Chris Abbott
@chrisabbott.bsky.social
Theatre writer, reviewer for West End Best Friend. Pantomime enthusiast. Emeritus Reader, King's College London
Very impressive!
We've made incredible progress with our Archive this year. Since uploading our first collection in April 2025, we now have over 2,000 catalogue records on Archives Hub (link below). Check out our entries to explore the collection.
#MusicHall #archive #history
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#MusicHall #archive #history
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December 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Very impressive!
Excellent production and brings back memories of directing the same play two years ago
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Review: WHEN WE ARE MARRIED, The Donmar Warehouse | West End Best Friend
First seen in 1938, and set thirty years earlier, When we Are Married is a remarkable survivor from the age of the well-made play. It reappears every ten years or so in the West End, perhaps because...
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December 19, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Excellent production and brings back memories of directing the same play two years ago
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First Panto of the year - and a stunner, not to be missed.
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Review: MAMA GOOSE, Stratford East | West End Best Friend
Join local lass Mama Goose and her magical golden-egg-laying goose in Stratford this holiday season!
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December 2, 2025 at 11:40 AM
First Panto of the year - and a stunner, not to be missed.
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Reposted by Chris Abbott
European Theatre Day was celebrated at Victoria & Albert Museum London UK by Mark Fox for the Frank Matcham Society.
October 26, 2025 at 8:12 AM
European Theatre Day was celebrated at Victoria & Albert Museum London UK by Mark Fox for the Frank Matcham Society.
Reposted by Chris Abbott
Wonderful exhibits at House of Houdini Budapest. Anniversary of his death soon on Halloween.
October 26, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Wonderful exhibits at House of Houdini Budapest. Anniversary of his death soon on Halloween.
Reposted by Chris Abbott
As anniversary of Houdini’s death approaches on Halloween ~ here are props on a great display at House of Houdini Budapest.
October 26, 2025 at 9:58 AM
As anniversary of Houdini’s death approaches on Halloween ~ here are props on a great display at House of Houdini Budapest.
Review: ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE, Young Vic | West End Best Friend
Nadia Fall launches her first season as Young Vic Artistic Director with Entertaining Mr Sloane, Joe Orton’s 1964 cult classic brimming with manipulation, seduction, and a devilish wit.
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September 25, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Fun update of Austen’s Emma - we enjoyed it as did the youngish packed house
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Review: EMMA, Rose Theatre Kingston | West End Best Friend
Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy, Emma, is joyously reimagined for the 21st century at Rose Theatre Kingston.
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September 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Fun update of Austen’s Emma - we enjoyed it as did the youngish packed house
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Another fascinating discovery from @finboroughtheatre.bsky.social
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Review: THE TRUTH ABOUT BLAYDS, Finborough Theatre | West End Best Friend
Currently playing at London's Finborough Theatre is the 1921 rediscovered modern classic, The Truth About Blayds.
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September 14, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Another fascinating discovery from @finboroughtheatre.bsky.social
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Amazing precision movement and a surprising- and very enjoyable - encore. Not to be missed!
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Review: MURMURATION LEVEL 2, Sadeck Berrabah - Peacock Theatre | West End Best Friend
After a sold-out tour of France’s biggest venues, attracting over 300,000 spectators since its premiere, Sadeck Berrabah presents Murmuration Level 2 at London's Peacock Theatre.
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September 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Amazing precision movement and a surprising- and very enjoyable - encore. Not to be missed!
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Always a joy to see the quality of work produced by BYMT, and Eden Tredwell’s musical is impressively suited to its young cast
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Review: THE GLAMIFICATION OF LOKI, Southwark Playhouse | West End Best Friend
Presented by BYMT, The Glamification of Loki is a wildly entertaining new musical that combines Norse mythology with the dazzling world of beauty, glamour, and cosmic chaos.
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September 1, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Always a joy to see the quality of work produced by BYMT, and Eden Tredwell’s musical is impressively suited to its young cast
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Excellent physical theatre piece from Akimbo at Southwark Playhouse
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Review: THE ANIMATOR, Southwark Playhouse | West End Best Friend
Akimbo Theatre presents high energy physical theatre biopic, The Animator, at Southwark Playhouse Borough this month.
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August 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Excellent physical theatre piece from Akimbo at Southwark Playhouse
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Excellent, pacey adaptation for this youth company with some surprisingly good verse speaking and superb fight scenes
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Review: ROMEO AND JULIET, Theatre Royal Stratford East | West End Best Friend
Weaving together Shakespeare's timeless words with music and dance, set against the east London skyline, Romeo and Juliet is currently playing at Theatre Royal Stratford East.
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August 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Excellent, pacey adaptation for this youth company with some surprisingly good verse speaking and superb fight scenes
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And some fascinating playbills…
Great event at the Lambeth Archives with the British Music Hall Society. Always excited to see anything on The Grecian Saloon in Shoreditch. #BritishMusicHallSociety #LambethArchives
August 7, 2025 at 9:35 PM
And some fascinating playbills…
Phenomenal leading performance and a new playwright is discovered
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Review: THE ESTATE, National Theatre | West End Best Friend
BAFTA winner Adeel Akhtar stars in The Estate at the National Theatre, a razor-sharp exploration of family, power and the lies we tell about ourselves.
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July 19, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Phenomenal leading performance and a new playwright is discovered
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Ballet purists might have reservations but I found Gala de Danza to be diverse, engaging and accessible
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Review: GALA DE DANZA, Central Hall Westminster | West End Best Friend
Gala de Danza continues to create beautiful artistry in extraordinary places, going global with this year's production being held at Central Hall Westminster.
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June 27, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Ballet purists might have reservations but I found Gala de Danza to be diverse, engaging and accessible
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Yes, a fascinating talk bringing back memories of Billy Cotton and Sunday lunches past…
A fantastic talk by @ctackley.bsky.social last night at the Water Rats, Kings Cross. The history of dance bands beyond the hotel & ballroom. Catherine was a great speaker with incredible knowledge & the audience lapped it up. We look forward to publication of her book on the subject
June 18, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Yes, a fascinating talk bringing back memories of Billy Cotton and Sunday lunches past…
I’ll be there (or online anyway)
If you like a #vintage #railway #poster - and frankly, who doesn't? - join us on 9 July for our seminar celebrating #railway200 when we'll be joined by poster expert Richard Furness. Tickets are £5 and come with the rosy glow of knowing that you are helping to keep the network going
June 14, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I’ll be there (or online anyway)
Reposted by Chris Abbott
We're off to Eastbourne today for our Day by the Sea. Fancy a last-minute day out? Some tickets available at the Box Office.To get us in the mood for a seaside singalong, here's a tongue twister for #SongSheetSaturday - Wilkie Bard's 1908 hit 'She Sells Sea-shells'.Are you sure ? Oh yes we're sure.
June 14, 2025 at 6:45 AM
We're off to Eastbourne today for our Day by the Sea. Fancy a last-minute day out? Some tickets available at the Box Office.To get us in the mood for a seaside singalong, here's a tongue twister for #SongSheetSaturday - Wilkie Bard's 1908 hit 'She Sells Sea-shells'.Are you sure ? Oh yes we're sure.