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News: Pubs and theatre. An age-old pairing.
This exciting project will no doubt resonate with anyone that has ever stepped into a pub, so this February, grab your pint of Drunken Nights and witness something completely original and unique.
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News: The 28 Day Project launches wonderful opportunities
The 28 Day Project is an exciting initiative offering emerging talent a step into the film business.
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Have you got the Star Wars X Factor?
Thousands turned away at open auditions after standing in the rain for hours.
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News: TheatreCraft returns to help young people’s backstage careers
The 8th annual event returns to the Royal Opera House later this month.
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BLOG: Theatre: the best casino shows around the world
Casinos around the world offer some of the best theatrical entertainment you can find.
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BLOG: 5 Best Actors in Superhero Cinema
Is “superhero” acting any less challenging?
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Blog: Films to study for inspiration
Watching great actors can often inform your own work.
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Blog: Shakespeare experimenting with the limits of contemporary drama
Briony Rawle heads to Yorkshire and takes a closer look at Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
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Review: Bat Boy, Southwark Playhouse ✭✭✭
A campy fun musical with bite screams Douglas Mayo.
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Review: Visitors, Arcola Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Barney Norris first full-length play is an exquisitely written examination of love and loss, writes Alex Delaney.
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Review: 1984, Almeida Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭
This fresh vision of 1984 feels like a rediscovery of Orwell’s dystopia, writes Sophia Longhi.
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Review: Secret Theatre – Show 4, Lyric Hammersmith ✭✭✭✭
This review comes with a capitalised, emboldened and even italicised, SPOILER ALERT. That should do, writes Briony Rawle.
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Review: Liza on an E, Vaudeville Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Jeffrey Jones is enthralled by Trevor Ashley’s two-hour homage to Liza Minnelli.
Add a commentAshley delivers a performance that is worthy of the diva herselfLiza Minnelli impersonators are a dime-a-dozen but their tendency to go for cheap jokes can often leave an audience cold. Trevor Ashley’s homage to Liza is a different kettle of fish. It’s warm, loving, biting, funny and above all a sincere tribute to that rare thing – talent.
For just over two hours, Ashley delivers a performance that is worthy of the diva herself. Classics are treated with care and respect but delivered with breath-taking accuracy. It’s one thing to take cheap shots, as many other impersonators are inclined to do, but to mix comedy with talent, to really get inside the skin of your subject, is something far greater.
Ashley accompanied by a 6 piece band, under the direction of musical director George Dyer, fills the theatre with the musical canvas against which to set the blaze of colour that is Liza Minnelli.
Ashley’s performance is nothing short of brilliant in every
respectStandards such as New York, New York, Ring Them Bells, Cabaret (with a few twists) Maybe This Time and Losing My Mind are delivered straight, whilst comedic twists are applied to a stinging attack on ex-husband David Gest to the tune of Be Our Guest from Beauty & the Beast.
It’s the subtle nuances of Minnelli’s stage persona that bring this performance to life. Liza’s infectious, on-stage banter, which often turns to hurried babble, her laugh, and the over the top choreography, all combine to make this so much more than your run-of-the mill Liza parody.
Ashley has nailed the vocal style; Close your eyes and you actually believe you are in the presence of the real thing. It’s a compelling study of how a tribute act should be constructed and executed.
More people will see Trevor Ashley as Liza in this one-week engagement than actually saw Liza when she was in London in March. This is a definite must-see; Whether you are a Liza novice or a hardened fan, Ashley’s performance is nothing short of brilliant in every respect.
**** (4 stars)
Runs until 18th May
More info – Ticket offerPublished on May 16, 2013 · Filed under: Featured, Reviews; Tagged as: Cabaret, David Guest, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, London Theatre, Trevor Ashley