Musical of the Month - The Child in Us

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well as this rather snowy March draws to a close. I have to say that someone must have been looking down on me as despite all the snow and bad weather I have managed to make every theatre trip I had planned...thank you whoever you are.

Now I normally find it quite easy to pick which musical will be Musical of the Month, however, with the amount of shows I've seen this month I've found it rather hard to focus on one in particular...oh well that's an outright lie but as much as some people, you know who you are, wouldn't care if I wrote review after review about Priscilla I do know that that's not what everyone wants to read. So what have I picked...well I've kind of cheated a little, well actually a lot, as I haven't actually seen this and it's not actually a musical...however, after reading it I desperately want to draw it to your attention.

As you'll know from my little bio at the right side of this blog I'm a 2nd year drama student...well for a second semester this year we're studying contemporary theatre, which means reading lots and lots of plays that have been written by playwrights who are still alive. To me the majority of these plays are ok but never come close to my beloved musicals...well except for the one I am going to tell you about today.

The play in question is Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie. Now as I've said, I've never actually seen this play but from reading to 12 pages of script (yes it's only 12 pages long) the play really touched something inside me.

Adult Child/Dead Child is basically one really long monologue from a non-gendered character who has schizophrenia. The play looks at its character's life and what led to the condition manifesting and what he/she has done to control it.

Although the character in the play specifically has schizophrenia, I think what touched me about this play was that it could really be referring to anyone. Everyone in the world has some sort of problem; maybe not as big as your parents locking you in a cupboard as the character's parents do (although for some this is a reality) but everyone has a problem of some sort.

Additionally, the character in the play finally started managing to cope when two things happened. 1. He/she found someone who listened to them, really listened, and didn't think that what he/she was going on about was silly or childish...a person who just sat there, listened and understood what this problem meant to the character and that it wouldn't just go away, instead that the character could be taught to cope through friendship. And 2. He/she found something that made him/her happy.

To me these two things are what the majority of people, not just the character with schizophrenia, need in life to survive. We all need at least one person who will listen to our problems and not judge us (and hopefully we repay them by doing the same for them) because keeping it bottled up can drive us mad, as we see from the character in the play. We, also, need to find the one thing that can make us happy in life; this may be a dog (like the character in the play), playing football, cooking, or, most probably for the majority of you reading this blog, going to see your favourite theatre show (bet you can't guess what mine is? :p).

So I urge all of you to go and find a copy of this play and read it or, if you’re lucky enough for it to be on in your area, go and watch it. It certainly inspired me, so much so that, with my friend from uni's direction, I hope to put on a performance of it.

 

I'd love to hear your comments on what you thought of this blog and, hopefully, what you thought of the play. Please feel free to comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox (although apparently according to the new Twitter there's something about either I need to follow you or you me for me to see your comment...I'm not sure so any info on this would, also, be useful!).

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter and a great April.

Love you lots

Love

Kat

Xx

God I Love A Man in Drag!

Hi guys, I'm back again!!! Going to pick up where I left off from my blog about Once the Musical (please click here to view). So here goes...

Well, we (my friend, Rob, and I) woke up about 6.30-7.00am as breakfast at the hotel finished at the ridiculously early time of 7.30. After eating more than we possibly should (doesn't everyone at buffet hotel breakfasts?) we went back to the room for a quick nap and then down to the hotel pool for a lovely swim. We then packed, left our luggage with the hotel concierge and headed off to Covent Garden to have a wander round. I have to say Convent Garden is definitely the place to go at special times of the year as they have a variety of different decorated Easter Eggs there at the minute. All too soon it was time to leave Covent Garden, head back to the hotel, pick up our luggage, get to Kings Cross, grab a bite to eat (which we needn’t have done) and catch our train back to Grantham…oh and did I mention we would be sitting in 1^st class.

Now I’ll tell you something, we wouldn’t normally be able to afford 1^st class train tickets but with the aid of a railcard and the fact we were travelling off peak we managed to get two tickets for £28.40…bargain! Well, I could certainly have got used to the treatment we were given as you get a free (well I know it’s in the price of the ticket but still) cup of tea or coffee (not that I drink either but the principle is there), a free shortbread biscuit, a free meal (why we shouldn’t have eaten at the station), a free bottle of water and a free slice of cake…don’t mind if I do!!!

