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You can’t stop the boats: Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea @ParkTheatre

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Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea by Italian playwright Emanuele Aldrovandi and translated by Marco Young, has made a topical return to London at the Park Theatre after playing earlier this summer at the Seven Dials Playhouse. In a week when leaders and leaders in waiting were talking about illegal immigration, it seemed like a topical choice . It also has one hell of an evocative title. The piece opens with Adriano Celantano’s Prisencolinensinainciusol , which sets the scene for what we are about to see. After all, a song about communication barriers seems perfect for a play about people trafficking and illegal immigration. One side doesn’t understand why they happen, and the other still comes regardless of the latest government announcement / slogan .  However, the twist here is that the crossing is undertaken the other way. People are fleeing Europe instead of escaping war or poverty in Africa or the Middle East. It’s set sometime in the not-too-distant future. There is a crisis causing p

Theatre: Sunday in the Park with George (West End transfer)

I couldn't resist catching a preview of the transfer of Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham's Theatre Thursday evening. It starred practically the same cast that I saw at the Chocolate Factory with the exception that the female lead was played by Jenna Russell – who last I saw opposite Ewan Macgregor in Guys and Dolls. Russell gives it a bit more of a "star presence".

Even the technical glitches and the odd microphone dropout couldn't make this production look bad. The audience loved it as well. Sondheim and Lapine are there tomorrow night for a chat about the show and it surely must be a likely candidate for transfer to Broadway. There is a cast album about to come out shortly as well. There are indeed far worse things than sitting through the musical Sunday twice. And did I also hear additional lyrics in the song "Putting it Together"?

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Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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