Monthly Archives: November 2013

A winning formula? Cameron Mackintosh reveals the secrets of his success in Musical Theatre

We commented recently in a post about previews that the wrong people seem to be in charge of theatre, and in a recent episode of the highly entertaining Channel 4 series The Sound of Musicals we saw a perfect example of … Continue reading

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Flower Power: La Traviata up close at the King’s Head

Sunday 17th November 2013, matinée What is it about Alexandre Dumas’ novel ‘La Dame Aux Camelias’ that holds such fascination more than a century after it was written?  The number of adaptations in theatre, film and dance are testament to … Continue reading

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Cauliflowers – a warning from history: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Duchess Theatre

Saturday 9th November 2013, matinée Nobody can accuse Bertolt Brecht of being circumspect about his work.  He once said that ‘art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it’.  We wouldn’t call … Continue reading

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Southern Discomfort: The Scottsboro’ boys storm the Young Vic

Saturday 2nd November 2013, matinée It doesn’t take long to figure out that the true story of the Scottsboro’ boys seems like the perfect subject for a musical by Kander and Ebb, combining their interest in political oppression (‘Cabaret’ and … Continue reading

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West End previews: Audience-sponsored rehearsals or public performances?

With the opening of Tim Rice’s new show ‘From Here to Eternity’, we had the rather interesting juxtaposition of Rice, outspoken as usual, criticising the practice of endless previews, whilst the producers of the show did their best to convince … Continue reading

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