What’s your favourite song from Viva Forever!?
At the moment my favourite song is “Who Do You Think You Are?” Jennifer’s [Saunders] put it in great context and written a fantastic scene around it; one minute it’s funny, the next minute it’s like a fight between all of us. It’s very exciting to enact and the audience respond really strongly to it.

Why do you think the Spice Girls songs are so popular?
I think the Spice Girls songs are the embodiment of fun and optimism. The Spice Girls aren’t afraid to aim high and go for their goals, while encouraging others to do the same. They shine a bright light in what sometimes seems a bit of a dull world!

What does performing in London’s West End mean to you?
It’s incredibly handy – a quick pedal up the hill on my bicycle and I’m there! That aside, London’s West End is a vibrant multicultural hub – and it’s amazing to be part of a phenomenal theatrical history that goes way back.

Do you prefer TV or stage work?
TV and stage work present different challenges, both of which I enjoy.

If you weren’t playing Simone in Viva Forever!, what other role would you like to play on stage at the moment?
Oh my – how long have you got?! There are a million things I’d like to do, but I feel strangely shy about talking about specific plays or shows – I must be more superstitious than I thought! I love working on classical texts. I love Mr Shakespeare and Mr Chaucer. I’ve never done a Chekhov, Tennessee Williams or Lorca play – or a full Greek Tragedy. I also passionately want to do a gig or two.

What part of a musical do you most enjoy – the dancing, singing or acting?
Singing! And acting is naturally at the heart of it anyway.

Do you have any lucky charms or rituals before you go on stage?
Mostly practical stuff – I fill up an old contact lens case with vital throat moistening sweets and pop them down my frontage because I don’t have any pockets. And I always put the left shoe on first – I’ve no idea why!

Why should London theatre-goers choose to see Viva Forever!?
Viva Forever is a fun party that everyone’s invited to. It’s the sort of party you don’t want to leave because you’re having too much fun – and the music is great. Come along and boogie!

Viva Forever! is currently playing at the Piccadilly Theatre. You can book tickets to see Viva Forever! here. You can follow Viva Forever! on twitter: @vivaforever

From outdoor musicals to adult face-painting and a very expensive Scotch egg, there’s plenty of excitement to be found in London this weekend. Here are our recommended things to do.

West End Live

Fans of musicals should pay a visit to Trafalgar Square this weekend for West End Live, a huge free festival on Saturday and Sunday afternoons which celebrates London’s West End shows from Phantom of the Opera to Wicked. For the first time ever this year, the line-up includes performances from every single West End musical currently playing. 23 – 24 Jun

Taste of London

Forty of London’s best restaurants will dish up feasts as part of Taste of London, the capital’s fine dining festival which is returning to Regent’s Park. There is also a boutique food market, delicious demonstrations from top chefs like Jason Atherton and Michel Roux Jr, a masterclass in matching champagne to the scent of flowers and the chance to win the world’s most expensive Scotch egg – priced at a mere £500. 21 – 24 Jun

BP Portrait Award

Young New York artist Aleah Chapin has won the renowned portrait-painting award with a nude picture of her family friend. The artwork, titled Auntie is on show at the free exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, alongside 54 other finalist portraits which were whittled down from 2,187 entries. Until 23 Sept

Greenwich and Docklands International Festival

The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival is an outdoor arts extravaganza that will bring theatre, dance and eccentricity to spots around Greenwich like the Cutty Sark Gardens and Greenwich Market. Don’t miss Prometheus Awakes on Friday night – a spectacular retelling of the Greek myth featuring an enormous glowing puppet at the National Maritime Museum. Another highlight this weekend is the recreation of the 19th century Greenwich Fair, which includes a show inside a 30ft pig and gravity-defying piano. 21 – 30 Jun

Zoo Lates

See the animals but leave the kids at home: ZSL London Zoo is offering grown-up fun by opening its doors after hours every Friday in June and July for Zoo Lates. A silent disco, street food, music, comedy and cabaret performances transform the zoo into a festival – and you can even turn into a creature with costumes and face-painting (we all know we’re tempted when the kids get it done). Over 18s only. Fridays until 27 Jul

Christmas is not Christmas without a family trip to the theatre. And this year there’s only one show in town.  Well… that’s not strictly true, but you catch my drift. It’s hard not to gush about Matilda The Musical, which has just opened at the Cambridge Theatre and will hopefully become a permanent fixture in London’s West End.

