Twenty Years Of Theatre – In Programmes

So today I decided it was about time I finally organised my programmes rather than just continuing to throw them into a haphazard heap under my bed while praying they don’t end up completely destroyed. Once I started, however, I thought it might be fun to flick through some of them and it turns out I’ve seen a lot of people I now adore in some old shows back when they would have meant nothing to me. I doubt anyone is all that interested in this, but I found it quite fascinating, so I thought I’d blog about it anyway. Of course, I have no guarantees that some of these people were even on the night that I went, but still…. I also have the problem of recognising people in old programmes but not knowing what I’ve seen them in more recently. But anyhoo, here goes nothing:

(This will mostly be an annotated list in no particular order as I put this together whilst going through random piles with no ordering whatsoever except that glossy brochures and programmes were separate due to shelf size issues)

So to begin, I was busy drooling over old pictures of Liam as Link Larkin in Hairspray and who did I find? David McMullan, the guy I recognised (well it looked a hell of a lot like him anyway and he had a very ‘musical theatre’ sort of manner!) sitting in my row at the Ladykillers last week! It’s just now occurred to me that the reason I recognised him was because I also saw him in Ragtime at the Landor (which was confirmed on finding that programme which also assisted me with working out that the guy I recognised at something – Jingle Balls, maybe? was Alexander Evans). I somehow missed the fact he was also in the ensemble of Love Never Dies though – this is what happens when Ramin is on the stage . I think I’ve already mentioned the fact that Aki Omoshayabi was in it Hairspray, but I thought I’d say it again anyway. Woot, hippies .

Speaking of hippies, Holly James was in Starlight Express when I saw it on tour at the New Wimbledon Theatre back in ‘06, with Oliver Thornton as Rusty (wow I wish I remembered that better) and another familiar face; Tim Driesen (from Never Forget).

Speaking of Never Forget, with the new cast though also in Wimbledon… Scott Garnham played Jose and I’ve even got his autograph to prove he was on that night. What I wouldn’t give to see that again now!

Les Mis, 2004, my first two trips and there was another hippie in the cast – Gemma Baird. Apparently Ollie Thornton was also playing Enjolras back then! Wish I remembered that even more than Starlight.

Mark Evans was Brad in Rocky Horror on the last tour but I didn’t know who he was back then . It wasn’t even all that long ago, but he was just this gorgeous man to drool over then. I didn’t ‘discover him’, so to speak, until Bobby Cronin’s gig when he completely blew me away.

Stuart Matthew Price was a vocalist at Strictly Gershwin when it first opened.

Alastair Brookshaw (who I saw as Leo Frank in Parade at the Southwark Playhouse) was a vocalist the first time I saw Shoes at Sadler’s Wells. Jared Hageman was also one of the dancers. I’ve seen him in Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Grey, but far more importantly, he was one of Take That’s dancers on the Progress Tour. I think I spotted him on X-Factor too.

Chris Passey as Benjamin in the Joseph tour 2007 at the Birmingham Hippodrome!

I knew this already, but Zoe Birkett, who I loved on Pop Idol 2002 and who should have been playing Dionne on the UK tour of Hair (she’s still playing the role in Munich) was in Respect La Diva and I even got her autograph, despite not realising who she was until the Hair tour was announced!

Burn the Floor starring Brian Fortuna and Ali Bastian apparently also featured Artem Chigvintsev and Robin Windsor, before either joined Strictly. Obviously I didn’t have a clue who they were at the time, but somehow managed to get autographs off both of them anyway, even though I only got signatures from six out of twenty+ dancers (and two of those were the ‘stars’). Shame I didn’t bother with pictures (at least I don’t think I did, I should probably check that)!

Many years ago, well, six, but it feels like longer, I saw a play called As You Desire Me which for some reason really stood out for me and I still remember the story, or at least the gist of it, to this day. Turns out it starred Kristin Scott Thomas and Bob Hoskins. Unfortunately, this pre-dated my regular stage door activity, but it’s still kinda funky. Especially since I never could remember the name of that play and it’s rather useful to have rediscovered the programme.

