Since it's Sunday, there are a few things I should probably get off my chest. Firstly, I'm not a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera - I only saw it for the first time and it left me a little cold. Not that I would say I disliked it, but it simply didn't move me in any way.
I also wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Don't get me wrong, I think some of his work is ok. I quite like Joseph and Evita and have a real soft spot for Gethsemane from Jesus Christ, but when you factor in the trauma of Cats, let's just say he and I have a few issues.
So perhaps understandably, I wasn't in any particular rush to see Love Never Dies. Then at the beginning of February, I decided to use a pre-planned trip to visit a friend in London to go and see the original cast before they all move on.
And quite frankly, I was shocked. Shocked that my pre-conceptions were so completely wrong. I loved it. The score was beautiful, surprising in places, the staging stunning, and the performances sublime. Yes, maybe if I had gone to see it before the December re-writes I wouldn't have been so impressed, but there are still a few elements that don't quite work and yet the overall effect is magnificent. Now if they could just tackle the overuse of projections to move the story along (and of the motif sung by Gustave throughout), and maybe develop Meg Giry's character a little more so her actions at the end don't feel like they've come out of the blue, then the whole thing would be pretty much perfect.
Even with these small flaws, this is a very very good piece of musical theatre that, to my mind at least, demands repeat viewing. At least that's my excuse for yesterday, which brings me to my final confession.....
As soon as I got back from my weekend in the big smoke, I decided I really had to see Love Never Dies again with the original cast. Being short on holidays (not to mention cash), the only option was a day trip. Hence I found myself spending most of yesterday on a train just to spend 2.5 hours in a theatre. And it was worth every minute.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Town Mouse vs Country Mouse
I've always thought of myself as being the proverbial country mouse. I need to be able to see green open spaces, need to know that the Highlands are only a half hour drive away. Yes, I like spending time in cities (most of my holidays are city breaks) but I've always maintained that I could never live in one.
Lately, though, I've been wondering whether that's strictly true. I loved London so much when I was there last summer that it was a wrench leaving. Sure, that's probably because I was living in an apartment worth about £750,000, which was walking distance to work and only 20 minutes from the West End.
But I honestly think it might be more than that. I also found myself wishing I lived in Sydney and Melbourne when I was on holiday there last year. All three cities are huge, bustling and culturally vibrant, and I want to be a part of that. I know some people find cities this size impersonal, but I love the fact I can lose myself in a crowd, be completely anonymous for a while. And I just can't do that here. Edinburgh and Glasgow are nice, but ultimately no bigger than small towns - there's always a risk that I'll bump into someone I know. Not that that's a bad thing, just that sometimes it's nice to know that I can escape for a while.
And yes, Edinburgh and Glasgow pride themselves on having a lot going on culturally, but generally this is confined to specific festivals throughout the year so advance planning is always needed. You can't just wake up one Saturday and decide to go to the theatre, as chances are whatever it is you want to see sold out weeks or months in advance.
Then there's sport, shopping, sightseeing, (slightly) better weather, and I suspect that even I would take years to get bored. All of which makes this country mouse think that a move to London is an incredibly good idea.
But then reality sets in. I can enjoy the odd break in London (and other cities), and all the culture central Scotland has to offer because I'm not spending over £1000 a month on rent. I don't have to spend several hours a day crammed into a tin can like a sardine just to get to and from work (Scotrail ain't great, but they're not quite that bad), and I don't get kept awake all night by the constant wail of sirens.
So for now, this little country mouse is quite content to enjoy the best of all worlds and to carry on visiting her town mouse friends from time to time. For now....
Lately, though, I've been wondering whether that's strictly true. I loved London so much when I was there last summer that it was a wrench leaving. Sure, that's probably because I was living in an apartment worth about £750,000, which was walking distance to work and only 20 minutes from the West End.
And yes, Edinburgh and Glasgow pride themselves on having a lot going on culturally, but generally this is confined to specific festivals throughout the year so advance planning is always needed. You can't just wake up one Saturday and decide to go to the theatre, as chances are whatever it is you want to see sold out weeks or months in advance.
Then there's sport, shopping, sightseeing, (slightly) better weather, and I suspect that even I would take years to get bored. All of which makes this country mouse think that a move to London is an incredibly good idea.
But then reality sets in. I can enjoy the odd break in London (and other cities), and all the culture central Scotland has to offer because I'm not spending over £1000 a month on rent. I don't have to spend several hours a day crammed into a tin can like a sardine just to get to and from work (Scotrail ain't great, but they're not quite that bad), and I don't get kept awake all night by the constant wail of sirens.
So for now, this little country mouse is quite content to enjoy the best of all worlds and to carry on visiting her town mouse friends from time to time. For now....
Friday, 18 February 2011
Why I love theatre
I said this might start slowly, and that seems to be proving right. What to write about....?
They say write about what you know. Right now what I know is theatre. Or more specifically, musical theatre (although I am trying to broaden my horizons and gradually giving some non-musical performances a go). And when I say 'know', what I really mean is 'quickly becoming obsessed with'. I love that I can lose myself completely in another world, another world that is being created right then and there in front of me, and is subtly different to every other performance. And that buzz is addictive.
