Read the amazing 5 Star reviews below and book you tickets early, because it looks like this show is going to be a MASSIVE HIT! Read more
The title of this post is Total and Utter Genius even if I do say so myself!!!
But wait, before you denounce me as an arrogant little twerp who has “Gone a little too far this time”, let me first offer my excuses, and the REAL reason I can so highly endorse the title of my own post…
I STOLE IT!
Let me rephrase that…I did not actually steal it, but this special headline was really the brainchild of “Jeff” (our wonderful in-house computer programmer) who sits right opposite me on the third floor of Discount Theatre towers. He had this inspired thought whilst wading though the multitude of 0s + 1s that keep our particular ship in good shape.
So not only is he responsible for the easy and secure booking system you have no doubt come to know and love over the last couple of years, but now he is also going to be my first port of call for snappy blog titles as well!
Another reason this made me smile ominously is that like all the best headlines throughout history, it surreptitiously explains exactly what the subject matter is whilst leaving plenty of room for the required intrigue and infamy that makes this a must-read, eyeball-magnet for all true theatre fans…
Now let’s get to the point; an amazing announcement has just been made that unites two mighty Shakespearian powers into an event that will rock “Mother Theatre” to her very foundations. I’m going to call this next part “One Play to Rule Them All” for reasons that will become very clear.
IAN MCKELLEN AND PATRICK STEWART ARE SET TO STAR IN SAMUEL BECKETT’S
WAITING FOR GODOT
Yes these two home-grown Hollywood heavyweights, and veterans of the stage join forces to play Beckett’s famous Tramps in a special UK tour, but more importantly (for us Londoners anyway) at The Theatre Royal Haymarket! Read more
As the Old Vic Theatre is a historical landmark in the West End, I thought I would indulge my Canadian ignorance and see what it was all about. Expecting to enter a classic and beautifully preserved space, I was initially in dismay when I saw that the traditional stage had been reconstructed as a theatre round. Currently featuring the Norman Conquests, I suddenly became intrigued, realising that it was three shows in one – how decadent! So I decided to stick around to enjoy all three: Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden. Little did I know I had just set aside the day to be spent in the theatre, but not to worry, these plays can be enjoyed together or separately. To my delight, I left the newly revamped Old Vic with pep in my step; this production is fantastic!
(Edith Piaf: This post was written to celebrate the smash-hit, sell-out run of Jamie Lloyd’s production of Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse, and its upcoming move to the Vaudeville Theatre on the 16th of October 2008, for a limited run. For Theatre Tickets click here.)
One of the biggest reasons Edith Piaf has been such an enduring icon is that despite the millions of words written in books and biographies, much of her life is still shrouded in mystery. Happily many intriguing legends have replaced boring old facts.
So to wet your appetite for the show (which opens at the Vaudeville Theatre on October 18th) here are a few of my favourites:
Born on the Pavement (Truth Rating 3/10)
Let’s kick off our run down right at the beginning, the very moment when little Edith took her first tiny breath in this cruel cruel world. Legend suggests that she was born right on the street, and when I say street I mean that her crash mat was the cold hard pavement. I was born at ‘Queen Charlotte’s Hospital’ in Hammersmith so I can only imagine the scene… screaming, scratching, lots of blood, cats looking on in wonder, men selling fruit from scruffy stalls, children playing with dog poo.
Honestly that does not sound like a very sterile environment in which birth a young infant. If I look out my window here, onto the streets of Leicester Square I can see a number of weird looking men with overlong beards and floppy cigarettes supposedly tiding up, and I must admit that London does feel a little bit cleaner recently. But the streets of Paris back in 1915 must have been teaming with nasty parasites just waiting to pounce on a little baby.
I wouldn’t have lasted a week with all those germs, not with my sickly constitution…
What’s in a name? (Truth Rating 5/10)
The Edith part of Edith Piaf’s name supposedly comes from the heroic British nurse Edith Cavell, who in World War 1 risked life and limb to transport injured British and French troops back to neutral territory. Unfortunately she was caught and sent to the firing squad, but became a martyr and hero for many people during the war, and a number of little babies were awarded the name in her honour.
The Piaf part develops many years later when fans attending her live performances were shocked to see how very small the woman was, only four feet ten inches! After saying “Ooo isn’t she small” the nickname Piaf was given, meaning “Little Sparrow” in French. (Not that I speak French you understand, apart from “Je M’Appelle Ben, et c’est mon freind Chris” and “Je voudrais roast beouf.”)
Personally I will name my two unborn daughters Sandalwood 1 and Sandalwood 2, for I believe a spirit from wood and trees runs through us all…
P.S
Why are older people called: Ethel, Maureen, Margret, Phyllis and Enoch…?
