OLIVER TOMPSETT CONCERT (U R Live at the Umbrella Rooms)****

 

By Imogen

Link: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/olivertompsett?autoplay=1 It costs £10 to rent it but you can watch it as many times as you like for a whole week!

Available until: It’s been on the site for ages and I haven’t heard anything about them taking it down.

This is another brilliant concert from U R Live! Oliver Tompsett is so talented and he’s such a nice man too. He’s put together a really clever programme which shows how versatile he is but it also meant he could talk about his life and career and about lockdown in a really natural way that flowed from one song to the next.

HENRY V (Shakespeare Happy Hours)***

 

By Alan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WF_PiT_fe8

Available until: indefinitely

Once upon a time there was a young king named Henry, the fifth in England to bear this name. At first he was reluctant to become king but having gained the throne, he wanted to be the best king he could be. He knew that he might also have some claim to the French throne and sought to find out the truth about his heritage. But France already had a king who was far from happy to hear of Henry’s aspirations …

TROILUS & CRESSIDA (The Show Must Go Online)***

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5xBbLTri5A

Available until: Indefinitely

I should have known really. I’ve been offering to help the younger generation with the blog for a couple of weeks now but they always told me I was too old. Then suddenly they change their mind and I walk right into it.

It’s not so much that they want a few words of wisdom from someone who is (as they’ve pointed out more than once) much older than them. (Not too sure about the ‘much’ part, but there’s teens for you.)

INTERMISSIONS CONCERT 4****

 

By Tommy

Link: https://page.inplayer.com/Intermissions/

Available until: 1^st September 2020

First of all, I would like to extend my appreciation to the young people who created this blog for allowing me to become part of this enterprise and particularly for giving me the opportunity to write the final review of what has been an extremely successful and enjoyable series. As someone who is undeniably better-advised to keep his mouth shut when it comes to singing (though I can lay claim to being a very poor violinist), I can’t promise a very technical review, but I believe that the Arts are for everybody and that everybody’s views are relevant, even those of a parent.

FOR QUALITY PURPOSES (Stan’s Café Theatre)****

 

By Aashiq

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGCH9RBCqA

Available until: the cows come home probably

I don’t know what annoys me the most about call centres. The fact that the people who work in them are so annoying and patronising or the fact that everyone expects me to have worked in one because that’s what out of work actors do. I mean, how dare they assume I’ve ever been out of work? Even if they know I have, it’s really not polite to mention it. Do I keep harping back to the time you were made redundant? No, I do not. Why would I want to remind you of something so stressful and traumatic and… boring? So don’t ask me, okay?

INTERMISSIONS CONCERT 3***

 

By Cal

Link: https://page.inplayer.com/Intermissions/

Available until: 1^st September 2020

We call this series a series of concerts, but to me, it’s more reminiscent of a TV series with all the latest news in musical theatre. Everything from the very professional credits (with their delightful hint of irony), the regular features, the ‘here’s an interview I made earlier’ moments to the live interviews and performances. And I think it’s absolutely brilliant.

SCROUNGER (Finborough Theatre)*****

 

By Arran

Link to where the live stream will be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8jvP5djME&feature=youtu.be

Link to where the subtitled version will be: https://www.scenesaver.co.uk/production/scrounger-subtitled/

Link to where the audio-described introduction will be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6A_W1u-fEg&feature=youtu.be

Available for: 24 hours from 31^st August

I don’t usually write reviews, but I wanted to review Scrounger because it is such a special and important play for people with disabilities. It was available for three days at the start of August and it is being brought back for 24 hours at the end.

This play is by Athena Stevens. She is a playwright and she has a disability. This is a fictional play, but it is based on a real incident she had at the airport. I am not sure how much is real and how much is fiction.