Danny DeVito on the Jonathan Ross Show

Seeing Danny on the show has got me excited for the Sunshine Boys so here's a pic! Strangely it's got my mum excited  too, I guess she's more used to Danny than me, I'm considering taking my mum when it finally gets here - what a lovely person I'd be then xD She's never usually interested in coming to the theatre with me, so there you go, The Sunshine Boys has a universal appeal! Ah the pulling power of celebrity! Sometimes it's a good thing :)

In the mean time...really should take the boif to Legally Blonde before it closes...

On The Oliver Awards 2012

I have an opinion - so, hit me in the head with a spade and call me human.
Alternatively, bet me a box of chocolates that my predictions aren't right? Just for a laugh.


Best New Play
Collaborators at the NT Cottesloe
Jumpy at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
One Man, Two Guvnors at the NT Lyttelton *


I can't imagine a world where One Man, Two Guvnors doesn't win this, nuff said.


Best Revival
Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse
Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s
Noises Off at the Old Vic *


Personally, I'd like to see Anna Christie win, but I'm guilty of not seeing Noises Off yet, I've been waiting for the West End transfer. From what I hear, it deserves to win.


Best Entertainment & Family
Derren Brown – Svengali at the Shaftesbury *
Midnight Tango at the Aldwych
Potted Potter at the Garrick
The Tiger Who Came To Tea at the Vaudeville


I can't comment on this one, I haven't seen any of these. I have seen all of Brown's shows but this one, so I'm sure this is as deserving as the rest. On the other hand, I have a lot of friends who have enjoyed Potted Potter, so I wouldn't be surprised by that either.


Best Actress
Celia Imrie for Noises Off at the Old Vic*
Lesley Manville for Grief at the Cottesloe
Kristin Scott Thomas for Betrayal at the Harold Pinter
Marcia Warren for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse

These are all so deserving...although Marcia Warren doesn't do so much in The Ladykillers...anyway, I've made this prediction based upon the reputation of Noises Off; Kristin Scott Thomas' return to the stage was much anticipated but not much raved about, and however much I adore Ruth Wilson, I don't think she can compete with those two names.


Best Actor
James Corden for One Man, Two Guvnors at the NT Lyttelton
Benedict Cumberbatch & Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein at the NT Olivier *
David Haig for The Madness of George III at the Apollo
Douglas Hodge for Inadmissable Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse
Jude Law for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse


This has got to be the Frankenstein duo! I only saw Cumberbatch/Frankenstein and Miller/Monster but it was absolutely astounding, and they've already won all the other awards. The others don't have much of a chance after a show like Frankenstein.


Best Actress in a Musical
Kate Fleetwood for London Road at the NT Cottesloe
Sarah Lancashire for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
The Matildas for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge *
Scarlett Strallen for Singin’ In The Rain at the Palace


I've not seen Scarlett in Singin' In The Rain yet, but I've not heard good things. Betty Blue Eyes was just horrific. Everyone whose seen it would agree, Matilda has the most talented children...in the world?


Best Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge*
Nigel Lindsay for Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Reece Shearsmith for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
Paulo Szot for South Pacific at the Barbican


Bertie's performance is astounding. If the children and score and show in general weren't so perfect, I might say that he steals the show. Nigel Lindsay was just disappointing.


Best Performance in a Supporting Role
Sharon D Clarke for Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly
Sophie-Louise Dann for Lend Me A Tenor the Musical at the Gielgud
Nigel Harman for Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane *
Paul Kaye for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
Katherine Kingsley for Singin’ In The Rain at the Palace


I have a funny niggling feeling that Sharon D Clarke is going to win this. But I truly believe Nigel Harman deserves this one, perfect every time, and what's more: spent months on his knees.


Best New Musical
Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly
London Road at the NT Cottesloe
Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge *
Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane


Shoe in.


Best Musical Revival
Crazy for You at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre *
Singin' In The Rain at the Palace
South Pacific at the Barbican
The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium


Or possibly South Pacific. But as long as The Wizard of Oz doesn't win, I'll be happy.


Best Director
Sean Foley for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
Nicholas Hytner for One Man, Two Guvnors at the NT Lyttelton
Rufus Norris for London Road at the NT Cottesloe
Matthew Warchus for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge *


Matilda is up for all these awards for a reason after all, and at the heart of that is the director.


Best Lighting Design
Anna Christie designed by Howard Harrison at the Donmar Warehouse
Frankenstein designed by Bruno Poet at the NT Olivier *
Ghost the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Piccadilly
Matilda the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Cambridge


Ooooh these are all such good nominations, all deserving, but Frankenstein was such a journey, Poet tips it over the edge for me.


