Barnum was reviewed at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury where it continues until 28 March 2026. The tour continues until 31 October 2026. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ A very enjoyable show with incredibly skilled performers.
Tag Archives | Lee Mead
Lee Mead: The Best of Me – Vaudeville Theatre
Lee Mead – The Best of Me at the Vaudeville Theatre, London. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ From The Rolling Stones to George Michael, Sting, Take That, the Bee Gees and Queen, Lee Mead gave them all a freshness that kept them relevant.
Lee Mead to star in first of new Westway Sessions concert series
Award-winning stage and screen favourite Lee Mead will be the first star to feature in the Westway Sessions – a series of Monday night concerts at London’s Vaudeville Theatre.
Box Office Radio lines up VIP musical weekender in 2024
A host of leading West End stars will feature in the Box Office Radio VIP Musicals Weekender in Torquay in Devon early next year.
We Will Rock You – London Coliseum
We Will Rock You continues at the London Coliseum until 27 August 2023. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Stage acting debut for Ben Elton in We Will Rock You
Comedian Ben Elton will make his stage acting debut when his hit Queen-themed show We Will Rock You returns to the West End this summer for a strictly limited season at the London Coliseum.
Inaugural Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival cancelled
The Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival has been cancelled for the second time just two weeks before the star-packed event was due to make its long-awaited debut.
London Coliseum We Will Rock You – first star casting announced
Brenda Edwards and Lee Mead will lead the cast of hit show We Will Rock You when it returns to the West End this summer for a strictly limited residency at the London Coliseum.
Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival to launch in 2023
West End and Broadway actress Marisha Wallace has been added to the star-studded line-up for the Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival when it make its eagerly awaited debut in April 2023.
Brenda Edwards to reprise Mama Morton performance in Chicago
One-time X Factor finalist turned musical theatre performer and Loose Woman contributor Brenda Edwards will return to the stage as Mama Morton in the UK and Ireland tour of Chicago. Gemma Collins, who had been cast in the role, has been forced to pull out due to a knee injury. Edwards (Hairspray UK tour, We […]
Gemma Collins’ musical theatre debut in Chicago is cancelled
Reality TV regular Gemma Collins has reportedly withdrawn from the UK and Ireland tour of Chicago just days before she was due to make her musical theatre debut as Mama Morton in the production. Currently playing to packed houses in Manchester, the production features The Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Soul Train) […]
West End stars to step out on stage and on the pitch for charity football event
A host of West End favourites will feature in a fundraising football and concert event in aid of theatrical charity Acting For Others and child bereavement charity Sands London in July. The fundraiser on 17 July 2022 at the New River Sports and Fitness Centre in Wood Green will open with a short concert at […]
Lee Mead to play Billy Flynn In Chicago on tour
Stage and screen favourite Lee Mead will star as headline hungry lawyer Billy Flynn in the UK and Ireland tour of Chicago when the hit musical opens at the Sunderland Empire from 31 May 2022. Mead, who first shot to fame as the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s television talent search for his new Joseph […]
West End favourites to star in new London concert series The Westway Sessions
Musical theatre favourites will take centre stage in a new intimate concert series at London music venue Piano, Smithfield in May. Hosted by new music and film label, Westway, The Westway Sessions will launch on 9 May 2022 with a performance reuniting former Les Misérables’ co-stars Rob Houchen (City of Angels) and Emma Kingston (Heathers) […]
An Evening with Lee Mead – The Pheasantry
An Evening with Lee Mead at The Pheasantry, London. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ It is 15 years since Lee Mead’s life changed and, out of 10,000 applicants, he won Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV talent show search for an unknown to play the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph […]
Marisha Wallace features in line-up of inaugural Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival
Marisha Wallace will join fellow West End stars Kerry Ellis, Cassidy Janson and Lee Mead for the first Gaiety Musical Theatre Festival in May 2022. The actress who made her West End debut in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre and appeared on Broadway in the original casts of Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten will take […]
Sherrie Hewson, Les Dennis and Jessica Ellis join the touring cast of Fat Friends The Musical
Further casting has been announced for the UK and Ireland tour of Kay Mellor’s hit Fat Friends The Musical. With original music by Nick Lloyd Webber, the tour will open at Dartford Orchard Theatre on 14 January 2022. Joining the previously announced Lee Mead as Kevin will be Sherrie Hewson as Julia, Jessica Ellis as […]
