#west-end-theatre

#west-end-theatre

Tharpe, a veteran of the gospel scene, has picked Knight out of a backing quartet the previous evening. Now she intends to teach her partner how to 'swing', to infuse Knight's religious repertoire with some nightclub rhythm and blues. Knight, the younger, more restrained church singer, is awestruck by Tharpe's musical adventurousness.

While Miranda was hailed as a genius for creating the show, the actual breakout star was Leslie Odom Jr, who played Hamilton's nemesis Aaron Burr. Hugely praised for his magnetic, devilish performance, he pipped Miranda to the best actor in a musical gong at the 2016 Tony Awards.

The West End's post-pandemic revival has delivered a multimillion-pound boost to one of Britain's biggest theatre groups, with the return of Oliver! helping Sir Cameron Mackintosh's company rebound to, and surpass, pre-Covid trading levels. Cameron Mackintosh Limited reported an 18 per cent jump in revenues to £234 million last year, overtaking its 2019 performance as audiences returned in force and demand for major productions recovered.

Tributes have poured in for RuPaul's Drag Race UK star The Vivienne, one year on from her death. On Saturday (3 January), monuments across Liverpool and the north west were lit up green to honour the drag star, whose real name was James Lee Williams, in reference to her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End and UK tour production of the Wizard of Oz.

With so many places to eat out in London, competition for customers is intense. This means that there are lots of offers to encourage us to choose where to go. For many tourists, afternoon tea in a stylish setting is one of the highlights of their time spent here. Voucher sites like Groupon and Wowcher always have some deals that let you save money on tea, cakes and scones in classy establishments.

Famously the world's longest consistently running play, Agatha Christie's Mousetrap has now been running for over 70 years, and is one of those plays that everyone is presumed to see once in their lives. The murder-mystery storyline is set in "the present", presumably England, around the time the play was published in 1952, including the continuation of World War II rationing.

Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink will make her West End debut in a new production of Romeo & Juliet. British actor Noah Jupe, best known for his role in horror series A Quiet Place, will play the Romeo to her Juliet. They will portray the star-crossed lovers on stage at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London from March 2026, as first reported by US outlet Deadline. Award-winning writer and director Robert Icke, who has previously adapted George Orwell's 1984 and Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, will direct the project.

Missed out in seeing Rachel Zegler doing her for-the-people balcony performance in Evita? No worries, because the star is returning to the West End in 2026, for a very limited run. And she's going to be joined by the triple-threat Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Ben Platt. The musical superstars are coming to the Big Smoke for a limited run of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, which tells the story of couple Cathy and Jamie from first meeting to their inevitable breakup

DanceSport International (DSI London) was originally founded as a dance studio in 1982 by Geoffrey Hearn and ballroom dancer Peggy Spencer MBE. It opened a dress making department in 2000, and now has 52 skilled artisans who handcraft every piece. DSI London has been the main supplier of costumes for Strictly Come Dancing in its last three series. Sales director Gerald Schwanzer explained how the company's dancing background has made it a favourite for performers and choreographers.

He lives up to the task. What is literally built around him is gorgeous. Rae Smith's set changes from a beautiful drawing room to a flamboyant garden to a dramatic reception room, marble statues and all. The costumes, too, also designed by Smith, are increasingly fabulous, none more so than Lady Bracknell's billowing skirts and sparkling jewellery. Jack and Algernon look, in every outfit, like they are straight off the red carpet at the Met Gala.