Competition: Win a pair of tickets to Monster Raving Loony

This weekend we are giving away a pair of tickets to Monster Raving Loony at the Soho Theatre. To enter the competition, simply sign up to West End Frame's mailing list below. 

The winner will be randomly selected at 10am on Monday 6th June 2016 (entries after this time will not be included). The prize is valid between Monday 6th June and Saturday 11th June.

Review: Monster Raving Loony at the Soho Theatre

Monster Raving Loony

Soho Theatre

Reviewed on Thrusday 19th May 2016

★★★

“Yes, it’s a joke. Yes, it’s a political party”, asserts Samuel James’ Screaming Lord Sutch in James Graham’s new play Monster Raving Loony. And with those eight words, he captures the spirit of the Monster Raving Loony Party and the fiercely paradoxical tone of its subversive, satirical, and essential voice in British politics. Graham’s play, which takes a kaleidoscopic look at Sutch’s life through a set of homages to famous British comedy shows, is exuberantly daft throughout, but at its heart lies a serious point about the need for mockery in our political system. It is both seriously funny and, funnily, serious.

Monster Raving Loony transferring to Soho Theatre

Following its UK premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Monster Raving Loony is transferring to the Soho Theatre.

The show will open on 17th May (previews from 14th May) and run until 18th June 2016. Described as "fast-paced, hilarious and (slightly) bonkers", Monster Raving Loony is directed by Simon Stokes.

The original cast - Joseph Alessi, Camilla Beeput, Joanna Brookes, Jack Brown, Samuel James and composer/musician Tom Attwood - will all reprise their roles for the London transfer. Monster Raving Loony has set & costume design by Bob Bailey, lighting by Chahine Yavroyan, audio visual design by Duncan McLean and sound by Gregory Clarke. Guest Director is Cal McCrystal (with a trademark bravura farce contribution).

Interview: Samuel James, starring in Monster Raving Loony

Samuel James is currently starring in Monster Raving Loony by James Graham at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Directed by Simon Stokes, the play is a “fast-paced and hilarious” journey using the life and exploits of Screaming Lord Sutch to examine the state of the nation and Britain’s post-war identity crisis. 

Samuel previously appeared in the Theatre Royal Plymouth’s productions of Grand Guignol and Stockholm. His theatre credits also include: Twelfth Night & Women Beware Women (both National), Ragtime (Piccadilly), The Full Monty (Prince of Wales), Fault Lines (Hampstead), Abigail’s Party (Bath) and Decade (Headlong). 

Samuel can currently be seen as Garth Stubbs in ITV’s Birds of a Feather whilst his screen work also features The Shadow Line, Battle of Britain, Rose and Maloney, Poirot, New Worlds, Psychic Spies and Closer.

I recently spoke to Samuel about why he’s having so much fun working on Monster Raving Loony, what makes the show so different to anything else he’s ever done before, plus the close bonds he has formed whilst working on Birds of a Feather…

What did you think when you first heard about Monster Raving Loony? 

Well, it’s directed by Simon Stokes who I had a fantastic time working with before. As soon as I knew James Graham had written the play my interest was immediately aroused. When the email came through from my agent there was a comprehensive breakdown of what was required [laughs] – I thought to myself ‘this could be the most challenging thing I ever do in my career’ so therefore I knew I had to do it.