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 :-)