Thoughts on the ongoing West End theatre season, plus reviews of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bull, Hay Fever, and more
OHMYGOD HEY!
Welcome back to my weekly collation of the various reviews, opinion pieces and theatre news updates I’ve shared across multiple social media platforms.
After a weekend of nostalgic musical theatre, I spent the last few days seeing back-to-back productions of plays, and only one of them newly written. From a sparkling classic in Noel Coward’s Hay Fever to a reimagining in Deafinitely Theatre’s Bull, there was plenty to appreciate about said productions, and I will always anticipate a new staging of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (though you won’t catch me 10+ times on its front row).
And yet, there is some cause for concern, as this week’s roster of opening nights isn’t simply a fluke of timing – the current London Theatre season (and Broadway’s too for that matter) is disproportionately filled with revivals of tried and tested plays and lacking in compelling new writing from exciting voices. Even the current reigning voice-of-the-nation-playwright has given us The Standard of Living, a biography of 20th century economist John Maynard Keynes which pays tribute to the value of arts but arrived with a little less impact than his last few offerings.
Is this a consequence of the current financial position the industry finds itself in? Nostalgic producing such as this could be, is a phenomenon I’ve noted since last year, and is just as noticeable in the world of musical theatre. Hope is renewed by the efforts of producers like Francesca Moody and the team who brought Shedinburgh from the Fringe down to the Young Vic as well as writers such as Ava Pickett, who advocated for support for emerging voices beyond their debut phase at this year’s Stage Debut Awards, which I gleefully covered on Sunday evening.
I write all of this not to do my best impression of a canary in a coal mine, but simply to remind theatremakers and audiences alike of the incomparable value of new writing and how important it is for us to seek it out, either as producers or theatregoers. These things have a way of eventually corrected themselves, and I’m sure we will be overcome with extraordinary new writing soon enough, but colour me impatient.
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I saw the first preview of RENT… Everything you need to know about the West End musical revival
The hugely anticipated West End revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical RENT opened last weekend at the Tom Stoppard Theatre in London. The production stands to be the biggest major revival of the show since it was originally staged.
The cast includes Gaten Matarazzo as Mark, Travis Ross as Roger, Alexa Lopez as Mimi, Billy Nevers as Collins, Lazy Violet as Maureen, Olivier Award nominee Danielle Fiamanya as Joanne, Jeevan Braich as Angel and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Benny.
Find out everything you might need to know about this production including how it differs creatively from its original Manchester staging, the extent to which audience members sat onstage are involved in the show, and whether any changes have been made to the material…
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Are London’s latest plays worth seeing? Reviews of The Standard of Living / Hay Fever
Among the plays I saw this week were the latest from James Graham: “The Standard of Living” at Theatre Royal Haymarket and a new revival of Noël Coward’s “Hay Fever” at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
Find out what I thought of each of these productions, including their creative choices, material, and performances…
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Reacting to the the Heated Rivalry Unauthorized Musical Parody musical album! (AD)
Inspired by the hit show about hockey, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody follows starry-eyed golden boy Shane Hollander on his journey from power center to power bottom.
Relive all of the moments from the show that made you wet (with tears) up close on the small-stage by an incredible cast of Broadway actors who thought they were auditioning to be in Season 2. Sporting a bop-infused score, scene-stealing cameos by characters like “Rose Landry” and “Ilya’s Ass”, and time jumps absolutely no one can keep track of, audiences will find themselves hot, bothered, and probably saying, “….Girl!”
The album features the original Off-Broadway cast including Jay Armstrong Johnson as ‘Ilya Rozanov’ and Jimin Moon as Shane Hollander, with Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres, Ryan Duncan, Shelby Acosta and Daniel Brackett rounding out the ensemble.
The creative team for Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody includes Dylan MarcAurele (Book, Music, Lyrics and Orchestrations), Alan Kliffer (Direction), Brooke & Tiffany Engen (Choreography), Mateo Chavez Lewis (Music Direction), Sully Ross (Scenic Design), Brendan McCann (Costume Design), Devin Cameron (Lighting Design), Germán Martinez (Sound Design), and Ann James (Intimacy Coordinator/Sensitivity Specialist).
This Week’s Reviews
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at @sohoplace, West End, London
★★★★★ Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
The Standard of Living at Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End, London
★★★ Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Hay Fever at Wyndham’s Theatre, West End, London
★★★★ Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Bull at Park90, Park Theatre, London
★★★ Review available YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
We went to WICKED’s 20th anniversary! | theatre vlog ft RENT, The Last Ship, Table 17 & more
Check out another week in our life of seeing theatre around the UK!
This week, Aeron and I headed to the press night of Table 17, a gala performance of Sting’s The Last Ship, the 1st preview of Rent and the 20th Anniversary of Wicked in the West End.
Join us vicariously in this brand new vlog to find out what a week in our lives looks like!
What’s coming up this week?
This week I’m bouncing between enchanted forests and the concrete jungle as I finally catch the New York set Golden Boy at the Almeida plus the opening night of Rent as well as the decidedly leafier Into the Woods and As You Like It at the RSC.
Meanwhile, you can already check out my perhaps controversial thoughts on whether or not we should be more forgiving about underprepared performances and onstage mistakes, plus stay tuned for a look ahead to the forthcoming Broadway season as I begin to plan my next trip stateside.
Until next week, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey… week! – Mickey-Jo
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