Sister Act - Round-up of Reviews

• Charles Spencer - The Telegraph:4/5
• Fiona Mountford - Evening Standard:4/5
• Michael Coveney - The Independent:3/5
• Maxie Szalwinska - The Sunday Times:3/5
• Benedict Nightingale - The Times: 3/5
• Michael Billington - The Guardian: 2/5
• Quentin Letts - Daily Mail: 2/5

Reviews were mixed for major new musical Sister Act at the London Palladium when it opened last week. Some of the big hitters such as Charles Spencer of the Telegraph and Fiona Mountford of the Evening Standard loved the show, whilst others were more reserved.

Based on the hit 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, who is an exec producer on the new stage show, the musical premiered at the Palladium with a performer dressed as a nun abseiling down the side of the theatre and a celebrity filled audience, including Goldberg.

The musical stars West End newcomer Patina Miller as cabaret singer Delores and Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior.

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Eastenders reunion in Calendar Girls

New cast of Calendar Girls announced including Eastenders stars June Brown, Anita Dobson, Jill Halfpenny and Jack Ryder. Also Jerry Hall to join the cast of the hit comedy.

The huge success of Calendar Girls, the smash-hit West End play based on the movie, will see a brand new cast introduced from July 28.

June Brown (Dot Cotton in Eastenders) will be reunited with her on-screen pal Anita Dobson, who famously played Angie in the BBC soap, in the new cast at the Noel Coward Theatre in London. They will also be joined by former Eastenders Jill Halfpenny and Jack Ryder, who plays the photographer of the famous calendar.

Also in the new cast will be model and ex Mrs Jagger Jerry Hall, Jill Baker, Philadelphia lovely Sara Crowe and Gemma Atkinson from Hollyoaks.

Current stars including Lynda Bellingham, Patricia Hodge and Sian Phillips will all leave the show as part of the cast change.

Apparently Tim Firth will rewrite parts of the play for the new cast including making Jerry Hall’s part an American.

With glowing reviews and a hugely successful UK tour behind it, Calendar Girls is proving a runaway smash-hit in the West End. Based on the successful film, this is the uplifting and inspiring true story about a Women’s Institute group who spark a global phenomenon.

Save £14.50 on tickets to Calendar Girls at the Noel Coward Theatre until 3 July

COMMENT: Is televising theatre a good thing?

With the announcement that David Tennant’s Hamlet is to be televised for BBC2 we ponder the question: is televising theatre a good thing?

Tennant enjoyed enormous critical and audience acclaim for his performance of the Danish Prince for the RSC, both in Stratford and, briefly, in the West End until a serious back problem caused him to pull out.

Gregory Doran, who directed the RSC version, wants to reunite the cast and create a film version of the production.

This comes alongside the National Theatre’s NT Live programme, which sees live theatre broadcast to cinemas in the UK and around the world. It kicks off with a biggie - Phedre starring Helen Mirren, broadcast to over 50 cinemas on 25 June.

Given that few people actually had an opportunity to see David Tennant in Hamlet, and that Phedre completely sold out in a few days, the idea of taking live performance outside the confines of a theatre has the opportunity to vastly widen its audience. Theatre is intrinsically elitist - it costs a lot to attend and is very location specific. By turning to cinema and TV, you reduce the expense and vastly expand potential audiences.

But is something lost? The magic of seeing live theatre cannot be recreated on screen. And it’s a vastly different medium. Some of the most boring TV and cinema happens when you simply take a static theatre piece and point some cameras at it. Far from inspiring new generations of theatregoers it could actually confirm their worst suspicions - that theatre is slow and uneventful and nothing compared to the breadth and scope of the best movies and tele.

Bringing TV and film stars such as Tennant and Mirren into theatre has to be a good thing for everyone. But doing a neat back-flip and putting the TV star in a play on TV could backfire. Here’s a wild, off-the-wall idea: maybe these stars could tour their plays to other places than Stratford and London? For centuries stage stars spent the majority of their time performing in front of audiences across the UK - feeling a strong sense of loyalty to the millions of people who wanted to see them perform live. What happened to that?

Sister Act - Free dinner offer

Free dinner offer for Sister Act at the London Palladium

Round-up of reviews for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium

Enjoy a free dinner at new musical Sister Act when booking a top price ticket to the show. This special offer is valid for pre theatre dinner at Acots or pre/post theatre dinner at Cape Town Fish Market.

Ascots Restaurant is on the first floor of the Berkshire hotel, close to the theatre. Ascots has just been awarded its second AA rosette, and Head Chef Steve White has the confidence to take a simple approach to his dishes using ingredients that compliment rather than clash with each other.

