Memories of Japanese summers begin with the chirping sound of the cicada for me - their high-frequented mating call filled every park in Tokyo and Kyoto during a trip of a lifetime. And it is indeed the cicadas' song which take me back, here at the West End's Gillian Lynne Theatre, acoustically illustrating the wonders … Continue reading My Friend Totoro on stage in the West End
On arrival from the vaults of its car park, the massive multilevel foyer of the Fairfield Halls in London's Borough Of Culture 2023 Croydon is breathtakingly busy. People in Christmas hats and jumpers take family pictures on almost every corner, in front of fairy light curtains, on stairs and the funky Christmas trees crowned with disco balls, … Continue reading Croydon is London’s Borough Of Culture 2023: Aladdin at Fairfield Halls
"Please take your seats, the performance is starting in ten minutes" is a sentence I have not heard shouted through a theatre foyer before on arrival - at tonight's return to the Churchill Theatre this is a first one. It turns out this is not uttered to the general public but the college kids occupying … Continue reading Halloween is near, very near: Shock Horror at the Churchill Theatre
Because we have already visited the Disney parks Magical Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in Paris, we opt for the other two theme parks for our Florida road trip. In pound sterling, Disney World tickets for any of their Orlando parks (and additional water parks) are only sold by the week, but my travel companion from Germany has more luck reserving … Continue reading Two crazy days in Orlando – Disney’s Epcot and the Animal Kingdom
A trip to London's first address for puppetry has long been overdue, and my first visit to The Little Angel Theatre actually leads me a few steps down the road to its satellite, the Little Angel Studios, proudly hosting the last show of this summer's Children's Puppet Festival. Offie winner Kinder by Smoking Apples, a company focussing on puppetry and visual theatre, plays here … Continue reading Being kinder: Kinder at The Little Angel Studios
It is the perfect summer day when I step out of the taxi at the Watermill Theatre in Berkshire and after almost three hours on the train to get here. This venue, surrounded by clear streams and beautiful willows, is a ten-minute drive away from Newbury station with no public transport alternatives available: A journey you … Continue reading This is the hour of the Shire-Folk: The Lord of the Rings at the Watermill Theatre
After his cabaret success A Jellicle Life (a Power-Point ode to the musical film flop Cats) and a trip to the hairdresser Linus Karp is back: The best and bravest prop for his next car crash of fandom celebration (pun not initially intentional) is his Princess Diana’s hairstyle – the one from the era when most boomers wanted Meg Ryan’s hair gel-supported crops. Dare requesting … Continue reading Untrue Diana by Linus Karp at The Pleasance Theatre
The euro techno beats of an upbeat version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Memory welcome me at the Phoenix Arts Club once my covid pass has been checked, followed by another non-conical Let’s Get Jellicle anthem. If you know how the blue Belgium comic goblins describe events as smurftastic you get an idea of tonight’s one … Continue reading Ladies and Jellicles – Linus Karp at the Phoenix Arts Club
Frankly, in the weeks of actual theatres reopening in many cities around the globe and after months of Zoom fatigue, no one is waiting for a left mouse click-operated online play entirely presented as a slide show. But the various bank holidays in continental Europe allow me to fit Pony Cam’s A Red Square into … Continue reading A Red Square – Pony Cam is sending Liam Neeson on a PowerPoint adventure
Penelope is mainly known as the wife of the ancient Greek hero Odysseus, a king and warrior who first spent ten years in the Trojan war and then another ten struggling to find his way home to Ithaca – monsters aimed to destroy him and gods tried to prevent his return home, aiming to keep … Continue reading Punkt Collective’s Penelope at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town
Sadie takes the Stage 