On The Art of the Pre-Show and Post-Show

My friend, Terry Eden, wrote a post earlier this week about pre- and post- show experiences in the theatre and it's got me thinking... I go to the theatre at last twice a week so I see a lot of shows of all kinds (big, small, funny, serious, experimental, fringe and more) in a lot of venues so I have some thoughts on this.

One example that Terry shares is the immersive element of the current version of Cabaret and how that might heighten one's experience of the show. I may be in the minority here, but I don't like it and find it really jarring. It's a far cry from the seedy dive depicted in the story - or at least a far cry from how I imagine it to be. It adds huge cost to the show as they have two casts every night and it added nothing for me. I was stood in the bar area and just felt I, and others, were in the way. Worth noting that I find Frecknall's Cabaret a bit too shiny anyway - style over substance - in what is such a dark tale. Give me Rufus Norris's version any day. Maybe that's colouring my judgement.

I digress. I go to the theatre a lot, and some of the time, I go on my own. Having something to look at before I go in to take my seat is a welcome change from doom scrolling on my phone but there's rarely anything to look it, even less likelihood of a seat or somewhere to charge my phone. 

A bit of a display about the history of the theatre itself and previous productions is a nice touch (Drury Lane has this, and sometimes The National). I'm always fascinated by the posters from previous shows that you see at Soho Theatre and the Noel Coward Theatre and others - but why are they on the stairs where you can't linger and take in the information? Back to the Future and The Devil Wears Prada have a bit of set dressing in the foyer which is a nice touch and creates a photo opportunity which helps with spreading the word on social media. I like mooching in the National Theatre bookshop too. 

Back in the day, in my local rep theatre in Worcester, there was always a display of production photos and some info about the cast, as well as a rolling art exhibition from local artists and the bar was often open after the show, which meant you could get to meet the actors and it created a really convivial atmosphere.

Although I'm still of the view that I'm happy to have the magic happen in the auditorium, it would be nice to see more pre- and post-theatre activity - especially when the show finishes at 9 pm. I don't really understand why the bar in the theatre isn't open at this time. After all, they're missing out on a couple of hours of selling time in the bar and merchandise sales. Maybe they tried it, and people didn't want to hang around, so it wasn't commercially viable? Perhaps others can fill me in here.

Another missed opportunity is relevant sponsorship and partnerships - The Devil Wears Prada is crying out for a partnership with Selfridges, Harvey Nicks, Harrods, Vogue or the V&A Museum. Also, their merchandise really misses the mark. It's the same old same old hoodies, t-shirts and mugs. Why aren't they leaning into the fashion element? Admittedly, they're selling Elton John sunglasses but they're expensive and out of reach for most customers, many of whom are younger fans. Also, the programme is printed on magazine paper but isn't designed as a magazine. Another missed opportunity for interesting content, selling merchandise off the page, sponsored features and advertising. Yes, it would have taken more budget, but the effort should be worth the reward. 

And as for the bars... often eye-watering prices, sub-par service, and really unhealthy snacks. In colder months, why isn't every bar selling hot drinks? I don't drink alcohol much at all and would rather have a decent coffee before or even after a show. Am I the outlier here?

I love the theatre, and these are small gripes versus the enjoyment I get week-in week-out in venues across London. However, production values are production values. I'd like to see these extended to other areas of the experience more often. On that, Terry and I agree.

My Month in Theatre: November 2024

A round-up of shows and performances seen in November 2024. I've been challenged by a friend to keep a better record of what shows I've seen. At the moment, most of them are just listed in my calendar app which is not great for managing an archive. So whilst I work out the best way to do this, I'm just going to blog about them.

Friday 1st November - A Little Piece of You at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The less said about this, the better. It was dreadful. Despite a stellar cast - Mica Paris, David Bedella, Dujonna Gift - nothing could save the dire material. I don't know if the book was rushed or just not well thought through, but it did not work. Some of Kjersti Long's songs were OK, but Kjersti's vocals could not match her co-stars and she ended up screeching the songs to get the volume needed. The concept of the play was poor. The female characters, because they were depressed, seemed to spend a lot of time in bed. This does not make for an interesting scenario to watch. David Bedella was not given a single note to sing. This was a vanity project and a half. Did impresario Dad have delusions of grandeur, I wonder? It was so bad, I had to take a week off going to the theatre to get over it! Note to Kjersti - don't stop making music and don't stop trying. But maybe walk before you run and get better advisors around you who are not afraid to critique your work so you can improve. 

Tuesday 12 November - La Clique at The Spiegeltent in Leicester Square. Lots of fun in a lovely venue in the heart of theatreland. It's a mix of magic, comedy, dance, trapeze and stunts. Recommended. Here's a review for a better flavour of what to expect. Booking now until 5 January 2025

Friday 15 November - The Elixir of Life by Donizetti at The London Coliseum. This ENO production was sumptuous and fun. They made full use of the stage with a gorgeous set and costumes. We had a full chorus too and glorious soloists. I liked that they had transposed the setting to the 20th Century as it made it more relatable and gave them scope to create some new effects which I hadn't seen before from the ENO. Here's a review from The Guardian for a more in-depth look at the piece. Booking until 5 December.

Saturday 16 November - Her Story: Mozart at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This was a semi-staged concert version of a new musical about Nannerl Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus's older sister. I didn't even know he had a sister, or that she was also musical. It was fun to see a new story showcased in this way. It's still a work in progress but I hope it gets the resources and time to develop further. I really enjoyed it. I got all the feels with several of the songs. My body knows if the music is working way before my brain does!

Sunday 17 November - Club Life at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham. Oh my, this was wonderful. It's the story of Fred Deakin (club DJ and one half of Lemon Jelly now a designer and academic) as told through the music he listened to and the clubs and parties he created between around 1980 and 2000. It's an immersive experience in that Fred somehow manages to recreate the atmosphere and vibe of each club through music, visuals and some story telling. The audience is encouraged from the get go to get up and dance during each club sequence. The 2.5 hours flew by and I found myself dancing throughout and came out absolutely buzzing. In experiencing Fred Deakin's story, I was also reliving some of my own story (we're a similar age) and was remembering my nights out at various parties, clubs and festivals. Here's a friend's review.

Monday 18 November - The Glorious French Revolution (or why it sometimes takes a guillotine to get anything done). A very clever, energetic and original piece of work to give us the potted history of The French Revolutions (spoiler alert, there was more than one). If you've ever watched or listened to Les Miserables, this play will give you the backstory in a very entertaining and thought-provoking way. I loved it and would recommend it. Yes, it's absurdist and maybe a tad experimental, but I think it works. You can read my review here. Playing until 14 December. Tickets available here at just £22.

Tuesday 19 November - Club Life at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham. It was so good, I went twice and it was just as good the second time! 

Thursday 21 November - A Christmas Carol-ish at @SohoPlace Theatre. I was lucky enough to be invited to press night. This is Nick Mohammed's brainchild and is a transfer from 2023's version that ran at the Soho Theatre. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we only got to see the first half (which was excellent, I might add). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go again yet to see the full thing. The reviews from those who have seen it have been positive, such as this one. Booking until New Year's Eve. Tickets available here.

Friday 22 November - Wicked Part 1 - the movie at Vue Leicester Square. OK, so it's a movie not a live show, but I did go with a bunch of musical theatre enthusiasts who I've been hanging out with intermittently in a fabulous, but now defunct, musical theatre choir and piano bar karaoke night in Covent Garden. I'm not the biggest Wicked fan. I have seen the musical live, albeit 15 years ago. And yes it was fabulous. And this is a massive budget film so it's bound to be great, right? Well it is good, but I'm not sure it's mahoosive budget good. It's a fun movie and well worth seeing, even if you're not into musical theatre. Ariana Grande is excellent in it. I didn't know she could be so funny. Cynthia Erivo can really sing, but I didn't get that from the movie. The cinema was a bit chilly that night so it's possible I was distracted by not being wholly comfortable. I expected to get 'all the feels' but I didn't.  Maybe I need to see it again! Regardless, the songs 'Loathing' and 'Popular' have been constant earworms since so something's working with the film or its marketing! Here's a review of the film that I think is fair.

