New Layout!

As you can see my blog has had a little bit of a make over! Just thought it needed something a little bit more theatre-y than the last layout (which i've had since the blog began). I'm not too great at computery things and spent ages trying to make my own template but gave up when I couldn't get it quite right! However I quite like this layout but be prepared for it to change again if I can figure out how to make my own :)
Hannah xx

X Factor Auditions!!

I went to watch the X Factor auditions in Birmingham yesterday (well I obviously wasn't auditioning was I?) I was soooo excited! When we got there we got X Factor stamps on our wrists and kind of got herded into 'pens'. It was really sunny and hot (at least it wasn't raining!) but the morning audience hadn't come out of the LG Arena yet so they were running late. After a few rounds of 'I Spy' and a bit of sunburn the queue finally started moving (2 hours late!) and we got to go inside. We were really lucky and got seats right in the middle so had a great view. Then the X Factor music started and a man came on stage. We honestly did not know who he was! At first we thought it was Dermot O'Leary (yeah, don't know if that's how you spell it) but then he came on stage too so it couldn't have been. Anyway, he warmed up the audience and filled in the gaps between the auditions. There was such a range of people auditioning and I don't really want to give much away but there were some fantastic auditions, some hilarious ones and some not so good. So watch it! Don't know when it's going to be on TV but the first auditions are always the funniest anyway!

Blood Brothers

I went to see Blood Brothers on tour yesterday at the Belgrade. I saw the tour about 2 years ago but I think this time was better (although I didn't cry at the end!) I saw the understudy for Mrs Johnstone which meant that most of the women were playing different parts to the ones they normally do. The understudy normally played Mrs Lyons but I saw her playing that part in the last tour. Infact, quite a few of the cast were in the other Blood Brothers tour I saw. Anyway, she was fantastic and could really belt! The gun shots made me jump at the end even though I was expecting them (and I has my ears covered). If you get the chance to see it do!

Comedy of Errors, Swan Lake and uni :)

I went to see the Comedy of Errors and Swan Lake quite a while ago at the Belgrade theatre. They were the first Shakespeare and the first ballet I had seen. Comedy of Errors was kind of confusing and although I could follow the story I didn't really understand everything they were saying but then I knew Shakespeare wasn't one of my strong points anyway ;) The set and costumes were modern but they still spoke in old English which I didn't see the point of. If they wanted it to be modern then make it modern!!! (Can you tell it wasn't one of my favourite trips to the theatre?) I did enjoy Swan Lake however. I had to read the programme to understand most of the story but once I knew what was happening I was okay. I think the stage was a bit too small for ballet though and it meant that they couldn't do a lot of the jumps and leaps.

I also wanted to tell you that I have conditional places at East 15, Colchester and Mountview! MOUNTVIEW!!! I still can't quite believe it! I'm still waiting to hear from ALRA but I will most probably accept Mountview (even though it's £10,095 a year!)

That's all for now :)

Hairspray and the Secret Garden!

Hiyaa! Just realised I didn't review Hairspray! Don't really remember much now except it was incredibly funny and worth watching. The story is a little different from the film version but it goes along the same lines and I actually like the stage version better because it's a bit more realistic! Brian Conley and Les Dennis were really funny during their song together and had the whole audience laughing.



The Secret Garden was on at the Birmingham Rep (which is an amazing theatre, unfortunatly it's closing for two years). All the cast had amazing voices but some of the actors playing the children were not child like at all. The story does not really lend itself to musical theatre, at most points it seemed like they thought 'we haven't had a song for a while, lets put one in now', 'The Cabbage Song' being one of these moments. However I don't think you could fail with a story such as this one and the staging was very clever. It may sound like this is a good show for young children but there were lots of kids getting restless during some of the songs and quieter moments.

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