Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - June 2014

Apologies for the delay in posting this blog and the many others to come. I have had a very busy few months with holidays, theatre trips and other amazing experiences!

The day after West End Live, I went to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre. This was one of my four shows I had booked with money I had received for my birthday back in April. On arrival at the theatre, I was informed that the area I was booked to sit in was in fact closed that night and that I would be upgraded to a better seat. I could not complain as I had paid £24.50 for my ticket and was upgraded as I found out later to a £67.50 and as it turns out, a sit with a much better view!

The musical, itself, is based on the 1988 movie and originally opened on Broadway in 2005, finally making its way to the West End earlier this year. The musical follows the attempts of two con men to hoodwink a millionaire heiress in the French Rivera. With Robert Lindsey and Rufus Hound as the leads, with the talents of Katherine Kingsley and Samantha Bond, it had a fantastic cast! The show itself was amazing and very funny! Robert and Rufus were fantastic and worked well together. I was quite impressed with them, only knowing them for comedy rather than musical theatre! Samantha Bond was also amazing, but as always the standout was the extremely talented Katherine Kingsley, who absolutely shone throughout the show!


After the show, I made my way to stage door, but sadly I only got to meet Samantha Bond, as the cast were having after show drinks that night! But no worries, I hope to attend the show again to see the new cast members!

We Will Rock You - May 2014

Another night at the theatre and yet another show to close this month. That show being We Will Rock You, which will close after 12 years on the West End. I have been meaning to go and see this show for ages, but I have never seemed to have got round to booking tickets (which are not cheap). So obviously with the announcement, and luckily with more advance notice, I booked a ticket for myself to go and see it before it did close. I managed to find a top price seat near the front of the stalls for a decent price, which had a fab view and in the end, a couple of rows empty around me.

Just before the start of the show, it was announced that Oliver Tompsett, who I had been so excited to see, was in fact not performing at the show and that Matt McKenna would be replacing him. Turns out that Oliver had turned up at the theatre to discover he was booked in for a holiday and he got sent home! How anyone can forget they were meant to be holiday is beyond me! I was a little disappointed not to be able to see him, but most of the time, you don't get a warning if a lead is not due to be on.

The show itself was amazing! The selection of songs chosen for Queen's back catalogue was cleverly chosen and worked well within the setting of the story. Ben Elton has put together a fantastic and funny story. The cast as a whole was amazing and the sets and the costumes were elaborate but perfect for the story. The story itself, is set in the future where Earth is now called iPlanet and is under control of Globalsoft and music is banned except for the computerised music provided. The story follows the rebels who no longer wish to conform and want to hear the lost music which set the earth free!

The story uses current references to pop culture, which changes from country to country to suit audience to whom they are playing. In the 12 years it has been playing, references have been updated to suit the current charts, with references to Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, both of whom were not a part of the music scene when the musical first opened. This is perhaps part of its staying power, that it can update and reference to current music scene, which suits the younger audience members. Even the Rebel Leader was named Gary Barlow!

To the cast themselves, who were amazing! Matt McKenna absolutely rocked it in the role of Galileo and I have to thank him for making giggle like a school girl when he started to singing me and my mate during one of the final numbers! Rachael Wooding and Amanda Coutts were outstanding in their roles and their voices are fantastic! Kevin Kennedy was brilliantly funny as Pop. However it is Brenda Edwards who amazed me! Despite knowing what a voice she had after seeing her on the X Factor many years ago, I did not know how talented an actress she was and absolutely killed the role of Killer Queen. Also have to say I loved her glitter lipstick!

After the show, it was off to the stage door in the pouring rain! It was chucking it down so much that we had to give up trying getting our programmes signed as the sharpie was not taking to the soaking pages. I plan to go back before the shows closes to rectify this! However, we did manage to get photos with most of the main cast members, most of whom seem to walk straight into the nearby bar for a post show drink! Bless Brenda, who was concerned about how soaking wet we were and still posed for photos with us!

 The show closes on the 31st of May, with tickets for the final ever performance already selling out, if Twitter is anything to go by. But if you get the chance, go see this amazing show before it closes!

