Thoughts on overexposure to storytelling, as well as thoughts on the Legally Blonde tour tabloid drama, and my review of Manic Street Creature at the Kiln Theatre.
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.
I have to begin this week’s recap with an uncharacteristic confession, which is that I only attended the theatre twice in the last seven days. One of these occasions was to catch Summerfolk, the latest opening at the National Theatre, and the other was an evening spent with rising star composer Jack Godfrey & friends in his cabaret debut at The Other Palace Theatre. From Russian revival to pulsating pop-ready new musical theatre songs, each was its own rich experience, but the truth is that I was ready for a break.
A totally non-theatrical holiday (which I have, infrequently) with my family (less frequently than I’d like) came at the perfect time to fend off feelings of storytelling fatigue. The comments beneath a video I shared this week detailing the frustrations of critics who were prevented from reviewing One Day the Musical were eye-opening in regards to the public perception of modern criticism, and one point about the dulling of a reviewer’s capacity for shock and emotional response after consecutive evenings at the theatre aligned with fears I’ve quietly held for some time.
I’m often asked if theatre loses its appeal with such frequency and I insist it doesn’t, but I do wonder if all of us who review prolifically are inevitably not party to the same scale of awe and thrill as audience members attending for perhaps the first time in a year, or longer. It certainly doesn’t hurt to spend a few days away from the theatre, if only to experience the resurfacing of that craving, and the itch to get back into a somewhat comfortable seat for a few hours of transportation. The itch is back, and thankfully there’s plenty to scratch it with.
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This Week’s Videos
What’s going on with LEGALLY BLONDE? The truth behind the tabloid drama and the concert performance…
Over the last week, drama and discourse has surrounded the new UK Tour of Legally Blonde.
While the show was in Milton Keynes, leading lady Amber Davies became ongoingly indisposed due to ill health, with the role of Elle Woods being played thereafter by Hannah Lowther.
In addition to the sensationalised reporting of this by the tabloids, the show encountered further challenges when several other cast members were taken ill, meaning the final performance of the tour stop had to be performed as a concert version, for which audience members were, controversially, not offered refunds.
Here are my thoughts on all of the conversations currently surrounding this production including alleged backstage feuds, audience entitlement, and its future…
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
The shows I wasn’t allowed to review… Thoughts on ONE DAY and why productions exclude critics
Over the last week, there has been debate about National press outlets being excluded from the opportunity to review One Day the Musical at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.
The production, which is making its world premiere, is one of a handful that had declined certain critics, alongside The Greatest Showman, and the most recent tours of Legally Blonde, and Kinky Boots.
As well as sharing my thoughts on this specific uproar, I’m pulling back the curtain a little on how reviews are arranged, who this affects, and why this decision may have been made…
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
This Week’s Reviews
Manic Street Creature at Kiln Theatre, London
★★★★ Review available YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
We went to Edinburgh for ONE DAY (the musical)!
Join my stagey fiancé @AeronJames and I on a one day trip to Edinburgh, Scotland to see the world premiere production of One Day the Musical.
The brand new show, playing at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, is an adaptation of the book of the same name by David Nicholls, and stars Jamie Muscato and Sharon Rose as Dexter and Emma.
Check out how we spent our day in the city, including the sights we saw, the meals we ate, and our onstage experience at the show – plus a unique trip back home in an overnight train, the iconic Caledonian Sleeper.
What’s coming up this week?
Rested and ready for a new series of shows, I find myself staring down the barrel of 10 consecutive days of theatre, including buzzy new play openings (I’ll be catching John Proctor is the Villain during its previews, but will be back subsequently to review) and the starry concert staging of The Last Five Years at the London Palladium.
Meanwhile, on social media, this month’s Academy Awards had me thinking about the original songs added to movie musical adaptations for the screen which almost never win trophies as well as the alumni of a particular British casting programme, who have almost all gone on to achieve extraordinary success. Look out for both of these videos on the horizon, as well as my takes on plenty of casting news set to be imminently shared…
Until next week, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey… week! – Mickey-Jo
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