Goodbye to Leicester Square!
So we’ve broken the back of what we will call “Summer 2009” and are headed into the Autumn. Soon the crowds will disappear from Leicester Square and the air will be slightly cooler as the leaves start to change colour. Change is definitely in the air.
The West End is also full of change due to many new productions that are opening in the next month or so, making an exciting scene for theatre lovers. I thought I would do a little list of my top picks for Autumn 2009.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Theatre Royal Haymarket
Who doesn’t love the film starring Audrey Hepburn? And what man doesn’t love Anna Friel? Both will be on stage starting in September as Friel takes on the role of Holly Golightly in the theatrical adaptation. My boyfriend is already begging me to get tickets. Girls and guys will both be pleased with this one.
The Shawshank Redemption – Wyndhams Theatre
Ok, so another film becomes a stage production, but the story is a cracker. Kevin Anderson (Sleeping With The Enemy) and Reg E Cathey (The Wire) will star as prison inmates who form a bond and make the best of the grim atmosphere.
Prick Up Your Ears – Comedy Theatre
Matt Lucas of Little Britain comes to the stage in a historical dramatisation of playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. Expect sharp banter and darkly comic moments as the pair struggle to cope with Orton’s fame and Halliwell’s distaste for mundane domesticity.
Kevin Spacey stars in Inherit The Wind at the Old Vic Theatre
Inherit The Wind – Old Vic Theatre
Kevin Spacey is back on stage to mark the 150th anniversary of Darwinism in Inherit The Wind. In 1925 a teacher is accused of violating Tennessee state laws by teaching evolution to his students. Is freedom of thought on trial in the supposed land of the free? The legendary Trevor Nunn directs… I suspect this will be gripping stuff.
The Rat Pack – Adelphi Theatre
Admittedly, a re-entry onto the scene but I will be going again to see The Rat Pack for sure. This tribute show will delight those with a nostalgic streak, with songs such as My Way, That’s Amore and Mr. Bojangles. And the Christmas show is even better.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice – Vaudeville Theatre
Another West End revival is set to make an appearance in October, The Rise And Fall of Little Voice, which premiered at the National Theatre in 1992 and was subsequently made into a film, is back for a limited run. This time Lesley Sharp, Marc Warren and Diana Vickers (from last year’s X factor) will perform the lead roles. Reality TV fans will be lining up to get tickets.
Lesley Sharp, Marc Warren and Diana Vickers will star in "Little Voice" which previews from the 8th October.
Make a note of the above, it’s set to be a great time for London theatre. Discount tickets are available for many new shows so check them out here. And if you disagree, by all means let us know which shows you are looking forward to. For now, I’m going to continue packing up my desk…..
After a long and arduous search across the globe (fingering vast pockets of untapped talent) Whoopi Goldberg has finally found the perfect girl to take the lead role of Deloris in her new musical version of hit movie Sister Act.
This brand spanking new West End Diva is Patina Miller, a relative newcomer from South Carolina whose major success in showbiz so far has been the acclaimed Broadway revival of Hair.
If you’ve never born witness to the fun-filled frolic that is the frenetic story of Sister Act then you’re missing out on a big chunk of heartwarming pie that I will now rehash into a 30 second cupcake… Read more
As the more perceptive of you may have noticed this morning, our little island has been covered in thick white snow from Russia.
At this point all shows will go ahead as planed this evening but should anything change we will contact the affected customers straight away to advise on the options.
You can have a look at the London travel situation here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2625.aspx
Leicester Square Monday 2nd February 2009, 10.38am:
Martin Harvey, the new Johnny Castle in the hit show Dirty Dancing, was today honoured with the acclaimed ‘Spotlight Best Male Dancer Classical’ Award at the prestigious Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2009, held at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The Critics’ award was in recognition of Martin’s outstanding 11-year career at the Royal Ballet, dancing many of the great principal roles. Martin stunned the ballet world when he decided, last Summer, to take the unprecedented leap from classical ballet to the star acting role of Johnny Castle in the West End’s hit show, ‘Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage’ at the Aldwych Theatre.
Martin Harvey on winning his award said:
“I’m delighted and honoured to receive this prestigious award. I started out acting and performing from the age of six before moving onto the Royal Ballet School at 11 and went onto to have the most amazing 11 years with the Royal Ballet.”
Martin saw off competition from the English National Ballet’s Esteban Berlanga and Eric Underwood of the Royal Ballet. The Spotlight Award was presented to Martin by Eleanor Bergstein, scriptwriter and creator of the phenomenally successful film and theatre show, Dirty Dancing.
