Happy Birthday Theatre Scribbles!!
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Whaaaat! 🙊
So to celebrate 5 years of writing Theatre Scribbles, here are the Top 10 theatrical experiences I have had since I started writing in 2015. When I mean EXPERIENCE, I don't mean "IT'S THE BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN AMG!!!" - although a lot of them were that to a degree...
It has to have a significant memory behind them, whether it's about the people who went, or how the show has spoken to me. 😊
Don't forget to click the pink if you want to read the full reviews in more detail.
Oh, and these are in no particular order.
- Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre, London, March 2018:
Nuff said.
Ok, ok, FINE; but seriously anyone who has seen this juggernaut would agree that it is AN EXPERIENCE - it was worth the year-plus long wait between getting the tickets and actually seeing it...! I left the theatre only half believing what had just happened... Maybe if I see it again, I will take it in more....?
And speaking of Lin Manuel-Miranda.... - In The Heights, Kings Cross Theatre AND Les Miserables, Queens Theatre, London, June 2016
I have paired these two together as I saw them during the same weekend. I surprised my boyfriend at the time with a trip to London, and though we are not together anymore, it's still a really good memory. In The Heights was the wildcard, but was absolutely electric; oh and it was perfect for a nerd like me, as I saw more understudies on than those in the main cast! Seeing the original production of Les Mis at the Queens with the revolve seems more special now that the Sondheim will hold the new production. My ex in fact kept asking me all weekend if we were seeing Les Mis and I kept saying no... His face afterwards was priceless 😂 - Little Shop of Horrors, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, December 2014
My very first experience at the Royal Exchange still holds as possibly the best, with maybe only West Side Story in contention for that crown. A lot of that comes down to the design of the plant, seeing that a conventional Audrey II puppet wouldn't work in a in-the-round space. I still get excited just thinking about how it worked as Audrey II swallowed her victims and grew with every feed. To explain it best, please see the below video from when the cast performed on Blue Peter.
- Emilia, Vaudeville Theatre, London, May 2019 From one of my first blog pieces to one of my most recent. To say that this show packed a punch is a BIT of an understatement. We may have come a long way since those times, but it was one big fat feminist cry to the world that it is still ****ed up. I have never seen an audience of mostly women leap to their feet, clap and cheer, shout and scream as much as I did at those final words.
What was even stranger was that this was the add-on for a 2 show day. My main objective was to see Judy Kuhn in Fiddler on the Roof before she left; but it was the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets that ended up having the bigger impact on me.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, no show has challenged me more as a woman than this piece has. - The Rocky Horror Show, Opera House, Manchester, January 2016
Let's face it, going to see Rocky Horror is an experience in itself.... People cosplay, they heckle, they sing and dance - it's possibly the only show you can acceptably do that, except maybe in panto.
There is one particular memory that comes from this show though. When my best friend and I went to see it, we went for the very back row of the circle. This proved to be a fab idea, as when Time Warp came on, we could stand up and dance without worrying about blocking anyone else's view. I randomly turned around during the middle of the song... to find all the ushers dancing along behind us. It was brilliant! - Aladdin, Prince Edward Theatre, London, June 2017I went to see this with 2 friends of mine - the show itself was amazing, especially Trevor Dion Nicholas as the Genie. My jaw hit the floor during Friend Like Me.
But the pierce de resistance was that we got to meet Aladdin himself, Matthew Croke. 😍
I think they were collecting for a charity at the front of the theatre. My friend still swears to this day that if we were there any longer, I would have got his number out of him..... 😂😅 - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre, London, July 2019
Yeah this is another "nuff said" one to a degree, and I cannot give anything away because of #keepthesecrets but going to see this mega play is something you're not going to forget! Neither is the security line - bit of advice, bring as little as possible and NO food... - Annie, Piccadilly Theatre, London, August 2017This is on the list as it was a big weekend to London with my friends from college to see Miranda Hart as Miss Hannigan. Yes we are all Miranda fans. On her first entrance, she tripped and then belted out "It's great to be back in the theatre!". Oh and she did the horse trot when coming up to the bows...
After the show, we went to another friend of ours who lives in East Grinstead, and stayed up till 4 in the morning blasting out tunes and with A LOT of gin! 🍹 - Gypsy, Savoy Theatre, London, July 2015 AND Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Wyndhams Theatre, London July 2017
These two are grouped together because they were a very similar experience. They both had huge headliners as their leading ladies, and I came away from both of them knowing that I witnessed a masterclass in acting. Imelda Staunton won an Olivier for Momma Rose, and Audra McDonald a Tony for Billie Holliday. When watching these hugely talented ladies at work, you understood why. - Around the World in 80 Days, Quays Theatre at the Lowry, Salford, January 2018 This is an interesting one as it would have been one of the few times I admit my suggestion would have been VERY wrong and everyone else's was VERY right!
We saw this as a family, my brother included which very rarely happens now, for my Mum's birthday - and Mr Fogg and Passepartout's adventures turned out to be a wonderful surprise! I genuinely did not expect for it to be so good!
So what would my suggestion have been.... Elf.
Thank GOD the ticket prices were so steep. My family still troll me about it to this very day...
Hadestown, National Theatre, London, November 2018: I really wanted to mention this now-Broadway smash. At the time, it was just an add-on consideration, as I had never been to the National and I loved Greek myths when I was younger.
My trip in November was mainly for Company and Heathers, but Hadestown proved to be something special. I loved the genre of music and how out of the box it was, a mix between folk and New Orleans jazz to tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It has now gone on to win A LOT of Tonys this year. Take THAT Oliviers committee!
There you have it - I've loved going down memory lane a bit, even if this idea had come to me at 1am....
Fingers crossed I'll still be here writing in another 5 years 😸
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