Also close to the theatre, Cape Town Fish Market is a chic and vibrant Restaurant, Fish Market, Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar that brings the fresh taste of South Africa to its customers. The decor places strong emphasis on Cape Town’s picturesque landscape and captures the soul of bygone days in various fishing harbours.

The offer is valid for Monday to Friday performances and comprises of a two course meal.

FREE DINNER OFFER: Book a full price ticket to Sister Act and enjoy a free dinner at Ascots or the Cape Town Fish Market

Book tickets to Sister Act at the London Palladium

Reviews Round up

Sister Act is now in previews and will officially open on 2 June. Please come back to this page to see our round up of the Reviews and comment about this show.

More about Sister Act

When Disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder she is put in protective custody in the one place cops are sure she won’t be found - a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and an up tight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir Deloris breaths new life into the church and community, but in doing so blows her cover. Soon the gang is giving chase only to find them up against Deloris and the power of her new found Sister Hood.

Based on the smash-hit movie, Sister Act features a brand new score by 8 time Oscar winner Alan Menken whose credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and most recently the hit movie Enchanted.

Produced by the movie’s original star Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act stars award-winning actress Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior and rising new star Patina Miller as Deloris.

Book tickets to Sister Act at the London Palladium

FREE DINNER OFFER: Book a full price ticket to Sister Act and enjoy a free dinner at Ascots or the Cape Town Fish Market

News Round-up: John Barrowman, La Clique, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

La Clique to move to the Roundhouse; Breakfast at Tiffany’s to star Anna Friel; John Barrowman to join the cast of La Cage Aux Folles

La Clique to move to Roundhouse

The hugely successful, Olivier Award winning burlesque show La Clique will reappear at the Roundhouse Theatre in Camden this Christmas after closing at the London Hippodrome on 27 June.

Despite repeatedly extending its run at the London Hippodrome, La Clique is closing to allow the venue to be converted into a new £15 million casino complex. La Clique will begin in its new home - in what many consider to be the perfect venue for the show - from 19 November.

See La Clique at the Hippodrome and save £7

West End Breakfast At Tiffany’s

Classic Hollywood film Breakfast At Tiffany’s is to get the musical treatment in a major new stage production to open at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in September.

Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) will make her West End debut as Holly Golightly in the part immortalised by Audrey Hepburn on screen.

Sean Mathias will direct the musical play and Oscar-winning song Moon River, penned by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for the original film, will be included alongside three new tunes.

Playwright Samuel Adamson has adapted the Truman Capote story and the production will also star American actor Joseph Cross as Holly’s friend William.

Sean Mathias, whose current production of Waiting for Godot staring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart is also playing at the Haymaket, is expected to oversee a whole season at the theatre. Possible future productions could include Gwyneth Paltrow starring in Chekhov’s The Three Sisters.

Book tickets to Breakfast At Tiffany’s at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Barrowman to star in La Cage

TV and stage actor John Barrowman will join the cast of La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre in London from 14 September.

The Torchwood star will follow in Graham Norton’s footsteps to play the central role of Albin, a glamorous drag queen on the Cote d’Azur.

Winner of best revival at this year’s Olivier Awards, Roger Allam currently starring in the role, with press reviews this week heralding his performance as “sensational” (Charles Spencer - The Telegraph) and “a joy to watch” (Time Out).

Book tickets to La Cage Aux Folles and save £20

Major shows to close on 30 May

Sunset Boulevard, Spring Awakening, Shout and Joseph to all close on 30 May.

A number of major West End shows are closing this month - with only days left for theatregoers to catch them.

Despite astonishing critical acclaim, Spring Awakening at the Novello Theatre is to close early on 30 May. Spring Awakening had its European premiere at Lyric Hammersmith earlier this year, where the mix of Frank Wedekind’s classic story about teenage sexual discovery fused with teen rock garnered numerous five star reviews. Stephen Daldry’s 1992 National Theatre production of JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls will go into the Novello from 22 September.

Also on 30 May, the successful production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy theatre will close. Directed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood, the Watermill Theatre’s production stars Kathryn Evans and Dave Willetts.

Another Andrew Lloyd Webber show, Joseph, starring Gareth Gates at the Adelphi Theatre, will also close on 30 May. The production originally starred Lee Mead, winner of the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do.

A day after these three shows close, Shout - the musical set in the swinging 60s starring Su Pollard - is closing at the Arts Theatre a month early on 31 May.

And finally, The Last Cigarette starring Felicity Kendal, Jasper Britton and Nicholas Le Prevost is to close early, with its final performance on 23 May. The show transferred from the Chichester Minerva theatre last month into the Trafalgar Studios.

Save £20 on discount tickets to Spring Awakening

Save £24.50 on discount tickets to Sunset Bouelvard

Save £15.25 on discount tickets to Joseph

Save £13 on discount tickets to Shout!

