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