Best Sound Designer
Ghost the Musical designed by Bobby Aitken at the Piccadilly
Frankenstein designed by Underworld and Ed Clarke at the NT Olivier
The Ladykillers designed by Ben Ringham and Max Ringham at the Gielgud *
Matilda the Musical designed by Simon Baker at the Cambridge


I'm surprised at myself for choosing The Ladykillers here, but it was so cleverly done, in a way unlike the others; very of the genre, an instrument indicating each character, it became almost a character in itself. Again though, very deserved nominations, all.


Now...who wants to buy me a ticket to the Oliviers?

How theatre for young people could save the world

I'm reposting this article by Lauren Gunderson because it's so important. I've been writing about how theatre can aide personal growth for my Studying the Arts coursework, and this is so on point. Bravo!  And Happy World Theater for Children and Young People Day!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-gunderson/world-theater-for-children-and-young-people-day_b_1343408.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Sweeney Todd *****

Photo: Tristram Kenton

         Let’s not beat about the bush: Sweeney Todd is the best thing in the West End right now. I had unknowingly formed a lot of preconceptions about this musical from Tim Burton’s film adaptation which I’ve now lost after seeing how it should be done. Not that I don't love Burton's film, but a lot of laughter is lost from the glorious stage version. Anthony Ward’s design is definitely Burton-esque, this is because director Jonathan Kent has updated Sweeney to the 30’s, against an industrial backdrop. Kent’s production is sophisticated, with a visual language accompanying the libretto, that’s almost Brechtian.

                It even toes upon Brecht’s Marxist themes; a whistle blows – rather, the whistle is blown – most times that Sweeney takes a victim, or alternatively, delivers produce to Mrs Lovett. Sweeney Todd seeks revenge upon Judge Turpin, who transported him to Australia years ago under false charges, and then raped his wife and adopted his daughter in his absence. But his barber's bloodlust soon turns upon the rest of humanity to the benefaction of Mrs Lovett's pie shop. Sweeney turns upon the audience, razor in hand and sings ‘we all deserve to die’ - and looking at the production values, and the manner in which we empathise with a serial killer, over a corrupt judge, I can’t help but wonder if Kent means it.

                The ensemble lingers at the top of the stage, peering through fractured windows into the tale of Sweeney Todd -but not learning from it. They scale to banshee like top notes that shake your insides. Their refrain has a scaremongering quality about it, which working with Sondheim’s humour; holds the audience on edge. Sondheim's wit cuts through the intense scenes like a blunt knife. Imelda Staunton steals the show, revitalising the role of Mrs Lovett. She has the audience in the palm of her hand. Michael Ball – better known for his charm than his menace – also astounds, his sonorous voice both occupying the vulnerability and insanity in the character of Sweeney. They are supported immensely by an immense cast, including Peter Polycarpou and John Bowe, the Beadle and Judge Turpin; as immoral pillars of the law. Polycarpou plays the harmonium with gusto to say the least, playing off Staunton in an impossibly tense and hilarious penultimate scene.

                In parallel, Lucy May Barker and Luke Brady drift upon the sweet tones of young lovers, naïve to the world around them. Without this couple, Sweeney wouldn’t be quite so bitterly moving. Indeed, I didn’t expect a show like Sweeney to move me on quite so many levels. Their duet has a touch of Bernstein’s ‘Tonight’, moving their star crossed love adamantly through the story; contrasting with the fluctuating morals and ceaselessly paced primary plotline.The laughter and tears rest upon the knife’s edge of dramatic irony, to the extent that the interplay between characters and chorus echoes the form of a Greek Tragedy.

                Kent’s production speaks to you more than the average musical might do. But of course, Sweeney Todd isn’t average; with this stellar cast and Sondheim’s score, Kent didn’t have to do much to make this show spectacular and yet he’s achieved this and so much more. If you see anything this year, attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.

RE: Me and my quick rant on fringe theatre

I have a few things I've been meaning to write about this week but I've been so busy with Brunel's production of Cabaret (which opened today to what seemed like a happy audience) that I've just not had the time!

But to begin, I was lucky enough to win tickets through http://www.ayoungertheatre.com to the premier of Philip Ridley's new play Shivered at the Southwark Playhouse on Monday. Now skip past all the obvious excitment *competition! win! me? my favourite writer!* and my brain being as slow as it is, I realised something contrary to my rant's point last week.