Even more years ago than that, back in 1994, I went to see Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, for the very first time and I guess my love of musical theatre was probably born around then. I still remember that show so clearly, it’s weird, especially since I’ve seen it a fair few times since then, yet it’s that first performance that’s always stayed with me. Darren Day starred and the theatre trip was the culmination of months of constantly singing the songs. For whatever reason, my parents wouldn’t take me to see it, but then my Grandma treated me when I went to visit her and apparently I beamed throughout the whole show!

And then in 1998, also in Manchester, I saw Oliver starring Gary Wilmot as Fagin. Turns out Michael Cotton was in the cast too. Wonder what I’d have thought back then if I’d known all these years later I’d see him dancing around in the buff in Naked Boys Singing . I suspect I’d have been shocked and appalled given I was only about 13 and I was oh so sweet and innocent back then!

Back into the noughties and I went to see Ewan McGregor in Guys and Dolls in 2005. All I really remember was being stuck right up at the back and not getting to see Ewan at the stage door afterwards, but turns out the show also featured a rather young looking Summer Strallen.

One of my bigger ‘ wow, really?!’ moments came when I found the programme for The Pirates of Penzance at the Savoy in 2004. I remember the show and remember being rather excited about Anthony Head playing the Pirate King. What I obviously wouldn’t have been excited about at the time but would so love to see now, was Hadley Fraser as Fredric!

Adam Pearce (who I know from Love Never Dies) was one of the brothers in Joseph when Lee Mead was starring. Stephen John Davis (who I saw as Emile in South Pacific) was Reuben too.

I’ve no idea when I saw Beauty and the Beast, but given that it was on at the Dominion, it must have been a fair few years ago since We Will Rock You has been on there for the past decade. According to the programme it premiered in 1997, so I’d guess at the date being sometime around then. Anyhoo, a quick flick through the programme produced the info that Barry James (Firmin in Phantom) played Cogsworth and Earl Carpenter was in the ensemble!

One particular programme I’ve been looking for for a while, is the Far Pavilions. I don’t think it was much of a success, but I remember enjoying it. Obviously I don’t remember Hadley Fraser in this either, but I’ve known for a while that he was in it so it was kinda nice to finally find the programme and see the picture with my own eyes.

Spamalot starring Tim Curry was an interesting find. Mark Evans was a swing, so there’s a good chance I didn’t see him and Craige Els (Never Forget) was a walking understudy, so I’m almost certain I wouldn’t have seen him either, but Hannah Waddingham was the Lady of the Lake and I’m pretty sure I saw her at least!

I’m loving these old programmes too, the head shots are so dated – all those massive perms on the women and boyband curtains on the men! Anyhoo, another trip to the Manchester Opera House some time around 1996 and Alexis Owen-Hobbs was playing Cha-Cha. (Shane Richie was starring as Danny, but he was off when I went to see it. I have no clue how I still remember that fact though!).

Oliver Thornton was also in Chicago back when I saw it. Who knew I’d seen him in so much!

The weirdest by far is actually a concert programme, from Party in the Park 2000. It’s in rather horrific condition as I can still remember the way it poured down for most of the day (which resulted in my programme getting completely sodden through and all the pages getting stuck together. I remember the concert and even the nightmare of getting tickets, what I’d forgotten were the acts. I remember Ronan Keating and I remember being very disappointed when Stephen Gateley didn’t perform despite being on the bill. I remember that the only time I sat down all day was during Moloko because I didn’t much like them and I remember Lionel Richie (though he’s not actually on the programme, so I’m wondering if I imagined that or if he replaced someone else (like Gary Barlow replaced him at the BBC gig in Hyde Park that I missed last summer). I also have a vague recollection of Five performing with Queen – mostly cos I liked Five . The thing is, I saw some seriously cool acts that day. Perhaps some of them weren’t as famous then as they are now, but even so. Amongst others, assuming the programme is correct, I saw: Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, All Saints, Christina Aguilera (I think I actually remember her singing Genie in A Bottle), Elton John with the Backstreet Boys (man I wish I remembered that!), Kylie, Destiny’s Child (when there were still four of them!), Craig David, Steps, Westlife and Billie Piper!

