The 39 Steps

I went to see The 39 Steps on 27th October at the Criterion Theatre. First of all, I just want to say how nice the theatre is! It's quite small so our seats in the front row of the circle were quite close to the stage and we had a really good view. There was lots of room and the seats were more comfy than usual theatre seats (they did make farting noises everytime you moved though, which caused a lot of giggles between me and my mum!) The 39 Steps was awesome! It was so funny I don't think I stopped laughing all the way through and the actors were all really talented! It's kind of a spy story with hundreds of characters played by only 4 people, but I won't tell you anymore because everytime I try to explain it I make it sound rubbish (which it's not!) It's a very basic set, infact it's just black walls with a few props thrown in every now and then but it really works! I especially liked where they used ladders as the bridge for example.

I got to see Dianne Pilkington at the stage door and she was so lovely and signed my programme! It was also great to meet some of the girls from Dianne's forum who were at the stage door too! It was such a fantastic evening! So yeah, go see it because it's great!!!! xx

p.s. Just thought i'd mention that my sister went to see Oliver! the night I went to see The 39 Steps and she really enjoyed it and hasn't stopped talking about it. She also said Kerry Ellis was a fantastic Nancy (which made my day!)

Upcoming Shows :)

I feel like i'm neglecting you but I haven't been to see any shows in ages so I haven't had anything to write about! Just thought i'd tell you about the shows i've got tickets for :) Tomorrow i'm going to see a concert at Warwick Arts Centre which i'm not really looking forward too but then..... i'm FINALLY going to see The 39 Steps at The Criterion Theatre! It's a play performed by 4 actors (including DIANNE PILKINGTON!!!!) and i'll hopefully get to meet some of my fellow Team Pilkington members :D On 5th November i'm going to see Hairspray tour at The Birmingham Hippodrome (we've had the tickets for like a year XD) and the other day I booked tickets for The Secret Garden at the Birmingham Rep. We also booked to see the We Will Rock You tour again because my dad loved it so much last time, although it's in about a years time! So yeah, thats all :) Bye xx

Update :)

Okay so I thought I would just tell you very quickly about my work experience at the Warwick Arts Centre on 30th May :)
It was pretty much the same as last time with a few new people. Quite a few of the choir had got there early so when I arrived a lot of them were there. When the other people arrived I had to show them where to go and when it was time to reherse me and another girl had to get the people on stage in order ready to start. During the performance I was spotting from the audience. If someone in the choir was ill during the show they had to sit down to let me know. Then I had to stand up so that the people backstage could see me and then one of them would come and get the person. Luckily no-one was ill so I didn't have to stand up and look like a right idiot! After the show I helped put everything away and make sure nothing was left there by the choir. The man who is in charge of the backstage crew gave me a HMV voucher too which was really nice since I was supposed to be volunteering! And he said I can help out with the Christmas show again!
Okay I know I said this would be quick but I just have one more thing to say...
I'm also going to be working backstage at the Bedworth Civic Hall on the 17th-19th June on The Wizard of Oz!!! I'm so excited since it's one of my favourite films ever (because I love Wicked whcih is based on it)!!
Okay that really is all now! See ya!

Britains Got Bhangra

I went to see Britains Got Bhangra on 29th May at the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry. The show opened with a bhangra version of 'twinkle twinkle little star' which I will admit did make me giggle a bit! But then came the dancers who were absolutely amazing! I think there were about 11 people in the cast and they all obiously worked very hard because the show was incredibly energetic! The costumes were beautiful too! The scenery was interesting because every now and then you would see a dark figure walking across the roof of the shops (which were part of the set) to change one of the shop signs! Also, you could see hands quite often pulling down bits of fabric from the stage into the wings but maybe I only noticed these things because I want to work bacstage so I kind of concentrate on everything technical that happens??? Overall the show was fantastic despite not knowing what the actors were saying half the time!

Backstage

Who knew it would be so hard to get work experience backstage?! I've been asking around for almost 6 months now and I've only had 1 days experience. However I will be working with the same people this Sunday so thats two days. I'm never going to get into drama school!

Les Miserables UK Tour

On Wednesday 7th April I went to see the UK tour of Les Mis at the Birmingham Hippodrome. I was so excited because I had grown up with the music but had never seen the show before. I was not disappointed! Jean-Valjean played by John Owen-James was absolutly amazing and I loved his 'Bring Him Home'. Another person who stood out was Rosalind James who played Eponine who just seemed perfect for the role. The only person who wasn't brilliant was Madelena Alberto as Fantine because her voice didn't sound very strong but hey she's better than me XD I loved it so much even at the interval I said I wanted to see it again! My favourite part was when they were in the sewers where the backdrop kept changing to show them walking from different angles. It's a bit hard to explain but basically it was like a screen so there were moving imges on it! Thats all for now!