To reiterate, I made a point about the exciting work mostly reserved for fringe theatre having a chance to be seen by a wider audience by putting it in West End theatres. It's no secret that I champion in-yer-face theatre; but it had been so long since I'd seen such a show that I'd forgotten the obvious whilst writing my last rant. A show like that works best in an intimate venue, like the Southwark Playhouse; I couldn't imagine seeing a play like Shivered in a much bigger space without it losing its impact. It's impossible to interact with an audience that closely on a West End level. The thing about plays like this is the way the actors look at you and it feels as if they're looking at YOU, and from thereon have an insane abilitiy to play tug of war with your insides (Ridley...you God).

I barely remember being at the Southwark Playhouse once before, but huddled by strangers in small seats in an enclosed, dark space, listening to the tube roll by above you every few minutes, is strangely such a necessary element in pieces like these. And I'd forgotten that, tucked into my comfy red velvet seats at the Haymarket. And here I shall extend my earlier point; in an ideal world, it wouldn't only be possible to open an audience's eyes to the wealth of innovative theatre being created out there; but to theatre spaces without chandeliers and proscenium arches blocking your engagement with a show. Oh if only variety really was the affordably priced, tesco value spice rack of life.

New Content

Hello there! You may have noticed that there's a couple of non-theatre reviews on the blog now - shock horror! I've been reviewing a wider range of things, just to develop my confidence as general culture vulture reviewer; and to get a place as an editor on Le Nurb (Brunel University's paper). I hope this is all still to everyone's interest! Everything is interesting stuff to see out and about in London, I've either been very generous lately or the culture scene in London is booming; I've given out more four and five star reviews in a month than I usually do in a year!

And just because I'm very excited, I'm posting the Sweeney Todd trailer again because in a week I'll be sitting in the audience! Also to come: an interview with Peter Polycarpou who plays the Beadle in Sweeney Todd, and a review of Cleanskin, the film he stars in with Sean Bean.

Swing your razor high! Sweeney...

Rock of Ages ****

I not so secretly want to be a rock star. So, however outwardly superficial Rock of Ages might appear to the critic, the celebration of sex, drugs, and rock and roll makes for a definite feel good musical. I complain about jukebox musicals breeding like rampant bunnies, and am not one for, well, a happy musical. They usually feel like nothing musicals; a cliché with tapping arms and legs, and boring songs. But Rock of Ages uses this to poke fun at the musical theatre genre, wherein lie these four stars. In particular, the moment when Lonny takes out a programme and informs Drew (Oliver Tompsett) that he's in a musical, “You used to be in Mamma Mia?! [sings] Look at you now...”

Photo: Tristam Kenton

Drew and Sherry are two young wannabes hoping to make it in New York, who happen to fall in love, but are torn apart by an inevitable misunderstanding. Simple enough, Rock of Ages isn’t about substance but dreaming. And obviously not every theatregoer wants something intellectually stimulating every time they go out, where’s the fun in that? So I can’t bring myself to throw stones at writer Chris D’Arienzo for keeping it simple; at this expense, the show is actually laugh a minute which is a tremendous feat in itself. I haven’t laughed this much at the theatre since...well, I haven’t ever.

There is an unstoppable energy in this flawless ensemble, necessary for the driven sound of this show. Rock of Ages is set against 80’s rock anthems; We Built This City, The Final Countdown, and Don’t Stop Believing, amongst them. Musical theatre is difficult territory for rock music (you could argue it has stolen We Will Rock You’s formula of awful story plus immense music) but Rock of Ages creates the atmosphere of a Sunset Strip gig. Tompsett is an established leading man, and his vocal dexterity is astounding, possessing the metallic edge to elevate him from stage star to rock star. Simon Lipkin as Lonny jostles with Tompsett for star of the show; he is hilarious. He has a t-shirt that says ‘Hooray for Boobies’, prances and gyrates and rubs his nipples, makes a point by eating inanimate objects…I’ve seen Rock of Ages twice and he makes the whole cast (and himself) corpse left, right and centre he’s so funny.

There are a couple of actual ‘stars’ in the cast in the shape of Justin Lee Collins and Shane Ward. Collins has a gay plotline with Lonny as owners of the infamous Bourbon Room – never has a fog machine been so moving. Both hold their own well within their cast, and aren’t at all disappointing as you might expect, after seeing other so-called celebrities that have ventured to tread the boards. A mention must also go to Regina (Jodie Jacobs) – “Oh, I get it! Regina rhymes with pussy!” – and Franz (Sandy Moffat) – “I’m not gay! I’m German!” Beneath the hippy socks worn with sandals and lycra bodysuits, is a heartfelt example of sticking it to the man. A refrain of Kelly Devine’s choreography, which makes you want to leap out of your seat and join in.

It’s just occurred to me, this has transferred to London at a very appropriate time considering our riotous attitude towards the current government. But seriousness aside, if the music and laughs don’t tickle your fancy enough, the cast don’t wear very much.

The Muppets *****

Since I heard this film was being released, I have literally been counting down the days on my calendar. I remember being even shorter than I am now and going to the cinema to see the last Muppet movie, Muppets From Space; twelve years later it feels just as it did then. I haven’t left the cinema with a smile like that for a long time...twelve years maybe.

The unabashed joy of the Muppets goes much further back than my childhood of course; they’ve been going for thirty five years, and return in this movie acknowledging without shame that, well, they’ve been forgotten about since our childhood. Disbanded for years, the Muppets now pursue separate careers: Miss Piggy is editor of French Vogue, Fozzy is in a tribute band called The Moopets, Gonzo is a plumbing magnate, and Kermit sits and reminisces about the good old days in his Beverly Hills mansion. It takes their biggest fan, Walter (a Muppet who’s struggled in the human world), and his brother Gary (played by Jason Segel, who arguably is the Muppets biggest human fan and wrote this film with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director, Nick Stoller) to bring the Muppets back together. They must raise enough money to buy their studio back from an evil oil baron (Chris Cooper’s maniacal laughs and rap – yes, rap – are a major highlight).

A lot of the laughs come from the film’s ability to laugh at itself. The whole town fall into a dance break at the beginning of the movie, MGM musical style, but then collapse thankfully once the chirpy threesome have left for Hollywood. It screams, ‘I am a cheesey movie; you know it, we know it’ and reminds us how magical the movies can be if we just sit back and let it cast its spell. Amy Adams has always looked something of a Disney princess, and so is delightfully cast in this movie. The strained relationship between her and Segel parallels Kermit and Miss Piggy’s, and is played well against the Muppets’ otherwise comical plot. It’s insane how these unique furry friends are able to make you feel not only warm and fuzzy inside, but insanely good about yourself. The music is composed by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Concords, and the Oscar winning song, ‘Man or a Muppet’ is genuinely both moving and amusing; by the time you reach this song, your heart is like warm putty in their little hands.

There are a few cameos from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Black, but for this comeback, the real stardom is the Muppets’. I had never realised how much Cee Lo Green sounds like a flock of chickens or how much I missed Fozzy’s “Wacka wacka!”, for instance. The finale feels like a family reunion, and I’m about five years old all over again. In the state this country is in, it takes a pretty powerful movie for a whole audience to skip out singing ‘Everything is great, life’s a happy song’. The Muppets are back!

David Shrigley: Brain Activity *****



Photo: Linda Nylind



Brain Activity at the Hayward Gallery is David Shrigley’s first major UK exhibition, but it really should have come sooner. Shrigley is known for his humourous drawings (The Essential David Shrigley) however this exhibition features sculpture, photography, animations and more in what begins to feel like a never-ending showcase of talent that has been deprived of limelight for far too long. Literally hundreds of works of art are crammed into this space, separated into rooms which tackle the grand narratives of our time: relationships, death, sleep and less obviously, misshapen things.

The first room is Headlessness, the first thing you see is a headless ostrich. Baffling? This opening draws you into Shrigley’s world where he wants you to imagine the stories behind the exhibits, answering any questions you’ll inevitably have, yourself. His style is simplistic, almost childlike and you do find yourself reverting to a childlike mind-set as Shrigley toys with your worldly preconceptions. A small structure of the word ‘IT’ hides in the corner of one room, leading to the obvious question, “What is ‘it’?” Shrigley’s paintings mock art; if art is something that you feel then surely Shrigley is expressing it better than anyone by painting ‘FUCKING HELL’ angrily across a page in green paint by a screaming red stick figure. If this isn’t clear enough then the drawing captioned ‘Museums are full of crap’ should illustrate the point. The light-heartedness of Shrigley’s work counter -plays the ideas behind it so that your brain works on two unlikely levels at once using puns, contradictions, euphemisms with as much significance as the material.