I guess the most melancholy (at least based on programme findings plus the fact I was looking through the glossy brochure too and sulking about not getting to see it again) was from Hair in the West End. For some stupid reason I only bought the one, back when I first saw it and Will Swenson was still playing Berger. I did get Steel’s autograph and a fair chunk of the named cast, but I’m missing so many tribe members, it’s really rather sad. It was also before Liam joined the show, so he’s not in it either. I’m kicking myself now for not buying a second one later in the run and I did actually try to get my hands on one through various sources after the show closed and I realised how stupid I’d been, but nothing came of it. Such a shame . Still, I suppose I had an incredible summer (of love) with my beloved hippies and I’ll always have those fabulous memories plus the ones from Boston even if I don’t get another chance to see Hair again anytime soon. (I’ve also listened to the album the whole way through today, which didn’t help! – Let the sun shine in)

And finally on a slightly chirpier note, I apparently saw Michael Barrymore as Wishee Washee in Aladdin at the Manchester Opera House all the way back in 1992 . I think that’s the oldest one I found, except perhaps Rainbow which I saw live on stage when I was very very small, but I don’t know what year it was.

Anyhoo, in case you were wondering what that many programmes look like (or if you were wondering why it took me FIVE hours to go through them all), this is the whole lot of them:

On average I’d guestimate that there are about 20 per stack, maybe a few more. Of course there are shows I didn’t get programmes for, either because it was many years ago when £3 was just too much to spend or because they simply weren’t available. There are also shows I have several versions of; Phantom, Les Mis, etc. etc.. It’s a good collection though and I’m pretty proud of it. At least next time I lament the fact that life always seems to pass by far too quickly, I can look at this lot and think ‘Well at least I’m not wasting it’.

Anyways, there were countless other names that appeared time and time again, but the above were the ones that really stood out and made me go ‘oooh, cool’. I gotta say, it’s just another reason I love theatre, following careers from the early days. I think that’s even part of the reason I’m so fond of Liam, having seen (possibly) every show he’s been in since he started out. I still see big things in his future and I love watching that ascension from nobody to universally acknowledged star. One day I’ll be watching him play some massive part *cough*Phantom*cough* and I’ll be able to look back and say ‘look how far he’s come’ and know I’ve been there since the beginning.

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,
K xx

PS. And now I get to do some serious tagging . Overkill, thy name is random posts about 2 decades of theatre trips and deciding to tag every single person/show/theatre mentioned!

PPS. I have a multitude of almost finished reviews, so fingers crossed I’ll get at least some of them posted in the next few weeks.

Liam & Life

I wasn’t going to bother blogging tonight, but I’m all beamy and shakey from seeing Liam Tamne and I need to vent.

Les Mis was fabulous as always. I enjoyed Cameron Blakely as the new Thernardier and the rest of the cast were just as brilliant as before. Alfie Boe properly gave me tingles during Bring Him Home, which is rather an achievement since it was once one of my least favourite numbers. Hadley Fraser was also on top form and Craig Mather is growing on me more each time I see him. I also need to give a shout out to Daniel Huttlestone who played Gavroche, he was fantastic and one of the best child stars I’ve seen in a very long time. And then there was Liam… Ahh, Liam… I could go into raptures about him. I don’t even know what it is about him that affects me so much. I mean he’s talented, gorgeous and a sweetheart at the stage door, but then so are plenty of the other actors I follow. Liam is one of the only people to actually leave me shaking though! Even during the miserable bits I found myself grinning from ear to ear whenever he was on stage. Well except for the bit when he was on the red flag. That bit made me cry. (And I’m very aware that the fact it was him made me that bit more emotional). I think I can safely say my obsession with him is getting worse and as much as I need to get this off my chest (without irritating my friends too much), I do rather hope he doesn’t see this particular post (not that I think there’s much chance of that anyway, but you never know). I think I’ve probably embarrassed myself in front of him enough for one evening.

Tonight I did rather well, coming out of the theatre right by the stage door and getting a fab spot directly opposite the door. I saw Liam coming and, er, he saw me too. I’m kinda surprised he didn’t run the other way to be honest! Anyway, he chatted briefly, but I have no idea what about as I was too dazed. I managed to get my autograph (though I’m kicking myself for not getting him to personalise it) and a photo without fainting (though it’s a tad on the blurry side thanks to my shaking hands) so that was something. I know he asked where I was sitting and I told him at the top, but that I was going to come back at some point and sit in the front row. The woman next to me asked me to take a photo for her, but my hand was shaking so much it was really obvious. The people around me teased me about it and I just pointed at Liam and told them it was his fault. He seemed to find that entertaining enough and said goodbye before he moved on. I have to say, he was looking especially lovely tonight and I’m digging his current hair cut. It’s still longish, but more styled than it was last time. It really suits him. Also he was wearing a leather jacket, which is just hot. *sigh* I’m all a flutter! I did manage to calm down a little after he left, though and got my autographs and pictures with a few more of the cast including Hadley, Craig and Alfie.

