Gay London Life | April '26 Edition - Magazine - Page 24
Life of a Luvvie with Thomas Magill
Timi Akinyosade, winner of Best professional
debut at WhatsonStage Awards
Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu who play
Rosetta Tharp and Marie Knight in Marie and Rosetta
Karan Thrax at the WhatsonStage Awards
aftershow party
We’ve only had one of the ‘big three’ theatre awards of the year and already a
a chat and he was still buzzing from the night before telling me he celebrated with
few front runners are beginning to emerge.
“a couple of J20’s and a bottle water.” What a sensible boy! I’m sure there will now
be much excitement and anticipation ahead of the Oliviers, given they’re up for 11
Paddington The Musical swept the boards at the WhatonStage Awards with
categories there. The Oliviers take place on the 12th April at the Royal Albert Hall.
nine gongs including Best New Musical, Best Direction for Luke Sheppard and a
handful of other prizes, mainly for those who work tirelessly behind the scenes.
No-one will be surprised to read that the other big winner from the Whatson Stage
The wins mean Paddington now joins Miss Saigon and Harry Potter and the
Awards was Evita, with its leading lady, Rachel Zegler winning Best Performer.
Cursed Child for the most trophies ever for a new musical.
From the glitz and glamour of the Palladium to an equally classy little venue in
It was great to walk the red carpet at this year’s event at the Palladium and see
the heart of Soho, I popped along to see Sugar Daddy at Underbelly Boulevard
the entire company’s joy at winning time after time. One of the biggest applauds
Soho. It’s the second time Sam Morrison’s solo show has been to London.
of the night went to 17 year-old Timi Akinyosade who bagged Best Professional
Having missed it last time, I was thrilled to be able to soak up this hilarious take on
Debut Performance for his role as Tony. I caught up with Timi the morning after for
how Sam dealt with the sudden death of his older boyfriend and the aftermath of
facing life as a fairly young ‘widow’. The show has managed to pick up a gaggle
of A-gay celebrity co-producers including Alan Cumming, Billy Porter, Sally TM
and even Gus Kenworthy, making it a small show with a big sprinkle of stardust.
Given it’s success I’ve no doubt it will return at some point soon.
Now, I also had the pleasure of interviewing someone who has been described
to me many times as the ‘nicest lady in showbiz’ for the very first time earlier in
March. With this in mind, and as a massive fan I was nervous ahead of my one
to one meet with the hugely talented soul sister Beverely Knight. Fortunately, I
can confirm that she truly is the most beautiful, genuine lady I was led to believe
she would be. Greeting me with a huge hug, Bev’s warm and informal demeaner
really helped put me at ease as we sat down to chat about her current role as
Rosetta Tharp in Marie and Rosetta at the Soho Place.
This is a show for the gals, about how the ‘godmother of rock’n’roll’ Rosetta
Tharp plucked a fresh faced Marie Knight from obscurity and nurtured her into a
star back in the 1940’s. The show is full of soulful tunes from back in the day - all
delivered with pure and authentic soulfulness from Beverley and her co-star, the
equally powerful firecracker that is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu. When I spoke to both
ladies it was clear this was a musical that comes from their heart as well as deep
in their souls. For that reason it’s currently one of the best new shows in the
west-end at the moment by far. Marie and Rosetta closes later this month.
So, despite a dip in shows opening in April as the sector focuses on awards,
there is still plenty to see across the west-end and off west-end should you be
looking for a good night out. And, if you fancy heading further afield I can vouch
for Glorious starring the hilariously funny Wendi Peters and Matthew James
Morrison. This is a lovely little play with pure heart, respect and innocence at its
core and well worth popping along to. It’s currently on tour all over the country
including Oxford Playhouse, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford and Theatre Clwyd in
Wales. The tour is currently running until the end of May.
@thomasmagill1
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