Andrew and Phil

Some of us are old enough to remember that 1966 was not only the year of a particular World Cup but also when Sweet Charity emerged. Those were the days, when people really knew what a hummable tune was

When a play is described as provocative, thought-provoking, challenging, shocking and in the Dorfman auditorium you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’ve gone completely doolally taken to self-harming and revisited that steaming pile of When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other. We can now (almost) completely forgive the National for that egregious horror as it has given way to Downstate which comes from the provoking pen of Bruce Norris who previously stepped onto the Whinger podium of greatness when he delivered his brilliant Clybourne Park. It opens with Andy (Tim Hopper) seeking some form of closure by confronting his childhood abuser, the wheelchair-bound Fred, who mimes playing Chopin at the keyboard when he’s not citing the composer as some sort of justification for abuse. Aimee Lou Wood, Bruce Norris, Cecilia Noble, Downstate, Eddie Torres, entertainment, Francis Guinan, Glenn Davis, K Todd Freeman, London, Matilda Ziegler, National Theatre, Pam MacKinnon, play, review, Steppenwolf, theatre, Tim Hopper, west end

The niceness of a Canadian town Gander (population 10,000) that for six days accommodated, fed, entertained and medicated (in both senses) over 6,600 passengers plus a cargo of animals – which included a pregnant ape – from the 38 passenger aircraft that were diverted there after the attacks. Don’t come expecting the sequins of a 42nd St musical, instead expect plaid shirts, dowdy knitwear, clumpy boots and jackets that would feel at their most comfortable on a Walmart hanger. This is very much an impressive and hard-grafting ensemble so difficult to single anyone out for special mention but this didn’t stop the Olivier Awards choosing the excellent Rachel Tucker for a supporting nomination probably because she gets a showy and very much of-the-moment Come From Away, David Hein, entertainment, Irene Sankoff, London, musical, Phoenix Theatre, Rachel Tucker, review, theatre, west end

There’s a cheeky story about the making of the 195O film classic All About Eve. Phil’s tried to find it on t’internet but all he could come up with was this 14 bumpy facts about All About Eve page