West End and Broadway stars signed to new musical theatre label
West End and Broadway stars Samantha Barks, Kerry Ellis and Ramin Karimloo are among the first signings for new London-based musical theatre record label Westway Music. Launching on 12 November with Frozen star Barks’ new studio album ‘Into The Unknown’ the new label created by artist manager and promoter Neil O’Brien, Westway Music is a […]
Closer Than Ever – BroadwayHD
Closer Than Ever continues exclusively on BroadwayHD. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Award-winning producers Ginger Quiff Media and BroadwayHD, the streaming service for live theatre, are presenting this brand-new digital revival of the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning musical revue, with music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr, from […]
Lee Mead to star in 2022 UK and Ireland tour of Fat Friends musical
Lee Mead will star in the second UK and Ireland tour of Kay Mellor’s crowd-pleasing Fat Friends – the Musical in 2022. The actor who first shot to fame as the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s television talent search for his new Joseph in 2007 and went on to star in a series of major […]
West End stars in cast for digital revival of Closer Than Ever
Musical theatre stars Kerry Ellis, Lee Mead and Grace Mouat will feature with 2018 X Factor winner Dalton Harris in a digital revival of Maltby and Shire’s Closer Than Ever in September. Produced by Thomas Hopkins and Michael Quinn for Ginger Quiff Media and Stewart F. Lane, Bonnie Comley and Gio Messale for Broadway HD, […]
Lee Mead to mark 40th with Palladium concert
Stage and screen favourite Lee Mead will celebrate his 40th birthday with a special concert at the London Palladium on 10 June 2021. The actor who first shot to fame as the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s television talent search for his new Joseph in 2007, will take the audience on a trip through his […]
We Need A Little Christmas – Actors’ Church
We Need A Little Christmas at the Actors’ Church, Covent Garden, London, available to stream until 1 January 2021. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ This bumper bundle of Christmas songs old and new, plus a couple of spoken gems from Maureen Lipman and Simon Callow, does not stint on quantity or […]
Christine Allado and David Bedella are among the line-up for charity concert We Need A Little Christmas
A host of stage and screen stars are uniting for a festive filmed concert in support of Shelter and Crisis at Christmas which will be streamed online from 20 December 2020 until 1 January 2021. Filmed at The Actors Church (St Paul’s Church) in Covent Garden, We Need A Little Christmas will feature performances from: […]
Cassidy Janson to host West End-flavoured series at Ronnie Scott’s
Olivier Award winner Cassidy Janson will host a new weekly show featuring fellow West End stars at the iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club from 5 December 2020. Following on from her recent sold-out show at the world-famous Soho music venue, the star of & Juliet and Beautiful: The Carole King Story will return for All […]
West End stars and industry figures to unite for Magic With The Musicals at the Palladium
Magic Radio will bring together over 70 leading figures from across the industry for a special Magic With The Musicals day at the London Palladium aimed at raising awareness of the plight of the theatre industry. Produced by Magic and TBI Media, the event on 17 September 2020 will result in a special three-hour show […]
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to go up for sale
The car that took centre stage in the successful 2015-2017 UK and Ireland tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will go under the hammer in Staffordshire on Father’s Day (21 June 2020). With a guide price set at £6,000 to £9,000, the car that cost £175, 000 to build will be auctioned off alongside over […]
Book Review: The Pheasantry – The Untold Story
To coincide with The Pheasantry’s tenth anniversary as a seven-day-a-week cabaret venue, Joanna Strand, a performer there herself, has written a lavishly illustrated book tracing the history of the Chelsea nightspot right back to its 1865 roots when Jacko the ring-tailed monkey lived there. Way back in the last century ballet royalty Alicia Markova and […]
Lee Mead gets up close and personal in new concert tour
Fans of stage and screen favourite Lee Mead will be able to get up close and personal with their hero when the popular star embarks on a major theatre tour next month. The actor who first shot to fame as the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s television talent search for his new Joseph in 2007, […]
Hamilton collects seven Olivier Awards including Best New Musical
New American musical Hamilton collected seven Olivier Awards including Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards 2018 with Mastercard, the UK’s most prestigious stage honours, announced at London’s Royal Albert Hall and hosted by Catherine Tate. Composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire won Outstanding Achievement in Music (which Lacamoire accepted by singing a speech […]
Olivier Awards 2018 ceremony – Hamilton opener, Chita Rivera singing West Side Story, Joseph 50th ann tribute