Lion King Broadway/West End

This was my first ever show on Broadway and I'm probably being biased but I think the West End is much more friendly. My first impression of Broadway was having my bag checked by security to make sure I was not 'smuggling' and food or dring into the theatre. I know you're not supposed to even in the West End but they just go with it. I also found out the hard way that you are not allowed to take photos before the performance when an usher threatened to take my camera off me! I wasn't even thaking photo's of the set or anything, just me and my friends! Anyway, now rant is over i will get on with the review...
The Circle Of Life is always amazing with the animals on stage especially the elephant! The Morning Report always annoys me and I don't know why, it's just one of those songs! The boy who played young Simba was a better actor than the one I saw in the West End (but this may be because he had an American accent like Simba in the film which i'm used to watching). The children in it always seem to be amazingly talented which showed in I Just Can't Wait To Be king. I love Chow Down just because I think Shenzi is always hilarious! I couldn't decide which Shenzi was better (US or UK) because they were both quite different although at first I thought UK. both my friends were trying so hard not to sing along with Hakuna Matata which was rther amusing! I always forget about Shadow Land which is really bad because I love that song! I also love Endless Night and He Lives In You (which was in my head all day before the show and all of the day after the show!) and Simba was better than in the UK although it was weird at first because in the UK he had an African accent and this time he had an American accent. In King Of Pride Rock/The Circle Of Life Reprise I was sad because I knew it was nearly finished! All the people I was with really enjoyed the show although only a few of us stood up at the end so I looked like a right plonker XD

Wicked Review 13/2/10

Okay I take back everything I said about not seeing Dianne Pilkington as Glinda again because Sarah Earnshaw is AMAZING! I'm so glad I got the chance to see her as Glinda! However I was dissapointed that I missed out on a GrayShaw show by 5 hours (coz they were both on for the matinee).
The cast for the show were:
Glinda - Sarah Earnshaw (standby)
Elphaba - Alexia Khadime
Fiyero - Gregor Stewart (understudy)
Nessarose - Natalie Anderson
Boq - Alex Jessop
Doctor Dillamond/Witches father - Sean Needham (understudy)
The Wizard - Sam Kelly
Madame Morrible - Harriet Thorpe

When I got to the theatre and we sat down I was shaking (part excitement and partly because it was pouring rain outside XD) and it seemed like ages before it started. And then down came the monkeys (<3) and the curtain went up! As soon as Sarah started singing I was like whoah this woman is amazing and when the song finished I turned to my mum and said I LOVE EARNIE!! I had never seen Alexia as Elphaba either because last time I went she was ill. Her Wizard And I was amazing (but tbh I still think Ashleigh Gray is better). The only problem I had was that when she was singing her voice went from young girlish one second to really womanly the next. What Is This Feeling was really interesting because I've seen Dianne Pilkington twice and each Glinda has their own little actions and stuff. I loved Alexia mimicking Sarah coz she was really over dramatic! Dancing Through Life was very good considering Gregor has been ill the past few days and was lucky to get on stage for the two performances that day. Again, it was really weird seeing someone else other than Oli Tompsett playing Fiyero. POPULAR!! OMG this was the funniest popular ever! I literally laughed the whole way through! Sarah was really hyper and I can't even describe what she did because there are just no words for it! Sort of leaping across the stage making weird noises. 'La la laaa la, I'm gonna make you popular, squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak'! She got a massive cheer at the end! I'm Not That Girl was so emotional but I always get worried when Glinda and Fiyero run across that bridge because it doesn't seem to safe and it wobbles :S (doesn't do much for my fear of bridges!). I forgot that random bits around the theatre light up green during One Short Day because the last time I went to see it I was sitting right at the front so I didn't see all that. I always get worried that those Oz head thingys will fall over. Defying Gravity was amazing as usual but I have to say it's better when you're sitting in the stalls because Elphaba is towering over you and also the lift seemed slower than usual but maybe I was just concentrating on it too much after Lexi's lift scare? Thank Goodness was yet another brilliant performance by Sarah and in Wicked Witch of The East Natalie was really good at the bits where Nessa is angry. For Good was also very emotional and this is also one of my favourite songs from the show. Quite a few people stood up at the end including me but the people behind me were like 'oh great now I can't see' which annoyed me because they could have quite easily stood up themselves and shown some appreciation! Anyway! I went to the stage door and Alex literally ran out the door and down the street shouting hello on the way XD Natalie was next out and she signed my programme but the pen didn't work very well (trust me!) so she said to tell the others if you press it works. Luckily we found another pen and Gregor and Sam came out and signed my programme and asked if I enjoyed the show. I was like YEAAHHHHH! After a while I saw Sarah through the little window (coz I was first in line which I was quite impressed with) and accidently shouted OMG IT'S SARAH! which she heard :S She signed my programme and shuffled down the line with her millions of bags XD Then last I saw alexia an then I had to go home :( It was a really great day!! I <3 WICKED!!