And younger people called: Flash, Imagen, Shy, Peaches, Pixies, Brooklyn, Apple, Romeo and Tiger…?
Weird…
Raised by Prostitutes (Truth Rating 8/10)
Before enlisting to help fight World War 1, Edith’s father called up his mother and said “Hi Mum, I’m just off to help fight World War 1, would you mind watching the baby for me until I get back”. His Mother said “SURE!”
The only slight issue here was that Edith’s grandmother was the madam of a Paris brothel, which for some ‘Bleeding Heart Liberals’ might not sound like ideal place to bring up an innocent young girl.
But by all accounts little Edith had a whale of a time making friends with the women there, allowing herself to be fussed over and adopted as their little cherub of sin.
Let there be sight (Truth Rating 5/10)
Another rumor I’ve often heard is that Edith lost her sight when she was three due to a nasty condition called Keratitis, in which the eye’s cornea becomes inflamed.
Cue a piece of amazing kindliness on the part of her grandmother’s brothel women who scrimped and saved, pooling their money they sent Edith on a religious pilgrimage resulting in sight being restored.
It’s a miracle….
CDs in 1946 (Truth Rating 0/10)
Finally the music world catches on and realizes that Edith Piaf has just the right mixture of talent and tragedy to sell bucket loads of CDs, which were invented right after the World War 1 to boost moral. (Just like our latter-day Pop Idols who always seem to be most successful when struggling with some kind of drug abuse or family tragedy.)
Club owner Louis Leplée was first to discover Edith singing on the streets and persuaded her to perform at his establishment even though she had crushing stage fright.
That was it, everybody loved the ‘Little Sparrow’ and the world became her oyster card.
Ello Ello (Truth Rating 1/10)
During World War 2 Edith was branded ‘Traitor’ due to her frequent performances for the German troops, although she always maintained that throughout this period she was really working as a double agent for the French resistance, and used her position and popularity to aid the war effort.
That sounds kind of feasible to me, so I think I’m going to believe it wholeheartedly. It’s like my mother always says, “Don’t let questionable morals get in the way of an enjoyable iTunes playlist, apart from when it comes to Gary Glitter!”
Biggest Star in the Universe (Truth Rating 10/10)
Due to her rather colorful lifestyle Edith Paif was denied a funeral mass by the Roman Catholic archbishop when she died. But 100.000 people came along anyway, and Paris descended into complete chaos and standstill for a good few hours.
A qwerky Russian astronomer even named a tiny little planet in memory of the singing-pocket-rocket, planet 3772 Piaf.
Theatre Tickets / London Theatre Tickets
Hamlet London: When I first heard the news, I immediately let out a hearty laugh in response to my sheer excitement and curiosity. What’s this you say? Is it true Jude Law and David Tennant to play Hamlet in the West-End? I can’t think of anything more scandalous and absolutely wonderful. Two actors, with different skills and aesthetics, set to play one of the most demanding and intense roles in theatre history. Get bloody ready folks – it’s about to get messy.
2x Hamlet London = Once in a lifetime…
It is not often that such a monumental occasion graces the West-End; but frankly I’m looking forward to it. I’m not a huge Dr.Who fan (stop waving your fists about, I watched Tennant in Harry Potter and loved it!), but I have come to know that this role has been institutionalised in Britain; Tennant packs a lot of heat. As for Jude “man-pretty” Law, his credits in the silicone (oops, did I just say that?) valley of Hollywood is more notable than his previous stints on stage with Oscar Nominations strapped to his proverbial belt. Do you think he’ll be allowed to slather on the bronzer by the way? Law’s Hamlet may need a sun-kissed glow… it is s
eemingly his red carpet standby.
So, where and when can we expect the showdown? You want the dirty details? Be prepared for a theatrical battle set to commence this 3rd of December as the RSC version will kick off at the Novello Theatre. The Donmar’s production of Hamlet isn’t scheduled to ignite until May 29th allowing the Royal Shakespeare Company to hit up Theatreland first.
It is no secret that David Tennant is a well trained actor with plenty of experience on stage and enough praise to last him a lifetime. Performances of the RSC production finish in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Nov. 15th after a great run that began in July ‘08. It has been wagered that this contemporary version of Hamlet (which sees Tennant looking like a straight-up bum in some scenes) will differ in many ways to the Donmar interpretation, to be directed by the talented Kenneth Branagh (so I have a crush…don’t judge me). Read more
It’s been a winning formula for a couple of years now…
Take a hit West End musical, and transform it into a high budget glitzy movie starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones or Pears Brosnan. Then sit back on your private yacht with the champagne and Honeyz all around, and watch the $$$$ roll in.
