By Louise
Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/168
Available until: Livestreams on Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th July at 7.30pm.
It’s hard to believe Lee Mead is forty (though he was still thirty-nine when he recorded this). He looks so much younger. But he does have lots of experience as a performer and that is very obvious in this incredible concert.
By Aashiq
Link: https://www.stream.theatre/geners/59/12
Available until: Concerts available most days over six weeks at 5pm, 8pm or both. Only available to watch ‘live’ (though not really live as they’re pre-recorded).
Early in our very first lockdown, which feels like absolute centuries ago, one of the first organisations to start producing work online was Lambert Jackson Productions. They joined up with the West End’s celebrated Theatre Café, who agreed to host Lambert Jackson’s concerts. Lambert Jackson got probably nearly 100 West End stars together (they must have been too shy to ask me) and they each performed a concert in their own home. The concerts were somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour and each performer did up to ten songs, chatting to their fans in between songs, talking about their songs, their lives in lockdown and their careers.
By Imogen
Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/tony-and-the-young-artists/videos/tony-and-the-young-artists
Available until: 21st March 2021
Tony and the Young Artists is a concert performed in the Crush Room and the Royal Opera House. Tony is Antonio Pappano, the Music Director of the Royal Opera House. Three of the current Jette Parker Young Artists appear in this concert, soprano Alexandra Lowe, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Wake-Edwards and tenor Filipe Manu.
By Louise
Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/23
Available until: Livestream 17th
January 7pm.
Roles We’ll Never
Play was filmed in December under socially
distant conditions and I was very excited when I found out it was going to be
livestreamed on Stream Theatre. Stream Theatre is such a great site and as
lockdown has continued, its productions have become more and more varied. It is
also great that they are bringing back not just shows which they have done
before but also offering a platform for successful plays which were streamed somewhere
else first time around. I am really looking forward to seeing The Pirates of
Penzance and Southwark Playhouse’s The Poltergeist again because I
loved them the first time and I think Little Wars is one of those plays
that could be even better the second time.
By Alan
Link: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/episodes/the-theatre-channel-episode-4
Available until: Unknown. It’s quite
confusing.
The Theatre Channel Episode 4 dropped
on Christmas Eve and the theme is Christmas.
There are a lot of Christmas concerts
and they are all good but people sing the same sings.
This one doesn’t just have songs I
hadn’t heard in Christmas concerts this year. It has songs I don’t know at all.
I think it is good to sing people’s favourite songs but lots of people go to
the theatre because they like seeing new things. I got to see some new things
in this concert.
By Louise
Link: The
Royal Opera Christmas Concert - Royal Opera House Stream (roh.org.uk)
Available until: 17th
January 2021
The Royal Opera hoped to perform their
concert to a live audience. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, but they still
performed and recorded the concert. It is very beautiful and uplifting. The
Christmas tree from the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker towers over the
singers and sets a festive scene. I have seen it lots of times, but it is still
awe-inspiring!
By Imogen
Link: All
I Want For Christmas Is Theatre - Thespie | Thespie
Available until: 14th
January if you booked the Extended Bundle or Christmas Day if you didn’t.
This is another great concert from
some of West End’s biggest musical theatre stars. They all sing really well and
they mostly take a lot of care with their appearance which I think is very
important.
There are a lot of Christmas concerts
with people from the West End singing Christmas songs and it is getting a bit
repetitive now but this concert included a lot of songs I haven’t heard in any
other concerts. And when they do sing one of the popular songs they always try
to do something a bit different with it. It is mostly groups rather than solo
singing so there are lots of harmony possibilities.
Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/6 £23
Available until: Livestreams every
night at 7.30pm until 1st January 2021, plus 2.30pm matinee on Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays
Christmas concerts are a great
opportunity to see some of your favourite West End singers. It’s not as good as
seeing them live. There is a good selection of singers and actors here so
there’s a good chance of seeing someone you like. They sing most of the same
Christmas songs as in the other concerts but it’s not their fault there are
only a limited number of good Christmas songs.
By Imogen
Link: Girl Power – Thespie
| Thespie
Available until: Monday 21st
December
Boys are so important to my life and
it’s so rubbish that I haven’t been out with one since March. It’s really
unfair and I don’t know why they can’t sort it out. There are some boys who
said they would kiss me but I could never go out with anyone with such a
terrible disregard for my health. It’s a vicious circle.
But girls are very important to me too
as confidantes and I have my little group and I have my role models. Seven of
my biggest role models are the girls in this concert, the Queens from Six.
Jarneia Richard-Noel (Jaye’J) plays Aragon, Millie O’Connell used to play Boleyn,
Natalie Paris plays Seymour, Alexia McIntosh (Lexi) plays Cleves, Aimie
Atkinson used to play Howard, Maiya Quansah-Breed used to play Parr, and Grace
Mouat used to cover all six roles. She’s not one of those understudies who’s
not good enough to play a leading role, she’s an understudy who’s too versatile
to play just one. (It can be a curse being versatile, I should know.) All the
other girls from Six are obviously my role models too but they’re not in
this concert.
By Tommy
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sQeAw4PZ58
Available until: Tuesday 5th
January 2021
Captions: None at present, but they’re
working on adding them as soon as possible.
Christmas will be different this year.
