Theatre: The Girls

Picture snaffled from the official website. Because as we all know, we don't take pictures at the theatre!

The Girls is a show that I remember wanting to see when it opened, but always seemed to be the one that got away - when schedules didn't work, when other shows came up first, when the ticket price was out of my budget for that month...

That's a shame, as I'm a great fan of the source material (the joy that is the film Calendar Girls) and the county so beloved in the film and the play, Yorkshire. So imagine my delight when my sweet friend Lou texted to say she had a ticket going spare - I swiftly added the date to my diary and looked forward to it!

Apart from the film background I knew very little going in, but sometimes I quite like that in the theatre. For every show I go into word-perfect (42nd Street, The Lion King, etc) I've gone to see plenty of things 'cold' and rather enjoy catching a show in the raw, reacting as things arise.

The Girls is a pleasant and moving piece of theatre. I laughed as much as one expects to in a musical comedy, but what really struck me was the space and time the writers were willing to lend to the sadder, deeper, more poignant moments. The Girls is about many things - friendship, community, making a difference, but it's also about loss, and in the moments where this took centre stage it was masterful. There was a good fifteen minute stretch where I was officially ugly crying. Thank heavens for the napkins I'd taken with my dinner from Pret beforehand!

The cast of The Girls is beladen with some serious talent. The whole ensemble is good, but there were a couple of highlights for me.  It was such a treat to see Joanna Riding sing live (the Witches of Eastwick soundtrack with the London cast is one of my favourite musical theatre recordings ever) and her performance as Annie was beautiful, the real heart of the show. Sophie-Louise Dann was brilliant too, in a role which balanced comedy, pathos and confidence - whenever I see her perform (I loved her in Made in Dagenham and Bend It Like Beckham too) I'm thoroughly charmed.

The Girls runs at London's Pheonix Theatre until the middle of next month. If you're looking for an entertaining, moving night of musical theatre, you'd do well to pick up some tickets - it's a great wee show!

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Happy Monday #21

Oh yes, it's back - a quick round up of a few of the things that are making me happy right now.

1. Instagram Stories

Inasmuch as Instagram proper can drive me a little nuts with the algorithmic nonsense and non-chronological feed and bots bots bots, at its best it's a great way to share, and in stories I love sharing the little snippets of my day-to-day life. I'm cmclaire over there. Above, the chaos unleashed while I babysat a friend's child last week.

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Theatre: The Last Five Years

Photo by Scott Rylander

One of the best things about living in London is the sheer amount of awesome theatre available to see. All across the city on a given night there are marvellous shows to watch, from big budget musicals to experimental theatre, one-woman shows to inventive interpretations of a classic play. Truly we are blessed with a surfeit of theatrical riches.

The downside of this can be that sometimes you'll miss shows, or they will simply not hit your radar. That's a great shame, as sometimes smaller, more intimate pieces can lose audiences simply due to budget, big name Hollywood or Broadway stars, or name recognition. But when we are willing to do a little hunting, to take a chance, there are some amazing gems to be discovered.

One such show is The Last Five Years, currently playing at the St James Theatre, down near Victoria. I love this venue (the last time I'd attended was to see the divine Miss Katie Brennan kill it in her show) and they always have great, vibrant productions. However, I must confess that I hadn't heard much about the show, and that's on me, much due to the reasons above. But when my main theatre buddy Shona said she had a spare ticket, I very happily trotted along.

And man, am I glad I did.

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Happy Monday/10 Happy Things #16

It's Monday, it's the start of the week, and I'm joining up as ever with Katy and Jasmin for a lovely, positive start to the week. It's a very speedy round up today, but let's go!

1. My newsletter

Yep, I've finally set up a newsletter - something I've been meaning to do for a fair old while. I'll be sending out a little note into the universe, every Sunday. If you like to sign up, there's a box in the sidebar on the left, or you can simply click here. I do hope you'll join us!

2. The Last Five Years

A full review to follow, but this show at the St James' Theatre is an utter delight! The cast of two absolutely own the stage and the whole thing is something quite magical.

3. Texts from Christy, about Mariah

Longtime readers of the blog will know that Christy and I have a soft spot for la Diva that is Mariah Carey. So when it was announced that Mariah was unveiling the big Christmas window display in Toronto and performing, Christy naturally went along to pay homage. And sent me texts aplenty so I could experience it for myself. So fun!

4. Christmas fun with Vixie

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Theatre: Side Show

Image from the Southwark Playhouse website

Growing up, and particularly in my teens and early twenties, I was an enormous musical theatre nerd (in the nicest possible way, but that's the only way to describe my devotion to the genre). Evenings spent singing along to cast albums on CD soon grew to bigger things when I moved to university and discovered there was a whole society devoted to musicals, and I romped through a fair few productions as a bit player, a lead, or as a chorus monkey (these were often the most fun!).