I can almost hear the unscrupulous movie producers’ distorted minds ticking over through the din of cocaine-induced jitters and gurning: “It worked with Chicago, now let’s do it with The Producers. It kind of worked with The Producers, now let’s do it with Mamma Mia!. And by God did it work with Mamma Mia!, let’s do it with Wicked next fall.”
So basically this concept works out great for all involved, Catherine Zeta-Jones is happy because she becomes even more worthy of her marriage to ‘alleged’ sex addict Michael Douglas; the movie producers are happy because they can pay the tab on their lives of sin and debauchery; and the shows are grateful for the additional interest, because there is no denying that movie exposure puts fresh pink booty on seats.
But an interesting role reversal has been taking place recently, because now it seems that kind and virtuous West End theatre producers (who seem in most ways to be the direct opposites of their movie counterparts) are returning the favour, and using some of cinemas best-loved offerings as inspiration for new shows. The first of these being Rain Man at the Apollo Theatre, based on the Oscar-winning film staring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, closely followed by Edward Scissorhands in December (although it was actually on stage a while back, too), and an exciting production of Sister Act proposed for the New Year. Read more
No Man’s Land: Those of you who have been watching this blog like little hawks during its early thrashings of life over the past couple of weeks, will have surely seen (and no doubt thoroughly enjoyed) the post in which we ingeniously asked the question: “Can we take comedians seriously in London’s West End?”
So today, by way of a follow-up, I can present some exclusive rehearsal pictures from one of the exciting productions mentioned in that article - the much-anticipated No Man’s Land. This is the production of the Harold Pinter penned play starring funny man David Walliams, as well Michael Gambon, David Bradley and Nick Dunning.
“How is this possible?!” I hear you ask “Is Discount Theatre literally in league with the Devil?!” you scream, “How on earth could such amazing images have been procured without the aid of torture and tyranny?!”
Well, keep your hair on for just a minute and I will tell all… Read more
This post will introduce a generation to the unique entertainment bonanza that is Eurobeat. For those of you that want to get Eurobeat Tickets now, scroll to the bottom of this post. Let us begin:
When I was just a slip of a little lad there was one special night every year that would often cause me just as much excitement as Christmas Eve, and that’s really saying something because Christmas Eve would send me spasmodic!
The sacred and holy night of which I speak was the extra special evening when a super-sarcastic Terry Wogan would expand my musical pallet into new European territories that had once seemed unimaginable. As the perceptive little tykes among you know, I’m clearly talking about the genius concept that is The Eurovision Song Contest.
Excitement for Eurovision would boil and simmer for months before, kicking off with “A Song for Europe” in which the benevolent governments of the day would grant the British public our democratic right to vote on the power melody that would hopefully elevate us to the heady heights of musical glory. Although it would always frustrate me when inevitably my countrymen would make a hideous gaff and our song would turn out to be, well……….poo! Read more
From Google News last week………
London’s West End theatreland is thriving despite the credit crunch, according to theatre tickets specialist discounttheatre.com, but price savvy audiences are now looking to the Web to save money on seats and meals.
Echoing the Society of London Theatre report that showed London Theatre is currently going through a boom time, Discount Theatre has seen the demand for popular West End shows increase by 20% during May and June demonstrating that people want to forget all the gloomy economic predictions with a night out at the theatre.
Said Discount Theatre Marketing Director Chris Ryan: “Our figures are in-line with the holiday industry in showing that people are so fed up with the doom mongers that they are determined to have a good time. But they still want a bargain. The average customer is a lot more price savvy now and they know that top theatre tickets for a hit West End show don’t have to cost £60 - and they needn’t spend a lot of money on dinner either”. Read more
It’s the ultimate question currently facing mankind, a gargantuan question of morals and continence with such ramifications for humanity that it’s set the scholars and wise men of the globe into increasingly heated debates, which will no doubt leave them at loggerheads for years to come.
So what is this biblical, neigh apocalyptic question that’s on the lips of every thinking man in the modern world I hear you ask? Well if you’re very sure you can take it, here goes, but remember - with great power comes great responsibility:
**Can a TV comedian cross the boundaries of light entertainment on the goggle box and be taken seriously in the infamously harsh and critical world of serious London theatre?**
It’s quite a poser, I think you’ll agree vehemently. So to try and find an answer to the question that has flummoxed the worlds top minds, I have put together three case studies that should be able to tip the scales one way or tuther as granny would say.
Case Study 1 – Rob Mitchell in Fat Pig
The first of these three proactive comedians to take the tentative steps into live action theatre is Rob Mitchell who plays the drug toting, mother debasing looser Jeremy in the (in my opinion) hilarious Peep Show. I think the rules state that I’m allowed to give my opinions as this is not currently election time.
This production of FAT PIG sees Robs character falling in love with a Jolly FAT Bird (so many rules broken there) only to find that his so called friends mock him viscously.
Read more
