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He had it coming: Burnt Up Love @finborough

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Out of the darkness and shadows, three characters emerge. Lit only with candlelight or flashlights, a gripping tale by writer and performer Ché Walker about crime, punishment, love, and loss emerges. The fast pace conveys a sense of urgency to make up for lost time, lost opportunities, and what might have been. It’s currently playing at the Finborough Theatre .  We first meet Mac (Ché Walker) in prison, serving time for a crime he committed. With only a photo of his young daughter, Scratch, to keep him company, he looks for her upon release. But Scratch (Joanne Marie Mason) isn’t the teacher, lawyer or dancer Mac imagined while incarcerated over the years she might be. Instead, Scratch is in and out of trouble, on the edge, angry and violent. A chance encounter one night with JayJayJay (Alice Walker) forms a loving bond and gives her a moment of stability. But Scratch’s demons and restlessness mean trouble does not seem far away. Scratch's random act of thoughtless violence against
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In rehearsal: Porgy and Bess

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Rehearsal images have been released for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess which runs at Regents Park Open Air Theatre from 17 July to 23 August. In this production dialogue will replace the sung recitatives, but the loss of some of the original material might be offset by the glorious surrounds of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. While it is unlikely to feel as warm as South Carolina in the summer, it will no doubt feel a lot more atmospheric than a traditional theatre space.
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More new legs (and wigs and breasts): Manon Lescaut @RoyalOpera

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Puccini's opera about true love somewhat prevailing over material possessions is given a stylish and slightly filthy update in Jonathan Kent's production at the Royal Opera . But what makes this production memorable is the pairing of Jonas Kaufmann as Chevalier Des Grieux and Kristīne Opolais as Manon. The steamy scenes and vulgarity are balanced against the soaring vocals from this pairing. Perhaps if it were any other duo it might have been a pedestrian evening, but together with the orchestra of the Opera House conducted by Antonio Pappano, the elements seemed to come together to give this work a fresh perspective.
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New legs to an old ride: Carousel @Arcolatheatre

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Carousel , the second musical from Rodgers and Hammerstein is given a new lease of life in this energetic and sexy production currently playing at the Arcola Theatre . Updating to 1930s against the backdrop of the Great Depression gives this production a chance to be a bit rougher, a bit more dangerous and a lot sexier. But the decision to sing without amplification and paring the production back to its bare essentials gives a chance for the characters to be understood better. It also helps minimise some of the sentimentality now attached to many of the songs from the piece.
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Previewing wandering around Holland Park at night: The Dwindling House

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For some, catching Britten's The Turn of the Screw would be enough tense entertainment for an evening. But this week in Holland Park there is also the opportunity to see the opera and then embark on an eerie theatrical promenade piece, The Dwindling House of Holland. The piece will explore the tangled history of the Holland family. After catching the opera you then proceed (possibly with a sensible drink to calm the nerves) under the cover of darkness through Holland Park with the cast, who evoke visions and sinister tales of the dwindling families of Holland Park.
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In jokes and big vocals: Forbidden Broadway @MenChocFactory

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If you are overly familiar with musical theatre and what is on offer on the West End, catching Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory is a must this summer. The long running series from New York, conceived and written by Gerard Alessandrini, it is a combination of greatest hits from previous incarnations of the show and wry new observations. The new material includes send ups of Matilda and an over-reliance on child actors in British musicals, Once with its bizarre plot device and the foul mouthed Book of Mormon .
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Pop ups and hijinks: Così fan Tutte @PopupOperaUK

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Popping up for one night in Vauxhall recently, Pop Up Opera's latest summer offering, Cosi Fan Tutte, proves that no space can be too challenging for the company's blend of wonderful singing and witty takes on opera masterpieces. This time Mozart's opera buffa has been updated to the Downton Abbey period where Edwardian frivolity and the Great War serve as a backdrop to the proceedings. The opera centres around two sisters, Fiordiligi (Eve Daniell) and Dorabella ( Chloe Hinton ), and their fiancés Ferrando (Adam Torrance) and Guglielmo (Samuel Pantcheff). The fianc wager with Don Alfonso (Alex Learmonth), who is presented here as a Charles Carson-like butler , to test the girls’ fidelity by posing as strangers and attempting to seduce them. In an attempt to win the wager, Don Alfonso enlists the support of the maid Despina to fool the girls.
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The Rake's Progress: Mr Burns @AlmeidaTheatre

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Storytelling and pop culture is at the heart of Mr Burns , a bizarre and fascinating play currently showing at the Almeida Theatre . Is it an observation of what would happen to our society if it collapsed, a commentary on the evolution of a new religion, or an observation that people in catastrophic times would prefer to talk about anything other than the elephant in the room? Whatever its point - and it is more weird than funny - it is a fascinating piece and and enthralling throughout its three distinct acts. The first act opens with a power cut. Set in a post apocalyptic world where the power grid has failed, there is no electricity and society has failed, those that have survived pass the time by recounting their favourite television shows. And of course the one television show that people remember the most is The Simpsons. And in particular the Cape Feare episode.
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