Kat Mokrynski - Page 2

Six teenagers are killed in a freak rollercoaster accident and find themselves in a competition in which they must sing a song to prove that they are the person that should be brought back to life by a mysterious fortune-telling machine. Quite the wild tale, no? But that’s only the beginning of Ride The Cyclone. The show, created by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell in Canada in 2009, has been given a run in London, directed and choreographed by Lizzi Gee.

Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall is one of those shows that is difficult to describe (and review!) without giving away the performer’s secrets. The show, directed by fellow comedian Zoë Coombs Marr, is essentially a follow-up to a bit of Wall’s that went viral, in which they sing about how they put their bedframe up on Facebook Marketplace with hilarious consequences.

Later this month, Samantha Barks will be embarking on the Cathedral Tour, in which she will travel to some of the UK’s spectacular cathedrals, performing whilst lit by candlelight. The show promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime evening, with Barks sharing personal stories through songs and conversations.

Liam Withnail: Big Strong Boy is an hour of comedy that has Withnail aiming to answer an important question about his life - is he happy? The show is inspired by a conversation that the comedian had with a friend when they were catching up, with the friend asking Withnail if they were happy living in Edinburgh after leaving his hometown of Dagenham.

Created by Akeim Toussaint Buck, Toussaint to Move: FREE is a dance performance that combines reggae dub culture and contemporary dance, allowing audience members to become immersed in the world created by the five performers - Aline Simo Kamga, Francesca Matthys, Jemima Tawose, Márcio Inácio and Manukaa Tony Kaaba.

Tom Rosenthal: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am is, essentially, a form of lecture on the 2006 Arctic Monkeys’ debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not - the title of the show is a bit of a hint!

After some feedback from her last show, Urooj Ashfaq has returned with a new hour as a transformed woman. How to Be a Baddie has Ashfaq leaving behind the good-girl expectations that were set in the show that won her the Best Newcomer award at the 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. But what inspired this change?

Even from the title of Bloody Mary and the Nine Day Queen, one can tell whose side writer Gareth Hides is on. The new musical, directed by Adam Stone, tells the story of Mary I of England (Cezarah Bonner) and Lady Jane Grey (Anna Unwin), cousins who were caught up in a battle for the Queendom after the death of Edward VI (played by a literal puppet), the son of Henry VIII. The title of the show comes from the nicknames for the two women, with Mary executing Jane after convicting her of treason for her nine-day reign as Queen of England and Ireland.

“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?” This RuPaul quote may seem like a lofty topic for an hour-long comedy show, but Helen Bauer is ready to tackle it. Even though the audience might only see one person on the stage, Helen Bauer: Bless Her is a two-woman show, as Bauer brings her eight-year-old self into the spotlight at the request of her therapist.

Directed by Jon Brittain, Janine Harouni: This Is What You Waited For has had Harouni travelling around the world, landing in London with her longest stint at Soho Theatre

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Lizzi Gee, who is both the director and choreographer for this production of Ride the Cyclone. We discussed what it has been like taking on both of these creative roles, how it feels to be working on the European premiere of the work and even what she hopes audience members will take away from the show as a whole.

To begin with a warning - if you’re not into audience participation, this might not be the show for you. Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out has the comedian bringing several of her iconic characters into the same show, with all of them going to the same club. The audience members are waiting in the queue to get in, interacting with each of May’s characters as they shatter the fourth wall into a million pieces.

Do you remember the book that made you fall in love with reading? Maybe it was a book you read in grade school that has stuck with you for your whole life, or even a book that a friend recommended. For Gay Gulman, that book is The Monster At The End of This Book, in which Grover from Sesame Street begs the reader to stop reading the book, as, one might guess, there is a monster at the end that Grover is afraid of. For Gulman, the opening line Grover has on the copyright page, “This is a very dull page,” rivals that of Dickens with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and Moby Dick’s “Call me Ishmael.”

After performing as Atticus Finch in the West End production of To Kill A Mockingbird, Richard Coyle returns to the role, this time on a tour of the UK and Ireland. Recently, we had the chance to chat with Coyle about coming back to the play. We discussed what made him want to return to the role, how the tour has been going so far and what he thinks keeps To Kill A Mockingbird so relevant over sixty years since it was first published.

Cinephiles, get your popcorn ready - Cabbage the Clown is here to take you on a journey to Cinemadrome (definitely not Cineworld). Cabbage the Clown: Cinemadrome, written and performed by Eliza Nelso, brings audiences into the world of Cabbage, who is working a shift at the Cinemadrome, constantly moving between the checking stand, concessions and checking the bins.

From the start of Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian, Eftos makes it clear that this isn’t going to be the classic self-deprecating comedy show, walking on stage to lip-sync to a personalised version of the iconic Basic Instinct scene. From there, audiences are introduced to Eftos with a video about how she went viral in Australia after claiming to be “Australia’s First Attractive Comedian” - roll credits!

The West End’s production of MJ the Musical will be coming to a close in February 2026, after opening in March last year. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Jamaal Fields-Green, who is the only person to have played Michael Jackson on Broadway, on tour across North America and now in the West End! We discussed what the process is like to become the iconic performer, his favourite Michael Jackson songs and some of the differences between the West End and Broadway. 

After previous runs in 2022 and 2023, The Book Thief musical finally arrives in London. The Book Thief: A Concert Production was originally scheduled to be performed for one night only on 19 October, but two more performances have been added on 26 October due to popular demand. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Melanie La Barrie, who is playing the role of Death in this production of The Book Thief. We discussed what made her want to be a part of the show, what it is like to perform in a concert production versus a full staged one and even what is appealing to her about playing characters who take on the role of the narrator!

Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical in Concert, starring Cedric Neal as Lloyd Price, arrives at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 11 October. We had the chance to chat with Neal about what it is like to be taking on the role of the innovative artist, whose work was recorded by legends like Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Paul McCartney. We discussed how he “stumbled into” musical theatre, how concert productions of shows have evolved and even his personal connections to Lloyd Price and his music.