I Can't Sing The X Factor Musical - May 2014

I have been so excited about going to see this ever since the first sneak peek at the Royal Variety Performance at the end of last year! Even more so, as it was a musical I could go and see with my husband, who is not as big a fan of musicals as I am! I booked tickets for the end of May on his birthday as his treat from me, but then two weeks ago or so, it was announced that the show was closing and before we were due to see it! Queue, a very unhappy husband and a very pissed off me!

It was beyond me why it was closing and at such short notice! It had glowing reviews from the critics and fans. It was playing to full or at least near full houses most nights! And from the two songs I had seen, it had fantastic music and an incredible cast! So why was it closing???

I was immediately on the phone sorting out a refund and straight back to the ticketing website to book tickets for one of the final performances. I managed to get tickets thankfully for the night before it closed but it was at the expense of my husband not being able to go, knowing we would not get a babysitter at such short notice. Thank god my mate Kirsty was free!

We had seats at the back of the stalls at the Palladium and despite the overhang of the circle, it was a pretty good view! The show begun a few minutes late with people still arriving just as it was starting. Despite a few odd seats here and there, it was a near full house!

The show was most definitely incredible. It had fantastic and extremely strong musical numbers throughout, performed by an incredibly talented cast, one of the strongest currently on the West End. It was ridiculously funny to the point that I was crying with laughter throughout! The sets were huge and cleverly used. I could go on and on about everything that was so right about it, but I want to pick out certain moments and cast members!

I want to start with the fact that the cast and show as a whole could find a way to joke about the fact they were closing. At one point in the show, Chenice is complaining about the pressure of the show, to which her dog Barlow (played amazingly by Simon Lipkin) notes all the fab things she has done that week as a result of being on the show and he ends with how she went to see the musical I Can't Sing "which the critics said would run and run". At this point huge laughter and cheers from the audience to the point the cast had to wait for it to calm down before continuing with the show!

Next, the amazing and incredibly talented cast. First, the amazing Nigel Harman, who only briefly appeared the first act but made it count when he did. Pulling up to the auditions and getting out of the car and then going back in to pull a car seat with a baby out was a genius move! He appeared for most of the second act, playing Simon as one hell of a camp man! But damn it worked!

Next to Cynthia Erivo, who absolutely shone as Chenice! She quite literally out sung every cast member! The notes that girl can hit amazed me! I said to Kirsty that she should be considered for the lead role in the Bodyguard after Alexandra Burke leaves the production and if she got it, I would be there in a heartbeat! She is THAT good!

But my biggest praise is going to Simon Lipkin who played Barlow the dog! He had probably some of the best lines in the show, some of which I am certain were improvised on the night. He knew how to work with the audience and how far to push it with the jokes. He quite literally was the scene stealer as for whenever he was onstage, chances were my eyes were drawn his way! Praise has to go to the amazing costume team for the fab skates on one leg Simon used to create the illusion the dog was running across the stage!

One of the best things about this show was just how much the audience were a part of it. It didn't matter if you were cheering, applauding, laughing or even screaming, it was so much part of the show! Interacting with the audience played a huge part of this show and it made it all the more enjoyable! So much so, that there was a standing ovation before the final song had even finished! The show was so good, I could go on and on about all the amazing things about it, but I won't, cos we would be here all day!

After the show, it was straight to the stage door, which was packed, more packed that I have ever seen for any show that I have gone to! There was so much love from those waiting for each and every cast member who stopped to sign autographs and have photos taken! I made it clear to Harry Hill, creator of the show, that this show was far too good to be closing! I also finally got my photo with Nigel Harman, ten years after meeting him for the first time! Even spoke about Crystal Palace's season with him as he is a fellow Eagles supporter!

Quite honestly it is still beyond me why this show is closing! It has been incredibly difficult to get shows up and running within the West End of late and to keep shows running for the long term even more so! But when it is a show that is loved by the critics and audiences, playing to near full houses most nights with standing ovations after each performance, it just makes no sense why it would suddenly close! Harry Hill could not even offer up an explanation, just saying "That's Entertainment!" and he is right. I do hope this show finds it way to a tour because so many people are missing out now it has closed!

