For about six weeks in the year, the word pantomime is pretty much on everybody’s lips at some point. Normally staid and sensible papers like the Telegraph and Guardian run specials on which regional theatres have the best pantomimes on. This year there has even been a TikTok influencer who has gone viral with videos…
I have been very lucky to never personally encounter dementia but, as I get older, the fear that it may one day hit me is increasing. Moments when I just can’t remember a word while writing or talking or I walk into a room and forget why, happen and I wonder are they just the…
People have lots of Christmas traditions. In my family, Christmas started when my dad put on his ‘Bah Humbug’ hat. For many, a trip to a pantomime is a big tradition, and for lots of people in London and beyond that pantomime trip would be to Vauxhall and the Above the Stag adult panto. Alas,…
Next year marks one hundred and ten years since the start of World War 1 – the war to end all wars – as it was also known. Many, many people went into the Great War (another of its names) with their heads held high and firm belief that they were doing what was right…
According to my good friends at Wikipedia, burlesque is a literary, dramatic, or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian word burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian word burla – a…
Do you know the most magical words a theatre reviewer can hear? “The show is 50 minutes long with no interval.” Not only does this mean I’ll get home at a reasonable time, but it also means the writer and actor(s) really have their work cut out in creating character(s) and a story that can…
‘We’re all in it together’ is one of those phrases politicians bandy around when there is bad news. Unfortunately, experience has shown that while we may all be in it together, some of us are in it a lot more than others. Somehow those in charge manage to bypass the restrictions they thrust on others….
It’s amazing how many people want to be an amateur detective. London’s Prince Charles cinema regularly holds `Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote” events which are amazingly popular. The reason I mention this is that Moonstone has brought its immersive show Cyanide in the Speakeasy to the Colab Tavern. My friend Michael and I donned our deerstalkers, cleaned our magnifying…