So yes. theatre is becoming a bit of a passion, but truth be told I've always been a fan of musicals, and for that I really should thank the PTA of my local primary school. My mum was a member of the PTA, and they happened to hold meetings on the same night as my dad played piano for the local amateur dramatic society. The only solution was for the 8 year old me to tag along to rehearsals where I was designated the official page turner for their production of Oliver. I was hooked, and to this day I can still sing along to every word of that show.
Glossing over the utterly baffling experience of being taken to see a touring production of Cats in 1980something, I had to make do with these amateur musicals for the next 10 years. Then in 1996 I saw the show that changed everything. A friend and I were on our first solo trip to London and had splashed out on the cheapest tickets we could find for Les Miserables. Even from 3000 feet up in the balcony (seriously, the Palace Theatre has the steepest, highest balcony I've ever seen) this show was something special. I was in love.
I may have been in love, but I was also a 19 year old student and an aspiring music journalist, so obviously I was way too cool to ever admit that I loved musicals. On top of this, any spare cash I had was spent going to gigs and festivals so theatre-going was restricted to the occasional touring production in Edinburgh (Les Mis and Miss Saigon being deemed just about cool enough to get away with). And obviously, while on holiday in New York it would have been rude not to head for Broadway and Chicago seemed an acceptable choice for two gals about town.
All of this changed about 18 months ago, when my mum's 65th birthday provided a good excuse for a quick theatre break in London. Since we couldn't decide what to see, we ended up at a different show every night - Les Mis (again, natch), Oliver (meh), and La Cage Aux Folles (just fabulous, dahling) - and a passion was re-awakened.
Thanks to some encouragement from a friend (and the fact I'm no longer a poor student), I have discovered over the past year that London is close enough for a weekend break - not to mention the fact that it's completely ok to go to the theatre on your own if no one else is around. I was also lucky enough to get the chance to spend 5 weeks in London on expenses last summer (I know, I have a hard life), which gave me the chance to see just about everything I wanted to see... sometimes more than once!
The trouble with theatre, though, is that there is always something new to see, someone new playing the lead in your favourite show.... as my bank account will attest, being a theatre fan is an expensive business.... but that's a post for another day :-)
They say write about what you know. Right now what I know is theatre. Or more specifically, musical theatre (although I am trying to broaden my horizons and gradually giving some non-musical performances a go). And when I say 'know', what I really mean is 'quickly becoming obsessed with'. I love that I can lose myself completely in another world, another world that is being created right then and there in front of me, and is subtly different to every other performance. And that buzz is addictive.
So yes. theatre is becoming a bit of a passion, but truth be told I've always been a fan of musicals, and for that I really should thank the PTA of my local primary school. My mum was a member of the PTA, and they happened to hold meetings on the same night as my dad played piano for the local amateur dramatic society. The only solution was for the 8 year old me to tag along to rehearsals where I was designated the official page turner for their production of Oliver. I was hooked, and to this day I can still sing along to every word of that show.
Glossing over the utterly baffling experience of being taken to see a touring production of Cats in 1980something, I had to make do with these amateur musicals for the next 10 years. Then in 1996 I saw the show that changed everything. A friend and I were on our first solo trip to London and had splashed out on the cheapest tickets we could find for Les Miserables. Even from 3000 feet up in the balcony (seriously, the Palace Theatre has the steepest, highest balcony I've ever seen) this show was something special. I was in love.
I may have been in love, but I was also a 19 year old student and an aspiring music journalist, so obviously I was way too cool to ever admit that I loved musicals. On top of this, any spare cash I had was spent going to gigs and festivals so theatre-going was restricted to the occasional touring production in Edinburgh (Les Mis and Miss Saigon being deemed just about cool enough to get away with). And obviously, while on holiday in New York it would have been rude not to head for Broadway and Chicago seemed an acceptable choice for two gals about town.
All of this changed about 18 months ago, when my mum's 65th birthday provided a good excuse for a quick theatre break in London. Since we couldn't decide what to see, we ended up at a different show every night - Les Mis (again, natch), Oliver (meh), and La Cage Aux Folles (just fabulous, dahling) - and a passion was re-awakened.
Thanks to some encouragement from a friend (and the fact I'm no longer a poor student), I have discovered over the past year that London is close enough for a weekend break - not to mention the fact that it's completely ok to go to the theatre on your own if no one else is around. I was also lucky enough to get the chance to spend 5 weeks in London on expenses last summer (I know, I have a hard life), which gave me the chance to see just about everything I wanted to see... sometimes more than once!
The trouble with theatre, though, is that there is always something new to see, someone new playing the lead in your favourite show.... as my bank account will attest, being a theatre fan is an expensive business.... but that's a post for another day :-)
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Soooo....
So I'm finally giving blogging a try. No doubt my concerns / excuses for not doing it before now are the same as everyone else who has ever thought about whether they should create a blog. Do I have anything interesting to say? I really don't think I do, but if nothing else this little venture will get me writing again for the first time in over 10 years. 10 years? Wow, that'll be why I'm rusty. Bear with me, this could take a while to get going....
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