The speeches at this year's Susan Smith Blackburn Prize ceremony were inspiring - in particular, the speech made by actor and judge Tanya Moodie, whose many credits (coincidentally) include …
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:58PMThe Donmar Warehouse announces that Ron Cook will complete full casting in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, joining previously announced cast Stephen Dillane and Gina McKee. Faith Healer is dir…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:48AMI gave Mrs Henderson Presents a very enthusiastic response at the curtain call of last night’s West End premiere – so enthusiastic that, as I tweeted at the time, I dented my rin…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 07:41AMThe poster of Nell Gwynn shows a saucy, bare-shouldered Gemma Arterton and promises “fun, funny and joyous… a cast of 20! and a band… naughty songs… merry dances. And…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 10:39AMI wrote last night about my personal response (including misgivings) to Matthew Perry's playwriting debut, and return to the West End stage, in The End of Longing which I saw last week. And …
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:36PMNear the end of an interview Matthew Perry gave with The Times last weekend, the interviewer Sarfraz Manzoor commented “having made so many people so happy it feels only right to wish some…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 08:18PMIs Florian Zeller the new Yasmina Reza? Certainly, he’s the most successful French playwright to hit English shores since Reza, whose 1990s hits – Life x 3, The Unexpected Man an…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 07:56AMHere are a few more plays that I’ve seen recently and can happily recommend. As usual, I’ve listed them in closing order – and two of them finish their London runs this wee…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 06:43AMWhen commissioned by the Finborough, the young director Jake Daniel (one to watch) suggested dusting off Andy Capp The Musical, not least because he hails from near Hartlepool himself and, h…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:36AMThe Perfect Pitch Award, co-presented by Theatre Royal Stratford East, is a sort of Dragons Den for new musical writing … with a twist. In this, long before the aspirants get to the pitch …
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:10AMThe audience at yesterday’s National Theatre press conference gave the biggest cheer to news that hasn’t generated headlines anywhere: artistic director Rufus Norris invited jour…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:39AMMy partner and I saw, and were deeply moved by, The Pianist of Willesden Lane when it had its London premiere at the St James Theatre last Friday. The play is based on the book The Children…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 05:23PMHangmen, Judi Dench, Bend It Like Beckham, Oresteia are among the winners... The annual best of lists are always a good indication of who’s likely to triumph at the Critics’ Circle Award…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:30AMI’m well overdue for a theatre diary, aren’t I? So here goes with another one on more new plays I’ve seen in recent (and not-so recent) weeks that I’d recommend catch…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 12:28PMYou don’t need me to tell you that Alan Rickman passed away last week, or how shocking and unexpected his death from cancer was at the age of 69, just days after his contemporary David…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 08:48PMThe American writers of Grey Gardens are clearly delighted with the European premiere production of their musical (See Also my #PressPass round-up), now being staged at London’s South…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 04:00AMProducer Danielle Tarento and director Thom Southerland have created another Off-West End mega-hit musical. In fact, Grey Gardens has broken all box office records at Southwark Playhouse whe…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 03:21PMFor years Guys and Dolls has been all but ruined for me: that’s what happens when you are lucky enough to see a definitive production and performance. I speak, of course, of Richard Ey…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 12:46PMThe 2016 West End season got off to a rollicking start this week with Wednesday’s opening of Guys and Dolls, the latest Chichester Festival transfer to the Savoy Theatre, which follows…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 11:56AMAfter rounding up various publications’ #theatre2015 highlights yesterday, it’s time to reflect on my own year in the stalls (well, mainly in the stalls, occasionally in the dress circle…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 03:18PMIf you know me at all well, you’ll know that I’m a Twitter addict – which includes a love for all sorts of nerdy things to do with Twitter management and monitoring. And th…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 03:29PMAfter my two-week Christmas roadtrip in the US, I’m finally back at my desk and able to catch up on all the 2015 UK theatrical year round. Have you been keeping up in my absence? Fear not …
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 01:29PMAfter Anna Francolini on Monday and the Judy Garlands yesterday, I’m going for a hat trick of blogs about amazing women today so that I can tell you this: if you haven’t yet seen Linda a…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 09:00AMTake your pick of Judy Garlands. On the London stage this week alone, you’ve got a choice of three – Helen Sheals, Belinda Wollaston and Lucy Penrose – in Ray Rackham’s brilliant…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 10:00AM“Who are you?” It’s the only real question, according to wonder.land via Lewis Carroll. But the main question that kept running through my mind while watching the Damon Albarn musical …
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 01:10PMI have tried as much as possible to ignore the press around Jeremy Corbyn’s attendance of the Stop the War organisation’s Christmas do this week. Frankly, I just didn’t want to get mys…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 08:44PMHave you seen the rave reviews for our Featured Show? After five years away, The Blues Brothers have returned to the West End for a limited season at the Arts Theatre with a festive special …
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:34PMWhen wonder.land premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July, reviews were decidedly mixed. National press who made the trip north were underwhelmed, bestowing a raft of three…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 08:19AMWhen news of the Park Theatre’s pantomime, Rapunzel, came through earlier this year, I remember clocking the name of the hero character Prince Corbyn – names are never a coincide…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:35AMIn musical theatre happenings, the big news last night was London’s first major revival of Jule Styne’s Broadway classic Funny Girl. The big question: could Sheridan Smith lay to rest th…
SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:52AMOn Friday night, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn emailed me and other grassroots members of the Labour Party asking what I think Britain should do about the civil war in Syria, our national secu…
SOURCE: Terri Paddock at 07:22PM