Martin Harvey auditioned for the role of Johnny Castle while still with the Royal Ballet. He had been taking acting classes for several years; however he never expected to get the first part he auditioned for. Martin was on tour in Beijing when he got the call offering him the role, immediately accepted, and says his life turned around in that one phone call: his debut performance in Dirty Dancing was in September 2008.
Since opening at the Aldwych Theatre on 24 October 2006, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage has been seen by over a million people and is now booking for dates through to April 2010 to meet public demand!
Get your London Theatre Tickets for Dirty Dancing Here
Just a quickie to advise you that Carousel (which has been hailed as a “Total Theatrical Triumph” from critics all the way from hither to thither) will now be adding a second midweek matinee to the already busy schedule of performances. The change comes from an overwhelming public demand for afternoon shows.
Tell me why…I don’t like Mondays?
This new addition will replace the Monday night show, so from Monday 23rd March 2009 the performance schedule for Carousel will be as follows:
If you already have tickets for a Monday evening performance after this date never fear, one of our >>Tactical Theatre Operatives<< will be in contact shortly to assist you with rebooking.
*Please note that Lesley Garrett will play all performances*
These new dates are already locked and loaded in our ingenious booking system, so you can pull the entertainment trigger at will.
Speak soon…
BS
Book your Carousel Theatre Tickets Here
Reports are coming in of a strange happening involving Peter Wilson (clever producer of The Woman in Black) and funnyman Griff Reece Jones, which has all been played out aboard Mr Wilson’s luxury holiday boat in the Pacific Ocean.
It’s said the unlikely pair and entourage were interrupted in their revalry by smoke and flames, forcing them all to dive head first into the rippling Ocean and avoid injury.
The little craft was soon totally consumed by FIRE sinking to the bottom like a stone, and the horrified unfortunates found their predicament had taken an even more sinister twist…the shivering party was surrounded by a school of Hammerhead Sharks! The Sharks ultimately turned out to be as friendly as Granddad and rescue came within half an hour, so all was well.
Before the boat burning it must have been quite a party with Griff’s humour and Peter’s knack for the macabre combining to cause horrendous sparks of joy. Luckily I can be slightly flippant about it now as no one was hurt. (I’m just off the phone to Stuart, my flippancy lawyer.)
The Woman in Black is the West End’s scariest show, all about a sunken faced ghost woman whose appearance signifies the death of a child! Spooky…and Disturbing!
Funnily enough I’m probably the only person in the country not to have seen a single performance in its 19 year run at the Fortune Theatre,
Why?
Because ghost stories cripple my fear gland, playing on the mind and inducing “Twisted Night Terrors”.
It all started when my Nan showed me a haunted picture in her house. Some black and white distant relatives posing for a family portrait shortly after the death of their eldest son in the Great War, BUT THE SON IS IN THE PICTURE!!!
“We’re going to need a bigger boat”
Let me just take a moment to wish the cast and crew of the boat and shark incident a very a speedy emotional recovery.
BS
Book London Theatre Tickets Here
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!
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
If you’re anything like me and there’s really nothing to suggest that you would be, but if you are anything like me you will be a telly addict for the find-some-talent-make-a-buck TV shows on ITV. The most recent of these which has super glued me to my television set in recent weeks is the now infamous Britain’s Got Talent in which the plucky Ant and Dec travel the length and breadth of the country in search of the aforementioned talent in a noble quest to make amends for all the talent that goes undiscovered in Britain each year. (The country is currently in the grip of a horrendous ‘Talent Crunch’ running at a massive 75% undiscovered talent in July alone! The stats speak for themselves!)
But when these quality pieces of televisual entertainment reach climax then go to sleep, our lives seem a little less worth living and a burning feeling begins in the stomach then moves to the forefinger (something like hunger but not quite starvation). Who or what can fill this cavernous void that’s been etched into my blackened heart?
My name is Benjamin Smyth III and on behalf of DiscountTheatre.com I would like to say a big fat welcome. You’re currently reading the first historic post of the long awaited (by us) Discount Theatre Blog, where you will learn about all things London Theatre, filtered through my own personal worldview. (I was deliberately vague there to leave room for veering off at strange tangents.)
It feels great to be jabbing at these little keys talking to you for the first time and I would Appreciate / Encourage / Demand with a stick that you feed back on anything we deliver in the following posts. Even if you think I’m being an old trollop!
So what can you expect from this blog?
After many all-night brainstorming sessions and piles of chocolate-covered coffee beans eaten in the vain attempt to stay alert and virile, we have decided to focus the offerings here around the following interesting and alluring parameters: Read more
