All stories by Louise Penn on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

‘The friendly chemistry zips off the screen’: FALLING STARS – Union Theatre (Online review) by Louise Penn

Falling Stars, a loving musical tribute to the great songwriters of the first three decades of the 20th century, is now streaming for a second time on stream.theatre.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Monday, February 1, 2021

‘We should listen & we should be angry’: TAKE CARE – Living Record Festival (Online review) by Louise Penn

With the current pandemic crisis facing the NHS, it is timely for Écoute Theatre to revive Take Care, its verbatim piece on informal carers and social care funding.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Sunday, January 31, 2021

‘It does & should make a viewer think’: We Ask These Questions of Everybody – soundfestival (Online review) by Louise Penn

Produced by HERA, We Ask These Questions of Everybody uses text drawn from real conversations; samples, soundscapes and singing. It is performed by a cross-genre, all-disabled ensemble, plac…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, January 30, 2021

‘A tower of strength in the female-led space’: GIRLPLAY – Online@TheSpaceUK (Online review) by Louise Penn

Rampant Collective’s latest show GirlPlay is a wickedly funny exploration of teenage sexuality and female curiosity.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Friday, January 29, 2021

‘Some scenes are all-out hilarious’: I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE – Lambert Jackson Productions (Online review) by Louise Penn

The latest digital show from Lambert Jackson Productions and the London Coliseum is the Off-Broadway hit, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, January 27, 2021

‘Slap ’N’ Tickle’s feminist voice has triumphed in this film’: THE MEAT CABARET – Online@TheSpaceUK (Online review) by Louise Penn

A vicious satire on the beauty industry as depicted in the media, The Meat Cabaret is Slap ‘n’ Tickle’s new show. An abrasive musical which makes up in innovative ideas for any lack of…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, January 26, 2021

‘It’s all rather lovely’: ISLANDER – Radio 4 (BBC Sounds) by Louise Penn

New musicals like the award-winning Islander continue to challenge the status quo of what the genre can offer. The two-hander cast of Kirsty Findlay and Bethany Tennick p...

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, January 25, 2021

‘Interesting exploration of the seedy side of internet fame’: CONTROVERSY – Living Record Festival (Online review) by Louise Penn

A six-part web series about social influencers, Controversy is filmed entirely on Zoom. It is written by Maya Katherine, who stars as Hayley, a student who aims to hit the big time and becom…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Sunday, January 24, 2021

‘An absurdist piece of mischief’: I STOLE SATAN’S GIRLFRIEND – Thornhill Theatre Space (Online review) by Louise Penn

Scott McQuaid’s short play premiered on the virtual Thornhill Theatre Space. At just 14 minutes, I Stole Satan’s Girlfriend feels more like a television comedy sketch than a fully-fledge…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, January 21, 2021

‘Part Zoom meeting, part supernatural chiller’: BROKEN LINK – Living Record Festival (Online review) by Louise Penn

What starts as a glimpse into a private chat between friends becomes something much more complicated and dark as Broken Link progresses.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Tuesday, January 19, 2021

‘Open, thought-provoking, funny & heartbreaking’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review) by Louise Penn

New play Overflow by Travis Alabanza returns as a digital stream and proves to be an intriguing hour about the politics of women’s bathrooms and who is allowed in them.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Friday, January 15, 2021

’An intriguing piece of work’: ALIVE – Online@TheSpaceUK – Season 2 (Online review) by Louise Penn

Alive feels a very sensitive exploration of close companionship despite clear differences, and the discussion around “letting go” were starkly presented, slickly directed by Penny Cole.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, January 12, 2021

‘It’s raw, brave & controlled’: AVALANCHE – Bloom Theatre (Online review) by Louise Penn

The beauty of Avalanche is not just in the poetry of its words, but also the honesty it displays on tough subjects within scene changes and forbidding musical motifs.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Tuesday, December 29, 2020

‘We need the escapism of entertainment more & more’: All I Want for Christmas Is Theatre / Hopeful Holidays (Online review) by Louise Penn

A double whammy of festive musical frolics for the festive season reached us with the launch of Thespie’s All I Want For Christmas Is Theatre and The Theatre Channel’s fourth episode Hop…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, December 22, 2020

‘Dorothy but not as you remember her’: THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ – Creation Theatre (Online review) by Louise Penn

The wide range of characters, sound and visual effects, and pithy commentary make for excellent entertainment in Creation Theatre’s The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Sunday, December 20, 2020

‘Delivers both smiles & retrospection’: WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS (Online review) by Louise Penn

Directed by Michael Strassen and produced by Ginger Quiff Media and Guy Chapman, We Need a Little Christmas from St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden is a hearty bowl of punch you will not wa…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:00AM
Thursday, December 17, 2020

‘The perfect accompaniment’: OOPS! I STREAMED IT AGAIN (Online review) by Louise Penn

Thespie has “done it again” with Oops! I Streamed It Again, a lively concert featuring some of the stars of West End musical on hiatus, & Juliet. In a pause where the singe...