After an hours train ride we arrived back in Grantham, drove back to mine, walked my adorable border collie (Meg) round a very muddy field, ate dinner and headed off for Grimsby, with my mum, where we would be seeing The Rocky Horror Show for the first time…all the while hoping that the snow would hold off. Well, after an hour and a half journey, an inordinate amount of pot holes and only one wrong turn we arrived at the Grimsby Auditorium.

We’d arrived slightly early (an hour early in fact) as we were meeting our friend, Lisa, and her mum and daughter for drinks in the bar before and a lovely catch up. Mum and I, also, brought ourselves feather boas (my house and car are now covered in feathers!) and everyone glow sticks to wave during the song there’s a light (our other friend Sharon had brought us some lights but we’d forgotten them…sorry Sharon). We were, also, rather freaked out as when we were booking Lisa had said that they were sat on the front row but didn’t know where so mum and I had just booked two tickets on the front row and Rob had booked the seat next to us so when we found out that Lisa’s seats were the ones directly next to ours we were very happy if not a little freaked out by the coincidence.

AND THEN…the show began. Now I had been slightly worried that I wasn’t going to like it, especially as at that point I had 6 other tickets, but I shouldn’t have been worried at all because it was FABULOUS!!! The whole show is just a feel good factor from start to finish and actually makes quite a poignant comment about living a life of sex and debauchery. What was, also, amazing was that during The Time Warp the whole audience rose to their feet (mid show) and danced along, in addition to people calling out…to say it seemed like a very warped pantomime would rather wrong but, also, rather right…if you get my jist.

The set was quite quirky and rather retro with the main backdrop being shaped like a film reel. It was obvious by the set that the show was trying to stay true to its roots in the 70’s which was a really nice touch, in my opinion.

And then we come to the cast…   

Sam Attwater as Brad was fantastic, He was incredibly quirky and very funny, in addition to complementing Roxanne Pallett’s Janet to perfection…in fact these two seemed to be a perfect pairing. His voice was great for the role of Brad and he performed the songs to just the right level.

Roxanne Pallett as Janet was completely brilliant and was great at putting across the sweet, innocent little girl turn slut. As mentioned her pairing with Sam was perfect. Her voice was, also, great and she made some very cute and quirky facial expressions that just seemed right for Janet’s character.

Philip Franks was amazing as the narrator and seemed to have this sinister, all knowing look in his eye that was perfect for the role.

Joel Montague was great as Eddie but particularly blew me away with his humour as Dr Scott at the end of the show.

Harry Neale was a very funny, vocally strong, oh and incredibly fit and muscular Rocky; it almost seemed like this role was made for him.

Kristian Lavercombe was truly out of this world as Riff Raff…I really don’t think there are the words to describe how amazing he was in this role. Yet another role that appeared to have been made for the actor.

Abigail Jaye (Magenta) and Ceris Hine (Columbia) were, also, fantastic, especially Ceris’ section in The Time Warp.  

However, the person who stole the show was Oliver Thornton as Frank-N-Furter. Now anyone who is a regular to my blog will know that Oliver used to play Adam/Felicia in Priscilla and that there has been some controversy with his not taking up this role in the tour. Well, other than the fact that Graham Weaver (the guy who is Adam/Felicia in the Priscilla tour) is absolutely fantastic in the role, I don’t see how anyone who has watched Oliver’s portrayal of Frank would want him to go back. His portrayal of Felicia was always so amazing and clean-cut but his portrayal of Frank is out of this world; it’s like he’s somehow managed to step up another gear from perfect. He is sexy, cheeky, naughty, incredibly hot and has a brilliant vocal range…oh and a body that everyone is the audience (both men and women) would love to have…it seriously should be illegal for a man to have legs that good! I seriously cannot see Oliver playing any other role at the moment; he is so Frank that it is unbelievable…although I suppose this is what makes an amazing actor. What’s more is that I’m pretty sure that everyone in the audience could see this as the place literally erupted when he entered for Sweet Transvestite and the applause he received at the end of the show was deafening. The whole cast are amazing but this man just takes performance to a whole other level…wow!!!