I’ve really overbooked myself this fortnight, which isn’t great as I’m already exhausted and off to Birmingham for the weekend for my friend’s birthday where I’m unlikely to get much sleep. Hopefully I’ll still enjoy all my shows though. I gave in and booked to see The Belle’s Stratagem tomorrow and then there’s Respect La Diva on Thursday, followed by a ballet at the ROH, South Pacific and Betty Blue Eyes next week. And, er, Britain’s Got Bhangra, if I can manage to get the booking website to work.

I do wish I could blame my reaction to Liam on the exhaustion, after all, it is rather embarrassing, but I know full well that even if I’d slept for a week, I’d still be just as mad. I just hope he doesn’t think I’m completely insane. I mean, I don’t mean any harm, I just enjoy watching him on stage and getting a little smile from him afterwards. Not that I’d mind if he wanted to give me a hug some time, but I’m not that delusional. Or that forward! Anyways, I’m sure he loves me really… *watches tumbleweed blow past*

So I’ll leave it there before I end up rhapsodising about the way his voice makes me feel when he hits the big notes, or lamenting over not having realised his brilliance back in the Hair days when I could have ogled him naked (at least I’m pretty sure he did that bit, but having only had eyes for Steel and occasionally Darius, I really can’t be sure).

I will say, however, what I meant to say eleven days ago – Happy Birthday So Currently Captivated! (In fact, I might write a post for it anyway and backdate it. It seems a shame to let the anniversary pass without a marker). I can’t believe it’s been over a year now, though and I’m still going, still writing and still raving about/missing the hippies. It’s kinda funny really, that this post was written for exactly the same reason as the ones that started this blog in the first place, as an outlet for my ramblings and ravings so as not to drive my friends crazy with my passions and obsessions. I never really imagined that it would last, nor that I would have actual readers, but I’m oddly proud of what this blog has become. I haven’t kept a journal properly since I was a teenager and the years since then seem to have flown by at an incredible rate. It makes me feel better, though, to know that my thoughts and memories aren’t going to be lost forever. That in whatever small way, I’m keeping them alive, a record of the fact that I’m living my life to the full.

And I shall stop there too. Really, don’t know what’s up with me today and I can’t even blame Liam for this one!

Peace, loVe loVe, happiness and Liam!

K xx

PS. I sort of feel like this should be a drunken post, but regrettably, I have to inform you that I’m stone cold sober. I guess I’ll just have to call it an over-tired post instead!

Les Miserables

May I just say, I frickin’ LOVE Liam Tamne *happy sigh*. And now to start from the beginning…

Les Miserables is, without doubt, one of the best musicals currently on stage (at the Queen’s Theatre) and it’s been far too long since I last saw it in the West End, sometime around 2004ish. I’ve wanted to see it again for some time now and the cast change was a fabulous excuse. The show did not disappoint and neither did the performers.

I’m not going to go too thoroughly into it as from my recollections, nothing has changed all that much since I last saw it and I have little to review beyond the cast. My favourite scenes are still my favourite scenes (the end of the fight on the barricade, the students in ‘Empty Chairs…’, anything with Eponine singing in it) and my favourite songs are still my favourite songs (‘On My Own’, ‘One Day More’, ‘A Little Fall Of Rain’). I love the way they do the barricade and I think the set along with the revolving stage is brilliant. There are some seriously beautiful moments and I cried during several scenes.

