Dance
- EntertainmentThe Independent
Beat the Devil review, Bridge Theatre: Ralph Fiennes stars in a slapdash and heavy-handed ‘Covid monologue’
Quicker is not always better. Perhaps Beat the Devil can act as a warning of that fact to artistic programmers everywhere. After being closed for five months, the newly reconfigured Bridge Theatre (which currently seats 250 in a socially distanced auditorium, instead of its usual 900) hosts a new “Covid monologue”, as written by David Hare during lockdown and now performed by Ralph Fiennes – the centrepiece of their reopening season. What a shame, then, that it is such a disappointingly slight p
3-min read - EntertainmentThe Independent
‘All that momentum has collapsed’: The damaging ripple effect of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe cancellation
There really is nowhere on Earth quite like Edinburgh in August. For four weeks every summer, the city becomes home to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with actors and dancers, comedians and circus performers descending on the city in search of five-star reviews and macaroni cheese pies. It’s a gruelling month with the ability to make or break an act, but an experience that keeps performers coming back year on year.Or, at least, that has been the case until now. The news that this year’s festival
8-min read - EntertainmentThe Independent
Delayed ‘Diana’ musical to be streamed on Netflix before delayed Broadway debut
A musical based on the Life of Diana, Princess of Wales, will premiere on Netflix before its Broadway debut next year.Diana: A Musical was scheduled to open on Broadway on 31 March 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, before it was eventually moved to 25 May 2021.
2-min read - PoliticsThe Independent
Why Donald Trump’s tragic, terrifying rallies make a strange case for the importance of theatre
Nothing is funnier than unhappiness,” asserts a character in the Samuel Beckett play Endgame. That may be true, but the behaviour of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, suggests that this idea needs modifying. Nothing is funnier – or more tragic – than having no sense of humour.Running through a mad repertoire of mixed theatrical genres in Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Polonius applauds a troupe of actors for their proficiency in performing “tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastora
16-min read - EntertainmentThe Independent
Alexander Hamilton’s family enslaved people – so where should we stand on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical?
In May 2018, with a slight grin on his face, an American news reporter asked three black members of the West End cast of Hamilton what it was like being in a musical about the winners “in the home of the losers”. They stared back, confused at the question and how it related to them. It clearly wasn’t the gotcha moment the reporter was hoping for. Many black people in the UK – myself included – who are first, second or third-generation immigrants don’t lose sleep over Britain not winning the Amer
6-min read - EntertainmentThe Independent
Hamilton review: The close-ups and camera movements in this version enhance the charisma of the performers
The opening scenes of the filmed version of the Broadway musical Hamilton, which starts streaming on Disney+ from today, pull you back in time to two distinct periods. The people on stage, in their breeches and brass-buttoned coats, belong to the New York of 1776. That is when a 19-year-old, freshly arrived from the Caribbean – the “bastard, immigrant, son of a whore” who shares his name with the show – makes his move and takes his shot, joining up with a squad of anti-British revolutionaries an
6-min read - EntertainmentAOL
Dancing girl gets video-bombed by neighbour
A teenage girl recording herself dancing outside her home was video-bombed by a neighbour. The passing neighbour spotted her act - and joined in the routine from a distance. The girl became confused on seeing the impromptu performance and ended