Sunday 24th November - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at The London Palladium. OMG. This was absolutely fantastic! This semi-staged concert version, based on the movie of the same name, starred Ramin Karimloo (move over Jonathan Bailey, Ramin just took your place as No 1 in my hit parade!), Hadley Fraser, Janie Dee, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Rufus Hound and Lauren Drew. It was so funny and so brilliantly sung and acted. I couldn't have wished for anything better. I was even sat in the Grand Circle (which I don't often do because I like to see the detail), but even from there, the atmosphere was electric. I would love to see a fully-staged version of this. A weekend of this was not enough!

Monday 25th November - The Happiest Man on Earth at Southwark Playhouse. I've been lucky enough to see a couple of other plays recently that cover holocaust experiences, namely Rose (starring Maureen Lipman) at The Ambassador's Theatre and The White Factory at Marylebone Theatre. Both were incredibly moving. This one-man play in the studio theatre is right up there with its West End cousins. 

It's a quite fantastical tale of one Jewish man's experience before, during and after World War II. It's based on the autobiography of Eddie Jaku. It starts with Eddie finding out he's no longer welcome at school, soon followed by the deadly and infamous Kristallnacht and then a spell in Buchenwald, escape and spells in Auschwitz. Add in the physical abuse received from the Nazis, losing friends and family in the most appalling ways and a near-death experience due to cholera and typhoid; it's a miracle that Eddie survived at all, let alone live to 100 and share his story. Kenneth Tigar stars in what's described as a Tour de Force performance. And it really is. Kenneth is no spring chicken at 82 but is a seasoned and very talented actor. I found his performance tender yet gripping and funny yet moving. Booking now until 14 December. Highly recommended.

Tuesday 26th November - Flo & Joan, The One Man Musical at Soho Theatre. This is one of the funniest things I've seen all year! It's a repeat of their Edinburgh Fringe success transferred to The Soho Theatre for just a week. I got lucky with a last minute ticket. Flo & Joan are extremely talented writers, musicians and comedians. Although on stage, they are not the stars of the show. The star of this one-man musical about the main man of musicals is Andrew Lloyd Webber as played by George Fouracres. He plays him as pompous, posh and pugnacious and is an absolute delight. The musical numbers draw on familiar themes from ALW's most famous musicals. The low budget aspect of the piece just adds to the hilarity. We also hear about ALW's, um, various wives and how and when they got together, his relationship with Tim Rice as well as some of the rumours and stories about him. It's terrific fun, musically very clever and very tongue in cheek. I loved it! It was even better sharing the evening with fellow musical theatre enthusiasts to be able to laugh at some of the more obscure references together. There's a much better review than mine here. The show is returning to London at Underbelly Boulevard Soho 16 Jan to 2 March with tickets from £20 available here. 

Thursday 28 November - The Simple Life & Death at The Pleasance Theatre. My first visit to The Pleasance Theatre, but definitely not my last. This was a fun parody of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's The Simple Life. ShayShay plays Paris and Fizz Sinclair plays everyone else. Things quickly turn for the worse when the pair reunite for the 20th Anniversary Special Edition of the show. They have invited guests ready to interview but just as they're about to go live, there's a murder. Can Paris solve the mystery? Are the celebrity guests to blame? It's very silly, very funny and very camp. Sinclair's impressions are spot on and they both have the noughties vibe down to a T. Recommended for a light-hearted, fun night out in a super venue with a great bar and a great atmosphere. Booking now until 7 December.

Saturday 30 November - Alice in Wonderland at Brixton House Theatre. This one was nearer home and another really lovely venue. This is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, set in modern day Brixton where Alice and her Mum are having a row during a tube journey. The tube train becomes the rabbit hole and we follow Alice on her journey through Wonderland - in this case, a never-ending tube ride - and we meet some of the other travellers on the same train. The play loosely follows the book and we see versions of the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter (Chatter), Cheshire Cat (a virtual entity), Mock Turtle (now a tortoise) and the Dormouse (a rat in our tale) and of course, the wicked Queen. It's quite a complicated story but the children in the audience the night I went all seemed to be really into it and engaged with what was going on. If you're looking for something a bit different, this might just fit the bill. The small cast worked really well together to carry off the range of characters they played as well as the increasingly frenetic tube ride that they're on. The sound effects were of particular note and they were very effective. There were enough puns and London references to keep the grown ups happy too and the rap style music was a fresh addition to the proceedings. This is definitely a play rather than a panto, although there is a little bit of audience participation in the second half. Recommended. Booking now until 4 January 2025.

The Glorious French Revolution (or: Why Sometimes it Takes a Guillotine to Get Anything Done) - a review

If history lessons had been more like this when I was growing up, I might just have paid a bit more attention to history that was older than The Great War. And I’m ashamed to say that even though I know Les Mis pretty well, can happily sing One More Day at the top of my lungs at my favourite piano bar in Soho, and was taught French from the age of 6 by my French next door neighbour, Mimi, and even my first boyfriend was a young Parisian (and oh so French), I know almost nothing about that period of history. I guess famine, death, a spendthrift king and queen, and a reign of terror don’t make for the best conversation.

If you’re expecting a BBC or ITV style period drama, this isn’t it. If you like your histories more Horrible than History Channel, but definitely for grown-ups, this one is for you. It is an experimental piece with more than a nod to absurdist theatre, but the cast of 5 know what they’re doing, and you’re in safe hands. Their high energy and absolute commitment to all the roles they play (and there are a lot and they interchange with each other seamlessly) coupled with innovative use of the small stage, interesting, if (deliberately) makeshift, props, great sound effects and lighting make for a  90-minute rollercoaster journey of the who, what, how and why of the French Revolutions (spoiler, there wasn’t just one). 

This production, brought to the stage by YESYESNONO was bonkers, fast-paced and fun, yet hard-hitting and thought-provoking. If you’re looking for something a bit different in an intimate setting, then you will enjoy this show. It’s not perfect; the last section didn’t quite land for me as well as it might (I had to read up on that bit of it), but, overall, the piece is brilliantly inventive, and it’ll give you something to tell your friends about afterwards and certainly something to ponder on your way home. Was it theatre, performance art or something else entirely? And why don't we know more about this history from our nearest neighbours. And if you've ever seen Les Mis on the stage or screen, then you really need to fill in the gaps in your knowledge with this play.

Tickets are a bargain £22. (See, theatre doesn't need to cost you an arm and a leg, even in Central London). Playing until 14 December at the New Diorama (near Warren St tube). There’s also a charming cafe bar there. Tickets are available now from the New Diorama website.

[Tickets gifted to me with no expectation of a review.]

National Theatre to trial 6.30pm start times

I think this is a great idea. The National Theatre is trialling an earlier start time for selected performances - initially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm all for it as it means you either get home earlier or can catch the train home if you live further afield, or there's time to go for dinner afterwards. It also allows the cast, stage management and front-of-house teams to get home a bit earlier. Seems like a win-win to me.

I love everything the National Theatre does - I don't think there's a play I've seen there that I didn't like, and some have been downright fantastic and have well-deserved their transfers to the West End and national tours. Admittedly, I'm biased. I was at youth theatre with Rufus Norris back in the 1980s and I feel immense joy knowing what he has achieved in his time at the National Theatre - he completes his tenure in 2025. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing a new play, Nye, early next year starring Michael Sheen which is about Nye Bevin and the birth of what is now the NHS.

A top tip for getting cheaper tickets to plays at the National - every Friday at 1pm, they release a limited number of tickets for shows the following week for just £10. It's called Friday Rush. More info here and set yourself a reminder in your calendar.