The big draws for most people are Alfie Boe and Matt Lucas and they were both fantastic. Alfie is just incredible and it was a delight to listen to him. Matt doesn’t quite have the voice, I don’t think, but his charisma and comic timing more than make up for it. I found myself surprisingly impressed. I’d never heard of Craig Mather before this, but he was a wonderful Marius. Lisa-Anne Wood, opposite him as Cosette, was equally enjoyable to watch. Eponine has always been my favourite character and Alexia Khadime more than did her justice. Her voice was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance. Hadley Fraser was another of the main reasons I was excited for this cast and dear heaven was he worth waiting for. I’ve only ever heard him sing at concerts and mostly they’ve been chilled out acoustic-y sort of numbers. Then I heard him sing ‘Stars’… He was just phenomenal and the fact that he can hold his own opposite Alfie Boe is a marker of quite how talented he is.

And then there was Liam. Lovely, luscious Liam… Despite all the excitement of the first act with Alfie and Hadley, I couldn’t quite ignore the fact that I was clearly waiting for Liam’s entrance with baited breath. It wasn’t until I saw him on stage that I realised quite how much I’ve been looking forward to seeing him, or how much I’ve missed it. His voice does things to me that few others can manage (Gary B, Adam Lambert and Ramin are the only others I can think of right now) and I’ll admit it helps that he’s rather nice to look at.

The stage door afterwards was busy, as expected, with barriers and crowds of people. Still, I managed to get my spot and Liam didn’t leave us waiting long. When he reached me he was halfway through signing my programme before he looked up and realised it was me, but he did and I’m still grinning about it. I mean, it’s been months! And even with the pink hair, I wasn’t really expecting him to remember me. It’s all a bit hazy now, but he was lovely and friendly and chatted briefly. I told him I’d been to see Stevie Webb last night and he asked if it was good and told me he’d promised he would go and see it. He was gone far too soon for my liking but Hadley followed soon after and I finally managed to get my photo with him. I got a few other autographs while I waited, though I missed Craig Mather as I didn’t recognise him in time. The wait for Matt and Alfie was rather a bit longer and I managed to drop my camera in the process. It seems to be ok, though it’s a little bashed up at the corner. I did get chatting to a lovely girl at the barrier though, which was nice. I also managed to get a picture and autograph after the two star men in the end and they were both delightful.

I don’t need to tell you that I highly recommend going to see Les Mis if you haven’t already, but if at all possible it is definitely worth seeing this cast. I’d say that for Alfie alone, but with Hadley as well (and Liam, though he has far too small a part!) it’s really not to be missed. I’ll definitely be going to see it at least once more with various friends who’ve put in requests, but I’m sort of tempted to go again on my own and splurge on a good seat. I suppose I’ll have to see what happens and at least I won’t be bothered if I end up going after Matt Lucas leaves, just so long as my three favourites are still around (let’s face it, I’d go again just for Liam).

Anyhoo, I’ve got a bit of a break now, at least for a couple of nights between now and Sunday when I’m off to the Dress Circle Gala. I think at this point, though, getting some sleep would be a Very Good Thing. I never even came close to falling asleep during the show, but there were a few points when my eyes became a bit dry and starey and then there’s the fact that I still need to make it through work tomorrow and won’t get much of a lie in on Saturday.

So, for now, I shall leave it there and go and grin to myself about the fact that LIAM REMEMBERED ME. Not that I’m excited about that or anything…!

Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,

K xx

What’s On Stage Awards 2011 (Part 1)

My weekend in the middle of nowhere (on a farm somewhere in Herefordshire) was actually rather enjoyable, despite the hour and a half train delay on the way up. It was nice to catch up properly with my friends and we had a fabulous time playing ‘Taboo’ over cheese and wine on Saturday night. I felt rather bad heading out early to get back to London in time for the What’s On Stage awards ceremony, but I’m so glad that I did.

The event, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, home of Mamma Mia (which I still have yet to see) was hosted by Christopher Biggins, Miranda Hart and the fabulous Sheridan Smith who well deserved her award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was a light hearted evening of entertaining presentations, amusing acceptance speeches and wonderful performances.

The first highlight of the night, for me at least, was Michael Xavier and Simon Thomas singing ‘Agony’ from Into the Woods. I didn’t know anything about the musical before I saw this and I now wish that I’d known a bit more a bit earlier so I could have seen it. If it comes around again, I will definitely have to make sure I catch it. The costumes alone had me excited, never mind the song itself.

