Laura Fuller

Fun, frisky and fabulous, That Drag Show! took to the stage at Proud Cabaret last night and delivered a stellar act from start to finish. Billed as 'London's newest drag revue', the ensemble show is composed of three established London based drag performers:  Velma Celli, Portia De Fosse and Australian queen Karla Bear.

In these troubled times, ita??s more important than ever to find innovative ways to keep live performance going. Pub chain Fullera??s Inns are continuing to do just that, with their latest touring production of The Tempest (performed by Open Bar Theatre). With a cast comprised of six actors playing multiple parts, their latest a??Shakespeare in the Gardena?? offering plays to outdoor audiences across the country, bringing a taste of Shakespeare straight to your local pub. 

Tsemaye is a Nigerian-born, London-based West End performer. She most recently starred in the World Premiere of a?oeTina: The Tina Turner Musicala?? at the Aldwych Theatre where she performed as Alline Bullock/Ikette, also understudying and performing the role of Tina Turner. Other credits include Janelle Woods/The Shirelles in Beautiful:The Carole King Musical also at Aldwych Theatre. Tsemaye talks to BroadwayWorld about her role as Leading Player in the current production of Pippin at Garden Theatre, London.

Based on the 2006 Danish film of the same name by Lars Von Trier, The Boss of It All was adapted into a play in 2013 by writer and director Jack McNamara for New Perspectives - an East Midlands based theatre company. Originally performed at Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre, the production has been updated for covid times. Using an ingenious concept featuring video calls and narration, The Boss of It All is streaming as a live production produced by Soho Theatre (co-produced by New Perspectives and in association with Derby QUAD). Last night saw the first of three days of performances.

Sweeping into Crazy Coqs in a haze of red sequins, Janie Dee took to the stage last night at the intimate (yet socially distanced) cabaret venue to deliver her latest show entitled Janie Dee: A New Life.

The Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre was certainly abuzz last night for the opening night of Sleepless - the first fully staged musical to take place in the UK since the beginning of lockdown.

Harriet Thorpe is perhaps best known for her work on Absolutely Fabulous and The Brittas Empire. However she has also enjoyed an extensive theatre career including roles in Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!, Crazy For You and The Dresser. Shea??s currently starring as Eleanor in the new musical Sleepless (based on the hit film Sleepless in Seattle), currently in previews at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. Harriet talks to BroadwayWorld about the excitement and anticipation surrounding the first fully staged theatre production since the beginning of lockdown. 

Louis Maskell is a leading theatre actor, with credits including: Benvolio/Dick in Doctor Faustus (Shakespeare's Globe), Bob/André in Flowers for Mrs Harris (Chichester & Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Tony in West Side Story (National Tour), and Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield).

The Coronavirus outbreak has, of course, had a major impact on drama schools. In-person teaching is impossible during the shutdown, and students who were preparing for productions or showcases - many of these a vital launchpad into the industry - have seen their live performances cancelled. So, how have drama schools pivoted during the crisis?

Curve Theatre in Leicester, currently led by Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, has developed a reputation for producing and programming bold and innovative work, with many productions going on to tour both in the UK and internationally. Chris and Nikolai talk to BroadwayWorld about their time at Curve, hopes for the theatre's future, and how audiences can support the theatre industry during these difficult times.

Finbar Lynch has enjoyed an extensive acting career, spanning stage, film and television. His theatre work includes Girl From the North Country (Noel Coward Theatre, Gielgud Theatre and Toronto) Translations (Donmar Warehouse), Richard III (Almeida Theatre), Antony and Cleopatra (National Theatre), and Antigone (Barbican and world tour). In 1999, he was nominated for both Tony and Drama Desk awards for his performance as Canary Jim in Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales. He talks to BroadwayWorld about his role as the Stage Manager in the London transfer of Paula Vogel's Indecent at the Menier Chocolate Factory. A Tony Award-winning hit on Broadway, Indecent explores the origins of the controversial play God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch.

Today, Birmingham Rep has announced plans for its new season of work, with new Artistic Director Sean Foley at the helm. The programme is bold and inventive, with many nods to Birmingham itself in terms of associate artists and the shows that feature. Sean Foley talks to BroadwayWorld about the importance of representation in theatre, and his passion to revitalise the venue.

Paul Kember's Not Quite Jerusalem received huge critical acclaim following its premiere at the Royal Court in 1980. Forty years on, the Finborough Theatre have chosen to revive the play as part of their own 40th anniversary celebrations.

Wooding talks to BroadwayWorld about her role as Kit de Luca in Pretty Woman The Musical, which opened this week at the Piccadilly Theatre.

The legend of Zorro has proved to be a well-loved and enduring story - providing the basis for a novel by Isabel Allende, several popular movies, and a West End musical which toured internationally.

Ricardo Afoinso talks to BroadwayWorld UK about his next outing as Zorro/Diego in Zorro: The Musical in concert at Cadogan Hall on 23 February

Revival Blitz! forms part of Phil Wilmott's Essential Classics season, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of VE Day. A Lionel Bart musical set in the heart of London's East End, Blitz! (also directed by Wilmott) tells the story of two neighbouring families - the Blitzsteins and the Lockes - against the backdrop of World War II.

Currently in London overseeing the London transfer of his Broadway musical Be More Chill, composer Joe Iconis took to the stage last night at the Other Palace with Joe Iconis Live: a charming and authentic collection of his best-loved work. And boy, did he deliver.

Watermill Ensemble's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (directed by Paul Hart) offers up a wonderful reimagining of one of Shakespeare's most well-loved plays.

Absurd, completely silly and thoroughly entertaining, Crybabies: Danger Brigade is an hour of wall-to-wall laughs propelled by an array of bizarre and hysterical characters.