More about the trial of early show times over at WhatsOnStage.

Why is theatre important?

 

Theatre skills don’t just get you a job in the theatre. The things we learn through theatre can be applied to so many different career paths.

This #NCW2021, we've got free resources to help you in whichever direction you’re looking to travel https://t.co/XUalfty73p

— The Old Vic (@oldvictheatre) March 1, 2021 

I just spotted this tweet from The Old Vic and it resonates so much with me. If I had a daughter, Mrs Worthington, I'd be putting her on the stage for sure - maybe not for a lifelong career but to learn all the skills critical for a career in business that you probably won't learn at school or university.

Grease by the Swan Youth Theatre, Worcester. Publicity shot.

I joined my local youth theatre in Worcester when I was 14 and stayed for 7 years. A friend of mine was joining and she suggested I come along too. I ended up loving it even more than she did and became totally committed to the group. We had a meeting every week where we either did improvisation and role-playing or we were rehearsing for our next show. We typically did one major show a year in the main theatre as part of the summer festival and a few other smaller studio productions during the rest of the year. We also had the opportunity to audition for roles in the main theatre productions too as and when they came up. I was lucky enough to be in a few of those including The Wizard of Oz and Once a Catholic, both directed by Tony Award winner, John Doyle. I also worked with Rufus Norris and Lawrence Boswell, amongst others, who went on to do great things in the theatre. But that's beside the point. I wouldn't be who I am today without those years spent in youth theatre working with professionals and learning by doing and by example.

Thinking back to our weekly SYT meetings, the thing I remember most is all the role-playing we did. We called it improvisation but it wasn't comic improvisation as we've come to know from shows like Whose Line is it Anyway. We were put into groups and given a theme or a scenario to imagine and to create our own scene from it. We got to play other people. We got to walk a little in someone else's shoes and imagine lives and experiences very different from our own. And a major part of this was being able to think on your feet and respond quickly to whatever was thrown at you in the scene, or being able to improvise your way out of a mistake. I don't remember there being any fear about doing these scenes. It all seemed completely normal to me and it was about collaborative effort and not about one person's ego. We were free to experiment.

That collaborative effort, and learning to tune into one another, is an essential part of teamwork to this day. I think that's one of the things I miss the most about my time in youth theatre. That sense of all being in it together and having one goal of getting the show off the ground is exhilarating and brings a team together like nothing else I know. Of course, we fought and argued at times. Who doesn't? But the camaraderie and support we had back then were amazing. And it's not that dissimilar to the great vibes you can get in a start-up business. The energy is catching if you get the team and the goals right. 

I learned all my entrepreneurial skills in youth theatre. I see being an entrepreneur as someone who makes something of nothing - creates a business from the seed of an idea. And that describes what we did. Our youth theatre director would have an idea of a show and we'd pull together to make it happen. We had a head start in that we had professional directors and crew to work with. And we had access to a space in which to put on our shows but we never had much of a budget so you quickly learn to muck in and to make things happen - costumes, backstage, on stage, lighting, front of house, dressing - we did all of it. We had to market and sell the tickets too so getting PR coverage in the local press was important. after all, when you have a 300 seat theatre to fill for 5 nights, that's a lot of tickets to sell. I remember for one show, a bunch of us dressed up in costumes from Godspell and joined the carnival handing out flyers. We really shouldn't have been there, but we got away with it with sheer chutzpah. And you need a bit of chutzpah when you're starting out in business.

In doing all of this, I also absorbed (it was more osmosis than learning I think) how to put on a show so it's not a great surprise that I've ended up hosting and running events as a large part of what I do. It's a great way to connect people, to bring them together. And it's an opportunity for learning. I also learned stage techniques too - to speak well, to not be afraid of speaking in front of an audience, to think about lighting and staging, to listen for cues, to improvise, teamwork, to take direction, to think on my feet and lots more besides.

So yes, I think experience in theatre, especially as a teenager, is terrifically important whether or not you end up having a career in theatre. As someone quite famous once said, "All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players". I think he may have had a point.

Mobile phone etiquette raises its head again...

I go to the theatre a lot and inevitably, at some shows, there will be a mobile phone that starts ringing part-way through the performance. You think you've turned your phone to silent but for some reason it isn't silent. Mistakes happen. I can ignore it. It happened once to me. A phone, for whom nobody knows the number (it has a US number), started vibrating in my bag. I didn't react because I didn't think it could be my phone as no-one knows the number so who would be calling me? It turns out it was my phone and it was some spammer bulk dialling and taking a chance on the number being live.

I must admit, I don't like it when I can see someone has their phone screen on during a performance. Those screens are really bright and when you're plunged into darkness in a theatre, if you're upstairs in the Royal or Upper Circle, you can see a phone light go on straight away. It's distracting. If there were a persistent offender sitting near me, I would probably have a word with them. In the same way that I would have a word if someone was talking during a performance. I don't have to do it very often, but I do do it.

Unfortunately, calling out poor etiquette can have consequences. Just last week, The Stage reports that there was an incident at The Old Vic in London. Adam Gale, a theatre producer from New York witnessed a woman using her mobile phone throughout the first half of a performance of A Christmas Carol and asked her to stop using it. I think that's fair enough. I would probably do the same in the same circumstances. Unfortunately for Adam, during the interval, the woman's partner punched Mr Gale and the couple left the theatre. The theatre confirmed that there had been an altercation between three people over a mobile phone.

It's not the first time I've read of tempers fraying in a theatre over the use of a mobile phone. Arguably, it's something that ushers should be dealing with more promptly. However, ushers are not particularly well paid and they're generally young people and potentially may be reticent to intervene in case it causes aggravation.

Some are calling for a zero tolerance policy for mobile phones in the theatre. In China, they use lasers to shame patrons using their mobile phones during a performance. Numerous examples of actors calling theatre-goers out when their phone rings or they can see the light from a mobile screen are noted here. Back in 2015, Benedict Cumberbatch made an impassioned plea to the audience about restricting their use of their phones to outside of the performance. The problem persists.



And there will be some cases where it's important for someone to be able to access their phone during a performance - a doctor on call, for example. Or, as I experienced this week, there was a reviewer taking notes about the performance I was watching and using his phone as a torch. He was using it as subtly as possible with the screen turned towards the page and we were both at the back so unlikely to distract anyone much. Once I could see what he was doing, I put it out of my mind. In both instances, I would ask in that people turn their screen brightness right down. It helps a bit.

Meanwhile, theatre desperately needs publicity about shows and performances that are best shared via mobile devices. They need the tweets, Facebook statuses and Instagram photos so that the word gets out about the show. Yet, theatres can be very tough with theatre goers about taking a photo of the stage on arrival, for example if you're checking in to Swarm or Facebook. That seems to me to be over-zealous. There's a big difference between a pre-show selfie and a mid-show recording.

Occasionally with shows, the audience is encouraged to get their phones out and take photos and video. They do this at the end of School of Rock and it's a touch of genius. It's at a point in the story where it feels most like a rock concert and phones are most definitely part and parcel of a rock concert. The genius part of it though is that the audience take hundreds of amazing action shots of the show and immediately share them with their friends and family telling them how fantastic the show is. (And it really is a fantastic show).

So there's a time and a place. And there's awareness of how your behaviour may affect others experience. And there's downright selfishness.

Zero tolerance is not the answer. You really don't know the reason someone has their phone on. There might be a valid reason. And there will always be fellow theatregoers who munch or talk their way through a show. I dunno. Maybe some relaxation of photography rules pre and post show coupled with a firmer stance from (trained) ushers during a show may pay dividends.

And let's not mention the annoying lights from a smartwatch or Fitbit...

Day 11/25 Blogmas

What are we going to do about the theatre and the performing arts?