I’m aware that my descriptions make Brain Activity sound somewhat trivial. The truth is that Shrigley toes the line between philosophical and nonsensical and this is what makes his work so refreshing. If anything compelled me on a more personal level, it would be arguably Shrigley’s most famous work: a taxidermy dog holding a sign which says ‘I’m dead’. As if it were fate, before I went in to this exhibition a Jack Russell terrier just like this one happened to leap into my arms for a cuddle. The lifelike quality the dead dog possesses is disturbing, horrific even considering the unsentimental irony applied to it. So that the comedic quality of Shrigley’s work is suddenly turned on its head, and life feels like nothing but ‘a prequel to extinction’.

In a literal whole other world, a section of the exhibit is populated by hundreds of insects, made from uniquely shaped pieces of metal. Thousands of little legs – the stuff of a lot of our nightmares, and yet they appear so human; working together, alone, having sex. The only way to escape the room is through an insect sized hole in the wall. Shrigley communicates with the spectator directly in every room. The relationship room in particular lent a particularly dark undertone to something close to the skin; the animation ‘New Friends’ involved a square being cut brutally into a circle by a community of his circular shaped friends. Enforcing this is ‘Swords and Daggers’, which were carved in wax with a potato peeler before being cast in bronze.

There is a skill to Shrigley’s purposefully crude art, and his ability to communicate so much with just a pencil and paper. It feels okay to live in an ugly world if we can laugh at it. The problem with reviewing this exhibition is that I cannot condense ideas like Shrigley can. Brain Activity made me feel as if my brain had suddenly woken up from the coma of only using the usual 10%. This exhibition forces you to think about the life, the universe and everything; until I thought my brain might explode – in a good way. But contemplating it makes no difference to life, the universe, and everything, which is at the taxidermy heart of this absurd exhibition which celebrates futility, not the answers to the grand questions it poses.

To B Or Not To B?

As I write this, I’m watching Tom Ford’s Oscar nominated A Single Man: as artsy fartsy a film as you can get without watching The Artist. And I wonder, who on earth has the right to decide whether this deserved an award or not? I would have given best picture to this, not Hurt Locker – but they didn’t; I would have given best picture to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, not The Artist – but they didn’t. And then this nightmare came into clarity in my mind’s eye: even at that far off level of professionalism, beautiful things (the term ‘art’ is far too pretentious, it entails the silly, impossible question of ‘what is art?’, the labelling itself a form of grading) will always be reduced to a grade: winner, loser, not even nominated = A, B, whatever. I’ve already begun making a nightmare out of my dreams because of the dreaded marks for my first term writing portfolio.


I consider myself lucky (or perhaps, in a parent’s eyes, copping out) to be studying something I love with creative writing (although I’m placing all arts subjects involving a creative project under an umbrella generalisation here). Did you spot the blackened word in the otherwise positively phrased sentence above? No, not parents. ‘Studying.’ Of course there’s a wealth to learn from studying other’s work but can you honestly study ‘how to’ something? Whether it be writing, composing, or performance etc. – let alone mark it.

Obviously, to a technical extent you can: the comma goes here, act it in the style of this practitioner. I won’t say must for undoubtedly there are those who didn’t study their craft yet are hailed as the best in their field. But beyond a general check for competent knowledge about conventions, how can you mark the arts without creating a weirdly communist breed of ‘correct’ (I can’t help but use the word now, sorry) artists? It’s a form of censorship in a sense which is purely paradoxical. In a recent interview for IdeasTap, playwright David Eldridge said ‘there’s no right way to write a play...do this workshop, learn this structure...it doesn’t work like that: writers need treating in as...individual a way as possible.’ And I forgot about feeling guilty for doing things my way.

Although my contention is obvious, I’m not bitter about my first marks of university, elements of the feedback seem fair enough. But following the results, I heard this phrase resonate amongst my peers ‘they just didn’t seem to get it’. Do they ever? My eyes aren’t your eyes. So we come to the obvious point: art is subjective, possibly too subjective to be called good or bad. It took years for Joyce’s Ulysses to be published, but now it’s heralded as one of the greatest books ever written. Looking at the marketing criteria, I can’ help but see a vicious circle in which you can’t get an A for originality, without getting a substantially lower mark in structure or language, and vice versa.

In an age where achieving originality anymore seems impossible, I would argue that nurturing creativity should come before restraining it to a marking criterion. I have increasingly found myself using this phrase, ‘you have to sell your soul for an A’. Reading this back, it sounds a little on the Faustian side of overdramatic, but it earnestly feels that way. If (I feel I should slap my wrist every time I use this word) ‘art’ often holds a mirror up to its creator, then doesn’t marking it suddenly seem not just difficult, but perverse? Take art – as in paintings etc. – for example; before appreciating whether the composition of a painting is perfect, I ask myself whether I identify with it.

