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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Bruce Dessau's rating
Reader rating
Description: Inspired by audience suggestions and entirely improvised from start to finish, Showstopper challenges its performers to ad-lib a fully-formed musical, creating song and dance routines in a variety of styles and genres. Created by Dylan Emery and Adam Meggido. Tickets available from www.ticketweb.co.uk
Phone: 0207 7042001
Website: www.thestickingplace.com
The art of improvisation is at its most popular since the heyday of Whose Line Is It Anyway? X-Files star Dean Haglund has just had an on-the-hoof hit at the Trafalgar Studios, Paul Merton has just launched a prime-time ad-libbed ITV show, Thank God You're Here, and ImproFest 2008 is an ambitious celebration of the genre.
On Friday a 50-hour "Improvathon" kicks off, sleeping bags optional.
Until then evenings offer new nightly musicals. The opening Showstopper! might not even have had the depth of a Lloyd Webber production but when it was not too chaotic it had its comic moments.
Bearded director Dylan Emery, a dead ringer for the Elizabethan Blackadder, started proceedings by taking audience suggestions for the unwritten production. His fearless cast of eight plus pianist then had to deliver an entire show combining funk, opera, Gilbert & Sullivan and Bob Fosse and opening in a funeral parlour.
The result - a Sondheim-ish hotch-potch of murder, intrigue and jazz hands in wartime London - was inconsistent, though it would have been a lot less inconsistent if the cast's talents had been more reliable. Singing ability was decidedly varied, from the formidable to the positively feeble.
Two performers did impress. Adam Meggido exuded a nice mix of menace and vulnerability as befuddled arms dealer Archie McSlag, while Ruth Bratt delivered two striking set-pieces as his streetwalking amour, Misty. The difficulty was resolving a plot that became more tangled with each song.
Undoubtedly an intriguing live experience, but you can see why Whose Line Is It Anyway? was pre-recorded and edited.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
