Read more about the article REVIEW: Bach & Sons, The Bridge Theatre (2021)
Simon Russell Beale as Johann Sebastian Bach (Photo: Manuel Harlan)

REVIEW: Bach & Sons, The Bridge Theatre (2021)

We hear about the precarious life of a musician dependent on patronage and the whims of the German nobility.  We hear Bach's acerbic wit and cut to his conducting a choir where we realise he is not just a perfectionist, he has low levels of tolerance.  We see he has a bad temper and is stubborn, so will fall out with those he depends on financially and get into petty quarrels.  We also appreciate the humour of Bach's witty lines and put downs.

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Read more about the article REVIEW: Out West, Lyric Hammersmith (2021)
Esh Alladi (Photo by Helen Maybanks)

REVIEW: Out West, Lyric Hammersmith (2021)

Out West is a collection of three one actor plays by three renowned playwrights, linked by each play illustrating differing aspects of racism and alluding to the area where the Lyric Theatre is today.  One is about a mixed race marriage, one about a black woman's fight for self esteem and one about a law student from overseas arriving in Britain in the reign of Queen Victoria. 

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Read more about the article REVIEW: Jersey Boys, Prince Edward Theatre (2008) <br>from our archive
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REVIEW: Jersey Boys, Prince Edward Theatre (2008)
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Review written in March 2008. In fact it ran for nine years with a transfer to the Piccadilly Theatre. The story of their background from blue collar workers of New Jersey, some with a record for small time crime to stardom is very different. The thing is that the real story of these New Jersey boys is interesting enough to form the book of a musical without resorting to unlikely story lines designed to “fit” existing lyrics.

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