That's the question posed by director, Phelim McDermott, and it will be the question asked in January's annual D&D (Devoted & Disgruntled) open space event. This year, it's being held at the New Diorama Theatre in London on 20-22 January 2018 (that's all day Saturday and Sunday and a half-day on Monday - drop in and out as you please). It's the unconventional convention for everyone who loves, makes and lives theatre and the performing arts.

Who is D&D for? It's for theatre lovers and people passionate about the performing arts. You might work in the theatre, you might not. You might be a teacher or a technician; an administrator or an audience member, all are welcome. A key principle of Open Space is whoever comes are the right people. In fact Open Space works best with a range of people and diverse points of view, so if you want to be there, you ARE the right person to attend.

The weekend event uses the open space format. If you've never done that before, I recommend you give it a go. I think it's a great way to learn, listen and participate. If you've been to a barcamp or unconference before, those are both broadly similar but there's something about open space that I think works even better and allows for all kinds of topics and expertise to emerge and it completely alleviates the need for any kind of Powerpoint slides!

I went along to one of these D&D open space sessions about 3 years ago. The question was something around what an Institute of Improvisation might deliver. It was my first experience of open space and I had no idea what to expect. I also wasn't sure what I could or couldn't contribute since my forays into improvisation were fairly minimal. I was soon won over by the energy and conversations happening all over the building we were in. I'd arrived tired and depleted at the beginning of the session and left more tired, yet energised having had a chance to exercise my brain in a completely different way.

That session then led to myself and Lloyd Davis running various open space sessions covering topics related to artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies in relation to the future of work. And very interesting it was too and is something I'd very much like to do again.

I'm thinking of heading down to this event. I've been to 89 shows or concerts this year alone, so I have a point of view of what's happening and some thoughts on what could happen and I'm interested to hear what practitioners are up to in an age of continuing austerity and an impending Brexit. It will also be interesting to stretch my brain in a different way and hang out with a different kind of crowd.

The video below will explain a little more about what's happening, and there's more information and a link to get your tickets on the Devoted & Disgruntled website. See you there?


Phelim McDermott invites you to D&D 13 from Improbable on Vimeo.
A captioned video invitation to Devoted & Disgruntled 13 from Improbable's co-Artistic Director, Phelim McDermott.

Day 2/25 Blogmas #DandD13

Will we be experiencing theatre via VR in the future?

RSC Titus Andronicus 2017

I've been reading about a study by the RSC and Ipsos Mori done during a run of Titus Andronicus in Stratford earlier this year. They were exploring uses of new technology, such as VR (virtual reality) in the theatre.

In the experiment, a group of participants viewed a 360 degree film of Titus Andronicus via HTC Vive VR headsets and wore heart rate monitors. The film was created by Gorilla In The Room. The experience allowed participants to move their head and could view any aspect of the theatre, stage, audience as they wished as if they were seated in that position at the theatre. This was compared with a previous project to monitor the emotional engagement of a theatre and cinema audience by the same research team.

The 360 degree filmed VR experience was viewed in 5 parts – rather than in the usual 2 parts that you would experience in the theatre or cinema. There were a mix of short breaks as well as a main interval where you would normally expect to have one.

These results are based on the data from 107 participants and some of the findings include:

There are more people with a raised heart rate in Theatre at the very start of the performance than we see for Cinema and 360 filmed VR experience - this is perhaps driven by higher levels of anticipation and excitement.

Watching Titus Andronicus raised heart rate to a level equivalent of a 5-minute cardio workout”
Audience heart rate is raised to the level of a cardio workout zone for an average of 5 minutes (3% of time) across the full performance of Titus Andronicus[1]. This is consistent across participants in Theatre, Cinema and the 360 filmed VR experience. This chimes with my piece earlier in the week of research into the Dreamgirls audience.

Men showed a greater emotional reaction - The heart rate data of the men in the study suggests a very slightly greater increase in reaction compared to female participants. I wonder if this was down to the subject matter. I can't say I've ever been drawn to watch Titus Andronicus.

A 360 degree filmed VR experience has the power to transport you into the theatre. 91% of those watching the performance via the VR headset felt there were times when they were physically present in the theatre. This compares to approximately 63% for those watching the show live on screen in the cinema. That sounds very promising for the future of theatre and having the ability to bring a very full experience of the theatre to the living room.

Theatre wins out over cinema in overall positive engagement and empathy. Participant feedback indicated greater overall positivity (excellent/awesome etc.), engagement (gripping, thought provoking, empathy etc.) and shock in Theatre – with more attention to the elements of staging, costume, set, plot, music and choreography. Those watching via 360 filmed VR also had a higher level of emotional engagement than the cinema audiences.

Lower shock levels in the cinema may indicate that viewers feel further removed/desensitised to the violence/gore. However, cinema was perceived to be significantly more ‘moving’ than either theatre of 360 video - possibly due to the cinematic style directing the viewers eye to the details of actor expressions (e.g. tear rolling down Lavinia’s cheek) which are often missed by theatre audiences due to the distance from the stage. You can't get close-ups in the theatre like you can on a cinema screen.

There are still issues with VR. It's not for everyone as it can trigger nausea and vertigo. The headsets are heavy and they're isolating so you need to be in a safe environment to use it as you're completely cut off from all other audio or visual clues as to what may be going on around you.

The RSC is naturally encouraged by the research. Theatre is outperforming cinema in terms of engagement, empathy and ability to shock. Sarah Ellis, RSC Director of Digital Development said: ‘This presented a unique opportunity for us to compare the emotional reaction to one of Shakespeare’s plays on three different platforms. The results have shown us that even after more than 400 years, Shakespeare’s work still packs an emotional punch to today’s audiences wherever and however it is experienced'.

Day 26/30 NaBloPoMo

Watching good theatre is good for your heart

This cheers me up enormously. This year, I set myself a challenge to see at least 50 shows. It turns out that has been both an enjoyable challenge and a goal I've managed to beat quite easily. If you include the concerts I've been to this year, my total is currently standing at 86. Check out my previous post about how I get to see so much theatre on a shoestring.

One of my other goals this year was about health and fitness. I've not done as well on that score unfortunately. I've been partially derailed by some health issues which are now being sorted out. But there is good news in that recent research shows that going to the theatre is good for your heart!

I've been reading today about a recent small-scale study where 12 individuals were monitored using wearable technology whilst watching a performance of Dreamgirls at The Savoy Theatre. They claim:

"Watching a live theatre performance can stimulate your cardiovascular system to the same extent as doing 28 minutes of healthy cardio exercise, a new study has found.

The research, conducted by University College London and the University of Lancaster in association with Encore Tickets, the UK’s leading independent ticket provider, monitored the heart rates, brain activity, and other physiological signals of 12 individuals at a live theatre performance of Dreamgirls, the Tony and Olivier award winning musical.

During the performance, the heart rates of audience members spent an average of 28 minutes beating at an elevated range between 50% - 70% of their maximum heart rate. The British Heart Foundation identify this level of heart rate as the optimal heart rate to stimulate cardio fitness and stamina. So, although they were seated for the performance, audience members spent an average of 28 minutes engaged in healthy cardio exercise."

Heart rate graph from participants in the study

I'm not entirely convinced one could class this as 'exercise' but it sounds like it's better for you than slumped on a sofa mindlessly scrolling a screen in your hand with another screen on in the background.

What's particularly interesting for me is how we can use wearable technology similar to a Fitbit or smartwatch to measure people's physical response to something. That opens up a whole new range of research that's now, potentially, much simpler to achieve and doesn't need complex, medical grade equipment to do it.

Source: https://www.encoretickets.co.uk/going-to-the-theatre-is-like-half-an-hour-of-cardio-exercise-says-new-study

Day 23/30 NaBloPoMo

Love Theatre Day is Today!