So, my overall verdict is that whatever you are doing you have to go and book for this show! In actual fact as soon as we got back to my house Rob and I booked Behind the Basque tickets for us and Lisa to see the show on the 20^th June in Manchester!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my first trip to see Rocky Horror. I’ll leave you with some pictures of the start of my day in London and from my time at Rocky Horror.

 The Easter Eggs at Covent Garden

 

 Me and Abigail Jaye (Magenta)

 

 Me and Joel Montague (Eddie/Dr Scott)

 

 Me and Harry Neale (Rocky)

 

 Me and Kristian Lavercombe (Riff Raff)

 

 Me and Roxanne Pallett (Janet)

 

Me, Rob and Lisa in the Auditorium

 

Have any of you been to see Rocky Horror? If so what did you think? I love to hear from you either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox

Love you lots

Kat

xx

Just a Broken Hearted Hover Fixer Sucker Guy

Hey everyone, hope you're all well. I'm a bit bunged up with cold but still surviving as I've had a fabulous time the past few days seeing Once and Rocky Horror. So let’s get started with Once...

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to this back in October...Yay! As soon as I'd found out this I'd invited my friend, Rob, who was the guy who'd introduced me to the music so it seemed obvious to ask. Well, since October we'd been planning and getting rather excited and finally the day, 21st March, came along.

So after spending the morning with my drama group at uni I hot footed it to the train station to get to London before catching a taxi to the hotel. As I arrived and got out of the taxi the doorman came over and collected my bags so they could be taken up to the room...the life of luxury had begun!

I, then, rather excitedly, went up to the room (Room 1191 of the Park Plaza Hotel Westminster Bridge with a view out on the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye!) as I couldn't wait to see it and the view...oh and Rob as well :p. So after greeting each other, a quick chat about Priscilla (well what do expect when you put two massive Priscilla fans in a room together!?!), unpacking and getting ready for the evening out we were ready to go to dinner so off we headed to Maxwell’s in Covent Garden where we had a lovely meal with the accompaniment of a cocktail.

It was now time to head off to the theatre as we wanted to get there early so as to collect the tickets (still praying at this point it wasn't a scam as I never win anything!) and get chance to grab a drink on stage! Well, after a bit of confusion at the box office we managed to get the tickets and found we were sat in Row O9-10. Although a bit far back these seats had a really good view and didn't have the usual problem of the stage being obscured by the Dress Circle overhang. The leg room on these seats was, also, amazing; I don't think I've ever been in a theatre with that much leg room before!

However, before sitting down we decided to go try out the stage bar. A word of warning here if you want to have this experience you have to buy your drinks from the selection on the stage and not from the theatre bar. This is because along with your drink you get a very nice sealed cup with the Once logo written on it. Additionally, the drinks are quite expensive but as I just said you do get a Once cup that you get to keep as well, however, you can only use cash for the stage bar so come prepared! During this part the cast came on and played some good old Irish folk songs which set the atmosphere and was a really nice touch. Soon it was time to take our seats as the show was about to begin.

It was quite strange to begin with as we weren't quite sure whether the show had started as the audience went deadly silent but the house lights were still up. After a while though they went down so we knew the show had properly begun then.

So what did I think...well the music was superb; very beautiful with a magical, ethereal quality.

The casting was superb with each one playing an instrument and performing. Declan Bennett (Guy) and Zrinka Cvitešié (Girl) were fantastic as the leads with beautiful voices, amazing acting and magical playing. Flora Spencer-Longhurst (Reza) was by far my favourite member of the rest of the cast (although they were all brilliant she just stood out for me) and the girl we had playing Ivanka (Girl's daughter) was excellent and very cute as well.

As mentioned, all the cast play an instrument so act as the band as well as the characters. This was a really nice touch and added to the simplicity of the show. This simplicity was continued into the set as well which was basically an Irish pub that was altered with tables, chairs, a Hoover and a piano.

The story line was, also, incredibly simple and in my opinion not very strong. The story was based on the relationship between Guy and Girl and the relationships they'd had in the past. There was, additionally, a heavy focus on the music which seemed to be the driving force behind the show.

Overall, both Rob and I enjoyed the show but said that it was something that we probably wouldn't see again. However, I think if you're a Phantom or Les Mis fan you will absolutely fall in love with Once and if you're into simplistic beauty rather than big, dramatic, flashy showbiz then this is definitely your show. I would rather agree with the quote by the director, John Tiffany, in the programme, 'It's not really what you would call the realm of musical theatre, but it's beautiful story telling.'.

After seeing the show we headed out to Balans (if you're regular readers you'll know how much I love this place) for my favourite cocktail ever; a Pornstar. Then it was back to the hotel for us as we needed a relatively early night (yes 1am is early!) as the next day was going to be just as busy!

I'll leave you with a picture of the theatre taken by my fellow blogger Naomi, who went to see the show on Friday (please check her blog out here), as it was raining when Rob and I left the theatre so it wasn't the best picture taking conditions.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip to see Once. Have any of you seen the show? If so what did you think? I'd love to hear from you either by commenting below or by tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox.

 

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Stopping off at the Pink Bus again!

Hiya everyone, I hope you're all well. Right I'm not going to write a lot as I've already written two blogs on the show (please click here for the one on Manchester and here for the one from Oxford).

Yes you've guessed it I'm talking about Priscilla again. Well, Manchester was 90% perfect, Oxford was 100% perfect but oh my goodness Wimbledon was completely out of this world...and I am completely awestruck about how fabulous Brighton on NYE will be if it keeps getting this much better!!!

This time I went with my mum (who'd seen the show twice) and friend Megan (who'd never seen the show before)...put it this way I think I may have just converted another to the Priscilla way of life!

To set the scene, our trip out was really rushed which was not helped by a horrible train guard who wouldn't open the doors even though I was stuck...he did in the end. On the topic of trains, and, also, remembering to praise the good as well as criticising the bad, the train guard on the way back from Wimbledon to Vauxhall was lovely, held the train so Megan could get her enormous suitcase down the steps and when I got to our stop he came and helped us off. On this travelling note I'd like to thank the men who helped Megan up and down steps with her suitcase and the two that helped my mum and me at one point as well...it's just proof that there are some genuinely nice people in the world.

Due to our rush to get to the theatre our dinner consisted of a gourmet margarita pizza in a takeout Pizza Hut, eaten on the bench provided for waiting.

Well after our dinner it was off to the New Wimbledon Theatre where we had front row seats with the most perfect view and loads of leg room.

And so the show started...well I won't go into it in detail as I've already done that for my Manchester blog. So what differences we there...well a major one for me was that True Colours (the replacement of Both Sides Now) actually felt right to me and really moved me this time. Beforehand I've always felt it was a little awkward but this time it slotted in so beautiful.

They, also, had to change Thank God I'm a Country Boy as the orchestra pit was very large so they couldn't get the steps for the cast to get down into the auditorium so as to pick members of the audience to dance. Instead, Ian Oswald (dance captain) came out in the interval and asked some audience members if they'd like to come up and, well, Megan and I were lucky enough to get picked so off we, and the others, headed backstage. Well, I have to say this made me so happy as I had a lovely chat with Alan Hunter (Miss Understanding) and Regan Shepherd (Farrah and Young Bernadette) before the second act started and then got to dance with Alan during the song.

The show was literally so perfect and the audience was so electric it was truly the best feeling on the world. The whole cast is literally fantastic and I'd go as far as to say that it's the best cast of any show ever; they're all such talented performers with really genuine personalities as well. However, I have to say, that Alan and Regan totally stole the show for me with their amazing performances and impeccable dancing.

I truly had the most amazing time ever so much so that I'm going to see the show in Belfast for my birthday in August!

I'll leave you with a few of my pictures from my trip.