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Wednesday, December 9, 2020

‘The atmosphere was buzzing’: SHOWSTOPPER! THE IMPROVISED MUSICAL – Garrick Theatre by Louise Penn

The Showstopper gang haves had a busy time of it in lockdown (including their Alternative Eurovision and an online musical improv) and now they are back for a residency at the Garrick Theatr…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, December 7, 2020

‘Charms with its songs & sense of showbusiness’: THE FABULIST FOX SISTER – Southwark Playhouse (Online review) by Louise Penn

Luke Bateman and Michael Conley have written a piece in The Fabulist Fox Sister which may still have the odd rough edge, and which rushes through their subject’s string of misfortunes late…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Saturday, December 5, 2020

‘Glorious, campy & traditional’: JACK & THE BEANSTALK – Online review by Louise Penn

A glorious, campy and traditional pantomime conceived and co-directed by Peter Duncan, Jack & the Beanstalk steams into Everyman cinemas/online from 4 December 2020 and Showcase cinemas …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Thursday, December 3, 2020

‘You may want to sleep with the light on afterwards’: ETERNAL – Darkfield Radio (Online review) by Louise Penn

Darkfield Radio is back with a new show, Eternal, this time for one person, in bed. It is just as creepy as the others, using a soundscape through headphones to give you the shivers.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, November 30, 2020

‘Fizzes with energy’: THE HOUSE THAT JACKSON BUILT – Half Moon Theatre (Online review) by Louise Penn

The Half Moon Theatre has been sharing a wide variety of shows for children during theatre lockdown, and in its latest, The House That Jackson Built written and performed by Justin Coe, they…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Saturday, November 28, 2020

‘Has become more cinematic with each episode’: The Theatre Channel – Episode Three (Online review) by Louise Penn

Filmed inside The Theatre Cafe and out and about, this latest episode of The Theatre Channel’s series of musical theatre showcases features songs from rock musicals.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, November 27, 2020

‘Each minute counts’: SHAKEN – The Actors Centre (Online review) by Louise Penn

Currently streaming via The Actors Centre, Shaken is a one-person production by writer/director/performer Mariana Lafón.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Wednesday, November 25, 2020

‘Seeing the piece from several angles is liberating’: UNFAMILIAR AT HOME – ArtsDepot (Online review) by Louise Penn

Unfamiliar is a sensitive piece of work which explores a facet of queerness and masculinity we do not often see.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, November 23, 2020

‘Pulled me in & out from what was unfolding on screen’: THE HUNGER ARTIST – CVIV Arts (Online review) by Louise Penn

An “absurdist adaptation of Kafka” by CVIV Arts, The Hunger Artist opens with three people brightly lit on a stage with wooden flooring. A chalk board detailing “warder” and “day�…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Saturday, November 21, 2020

‘A tour de force performance in a brilliant monologue’: THE POLTERGEIST – Southwark Playhouse (Online review) by Louise Penn

A tour de force performance (mark Joseph Potter as one to watch) in a brilliant monologue on an empty stage, you will not want to miss Philip Ridley’s The Poltergeist.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Friday, November 20, 2020

‘There is love up here on the screen & it shows’: UTE LEMPER – RENDEZVOUS WITH MARLENE (Online review) by Louise Penn

More of a dramatic piece than a concert, Ute Lemper (once described as “the new Marlene”) brings back the memory of the progressive woman, “Hollywood icon, chanteuse, soldier”, throu…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, November 16, 2020

‘A lot of thought is given to the online audience experience’: MISFITS – Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (Online theatre) by Louise Penn

When the writing is tight, fresh and more character driven, Misfits is very much worth a watch.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Sunday, November 15, 2020

‘Brings actions into sharp relief’: RIGHT LEFT WITH HEELS – STIGMAcollective (Online review) by Louise Penn

This 50-minute film of STIGMAcollective’s right left with heels, returning for a second year to the Voilà Europe Festival at The Cockpit, remains a piece of power and intellect on the scr…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Saturday, November 14, 2020

‘Thoughtfully written & delivered‘: You Don’t Know Me, But… – The Telephone Theatre by Louise Penn

Lockdown theatre has offered a lot of inventive ways to deliver performances – Zoom, email, through the post, on WhatsApp, and in the case of You Don’t Know Me, But…, a one-to-one perf…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic