Little known to many, Colombian born Griselda Blanco amassed a staggering drug empire, in 1970s and 80s Miami – unsuspecting to many around her, and with this, enduring a life of brutality and ambition that would inevitably result in an ascent to power. Supported by her right hand man – Rivi Ayala, Griselda would gain the reputation as the ‘Godmother of the Underworld’. Currently a hit Netflix drama available to stream, her story is dramatised by leading Hollywood star Sofia Vergara, alongside multi-award winning actor Martín Rodriguez who takes on the role of Rivi. Enjoying critical acclaim, Martin tells us more about approaching playing the role, working with the cast and crew and what viewers who haven’t yet watched the show can expect.

Hi Martin! You star in the hit Netflix series Griselda currently available to stream now. What feedback have you received towards the show so far?

We are very happy with the results from the series this year, it was very hard work during the whole year of 2022. It is very exciting because it is something that we did from the heart with Latin American actors featuring Sofia Vergara who was very, very generous with everything that she could be, so yeah, we’re very happy!

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Brazilian theatre company São Paulo make their long-anticipated London debut at Sadler’s Wells Theatre this Spring. Postponed due to the pandemic, was the triple bill worth the wait? For this part-time reviewer the answer is a resolute and lukewarm ‘afraid not’. Although technically brilliant, it is hard to believe that the dance company is at the forefront of the South American contemporary dance scene. The music was often dull, and when more engaging, hardly exciting. This was then paired with dances that failed to be creatively united due to unimaginative staging, uninspired costumes, and predictable choreography.

Courtesy of Camilo Munoz + Iari Davies.

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Iconic rock band Crowded House announce exclusive album launch show at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 13th June 2024. Following the news of their upcoming album, Gravity Stairs, which will be released globally on 31st May on BMG. The show will give fans an exclusive opportunity to hear the album live in its entirety for the first time. Tickets for the show will go on general sale, Friday 23rd February at 9am via LiveNation.co.uk

The announcement of the show and album comes after the band’s recent release of the surprise new single Oh Hi, which debuted last week as the lead single from their forthcoming 8th studio album.

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Cosprop and Kerry Taylor Auctions today announce over 60 iconic costumes from film and TV, as worn by screen legends will go under the hammer in Lights Camera Auction on 5^th March, alongside an online auction, to launch on 22^nd February until 10^th March, featuring film and TV related experiences and celebrity memorabilia.

Treasures from the archives of Cosprop, one of the world’s leading costume houses, founded by Academy & BAFTA award winning costume designer John Bright in 1965, includes a vintage 1950’s Christian Dior taffeta ball gown, worn by Madonna in Evita (1996), Johnny Depp’s costume as Ichabod Crane in the film ‘Sleepy Hollow’, (1999); Colin Firth’s infamous wet shirt from the BBC TV’s drama series Pride & Prejudice (1995), Heath Ledger’s masquerade ball costume from Casanova (2005) and the memorable dress and hooded cape worn by Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981).

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Geoffrey Brown is standing down at 30 June 2024, after 7 years as Director of OffWestEnd and the Offies.  His successor will be announced at the 14^th Offies Awards Ceremony on 25 February.

In Geoffrey’s 7 years, OffWestEnd and the Offies have grown and developed significantly:

• New Offies categories have been added: Solo & Duo Performances, Cabaret, Pantomime and Video Design – in addition, some categories have been expanded – for TYA (theatre for young audiences) and for IDEA (Immersive / Devised / Experimental / Atypical)
• An “Access” category has been introduced for productions breaking down barriers and also one for “Community Outreach Youth” work.  In addition, the Offies were the first major theatre or film awards to scrap the gender split in key performance categories in 2020.
• In response to Covid, 8 new categories were introduced for online productions, and 2 of these continue today.
• The Offies now send 2 assessors to over 400 shows per annum.
• The OffComm (Offies Commendation) was introduced to recognise the best of the many productions with short runs.  The OffFest award was introduced for theatre performances at festivals, and we now have the participation of fringe festivals in Brighton, Camden, Manchester and Edinburgh.  Finally we also now offer the occasional OneOff award to recognise special achievements.

