Welcome to the new edition of the Standard Theatre Podcast, our weekly show in which we review the big shows of the week, and talk all things London theatre, because we can't get enough of it.
This week, we join bona fide Broadway and West End legends Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga at the Gielgud Theatre, where they're performing in an all-star production of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, devised by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Matthew Bourne. The show grew out of a gala Mackintosh put on in memory of his, yes, old friend Sondheim, in the months after his death last year at the age of 91. The genius composer stands apart in musical theatre, and Peters and Salonga pay tribute.
Plus! Nick Curtis and Nick Clark review Hamnet, Lolita Chakrabarti's RSC adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's smash hit novel, which has now transferred to the Garrick theatre with Madeleine Mantock in the leading role as Anne (or maybe Agnes!) Hathaway, and Nancy Durrant and Nick Curtis review Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s at the Donmar Warehouse. The show is an exploration of redemption through the medium of the perfect sandwich, so it might be one to listen to with a snack in hand.
Also, we join tributes to the acclaimed West End producer and stage impresario (oh yes, and Chairman of Everton FC) Bill Kenwright, who has died aged 78, and our hosts discuss the news that Cruel Intentions and The Hunger Games (how? how will they do it?) are coming to the London stage.
And finally, we've got an email address! We'd love to hear from you what you think of the show - and the shows - so that we can get to know our fellow theatre-lovers better. Drop us a line at theatrepod@standard.co.uk.
Listen above, find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream your podcasts.
