Entertainment News – 21th March
This week, Latest TV’s Andrew Kay gets to the pithy core of West End hit Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. Yes, that’s five times lemons starring Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman before it arrives at Theatre Royal Brighton on Tuesday the 28th of March for one week.
He then takes a peek at Brighton and Hove Pride, not only important for what it stands for, but also for the massive impact it has on the city’s finances, bringing in thousands of visitors over the week who in turn spend huge amounts in the city. Each year Paul Kemp and the team at Pride bring major stars to the stage in Preston park, this year is no different. They have recently announced Black Eyed Peas to headline and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of international talent over the pride weekend, 5th and 6th August.
Over at Chichester Festival Theatre, they’ve got three new musical productions this year. Classic Rogers and Hammerstein with The Sound Of Music, a brand new musical staging of the vintage TV show Rock Follies and most excitingly for me, Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins.
Sondheim, who died last year, was without doubt a musical theatre genius, from his early recognition for writing the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, to huge hits like Follies and A Little Night Music. But along the way, there were many other works that, on their launch, did not get that initial acclaim. Among them was Assassins. Assassins is, in AK’s view, up there as one of his best pieces, a dark masterpiece that gives voice to the nine men and women. Assassins is at Chichester Festival Theatre from the 3rd to the 24th of June. The Sound of Music runs from the 10th of July to the 3rd of September and Rock Follies from the 24th of July to the 26th of August. I am sure to bring more news of all three very soon.
Now, few of you will know that AK has his own personal history of circus, and as a student he ran away to join one, and no, we’re not making that up, or indeed clowning. He has, as a consequence, a love-hate relationship with the form. But in recent years, he has grown to love the more contemporary circus that has emerged and Brighton Festival seems to be able to find and bring the best to town. This year, we are getting Out of Chaos from Gravity and Other Myths.
After the break AK is talking to actor George Rainsford, star of TV series Casualty and now taking on the role of Roy Grace local best selling author Peter James’ famous detective.