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In a matter of days, the BAFTA Awards will descend on one of the UK’s most prestigious arts venues – the Royal Albert Hall. The annual celebration an acknowledgment of Britain’s finest filmmakers and their undeniable storytelling skillset at both a televisual and filmic level. With a total of 25 categories in all, the nation’s emerging, as well as high profile stars will don the red carpet in anticipation of the evening’s results, and overall, in appreciation of art and how art is expressed. Having honed his craft as an animator at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) on the Directing Animation MA course, Ross Stringer’s coastal themed film Crab Day is one of this year’s ‘British Short Animation’ finalists awaiting Sunday’s result. An exploration of self acceptance, nurturing our differences and going against the status quo, the film follows a fishing community’s annual ritual, whereby a young boy must kill his first crab in order to become a man and gain his father’s approval. Ahead of the award ceremony on Sunday 18th February, Ross tells us more about what it means to make it as a finalist, exploring the film’s themes further and the creative process.

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Pearl Jam will release their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter, on Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024. The album’s title track is available now HERE. Produced by GRAMMY® award winning producer Andrew Watt, Dark Matter, marks the band’s first release since critically-acclaimed Gigaton (2020).

Dark Matter is now available for pre-order HERE.

In 2023, the members of Pearl Jam—Eddie Vedder [vocals], Jeff Ament [bass], Stone Gossard [rhythm guitar], Mike McCready [lead guitar], and Matt Cameron [drums]—retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played under the careful watch of producer Andrew Watt.

The musicians faced one another in the same space and communicated sonically at the highest level. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks.

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In line with the general election set to take place later this year AEG Presents, Goalhanger and WME are thrilled to announce that the iconic podcast series The Rest Is Politics is returning to the live stage with their biggest live tour to date – The Election Tour. Kicking off in Brighton on Sunday 6th October, Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart will then embark on a further 6 shows in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff before closing at London’s iconic The O2 on Tuesday 15th October. The London show is set to be extra special, with the show being hosted ‘in the round’ at the venue – bringing audience members even closer to the political action. This is a first for The O2 hosting a live podcast as well as the first time Alastair and Rory will have taken to The O2 stage

Presale tickets are available from Wednesday 14th February at 8am with individual venue presales taking place on Thursday 15th February at 10am. General on sale begins on Friday 16th February at 10am with tickets available from www.aegp.uk/TheRestIsPolitics.

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Today, Trippie Redd the multi-platinum-selling, Billboard chart-topping artist announces his highly anticipated 2024 tour dates across the UK and Europe this summer. The tour kicks off on Friday, June 28 at 02 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester with stops across the continent in London, Tilburg, and Paris before wrapping up on Wednesday, July 10 in Milan. General on-sale tickets will be available on Friday 16th February at 10 AM local time at LiveNation.co.uk.

Renowned for being one of the most versatile and creatively daring recording artists around, Trippie Redd’s music blends wild experimentation with a broad audience appeal. A self-professed workaholic who’s now debuted five consecutive projects in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 charts — Trippie got his start as a teenager “living in a basement with roaches recording music,” as he tells it. Born Michael Lamar White IV and raised in Canton, Ohio, he grew up on hip-hop icons like Tupac Shakur, Nas, and Jay-Z, but later became fascinated with the shock-rock of Slipknot, Rob Zombie, and fellow Canton native Marilyn Manson.

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In a matter of days, the BAFTA Awards will descend on one of the UK’s most prestigious arts venues – the Royal Albert Hall. The annual celebration an acknowledgment of Britain’s finest filmmakers and their undeniable storytelling skillset at both a televisual and filmic level. With a total of 25 categories in all, the nation’s emerging, as well as high profile stars will don the red carpet in anticipation of the evening’s results, and overall, in appreciation of art and how art is expressed. Multi-award winning writer and director Yasmin Afifi is one of this year’s finalists, having been acknowledged for her profound watch Jellyfish and Lobster – a tale of grief told from the eyes of two terminally ill patients faced with this existential reality. Ahead of the ceremony on Sunday 18th February, Yasmin tells us more about exploring this heartfelt narrative further, working alongside a devoted creative team to realise the film and what she’d like for viewers to take away from the film.

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