Then of course there was Dougal Irvine’s Departure Lounge. I spent most of last week wondering which song they were going to sing and decided it was probably a toss up between ‘Brits on Tour’, ‘Why Do We Say Gay?’ and ‘Spanish Hospitality’. They went with the latter and it was an absolute pleasure to watch. Chris Fountain wasn’t there and Jack Shalloo took over the role of JB, while Luke Kempner played Pete in his place. Of course, I was delighted to see Liam singing again, but I hadn’t expected to enjoy the whole performance so much. I was almost as happy about seeing Stevie Webb back in the role of Ross as I was about seeing Liam. Silly as it may sound, it was like seeing an old friend again after far too long. If there is one show that deserves a run on a West End stage, it’s that one.

In terms of other performances, there was a number from Rock of Ages, which, though enjoyable, didn’t exactly blow me away. At the moment it’s the only show that I’m not 100% certain about seeing on Broadway, particularly as I can’t find a special offer for it.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was fabulous and is definitely a must see. Which is extra special as I’ve been hoping for an opportunity to go back to the Gielgud. Plus, as if that wasn’t enough, Aki Omoshaybi is in the cast as well (another ex-Hair cast member).

Speaking of Hair, Caissie Levy performed a song called ‘With You’ from the hotly anticipated ‘Ghost’. She was spellbinding as always and the song was poignantly beautiful, both musically and in terms of the lyrics. It was one of the best performances of the night.

Alfie Boe closed the show with ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserables and apparently (according to Cameron Mackintosh, so I think he can probably be trusted to have his facts straight) Alfie will be joining the cast at the Queen’s Theatre in the summer, so it may finally be time for me to revisit Les Mis in the West End. His voice really is something special, it’s just so smooth and crystaline. It’s an absolute pleasure to listen to him and I think I may have to purchase his album in the near future.

Anyways, I have plenty more to say, including some star spotting and a bit of raving about Ramin Karimloo (plus some exciting news), but that shall have to wait for part two, which should follow along soon.

So until then,

K xx

PS. Apologies for the over-tagging on this post, I got carried away.

Les Miserables

Just to give you a heads up, this is going to be a rather thorough, and therefore long, review (I actually made notes during the interval and on my way home!) and will contain a couple of spoilers (both relating to the plot and the production). I will make sure to give warning of the paragraphs that contain them, however, so that they may be avoided (I’ll even put them in white so they only show up if you select the text with your mouse).

So, the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables at the Barbican was… Epic. Amazing production, beautiful set, fantastic cast. I highly, highly recommend this production whether you’ve seen Les Mis before or not. If you have the chance to see it, go! (Unfortunately, it finishes at the Barbican this weekend, but I think its going on a US tour, so if you live across the pond and you can manage it, go see it! (And ‘Hair’ while you’re at it! Tell Steel I say hi! (No, I’m still not over that, in case you wondered.))

So firstly, to the cast:

Jean ValJean (John Owen-Jones) was superb. His voice was beautiful and I very much enjoyed his performance. He reminded me just a tad of Ramin Karimloo (another of my major musical theatre crushes) which got me to thinking that he would make a fantastic Phantom. Having checked the programme, however, its unsurprising really that its a role he’s already played! I’ve now heard his version of ‘Music of the Night’ and it was just as good as I thought it would be. He has just the right quality to his voice. (Incidentally, I’m now thinking it would be fab to see Ramin play Valjean in a few years time!)

Earl Carpenter’s Javert was also impressive. His intensity during ‘Stars’ actually gave me tingles. He gave the character an almost sinister air and I was absolutely blown away by him. Unfortunately, he turned out to be the ‘rush past before you even realise its him’ bloke at the stage door, so I didn’t manage to get a piccy/autograph, but still, a truly talented actor (who I believe has also been a Phantom in his day – Now he could have played an awesome Phantom, given the sinister quality of his Javert. He could be properly terrifying if he chose to be!).

I thought Eponine (played by Rosalind James) was great as well (reminded me a little of a sorta ‘common’ Lea Salonga – btw, this is a good thing!), which I felt was quite important as she’s always been my favourite character. ‘On My Own’ was (is) sorta like my anthem (in a slightly pathetic head-in-the-clouds sort of way). Enjolras (Jon Robyns) was also good, though he had a weird long blond wig (at least I hope it was a wig! missed him at the stage door, but not sure if its cos I didn’t recognise him or if he just took so long that I left before he emerged). It did make me long to see Ramin in the role (looks like the big show at the O2 will be released on DVD though, so I’ll hopefully still get to see/hear him, even if I can’t see it live – Enjolras has a fair few great lines/notes that would be simply breathtaking sung by Ramin!) and I also thought it would be an awesome part to see Simon Bailey play. Gavroche (Robert Madge) was also very good and adorable at the stage door as well!

