The London Theatre Review

Yes we're on a summer break but we need to tell you that our live show at the Royal Court on September 20th at 12pm is selling fast and if you want to buy a ticket you'd better do it sharpish!The gang will be chatting to Ambika Mod (star of One Day and This Is Going To Hurt) and Royal Court artistic director David Byrne, as well as reviewing two of the hottest shows in London. For one lunchtime only, LTR will be LIVE!https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-london-theatre-review-live-with-ambika-mod-david-byrne/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the big, sexy season finale the gang review Burlesque the Musical at the Savoy Theatre. Are the rumours about its troubled previews true? Susie Miller's new play Inter Alia follows her huge hit Prima Facie, so how does this second play set in the judicial world with a difficult to pronounce Latin title fare? And Jeevan Braich who plays Rusty in the huge production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express at the Troubadour Wembley Park tells Tim Bano about being cast on Tiktok, dropping out of school and what it takes to roller skate around a huge stage eight times a week while dressed as an anthropomorphic train. We'll be back in September - in the meantime don't forget to get your tickets to our live show on 20th September at the Royal Court Theatre https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-london-theatre-review-live-with-ambika-mod-david-byrne/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Sheen returns to the National Theatre to reprise his role as NHS founder Aneurin Bevan. Nancy, Nick and Nick give their verdict. They also head to the Globe (Nick Clark narrowly avoided a thorough summer soaking) to see Shakespeare's stupidest play The Merry Wives of Windsor. And Beth Steel, whose fantastic play Til the Stars Come Down has just transferred to the West End, talks to Nick Curtis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zachary Hart from hit play Stereophonic - about a 70s rock band recording their second album - tells Nancy what it's like to play a drug-addicted, alcoholic bass player while also performing live music with the onstage band. He also talks about working with Cate Blanchett in The Seagull. The gang review the adaptation of Malorie Blackman's seminal book Noughts and Crosses at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and the transfer of Beth Steel's play Til The Stars Come Down at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been in the crowds on Argyll Street to watch the balcony scene, and now we've been inside the Palladium too and finally the LTR team are ready to give you their bumpe review of Jamie Lloyd's production of Evita, the show that no one can seem to stop talking or thinking about. Expect strong reactions, disagreements, and loads of superlatives. Janie Dee pops by to talk about her show Beautiful World Cabarets which blends stunning renditions of songs with stories of the climate emergency. And the gang review Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel at the Donmar Warehouse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For some reason, Nancy decided to abandon theatre for a few days and instead take to a tent in a field in Somerset for some big music festival...but not before she managed to catch Hercules in the West End, Disney's latest screeen-to-stage adaptation. She and the Nicks give their verdicts, with some cross words about Roman gods and goats' feet. Producer Tim joins the gang to review the Almeida's production of Eugene O'Neill's final play A Moon For The Misbegotten. It stars Ruth Wilson, David Threlfall and Michael Shannon and is very rarely revived...is there a reason for that? And Tim also heads to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to talk to the new stars of Wicked in the West End, Zizi Strallen who plays Glinda and Emma Kingston who plays Elphaba. They give their thoughts on the new Wicked trailer... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Profane rockstars, metaphorical elephants and childish innuendoes - don't say we don't bring the variety on LTR. This week, with Mr Clark away, producer Tim steps in to review Just For One Day the Live Aid musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre alongside Nick and Nancy, as well as Miss Myrtle's Garden at the Bush Theatre. Nick also chats to the very multi-talented Anoushka Lucas - blowaway star of 'sexy' Oklahoma! and Jesus Christ Superstar - whose debut play Elephant is back on the London stage at the Menier Chocolate Factory after two sellout runs at the Bush Theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the gang review Fiddler on the Roof at the Barbican, The Comedy About Spies at the Noel Coward, and Nick Curtis chats to Heartstopper's Corinna Brown about starring the new production of Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses at the Open Air Theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter (from Bridgerton) take to the stage together in George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs Warren's Profession? How do mother and daughter fare playing mother and daughter? Nick Curtis, Nancy Durrant and Tim Bano review the production at the Garrick Theatre. Plus they head to the Royal Court to see After the Act, a musical about Section 28 which banned the 'promotion of homosexuality' in schools and local authorities. And the lovely John O'Farrell has a chat with Nick about his huge musical successes