2023 previewed: What's coming in gigs, comedy, musicals and more for the Portsmouth area

But as 2022 finally saw off the last of the (re-re-re)rescheduled shows and tours caused by the pandemic and the various phases of lockdown, we can look forward to an all-new slate of shows for 2023.

From music to musicals, comedy, dance and plays there are a wealth of shows heading our way in the coming months.

Although we are – fingers crossed – through the pandemic, the industry remains in a precarious state and promoters and venues are caught in a tough position. For whatever reason people are, in general, leaving it later to buy tickets compared to those pre-Covid days of yore. This has the unfortunate knock-on effect of leading to shows being postponed or worse, cancelled, as organisers can’t bank on a flurry of last-minute sales which may or may not arrive.

So, if there’s something you want to see, buy those tickets sooner rather than later – as with so many other things, it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’.

Today The Guide takes a dive in and picks some highlights from the coming months.

There’s always a slow start to the year for touring acts – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t gems out there worth checking out in January.

Portsmouth Guildhall Studios has Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory heading over from the US. Blues legend Taj Mahal said of him: ‘The boy got thunder in his hands!’ And his praises have been sung by everyone from Bob Dylan to guitar gods Gary Moore and Mick Taylor. Find out why on January 13.

The following night, The Jim Jones All Stars will be tearing up The Wedgewood Rooms. This freewheeling collective were a highlight of last summer’s Punk’n’Roll summer parties on South Parade Pier when rock’n’roll lifer Jones and pals brought the voodoo to town. This headlining show will be featuring songs from the project’s eagerly awaited debut album.

At the end of the month, it is the 10th anniversary of Independent Venues Week, and our own independent venue, The Wedgewood Rooms, will be proudly flying the flag.

The Isle of Wight’s answer to The Flaming Lips, Plastic Mermaids kick the week off with a show to promote their amazing second album It’s Not Comfortable to Grow on January 31. This is followed by this year’s Kerrang! Christmas issue cover stars Holding Absence on February 1, singer-songwriter Wesley Gonzalez on February 2, a solo show from folk god Steve Knightley as he takes a break from the day job in Show of Hands on February 5, and Dutch indie-rockers Pip Blom on February 6.

And in among all that is Icebreaker Festival, which will showcase dozens of up-and-coming acts across nine stage from The Deco on Elm Grove at one end to The Wedge on Albert Road at the other. Taking place on February 4, this popular fixture in the local music calendar is always a great way to catch up on the best the scene has to offer.

Looking further ahead, The Wedge features Dub Pistols and their reliably raucous live extravaganza on March 18, Welsh alt-rock trio The Joy Formidable on March 22, and a garage-rock double-header which promises to be one of the gigs of the year, The Courettes and Oh! Gunquit on April 6.

Over at Portsmouth Guildhall Studio, Portsmouth’s Brave Rival play on February 2. Their debut album Life’s Machine featured in several ‘best of 2022’ lists – so check out these blues-rockers and their stunning dual-vocalists on the small stage while you can.

On the venue’s main stage, American pop royalty Belinda Carlisle celebrates her career with The Decades Tour, playing hits right back to the early ’80s and her days with The Go-Gos on February 6.

The Meon Valley’s own Frank Turner is also there on February 7 with his band The Bouncing Souls. The Olympics-opening folk-punk troubadour is supported by honorary Portsmouth band (by way of Manchester) The Lottery Winners.

For something more off the beaten track, the weekly Neu Waves nights at The Loft in Southsea provide a reliable mix of local and touring left-field acts. They return on January 19 with Paraffin, Sugarglass, Kierst and Interstate Drive.

The BBC’s seemingly indestructible Strictly Come Dancing continues to provide a plethora of shows from stars past and present. The Kings Theatre has Giovanni Pernice (who could forget that silent moment in his dance with Rose Ayling-Ellis on their way to victory in the 2021 series?) and his Made in Italy show on February 20. Then on February 23, they have Come What May, a tribute to Moulin Rouge and other hit movie musicals, starring Robin Windsor and a cast of top West End performers.

And at The New Theatre Royal Vincent Simone returns to the stage his brand new show Tango Passions starring Argentine tango specialist Paula Duarte as his leading lady, on March 25.

Meanwhile, at Portsmouth Guildhall, they have Nadiya and Kai – Once Upon a Time on March 27, Firedance with Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez and March 28, and Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals UK Tour which corrals 10 of the show’s professional stars into one blockbuster show on May 26.

If comedy is more your thing (and who couldn’t do with a good laugh?) there are plenty of options heading this way.

Local comic geniuses The Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue have their new show Trifle at The Wedge on January 19.

Following a stint in the jungle on the recent series of I’m a Celebrity… Babatunde Aléshé brings his latest show Babahood to The Wedge on March 9.

Master of the one-liner Gary Delaney brings Gary in Punderland to New Theatre Royal on March 9. Also at the NTR, on March 30, is Britain’s Got Talent 2022 winner Axel Blake with In Style.

It’s always good to see Lucy Porter back in the schedule, and she returns to The Spring in Havant, for two nights on January 20 and 21, with Wake-Up Call, a show about revelations, realisations and epiphanies – both large and small. A couple of nights later, Chris McAusland, who has become a popular fixture on TV, is at the same venue on January 23 and 24 with Speaky Blinder.

She’s rarely off our screens now, but Sarah Pascoe’s Success Story tells how the comic wanted to be famous since she was 14. Find out how that turned out at The Kings on February 24.

Star of BBC Radio 4’s Citizen of Nowhere Daliso Chaponda is at Ashcroft Arts Centre in Fareham on January 26 with Apocalypse Not Now. They are followed by former Mock The Week fixture Andy Parsons, who brings a work in progress show at The Ashcroft on February 9, and improv kings The Noise Next Door are Hometown Heroes there on February 23.

Meanwhile Comedy All Stars goes from strength-to-strength at Barton Hall in Horndean, which can boast of being the biggest comedy club in the region. Their next show is on March 3 with Joe Wells, Sara Barron and headliner Rich Hall, plus compere and founder James Alderson.

We are fortunate to have several talented amateur dramatics groups in our region.

CCADS is staging the feelgood Calendar Girls: The Musical at The Station Theatre on Hayling Island from January 24 to 28.

Bench offer a new psychological drama, Breaking The Wall at The Spring from February 8 to 11.

Portsmouth Players will be demanding ‘Feed me, Seymour!’ with Little Shop of Horrors at The Barn in Milton Park from March 1 to 4.

Humdrum tackle Scribbles in The Margins with their own adaptation of Daniel Gray’s book of the same name, exploring the age-old relationship of man to book, at The Spring from March 7 to 11.

And Titchfield Festival Theatre continues to host a busy programme which is worth a look.

Following the success of last April’s Titanic, The Kings is producing another community show this April – the family favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, from April 11 to 16.

For more information and tickets to these shows and more go to: ashcroft.org.uk; groundlings.co.uk; kingsportsmouth.co.uk; newtheatreroyal.com; portsmouthguildhall.org.uk; thespring.co.uk; wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.