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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...

Movies: Man On Wire



Monday night (after getting over a weekend of stomach flu) I caught the doco Man On Wire about Philippe Petit's high wire walk between the Twin Towers in New York City. There was something nauseating about watching Petit on screen. He wasn't the most likeable of subjects, and irritating to the point that you would want to punch him... But even assholes have their purpose. In the long planning for this stunt, they shot some fantastic footage (including of the World Trade Centres) and it is the slice of life from the times that makes it worth watching. The story about the reaction of New York to the feat is interesting as well (although much more brief)... Now if only we knew why none of the conspirators talk to each other today? Or why that Australian man was semi-nude in one scene? And in the days pre-cheap flights, how did they afford all these flights? At least the title was explained by the end of the film... Worth catching while it is still in cinemas, if you can stomach the subject (not the heights)...

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