Save £20 on discount tickets to The Last Cigarette

New kid on the square

The West End’s newest venue The Leicester Square Theatre is proving to be a comedy hit

The newest theatre to arrive on the London scene is the Leicester Square Theatre, slap bang in the heart of Theatreland. And its combination of comfort and clever programming is proving a hit with a diverse audience of theatregoers.

Fast becoming the home of comedy and cabaret, the 400 seater venue reopened last summer. Originally a Ballroom and then a church hall, the theatre has had over £600,00 spent on it to ensure it ranks as one of the most comfortable venues in London, with cinema style seating and two bars within the auditorium.

A blazing new line-up over the next few months sees a host of international talent from theatre, cabaret and comedy including current show Stop Messing About - which ends this Saturday 24 May. Billed as the Kenneth Williams extravaganza, and from the people behind Round The Horne… Revisited, it’s a brilliantly funny show set during a BBC radio recording featuring Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick.

Other forthcoming attractions worthy of note include controversial American comic Sandra Bernhard, hitting London hard with an updated revival of her sensational standup show Without You I’m Nothing. Also burlesque queen Miss Polly Rae is back with her Hurly Burly Girlys and lots of special guests. Camp extravaganzas featuring Jim Bailey as Judy Garland, and Steven Brinberg and Rick Skye as Barbra and Liza Live, promise nights of untold glamour and unashamed diva worship. Comedy club Just The Tonic has been touring successfully for 15 years and already has a home in Nottingham, and has now set up in London on Saturdays at 10pm featuring an impressive line-up of both new and established comedians. Finally Sammy J brings his hit Edinburgh show In The Forest of Dreams to London for a strictly limited run, featuring 14 puppets that are strictly for adults!

Westendtheatre.com offers discount tickets at many of the Leicester Square Theatre’s shows including Stop Messing About, Sandra Bernhard, Just the Tonic Comedy Club and Jim Bailey as Judy Garland. See below for details.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT THE LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE…

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Cat cast announced

London cast of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof announced

The London cast of Broadway transfer Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has been announced. James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad and Adrian Lester will star in the Tennessee Williams revival, directed again by Debbie Allen.

The all black production proved a sensation on Broadway with sold-out performances and critical acclaim. Multi award winning performers James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope, Star Wars) and Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) will reprise their roles of Big Daddy and Big Mama, joined by popular British actor Adrian Lester (Hustle).

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is an intense and emotional drama centred on a powerful Southern family’s reunion for the birthday party of the patriarch Big Daddy. Williams won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1955 play.

More details to be announced. Sign up for westendtheatre.com’s newsletter to be the first to hear about booking.

Guardian launches Performing guides

Newspaper publishes two free guides covering Acting and Singing

The Guardian is launching a two part guide this weekend that covers the world of performance and performing. A guide to acting, available free on Saturday in the Guardian, and a guide to singing available free in the Observer on Sunday, will feature techniques, exercises and practical advice from a range of teachers and performers including Imelda Staunton and Annie Lennox.

Saturday 9 May: Part one - Acting
Sunday 10 May: Part two - Singing

People to Watch: Ciaran Kellgren, star of Peter Pan

Rising young star Ciaran Kellgren to play Peter Pan in spectacular new production

Book tickets to Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

May is definitely proving to be an important month for much talked about young actor Ciaran Kellgren.

The 23 year old Lamda graduate has so far played relatively minor roles on TV and stage including Corporal Weir in ITV’s Cold Blood and parts in Macbeth and A Christmas Carol in Liverpool.

But from next Tuesday you will see rather more of him as he cavorts naked in Channel 4’s Shameless, playing Debbie’s one-night-stand Mark for five episodes.

And later this month he will be flying his way around Kensington Gardens as Peter Pan in a spectacular new multi-million pound production of the classic JM Barrie story.

The producers have spent £750,000 on a specially built 1,100 seater pavilion in Kensington Gardens that will feature an array of 3D and CGI sets that encompass the whole auditorium.

It promises to be a spectacular production, blending high-tech movie-making techniques with some dramatic live action performances - including much flying and dangerous thrills and spills.

A new adaptation of the classic story has been written by Tanya Ronder, and the production is directed by Ben Harrison and designed by William Dudley

Peter Pan is the story of the boy who never grew up. He takes the Darling children on a thrilling trip to the magical world of Neverland and introduces them to pirates - most notably Captain Hook - Indians, a crocodile and the Lost Boys.

Other members of the cast include movie actor Jonathan Hyde (Titanic, The Mummy) as Captain Hook / Mr Darling and Abby Ford as Wendy Darling.

Book tickets to Peter Pan, from 26 May at the Neverland Pavilion at Kensington Gardens.

An artist’s impressin of the spectacular set of Peter Pan

Ciaran Kellgren in Shamless, Channel 4 / E4