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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: One Night With Joan, Leicester Square Theatre ✭✭✭
Joan Collins returns to the West End with her one-woman show and receives a standing ovation.
Add a commentThe glamourous Joan Collins rolled into the West End last night and kicked off a week stint at the Leicester Square Theatre. Her one woman show, One Night With Joan, is directed by husband number 5 Percy Gibson, whom she reveals has given her the happiest twelve years of her life.
For those of us not in the know “there was life before Dynasty,” laughs Collins and off we go on a journey through the Hollywood years, pretty much a camp exploration of the star’s resume with punchy one-liners and amusing anecdotes. Early nerves quickly settle and Collins hits her stride with a show that relies heavily on slick video clips and photography stills.
Anyone expecting a raucous ride of big reveals may be slightly disappointed. This is a mild, somewhat glossy observation of a pretty stunning career. Collins name-drops throughout but actually that’s what we want, and moments of self-deprecation allow us to see the human face behind the style.
The most touching anecdote comes in the second act with an account of the 90’s publishing trial that took its toll. Collins was famously sued for an advance from Random House, arguing that she’d failed to deliver a publishable book. Footage of her breaking down in the first day of the court case plays out while Collins looks on visibly moved. She reveals a call from a lawyer friend helped her fight back channeling her bitchy Dynasty character Alexis. It perhaps helped her win the case. The show is at its best in these moments where integrity shines through.
One Night With Joan is camp, bitchy, fabulous. Yet slightly measured. Now that the press night is out of the way, Collins will surely channel more of that Dynasty character, puffing up those imaginary shoulder pads and taking the West End by storm. Oh, and she looks sensational.
-PKM.
*** (3 stars)
Runs until 9th February 2014
More info