Action shot from the fabulous School of Rock

Blimey, I nearly missed this. I've just discovered that it's #LoveTheatreDay and if there's one thing I do love, it's the theatre. I was even at the theatre last night to see Son of a Preacher Man in Wimbledon - great performances and music, the writing - not so much, enjoyable nevertheless. But I digress. What is this #LoveTheatreDay thing, I hear (some of) you ask?

This is an initiative run by Mar Dixon in association with The Stage newspaper according to this article. It's a social media initiative to encourage us to celebrate theatre around the world on Twitter and other social media platforms, hence the hashtag and it's happening today - Wednesday 15 November 2017.

There are three themes throughout the day:

1. #Backstage between 10am and midday to go behind the scenes and see parts of the theatre you would never normally get to see. I guess we've missed that one, but you can check the hashtag for what happened. I love backstage. There's a certain smell to it. It's very hard to describe. It's a nice smell and I'm guessing it's a mixture of wood, workshops and people, but it's unique to a theatre and unmistakable if you've ever experienced it.

2. #AskATheatre between 3pm and 5pm where you can talk direction to the creative teams about their shows and ask the questions you've always wanted to.

3. #Showtime between 7pm and 10pm when people will show what they're seeing at the theatre and what happens off stage during a show.

This campaign is for theatres, performing arts organisations and the general public to celebrate what they love about theatre and to encourage more people to go to the theatre. I think it's a great idea. And one that just wouldn't work without mobile phones. The ability to take pictures, write down our thoughts, record video and audio and distribute it easily and quickly to a wide audience is amazing. This certainly couldn't have happened 10 years ago. Technically, we could do all these things, but the uptake wasn't big enough to reach the mainstream. But today, it's a whole other story. One thing to be grateful for with the ubiquity of the technology.

There is something special about the theatre that keeps drawing me back and anything that encourages other people to enjoy that special something is a good thing in my book. So check out the hashtags, take pictures and share your stories from backstage, off-stage and in the audience and have a great #LoveTheatreDay.

The Safety Curtain from The Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon.

Day 15/30 NabloPoMo

Rodelinda - a tale of obsession

I was fortunate to go to the opera last night to see Rodelinda by Handel at The Coliseum.

As I've previously mentioned, I'm no opera buff which is partly why I'm drawn to going to the opera so I can learn more about it and why and how it stands the test of time. It's certainly out of my comfort zone. I don't enjoy it in the same way I enjoy a musical like School of Rock or a play like Ink (I've seen both recently and both are excellent by the way and well worth seeing). But I do get enjoyment from opera most of the time. And this was one of those times.

I've never heard of Rodelinda and I had no idea that Handel even wrote any operas which shows you where my level of knowledge is. I'm familiar with The Messiah and Zadok the Priest but not much else by Handel. I don't even know very much about Handel as a composer so I was intrigued as to what I would be watching. At the very least I knew it would be good as it's the ENO, but whether I would like it is another matter.I needn't have worried. This production is very enjoyable indeed with beautiful singing, stunning set and great acting.

Director Richard Jones has brought the story of Rodelinda forward to Fascist Italy and brings attention to the obsessional element of the story. The King of Milan, Bertarido, is deposed and sends word that he has died with a view to returning in disguise to save his wife, Rodelinda, and son, Flavio. Meanwhile Grimoaldo has seized the thrown and has designs on Roselinda for his wife. Garibaldo, one of Grimoaldo's allies, has designs on the throne himself and plots with Eduige to do so. Eduige complies as she's furious with Grimoaldo for making a play for Roselinda when he's already betrothed to her. Unulfo is working for Grimoaldo but secretly helping Bertarido.

The common theme that I took from the opera is that of obsession. Grimoaldo is obsessed by Roselinda. In this production he has secret cameras set up to follow her every move whilst she is imprisoned. He spends his days lusting after her and working out ways to win her for himself. Eduige is obsessed by Grimoaldo. She wants him for herself because she wants the power he already has and the power he has taken in usurping the throne. Bertarido's obsession is his wife, and to a lesser extent, his son. Garibaldo is obsessed with power. He will go to any lengths to get it, including violence. Unulfo is secretly obsessed by Bertarido which means he's happy to double cross his boss, Grimoaldo. Roselinda is tormented by her grief at losing her husband, Bertarido.

All this obsession results in circular thinking, plots and subterfuge and violence and threat of violence and unintended consequences. It shows the audience how skewed we become when consumed by obsession of any kind. The story is more gripping than I was expecting - much enabled by the set and 1940s setting and the intense atmosphere it portrayed.

What was surprising was how the very old but beautiful style of music was juxtaposed with the modern setting but still worked really well. The orchestra were using instruments of the day and that even included recorders (who knew that the recorder could sound so beautiful!). The singing is also of its day. The good guys (Bertarido and Ufulfo) are countertenors and are hitting high notes as high as the female singers. And it was very beautiful and full of emotion and was definitely masculine despite the high register. What also worked well was the repetition of phrases in the singing. This added to the intensity of the scenes and accentuated each one's obsession. What I also loved about the production was the wit in both the translation of the libretto and the acting in some of the scenes. There were some laugh out loud moments which balances out the darker themes in the opera.

I won't tell you any more of the story here. Rather, you can google for a more detailed synopsis, or better still, go and see the opera for yourself. It's running until 15 November at The Coliseum. You can book tickets here.

Tonight, I went to a talk about the future of blogging and communications in a world of AI. I'll write about that tomorrow and revisit some of the work I did on that a couple of years ago.

Also, Day 2 of NaBloPoMo done! Thanks for reading.

Tips on buying discount theatre tickets in London

The Olivier Theatre from the back of the Circle for Peter Pan

Over the last few years, I've rekindled my love of theatre. Some of you know that my love of theatre started in my early teens where I strutted my stuff on-stage and backstage for amateur and professional productions at the Swan Theatre in Worcester. I attended Swan Youth Theatre every week and performed in as many shows as I could as well as volunteering in the coffee shop, making costumes and being a dresser. It was something I considered doing as a career but was put off through a mix of family pressure and personal circumstances.

When I moved to London, I gave up all the acting. I simply didn't have time for either rehearsals or performances since I was working in retail with unsocial hours. I didn't go to the theatre at all for a very long time. I couldn't face it. I wanted to be on the stage rather than being in the audience and it just left me frustrated. Plus it was (is) expensive to go to shows in the West End and the salary of a retail manager (as I was at the time) simply didn't stretch to West End theatre tickets.

In the last few years though, I've started going to the theatre again and have gained much enjoyment and brain food from it and have been to all kinds of performances from the tiny to the huge, from mainstream to borderline bonkers and everything in between. I have a few thespian friends, mainly from my youth theatre days and some of them are in high enough places that I get the occasional complimentary ticket to see a show that they're in or are directing. I've also discovered several ways of enjoying the theatre in London without breaking the bank. Here's the lowdown.

1. Day Seats
This can be a great option for seeing shows in the West End. Many of the London theatres offer heavily discounted seats for the same day when their box office opens in the morning. Typically, they keep the front row available for day seaters, but sometimes they'll offer up other unsold seats as well. For the very popular shows, you'll need to get up early and queue. For others, you can rock up just before the theatre opens and you'll be rewarded with your tickets. Sometimes, if you're passing a theatre, it's worth popping in to see if they have a day seat available for that night. You can get lucky like that from time to time - I managed to get a ticket for 1984 for £10 just 40 minutes before curtain up. And if you're on your own, it's even easier as there are often the odd single seats available which are harder to fill as most people attend with a companion.

Before you head off to grab your day seats, it's well worth reading what TheatreMonkey has to say about it. There you can find all the London theatres listed and what their current policy is about day seats, including availability and pricing. It's a fantastic resource and well worth doing your homework so you can work out what show to try for. Check it out here.

