The London Theatre Review

It's thirties week on the podcast as Nick and Nick and Nancy review the National Theatre adaptation of Noel Streatfeild's beloved 1936 children's book Ballet Shoes (spoiler: there's dancing, fossils, and lots of joy) and Lillian Hellman's savage 1939 drama The Little Foxes starring Anne-Marie Duff. Plus, Nick Curtis talks to Tracy-Ann Oberman about the return to the West End of her acclaimed Shakespeare adaptation, The Merchant of Venice 1936. And our competition winner is revealed! londontheatrereview.co.ukInsta: @thelondontheatrereview Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Final chance to enter the LTR competition to win £200 of Theatre Tokens! Plus this week, the Devil's in the Dominion, as The Devil Wears Prada becomes the latest beloved film to receive a West End musical makeover, with music from Elton John and starring Vanessa Williams as fashion editor Miranda Priestly. Nancy and the Nicks give their verdict.They also discuss another musical, based on Rick Riordan's bestselling Percy Jackson books and set to a rock score. So how does The Lightning Thief musical strike them?And Nancy chats to triple Olivier Award winner Sharon D Clarke about playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as four decades of acting, and her love of panto. Insta: @thelondontheatrereviewEmail: thelondontheatrereview@gmail.comCompetition T&Cs: The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable, and no cash alternative will be offered. The prize does not include any additional or external costs incurred by the winner, including but not limited to travel, accommodation and meals. If a prize is unavailable due to circumstances beyond the Promoter’s control, the Promoter reserves the right to provide a substitute prize. The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, cancel, suspend, or amend the promotion where it becomes necessary to do so. Full terms and conditions are here: https://www.theatretokens.com/terms-of-sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

COMPETITION TIME! Listen to this week's episode to find out how you can win £200 of Theatre Tokens...If that's not enough incentive to tune in, writer, actor, ghost, horrible historian and brilliant person Mathew Baynton is here! He talks about playing Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the RSC, running at London's Barbican. [Insert Bottom-related joke here]. Plus the triple Ns do a spot of Bunburying as they assess The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, starring the best one from Sex Education and the new one from Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa, alongside Sharon D Clarke as Lady Bracknell. [Insert handbag-related joke here]. And the gang review The Purists at the Kiln Theatre, a play about the collision of cultures, and the clash of hip-hop and musical theatre. [Insert something about Hamilton here]. Insta: @thelondontheatrereviewEmail: thelondontheatrereview@gmail.comCompetition T&Cs: The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable, and no cash alternative will be offered. The prize does not include any additional or external costs incurred by the winner, including but not limited to travel, accommodation and meals. If a prize is unavailable due to circumstances beyond the Promoter’s control, the Promoter reserves the right to provide a substitute prize. The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, cancel, suspend, or amend the promotion where it becomes necessary to do so. Full terms and conditions are here: https://www.theatretokens.com/terms-of-sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scrooge, carols, parachuting brussels sprouts...it's that time of the year again, as Nick and Nancy and Nick head to the Old Vic to see its annual production of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jack Thorne and this year starring John Simm as the rotten old miser. Will the three of them keep Christmas in their heart always, or is it a load of humbug? As panto season gets underway, Nick Clark reports back from Aladdin at the Lyric Hammersmith, with a lot of love for Widow Twerky.All's Well That Ends Well at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - or does it? The trio give their verdict on one of Shakespeare's weirdest plays. And the legend that is Sir Simon Russell Beale pops by to talk about House of the Dragon, what number to ring if you want to check you've received a knighthood, and tackling Latin love poetry in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love at Hampstead Theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you feel the love tonight? Nancy, Nick and Nick certainly can as they revisit one of London's most successful stage shows of all time, The Lion King - with an unexpected throwback to Nick Curtis's goth era. They also navigate the world of crypto in Beru Tessema's new play Wolves on Road at the Bush Theatre. And Nancy talks to John Heffernan, Aaron Krohn and Howard W. Overshown, who play the Lehman Brothers among 60-odd other parts in Sam Mendes's superb production of The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wizened face of Brad Pitt is finally banished from Nick Clark's mind as he and the gang rave about a new musical adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button from Jethro Compton and Darren Clark, relocated to Cornwall and stuffed with stomping folk tunes. Nancy and the Nicks also review Why Am I So Single?, the new musical from the writers of Six, a banger-filled romp through modern dating. And movie star turned stage stalwart Greta Scacchi talks about her Bette Davis eyes as she prepares to reprise her role as the Golden Age icon in a play about the bitter rivalry between Davis and Joan Crawford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the clash of the Netflix titans as Emily in Paris star Lily Collins and Money Heist man Alvaro Morte hit the West End in new play Barcelona - provoking strong reactions from Nancy and the Nicks. Plus, The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci takes on one of the greatest films of all time with his stage adaptation of Dr Strangelove, starring Steve Coogan...and Steve Coogan...and Steve Coogan. And Nick Curtis chats to Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, writers of global sensation Six the Musical, about their new show Why Am I So Single? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nancy and the Nicks review The Duchess (of Malfi) starring Jodie Whittaker at the Trafalgar Theatre and The Other Place starring Emma D'Arcy at the National Theatre. Plus Nancy talks to Conclave and Gangs of London star Lucian Msamati about taking on the gruelling Samuel Beckett masterpiece Waiting for Godot alongside Ben Whishaw, and Nick Clark tells us about the dreams of Keanu Reeves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The London Theatre Review, your essential guide to the best (and worst) of London theatre. To kick things off, what did Nancy and the Nicks think of Oedipus at Wyndham's Theatre, starring Lesley Manville and Mark Strong, and Waiting For Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket with Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati? Plus, Nick Curtis talks to outgoing National Theatre boss Rufus Norris about his final season and ten years at the National. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.