 

Megan and myself during the interval :)

Megan, myself and the wonderful Regan Shepherd (Farrah and Young Bernadette)

 

Megan, myself and the fabulous Alan Hunter (Miss Understanding)

 

Hope you enjoyed reading that. Have any of you seen Priscilla on tour? Let me know what you think either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox, I'd love to hear from you.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Laughing All the Way

Hello everyone, hope you are all well. Well as I said in my last blog, I'm trying to keep these short and sweet so let's get going.

I normally can't go to theatre trips on Saturdays as I work but I was kindly given a week off so I decided to go to London with my mum as a Mothering Sunday treat.

The hotel we stayed in, The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge (I'm also staying there when I go to Once on 21st March), was lush and I'd highly recommend...it wasn't that badly priced either for a central London hotel.

The first thing we did after unpacking was head over to the Haymarket Theatre to get tickets to One Man Two Guvnors, which we'd wanted to see since seeing Rufus Hound (Frances Henshall) in the WhatsonStage Awards (see my blog here). We managed to get two tickets, one behind each other, in the 2nd and 3rd row of the dress circle.

After this we had a lovely late lunch/early dinner in Maxwell’s before having a wander round Covent Garden and then heading back to Maxwell’s to meet up with my friend Sharon.

After this we headed off to the Cambridge Theatre for our backstage tour thanks to Mark, one of the assistant stage mangers, who my mum and I met in Balans after the WhatsonStage awards. I debated a bit as to what to actually include here of the experience and have decided to be a bit vague so as not to ruin the magic of the show for you. All I'll say then was it was completely amazing, just to stand on the stage was magical and getting to look at the props, settings and some of the costumes was really interesting and very cool. I am so grateful for this opportunity...it was just so brilliant.

It was then time for a quick bite to eat at Pret a Manger before saying bye to Sharon and heading over to The Haymarket again.

Well I didn't really know what to expect but WOW!!! I have to say I don't think I've ever laughed so much at a show in my entire life. I can't say exactly what was funny else I'd ruin the show for you. Basically the whole show is a farce so if you're wanting something on a similar plane to Phantom then I would say this is not your cup of tea, however, if you're wanting a feel good show where your sides will hurt for days after and you'll have tears of laughter streaming down your face, then this is the perfect show for you.

As for the cast I could rave forever about how fantastic each and every one was but that would take forever so all I'll say is that Rufus Hound (Francis Henshall) and Martin Barrass (Alfie) completely stole the show. I have to say Hound is an example of when casting a celebrity in a show goes right; he was just perfect for the role and was amazing (rather expectedly) at ad libbing, which added monumentally to the shows humour. Barrass was completely perfect at portraying 80 year old Alfie and was so brilliant at falling down stairs...you'll see if you go.

As for other theatrical points...the sets were good (they weren't sparky but then this wasn't what this play was about), the leg room for the seats was a tad too small but that's just a minor thing...oh and one of the best bits for me was that they had the band come on stage and play some short songs before the show and during the scene changes; this added a really nice touch to the show and was used to enhance the comedy as well.

I'll leave you with a picture of me outside the theatre...

Overall, this was the funniest show I've ever seen and I would highly recommend it to you.

Have any of you seen One Man Two Guvnors? If so what did you think? Please either comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox...I'd love to hear from you.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Rocking on at the Garrick

Hiya everyone :) As I said in my last post March is a completely mad theatrical month for me so I'm going to TRY and keep my blogs short so as not to get terribly behind.

To kick March off (theatrically of course) I went down to London for a doctor’s appointment and what do you do when in London!?! Well see a show of course!!! So after getting our eye makeup done at MAC in Selfridges my friend, Lisa, and I hot footed it to the Garrick theatre to get tickets for Rock of Ages...yay!!!

The rest of the day was spent at my doctor’s appointment and in Balans drinking...oh yes you've guessed it...Pornstars!

