REVIEW: Disney's Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

The moment UK theatre fans have waited for, the London transfer of the hit Broadway musical Newsies! This much anticipated new production of the Disney 1992 film premiered on Broadway 10 years ago and after 10 long years of waiting, London audiences finally have a chance to experience this show in the flesh. 

Sold as an immersive and in-the-round production, I can't say it really does either. In the original press releases, it was stated that it would be performed in the round but it's actually in thrust with the majority of the audience sitting in the traditional proscenium arch layout. Immersive is a word that's thrown around a lot in modern theatre but I question if it's lost all meaning. There was an effort to create an immersive show, but within the performance, there were no immersive elements. Just because performers enter and exit through the audience, doesn't make something immersive. 

REVIEW: Frozen at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

Frozen became the highest-grossing animated film of all time in 2013 when it was released, it was later over taken by its own sequel and the Lion King remake in 2019. After the huge success of the film almost 10 years ago, it was a natural step for Disney to adapt this story for the stage. 

In what appears to be a come back for Disney theatrical, Frozen joins the list of Disney musicals that are playing here in the UK. Joining the long running Lion King in the West End and on tour, Mary Poppins over at the Prince Edward and Beauty and the Beast and Bedknobs and Broomsticks playing across the country, Frozen plays at the ever iconic Theatre Royal Drury Lane. But does the Musical live up to the success of the film?  

Following from their success with the original animated film, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez write the additional songs for the show. Whilst the classics that we loved from the film like ‘Let it Go’, ‘Do you want to Build a Snowman’ and ‘Love is an open Door’ still remain in the show, the additional material doesn’t match the same level. The new songs aren’t memorable, apart from the new song for Elsa ‘Monster’ which is a great addition, the others just don’t hit the mark and fall flat. 

COMING HOME: Samantha Bingley, soon to head out on tour with Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

Since March 2020 the entertainment industries have been through one of the hardest times we could ever possibly face. From the moment the theatres closed things went from bad to worse with financial help almost nonexistent for most and being told we should retrain in other industries. However, recently it's been a pretty exciting time for theatre! With shows opening up in London and productions starting rehearsals for West End shows and now, excitingly, touring shows! Tomorrow (July 5th 2021) Beauty and the Beast starts rehearsals for its new UK tour. The show finally makes its return back to the stage and is coming to a theatre near you! 

We met Samantha Bingley outside the Dominion Theatre, the original UK home to the show where it opened in 1997 and ran until the end of 1999. Samantha has been cast in the new touring production as the Wardrobe and couldn’t be more excited to hit the road with this show. 

COMING HOME: Aimée Moore, soon to be on the UK Tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

Disney has been providing theatre magic to audiences all over the world since bringing their first full scale musical of Beauty and the Beast to the Broadway stage back in 1994, since then we’ve seen stage adaptations of The Lion King, Tarzan, Frozen, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Newsies and so many more on our stages. With their productions of Mary Poppins and The Lion King announced to reopen in London’s West End and with the much-anticipated production of Frozen at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane opening this year, its only natural that Disney adds to this list and brings back the much-loved classic, Beauty and the Beast. 

After a hugely successful run at the Dominion Theatre and a few tours later, we’re finally seeing this beloved story being told again. Aimée Moore will be appearing in the ensemble of the show and also covers the role of Babette. Aimée was last seen in The Wedding Singer at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in early 2020, her other credits also include Rumpleteazer in Cats at Kilworth House, playing the role of Connie and understudying the role of Stephanie in Saturday Night Fever on tour and playing the role of Amber in the UK touring production of Hairspray. She will also be seen in the new musical movie ‘Tomorrow Morning’, starring Samantha Barks, Ramin Karimloo, Fleur East, Omid Djalili, Harriet Thrope and so many more musical stars! The film, which is being directed by Nick Winston, is based on the musical of the same name and started shooting in May, we absolutely cannot wait to catch it when it's released! 

10 Disney films that need to be put on Stage

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

We all remember watching this film as a child, how perfect would it be on stage?!

Hocus Pocus

Bette Midler to reprise her role, please!

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE hosts charity gala on 24th July

The Walt Disney Company and Sonia Friedman Productions have today announced that a Gala Performance of the stage production of Shakespeare in Love will be held at the Noël Coward Theatre in aid of The Rose Theatre Trust and Chickenshed Theatre.

These extraordinary theatre charities will share a gift of at least £35,000 from the performance and, additionally, theatregoers who book tickets for the world premiere production at the Noël Coward Theatre until September 2014 will be invited to donate £2 per ticket to be shared evenly between the charities.   

The two charities were chosen to reflect both the history of the production and to celebrate a bright theatrical future. 

The Rose Theatre Trust is a charity set up to protect, investigate and make publically available the site of the Rose Theatre on Bankside. The Rose is the setting for Shakespeare in Love. Built in 1587, this theatre was the first purpose-built playhouse on bank-side to stage a production of any of Shakespeare’s plays. When the Rose was discovered in 1989, The Trust successfully delayed construction and negotiated a re-design of the proposed new building and is now largely devoted to preparing to excavate the complete site and ensure the remains are put on display as a permanent resource for the public.