412 stories by "Tabard"
It's not often you find supermarkets trying to bring a bit of theatre to their stores. But Tabard hears Morrisons has been using mist machines at its fresh-produce counters. It was partly to…
Tabard enjoys the odd show tune. Who doesn't? It's particularly fun to pretend to be Patti LuPone doing Anything Goes (one owns a sailor outfit for just such an occasion) or Barbara Dickson …
Congratulations are in order for The Stage, which turned 135 this week. To mark the occasion, the staff of the company held a bake off " in a similar fashion to that lovely BBC series…
Tabard can't help thinking that the organisers of the Coronation Street tour need a lesson in how to best cheer people up when they're down. You see, they've launched an initiative (or, if y…
Who's looking forward to watching James McAvoy in The Ruling Class? Tabard is. Because not only does he do his terribly good acting thing, but apparently he also sings and rides a unicycle. …
You have to hand it to Kay Mellor, she's got balls. Not in the male anatomy sense of the word, you understand. No, Mellor has shown cojones because she isn't shy about putting herself out…
Bless Brian Blessed " what a trouper he is. The actor, 78, was performing in a production of King Lear last week in Guildford when he collapsed on stage with apparent heart trouble. Accordin…
Another year, another theatre poster banned by Transport for London on the Underground. Last year, Shakespeare's Globe's production for 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, featuring a couple embracing,…
Just as Kerry Ellis prepares to join the cast of Cats, news of another production about our favourite felines has emerged " this one simply called Cat. Tabard hears that the one-man show foc…
First there was dressed-down opera and now (do mine eyes deceive me?) there is naked opera. And of all the places to find this type of production, it is in the sleepy seaside town of…
Everyone knows that to become an internet sensation one must just do something foolish, ask a friend to film said foolish thing and then post it online. But those of you who secretly desire …
While not suffering from that unfortunate condition coulrophobia, Tabard has always taken a lightly sceptical view of clowns, and until recently was thus unfamiliar with the concept of disco…
Forgotten lines and prompts from cue cards are not what one would expect from a sell-out arena show. Least of all one by a veteran comedy group such as Monty Python. And yet, reports this…
Following much speculation, it has been confirmed that Lindsay Lohan will make her stage debut at London's Playhouse Theatre, in a production of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. And what is ass…
Summer is afoot and so the wedding season begins. But where should one tie the knot? In a charming, rustic church in a remote part of the British countryside or an exotic location where only…
News of a London primary school being forced to cancel its annual musical production after parents discovered one of the characters was based on Jimmy Savile will surely raise questions abou…
Tabard is concerned about the increasing number of ghostly apparitions to be found in venues and the range of methods now required to deal with them. While the Arts Theatre in London has res…
Tabard is aware that performing arts students are an innovative breed of pupil " not ones to shy away from an opportunity to devise a new piece of theatre/try out a workshop in an obscure…
A few weeks ago, Tabard wrote of an unusual job offer by London's Arts Theatre for a night watchman to monitor the supposedly paranormal activities at the venue. At the time, it was noted th…
Press-night organisers, the bar has been raised this month with the opening of Miss Saigon in the West End. Cameron Mackintosh, UK theatre's first billionaire, celebrated one of the most ant…
Tabard was delighted to hear about a marvellous idea for a celebration of the Bard's birthday earlier this year when the Reduced Shakespeare Company announced it would perform the playwright…
Has Andrew Lloyd Webber lost the plot with authorising the rights to his work? First there was the announcement of a summer US arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. The casting is so dire (D…
Professional ghost-catchers were offered an unrivalled opportunity this week, with the advertised vacancy for a night watchman at London's Arts Theatre. And why might this service be needed?…
Tabard has always believed that, in showbusiness circles, a sang-froid approach to your co-performers is most certainly not the right approach. In other words, it's good to be close to your …
Whatever has come over the folks at the Pleasance Theatre? They might be known for their diverse programming of comedy and theatre during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but was it really nec…