Special performances to mark the 60th anniversary of the London opening of West Side Story and the 50th anniversary of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will feature in the star-studded ceremony for the 2018 Olivier Awards on 8 April 2018. Musical theatre legend Chita Rivera will celebrate her London debut as Anita in the classic […]
Musical theatre cruise – Floating Festival Stages – to be launched in 2018
A host of the West End’s biggest names are climbing aboard the UK’s first specialist musical theatre festival at sea. Launching on a round trip from Southampton on 15 October next year, the four-night Floating Festival Stages on board the Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas will feature some of musical theatre’s most popular stars. […]
Up Front and Centre! – Lee Mead – The Pheasantry
Up Front and Centre! – Lee Mead appeared at The Pheasantry, London. The show continues to be performed on the last Sunday of every month until November. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ The very likeable Lee Mead now has his first residency at The Pheasantry. He’s sung at the Chelsea cabaret room off and […]
Broadway in Concert at the London Palladium
Broadway in Concert at the London Palladium. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Having spotted a number of people sporting black Matt Cardle UK tour hoodies in the front rows before curtain up, it was pretty obvious that said Mr Cardle, along with the other performers joining him on the revered London […]
Broadway in Concert – Kerry Ellis, Matt Cardle, Lee Mead, Ben Forster and Sophie Evans line up
West End favourite Kerry Ellis will be joined by four stage stars discovered by television talent shows in a glittering celebration of the Broadway musical this November. Broadway in Concert will feature Wicked and We Will Rock You star Ellis alongside X Factor winner Matt Cardle (Memphis); West End leading men Lee Mead (Joseph and […]
Matt Gillett named as new Childcatcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tour
Matt Gillett will move from ensemble player to centrestage in May when he takes over as The Childcatcher in the UK and Ireland touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The actor who won the iconic role after impressing the show’s producers (Music & Lyrics Limited and West Yorkshire Productions) as understudy for current Childcatcher […]
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang UK and Ireland tour – first look at rehearsal images
Here’s a first look at rehearsal photos of the UK and Ireland tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, starring Jason Manford (Caractacus Potts), Martin Kemp (the Childcatcher), Michelle Collins (Baroness Bomburst) and Phill Jupitus (Baron Bomburst). The Music & Lyrics Limited and West Yorkshire Playhouse production of the much-loved Sherman Brothers musical starts its 2016-17 […]
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tour – Jason Manford and Lee Mead share lead role
Casting has been announced for the Music & Lyrics Limited and West Yorkshire Playhouse production of the much-loved Sherman Brothers musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The 2016-17 UK and Ireland tour begins at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton on 10 February 2016. Caractacus Potts will be played by Jason Manford (The Producers, Sweeney Todd) from 10 February […]
Lee Mead – Some Enchanted Evening – Bedworth and Touring
Lee Mead performed his show Some Enchanted Evening at Bedworth Civic Hall. The show continues touring until December 2015. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ Lee Mead first cam to the public’s attention when he won the part of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the TV series Any Dream Will Do in 2007. Since then, Mead […]
Lee Mead – Some Enchanted Evening tour kicks off in July
Singer and actor Lee Mead (Joseph, Wicked, Legally Blonde, BBC1’s Casualty) has announced his return to the live arena this year with Some Enchanted Evening, a ten-date concert tour which kicks off in July and concludes in December with a special Christmas themed show at London’s Garrick Theatre. On this, his fourth UK live outing, Mead will turn back the musical […]
Kerry Ellis and Lee Mead join The Night of Electric Voices line-up
Kerry Ellis, who takes over from Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella in the current West End production of Cats, will feature in The Night of Electric Voices on Sunday 1 March at the London Coliseum. She will be joined by Casualty actor and winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Any Dream Will Do, Lee Mead, as well as many stars of the West End and Broadway. The […]
Stephen Rahman-Hughes – London Hippodrome
Stephen Rahman-Hughes performed at the Matcham Rooms at the London Hippodrome. The audience at the Hippodrome’s Matcham Rooms was not quite as packed for Stephen Rahman-Hughes’ cabaret gig on Saturday night as it has been for other, perhaps better known, faces from the world of musical theatre. But for anybody who stayed away, it was their loss, for they missed […]
John Barrowman – one day musical theatre will call again
Paul F Cockburn recently caught up with the multi-talented John Barrowman in Glasgow. Having just been recording 25 episodes of Pressure Pad, his new entertainment quiz show for the BBC, Barrowman was – technically – promoting his pantomine, Dick McWhittington (opening at the SECC Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow on 14 December), but the conversation strangely enough […]