Once the Musical - April 2014

Three months ago, it was announced that Declan Bennett was to leave Once, at which point, the discussions began as to who would be his replacement. Jokingly, while seeing Once for the first time myself, we had this discussion and brought up the possibility of Arthur Darvill, well known for his role as Rory Williams on Doctor Who, of being that person. He had just recently finished playing the lead role on Broadway and as far as anyone was aware, he had nothing lined up. Much to my delight and squeals, he was announced, barely a couple of weeks later, to be taking over the lead role for a limited engagement. Obviously, I had to go and see him perform and so, I booked tickets for the Easter weekend, which just so happened to tie in with my birthday! Happy Birthday Me!

Originally my friend, Harriet, was meant to be coming with me, but sadly, she had to pull out due to other commitments. So I thought I would take Rachael with me, as she desperately wanted to see Arthur as well. Then it clicked, I could take my friend, Kirsty, with me instead as she had mentioned to me, the weekend before, that she was planning to go and see it. Luckily, she said yes and before heading to the theatre for pre-show drinks, we had dinner and drinks! I should say thank you again to her for being so nice and paying for the meal!

As I mentioned, last time I went, before the show and during the interval, the audience is able to go on stage and buy drinks from the onstage bar. As we knew it would be too hard to get down from the upper circle for a drink in the interval, we decided to head there before the show. I should note now, on the tickets, it says the bar opens at 6pm, this is only for the theatre bars. The onstage bar does not open till 7pm when the auditorium opens. We took a few photos while on stage, waiting to hopefully see the preshow, but as they were not out 7:15pm, we decided to make our way up to the upper circle. The view from the back of the upper circle is actually pretty decent, thanks to the Phoenix Theatre to be one of the smaller ones in the West End. For the cost I paid, around £40 or so, I felt it was very good money for value.

Quick rant: if you have tickets for a show and it states it starts at a certain time, then make the effort to turn up and be in your seats at least five minutes before so! It is bloody irritating when people turn up thirty minutes into the show and do not come in quietly and therefore ruining it for other people!

I was so excited to be seeing this again and so soon. As already mentioned, Arthur was a big part of this. But I was also excited to be able to see the fabulous Zrinka Cvitesic again as she had just recently won Best Actress in a Musical at the Oliviers! You only have to see her deliver the line, "I am always serious, I'm Czech!" to understand why she won! It is one of my favourite lines in the show and has me laughing every time it is said!

The show, as always, was fantastic, amazing and so beautiful. The new cast members have fitted well into show and made it so you feel like they have always been there! The show is so incredibly funny that one woman was cackling so loudly that, as we found out later from a cast member, she made Arthur laugh onstage at a point when he was not meant to, and it is the only time it has ever happened to him! While it may have made him laugh, after a while, it became extremely irritating especially when it was just her laughing and none of the other audience members!

Arthur was absolutely amazing in the role. Dare I say, perhaps even better than Declan? I thought at times, he was perhaps slipping in and out of the required Irish accent needed for the role, but I was corrected by Kirsty, who has Irish roots, that he did in fact, pull off the accent very well and never slipped from it! Vocally, he was stunning and made the songs his own. My favourite song he performed was Gold and I just downloaded the Broadway version, which has been on repeat for a good hour already today! His voice also blended so well with Zrinka's, especially on Falling Slowly. They had fantastic chemistry, making you root for the characters to be a couple! There is not much more I can say on Zrinka, as she was, as always, so amazing in her role and last night just proved why she was so deserving on her Olivier Award!

After the show, we did head to the stage door. Sadly, Zrinka shot off past the fans before we even realised it was her and Arthur never came out. I was slightly annoyed at first as I wanted to see if I could get a "Happy Birthday" from them, but in the end, I was not so fussed as we had met them at the Oliviers the weekend before. And to be honest, even if you go to the stage door, there is never a guarantee you will get to meet any of the cast members!

Olivier Awards - April 2014

After what has been such an amazing year for West End theatres, it was time for the Olivier Awards again, the most prestigious awards for theatre. That also meant it was time for me and Rachael to head up to London to line the red carpet in hopes of meeting some of the most talented people the UK has to offer. And on the 13th of April 2014, that is exactly what we did, just outside the Royal Opera House, where the awards were once again being held. And it was most definitely a day worth remembering for so many different reasons.