We all know that, and have done for a while. There have been many enjoyable
Christmas concerts on offer online, but perhaps this one, more than any other,
really feels like Christmas (though, of course, this will vary according to
each individual’s view of Christmas). Although I don’t doubt that social
distancing was practised, it wasn’t something I was aware of. The distances
always seem natural and unforced. There is no slight awkwardness; no care taken
not to get too close. It seems to be set up so that getting close wouldn’t be
easy.
By Louise
Link: https://fane.vhx.tv/products/a-live-stream-with-lee-mead-10-dec-20-30
Available until: 12th
December, probably 8.30pm
Lee Mead did a Crazy Coqs concert a
few weeks ago. It was wonderful and I enjoyed it very much so it was a really
wonderful surprise to find out he was going to do another one. This concert has
a Christmas theme and it’s really lovely. This was my second Christmas concert
of the day and I saw another one the night before, but Mr Mead has a way of
making every song feel new.
By Alan
Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/2
Available until: Livestreams on Friday
11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th December
at 7.30pm and Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th at 2.30pm.
There are a lot of really good
Christmas concerts on the internet. It is really nice that we get to see our
favourite West End actors in so many concerts especially as there are a lot of
events we are missing out on this year. It helps make everything feel a bit
more Christmassy and when the same performers appear in different concerts they
have always sung different songs so far.
This one has lots of different singers
in and lots of different types of Christmas songs. There is also some dancing,
Robin Windsor and Anya Garnis who used to be in Strictly dance to a
version of a carol.
By Megan
Link: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/livestreams/out-of-the-spotlight-into-the-darkness-episode-3
Available until:
This is the last concert in the Out
of the Darkness Into the Spotlight series but it was a really lovely and
happy concert to end on. Hiba Elchikhe and Sejal Keshwala have organised a
really brilliant and interesting series of concerts with so many singers I was
really excited to watch.
Lots of musical theatre stars joined
together to sing Christmas songs and there were even some Christmas poems! I
feel even more excited about Christmas too even though I still feel a little
bit sad because not everyone can enjoy Christmas in the way they want to. I am
very lucky in lots of ways but my cousin is nearly seven months old and I
haven’t met her yet. But that’s something I can look forward to in 2021.
By Imogen
Link: The
Theatre Channel Episode 3 - The Theatre Cafe
Available until: 27th
November 2021
The Theatre Channel Episode 3 focuses
on musicals which are or have at least been described as rock musicals. There
is a wide range of different songs which are sung by stars of musical theatre.
The biggest star is John Owen-Jones but there are some young cute men in it
too.
By Imogen
Link: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/livestreams/out-of-the-spotlight-into-the-darkness-episode-1
£9 for single episode or £25 for the complete 3 episode series
Available until: The Theatre Café website says N/A.
The Theatre Café have been one of the most active venues
through this annoying lockdown business. They started off by streaming concerts
from performers’ homes and more recently they’ve actually been letting the
performers into the café. The Apollo Theatre is one of the theatres that have
really tried to get up and running again. The Government messed all that up but
even though the Apollo can’t let audiences in they can’t stop the performers.
Some of this show is filmed at the Apollo and some is at the Theatre Café.
By Louise
Link: https://www.brasseriezedel.com/events/lee-mead
Available until: 6th November at 9pm
Lee Mead is best-known for winning Any Dream Will Do when I
was eighteen months old, but he has also had a very wide-ranging career in
musicals, concerts, pantomimes and plays. I really enjoyed his ‘A carppella’
concerts in his car on Instagram Live earlier in lockdown, but this is the
first time I’ve ever seen him in a full-length concert with accompanists. I
really hope it won’t be the last time because he is very good.
By Emma
Link: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/livestreams/i-put-a-spell-on-you
£10
Available until: 7th November 2020
The Theatre Café are really spoiling us! Not only do we get
a Halloween-themed episode of The Theatre Channel, we get another concert! This
is different as it’s more like a concert with individual performances rather
than staged scenes but it’s a really enjoyable concert. There are so many
different ways of enjoying musical theatre performers and I think it’s
important that the online world offers us as many different ways as possible.
It helps us to miss it less and the more concerts there are, the more work
there is for performers.
By Imogen
Available until: 6th November 2020. Once you’ve
rented it you can watch it every day if you want.
Jordan Luke Gage is one of the biggest stars in the West
End. He was starring as Romeo in &
Juliet when everything went wrong and before that he was Strat in Bat Out of Hell. During lockdown he has
sung Claude in Hair but my parents wouldn’t
let me go and see that because they’re mean. I bet they won’t let me see it at
the London Palladium either.
By Aashiq
Available until: 29th October. Whenever you buy
it you’ll have access until the 29th
I adore Aimie Atkinson. If I was straight… but then I’m not.
But I do love her so here’s a review for Queen Aimie of Six, or the
Pretty Woman of the Piccadilly as she now is (or will be when we all finally
get back from this annoying little hiatus). Here’s a five star review from one
queen to another.
By Dave
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTjfb7fTLP4
Available until: Monday 19th October 11am
This isn’t the full musical, but it’s a great introduction
to it. It introduces you to the story, some of the music and some of the
characters. I haven’t seen anything like this before but it’s a really great
idea. In 32 minutes, the Leicester Curve shows you enough of The Color
Purple to whet your appetite. But not so much that it won’t be worth paying
money to go to see it, whether that’s in a theatre in the future, in a cinema
when the film of the musical comes out or perhaps online if they decide to
share a full production of it. I would certainly pay for it.
