Favourite shows 2021 (in-person)

It’s quite nice to go back to this, although when I had a look through my list of shows it wasn’t too hard to choose a top 10 – the hardest thing was getting them in the right order… I haven’t seen all of the shows that have been put on since things reopened, for […]

#MindTheBard: Boils (Coriolanus)

On this #ShakespeareSunday we head off to ancient Rome, where tempers are boiling over… The Tarquin kings have been expelled and there are riots in the street, as citizens grapple for grain; they’re also not best pleased with the general Caius Marcius, who reciprocates their contempt. The ‘microbe’ for today is the boil, which is […]

#MindTheBard 2020: round-up

And you thought a challenge week sans the theatre wouldn’t happen… It’s not the same, obviously, but I did at least have two live shows and one new to make it feel a bit more like the real thing. If you were keeping an eye on my diary updates and Insta stories you’ll already have […]

#MindTheBard 2020: Diary

Once again I thought it might be a good idea to keep a diary throughout this week, as it gives an opportunity to keep an eye on what’s been going on during each day – including each #BardFromTheBarn offering, which play has been seen, and maybe even a quote of the day. Make sure you […]

Never Mind The Blog… Here’s Autumn/Winter 2019

The slightest of delays in getting this one out – but if you were dealing with unco-operative internet, a laptop whose keyboard still won’t work, and a manic month at work to prepare for, you’d be in the same boat. News Tower Theatre in Stoke Newington is celebrating its first anniversary, and will be […]

#MindTheMusicals 2019: round-up

What a week that was! For some people, musicals are simply jazz hands and tap shoes – whilst I do love both of those things (mostly the latter, let’s be honest), we’ve come a long way since the early days of this particular medium. All genres of music are embraced in the making of a […]

Day 1: “To feel the tingle in your fingers”

Picture the scene: Charity Hope Valentine and Oscar Lindquist have just been released from a broken down lift. They straighten themselves up and are about to go their separate ways when Oscar awkwardly asks Charity if she’d like to accompany him to church. Only this is no ordinary church… And so one of Sweet Charity‘s […]

Challenge Week 2019: Mind The Musicals

I really started something with all those Sunny Challenge Weeks… Since Sunny Afternoon closed I’ve also managed to do a Globe Challenge Week and a slightly more generic one last year – so for 2019, the Mind the Blog challenge weeks are back, and (hopefully) better than ever! My current plan is to devise three […]

Olivier Awards 2019 – nominees

We’ve had the WhatsOnStage Awards, so next on the agenda are the Olivier Awards – I waited optimistically for the 1pm announcement, and my positivity didn’t let me down (for once!). It’s not all perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but on the whole it’s looking very good indeed. It’s nice that I’ve been […]

Favourite shows of 2018

As I ended up seeing more different shows than last year (and almost as many in total, thanks to some repeat visits), I decided enough was enough – it’s finally time to branch out from the weird top 12 idea. Beginning with a short list of around 40 (admittedly this doesn’t sound very short), I […]