Onstage with Natalie Anglesey

Review of Dusty, The Dusty Springfield Musical, at The Lowry by Natalie Anglesey Well-deserved s tanding ovations from a packed house full of Dusty fans and stars of Coronation Street greeted the curtain call of Dusty,The Dusty Springfield Musical at The Lowry. In particular the enthusiastic audience paid tribute to Katherine Kingsley in the title role who gave a superlative performance as the pop star gradually aging before our eyes as she descended into drink, drugs and the cancer that killed her. Fans of Dusty's music will be delighted to know this new musical about her life features many of her pop hits, including I Only Want to Be with You, Son of a Preacher Man and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. There are many others too but I suspect the audience would have preferred Katherine Kingsley to sing all of them.  This excellent production   draws on the memories of her close friend, manager and authorised biographer Vicki Wickham, her lifelong personal as...

Laurence Fox and Kate Fleetwood join ITV’s Victoria Acclaimed actors join Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes for the third series of smash-hit historical drama If, like me, you're a fan of Victoria, you may have read my interview in The Cheshire Magazine with both the stars. So you'll be delighted to know t he highly-anticipated third series of the royal drama seriesreturns to our screens soon. ITV has announced that Laurence Fox ( Lewis ) and Kate Fleetwood ( Harlots ) are set to join the cast. Filming started in May on Victoria Day, the anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birthday. Produced by leading drama indie Mammoth Screen as a co-production with MASTERPIECE, and created by writer and producer Daisy Goodwin (My Last Duchess & The Fortune Hunter) , the brand new series sees critically-acclaimed actress Jenna Coleman ( Doctor Who)  reprise her role as the young Queen, alongside Tom Hughes ( Paula ) as Prince Albert. Joining the leads, Laurence Fox has been...

The Last Ship Review by Natalie Anglesey 5 stars! Tonight , July 3 rd,   the audience at The Lowry, who had come to see The Last Ship, were delighted to spot iconic music legend Sting, who had flown in with his wife from their home in New York. The composer and lyricist of this, his debut musical, which originally premiered on Broadway winning two Tony nominations, joined the cast on stage, at the curtain call-  although he refrained from making a speech.  Beaming at the well-deserved standing ovation, it was a poignant moment as his musical ends its UK tour here this week.   I first met Sting at the launch in Salford Quays and was impressed when, in spite of being awarded a CBE by the Queen and accepted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame, he told me he still felt a debt of gratitude towards his old community.   He explained that t his musical was loosely based on his own personal story, reflective of his childhood in Wallsend....