Onstage with Natalie Anglesey

I'm still flying high after seeing WICKED , the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon which tells the incredible story of the Witches of Oz. It has flown home to where it all began in 2013, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, for one final time . This must be the fifth time I've seen it and it's lost none of its charm. T his magical production not only travelled across the UK and Ireland but has  dazzled audiences in China, the Philippines, Singapore and Switzerland. If you haven't seen it yet WICKED transports us to the stunningly re-imagined world of Oz, providing wonders beyond the imagination. It's been seen by over 9 million people in London alone. Around the world, WICKED has won more than 100 major awards , including ten theatregoer-voted WhatsOnStage Awards .  The acclaimed cast features an amazing vocal range from Amy Ross as Elphaba ,who sings the big hit song Defying Gravity! This girl is a star! Helen Woolf as Glinda , displays a d...

Calendar Girls The Musical at The Lowry Review by Natalie Anglesey Think you've seen Calendar Girls The Musical? Well if you were at The Lowry tonight 30th October you would have seen the newly revisited version about which, I admit, I had initial misgivings. However at the interval producer David Pugh told me that he was responsible for  persuading the joint creators to make some changes- and he was right! You may already have read the best-selling book by Tim Firth, based on the true story of a group of Yorkshire women who bared all for a nude calendar to raise awareness for cancer, because one of their husbands died of the disease, and also to raise enough money for a hospital couch. It led them to be known forever as The Calendar Girls. and those original brave women were there in force tonight and walked on stage after the curtain call to accept well-deserved applause.  T he book and the award-winning movie, starring Helen Mirren, brought them global recogniti...

Natalie Anglesey reviews  THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S MATILDA THE MUSICAL I’ve always been curious about the components of a successful musical - so every time I went to London, I’d try to get tickets to see The Royal Shakespeare Company ’s multi award-winning production of Matilda The Musical – but with no success. After far too long a delay, in which time it seems to have travelled the globe, this musical, at last, enjoys a 10-week run at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until 24 November 2018. According to my six –year old, it was worth the wait, particularly Paul Kieve’s magic! It was great to see a theatre packed full of children - with more of them than adults! They are after all the theatre audiences of the future. A word of warning the first act is rather long for little ones so make sure you do the toilet run before it starts! Inspired by Roald Dahl’s book, Matilda, her story is beloved by children everywhere. T his musical version remains true to t...

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....

War Horse Review by Natalie Anglesey 5 stars! I first saw The National Theatre’s acclaimed production of War Horse in London and was moved to tears. But it wasn't until I saw it again on the large stage of the Lyric Theatre at The Lowry, during its regional premiere in 2013, that the full impact of this powerful work hit me. Now it's returned, after a subsequent run in 2014, which means it will soon have been seen by over 220,000 people at The Lowry. War Horse is the heart-warming tale of Albert Narracott, his beloved horse Joey, and their extraordinary journey through the First World War. Thomas Dennis plays the central role of Albert Narracott with Jo Castleton taking the role of his mother Rose. Amongst the 34 strong cast is Bolton born and current Manchester resident Adam Barlow (Greig/Schweyk/Sergeant Fine) and Manchester University graduate Samuel Parker (Joey/Topthorn Hind). C elebrated folk musician Bob Fox returns as Song Man. War Horse, which...