Finally, to Mr Gareth Gates. I loved him on Pop-Idol, way back when, and was gutted (at the time) that he didn’t win. Since then (other than secretly rather liking ‘Anyone of us (Stupid Mistake)’ and his version of ‘Unchained Melody’) I wasn’t overly fond of him. Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve now found myself rethinking that sentiment. He was a fantastic Marius (though perhaps a little forceful/jerky with his hand movements), just the right level of shy and quiet with the underlying passion for his cause and those he holds dear. ‘A Little Fall of Rain’ was beautifully done, and I loved the singing and acting from both cast members. I admit at times I felt Garth’s voice was perhaps not quite strong enough, but his ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ was a credit to him – absolutely exquisite, technically brilliant and breathtakingly poignant. And to continue waxing lyrical for a little longer (or a lot longer, since the vast majority of this review is rather effusive!), there can be no doubt that his voice is a thing of beauty. I had forgotten how good he actually is and he’s now far better than he was at 17 on reality TV. (He’s also rather taller than I thought – just thought I’d throw that out there as well!)

The production as a whole was very well done. The West End version has a revolving stage and I was intrigued as to how they would cope without it, but to be honest, I hardly even noticed the lack of it. The set was great and the backdrop was done with a projector so it changed and even moved when needed. It gave a lovely effect to the revolutionaries marching down the streets and made the scene in the Sewer look fantastic. With very little beyond a moving backdrop and some (what I would consider) clever lighting, a reasonably short scene was made to look like an extensive journey through a dark underworld. The choreography, for want of a better word, was also great, particularly the way the character’s movements interacted with the set/lighting design to create the desired effect. I don’t want to ruin it by going into explicit detail, but I thought the whole scene was very well put together.

Spoiler (select text to view): Javert’s suicide was done beautifully. The bridge set was lovely, but the actual jump was spectacular. It was actually deceptively simple, I think, but wire work was used for it and combined with the projected backdrop, it was very effective. One of the highlights of the show for me, visually.

And another spoiler (select text to view): In fact, the only criticism I have of the show is of the very end of the battle at the barricade. One of the most visually stimulating scenes in the West End production is when the barricade rotates to reveal Enjolras lying dead across the vibrant red of the revolutionary flag. In this production, the barricade splits (I think) to reveal a cart in which the body of Enjolras on his flag is accompanied by the crumpled little form of Gavroche. No less hearwrenching, of course, but less visually dramatic. For me personally, I didn’t think it worked anywhere near as well, which was a shame, but couldn’t really be helped given the touring nature of the production.

So, not to put too fine a point on it, I thought the production was fab!

To finish up, a couple of mini-tales from the stage door – weirdly, soon after I staked out my spot by the door, a couple of youngish guys turned up. One of them was wearing a white blazer and looked like Justin Beiber (or someone like that anyway!) and I was certain I’d seen him at the stage door at the Gielgud – in fact, I’m sure I recall chatting to them while trying to recall Steel’s surname (believe it or not there was a time when I wasn’t quite this obsessed!). Anyways, I was umming and ahhing over whether to say anything or not when I overheard one of them saying something about ‘Hair’. Figured I may as well say hi, but I think they just thought I was a bit weird! There were a few American girls there as well though who were nice n friendly. I’ll admit I always feel a tad pathetic standing at stage doors on my own! (Though not pathetic enough not to go, of course!) Other than that, I thought I’d indulge my inner 16 year old by grabbing a pic with Gareth, but I have to admit, despite the slightly orange tan, he did look rather lovely, and I found myself indulging my current self just as much!

Anyhoo, I saw Wicked yesterday, which was indeed wicked, but that review shall have to wait for another time.

Also, coming up next week: Departure Lounge at the shiny new Waterloo East Theatre and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch, another venue I’ve never been to.

So until then,

K xx

PS. Woah, long post. But I can’t be bothered to split it now!