Theatremonkey

31 October 2026

(seen at the afternoon performance on 31st October 2026) What do the NBC Nightly News, Sunday Night Football, Harry Potter and the Olympic Game have in common? All have music written for them by John Williams. This two-hour tribute by the London Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to the man who tells a story better than […]

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31 October 2026

(seen at the performance on 29th October 2026) The monkey relates entirely to this play, as it reflects its own ancestry. Young ethnic minority man Joe Bonaparte (Josh O’Connor) choosing to box his way out of poverty. A musician at heart, the decision to risk his hands is a contradiction more modern writers would avoid. […]

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19 October 2026

(seen at the afternoon performance on 17th October 2026) In those theatre-starved years just after the final insanity ended, there were two highly successful concert seasons at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Love Never Dies was arguably the most lavish production presented. Three years later, almost the entire creative team and a good chunk of […]

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8 October 2026

(seen at the afternoon performance on 7th October 2026) All the monkey remembers of the film is seeing it at its local cinema, now sadly gone. It boasted the third largest screen in London, and the car entering the Grand Canyon was spectacular. Beyond that, it remembers nothing. We see the car early on, but […]

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2 October 2026

(seen at the performance on 1st October 2026) Some performers have a simple knack of making their concert feel more like friends being invited for tea and a singsong. Michael Ball is one of these. An 8-piece band, 2 backing singers, vast Palladium stage and expansive lighting design are simply an extension of his sitting […]

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25 September 2026

(seen at the afternoon performance on 24th September 2026) Jeanine Tesori has written for some of the monkey’s favourite modern musicals. “Violet,” “Caroline or Change”, the sublime “Fun Home” and the anarchic original adult production of “Shrek The Musical.” This is very much in keeping with her previous work. A young person with a dilemma […]

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18 September 2026

(seen at the afternoon performance on 17th September 2026) Essex, the beating heart of England, is in revolution. Rebel Helen (Michelle Dockery) left husband Marcus (Jay Taylor) for foreign guy Paris. It sparked a war that killed her best friend Cee’s (Laura Aikman) daughter and put Cee’s husband Mario (Gerard Monaco) on the front line […]

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16 September 2026

(seen at the performance on 15th September 2026) In magic, some things go together like Paul and Debbie, Young and Strange, Sooty and Sweep, Penn and Teller. What happens when Teller’s kidney has failed and he waits nervously at home for his transplant tomorrow? The answer is a video from him, explaining the situation (yes, […]

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8 September 2026

(seen at the press performance on 7th September 2026, by invitation) It is a beautiful room, the Grand Saloon Bar. High, vaulted ceiling with three glorious chandeliers. Luxuriously thick rugs on highly polished floor. Thick blue or golden armchairs pulled up to dainty tables at which even daintier sandwiches and pastries are served (the chocolate […]

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25 August 2026

(23rd August 2026) “Goooood Afternooooon Haaammmmeerrrrsmith!” One ticked off the monkey bucket-list, as it stood on the stage, facing an auditorium packed with… 7 fellow guests and 3 tour guides, really. Must have been its encore of “I Wanna Be Like You”… or just the initial opening bars, really… Over the course of two August […]

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