2. TodayTix App
This is an app and website where you can access the equivalent of day seats but in a digital format. For some shows, there's a daily lottery that you can enter to win a day seat at a fixed price, for others, there are 'rush seats' available for that day or the next at a substantial discount, and for others, discounted seats are listed for the current week. Just this week, they've announced that you can now book up to 30 days ahead so you can do some forward planning rather than needing to be spontaneous.

The app is free to download on both Android and iOS or you can access on http://todaytix.com/. When you sign up, please use my code SMZER and you will get £10 off your first booking and I'll get a referral bonus too. Since many of the tickets are £20 or less, that means a very cheap ticket indeed for your first ticket. I like the app. I think the usability is good and it's not too cluttered. In fact, I'm off to see Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour tonight with a TodayTix Rush ticket. The booking process was about as simple as it could get.

3. The Leicester Square Box Office aka tkts.co.uk
This is a London institution and I can remember going here when I was in my teens and twenties to get tickets for shows with both my Mum and my Aunty Betty. Back then, you'd rock up at the booth and hope for the best as to what's available. Now you can check online what's available before you join the queue to buy your tickets. Tickets are available for the same day and the earlier you get there, the better tickets you'll be able to score. And it saves you having to queue up at the crack of dawn for day seats and if one show is sold out, they have others on offer so you can always go to something. The staff there are very helpful and will tell you about the different shows on offer to help you choose.

4. Theatre Clubs
I am a paid up member of four different theatre clubs where they offer a mixture of heavily discounted tickets and/or complimentary tickets (for an admin fee) for a wide-range of shows from fringe and pub theatre to the ENO and big West End shows. There's an annual or monthly fee to pay and there are club rules to follow (typically, don't talk about the club or your complimentary tickets whilst at the theatre) otherwise your membership can be terminated. The service they offer is called 'papering'. This is theatrical slang for giving away free tickets to fill up the house. This is often done during preview weeks to build up the word of mouth for a show, or to make up for a lack of marketing or lower ticket sales than expected. And if you're in the theatre, then the chances are you'll support it by buying a drink and a programme. Every little helps when it comes to keeping theatre alive.

If you like to plan ahead, then What's On Stage Theatre Club might suit you. You can pay monthly or annually. Typically there are discounted seats for selected performances booked and paid for in advance. Occasionally, they do papering or offer heavily discounted seats for big shows at the last minute.

ShowFilmFirst is free to join and intermittently, you'll get an email through to film screenings, theatre shows, sports events or concerts. There's a nominal charge if you book one of these performances but there's no fee to join the email list. What I would say is that you need to keep a close eye on your emails as these tickets tend to go very quickly.

The other two clubs I'm a member of are much more discreet and because of the papering aspect and their rules around discretion, I'm not going to link to them. An online search for 'theatre club London discounted tickets' should render results.

5. National Theatre Friday Rush tickets
I've seen many good shows at The National Theatre and one of the best ways of scoring a ticket is to check their website on a Friday. Every Friday at 1pm they have a tranche of tickets on sale for £20 for shows the following week. Sometimes, you can even get sold out shows this way as they keep an allocation for this. For some shows, you can get lucky later in the week too if the Friday specials don't all sell out. Here's the Friday Rush landing page.

There are three venues at The National and they all have great sight lines so it's very unlikely you'll be blocked or have a limited view unless you're right at the sides. In The Dorfman, it's small enough that any seat should give you a good view although the raking isn't as good as the other two spaces there.

6. Clubs run by the theatres themselves
Several London theatres have their own members clubs or season ticket options. Ambassador Theatres run a lot of the large regional theatres and a number of West End theatres. If you're a member you can get booking discounts and other benefits. If I lived outside of London but near a regional theatre, I would probably make use of this. Southwark Theatre has its own season ticket offering and Jermyn Street Theatre offers benefits, advanced booking and discounts to sponsors.

7. Earn theatre tokens with your reviews with Seatplan.
Seatplan is an online service whereby people review theatre seats in terms of view, legroom and comfort. If you're looking for bargain seats and wondering if the view is going to be terrible, this is a great place to check that out beforehand. Some reviewers even manage to sneak in some photographs (photography is usually prohibited, even before curtain up). For each verified review (either a photograph of the stage from your seat or a copy of your ticket, you earn theatre tokens. These tokens can then be used at most West End theatre box offices in person, at the Leicester Square Ticket Booth and many regional theatres too. It's free to join. You can also book tickets through this site too.

8. Get Into London Theatre
Every year, the Society of London Theatres has a special deal for families for discounted tickets for popular shows in their 'Get Into London Theatre' promotion. They do sell out quite quickly, but you can add yourself to the mailing list. The people behind this are the same people who run the Leicester Square Ticket Booth.

9. Other options
MoneySavingExpert and Time Out are worth a look. As is Lastminute.com and Groupon. Again, you need to monitor your emails and you need to cross reference the deal to see if you can get a better price somewhere else.

If you have any other tips, do let me know. And happy theatre-going!

Ugly Lies the Bone, Virtual Reality and The Power of Theatre

Much as I'm interested in new technologies, Virtual Reality (VR) has never been my thing. I suffer from vertigo from time to time and, from what I've read, VR experiences can trigger it. I already struggle with 3D movies (I rarely go to a 3D version of a film these days), and I really don't like sweeping film sequences as if in flight. I have to look away from the screen. So I'm not a natural fit for VR.

On the business side, beyond entertainment (immersive films and entertainment), I've also not seen a compelling reason for VR, yet it's one of those technologies that won't go away, has been invested in heavily and was ubiquitous at this year's Mobile World Congress. Admittedly, it was fun watching a colleague walk the plank off a virtual sky scraper, but that's a gimmick or a game and isn't going to be for everyone. So it's fair to say, I'm a VR naysayer. Or at least I was.

I'm now beginning to see some exciting uses for VR in terms of well-being. I, and several thousand others were moved by Tribemix's work with dementia patients by using Virtual Reality to take them back to places where they felt safe and could escape their dementia, even if only for a short while. I think it's extraordinary how the mind can be fooled and that you can immerse yourself in an alternate reality so readily.



Which leads me to the fabulous play I've just seen at The National Theatre - Ugly Lies the Bone. It's the tale of Jess, a US war veteran who was badly injured in Afghanistan and spent 14 months in hospital and is in constant pain. She moves back to her home town in Florida to live with her sister and as part of her pain management, she uses guided VR to help her overcome some of her physical and mental limitations.

I'm fascinated at the prospect that something non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical like VR might be used to heal and to manage chronic illness or chronic pain. That has to be better than pumping people full of drugs.

The play explores Jess's return to her hometown, and her rebuilding relationships with her sister and ex boyfriend and trying to establish a new life for herself. Jess also immerses herself into a VR experience and the audience also experiences it through some of the most stunning visuals I've ever seen on the stage. They're so good that they almost take away from the writing and performances. The tight cast do not disappoint. The relationship dynamics are really interesting as others, and Jess herself adjust to the disfigurements she suffered and to the triggers that send her back to the moment the bomb went off in Afghanistan that sent her on this painful journey.

The play is life-affirming, fascinating and beautiful. Go see it while you can! It may help you see another side to virtual reality beyond nerds gaming in darkened rooms. More about the play and how to book tickets on The National Theatre website.

In both the film and theatre examples above, the power of storytelling and the power of theatre is clear to me. Theatre has the power to take us somewhere else entirely, and in turn, that can be a fabulous healing experience.

My year in London theatre - a round-up of 2016

I’m very lucky. Not only do I have a love for theatre, I have friends who work in the theatre sector which means I can sometimes score a free or heavily subsidised ticket for a show. Other times, I get day seats (well worth a shot if you’re in Central London – check out Theatre Monkey for info), or reduced price tickets at the Leicester Square Ticket booth and I’m also on a couple of last-minute theatre ticket mailing lists offering heavily discounted seats. That means I can truly indulge and not worry about the how I’m going to afford the high ticket prices. 2016 has been a particularly good year in that I’ve attended more than 30 different shows ranging from pub and fringe theatre to play readings and improv to West End marvels. And I can honestly say, I enjoyed pretty much all of them. This is my round-up of the year.