Of course whether you identify with a piece of writing, the interpretation of a character, the phrasing of a musical line, doesn’t, or at least, shouldn’t influence the mark. But does it influence whether one ‘gets’ it or not? This is what worries me.

I’m not presuming I can change the whole educational system with one article – I always accepted a degree as the easiest way into the industry. But in writing this, I can exercise my voice without getting panic attacks over whether it’ll receive above a B; and isn’t expression of ideas what it’s all about?

A Quick Rant: Fringe Theatre and The Price We Pay For Quality



Picture from: http://wetheatre.co.uk/pitchfork/quotes.htm

I have seen a lot of shows in these first two months of 2012 and without a doubt, the best things I've seen have been fringe productions. Being so enamoured with Theatreland, I'm lucky enough to know where and how to get cut price tickets for the West End shows, e.g. I got £2 tickets to ‘The Madness of King George’ through Masterclass at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and £15 tickets for ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the aforementioned theatre. The thing is, with all due respect, I didn't rate these shows very highly at all and yet they sit comfortably on their West End laurels able to cut ticket prices in full knowledge the theatre's label of 'West End' has a pulling power all of its own to fill the hundreds of seats. A West End production to me, now feels something of a safe one.

A prime example of what I'm talking about with Fringe theatre is 'Don't Stray From The Path' which I reviewed a few weeks ago. It wasn't perfect, but was innovative and exciting which more than makes up for that. After a series of West End disappointments, it feels like the time to finally really explore the edgy brilliance that seems only reserved to Off- West End venues – yes: the non-commercial stuff. Alas no! Indeed there’s a wealth of wonderful things to see on the fringes of Theatreland, calling out to my bones like some strange, internal, thespian magnet…yet unfortunately productions of this calibre are obviously costly to put on; and thereby, put me out. There is a wealth of discounts open to me in the West End, particularly the option of dayticketing, but not off-west end which saddens me immensely. As a student, I simply can’t afford to fork out up to £30 to see a fringe show, however much I’d like to.



Picture from: atgtickets.com



Now some off-west end venues like the Royal Court or the Arcola have schemes whereby the tickets are considerably reduced on certain days. I have been dying to see The Pitchfork Disney (just look at all the amazing reviews it’s had in the above poster) but couldn’t make it to the ‘Pay What You Can Tuesdays’. But for The Leisure Society at The Trafalgar Studios, tickets begin at £26.50. When did this inflation happen? Sure, this is just another post about the cuts made to Arts funding I suppose, but considering the quality of a large majority of the off-west end productions I’ve seen, my feelings are that in an ideal world, in order to keep daring, relevant theatre alive, I would prefer to see West End and Off-West End drama swap places. And so by placing productions like these in full view of a widening public eye, we might remember the possibilities of theatre, and fund it through bums on seats (more than just a hundred). When will it be okay to take small shows into big venues? Or better yet, make the small venues which have done so much for theatre, into the big thing.

P.S. If anyone knows of any discounts for ‘The Leisure Society’ – please, please, please let me know!

The Sunshine Boys: Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths in the West End!

Looking forward to this! Thea Sharrock is to direct Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths as the ageing vaudevillian team Willie Clark and Al Lewis in Neil Simon’s award-wining comedy, The Sunshine Boys. 

Kings of comedy, Willie Clark (Danny DeVito) and Al Lewis (Richard Griffiths) aka The Sunshine Boys haven’t spoken to each other in years.  When CBS call for the vaudevillian greats to be re-united for a nostalgic History of Comedy, past grudges resurface as they take centre stage once more.   Ageing ailments aside, can this legendary double-act overcome their differences for one last show?  Old rivalry and vintage hilarity abound in Neil Simon’s classic comedy of showbiz and friendship.

The Sunshine Boys takes over the Savoy Theatre from Legally Blonde from the 27th April for a strictly limited run. Regular readers will know that I've been on a mission to find a truly laugh out loud comedy, could this be it? I've got a lot of faith in Neil Simon and with a cast and crew like this - how could it possibly go wrong? Roll on April!

Tickets are available from http://www.sunshineboystheplay.com/ or by calling 0844 871 7687

P.S. Won't it be nice to have some celebrities in the West End who haven't won a talent show but have talent! *This is not a reference to The Wizard of Oz...