The West End Whingers is a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
which publishes humorous and satirical reviews of mostly
West End theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
productions.
The blog was founded in June 2006 by a pair of London bloggers identified only as "Phil" and "Andrew" - in fact Philip Argent and Andrew Rogers - who were inspired to begin the blog after seeing a production of
Sam Shepard's ''
Fool for Love'' starring
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and alternative rock singer. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark themes. Lewis became an "it girl" of American cinema in the early 1990s, ...
.
Their reviews exhibit many of the characteristics of
gonzo journalism, differing from conventional reviews in their heavy focus on subjective responses, openly held artistic prejudices and a willingness to discuss aspects of the theatregoing experience beyond the merits of the show being evaluated. Capable of both savage criticism and fulsome praise, their reviews are tempered by a self-deprecating humour. They often review shows which are still in preview and have not yet had their official press night.
A survey into preferred sources of critical opinion by the industry paper ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' on 6 May 2010 found the West End Whingers to be "the most popular online choice by some distance".
The blog received global attention in March 2010 when its review of the
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
musical ''
Love Never Dies'' re-dubbed the show "Paint Never Dries".
In December 2010 the West End Whingers were listed at number 50 of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' newspaper's "luvvie power list 2010: theatre’s 50 most influential people" saying "We wouldn’t normally list bloggers, but this duo brought the blogosphere into repute with their “Paint Never Dries” tag for Lloyd Webber’s ''
Love Never Dies''."
Since 2012 the duo's output has diminished, and the blog now states that "Andrew is on sabbatical but Phil is soldiering on to help you decide between the Merlot and the Marlowe and generally putting London's West End theatre to rights".
References
External links
Official WebsiteThe West End Whingers review of ''Love Never Dies''
{{DEFAULTSORT:West End Whingers, The
British review websites