My time at university taught me a lot about musicals as a form, and I got to try and do all sorts of things (tap dancing, dancing dressed as a member of the undead, an onstage costume change from trousers and a jacket to a sleeveless ballgown in eight bars) while pursuing the hobby! Being in a city rather than my rural hometown I also finally had the chance to see some musicals on stage and the university library afforded me riches in the way of CDs and VHS copies of classic film musicals (yep, VHS. I kid you not!).

I'd always had a crush on the genre, I guess, but those four years were when I fell in love with it. I have fond memories of the time spent performing, practicing and enjoying musicals - while musical theatre was a hobby it did feed directly into my degree, with my final dissertation being on the musical film in general and Moulin Rouge specifically. Man, I enjoyed being a student.

All this is a roundabout way to mention that during these halcyon days I first encountered the score to Side Show.  The show is inspired by the true story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, and from the first time my friend Shona handed me a copy of the soundtrack I was in love. The story is touching, the music compelling. It's a dark, deep musical, full of longing and desire, hope and fear and I played that soundtrack like it was my job. I loved to sing the songs and hoped that one day, at long last, a UK production would happen and I'd be able to see the music brought to life onstage.

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Happy Monday/Ten Happy Things #15

It's Monday, it's the start of the week, and I'm joining up as ever with Katy and Jasmin for a lovely, positive start to the week. Let's go!

1. A cosy weekend

Lovely, tasty meals, good wine and chats

Poppet loves using me as a cushion/vantage point

Really enjoyed catching 'Addams Family Values' yesterday on Channel 4. I'm a total wuss so horror movies are off the table for me, so spooky family/kids films like The Addams Family ones or Hocus Pocus are as scary as it gets!

Around this point of the year, when the fireworks for Diwali and Guy Fawkes' Night are having their usual fortnight of loud bangs and flashes, we always book a couple of home weekends so we can be around for the katzen. As fun as travelling and socialising are, it's also nice to hibernate a little too. Good, wholesome food, lashings of red wine, napping and kitty cuddles...I feel replenished and ready for a busy week!

2. Side Show

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Theatre: Pride and Prejudice (with 2 actors)

Last Friday I was very kindly invited down to the Greenwich Theatre to watch a performance of Pride and Prejudice...with a difference.

Now, it is a truth universally acknowledged that Austen's most famous book is a fast favourite of mine (in fact, I last saw a production in the theatre a mere month ago!), and I love to see different versions put on of the show, whether it's on film, through a modernisation or an adaptation, or in the theatre. Friday's performance was truly a first, though...because the entire cast of the narrative was played by two actors.

Yes.

All the Bennetts, the Bingleys, the Lucases, the Gardiners and the many other players in the piece were all brought to life by two actors, the incredibly talented Joannah Tincey and Nick Underwood. When I first read about the production I had a few misgivings about the enterprise, but I'm delighted to have been proved wrong, and soundly - this is fast, nimble, interesting theatre. The production enlivened a text which I could probably quote huge passages from - the angle of the two actors meant that there was always a new innovation or delight to encounter.

Joannah Tincey's adaptation is a fond and fun one, with some great choices in tone and cutting of extraneous details in a judicious and intelligent manner. The use of narration keeps things moving along at a decent clip, and despite the small cast the detail of the story was never sacrificed. Both Tincey and Underwood give superb performances, full of charm, skill and some very good comedic timing. Through various accents, tonal differentiations and cunning costume additions and subtractions a cast of dozens in portrayed beautifully by this pair. The central duo of Lizzie and Darcy were very winningly acted and had that perfect mix of romance and frisson necessary for a good P&P, but countless other characters were brilliant as well. I especially enjoyed Caroline Bingley, Lady Catherine, and Kitty - I won't spoil the play by suggesting which parts might be played by which party!

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Happy Monday/Ten Happy Things #11

It's Monday, it's the start of the week, and I'm joining up as ever with Katy and Jasmin for a lovely, positive start to the week. Let's go!

1. Holidays right on the horizon!

From months to weeks to days, our holiday has finally come right into view. I can't wait to explore New York and Boston, revisit Toronto, and go back to the play-area-for-grown-ups that is Vegas! Beautiful hotels, so much to see, catching up with friends and amazing food are all on the menu, and I can't wait. Our dear friend Shona is kitty- and house-sittign for us too, so there are no worries on that front (the trio love Aunty Shona!).

There's a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Rosé in the fridge chilling all ready for Friday evening!

2. Theatrical fun

Between Pride and Prejudice and Vanities last week, I'm in a very theatrical spot right now! I must get some tickets arranges for the last few months of the year. We'll definitely try to catch some theatre in New York too. Hamilton's a non-starter (resale tickets only, and they are all about £1000 for a pair), so we've gone for the next best thing and are preparing to laugh our socks off at Spamilton instead. We'll definitely try the ticket lottery while we are in town too, although with odds of 10,000/1 it will be the most foolhardy gambling of the whole trip!

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