The Royal Shakespeare Company has dusted down Roald Dahl’s much-loved children’s classic and given it an all-singing, all-dancing makeover.

The play opens with a chorus of children boasting that “My mummy says I’m a miracle”. A million miles from those proud parents is ballroom dancer Mrs Wormwood, who, to her dismay, has just discovered she is pregnant – and nine months gone at that.

Her husband, a brash wheeler dealer (played by comedian Paul Kaye), is rather more upbeat about Matilda’s arrival, until he discovers she’s a girl. The uncouth pair adopt a peculiar style of parenting; ignoring and teasing their daughter in equal measure.

But despite their best efforts to get her to stop reading and watch more telly, Matilda turns out to be a bookworm extraordinaire. The little girl, played by one of four very talented young actresses, seeks solace in a kindly librarian and her sensitive teacher, Miss Honey. There is no doubt that Matilda (ours was played by 11-year-old Cleo Demetriou) is the star of the show. Her powerful voice and fine acting suggest a lengthy career lies ahead.

That said, it is the humour that makes this such a success and that is thanks to writer Dennis Kelly and musical comedian Tim Minchin, who wrote the score and lyrics for the play.  There’s a laugh a minute when Matilda’s crude, uncaring parents are on stage, but it is actor Bertie Carvel who steals the show as the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull.

Carvel’s hilarious depiction of the one-time Olympic hammer thrower is comedy genius. With her high-pitched voice and uber-padded outfits, Miss Trunchbull is like an extreme kickass pantomime dame. Though a little fearsome at first, she soon becomes the villain we love to hate, which explains why Carvel recently won the award for Best Performance in a Musical at the 2011 Theatre Awards UK.

I’m not sure who loved Matilda more – me or my kids. There were a few loud bangs and a couple of split-second scary moments, but otherwise their little faces were plastered with huge grins throughout. Whether or not you have children, Matilda is a wonderful show with catchy tunes and a brilliant script so be sure to catch it while you can.

Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre until 12 February 2012. Book tickets

New musicals are cropping up all over the West End. Rock of Ages is similar in structure to We Will Rock You – a vague narrative created around a list of hit songs. It’s certainly a fun night out – in fact, I’m not sure I can remember laughing so much at the theatre.

Set on the famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, a typical love story emerges amidst the grungy rock scene. The 80s nurtured some of the greatest and most successful rock artists of all time and their legendary music is brought back to life by this energetic and passionate cast. It stars Justin Lee Collins and X-Factor winner Shayne Ward.

Everyone was given fake lighters on entry to be held aloft during the ballads. Visually the team have gone all out, it is hard to know where to look – the auditorium transformed with the elaborate set, outrageous costumes, and fabulous glitter and confetti showers.

During the crazy Don’t Stop Believing finale I decided that this is the perfect show for a hen or stag night – you are guaranteed to walk out smiling.

Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 11 February 2012. Book tickets

Fela Kuti lived a controversial life as an artist and political activist.

Before going to see Fela, I had heard mixed reviews about the show from Nigerian friends who had said it was a watered-down version of the real life of Fela Kuti.

They were concerned because the lead actor did not resemble the real life Kuti; there was no mention of the talking drums that he used to send messages to the people; and because The Shrine (a famous night club in Lagos) did not look like the real thing.

I sat down at the beginning of the performance greeted by the sounds of the drums and beautiful women moving to the rhythm, in tune and at one with the music.

I found the whole production and performance electrifying and it made me want to know more about the life and story that made this man.

I felt the need to grab every piece of merchandise being sold, from books to CDs and t-shirts, just to get a deeper insight into this man’s life. Simply brilliant!

Fela! is at Sadler’s Wells until 28 August. Book tickets

Second, a note for any Shakespeare fans out there. Theatre company Antic Disposition is planning to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first performance of The Tempest in London this August. And they’re staging it at London’s Middle Temple Hall, an Elizabethan venue where Shakespeare’s own company once performed. What a treat.

The Royal Court has announced two extensions this week. Both current hit Chicken Soup With Barley, and forthcoming black comedy The Village Bike, have added dates to their runs.

