Editor's Blog: Top 10 Shows of 2013

When people ask what I do for a living and I explain that I am the Editor of a theatre website I am always asked two questions. Firstly, 'Don't you get bored of going to the theatre every night?' and secondly 'What's the best show you've ever seen?'

My answer to the first question is always no - I do not and never could get bored of going to the theatre every night due to the incredible variety we are so lucky to have in London. If I saw a big West End musical every night I would become bored. If I saw a small fringe play every night I would become bored. But 2013 has seen so many different productions staged all over London which really have pushed theatrical boundaries.

I often find it hard to answer the second question, so throughout the year I have been working on a list of my top ten personal favourite shows of the year... and below is the finished version. I would also just like to thank everyone for their unbelievably amazing support throughout 2013. It has been a very exciting year for West End Frame and, quite simply, we couldn't do it without you. Happy New Year!

10. Chess at the Union Theatre
February 2013 - March 2013

Photo Credit: Mug Photography

For me the most exciting thing about seeing Chess at the Union Theatre was that I was able to be completely open minded as I had absolutely nothing to compare it to. On press night I was surrounded by people discussing how it compared to the original West End production but I had the joy of discovering the show for the first time. Chess was one of the most exciting productions I saw in 2013, the entire run sold out before the first preview! The show took so many risks, all of which paid off. Sarah Galbraith gave the most mesmerising performance as Florence and Christopher Howell and Steven Harris' direction was nothing short of mind-blowing. Their attention to detail was sublime.

Big Interview: Damian Humbley

Damian Humian has had a very busy year! This time last year he was starring as Charley Kringas in Maria Freedman’s production of Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at the Menier the production transferred to the West End’s Harold Pinter Theatre where it received more five star reviews than any other musical in West End history. Digital Theatre and Cinema Live teamed up to film the production, which also starred Mark Umbers and Jenna Russell, and broadcast it in cinemas all over the world for one night only throughout October and November. The recording is released on Digital Theatre later this month.

Damian is currently starring in Dickens Abridged, a fast-paced musical comedy from the co-creator of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), which runs at the West End’s Arts Theatre until 5th January 2014. It was also recently announced that he will star in the London premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting it Together at the St. James Theatre next year.

His other recent theatre credits include: Harry in Company at Sheffield Crucible, Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre, Shoes at the Peacock Theatre, Seymour in the UK Tour of Little Shop of Horrors and Jamie in the UK Premiere of The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

I recently spoke to Damian about why Dickens Abridged has been such a fun show to work on and who it appeals to, as well as what it was like to watch himself on screen in Merrily We Roll Along and why he thinks Maria Freedman’s production was so special…

Dickens Abridged is completely different to other shows you have recently starred in. What attracted you to it?

It’s over the Christmas period, it’s good fun and I’ve worked with the guy who wrote it, Adam Long, before and he’s a very fun director and very fun man so I jumped at the chance to work with him. That’s usually what attracts me to things – the people you are working with. And then we’ve got an amazing cast who are so much fun to work with!

Editor's Blog: Merrily We Roll Along comes to a cinema near you

Last night (21st October) the Cineworld Haymarket played host to the London premiere screening of Maria Friedman's terrific production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along. 

The production initially opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory in November 2012 where it became the hottest ticket in town before transferring to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre in May 2013.

After its press night the production celebrated receiving more five star reviews than any other West End production... ever. During the run at the Harold Pinter Digital Theatre teamed up with CinemaLive, Chocolate Factory Productions, Neal Street Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions and the Society of London Theatre to film the show so that it could be screened in cinemas across the UK, America and all over the world.

This was my second time seeing theatre in the cinema, I recently attended the premiere screening of Beautiful Thing. Seeing a musical was a completely different experience, with the audience applauding after each musical number. At first the theatrical atmosphere felt strange inside a cinema, but I soon became used to the idea.

Review: Merrily We Roll Along at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Merrily We Roll Along

Harold Pinter Theatre

Reviewed on Thursday 2nd May 2013

“You don't write what you know [indicates head], but what you know [indicates heart].” In this line that appears both at the beginning and the end of Merrily, I cannot work out whether Sondheim and Furth are being ironic or giving serious advice or maybe Sondheim is admitting an apology to people he forgot about as he became more successful, because for the most part this show appeals solely to the head and only momentarily touches the heartstrings. But then, what else would one expect from a Sondheim musical and in many ways this mid-canon piece is typical of the composer in its breadth of scope, its themes of the artist and the business of theatre and its elements of autobiography.

Tickets go on sale for West End Transfer of Merrily We Roll Along at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Tickets have gone on sale for the West End Transfer of Merrily We Roll Along which opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 23rd April. Following a sell out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, early booking is advised to avoid disappointment. Click here to book. The show is currently booking until 27th July 2013.

Based on the play by Kaufman and Hart, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical charts the turbulent relationship between three friends, Franklin, Charley and Mary, over three decades. Starting in 1980 and travelling backwards in time, this powerful and moving story features some of Sondheim’s most beautiful songs including ‘Good Thing Going’, ‘Not a Day Goes By’ and ‘Old Friends’.

Theatre Gossip: Menier Chocolate Factory's Merrily We Roll Along for West End transfer

According to the Daily Mail, the Menier Chocolate Factory's current production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along will transfer to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre in April when the acclaimed revival of Old Times, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Lia Williams and Rufus Sewell, ends its limited run. Please remember nothing has yet been confirmed.

The current cast, featuring Damian Humbley, Jenna Russell, Mark Umber and, Josefina Gabrielle, will apparently move with the show after it finishes its run in Southwark on 9th March.

Damian Humbley, Jenna Russell and Mark Umbers to star in Merrily We Roll Along

The Menier Chocolate Factory has announced casting for its hugely anticipated revival of the Sondheim / Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along, its Christmas 2012 show. The cast will include include Damian Humbley, Jenna Russell, Mark Umbers, Josefina Gabrielle, Clare Foster, Glyn Kerslake and Zizi Strallen.