At a ceremony tonight at The London Palladium hosted by Bonnie Langford and Melanie La Barrie, the winners of the 24^th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards were announced – the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves.

WhatsOnStage’s Darius Thompson and Alex Wood said today, “What a year for UK theatre this has been. Looking at the winners, voted for by WhatsOnStage readers, it is striking just how audiences are keen to lend their support to bold, experimental takes on classic tales – from solo versions of Chekhov to immersive takes on classic musicals, or radical re-imaginings of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. Long may this continue – theatre would not be able to thrive without challenging and forward-thinking creativity.

“We’ve had a complete blast at The London Palladium – and the team at LW Theatres have been incredible in accommodating everything we’ve thrown at them, including the installation of an auditorium ramp in order to facilitate step-free access to the stage.”

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Well the Bridge Theatre is bloody posh. That’s the first thing I think when stepping into the space. Don’t get me wrong it is beautiful, but it feels highly unwelcoming to a working class person. And that’s a real shame, because the auditorium is packed full of young and trendy individuals, however a lot of the spaces offerings are inaccessible to them.

Courtesy of Manuel Harlan.

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Addiction, the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity. Emma was having the time of her life. Now she’s in rehab. Clinical isolation fronted with an existential crisis, People, Places and Things sits you down in therapy and asks ‘How do you think this story ends?’.

Courtesy of Cambridge Arts Theatre.

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Ink is a raw, twisted narrative by James Graham that investigates how ethics become conflicted once money starts rolling in. Who, what, when, where and why- the latter is the least important to answer, but the most crucial to ask. Graham’s narrative gives the right amount of exposition whilst also leaving a lot to be desired, and even makes the occasional political jab.

Courtesy of the Almeida Theatre.

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The Red Barn based on the novel, La Main, by Georges Simenon shows a man unraveling from his life. The play begins with a cinematic opening, a fierce snow blizzard in the suburbs of Connecticut. Two couples are returning home from a party and get caught in what will be a tragic storm. The production is beautiful, designer Bunny Christie and Director Robert Icke have achieved something masterful here. Mark Strong as Donald Dodd is fantastic. A somewhat meek man, whose actions are often preempted by his wife, Ingrid Dodd, played with brilliant reserve by Hope Davis.

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Cast your mind back to the summer months of 2013. Britain was surprisingly in the midst of one of the hottest summers ever recorded and a little known artist going by the name of Robin Thicke was causing  a controversial storm within the Top 40… Continue reading