Franco Milazzo - Page 10

There are generally two kinds of audiences at Cirque du Soleil shows. The first kind is usually by far the majority: excited, expectant, often slack-jawed at the amazing feats and ready to clap at any opportunity. Then there’s the rest: hesitant chin-rubbers who still hold out hope after seeing one too many over-hyped shows from this billion-dollar company, non-plussed by the standard circus tropes rolled out in the show-specific costumes or staging but quite ready to rave about whatever makes this production genuinely special. Hello, my name is Franco and I’m a Cirque cynic.

Backed by an extensive PR campaign that can probably be seen from outer space, George Takei’s Allegiance has finally landed in London. The media attention has been focused on the marquee name attached to this much-anticipated musical, but its political topic is the real talking point here.

As Cirque du Soleil returns to the Royal Albert Hall this month with Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities, we speak to its artistic director Rachel Lancaster.

If 2020 was the year theatre ground to a halt and 2021 was when it nervously found its legs again (only to fall over occasionally), then 2022 was when it blasted back to some kind of normal with many pandemic-delayed shows finally seeing the inside of a venue.

As the wrangles continue over the funding of the arts in general – and London opera in particular – up pops David McVicar’s The Magic Flute to show just what the fuss is all about. @royaloperahouse #opera

How much does the world love Dolly Parton? Let us count the ways. She gave $1m to help fund the Moderna vaccine which has saved around two million lives, she started up in 2007 the Imagination Library which every month now donates more than 40,000 books across the UK and she wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day.

To paraphrase Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, when Mandela is good, it’s very, very good, and when it’s bad, it’s almost unwatchable.

Sir Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty debuted in 2012 to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bourne’s New Adventures company. Ten years on, the celebratory production is now in its own turn being celebrated.

Those who deride this particular vision of Handel’s masterpiece as being inauthentic should be locked in some stocks and pelted with facts.

Drag queens are rarely charged with the crime of being understated so it is hardly surprising that San Fran’s Peaches Christ and her co-host Edwin Outwater chose to partner up with the Royal Albert Hall for the UK debut of their perennial Christmas show.

This versified version of arguably the greatest Christmas film ever is a seasonal highlight.

“Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.” Attributed to Nobel Prize-winning economist and Ali G interviewee JK Galbraith, this is the phrase that rolls around my head as I venture into the Crystal Maze-like Monopoly Lifesized, a highly entertaining take on arguably art’s single greatest monument to the pursuit of personal wealth.

With a CV that includes drag, opera, musical theatre and live art, Le Gateau Chocolat is a cabaret legend who escapes categorisation even if it is relatively easy to put your finger on just why he is so entertaining.

When Elf The Musical last set foot in London, the critics noted its family appeal, the syrupy content and the extortionate ticket prices. Has much changed this time around?

The Snowman and Christmas go together like bad weather and TfL apologies so it's unsurprising that this adaption by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre of Raymond Brigg's seminal 1978 graphic novel is returning to Sadler's Wells' Peacock Theatre.

Peering through a queer lens with cabaret stylings, Linus Karp brings Diana’s herstory to life through puppets, video and some very spot-on outfits.

What did our critic think of PICKLE at Park Theatre?

While ostensibly in the same bailiwick as Constellations and Lungs, Anything With A Pulse is far more of a white-knuckle ride into the heart of a modern source of darkness.

When it comes to London Christmas stage institutions, there’s an argument for saying that La Clique now deserves a place alongside Handel’s Messiah, A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker and Mother Goose.

Cutting edge technology and a witty script combine in this play which pushes the boundaries of what can be considered theatre.