West End LIVE - events update
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
MORE details of this year’s West End LIVE have been announced. The showcase, organised by Westminster City Council, will be compered by the 2007 I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here winner Christopher Biggins. As well as the shows already listed, he’ll be introducing performances from Divas and Dickens Unplugged.
Music will also play a big part in the festivities with a string of jazz, blues and salsa performances from venues such as Smollenskys, Aint Nothing But and Bar Rumba.
Previously Posted: London’s biggest free theatre festival, West End LIVE, returns to the heart of the capital for the fourth successive year – to Leicester Square – on Saturday, June 21 (between 11am and 6pm) and Sunday, June 22 (between 12pm and 6pm).
This year, the event will feature acts from musicals such as Avenue Q, Buddy, Chicago, Dirty Dancing, Grease The Musical, Into the Hoods, Jersey Boys, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mamma Mia! Never Forget, Stomp, The Lord of the Rings, The Sound of Music, We Will Rock You and Wicked.
The showcase, organised by Westminster City Council, will include a sneak preview of the odd and bizarre exhibits from Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, which is making its British debut from America this summer.
There will also be performances by the King Lear musicians from Shakespeare’s Globe who play a series of rare medieval instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, bone flutes and long wooden trumpets, as well as productions from Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre plus a selection of acts from other key events such as the Notting Hill Carnival, the Big Dance and Pride.
BBC children’s presenter Justin Fletcher and a host of iconic costume characters – including Paddington Bear – will be on hand to entertain younger audiences together with an array of child-friendly activities from top museums, including experiments for young scientists by the Science Museum and arts and crafts activities from the National Gallery, Wallace Collection and Serpentine Gallery.
There will also be a celebration of 50 years of Lego where children and the young at heart can create their own structures and marvel at giant Lego figurines.
The film industry will also be represented with studios such as Disney, Lions Gate and Paramount looking to promote up-coming films such as the latest Narnia epic Prince Caspian, the new Jackie Chan movie Forbidden Kingdom and Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda respectively.
Finally, the British Film Institute will be hosting animation workshops and the Cartoon Museum will be offering cartoon master classes.
This year, more than 150,000 people are expected to attend the festival.
For more information visit the official West End LIVE website.