There have most definitely been some highlights:

Discovering the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at The Globe
My goodness what a treat of a theatre this is. It’s the smaller, intimate, indoor space at The Globe and is laid out as an indoor theatre in Shakespeare’s time would have been laid out – bench seating on three levels, galleried stage and all candlelit. I think you’d be hard-pressed not to be completely captivated by the setting. It’s now one of my favourite theatre spaces of all time. I saw three shows there this year – The Inn at Lydda (a thought-provoking fictional tale of when Caesar meets Jesus), Comus (by John Milton and beautifully retold in a historical setting) and The Little Match Girl (A very clever integration of puppetry and actors). If you get a chance to visit, go! I defy you not to love it wherever you’re sitting.

New work: The Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer
I’ve seen a number of revivals this year but not very much at all that’s completely new writing. One new piece I did see and one of my highlights of the year was The Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer at The National (Dorfman – their smaller space). It clearly wasn’t to everyone’s taste as the reviews were mixed. But I found it moving, powerful and entertaining (if a musical about cancer can be entertaining). It was an important piece of theatre in that it approaches a difficult, emotive topic we don’t really want to talk, or even think about much but in approaching it, gives us much-needed permission to do just that. The musical was in the verbatim style – that means that the playwright and the actors talked to real cancer patients and recorded what they said and then used their words exactly as they were said. This means there’s a raw honesty about the dialogue which works for me as an audience member. (This is a technique the National is known for. Rufus Norris used this technique to great acclaim with the musical and the film of London Road.)

Revisiting Shakespeare – a surprise highlight
I can’t say I’m much of a Shakespeare fan. I studied The Tempest and Macbeth at school and didn’t enjoy it much. I found the language hard-going as it’s not the English we use today in either style or vocabulary. To try and combat that I took a role in Julius Caesar with The South London Players a few years ago. Although I enjoyed being in the play, I can’t say that it ignited any particular love for The Bard.

But seeing as he is the father of our modern theatre, and having friends who do have a love for Shakespeare, I’ve given it another go this year and have been (mostly) pleasantly surprised. I’ve taken in an Australian Aborigine version of King Lear called The Shadow King (replete with didgeridoos, sand and body paint), a modern version of Cymbeline (it’s a kind of mash-up of several of Shakespeare’s previous plays) (both at The Barbican), Edwardian versions of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing from the RSC at Theatre Royal Haymarket and the piece de resistance, Glenda Jackson as King Lear at The Old Vic. She was utterly magnificent. Probably the best performance by any actor I have ever seen on stage or screen. It inspired the thinking behind my blog post about work and aging here.

Low point: Closure of Croydon’s Fairfield Halls & Ashcroft Theatre
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing and I’m still cross and frustrated about this. One of my favourite venues, and an unsung hero in theatrical circles was Croydon’s Ashcroft Theatre and Fairfield Halls. I’ve seen some fantastic shows and performances there over the years including Under Milk Wood, The Accrington Pals, Teechers (woefully under-marketed but such a brilliant show) and Morecambe. The venue was a great place for touring shows, amongst other things.

This year, I managed to catch a few shows. My favourites were Lotty’s War, about the Nazi occupation of Jersey and Shadowlands which is about the author CS Lewis. Both very moving in their own ways. And what a treat to be able to see something local to me rather than having to go into the West End every time. But no more. The Fairfield Halls closed down in the summer and is set to be part of a regeneration project in that part of Croydon with a view to reopening in 2018. We’ll have to see if that happens or not. In the current fiscal climate, I’d say chances of that happening are getting slimmer by the day, unfortunately. I hope to be proven wrong.

The reviews
My list of shows seen (not in date order) with a brief review. Current shows listed first.

Once In A Lifetime – Young Vic; A comic tale about the early days of Hollywood starring Kevin Bishop and Harry Enfield. This was great fun and if you were watching carefully, there were some very clever touches to highlight the darker side of the business of Hollywood. Currently playing until 14th January 2017. Information and booking here.

Another Night Before Christmas - The Bridge House Theatre, Penge; A bit of Christmas cheer in this two-hander musical in a pub in South London. Highly recommend. Last performance is on Friday 23 December. Book NOW if you want to go!

Mary Stuart – The Almeida; Lia Williams and Juliet Stevenson alternate the roles of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart based on a coin toss at the beginning of the show in this modern translation of Schiller’s play. It would be a challenge to learn one of the leading roles, but to have to learn both is an extraordinary feat. The actors were all in modern dress and there was an bare set which allowed you to focus on the words, the characters’ development and the dynamics between them. This made for an intense performance which will linger with me for a long time. Currently playing until 21 January 2017. Information and booking here (I sat at the back of the Circle and the sight lines were great). Day seats available at the theatre box office daily from 10am at £10 & £20.

Love's Labour's Lost – Theatre Royal, Haymarket; and

Much Ado About Nothing – Theatre Royal Haymarket; RSC at their finest – showing alternately. Currently playing on a 14 week run until 18 March 2017. Information and booking here.

The Little Match Girl - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; Traditional fairy tales for Christmas told by incorporating puppetry into the acting. Very cleverly done and all the more mesmerising for it. A Christmas treat. Now on and playing until 22 January 2017. Information and booking here.

Sunny Afternoon - Harold Pinter Theatre; I loved this! I’m a fan of The Kinks anyway and I’ve seen Ray Davis play a couple of times live. It was an honest retelling of the Kinks story (as written by Ray Davis), their music and the 1960s London they hailed from. A tale of dreams, luck, love, drugs, loneliness and dodgy managers. Uplifting and great fun. Currently on tour around the UK and booking now.

All or Nothing - The Vaults Theatre; A new musical about the Small Faces now on tour across the UK. Although I knew quite a bit of The Small Faces music, I didn’t know their story of drugs, alcohol, sex and being completely ripped off by their management. Despite the sad ending, the musical itself was great fun with a bit more to it than some of the jukebox musicals doing the rounds. This show is touring in 2017. Information and booking here.

In The Heights - Kings Cross Theatre; - A fabulous musical set in New York's Latino district of Washington Heights. A very different take on a musical with inventive staging (bearing in mind the layout of this temporary theatre), a great storyline and fantastic singing and dancing and music styles ranging from hiphop and salsa to merengue and soul. A must see musical. Closes in London on 8 January 2017. Information and booking here.

1984 – The Playhouse Theatre; Powerful performances with innovative stage techniques to enhance the oppressive atmosphere of the play.

King Lear – The Old Vic; Glenda Jackson was magnificent as King Lear. Strong supporting actors included Jane Horrocks, Celia Imrie and Ryhs Ifans. Stark set, modern dress, clever lighting all added to the intensity of the play. The best thing I’ve seen in a very long time.

The Go-Between – Apollo Theatre; Michael Crawford as you’ve never seen him before in an understated role as the elderly version of the protagonist. A beautiful production with music in a supporting role rather than a leading role. Left me feeling thoughtful and wistful about life.

Threepenny Opera – National Theatre; This play is challenging even before you get to the massive stage at The National but the team pulled it off with a vibrant, pacy rendition of the story of Mack the Knife and his antics. I never knew Haydn Gwynne could sing but she has a mighty find pair of lungs! Enjoyable but not may favourite show of the year.

George Fenton - Lady in the Van – Festival Hall; What a treat to have Alan Bennett read from his diaries whilst being accompanied by George Fenton’s fantastic music. It felt like I was witnessing a historical moment. Fab!

Things I know to be True – Lyric Hammersmith; This was from Frantic Assembly who specialist in integrating physical theatre into a play. It was very effective in this instance and not what I was expecting. This is a sad tale of a family whose individual truths are challenged and, it turns out, that none of them are true and they were all hiding something. Quite challenging but beautifully done.

