Richmond Theatre

Musical Theatre

Gotta Sing Gotta Dance

BY
Josey De Rossi

The title of a theatre production is designed to provoke a reaction; Gotta Sing Gotta Dance had a decided effect on me, leading me to expect the usual fare of song and dance energetically contrived. What a surprise I was in for as I viewed the unfolding of a wonderfully coherent and original production that turned out to be a stunning exposé of the last sixty years of musical theatre.

Theatre of Realism

The Pitman Painters

BY
Josey De Rossi

The popularity of Lee Hall's The Pitman Painters is evident from its sell-out seasons at the National Theatre, on Broadway and in the West End. Arguably, such success must make Hall's play one of the past decade's most significant English dramas to engage contemporary audiences in re-looking at "class warfare" in post-WW2 British culture.