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Published: 2 May 2014
What’s it all about? A definitive guide to The Kinks’ rise to fame against a backdrop of swinging 60s London, World Cup hopes and fractious social politics. Based on an… Read More
1001 Nights promises tantalising transformations of saucepans into crowns, old pipes into telescopes and mops into magic carpets. So, naturally, we were intrigued at how preparations for the show were… Read More
What’s it all about? It’s never a good sign when on entering the Globe’s auditorium you can see the stage is stained red with blood from previous performances. But then… Read More
There’s a chill on the breeze and rain in the air… which must mean summer’s here! Of course, when the cast of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s first production of… Read More
Published: 1 May 2014
Neil Morrissey will return to the West End later this month to star in 1950s romp Relative Values, taking over the comedy baton from Rory Bremner who finishes his limited… Read More
Published: 30 April 2014
A stage adaptation of Aliens Love Underpants will receive its London premiere this summer when the family show arrives at the Leicester Square Theatre on 19 July following a national… Read More
One of Britain’s best loved actors Bob Hoskins has passed away at the age of 71. The actor died on Tuesday after suffering from pneumonia. The Golden Globe Award winner… Read More
The Royal Court has announced a season of short summer runs for its intimate Jerwood Theatre Upstairs space including Nick Payne’s one-man show The Art Of Dying and four new… Read More
Danielle Hope, Joanna Riding and Daniel Boys will perform a series of intimate concerts when Live In The Delfont Room: An Evening With… returns to the Prince of Wales Theatre’s… Read More
Musical theatre stars Anna-Jane Casey, Sophie-Louise Dann, Damian Humbley and Ben Lewis will star in the return of satirical favourite Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory this June.The four… Read More
Published: 29 April 2014
The Young Vic’s Olivier Award nominated production of The Scottsboro Boys will transfer to the West End this autumn, playing a strictly limited season at the Garrick Theatre from 4… Read More
A wealth of British talent is celebrated in this year’s Tony Award nominations with Shakespeare’s Globe’s hugely successful all-male Twelfth Night leading the way with an impressive seven nods. The… Read More
With the first preview just days away, Michael Xavier is struck down with a virus and a voice like a squeaky toy. Find out what happened in week three of… Read More
The Young Vic will welcome two new children’s shows into its Maria Studio this winter, with the return of Fevered Sleep and a brand new opera for children by English… Read More
A musical adaptation of David Baddiel’s comedy film The Infidel will be staged at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this autumn after members of the public put their hands in… Read More
Hit musical Jersey Boys has recruited a new leading man in the form of West End regular Michael Watson who will officially take on the starring role as Frankie Valli… Read More
Acclaimed film and theatre director Mike Leigh will make his operatic directing debut at the London Coliseum next year, presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comedy The Pirates Of Penzance as… Read More
The Royal Opera House will give opera fans worldwide the opportunity to see La Traviata streamed live on its website next month. Marking the first time the iconic venue has… Read More
Published: 28 April 2014
After more than six years on the West End stage, Jersey Boys star Ryan Molloy has swapped his jazzy red blazer for some rather less glamorous jogging bottoms. Panic not,… Read More
Jonathan O’Boyle’s acclaimed production of Neil LaBute’s 1999 trilogy Bash Latterday Plays will transfer into the West End next month following its success at the Old Red Lion Theatre earlier… Read More
Olivier Award-winning actress Jenna Russell will star in Mr Burns when it receives its European premiere at the Almeida Theatre in June. Anne Washburn’s critically acclaimed tale, which imagines the… Read More
After a hugely successful year-long run, Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable has announced it will close on 6 July after more than 340 performances of the epic show.… Read More
What’s it all about? A child has died. We don’t know why and we don’t know how, but throughout the course of Bryony Lavery’s compelling play we find out how,… Read More
Frantic Assembly will revive its UK Theatre Award-winning production of Othello later this year, bringing the show to the Lyric Hammersmith for a four-week run in January 2015 following a… Read More
Harry Hill’s surreal musical hit I Can’t Sing! will end its run at the London Palladium on 10 May following just over two months in the West End. The musical… Read More
Published: 25 April 2014
Before Blithe Spirit was confirmed as the smash hit of the West End spring, we caught up with leading ladies Janie Dee and Jemima Rooper. Despite trying to discuss other… Read More
