FIRST LOOK: Chess at the London Coliseum

The epic musical love story CHESS starring Michael Ball as Anatoly, Alexandra Burke as Svetlana, Cedric Neal as The Arbiter, Tim Howar as Freddie, Cassidy Janson as Florence and Phillip Browne as Molokov opens tonight, Thursday 26 April 2018 (Press night on Tuesday 1 May 2018) for a strictly limited 5 week season.

This is the first West End production of Chess since 1986. CHESS was written in 1984 by ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King, Evita), and the original London production starred Elaine Paige, Murray Head and Tommy Korberg. That production, which ran for three years at the Prince Edward Theatre, followed a highly successful recording featuring the same stars, and included the international hit singles I Know Him So Well and One Night In Bangkok. Other well-known songs from the score include Anthem, Someone Else’s Story, Heaven Help my Heart and Pity The Child.

CHESS tells a story of love and political intrigue, set against the background of the Cold War in the late 1970s/early 1980s, in which superpowers attempt to manipulate an international chess championship for political ends. Two of the world’s greatest chess masters, one American, one Russian, are in danger of becoming the pawns of their governments as their battle for the world title gets under way. Simultaneously their lives are thrown into further confusion by a Hungarian refugee, a remarkable woman who becomes the centre of their emotional triangle. This mirrors the heightened passions of the political struggles that threaten to destroy lives and loves.

REVIEW: Michael Balls new album, " If Everyone was Listening"

There is not a theatre fan who doesn’t know Michael Ball. He is nothing short of a theatre legend and remains a leading musical star as well as a nationally adored radio host and TV presenter. He became a household name as the original Marius with the London cast Les Miserables in 1985, and has since stormed the West End, Broadway and theatres worldwide in Olivier winning roles such as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, and as the title character in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His new 15 track album “If Everyone Was Listening” was released on November 17th 2014 and is already #3 on the Easy Listening charts.

I was fortunate enough to see his “Heroes” tour in 2012, again as Sweeney Todd at the Adelphi Theatre in 2013, and also as the host of West End Heroes in September this year, and he was nothing short of extraordinary on all three occasions so it’s fair to say I had very high expectations for this album to blow me away.

Britain’s Got Talent winners COLLABRO headline West End Heroes gala

Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro are today announced as the headline act at the 2014 West End Heroes gala concert at the Dominion Theatre on Sunday September 28. The chart-topping group - the fastest selling new British band of 2014 - will be perfoming a song from their No1 debut album Stars.

They will join Michael Ball, Britain’s leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award winner, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter, who is hosting as well as performing songs from Chess, Les Misérablesand Aspects of Love.

8 of the best West End trios!

Following my Best Performances and Best Duos features, the nature thing to do next is the best trios! Here is our selection of the Best West End trios. Tweet us if you think we've missed any out! @PocketSizeBoy

Mark Umbers, Jenna Russell & Damian Humbley in Merrily We Roll Along

Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound & Katherine Kingsley in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

15 of the Best West End Duos!

Following from last weeks feature (15 Most Memorable Performances I've seen) the Pocket team have been thinking about the best Duos that have been on the West End recently. 

So, in no particular order, here is our list... 

Sierra Boggess & Ramin Karimloo in Love Never Dies

Justin Lee Collins & Simon Lipkin in Rock of Ages

Sweeney Todd the Musical: Theatre Review

The classic musical Sweeney Todd which was recently turned into a Hollywood movie starring Johnny Deep and Helena Bonham Carter in 2007 was first staged on Broadway in 1979 and closed the following year earning itself Nine Tony Award nominations, winning eight of them including Best Musical. The show transferred to London in 1980 closing later that year; despite the mixed reviews the show won Best Musical at the Olivier Awards. The show has since then had multiple revivals on Broadway in 1989 and 2005 and in London in 1993, 2004 and the most recent Chichester Production which transferred to the West End in March 2012.

The show recieved positive reviews from critics and was labelled a must see by everyone who saw it, so it was only right that the production made its way over to London so West End audiences could experience it. The score by Stephen Sondheim is intelligent and interesting, his lyrics are very powerful and every song was a moving moment for all characters. However I can't help but feel a few of the songs were a bit much to take in a at times, I zoned out in a few of them and was thinking about what I was going to have for dinner the next day. But they were delivered brilliantly by the cast and were modernised greatly in this production while still keeping the original essence that Sondheim intended to have.