THEGAYUK

Tag: Landor Theatre

  • The Hottest Musical You’ll See This Spring

    The Hottest Musical You’ll See This Spring

    Now we don’t usually run much theatre preview content here at THEGAYUK, but when this little promo hit our desks we only thought of you…

    Devilish photo 1

    Dear Reader… Just feast your eyes on this promo for a brand new show called Devilish. It’s a new British musical with music by BB Cooper, and book and lyrics by Chris Burgess starring Alex Green (the guy in the photo) as Angel.

    Once Angel has savoured the delights of Clapham North, London, he decides he wants to become a human. And thus starts his odyssey through a metropolitan mire of corruption.

    Cute and innocent, he is lured into appearing on a ‘Freak Idol’ TV show and is lusted after by fans everywhere. 

    We can’t imagine why <insert horny devil face>

    ADVERT

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    It was inspired by John Ruskin’s comment that an angel appearing on earth would be shot on sight. H.G Wells wrote a novel called ‘The Wonderful Visit’ based on this observation, but now a new team of writers offer their musical take on this premise.

    ALSO READ: Patrick Stewart dragged up and it’s slightly amazing…

    ALSO READ: David Gandy’s Instagram is giving us some serious feels.

     

    The show begins on May 10th at the Landor Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | She Loves Me, Landor Theatre

    ★★ | She Loves Me, Landor Theatre

    Mistaken identity has long been the theme of love stories. This love story centres round a perfume shop in Budapest where two sparring employees unwittingly exchange love letters via a lonely-hearts advertisement. Sound familiar?

    The musical was based on a play that inspired “The Shop Around the Corner” and the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film You’ve Got Mail.

    Staging a musical in a small space like The Landor is fraught with difficulties and is a challenge that the team always rise to. One of the issues is that in a fringe venue there isn’t the scope for a huge dazzling set, scores of dancers and big choreographed routines. This puts the focus back onto the musical itself. In the case of their previous triumphs, such as “Damn Yankees”, this isn’t a problem. Where the musical is as weak as this one, with lacklustre and forgettable songs, lame comedy and a tedious plot, it simply doesn’t work at all and makes for dull viewing.

    There are lots of positive aspects to the production. “Britain’s Got Talent” finalist Charlotte Jaconelli makes a dazzling stage debut and has a superb voice as well as a lot of acting talent. Equally, Matthew Wellman is a singing sensation with a beautiful voice and Emily Lynn also puts in a great performance. Indeed, the whole cast work incredibly hard to make this work. The Art Nouveau inspired set is well thought and cunningly used.

    This production tries really hard but ultimately; the source material is so weak that the efforts of the team can’t revive this dated corpse of a show.

    She Loves Me is at the Landor Theatre until the 7th of March 2015.
    http://www.landortheatre.co.uk/index.php/booking-office/musicals/she-loves-me-93/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Damn Yankees, The Landor Theatre, London

    ★★★★ | Damn Yankees, The Landor Theatre, London

    Perpetual losers, The Washington Senators, are failing to win at baseball yet again and fanatic Joe Boyd is tempted into a Faustian pact when he sells his soul to the devilish Mr Applegate in return for a series win. Joe soon realises what he’s leaving behind and is torn between the wife he’s left behind versus the chance to take his team to victory and the distraction of the devil’s sidekick, beautiful and vampy Lola.

    Adler and Ross’s multi-award winning musical may have one of the silliest plots around but that doesn’t matter at all. Coming straight after their success with The Pyjama Game and a string of chart hits, Damn Yankees was well received and was even made into a film starring Tab Hunter and Gwen Verdon. Sadly, at the height of their success, Ross died aged 29 from complications of lung disease.

    This production has already been nominated for an Off West End award for Best Choreographer for Robbie O’Reilly. It’s not hard to see why. The dance routines are breath taking. The production values of the show are up to the standards of a West End production and tickets are a fraction of the price. O.K., The Landor is a fringe venue and has fewer frills in terms of special effects and scenery but is well worth a trip to Clapham North. The lighting, set and costumes are all well put together especially given the constraints of a smaller venue.

    The cast are especially strong with wholesome and handsome Alex Lodge putting in a stellar lead performance as Joe Hardy, showing dazzling dance moves and a powerful voice, which considering that he’s a recent graduate shows a considerable talent. He’s definitely one to watch and not simply because of his boyish good looks. Poppy Tierney and Jonathan D Ellis are both hilariously camp as Mr Applegate and his sidekick Lola and give well polished performances. Ellis’s cabaret turn in Act Two was especially waspish and funny and Tierney gives a good rendition of “Whatever Lola Wants”.

    Did I mention the boys? I haven’t seen so much bare male flesh in a musical in quite some time. As well as being a stage presence due to their singing and dancing, their abs and pectorals are worthy of some kind of award, surely? The supporting female cast are equally good but with less flesh on show.

    This is definitely worth checking out for an entertaining few hours.

    Damn Yankees runs until the 8th of November 2014

    Buy tickets here: http://www.landortheatre.co.uk/index.php/booking-office/musicals/damn-yankees-90/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Somewhere Under the Rainbow- the Liza Minnelli Story, Landor Theatre, London

    ★★★★ | Somewhere Under the Rainbow- the Liza Minnelli Story, Landor Theatre, London

    Liza is about to go on stage, pacing nervously round her dressing room in a silk robe she bursts into song, tells a few anecdotes and even shows us a few of her dance moves.

    Following on from sell out runs and rave reviews in Dublin and Edinburgh; this show is making its London premiere at The Landor Theatre in Clapham.

    Minnelli is a hard act to capture well but Sharon Sexton absolutely nails it as the gay icon. She’s got an amazing voice and her acting skills are second to none. This isn’t just a tacky cabaret style impression of Liza but a wry yet touching portrayal of a woman full of paradoxes. By turns feisty and brash yet also vulnerable and fragile, this is a Minnelli you can believe in. Sexton’s version of Sondheim’s “Losing My Mind” is heart wrenching and her Mein Herr is performed with breath taking skill. Her whole repertoire is performed with dazzling panache.

    If you know much about Liza already then you’re not going to get a deep and detailed insight into her life and her marriages, drug addictions and traumas. The show does, however, give us a glimpse of what Liza is about and how she’s fought her way through life with a smile on her face and a pair of tap shoes never too far away.

    This is definitely fringe theatre at its best and a show worthy of a larger venue. This is definitely one to catch during its short run

    Somewhere Under the Rainbow runs until the 17th of May 2014

    Buy tickets here: http://www.landortheatre.co.uk/index.php/booking-office/musicals/somewhere-under-the-rainbow-84/