Pantaloons Theatre Company will entertain audiences on the Southbank this summer with an inventive history-based show that plays as part of the 12th annual More London Free Festival. The Pantaloons’… Read More
This week we are celebrating the 450th anniversary of the world’s greatest ever playwright and after almost half a millennium the appetite for William Shakespeare’s passionate, hilarious, violent, historical and… Read More
Miss Trunchbull will continue her reign of terror at the Cambridge Theatre for at least another year with the news that Matilda The Musical has extended its booking period until… Read More
If, like us, you’ve been enjoying Michael Xavier’s weekly blog about life working on The Pajama Game, you’ll no doubt be similarly delighted to take a look inside the show’s… Read More
Published: 24 April 2014
What’s more exciting than one acclaimed, near-legendary actor performing in the UK premiere of a new play? Two acclaimed, near-legendary actors… While both Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid might be… Read More
What’s it all about? War and the devastating effects it has upon on the minds and bodies of those thrown into its path provides the harrowing storyline of Sean O’Casey’s… Read More
Leading London theatre stars Lucie Jones, Jerome Pradon and Helen Hobson will star in Scott Evan Davis’ song cycle Picture Perfect: A New Musical when it receives its London premiere… Read More
Mischief Theatre’s acclaimed production of comedy farce The Play That Goes Wrong will transfer to the Duchess Theatre this September following its current national tour. The hit show, which premiered… Read More
Published: 23 April 2014
Stella and What Remains star Denise Gough will return to the London stage later this year to star alongside Amelda Brown, Brian Ferguson and Rachel Redford in the Royal Court’s… Read More
Fitness regimes, tiredness and nuns; Michael Xavier lets us in on a busy week of choreography work at The Pajama Game: My family love to rib me about what an… Read More
Rebecca Lock, Alasdair Harvey and Charles Daish will join Dianne Pilkington in the cast of hit ABBA musical Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre from June. Lock, whose West End… Read More
Ever fancied yourself a bit of a Romeo? Often accused of behaving puckishly? Celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday by finding out which of the Bard’s characters you have most in common… Read More
What’s it all about? Sssh. I can’t tell you. It’s private… except with social media, club cards, smart phones and questionable governmental monitoring little really is any more, which is… Read More
Anna Carteret will follow in the Oscar-winning footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, playing Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare In Love when the stage adaptation of the hit film opens in London… Read More
Published: 22 April 2014
David Hare’s tale of a former war reporter whose steadfast views are challenged, The Vertical Hour, is to receive its first London revival at the Park Theatre this autumn. Directed… Read More
For any of us who’ve ever seen the video for festive classic Band Aid (or Band Aid II… or Band Aid 20), the inside of a recording studio is no… Read More
Published: 17 April 2014
If you’ve ever freaked out about a milestone birthday, spare a thought for poor old Will Shakespeare for whom 2014 marks the 450th anniversary of his birth. It certainly puts… Read More
Finborough Theatre’s acclaimed world premiere musical version of Thérèse Raquin is to play at the Park Theatre this summer. Based on Émile Zola’s classic novel, the production, which features music… Read More
It’s the UK greatest and most illustrious annual celebration of theatre so it will come as no surprise to learn that many of London’s most popular family productions played a… Read More
Coinciding with a week of celebrations for its namesake’s 450th birthday, Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2014 season opens this week bringing a packed season of The Bard’s work to its famous outdoor… Read More
Seth Numrich (pictured with Kim Cattrall), who won the 2013 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer, will return to the London stage to star as Bazarov in Fathers And… Read More
Published: 16 April 2014
Director and choreographer Will Tuckett has described the experience of collecting an Olivier Award as “bonkers” after his family production of The Wind In The Willows took home the award… Read More
Between preparing The Pajama Game and hosting the Olivier Awards ITV Stage, Michael Xavier found time to shine a light on goings on at the first week of rehearsals for… Read More
Published: 15 April 2014
This weekend’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard marked my seventh year in a row working backstage at the event, interviewing the winners as they come off stage and having the enormous… Read More