Now to this week’s casting news:

• Robert Sheehan from E4′s Misfits will make his stage debut at the Old Vic in September, playing the lead in JM Synge’s The Playboy Of The Western World. He’ll be performing opposite Ruth Negga and Old Vic regular Niamh Cusack.
• Hustle star Marc Warren returns to the London stage at the Aldwych Theatre in October, playing iconic prisoner Cool Hand Luke in a stage adaptation of Donn Pearce’s classic novel.
• West End stars Oliver Tompsett (previously Fiyero in Wicked), Amy Pemberton (formerly in Footloose and Jersey Boys) and Simon Lipkin (best known as Nicky and Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q) are all signed up to play in new London rock musical, Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
• Ellen Greene from Pushing Daisies is to play identical triplets (the Enchantress, the Princess and the Nymph Queen) in fantasy musical Betwixt! at the Trafalgar Studios in July.

See you at West End Live!

From one William to another. William Hogarth’s engravings are the basis for another of this week’s highlighted shows. Theatre company simple8′s builds a play around Tom Nero, Hogarth’s orphaned protagonist. In The Four Stages of Cruelty, nine actors create the swirl of life, death, crime, love and cruelty that Nero encounters on his rise from poor orphan to notorious criminal. Look out for live music, period cant, physical ingenuity and an array of characters in a story that plunges a corkscrew into the city’s social bedrock, taking in the Hackney carriages, gin halls, boxing bouts and masquerades of 18th-century London.

This week’s casting news comes for two very different shows. Firstly, actor, singer and presenter Jonathan Wilkes is joining the cast of musical Chicago as Billy Flynn for a seven-week run from next week. Secondly, casting has been announced for the world premier of Tactical Questioning at the Tricycle Theatre from 2 June.

Tactical Questioning: Scenes from the Baha Mousa Inquiry brings together stories from the Public Inquiry which examined those two days of detention and the British Army’s treatment of detainees. The Tricycle’s production is staged following the oral hearings completed in October last year and before Sir William Gage publishes his final report and recommendations this summer. 

The Tactical Questioning cast includes:

• Dean Ashton
• Christopher Fox
• Luke Harris
• David Michaels
• Alan Parnaby
• Simon Rouse
• Mark Stobbart
• Rick Warden
• Thomas Wheatley

Finally, Ghost Stories will scare theatregoers for the last time next month: I’ve had an announcement that it’s closing on 19 June. The show had been booking until 1 October, but will close early: book now if you want to witness what caused the show’s producers to warn of “moments of extreme shock and tension”.

Betty Blue Eyes is on until 22 October 2011, book Betty Blue Eyes tickets here.

This new musical is based on the hit film A Private Function by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray. The story centres around a pig called Betty who’s being reared illegally to feed the local dignitaries celebrating the 1947 royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. 

To celebrate the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, we’ve got two top price tickets to give away to see the show.

Not only that, but we’ll treat you to a pre-theatre meal, and put you up in London’s newest 5-star hotel, The Grange St Paul’s!

Enter now to win Betty Blue Eyes tickets, plus a meal and a hotel stay

You may have seen the bright Million Dollar Quartet sign near Leicester Square, it has been up for some time. The show celebrates the night that four of the greatest rock’n'roll legends came together: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins under the guidance of Sam Phillips, record producer at Sun Records.

On this night in 1956 the four have an epic jam session and make music history.

This show is lots of fun, and the score will delight visitors of all ages. The production is less a musical than a tribute act, with four very talented impersonators. There is little narrative, so if you need the loo halfway through, the most you’re going to miss is a favourite Elvis number. While watching, I found many parallels with Woody Sez, the show on just round the corner showcasing folk artist Woody Guthrie’s life and music. There are also similarities with box office success Jersey Boys, particularly in the staging that favours dramatic static poses and strong silhouettes.  

Of the four performers, Ben Goddard sparkles brightest, playing the cheeky Jerry Lee Lewis; he has a magnetic spirit and an irresistible charm. He is an exceptional pianist and has a voice that is full of fire. Goddard energises the score matching the original Lewis’s star quality. Robert Britton Lyons has a tricky task playing the less famous musician Carl Perkins, luckily his guitar skills make up for the slightly bland characterisation. Both Derek Hagen (Johnny Cash) and Michael Malarkey (Elvis Presley) fulfil the brief as their respective legends; it’s a pleasure to listen to their renditions of some classic numbers and they seem to love being up there. There is secure back-up too from Francesca Jackson as Presley’s squeeze Dyanne, and Bill Ward as the enthusiastic ringleader Sam Phillips.

Although Million Dollar Quartet may not be as durable as its competitors, no-one can deny the talent and fun that the show displays by the bucket-load.

Million Dollar Quartet is booking at the Noel Coward Theatre until 1 October 2011. Book tickets here