Soon it was time to head over to the theatre for the show. We'd booked front row seats as in the Shaftesbury they were brilliant seats (yes it's wrong to think two theatres are the same but it's hard not to!). Well in the Garrick the front row is heavily restricted but Lisa and I both agreed that they were good seats depending on what you wanted from the show. If you want to see the show and everything that goes on on stage then DO NOT get the front row; I think at least four rows back would be good but don't quote me on it! However, if you've seen the show before, don't mind missing sections and want the atmosphere and the personal touch (like Simon Lipkin picking on you...yes it happened to me again and it was even more hysterical this time!) then these seats are perfect.

So briefly onto the cast...Simon Lipkin was, as always, hilarious and completely stole the show as Lonny! Ross Hunter was a great Drew...not as good as Oliver Tompsett in my opinion but he was still amazing. Tim Howar was, for me, a brilliant Stacee Jaxx and was very comical. Daniel Fletcher was the perfect Denis. Natalie Andreou was everything I could have wanted from a Sherrie. Sandy Moffat was great, as usual, as Franz...yet another hilarious performance which could not be faulted! Rachel McFarlane (Justice) has such a killer voice, she just sends shivers down your spine and Rohan Tickell played Hertz down to a 'T'. The only cast change was Leanne Garritty played Regina, instead of Jodie Jacobs, and what a stella job she did; she brought a new light to the character, which, in my opinion, is what an understudy should do. Overall, this cast was fabulous.

For a fuller review on what the actual show was like please click here and read my September blog.

Finally, I think the show worked really well in the new theatre and was really pleased that the bit where Regina is going to jump of the building (I do know the name but can't spell it!) was actually done on stage do you didn't get a really awkward crick in your neck trying to look up at that box where they did it in the Shaftesbury.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show this time and it still kept its feel good factor, even the 7th time round.

I'll leave you with a picture of me and Simon.

 

 

Have any of you seen Rock of Ages? What did you think? I'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox. Over and out for now.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Musical of the Month: The Perfect Day

Hi everyone, well here's my belated February 'Musical of the Month' post. Sorry it's late but what with a ton of uni work and theatre trips, blog writing kind of got put on the back seat a bit but hopefully I'm back for good now as will have a load of writing to do with March being so mad...two trips to London next week, another Priscilla the week after and then Once and my first Rocky Horror the week after that!

Well, anyway, I bet you've all guessed what February's 'Musical of the Month' is...well it sort of has to be as I saw it two Thursdays in a row! Yep...you got it...I'm talking about the one and only Priscilla.

Now I know I just did a blog about my trip to Manchester so I'll keep this short and sweet but I wanted to add some bits that happened when I saw the show in Oxford.

So Oxford all started on Monday 25th February when my friend, Rob, text me saying he was booking to see it that Thursday and naturally I couldn't resist booking myself a seat as well, even though it meant I'd have to set of back from Oxford at 5am on the Friday to get to my uni lecture!

So we met up in Oxford at about 4.30 and basically spent the time until the show began exploring the city and eating dinner. I'll tell you something, Oxford is such a beautiful place I'd certainly like to go back there just to explore some more. What was, also, nice was being able to talk freely about Priscilla to someone without feeling like I was boring them by going on and on. It was truly an amazing time.

At about 7pm we went into the theatre, got our programmes and such and took our seats (due to booking so late we were sat about 3 rows apart). I, however, was on an aisle seat...although this seat had a slightly restricted view it made up for it in so many ways as it meant I was one of the lucky few picked to go on stage and dance to Thank God I'm a Country Boy. I urge you all to try this as for me it totally made the show (I'd done it once when I saw it in London and had been dying to do it again since).

As for the show, I'll keep it brief as not much had changed since Manchester. All I'll say is that what was a 90% perfect show in Manchester turned into a 150% perfect show in Oxford...blown away is too mild a saying for how astounding the performance was!

Finally, the best bit about Oxford was the stage door experience. After Jason Donovan had left we were the only two left at the stage door and wow, it was just totally amazing! All the cast were so lovely to us and stopped and chatted for quite a while, which was quite surprising considering some of them had trains to catch plus it was very cold. A special shout out has to go to Regan Shepherd (Farrah / Young Bernadette) who is simply lovely, Alan Hunter (Miss Understanding) who's got such a gorgeous personality, James Cohen (Ensemble) who is truly brilliant and the three most amazingly lovely divas, Ellie Leah, Emma Kingston and Laura Mansell.