Richard Armitage is the latest star of The Hobbit films to head to the London stage. He will play John Proctor in the Old Vic production of The Crucible that… Read More
Prior to its launch concert on 27 April new ‘unplugged’ album West End Switched Off, which features performers including Simon Bailey, Rebecca Trehearn and Alice Fearn, has given us three exclusive… Read More
Published: 14 April 2014
Moments after the Olivier Award winners collect the coveted statuette, they disappear from view into the press room. Handily we had a photographer there to capture their reactions. Our photographer… Read More
It may be the most vibrant and colourful evening in the UK theatre diary, but we don’t think we’ve ever seen the Olivier Awards with MasterCard captured quite so strikingly… Read More
Stars of the stage and screen, including Tom Hiddleston, James McAvoy and Hayley Atwell, looked resplendent in the spring sunshine as they strolled the red carpet of the Olivier Awards… Read More
Edward Hall will direct the world premiere of Beth Steel’s epic drama Wonderland at the Hampstead Theatre this summer. The play, which was one of the 10 finalists for this… Read More
Published: 13 April 2014
Welcome to our live coverage of the Olivier Awards with MasterCard, where you can be the first to find out which performers, productions and creatives take home those hugely sought-after… Read More
Theatre legends, high-profile presenters and specially invited guests gathered at the Royal Opera House this evening to enjoy an Olivier Awards show packed full of prestigious prize-giving and incredible performances.… Read More
The Book Of Mormon’s Gavin Creel has won the Best Actor in a Musical Award at this evening’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard ceremony. Creel wins for his hilarious, heartwarming and… Read More
Sean Foley’s acclaimed production of Jeeves And Wooster In Perfect Nonsense has collected the Best New Comedy Award at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard. Robert and David Goodale’s adaptation… Read More
Lesley Manville has picked up the coveted Best Actress accolade at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard for her performance in Richard Eyre’s acclaimed production of Ghosts. The actress, who… Read More
Lyndsey Turner has been crowned this year’s Best Director at the Olivier Awards with MasterCard for her stunning work on Chimerica. Turner directed Lucy Kirkwood’s ambitious drama at the Almeida… Read More
Hit musical Les Misérables has been crowned the winner of the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard. The show’s 2014 triumph marks the long-running… Read More
British actor Rory Kinnear has been awarded the 2014 Best Actor Olivier Award for his exceptional performance as Iago in Nicholas Hytner’s critically acclaimed production of Othello. Playing on the… Read More
Zrinka Cvitešić has been crowned Best Actress in a Musical at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard, triumphing for her stunning West End debut in John Tiffany’s hit production of… Read More
Chimerica, Lucy Kirkwood’s hugely successful epic, has taken home the coveted American Airlines Best New Play Award at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard. Triumphing in a hotly contended category… Read More
Broadway hit The Book Of Mormon has cemented its cross-Atlantic success with the presentation of 2014’s MasterCard Best New Musical Award at the Olivier Awards with MasterCard. Brought to the… Read More
Published: 11 April 2014
West End stars, TV heroes and icons of entertainment took to the shop floor at the glamorous Fenwick of Bond Street to help raise money for theatrical charity Acting For… Read More
Tickets for Kids Week will go on sale on Tuesday 17 June. Details of which top West End shows and brilliant family-friendly productions playing across London’s theatres will take part… Read More
David Suchet will star as Lady Bracknell in a new production of The Importance Of Being Earnest when it opens in the West End next summer. Directed by former Artistic… Read More
For many performers in their early 30s, starring in two of the biggest and most acclaimed British dramas of recent years might be taken as a launchpad, firing them, like… Read More
What’s it all about? One can tell you that this is a play about the monarch and the first female Prime Minister of our country. One can witness throughout the… Read More
Published: 10 April 2014
What’s it all about? Following his adaptation of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Olivier Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens is back with a bleak look at fame… Read More
I’m sitting in a dark, cramped non-descript office in the depths of the Vaudeville Theatre waiting for my interview with Handbagged stars Stella Gonet and Fenella Woolgar to begin, slightly… Read More
Published: 9 April 2014
For a theatre lover, the rare chance to glimpse behind the scenes and delve beneath the surface of a production can be pure magic. We were thrilled, therefore, when this… Read More