Upcoming Reviews!!!

I'm going to see wicked on 13th February 2010 for my third time and I'm hoping to write a review however whenever I see the show it always seems like a dream and I just forget what happened and also I'm sitting way up in the circle so I might not be able to see too well. I was going so I could see the cast one last time before they all leave so I was really dissapointed to hear that Oli Tompsett who plays Fiyero is away. Then I found out that Dianne Pilkington who plays Glinda is away too which made me sad because she's my idol and the one person I really desperately wanted to see. Anyway, I'm now quite excited to see Sarah Earnshaw as Glinda and am hoping that it will be a Greyshaw show because Ashleigh Gray is my favourite Elphaba! If I do a review I will try to do it asap because on the 17th i'm going to New York. When I'm there I'm going to see The Lion King on BROADWAY!!!! So there will hopefully be another review and I can compare it to the London show which I recently saw too! Oh yeah I'm also going to LAMDA on the 13th for a technical theatre and stage management open day which should be exciting so I might write about that a bit too! Well thats al really, apologies for the mahoosive update but I needed to have a rant about not seeing Dianne XD

More Cast Updates

It has been announced that Lee Mead will be playing Fiyero in Wicked London from Monday 10th May 2010! The role of Fiyero will be played by Lewis Bradley between 29th March to Saturday 8th May. Other new cast members include Clive Carter as the Wizard, Julie Legrand as Madame Morrible, Cassandra Compton as Nessarose, Nikki Davis-Jones as standby Elphaba and Julian Forsythe as Doctor Dillamond! And we are all very pleased to hear that George Ure (understudy Boq and the first Boq I saw) will be promoted to full time Boq after cast change. Also staying is stanby Glinda Sarah Earnshaw who has been in the show since the very first performance! Full cast is to be announced very soon!

Wicked!

Wicked is my favourite show ever and I love it to bits so it might get talked about a bit too much here so sorry in advance XD
Wicked is the story of Oz before Dorothy gets there and follows two girls, the popular Galinda, who will later become Glinda the good, and the green Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
It's on all around the world including, London, New York, an American tour and Australia.
The London cast change is coming up and it's just been announced that Louise Dearman (http://www.castaway.org.uk/clients/singers/lode.htm << listen here) will be our new Glinda and Rachel Tucker from I'd do anything will be thaking over Elphaba. It will be nice to see some new faces but that means we have to say goodbye to the old cast including Dianne Pilkington (Glinda) and Alexia Khadime (Elphaba). I don't know if it will be the same without them (of course it won't be the same!) but we will just have to wait and see the new cast! I will keep up to date with new cast announcements as we know lots of the current cast are leaving and also what the old cast get up to when they have left.

Thats all for now
Bye bye xx

Over The Rainbow

Andrew Lloyd Webber is staying with the BBC to do another musical talent show 'Over The Rainbow' where he will be searching for a Dorothy and Toto from The Wizard of Oz! Auditions have already started but you can find out where other auditions are taking place and lots of other information about the show here >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorothy/
Previous shows are I'd Do Anything which was won by Jodie Prenger, Any Dream Will Do which cast Lee Mead as Joseph and How Do You Solve A Problem like Maria won by Connie Fisher. Can't wait for the show to start!

Glee!!

Okay I know this doesn't have anything to do with theatre but it's like a musical so there...
Well because of Spring Awakening (and Lea Michelle) I found out about Glee just a few days before the pilot episode was shown on E4 (I'm in the UK so am a bit behind on the viewing). I was really hooked! For thoses of you in the UK it's a bit like Brittania High but more professional and less cheesy (a bit!). I have been watching it on the internet (I know, I'm naughty but I just couldn't resist it XD) and it's really good! I have had to stop myself from watching it otherwise I will end up just sitting here infront of the computer non stop!
Anyway I just thought I would mention it!
Also, if you're in the UK it starts on E4 Monday 11th January so watch it!!

And all shall know the wonder..

Yes, I have finally discovered Spring Awakening! Everyone was talking about it so I thought I would give it a listen and I just fell in love with the music. It may not be for sensitive souls but it really does have something that everyone can relate to.
For those of you who don't know the story is set in 1890's Germany and is about teenagers exporing their sexuality and is set to rock music!
Unfortunatly it's not playing in London anymore because it closed after a very short run.
Anyway just give it a listen...

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=72C70426B85E10A4&search_query=spring+awakening+soundtrack

Just to let you know the songs contain bad language so if you're easily offended just don't listen to them XD
Yeah thats all for now really!
Bye bye xx