{"id":48326,"date":"2025-05-06T12:48:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=48326"},"modified":"2025-05-06T12:48:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:48:51","slug":"rock-music-and-stars-what-to-see-in-london-in-the-final-month-of-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/rock-music-and-stars-what-to-see-in-london-in-the-final-month-of-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock Music and Stars: What to See in London in the Final Month of Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just for One Day<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Shaftesbury Theatre
210 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8DP<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Shaftrsbury Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The chronicles of rock\u2019s golden age \u2014 there\u2019s no other way to put it \u2014 first took the stage at the Old Vic, and have now moved to the Shaftesbury Theatre.
From the very start, the audience sings along to the iconic hits, laughs at the sharply drawn Margaret Thatcher, claps mid-scene \u2014 they\u2019re captivated as if it were a children\u2019s Christmas show, not an adult musical. And it makes sense: Just for One Day takes viewers back forty years, when everyone was young \u2014 maybe even still in primary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Els plays Bob Geldof, and his performance is a striking, poignant choice. This isn\u2019t a shaggy-haired young idealist, but a weary, somber man who knows full well he can\u2019t fix the world. This portrayal shifts the tone from festive to dramatic, but in doing so, it invites us to look at the present day with more care and compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumor has it Geldof himself loves the show \u2014 and you might just spot him in the audience, watching a version of himself on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Warren\u2019s Profession<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Garrick Theatre
2 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0HH<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Garrick Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Bernard Shaw\u2019s late 19th-century play was banned for nearly a decade \u2014 after all, it deals with brothels, prostitutes, and a main character, Mrs. Warren, who runs a chain of them. Patriarchal society couldn\u2019t stomach this \u2014 despite shamelessly using such establishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Warren uses her earnings to send her daughter to the best schools, providing her with a brilliant education \u2014 until the dramatic twist: young Vivie discovers the true nature of her mother\u2019s business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Dominic Cooke\u2019s new production, mother and daughter are played by real-life mother and daughter: the magnificent Imelda Staunton, whose talent needs no adjectives, and Bessie Carter \u2014 sharp, vivid, full of energy and charisma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s their first time acting together, adding an extra layer of interest and complexity to the performance. Can the actors separate the personal from the professional?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deep Blue Sea<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Theatre Royal Haymarket
Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Theatre Royal Haymarket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tamsin Greig is a magnetically compelling actress. Audiences recently saw her in Backstroke at Donmar Warehouse \u2014 and now she steps into the role of the tormented Hester Collyer, a woman who dives out of a successful marriage and into a love affair with a young pilot, Freddie Page (Hadley Fraser).
She\u2019s lost her wealth, her husband, her family, and society\u2019s respect \u2014 but has she found love? Even she\u2019s afraid to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Lindsay Posner, this production enjoyed success in Bath and now arrives at Theatre Royal Haymarket. Terence Rattigan\u2019s early-1950s play is partly about midlife crisis \u2014 which can overwhelm anyone from the perfect family man to the quiet housewife \u2014 but it\u2019s also a wrenching story of choices, where every path leads to loss.
Back then, after WWII, the audience read it one way \u2014 but today, it\u2019s a drama of a grown woman\u2019s internal struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greig plays Hester with brutal honesty \u2014 no flirtation, no sugarcoating. It\u2019s pain, despair, and no hope. The ending is open: we don\u2019t know where Hester goes, but perhaps, between the two men, she\u2019ll choose a third, most tragic path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finbar Lynch plays Hester\u2019s neighbor in their boarding house \u2014 a character who becomes a sort of therapist, a mirror, or perhaps even a god \u2014 but one who doesn\u2019t judge, only grieves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This show must be seen for its astounding performances \u2014 and, like all of Posner\u2019s work, it\u2019s built with the meticulous care of true psychological theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stiletto<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Charing Cross Theatre
The Arches, Villiers St, London WC2N 6NL<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Charing Cross Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This new musical by the celebrated Matthew Wilder and Tim Luscombe has been running at the tiny Charing Cross Theatre since late March, and it\u2019s been a hit with both audiences and critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder \u2014 an incredible love story set in 18th-century Venice, full of tragedy and hope, with costumes and sets executed with astonishing detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young opera stars preserved their high, delicate voices through the barbaric act of castration \u2014 the main character, Marco (Jack Chambers), is one such singer, blessed with a unique voice. He must overcome danger and temptation for the love of young and beautiful Gioia (Jule Hutchinson), the daughter of an African slave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are bound by their love of music and their status as societal outsiders \u2014 but fate and their enemies have many trials in store.
This is an intensely emotional production \u2014 the lights, the music, the facial expressions, the voices, the feelings \u2014 everything turned up to the max, as if someone cranked the brightness of an old TV to 200%. But what else would you expect? The Venetian Carnival is in full swing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stereophonic<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Duke of York\u2019s Theatre
St Martin’s Ln, London WC2N 4BG<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Duke Of York\u2019s Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

STEREOPHONIC isn\u2019t exactly a biopic \u2014 but it\u2019s close. The story behind the play is inspired by the creation of Rumours, the iconic album by Fleetwood Mac.
On stage, it\u2019s 1976: California, a music studio, and a rock band trying to hold it all together long enough to record just one track. Their only salvation \u2014 work and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the true story of Rumours, it plays out more like a Shakespearean tragedy than an album recording. Christine and John McVie were going through a painful divorce but still working together; Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks kept breaking up and reconciling. Add alcohol and drugs to the mix, and you get a volatile, combustible mess \u2014 dragging their personal chaos from studio to studio, but producing one of the most successful albums of the 20th century.
They barely spoke to each other \u2014 but the music they created became timeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show runs for 3 hours and 10 minutes \u2014 and for every minute, we watch the mess from which beauty grows, without shame. Music for the show was written by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire \u2014 it\u2019s raw, vibrant, and tragic.After a smash-hit run on Broadway, Stereophonic earned a whopping 13 Tony nominations last year. In short: an absolute must-see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It might seem like London\u2019s theatre scene has quieted down a little after the Olivier Awards \u2014 but that\u2019s only how it seems. London is never truly quiet, and here\u2019s the proof: five of the most exciting shows you absolutely need to see and form your own opinion on. Featuring the legendary Imelda Staunton, a journey into the golden era of rock music, and a lush, dangerous Venice from three centuries ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":48388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-48326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48326"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=48326"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=48326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}