Comus - A Masque in Honour Of Chastity - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; A thoroughly enjoyable version of Milton’s Comus set in its original historical setting.

A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer - National Theatre (Dorfman); A really important piece of new musical theatre in verbatim style. Thought provoking, moving and cathartic. This is my favourite show of the year, I think. (Last year it was Golem at The Trafalgar Studios, the year before it was Orpheus at Battersea Arts Centre).

Cymbeline - Barbican Centre – this was good, but not great. I don’t think it was the failing of the performance, rather it’s not one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays to begin with. The set and costumes were great and I loved some of the special effects. But the storyline didn’t work for me.

Airswimming - The Vaults Theatre – This play was written by Charlotte Jones who was in the year below me at school so I was curious to see it. It’s about two women who are institutionalised at a young age for being ‘moral imbeciles’. In reality, they’d done nothing wrong, but had gone against the norms of the day which set them apart and led to them being incarcerated. Even when they were set free, their mindset meant that their incarceration was life-long. Very sad and thought-provoking revival. This deserved a bigger audience than it achieved.

Body and Blood and Importance of Being - The Colour House Theatre; These two short plays were performed by an Irish Theatre Group and were both new pieces of writing about the Irish diaspora. With shoestring budgets and a tiny stage, they pulled off two interesting pieces of theatre. They both felt like they were still works in progress rather than finished pieces, but I think both stories would lend themselves to being adapted for TV or radio.

The Libertine - Theatre Royal Haymarket; Dominic Cooper was great in this as he flounced and charmed his way around the stage in the more-or-less true story of John Wilmott, Second Earl of Rochester – a writer, a philanderer, a drunkard, a rake and dead by the age of 33. Good fun and a snapshot into the theatrical world of Restoration London.

Shopping and F***ing - Lyric Theatre Hammersmith; Another revival, this time of a play from the 90s about the 90s. My friend and I ended up sitting in the ‘VIP’ seats on the stage sipping perry and seeing the action very close-up. Despite the bright lights, loud music and general bawdiness of the piece, it’s actually a dark story of a group of young people struggling to make their way into adulthood and how sex, drugs, money and shopping (consumerism) takes hold of them. Brilliantly done and thought provoking in relation to consumerism today. There’s even more of it than there was when the play was first produced.

Tosca – ENO, London Coliseum; Utterly sumptuous set and costumes, fabulous voices and orchestra (as you would expect from the ENO) played out with both the humour and pathos required for this tragic tale. Thoroughly enjoyed it despite not being an opera buff!

The Inn at Lydda - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; This is the tale of a fictitious meeting between Caesar and Jesus. If you can imagine a mash-up of Carry On films, Frankie Howerd in A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum and Up Pompeii with a bit of Shakespeare for authenticity, and you’ve pretty much got the gist of this. The humour of the piece kept it pacy and fun yet the more serious elements also had their place. I watched this from The Pit and loved the way they lit the stage with candles and used the whole of the theatre as their stage.

The Plough and the Stars - National Theatre (Lyttelton); It’s a hundred years since the Easter Rising in Dublin and there have been a fair few Irish plays doing the circuit including this Sean O’Casey play at The National. A stunning production and a heart-breaking tale of how the Easter Rising impacted those involved, mainly the poor and working class, at the time.

The League Of Youth - Theatre N16, The Bedford, Balham; A modern retelling of Ibsen’s classic set in an office in the 1990s. It opens with a dodgy office Christmas party and people are pairing up in ways they really shouldn’t be. Office politics is the name of the game with greed and power as the underlying themes. We’ve all seen this in our various work environments at some stage and the cast got their characterisations spot on from the bubbly receptionist to the slightly nerdy support guy.  This may be one of the smallest theatre spaces in London, but the cast and production team managed to create something much bigger than the space they were confined to.

The Truth - Wyndham's Theatre; A new translation of a modern French farce. Two couples, two affairs and the lies and subterfuge that that entails. The translation made the script a little clunky in places for me but good performances throughout.

The Shadow King - Barbican Centre; A retelling of King Lear set in modern Aboriginal Australia replete with didgeridoos, sand and body paint. I thought this was an interesting adaptation of the play as seen through the lens of a completely different culture. It took me a while to tune into the accents (the cast were mainly Australian), the vernacular and the slightly chaotic style but I did enjoy it.

Blue/Orange – Young Vic Theatre; A powerful play (another revival) and very well done, but my goodness, it was bleak, I mean, really, desperately, utterly bleak. It’s a thoroughly depressing insight into the mental health system, how it works and how people are treated and leaves you questioning what is madness and who is mad – the therapist or the patient? Not one for the faint-hearted.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?… Live - London Palladium; A faithful live version of the popular TV show using regulars from both the UK and the US version of the show. Josie Lawrence was *amazing*. I’ve seen her perform on TV but seeing her perform improv live was a whole different level. Just brilliant. A fun night out!

Hobson's Choice - Vaudeville Theatre; A tale of a widowed, drunken, shoemaker and his daughters in 1880s Salford. The set, costumes and performances transported you back to Victorian Salford in a Cinderella meets King Lear storyline. A lovely leading performance from Martin Shaw and strong performances throughout from the whole cast and the kind of quality you expect from a West End theatre experience. Another enjoyable night out.

Guys and Dolls - Phoenix Theatre; This was glorious! So joyful, such energy and such a great musical score. I’d defy anyone not to have their toes tapping along to this one. We may have been sitting at the back of the circle, but the energy from the stage permeated the whole audience. Loved it!

Wifi Wars - Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre; If you every played Pong, Space Invaders or Pacman back in the day and are at all geeky, then this is for you. We were all hooked up to a private wifi network so that as an audience, we could play each other in this romp through the history of digital games. Great fun! This is the show that led to Dara O’Briain’s (relatively) new show on Dava called 8-bit and they’re still doing the show live. They were on tour in the UK recently and got rave reviews up in Edinburgh. Highly recommend if you get a chance to catch it. More about them here.

How The Other Half Loves - Theatre Royal Haymarket; A 1960s Alan Ayckbourn farce of matrimonial mishap. Three couples, one affair, and the shenanigans that go on to hide the affair between the boss’s wife and one of the firm’s staff. There were strong performances from the whole cast and plenty of laughs but the play felt a bit dated for me. I found aspects of the relationship between William and Mary Featherstone a bit troubling – the way he bullies her and tries to dominate her (even though he’s not a dominant man). Let’s just say it’s of its time and if you enjoy a good old-fashioned farce, you’d have enjoyed this.

Jackie the Musical – Wimbledon Theatre; I have to say, I did not have high hopes at all for this musical but thought I’d give it a go. It’s the story of a Jackie magazine reader who’s now grown up and going through a sort of mid-life crisis. It turned out that it was rather enjoyable. Lots of hits from the 1970s to keep the audience happy, Cathy & Claire made an appearance and there was a half-decent storyline too. All in all, a fun show and a great night out. More about the show and Jackie Magazine here.

Lotty’s War – Fairfield Halls, Croydon; A moving tale of Nazi occupied Jersey and an illicit love affair between a local and a Nazi officer. This was very thought-provoking and poignant.

Shadowlands – Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon; The story of CS Lewis and the female fan he ends up marrying. Very moving performances from both lead actors in this tale of love unexpectedly found in later life only to be cruelly taken away.

A Christmas Carol – Noel Coward Theatre; Jim Broadbent was born to play Ebenezer Scrooge in this fantastic retelling of the familiar Dickens story. A top notch production and a lovely post-Christmas treat.

So that’s my round-up of my year in theatre. January and February are usually quiet times for me theatre-wise. Not least because I’m preparing for Swedish Beers and my other events in Barcelona the week of Mobile World Congress so I need to keep my head down. But come Spring, I hope to be back in the saddle and enjoying theatre and performance of all sorts in 2017.