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Top Shows to See
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La bohèmeLONDON COLISEUM
This performance marks the fourth revival of Sir Jonathan Miller's La bohème. It also comes conveniently in time to mark 40 years since Miller's directorial debut at the ENO. This production of La bohème is an intricate weaving of details which piece together to make a remarkably naturalistic and simple, yet wonderful, masterpiece. |
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Lucia di LammermoorLONDON COLISEUM
The ENO's production of Lucia di Lammermoor is returning after 8 years. It isn't difficult to understand why there has been such excitement around this opera; its story line is easy to understand, the music is beautiful and the production's design makes it arresting and deeply poignant. |
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CompanyGIELGUD THEATRE
Marianne Elliott's production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company stars Rosalie Craig, Patti Lupone and Mel Giedroyc. With a couple of gender swaps here and there, resulting in a female lead, a gay couple, and a stay at home dad married to a career driven woman, the musical has been revamped so that it feels as contemporary and relevant today as it must have done for its original audience. |
Now In Archives
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ear for eyeROYAL COURT THEATRE
debbie tucker green's ear for eye (all intentionally lower case) is a punchy play in three parts, lasting just over 2 hours without an interval. It storms against racial injustice in the UK and the US, and shows the fire in young black people who are fighting relentlessly for change, as well as showing the roots of racial segregation and discrimination. |
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Porgy and BessLONDON COLISEUM
Host to some iconic songs such as 'Summertime' and 'It Ain't Necessarily So', the Gershwin brothers' Porgy and Bess is being performed by the ENO for the first time in history. When I have seen Porgy and Bess before it has been in a musical version, with spoken text and then the main tunes sung. Here, at the London Coliseum, it is being performed in all its original operatic glory. |
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SalomeLONDON COLISEUM
The story of Salome is rather intriguing, and its somewhat scandalous subject matter is part of the cause for it's success. Strauss' opera is as shocking now as it would have been when first performed in 1905. The opera is based off a book of the same name by Oscar Wilde and is set in Ancient Judaea. |
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I And YouReview by Upstaged Reviewer Charlotte C
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Going to see new plays in off west end theatres is always thrilling and the Hampstead Theatre was certainly alive! There was a bustling, feverish atmosphere with people chatting excitedly about this new play written by Lauren Gunderson, the most produced playwright in America of 2017. I And You stars Maisie Williams as Caroline whose previous work includes Game of Thrones, and Zach Wyatt as Anthony. |
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Twelfth NightYOUNG VIC
To kick off Kwame Kwei-Armah's first season as artistic director of the Young Vic is a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It is imaginative, fun and vibrant, set in the run up to Notting Hill Carnival in a West London street between two rows of brightly coloured terraced houses. Costumes are bright and colourful and the stage is busy and buzzing with energy. |
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Victoria's KnickersNYT REP Company
SOHO THEATRE The story for Victoria's Knickers is inspired by records of Edward Jones, a young man who repeatedly broke into Buckingham Palace between 1837-1840 and was at one time found with a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers. The mystery was enough to fire the imagination of Victorian tabloids who wrote endless stories on him and gave him the nickname "Boy Jones". Apparently, the mystery, intrigue and implausibility of this real story is, for Josh Azouz, the perfect material for a play. |
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EugeniusTHE OTHER PALACE
Eugenius! has been billed as the "most hotly anticipated new musical" of the year and is returning to The Other Palace after a highly successful run earlier this year! The Other Palace is the home for new and developing musicals, and Eugenius! has landed here after first being performed at The London Palladium back in June 2016. |
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National Theatre. New Views -
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Little Shop Of HorrorsREGENT'S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE
In the middle of a black and white set, three girls dressed in green come onto stage and burst into song. Renee Lamb, Christina Modestou and Seyi Omooba are fantastic as the street urchins Chiffon, Ronnette and Crystal. Each equipped with a fabulous voice and some sharp choreography, they kick the show off to a fiery start. |
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PericlesNATIONAL THEATRE
Shakespeare's Pericles, here in a version by Chris Bush with music by Jim Fortune, is the first Public Acts production with a cast of over 200 people from local communities, including only a handful of professional actors and actresses. The company are of all different ages, shapes and sizes, coming from a vast range of different cultural and religious backgrounds. |
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Pressure
David Haig's play is another transfer from Chichester and is, like many others before it, West End bound. It tells the largely unknown story of Dr James Stagg, one of the unsung heroes of World War 2. As Chief Meteorological Officer for the Allied Forces , it was down to him and fellow American meteorologist Colonel Irving Krick to forecast the weather for D-Day - Monday 5th June 1944 - a job that would determine the fate of thousands of soldiers. |
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As You Like ItREGENT'S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE
Set in the magical Forest of Arden and the Court of Duke Ferdinand, Shakespeare's As You Like It is ultimately a story of love, some required, some unrequited, and all come with complications. There is also, of course, a woman disguising herself as a man, and a couple of very lovable fools. |
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Quiz
NOEL COWARD THEATRE
Have you ever, as an audience member, been filmed and shown on giant television screens whilst watching a show? Or been asked to vote in order to decide the fate of a character? Or even taken part in a pub quiz whilst sitting in the seats of a West End Theatre? Well, within the first act of Quiz at the Noel Coward Theatre you will have done all these things and more. |
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The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieDONMAR WAREHOUSE
In the Donmar's production, the iconic role of junior school teacher Miss Jean Brodie, made famous by Maggie Smith in the film, is played magnificently by Lia Williams. Her presence is felt every time that she is on stage, helped by the colourful outfits she wears. The character is immediately pointed out as a rule breaker, as she first appears on stage in a bright red dress which directly contrasts to the drab greyness of the set and other costumes. |
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The Turn of the ScrewREGENTS PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE
On the website of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, it says that the opera will be starting at 8 o'clock as it has a running time of 2 hours; slightly shorter than usual. This is to allow for the sun to set, and to provide a suitably eerie atmosphere for the spooky content of the play. And boy was it worth it! |
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Instructions For Correct Assembly
THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE
Hari and Max's first child didn't quite go plan. He didn't turn into "the big grown up man" that they had hoped for. And so they're trying again. As keen flat pack enthusiasts (their bed, cupboards and bookshelves are all made like this) they order a DIY son. Jan. He will be perfect. |
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Fanny and Alexander
THE OLD VIC
Fanny and Alexander has been adapted for the stage from Ingmar Bergman's famous 1980 film of the same name. It is a short snapshot of the life of Alexander, a young child in the eccentric theatrical Ekdahl family who live in upstate Sweden. . Alexander opens the show by stating that it is the longest you will ever see, and, at 3 and a bit hours, he is probably correct. |
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Read previous reviews from productions that have now come off.
About Upstaged
Upstaged is a new performing arts magazine and website for people in secondary school. I started it to encourage more people my age to go to the theatre and explore the wealth of productions that are available in London. I have had a love of the theatre my whole life and wanted to continue to learn new things about the industry as I got older. I felt that there was a gap in the market for reviews by and for young adults and decided that by starting Upstaged I could continue learning and discovering new things about the theatre whilst filling that gap! From a young age I would cry at the end of a show because I didn't want it to finish! Upstaged gives me, and hopefully other young people in the future, a platform to express all the thoughts, emotions and ideas after a show, of which there are usually a multitude!
Get in touch here!
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