The Week in Light & Sound
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Minogue has promised extravagant costumes and dances, saying that at this point in her career she has "earned the right to" play Las Vegas. "I've performed a couple of times at Vegas, but as part of a tour, and particularly when I did the Showgirl tour in 2004 - at that time we said, 'oh, this feels like a Vegas show', the Australian pop star said at a Los Angeles news conference.
The show will be based in a smaller venue that allows Minogue to give guests and fans a more personal show. "I want it to be the kind of essence of what a Kylie show has become, enough glamour and abandon. I've got some versions of songs that have not been heard, like reinterpretations of songs, which is exciting. Live bed dances, amazing costumes. That's the base and then we'll see what surprises we can come up with," she revealed.
Final Curtain - The King’s Head Theatre – widely considered the UK’s oldest pub theatre – will close its doors in August after more than 50 years. The pub theatre, in Islington, will shut on 13 August, ahead of a long-planned relocation to new, purpose-built premises, first announced in 2017 and approved in 2018. Once it has closed in its current premises, the theatre space in the Young’s pub venue will be converted into a dining room.
The theatre originally opened in 1970, founded by Dan Crawford, and was billed as the first pub theatre in London since Shakespeare’s time. Crawford remained as artistic director for 35 years, with subsequent artistic directors including Stephanie Crawford, Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Mark Ravenhill. In 2018, Spreadbury-Maher confirmed that the theatre would keep its name when it moves.
Since opening, the theatre has hosted premieres of productions including Tom Stoppard’s Artist Descending a Staircase, and Shock Treatment, the sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It has also been credited with launching the careers of talent including Hugh Grant, Maureen Lipman and Victoria Wood.
Insolvent - Cast and crew on touring production The Big O Project claim they have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after the show’s production company became insolvent. A total of 11 cast and crew – including a cast of five, the show’s director and a stage manager – are understood to be collectively owed more than £30,000 for the tour, which began in April and ended in June.
The Big O Project, written by Kim Cormack, was also produced by Cormack through The Big O Project Ltd. Speaking to The Stage, Cormack insisted that she intends to repay all the money, through instalment plans, and said the company was being struck off due to "debt and [her] becoming physically and mentally disabled".
Farewell - Tributes have poured in for “radical and incredible” Sinéad O'Connor after the Irish singer's death at 56. She had a voice that "cracked stone", said Alison Moyet, while Massive Attack spoke of the "fire in her eyes". Jah Wobble said the singer and activist had "the essence of a Celtic female warrior". "There are no words," REM lead singer Michael Stipe said in his tribute. The Smiths singer Morrissey wrote on his website: "She had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own."
Bafta-winning composer Jim Parker, who was behind the music for TV series such as Midsomer Murders and House of Cards, has died aged 88. In a career spanning 60 years, he collaborated with comic Victoria Wood and writer Sir John Betjeman. Parker was also known for writing the scores for series such as Foyle's War, Soldier Soldier and Mapp and Lucia. His daughter Claire said "His ambition was first and foremost for audiences to enjoy his music.”
(Jim Evans)
1 August 2023