So yes, this truly was the most perfect day ever and is one of the best spontaneous decisions I've ever made. And yes, I'm still on cloud 9 from the whole experience.

I'll leave you with some of the pictures I got at the stage door...

 

The Beautiful Oxford New Theatre

 

The gorgeous Diva's: Ellie Leah, Laura Mansell and Emma Kingston

 

Me and the lovely Emma Kingston (Diva)

 

Me and the wonderful James  Cohen (Ensemble)

 

Me and the amazingly talented Alan Hunter (Miss Understanding)

 

I hope you enjoyed this blog about my time seeing Priscilla in Oxford. Please, please go yourselves and please let me know what you think either by commenting on this blog or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx

Pink Sparkles and Perfection!

Hiya my lovely readers, hope you're all well. I am FANTASTIC!!! As you probably know if you've read my other blogs (seem to have been going on about this forever) I went to see the Priscilla Tour for the first time on 21st February and oh my word it was just SPECTACULAR!!!

Now I'd heard quite a lot of criticism about the tour on Twitter and FB mainly on the topics of 'the bus', 'the shoe' and 'Oliver Thornton'. Well, before I went to see the show, my opinion of the first two was IT'S A TOUR it's obviously going to be a bit different and after reading about the complications with the bus when it opened in Sydney (in the autobiography 'Year of the Queen' by Jeremy Stanford...a blog on this will follow shortly) and after hearing about the problems with the bus in the West End I could see how it would probably be impossible to tour the same bus as was in the West End for such short runs in each venue. On the topic of Oliver (who was Felicia in the West End) I had three thoughts: give Graham Weaver a break he could be amazing as well, secondly, as an actor it wouldn't be very satisfying to go back to the same role which you had already perfect and thirdly the guy may be an acting genius but I doubt he's clever enough to play both Frank in Rocky Horror and Felicia in Priscilla at the same time in two different locations!!!

(P.S. bet you've guessed this is going to be a long one).

Well, anyway, on with my trip and what the REAL thing was actually like...well I picked my friend Sharon up from Grantham station just before 2pm and off we set on our two and a half hour drive to Manchester. After a lot of talking and stopping at a service station and managing to get some free ice from Burger King for our cocktails (thank you lovely Burger King guys) we arrived. After a bit of confusion with where to park we had arrived, well except for the fact we had to find the apartment. Luckily our friend Rob had already arrived and came to find us else in sure we would have walked straight past the place...and oh my! If you ever stay in Manchester you need to stay at the Blue Rainbow Aparthotel Manchester High Street, it's gorgeous beyond words!!!

So after a chat, a Japanese Slipper (thanks to Sharon) and some jelly cocktails (my invention) we headed off to Australasia, the restaurant, for some dinner...well you've got to have Australian food before Priscilla haven't you?

The food in the restaurant was beautiful and the drinks were amazing. The whole concept of the place was just so lovely; especially the entrance which was a glass prism and you had to go down stairs to actually get to the restaurant. We had a good old natter over dinner so much so that we had to run to the theatre, which is not an easy feat at the best of times but Rob had made this amazingly beautiful cake for the cast that was massive and weighed a ton, which made running even harder as we didn't want a squished cake on our hands.

We finally made it to the theatre, got the cake handed into the cloakroom and sat down in our seats (the centre of row C) about 5 minutes before the show was about to start.

And WOW what a show!!! Firstly the curtain was amazing as it had the map on that was shown in London. This was so not expected as was a lovely touch. And then the show, well if you've read my other blogs you'll know how much I love the whole concept anyway but after all the criticism I was a little worried about how different it would be from the West End. Well, have no fear, it's absolutely AMAZING!!! No it's not exactly the same but the changes aren't glaring and the show still works fabulously.

