye[...]
January 28th, 2010 - 5:06 pm § in Uncategorized
Lee Mead joins WICKED
Lee Mead will join the cast of WICKED as Fiyero , from 10 May 2010, at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Before then, there is a new full cast from 29 March 2010, including previously mentioned Rachel Tucker (Elphaba) and Louise Dearman (Glinda). Joining them at the same time are other new cast members[...]
January 27th, 2010 - 4:11 pm § in Uncategorized
London theatres break records
With more than 14 million visits to London’s 52 major theatres recorded in 2009, London’s Theatreland reached a new high, generating over half a billion pounds in revenue. Official figures released today by the Society of London Theatre show that both audience attendance and box office revenue[...]
January 27th, 2010 - 4:03 pm § in Uncategorized
The Whiskey Taster
Can you imagine tasting red or smelling a season – all five senses reacting at everything that even one of them experiences? This is the world wonder kid Barney inhabits in James Graham’s The Whiskey Taster. Set in an advertising agency where Samuel Barnett’s restrained, controlled Barney a[...]
January 26th, 2010 - 4:39 pm § in Uncategorized
The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2009
The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2009 took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London. The winners were decided by the independent votes of Drama Section members, with no panel discussions. These awards are presented annually for the year’s theatrical achievements. The winners areR[...]
January 26th, 2010 - 2:15 am § in Uncategorized
Third London home for Avenue Q – Wyndham Theatre News
Avenue Q will transfer to the Wyndham’s theatre when it finishes its run at the Gielgud theatre in March. The move also marks major cast changes with Paul Spicer, Jacqueline Tate and Delroy Atkinson arriving on the scruffy but lovable street. Spicer will take over the role of Princeton/Rod from [...]
January 26th, 2010 - 2:15 am § in Uncategorized
First Night – Daisy Pulls It Off – Theatre News
Denise Deegan’s very funny 1983 comedy tells the story of schoolgirl Daisy and her battle with the beastly bullies of Grangewood School for Girls in 1927. Daisy, is a scholarship student – the first scholarship student at public school Grangewood – which means she is poor, and, according to [...]
January 26th, 2010 - 2:15 am § in Uncategorized
I Am Yusuf And This Is My Brother
The destructive effect of war makes love and loyalty shine brightly in the darkness in Amir Nizar Zuabi’s drama I Am Yusuf And This Is My Brother. A canvas covers the Young Vic stage. With ropes attached at its corners it resembles a vast, horizontal sail, impotent without wind to fill it. On an[...]
January 26th, 2010 - 2:15 am § in Uncategorized
War Horse extended to 12 February 2011
War Horse has increased its booking period by 4 months – tickets are now on sale to 12 Feb 2011 at the New London Theatre War Horse was originally at the Olivier NT from 9 Oct 2007 to 14 Feb 2008. It returned to the Olivier NT 10 Sep 2008 to 18 March 2009 before its [...][...]
January 18th, 2010 - 9:07 pm § in Uncategorized
Midsummer now at the London Soho Theatre
Midsummer, 2009’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival favourite, now at the Soho theatre is about a very unlikely modern romance. David Greig and Gordon McIntyre ventured into the somewhat dubious territory of romantic comedies and have created a quirky, unusual story of girl meets boy, taking them away f[...]
January 18th, 2010 - 9:07 pm § in Uncategorized
The new Laurence Olivier Award
The new Laurence Olivier Audience Award gives London theatergoers the chance to have their voices heard in 2010 by selecting both the shortlist and the winner. The new award for 2010 will see London’s most prestigious theatre awards crown the favourite long-running London show of 2009 as voted f[...]
January 18th, 2010 - 9:06 pm § in Features
WOS Awards is breaking records
The only major theatre awards voted for by the paying public, the tenth Whatsonstage.com Awards, has already broken records, with a fortnight left to go. As of 10am today, 18 January 2010, more than 36,000 people have voted in the 2010 Whatsonstage.com Awards, which tops the record of 35,000 set l[...]
January 18th, 2010 - 9:04 pm § in Coming Soon
This week’s London Theatre Show Openings
The major openings in London, in the West End and further afield, this week are: OPENING TONIGHT, Monday 18 January 2010, the Liverpool Everyman revival of Harold Pinter’s modern classic The Caretaker, starring Jonathan Pryce as the tramp Davies, transfers to Trafalgar Studios 1 to coincide wit[...]
January 18th, 2010 - 7:59 am § in theatrenews
Edward Hall to take on fathers legacy
Edward Hall, the son of Sir Peter Hall the prominent theatre director, was named the new Hampstead Theatre artistic director this week, and will take over for Anthony Clark at the close of January. Hall is currently an associate at the Old Vic and Watermill Theatre, Newbury, and the National Theat[...]
January 16th, 2010 - 10:46 pm § in Uncategorized
Rachel Tucker to take role in Wicked
Rachel Tucker, former I’d Do Anything finalist, and nominee in last year’s Whatsonstage.com Awards for her role in We Will Rock You, will take the role of the green-skinned Elphaba in Wicked at the West End’s Apollo Victoria theatre. She will start performances on 29 March 2010, opposite a n[...]
January 16th, 2010 - 10:41 pm § in Uncategorized
10,000th Performance for Les Miserables at West End
Now in its 25th year, LES MISERABLES played its 10,000th performance in the West End on Tuesday, 5 Jan 2010. This production originally opened at the Barbican Theatre in October 1985, but the Cameron Mackintosh/Royal Shakespeare Company production transferred to the Palace Theatre in December 1985[...]
January 16th, 2010 - 10:41 pm § in Uncategorized
Wicked Has Highest Grossing Year in 2009
WICKED had its highest grossing year to date in 2009, grossing £27,333,991 at the Box Office at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. This is up almost £100,000 from 2008. Since its London premiere in September 2006, WICKED has taken in over £90 million at the UK Box Office. The production celebr[...]
January 16th, 2010 - 10:41 pm § in Uncategorized
Jason O’Mara Serenades
A familiar American TV face as detective Sam Tyler in the US version of Life on Mars, Irishman Jason O’Mara, will return to the London stage to star in Simon Curtis’ revival of Lanford Wilson’s 1970 play Serenading Louie, which runs at the Donmar Warehouse from February 16th to March 27th 20[...]
January 16th, 2010 - 10:41 pm § in Uncategorized
Anyone Can Whistle
The 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle, by Stephen Sondheim, is being revived at the Jermyn Street Theatre in March to mark the composer’s 80th birthday. The production will run from March 10th to April 17th 2010 and will be directed by Tom Littler, who headed up Sondheim’s Saturday Night at this[...]
