While we eagerly await the arrival of Daniel Craig’s final 007 adventure in 2019, London’s Royal Festival Hall last night hosted a stunning tribute to the work of the late John Barry. The Yorksire-born composer, who died in 2011, wrote the scores for eleven James Bond movie between 1963’s From Russia With Love and 1987’s … >
Continuing their hit Films in Concert series, the Royal Albert Hall welcomed the world’s most famous secret agent to London earlier this month. Accompanied by a live orchestra, the sold-out screening of Casino Royale followed previous similar events for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Aliens, E.T., Jurassic Park and Gladiator. As Daniel Craig’s Bond era … >
John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, was, to use a modern phrase, a bit of a lad. Drinking in excess, staying out all hours with his ‘merry gang’ and sleeping with anyone he wished to have his wicked way with. Dominic Cooper’s ridiculous good looks and swagger make him almost perfect for a role … >
John Williams is a name that is truly ubiquitous when discussing film music; especially when discussing iconic film music. Last night London’s Royal Festival Hall played host to The Best of John Williams in concert. A man who is arguably a legend in his own time, Williams is responsible for so many instantly recognisable movie … >
An adaptation is always going to differ from its source material. A play can’t be the book, and neither can a movie; what’s necessary is to capture the mood and essence of the story and transplant it to a different medium. Jonathan Glazer’s remarkable film Under the Skin, for example, is such an abstracted adaptation … >
Based on Kevin Bacon’s hit 1984 movie, Footloose: The Musical first opened on Broadway way back in 1998. Featuring original songs by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford, the show also tears through a number of classic ’80s tracks, including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear it for the Boy and, of course, that … >
Now in its record-breaking ninth year, Thriller Live arrives in Brighton direct from London. The West End hit has played over 3000 shows around the world to three million fans in over 30 counties – and if tonight’s performance at Brighton’s Theatre Royal is anything to go by, the crowd-pleasing celebration of the King of Pop’s 45-year career shows no sign of … >
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of those curious musicals where everyone somehow knows all the songs, even if they can’t recall having ever actually seen it. It’s most likely a faint memory from an early play at school and it’s that association which initially hampers this production of the UK’s longest running musical. For the opening couple of numbers, it comes across … >
Nineteenth months after its West End debut, Olivier Award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon continues to flourish. Now in its third year, second cast, and with a UK tour on the horizon; jukebox musical Sunny Afternoon is the story of 60s rock band The Kinks. Starting with them performing as jobbing musicians in Muswell Hill, and following … >
Hollywood composer/conductor Brian Tyler made his concert debut in London this weekend in front of a packed audience of movie fans (including none other than Tom Cruise!). The 43-year-old American is probably best known for his work with Marvel Studios, composing scores for the likes of Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and last year’s … >