Due to the names announced as nominees, performers and presenters, we made the decision to leave as early as we possibly could to give us a great chance of a great spot along the carpet. We arrived in Covent Garden around half eight and within 10 minutes we were queuing with around another 50 fans and autograph dealers, along the side the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. This year, a number system had been put in place by one of the fans to make sure no one pushed in once we were allowed to head over to the pens. The only problem with this was many people then disappeared for a long periods, which in turn, annoyed many people when they arrived back barely minutes before we moved into the pens along the red carpet. In the end, it didn't make much of difference, as due to the change in layout from last year, every one of those who had got a number and waited a while, which was nearly 200 people (I was number 47), got a spot at the front of the barriers.

In total, Rachael and I waited nearly eight and a half hours for the red carpet to begin and despite being very tired by the time it did, it was still worth it. During the our long wait, I ended up chatting to a crew member from the conventions I like to attend. We had such a great chat, especially about the upcoming London one, which has such a great guest list. Also got talking to another fan, who has seen me at other theatre events and recognised my Harry Potter hoodie! Kirsty ended up much further down the queue but we managed to end up standing together, thanks to me, Rachael and Harriet spreading out the moment we got our place in the pens.

This year, it appears we met far more people than last year, with only one person refusing a photo (well the publicist refused). We were extremely lucky to meet: James Alexandrou, Gok Wan, Barbara Windsor, Arlene Philips, Cynthia Eviro, Leigh Zimmerman, Ben Miller, Diana Vickers, Lesley Garrett, Nigel Planer, Katherine Kingsley, Beverley Knight, Stephen Mangan, Richard Fleeshman, Samantha Barks, Zrinka Cvitesic, James McAvoy, Arthur Darvill, Tom Hiddleston and Martin Freeman, who was the one we were unable to get a photo with. Even better, we have some great little stories for many of those we met!

Meeting Barbara was such an honour and I told her so, which she appreciated. She was just so lovely and yes, she really is that dinky! Think I embarrassed myself in front Arlene as I told her she was my absolute favourite West End choreographer (and she is). I informed Cynthia that myself and my husband would be attending I Can't Sing, the X Factor musical next month on his birthday and she wished him a happy birthday! Plan to get her to do so again as I intend on going to the stage door afterwards as I normally would. I asked Richard flat out if he Samantha Barks was his girlfriend (I swear I had no idea at the time) and he very sweetly told me, yes! Nigel seemed a little shocked I wanted a photo with him and not just of him! And as for my photo with Stephen Mangan, something had made us laugh and I ended up with it being my fave photo.

Zrinka remembered myself, Rachael and Harriet from the What's On Stage Awards and gave us a wave and smile before heading over to us. It was so nice that she remembered us and quickly asked us how we were! Quickly got to tell her I was going to see Once again on Friday for my birthday! Arthur Darvill, who is also currently in Once, was also there and hadn't stopped for anyone until he saw Rachael, at which point he came over and had a photo with her.

James McAvoy walked on with our sharpie. Rachael was literally screaming after him trying to get it back. We never did and I am actually intrigued to find out what happened to it. It is probably in the bin now! Luckily, someone else had a spare one and lent it to Rachael! As for meeting Tom Hiddleston, typically he was trying to get to everyone who was waiting, not that we had much hope we would get to meet him after what happened last year. However, it did happen even after Rachael threatened his publicist that I would kill him! Luckily he knew she was joking! Turns out he chose Rachael as the cut off point for our side, before Tom moved back to the other side! Tom even angled someone's phone so she would in the photo with him, despite posing for a photo with her afterwards!

Sadly, we missed out on quite a few people due to how manic the red carpet was. Alexandra Burke spotted us after we called out to her and promised to come over to us, which she did but sadly after to speaking to Harriet she went up the other way and we never got to meet her! Despite calling to Bernadette Peters, we did not get to meet her either, which upset us a lot as she was a main draw for us this year. Others we missed out on due to either not realizing they were on the carpet or due to them not hearing us call for them. Sadly this is how the red carpet goes, some people you meet, some you do not.

We had such amazing time this year and to come home to find that Zrinka had won best actress was fantastic! We were absolutely shattered afterwards but in our eyes, it was worth it to know we had got ourselves a fab spot which led to us being able to meet all these people! And yes, the moment we left, we all agreed that we are most definitely coming back next year!