Squiggs
TS Team
Been meaning to drop in here, as I realised that I've seen a fair few new shows of late that may or may not be of interest.
I've been seeing lots of talk online about Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder - which is ostensibly about a pair of women doing a True-Crime Podcast out of one of their mum's garage in Beverley, near Hull (you won't of heard of it). It very much lived up to its hype and was a very good comedy musical, well worth checking out if you're wanting a reasonably light musical with a darkly humourous twist. It's on in London until the end of Summer, and I suspect it will go back on tour at some point after.
A couple of unfortunate things let it down a little in its current home at the Ambassadors Theatre - I was upstairs, and the legroom was miniscule, I don't know if it was better downstairs, but it was properly uncomfortable if you have long legs. Also, the sound quality wasn't the best, which was unfortunate given there are various points where the lyrics are important.
During the same trip, I also saw Hadestown, which was an impressive piece of theatre. I'm not sure how to sum it up beyond a modern take on a Greek Tragedy (both in form as well as in story) that works very well with some extremely striking musical numbers and technically impressive set. The script falters in a couple of places, but the overall package is some properly commanding stagecraft.
And talking of impressive theatre, if you get to see Come From Away whilst it's on tour, absolutely do. I cannot recommend this musical enough. It is probably one of the best new musicals to be produced in the past decade and is such a well told story about overcoming adversity in the most challenging of situation.
A very different musical, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York is a fun little rom-com-esque musical at the Criterion. It was a fun couple of hours, if you want to switch your mind off and enjoy some very pleasant, but ultimately rather forgettable musical theatre. I think I paid something like £25 for a ticket and at that price it felt like a good value for what you got, especially for the Westend.
Standing at the Sky's Edge - another musical very much anchored in a Northern city - I knew nothing about thing going into it, but I'm honestly not sure if I was prepared for a musical based on the iconic brutalist Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield, tied together by dramatic election results over the past five decades. (I saw it in the run-up to the election, so that element was particularly effecting).
It was a very well put together musical with some moments that were particularly good, but unfortunately it was let down by some of the storytelling, including some very poor LGBTQIA+ representation, which overshadowed one of the storylines. It somehow managed to suggest that gay folk should be grateful for what they get in life and their relationships and emotions are somehow less valid, so they should just be happy if they can get anyone to like them. Which was, at the very least an... odd(?) conclusion to slip in to the plot!
I also saw Stranger Things: The First Shadow, but I almost forgot to mention it, because it was so - darn - forgettable.
I've been seeing lots of talk online about Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder - which is ostensibly about a pair of women doing a True-Crime Podcast out of one of their mum's garage in Beverley, near Hull (you won't of heard of it). It very much lived up to its hype and was a very good comedy musical, well worth checking out if you're wanting a reasonably light musical with a darkly humourous twist. It's on in London until the end of Summer, and I suspect it will go back on tour at some point after.
A couple of unfortunate things let it down a little in its current home at the Ambassadors Theatre - I was upstairs, and the legroom was miniscule, I don't know if it was better downstairs, but it was properly uncomfortable if you have long legs. Also, the sound quality wasn't the best, which was unfortunate given there are various points where the lyrics are important.
During the same trip, I also saw Hadestown, which was an impressive piece of theatre. I'm not sure how to sum it up beyond a modern take on a Greek Tragedy (both in form as well as in story) that works very well with some extremely striking musical numbers and technically impressive set. The script falters in a couple of places, but the overall package is some properly commanding stagecraft.
And talking of impressive theatre, if you get to see Come From Away whilst it's on tour, absolutely do. I cannot recommend this musical enough. It is probably one of the best new musicals to be produced in the past decade and is such a well told story about overcoming adversity in the most challenging of situation.
A very different musical, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York is a fun little rom-com-esque musical at the Criterion. It was a fun couple of hours, if you want to switch your mind off and enjoy some very pleasant, but ultimately rather forgettable musical theatre. I think I paid something like £25 for a ticket and at that price it felt like a good value for what you got, especially for the Westend.
Standing at the Sky's Edge - another musical very much anchored in a Northern city - I knew nothing about thing going into it, but I'm honestly not sure if I was prepared for a musical based on the iconic brutalist Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield, tied together by dramatic election results over the past five decades. (I saw it in the run-up to the election, so that element was particularly effecting).
It was a very well put together musical with some moments that were particularly good, but unfortunately it was let down by some of the storytelling, including some very poor LGBTQIA+ representation, which overshadowed one of the storylines. It somehow managed to suggest that gay folk should be grateful for what they get in life and their relationships and emotions are somehow less valid, so they should just be happy if they can get anyone to like them. Which was, at the very least an... odd(?) conclusion to slip in to the plot!
I also saw Stranger Things: The First Shadow, but I almost forgot to mention it, because it was so - darn - forgettable.
