The Real Ones - - West End Articles Page 10

A mountain of discarded wrapping. A lonely child with an active imagination. It’s often the cardboard boxes, not the gifts inside that are the most fun. Is the true gift the joy that can come from the imagination?

On August 24, the theater production company Broadwayang put on their latest production, Mahar Kemerdekaan (“The Dowry of Independence”) at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. It’s based on the true story of Indonesia’s founding fathers and how their love lives intertwine with the struggle for independence.

For those unfamiliar with Phil Ellis and his style of comedy, they might be more than just a bit confused by the start of Bath Mat. Instead of Ellis himself taking the stage, it’s fellow comedian Tom Short dressed up as a DJ, getting the audience warmed up. Finally, the man of the hour arrives, crashing onto the stage, unable to see as he’s wearing a bin bag over his head. This is the start of Bath Mat, and it only gets stranger from there.

What did our critic think of RULES FOR LIVING at Round House Theatre?

Following up on their relaunch, Switch Theatre Company will kick off their four-show 2026 season with Eugene Ionesco's classic allegory, Rhinoceros. Learn more about the production here!

Stepping back into a beloved role is both familiar and thrilling. For Lauren Salazar, wearing Lucy’s blue dress once again in Queensbury Theatre’s A Charlie Brown Christmas brings a blend of nostalgia and fresh excitement. After inhabiting the character for the first time two years ago, Lauren revives Lucy’s sharp wit, bold confidence, and heartfelt humanity—the qualities that make her a lasting favorite in the Peanuts world.

It’s a Wonderful Way to Celebrate the Season.

Music fans are being invited to return to the early ‘noughties' for a new Friday night party which is set to launch the 2026 Live at Arley series of open-air concerts. Learn more here!

Don't be confused by the graphic! This is no take-off on that movie about Ralphie...

Pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown will release TWELVE BLOCKS, the first album devoted entirely to his original compositions, on First Hand Records.

HARP Theatricals will bring Amelia Kennedy's poignant short play I Keep Leaving Parties Early, directed by Heather Bildman, to The Rat's inaugural Gala-Thon.

Prince Faggot and Slam Frank are two of the most talked-about productions of the season so far—and both were initially inspired by tweets on the platform now known as X. 

Connecticut Theatre Company will present its upcoming production of the beloved holiday classic, Miracle on 34th Street the Play, running for a limited engagement.

World-renowned psychic medium John Edward - bestselling author and star of the influential US TV series “Crossing Over with John Edward” - will bring his live event to London's indigo at The O2.

Tis the season, it seems. Whilst your normal Christmas show may gloss over the uglier side of Christmas, CAROL leans into it, allowing the festive season to be anything but. A belligerent Santa, a family that can’t be held together with any amount of wrapping tape, and a life falling apart, all come to the fore, with a backdrop of a Christmas that may not be pretty, but is certainly quite familiar to many. With some cheeky humour and warmth to rival a scorching summer, CAROL is the Christmas present you didn’t know you wanted.

MAXINE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL opened Friday night, November 28th, to an eruption of laughter inside The City Stage, located at Union Station in Kansas City, MO.

This new approach to the storytelling of Hadestown helped make me appreciate some of the compromises on the tour. And to further appreciate what they still maintained from the first tour and Broadway production. The set’s slightly modified (Hades’ door is more centered, for one), but we get to keep the band onstage. We get that dingy café feeling through the layout. We hold on to the iconic props – the rose, the candle, the guitar, the lamps – as well as the steampunk design of the costumes. The Workers are still a core five that inhabit both worlds and create their own, unspoken storylines through their movement and couplings. And the characters themselves are still the same, timeless figures that make Hadestown always feel like a new experience every time.

Enthusiastic performances, a snappy live band, bright costumes and lively dancing adorn Toby's production of ELF The Musical. This sweet and charming lighthearted family-pleaser will put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Director/ Choreographer Mark Minnick delivers engaging group numbers and Musical Director Ross Scott Rawlings creates glorious harmonies in this infectious show. Through January 4, 2026.

This holiday season, Gateway Theatre invites families and theatre-lovers to experience the heartwarming story of Annie, one of the world's best-loved musicals, from December 11 to January 3, 2026.

What do you call a gaggle of nuns and a monk or two who sing and dance at Christmas? “Nuncrackers; THE Nunsense Christmas Musical,” playing weekends at Theatre 29 through December 7.

VOGUE THE ONES TO WATCH 2025 is an annual honor presented by VOGUE JAPAN, one of the world’s most influential fashion magazines published by Condé Nast Japan. The award celebrates iconic individuals across diverse fields — visionary talents who defined the year, remarkable newcomers who made striking breakthroughs, and artists whose careers reached pivotal moments of evolution. This year’s recipients include Snow Man (Artist), Keiko Kitagawa (Actor), Hayato Sano (Actor), Ryusei Yokohama (Actor), HANA (Artist), Ai Mikami (Actor), VERDY (Designer), and Soshi Otsuki (Designer). This feature delivers the full, uncut on-stage appearance of Ren Meguro and Raul during the awards ceremony on November 25.

BroadwayWorld chats with Bay Area favorite Heather Orth who is appearing as Cinderella's Stepmother in Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine's 'Into the Woods' at San Francisco Playhouse through January 17th.

From November 13–23, The VORTEX offered a rare kind of theatrical experience: intimate, sensory-rich, and brimming with imagination. In the Pony Shed, a small outbuilding that seats roughly twenty audience members, the regional premiere of Morgan McKenzie Kauffman’s DORA’S GENTLY USED DREAMS STORE unfolded like a dream itself; unusual, tender, and full of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

From November 13–23, The VORTEX offered a rare kind of theatrical experience: intimate, sensory-rich, and brimming with imagination. In the Pony Shed, a small outbuilding that seats roughly twenty audience members, the regional premiere of Morgan McKenzie Kauffman’s DORA’S GENTLY USED DREAMS STORE unfolded like a dream itself; unusual, tender, and full of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

If you’ve lived in Minneapolis long enough, you’ve probably seen a touring Phantom (or at least pretended you did when talking to theatre friends). But the production now at the Orpheum through December 7 feels surprisingly alive. Not “reinvented,” not “modernized”—just performed with the kind of conviction that makes you remember why this show became a juggernaut in the first place.