Theatre is Amazing!

One of my favourite things to do when I have the time is watch a live theatre production. Theatre was introduced to me as a child through pantomimes and small productions that used to drive around visiting schools. I was always in awe of real actors putting on a show right in front of me and my love for theatre has never since waned.

At Secondary school I remember going on my first proper trip to see a London show. It was a version of ‘An Inspector Calls’ which was the GCSE book that we were studying in English at the time and it was so exciting for us. This one visit to a London theatre stuck with me and created a bug for going back again and again.

Theatres need protecting

After several lockdowns and long periods without their doors open, so many actors, producers, technical engineers and front of house people have struggled to stay in the industry. Since they have reopened their doors again to audiences, I have been able to get booking again and am still looking forward to the Hammersmith production of Sister Act which was delayed from 2020 and should finally go ahead this year, sadly without Whoopi Goldberg as originally planned.

I hope that people get back into the habit (excuse the Sister Act joke) and keep returning to the West End and local theatres so that we can get the theatre industry well and truly back on its feet again. So much imagination and artistry is put into packaging these masterpieces. It would be a shame to see them dry up.

Notable productions

Here are some of my favourite shows that I have seen in London:

Gypsy (with Imelda Staunton) – watched three times – phenomenal. Got her autograph. Will cherish.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

Dr Doolittle (Philip Schofield and the voice of Julie Andrews)

Blythe Spirit (Jennifer Saunders)

Wicked

Billy Elliott

Follies

East is East (with Jane Horrocks) – selfie below.

Photograph 51 (with Nicole Kidman) – another autograph I will savour.

Under the Blue Sky (with Catherine Tate)

Wicked

The Play That Goes Wrong

The Bodyguard (with Beverley Knight)

Hairspray (with Michael Ball)

A Christmas Carol (with Jim Broadbent and Samantha Spiro) I was so happy to get a selfie with Sam.

As I was writing this I realised that the list could go on for pages.

Whilst in New York I got to see Idina Menzel in a wonderful version of If/Then at the Richard Rogers theatre. I really hope to see another Broadway play one day.

As you can probably tell, theatre means a lot to me and my friends. So I really wrote this article to remind people of the value and importance of theatre as a creative force. I very much hope I can urge you to consider checking out what’s on at your local theatre or think about popping to a London show soon and giving some support.

For a previous review of a West End show click here. If you enjoyed this article please consider following my blog to help me develop the site. My articles are also about books and films, as well as environmental subjects.

Podcast Opener – Books, Entertainment, Eco

So today is the day that I wanted to start trying to make a podcast for real. I have toyed with this idea before and experimented, but now I am going to make sure that it happens. I am excited to link my little podcast with my blog and hope that some of my lovely readers will try it out at some point.

I want to share my love of books and eventually get to the point where I can collaborate with other writers and bloggers. For me, the blog and podcast are passions of mine and so hopefully, with feedback, I will be able to make them work together as time goes on.

Hopefully some of you will be interested enough to listen to a couple of minutes of my first episode and boost my first week. It is available on most platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Anchor.