London Theatre News

‘BKLYN - The Musical’ digital revival to stream in March

An online revival of BKLYN - The Musical will premiere next month, it has been announced. Filmed at London's Ugly Duck space, BKLYN will be available to stream from 22 March - 4 April, with a plethora of West End stars taking part.BKLYN tells the stories of multiple street performers, whose lives intersect on the streets of New York City. Sharing tales with each other, they discover an inner story of a young girl in the USA finding the father she never knew. First performed on Broadway in 2004,...

‘Six’ extends Lyric Theatre run to August 2021

UPDATE: New information added 5 May.The West End run of Six will continue at the Lyric Theatre into the summer, it has been announced. The British musical will stay at the Lyric Theatre to 29 August, with Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical now opening at the Lyric in October.In a tweet from the production, Six will reopen at the Lyric Theatre on 21 May, which was teased by Nica Burns when speaking to Radio 2.Casting for the Six reopening is to be announced. Before the show was forced to...

'Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical' postponed to October 2021

In the same week that Sister Act and Good have postponed their London runs, Get Up! Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical is the latest show to be pushed back. The Bob Marley world premiere production will now begin at the Lyric Theatre in October, with performances scheduled to 3 Apr. 2022.In a tweet from the production, the musical is delayed until social distancing is lifted. They have confirmed they are "busy behind the scenes getting ready to welcome audiences to this uplifting show and the...

How is Brexit affecting London theatres?

In 2016, the British public voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum which split the country into two: "remainers" and "Brexiteers." It's been the topic of thousands of news stories and has even been dramatised. David Cameron and Nigel Farage were parodised in Brexit the Musical, while two staunch Brexit supporters wrote People Like Us, which premiered at the Union Theatre in 2018. Brexit is no longer just a point of hypothetical conversation. On 31 December 2020, the United...

Can artificial intelligence algorithms alone write a play?

Writing a play often takes months, maybe years of work. After this, a show is often developed and workshopped until it is performed in front of an audience. But, what if writing a play was made easier? The world premiere of the first play, titled AI: When a robot writes a play, written entirely by artificial intelligence (AI) will premiere on 26 February.Created by Czech Centre London in partnership with Prague's Švanda Theatre, their upcoming AI play is written entirely by a robot. It's been...

Vault Festival 2021 to include series of streamed revivals

Each year, thousands of theatregoers check out Vault Festival, an annual event that celebrates theatre, cabaret and immersive experiences. Although in-person performances are cancelled for 2021, five weeks of streamed performances from prior Vault Festivals will be vailable.During the online festival, audiences can watch a new production, previously staged in recent years. All shows will be 360-degree immersive, allowing viewers to see every aspect of the production. All events will be charged...

Could socially-distanced outdoor productions lead the return of theatre?

Ahead of plans being announced to guide the UK out of lockdown on 22 February, over 60 creatives have written to the government calling for an early opening of outdoor performing arts.Those who have signed the letter include representatives from the Arcola Theatre, English National Opera, Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe.In the letter, they state how important live theatre in 2020 was to the economy. So much so, "an estimated 500,000 people were able to...

‘Good’ postponed at Harold Pinter Theatre, starring David Tennant

As a consequence of ongoing Coronavirus restrictions, the upcoming West End revival of Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre has been postponed again. New Good performance dates will be announced, but David Tennant will still star in the production.Good was due to play at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 21 Apr. - 17 July 2021. This latest postponement marks the second time Good has been moved, as it was originally scheduled for a winter 2020 run at the Playhouse Theatre.David Tennant will still play...

“Rapid lateral flow testing” could help theatres open quicker, says Boris Johnson

In the latest Coronavirus press conference, Boris Johnson has spoken about the steps needed for theatres to reopen once more. Currently, all theatre is suspended for the foreseeable future, although livestreams are still allowed to take place as theatres are deemed a safe place of work.When discussing the future of theatre, Johnson said: ""What we are thinking of at the moment is more of a route that relies on mass vaccination...plus lateral flow testing, rapid testing for those bits of the...

‘Sister Act’ moved to 2022 without Whoopi Goldberg performing

As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the London revival of Sister Act has been postponed for another year, with performances now taking place in 2022. Consequently, Whoopi Goldberg will no longer be playing Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act, with new casting to be announced.Speaking about her unavailability to star in Sister Act, Whoopi Goldberg said: "Sister Act is near and dear to my heart and I'm disappointed that I will be unable to perform in this production under the circumstances....