including Mrs Doubtfire which has just closed, the Live Aid musical Just For One Day which is about to open, and Something Rotten which will finally have its UK premiere next year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cornucopia of corn puns awaits as the gang review hit Broadway musical Shucked! at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and Slow Horses star Jack Lowden reprises his role in David Ireland's Alcoholics Anonymous play The Fifth Step alongside Martin Freeman. Plus, Kevin McHale, best known for his role as Artie in hit musical TV series Glee, talks to Nick Curtis about playing the assistant to a Greek god in Stephen Sondheim's weird and wonderful musical The Frogs at Southwark Playhouse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last time ever, it's a brand new musical from Stephen Sondheim. Here We Are has just opened at the National Theatre, the show Sondheim was working on for almost a decade, and which he finished with writer David Ives and director Joe Mantello just before he died in 2021. Nick, Nick and Nancy give their verdict on the absurdist plight of rich Americans trying to get brunch. Plus, Nick Clark has a chat with Sondheim's biographer David Benedict about who Sondheim was, and why he matters. The brilliant Beverley Knight natters to Nick Curtis about playing the godmother of rock and roll Sister Rosetta Tharpe in new play Marie and Rosetta.And the gang review Ava Pickett's debut play 1536 at the Almeida Theatre in which three ordinary Tudor women find out about the death of Anne Boleyn. Plus we have five questions for Stella Powell-Jones, artistic director of Jermyn Street Theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a lovely break, thanks for asking, the gang have taken their seats in the stalls once again to bring you the best (and sometimes the less than best) that London theatre has to offer. To kick off the new season, it's a Roald Dahl special as Nick, Nick and Nancy review Giant in the West End, an award-winning play starring John Lithgow as Dahl which looks at the fallout of an antisemitic book review written by the children's author. The play's writer Mark Rosenblatt also talks to Nick Curtis about why he chose this highly charged subject, and what it's been like to win so many awards for his first ever play. And Ewan McGregor returns to the stage for the first time in 17 years in a new play called My Master Builder, based on Ibsen's The Master Builder, by Lila Raicek. He's made his name playing louche Parisian artists, drug addicts and Jedi Knights. How does he fare in his toughest role yet: arrogant architect? Tell us what you've been seeing by emailing thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or following us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've reached the end of the second season, and to celebrate we're dropping a day early with a bumper Olivers special edition so that you can listen to this episode before the Olivier Awards ceremony on Sunday 6th April. As well as insight, analysis and predictions from Nancy and the Nicks, we've also got a chat with special guest THE Billy Porter talking about what we can expect as he co-hosts the awards on Sunday night (there will be singing and there will be outrageous costumes), as well as his role in Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club in which he's playing the Emcee alongside Marisha Wallace as Sally Bowles. Marisha drops in too to talk to Nick Curtis. As if that weren't enough the gang have also been out reviewing, and this week they give their views on Eugene Ionesco's absurd play Rhinoceros, being revived at the Almeida, in which everyone turns into rhinoceroses, and John Donnelly's vampire drama Apex Predator at Hampstead Theatre. We'll be back in a few weeks for season three, but in the meantime thanks to our sponsor Art of London - visit artoflondon.co.uk to find information and tips about the latest plays, exhibitions, and other cultural events in London, as well as places to eat, drink and shop. Get in touch with us by emailing thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or by following us on Instagram @thelondontheatrereview......and see you in season three! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The warm, wise and completely wonderful Julie Hesmondhalgh talks to Nancy about playing Joan Scourfield, the woman whose son was killed with a single punch in 2011, in James Graham's incredibly moving play Punch.And the smell of whiskey and cigar smoke hang in the air as the gang give their views on the West End transfer of Ryan Calais Cameron's play Retrograde, a snappy period thriller in which the actor Sidney Poitier meets a TV lawyer in an office in 1950s New York and is asked to denounce his friends. (If you want to hear about what it takes to step into Poitier's shoes, you can listen to LTR's interview with the man playing him, Ivanno Jeremiah, in Episode 9). They also take in Azuka Oforka's unflinching debut play The Women of Llanrumney at Theatre Royal Stratford East.Thanks to Art of London for sponsoring the podcast. Visit artoflondon.co.uk for inspiration about brilliant things to do in London. And if you want to get in touch with the LTR team, email us thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or follow us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another iconic 90s movie gets the musical treatment as KT Tunstall and Amy Heckerling turn Clueless into a stage show. Nancy and the Nicks review. And there have been more than 200 adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula - but there's always room for one more. The gang visit high-camp comedy Dracula: A Comedy Of Terrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Plus, Nancy talks to Tom Burke, currently playing Trigorin in The Seagull at the Barbican.Thanks to Art of London for sponsoring the podcast. Find out about brilliant things to do in London at artoflondon.co.uk.And drop us a line at thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or follow us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Thomas Ostermeier's very starry Seagull hits the Barbican - Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke, Emma Corrin and more! - Nancy and Producer Tim give their opinions. Nick Clark and Nick Curtis join Nancy to review James Graham's devastating play Punch at the Young Vic. And Nancy talks to Ivanno Jeremiah as he prepares to reprise his role as Sidney Poitier in the West End transfer of Ryan Calais Cameron's play Retrograde. Thanks to Art of London for sponsoring the podcast. Find out about brilliant things to do in London at artoflondon.co.uk.And drop us a line at thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or follow us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The great Brian Cox transforms himself into Johann Sebastian Bach for Oliver Cotton's play The Score at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Music to our ears, or a bum note? Nick, Nancy and Producer Tim give their views. We've also got a review of the National Theatre production of Michael Abbensetts's seminal play Alterations, set in a tailoring shop in 1970s London, plus Nick Curtis pulls himself away from his poolside holiday to speak to its star, the brilliant Arinzé Kene.Thanks for Art of London for sponsoring the podcast. Find out about brilliant things to do in London at artoflondon.co.uk.We love hearing from you, so follow us @thelondontheatrereview on Insta or email thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com to get in touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From dashing prince to hopeless king, Jonathan Bailey leaves the world of Wicked behind - for a few months at least - as he takes on one of Shakespeare's trickier tyrants in Richard II at the Bridge Theatre. Nancy, Nick and Nick give their verdicts. Two national treasures hit the Donmar stage this month: Celia Imrie and Tamsin Greig play a mother and daughter dealing with the consequences of a stroke in Anna Mackmin's new play Backstroke. And Nancy chats to KT Tunstall about her musical adaptation of iconic 90s film Clueless. Thanks to our sponsor Art of London, whose spectacular Art After Dark returns to London's West End from 6-8 March featuring public art installations, late night gallery openings and more - this time with an intergalactic twist. Visit artoflondon.co.uk for full details. Want to tell us about what you've seen at the theatre? Email thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com or follow us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not even Sigourney Weaver could save Jamie Lloyd's The Tempest from its gloom spiral - but Lloyd is back for the second part of his Shakespeare at Drury Lane season with a Marvel special, turning Loki and Agent Carter (well, Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell) into Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. There's confetti. There are balloons. There are 90s club bangers. So is Lloyd's reputation restored? Nick, Nick and Nancy find out. Room for one more? Mike Bartlett's new play Unicorn at the Garrick looks at the dynamics of a throuple, and there are worse throuples to be in than one involving Stephen Mangan, Nicola Walker and Erin Doherty. LTR's own devoted trio give their verdict on the play.And Omari Douglas, known for his roles in It's A Sin, Cabaret and Black Doves, talks about Black queer stories as he stars in new play Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew by Coral Wylie at the Bush Theatre. Huge thanks to our sponsor Art of London, whose website artoflondon.co.uk is packed with ideas for things to do in London, with tips on events, exhibitions, shopping and much more. And if you've seen something good and want to tell us about it, or just fancy getting in touch, follow us on Insta @thelondontheatrereview or email thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the show that's had people (mainly men, actually) fainting almost every night...Eline Arbo's adaptation of Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux's book The Years transfers from the Almeida to the West End with a phenomenal cast of Romola Garai, Gina McKee, Deborah Findlay, Anjli Mohindra and Harmony Rose-Bremner. Nick, Nick and Nancy not only review the show - with full and frank info on *that* now infamous abortion scene - but Nick Curtis also talks to Gina and Harmony about what it's like to be part of the ensemble. Nick and Nancy also visit the Lyric Hammersmith for Play On, an adaptation of Twelfth Night set to the music of Duke Ellington. Plus, we reveal the answer to last week's Shakespeare or Fakespeare, because we forgot to tell you at the end of last week's episode. Huge thanks to Art of London for sponsoring the podcast. Find out about brilliant things to do in London, with hot tips and handy itineraries, at artoflondon.co.uk.You can contact the podcast by emailing thelondontheatrereview@gmail.com, or follow us on Instagram @thelondontheatrereview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.