The first major change is the bus, which is now on wheels and could be described as half a bus. For the record half a bus does not mean just the front end as Shazza and I thought, instead it means that the bus is a skeleton with LED lights and four TV screens where the windows should be. And, guess what, for me it really worked, as did the fact the bus was on wheels and was moved around by the cast...no it wasn't the same as the West End version but I really don't see what the fuss is about; for a touring show this is perfect. Another difference was there was no shoe; the only worry I had here was that it didn't look too stable to sit on, other than that I don't think it affected the show too much. Finally, Downtown was replaced with It's Raining Men, which worked really well. I've Never Been to Me was cut, which I was a bit disappointed about as it like the song but it didn't really make too much of a difference. And last but not least, Both Sides Now was replaced with True Colours; I think True Colours was ok but I'll always have an affinity for Both Sides Now as, especially now, it seems to be speaking about my life.

Onto the cast...well I could not have asked for a more brilliantly, talented bunch of lovely people!!! Jason Donovan is brilliant as Tick, even if he's a bit off at the stage door (kind of understandable though...just don't ask for a picture).

Carrying on to Richard Grieve who is the best Bernadette ever!!! He's got such a beautiful voice and is just so Bernadette it's unbelievable! We asked at the stage door whether he preferred playing Tick or Bernadette and he answered Bernadette without pausing; it's so clear from his portrayal of Bernadette that this is the case...I mean he was great as Tick in London but his Bernadette is just out of this world.

And then onto probably the most controversial person in the show as far as the Priscilla world is concerned: Graham Weaver as Felicia. Well, he's not Oliver Thornton...yeah quite obviously he's Graham (just a few different letters in the names!). No it's not the same but then he wouldn't be an incredible actor if he just copied what had been done before, would he? And that's what he is, a totally, incredible actor who is so amazing as Felicia it's unbelievable...his version of Venus is just breath taking and his Confide in Me will send shivers down your spine!!! He offers a beautiful, refreshing version of Felicia and I for one loved it!!!

Now then, the Divas...the beautiful Emma Kingston, Ellie Leah (who is, also, the most hilarious Shirley ever) and Laura Mansell...three women with killer voices and shed loads of attitude. They are just too perfect for words...go girls!!!

Frances Mayli McCann is fabulous as Cynthia. Alan Hunter is truly hilarious as Miss Understanding...anyone who doesn't laugh when he's on stage should be shot...he's pure talent!!! Giles Watling is just so Bob and Julie Stark is the perfect Marion. Not to forget the brilliantly talented Ian Oswald (who sadly we didn't get to see) who is the dance captain of the show and Bleu Woodward, the assistant dance captain, who have just done a fantastic job...brilliance in motion!

Finally, I special mention must go to the super talented Regan Shepherd. He is completely fabulous as Farrah and Young Bernadette and was, also, so gorgeous to us at the stage door. I seriously think if you looked up what a perfect performer should be it so should have Regan's name written there...WOW is all that can be said.

And to all the rest of the fabulous cast...you're just so stunning I could go on forever.

I think you can probably tell I was impressed by the cast, the set, the songs and just everything! Please beg, borrow or steal a ticket...you've just GOT to go...and whilst you're at it take me with you :p.

Well after the show we picked up the cake, delivered it to the stage door, where there was much love by the cast for it, and had a completely fabulous time at the stage door chatting to some of the cast. After that we went and took some pictures outside the theatre then went to the Apothecary cocktail bar and had some weird but very nice cocktails before going back to our lush apartment.

So to wrap up...this was truly everything I could have wanted from a tour of Priscilla and I seriously urge you to go and see it whether you have been before or not you will love it!

I'll leave you with some pictures of my trip. Please message me on Twitter (@GreenGirlsRox) or comment below...I'd love to hear from you :).

 

The enterance to Australaisa Restaurant

 

Me with the amazing Richard  Grieve (Bernadette)

 

Me with the superb Graham Weaver (Felicia)

 

Me with the absolutely faboulous Regan Shepherd (Farrah / Young Bernadette)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posing outside the theatre :)

 



Hope you enjoyed reading about my trip.

Love you lots

Kat

Xx