Andrew is on sabbatical but Phil is soldiering on to help you decide between the Merlot and the Marlowe and generally putting London's West End theatre to rights
After months of speculation, this weekend saw the unexpected announcement that Matt Smith is to take over from the David (back injury) Tennant* as the new Doctor Who.
Andrew (who famously doesn’t do telly) cares about such matters. But, despite being sure that Mr Smith will no doubt prove an excellent choice, the Whingers’ own casting department had been barking up all the wrong trees. Read the rest of this entry »
The London Marathon arrived a few days early for the Whingers. Standing in freezing weather watching people run past dressed as rhinos would have been a doddle compared to this.
Thankfully the Whingers and their plus-eight (remember that – it is important later) had come prepared: thermos flasks of coffee, energy drinks, sports chocolate, pillows and hot water bottles were all smuggled into the auditorium. Beneath his smart evening-wear Andrew was sporting a natty and almost fresh set of his favourite jim-jams.
Most shockingly of all, Phil had broken his “no caffeine after 5pm” rule (one of the conditions of his ASBO) in a determined effort to make it through to the very end of the four-hour (but getting shorter) marathon that is a preview of Gone With The Wind – The Musical!
The big question on everyone’s lips, of course, was: “How can they possibly squeeze the thousand-odd pages of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel into “just” four hours? The answer is simple… Read the rest of this entry »
So, anyway, there we were having a quiet drink with Mel Brooks and Roger Bart when who should drop into the bar but Baz Bamigboye, the Daily Mail’s chief show-business reporter. Imagine the Whingers’ excitement. Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers often think about Hair.
Not the iconic musical of the sixties but the stuff that is prone to sprout from the head and face and other places the Whingers are too polite to mention (nose and ears in Andrew’s case).
But actor/singer Michael Ball has been seen out and about recently – including at the opening of The Drowsy Chaperone and presenting This Morning (right) – sporting a glorious beard.
Apparently he’s grown a full set for the upcoming ENO production of Kismet thus keeping costs down for the wig department. But the Whingers feel that hair if not just on his chin, must be very much on Mr Ball’s mind at the moment. Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers hear that the lead Hairspray role – the pleasantly plump or chunky Tracy Turnblad- has been filled. Read the rest of this entry »
Things really do happen after a Badedas bath. Andrew had had his ritual annual bath only that morning and sure enough a drama ensued. Read the rest of this entry »
Did you see a tree hobbling into the casualty department of your local hospital last night and, if so, did you take a picture of it, and, if so, please would you send it to us? Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers spend many a happy hour researching their links and occasionally unearth a few treasures.
Many stars have fantastic websites unashamedly selling themselves, (and their merchandise) and who can blame them?
So in the interest of your needs, the Whingers have made it very easy for you:
Prolific Mark Wynter is a particular favourite. He’s been in just about everything and sells autographed photos for £10, reduced to £7 if you buy one of his CD’s too. This really is a fantastic site, take the phone off the hook and enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »
Quite what Mr Hytner (who didn’t come to our party) expected to achieve with his night of the long butterknives, we don’t know. But if he was expecting the dailies to summarily dump their dead white male reviewers and replace them with one-legged, black, working class lesbians from the north of England he is presumably somewhat disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »
We promised to bring you more thoughts on the extraordinary Nicholas Hytner vs. The Critics kerfuffle but something far more interesting has come up. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, The Lord of the Rings didn’t open last night and so it’s not a review that takes up page 3 of today’s Evening Standard although the online version does contain “The+Lord+Of+The+Rings/showReview” in its address. Cake, having, eating, anyway… Read the rest of this entry »
Sorry, this is boring, and OK so perhaps the Whingers shouldn’t be the ones to review their own efforts (well, Andrew’s efforts actually, although Phil did bring the Blu-Tack ) but let’s face it, no one else is going to bother. Read the rest of this entry »
Following the recent baying for the blood of Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre, the West End Whingers decided to get a more official verdict by raiding the records department of the National Theatre and pilfering a copy of his end-of-term report.
This is what they found: Read the rest of this entry »
The West End Whingers are always looking for opportunities to extend the usefulness of their website and they put a lot of thought into how they can contribute to the debate around the key arts issues of the day, many of which are sadly overlooked. Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers are up in arms with the bureaucrats in Brussels who are seeking to put an end to their favourite hobby. Read the rest of this entry »
A West End Whinger 