Everybody's Talking About Jamie performed by Dan Gillespie Sells

Time Out gives Romantics Anonymous four out of five stars

Here is what Time Outs Holly Williams had to say about the show:

"Emma Rice's final production at the globe is this big-hearted musical about two shy chocaholics

You might expect Emma Rice’s departure from the Globe to leave a bad taste in the mouth, but her final show couldn’t be sweeter. A life-affirming treat, ‘Romantics Anonymous’ is a musical adaptation of the 2010 French film ‘Les Émotifs Anonymes’ about two painfully shy chocolate-makers who fall in love, with a pretty score from Christopher Dimon and Michale Kooman.

Rice’s work always shows big-hearted affection for the underdog (think of the chorus of the unloved in ‘Tristan & Yseult’), and so it proves here: Angelique is a young woman with a genius for making chocolates, but she’s so timid, she faints when people look at her; Jean-Rene runs an ailing chocolate factory, but he’s so awkward he can barely make conversation.

The musical proves the ideal medium for the unspeakably shy: whimsical piano and woodwind-led songs give voice to the characters’ churning inner turmoil. While ‘Romantics Anonymous’ is very funny, it will also feel wincingly familiar to anyone who’s ever hidden in a toilet out of nerves."

More HERE.

Time Out London - A Great Source

A great place to go to for information about what shows are running in London is Time Out.

The shows we are gonna se this trip

Sunday matinee

Big Fish at The Other Palace

Sunday evening

Toxic Avenger at Arts Theatre

Monday matinee

Cinderella on Ice at Winter Wonderland

Monday evening

Woman in White at Charing Cross Theatre

Tuesday matinee

Romantics Anonymous at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Tuesday evening:

Ordinary Days at Drayton Arms Theatre

Wednesday matinee

Everybody's Talking About Jamie at Apollo Theatre

Wednesday evening

Young Frankenstein at Garrick Theatre

Maps: from Apollo Theatre to Garrick Theatre

I'm not really worried that we wouldn't make it: the walk from Apollo Theatre to Garrick Teater takes about 6-8 minutes.

Maps: St Giles to Apollo Theatre.

This is quite an unnecessary map, but since Ive done one on all the other routes, I might as well do one for this one as well. On our last full day in London, we'll start with a matiné of Everybodys Talking About Jamie, at Apollo Theatre.

Maps: from Drayton Arms Theatre to St. Giles Hotel

It's amazing how many times we seem to be close to Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace on this trip: first Big Fish at The Other Palace, then Winter Wonderland, then we pass it twice, going to and from Drayton Arms theatre in South Kensington. This time, when we go from Drayton Arms to our hotel, the St. Giles, will be the last time, at least on this trip. 

Maps: from Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to Drayton Arms Theatre

Romantics Anonymous at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse ends at 4.30pm, and the next show, Ordinary Days, starts at 7.30pm, so that'll give us lots of time, which is good, since the walk takes about an hour and a half.

Maps: From St. Giles to Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in Southwark

This trip is filled with visits to theatres I'd never been to before. Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, at the New Globe is one, and it's the one we are gonna visit on tuesday, at 2.00pm, for a matiné of Romantics Anonymous.

Maps: from Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park to Charing Cross Theatre.

I expect we'll spend all day at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, eat and shop, and not leave until we rally have to, which will be about 6.30, an hour before The Woman in White starts at  Charing Cross Theatre.

Maps: from St. Giles to Winter Wonderland and Cinderella on ice

So until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never heard of Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, but my friend Magnus was looking for a monday matiné, and Cinderella on Ice came up!
It looks great, and we are planning to leave our hotel, the St. Giles, early in the morning, stay all day - of course see Cinderella on Ice, at 2 o'clock -  and then leave about an hour before Woman in White at Charing Cross Theatre starts.

Maps: from The Other Palace to Arts Theatre, in an hour

BIG FISH at The Other Palace is approximately two hours and 30 minuter long, and sunday matinées starts at 3, so we should be out at 5.30, which gives us about an hour to get to Arts Theatre for the evenings performance of Toxic Avenger. According to Google Maps the trip, on foot, should take half an hour. 
I guess we'll grab something to eat on the way.

Maps: from St.Giles to The Other Palace

We start our November four day visit to London by walking from our hotel, the St. Giles on Bedford Avenue to the theatre, The Other Palace, at 12 Palace Streets, where they are showing the trips first show: Andrew Lippas BIG FISH, with Kelsey Grammer. 
These are the routes Google Maps recommended:

Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Opening Night

Cast Young Frankenstein Musical West End Ross Noble / Lesley Joseph / Hadley Fraser

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE 11. He's my boy

Ordinary Days at the Drayton Arms: I'll Be Here

Streetlights, People! Productions is thrilled to announce that their critically-acclaimed production of Ordinary Days will transfer to the Drayton Arms Theatre from November 21 to December 9 as winners of the 2017 Kensington Eddies Award. Performances are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday at 3:00pm and 7:30pm. Ordinary Days, with music and lyrics by Adam Gwon, is a witty and poignant exploration of the lives of four New Yorkers struggling to find meaning in the madness. Tickets: https://t.co/XynzCOj7Ka Directed by Jen Coles, with music direction by Rowland Braché Cast: Neil Cameron, Natalie Day, Taite-Elliot Drew, Nora Perone Promotional Videography: Alex Ryland-Jones for Sally White Creative Presented by arrangement with R&H Theatricals Europe For more information, see http://www.streetlightsprods.com/ordi...

Listen to the first song from Dan Gillespie Sells' new coming-of-age musical

Toxic Avenger at the Arts Theatre.

Sunday November 26th will be the third time I see the musical The Toxic Avenger. The first time was in 200p at New World Stages off-Broadway, with Nick Cordero and Nancy Opel. The second time was 2016 at Southwark Playhouse, starring Mark Anderson, Hanna Gorver, Lizzi Hills, Marc Pickering and Ashley Samuels, and i thing whats playing at the Arts Theatre is a version of that, which a new cast: Ben Irish, Emma Solvo, Natalie Hope, Ché Francis, Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Peter Bindloss, Sophia Lewis. 

From the Arts Theatres homepage: 

Toxie, a mutant freak with superhuman strength and a supersized heart is out to save New Jersey, end global warming and win the heart of his beloved. Laugh, scream and sing as Toxie rocks the house and saves the day

“An intoxicating blast of fun” 
★★★★★ Daily Telegraph  

“Hits don´t come more smash than this” 
★★★★★ BritishTheatre

Following sold-out runs at Southwark Playhouse, where it received 6 Off West End Award nominations including Best New Musical, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, cult rock musical The Toxic Avenger has transferred to the Arts Theatre for a strictly limited season.

From Joe DiPietro and David Bryan (original founding member and keyboardist/vocalist for Bon Jovi), the Tony Award-winning team behind the hit West End musical ‘Memphis’, this acclaimed rock musical dubbed “an intoxicating blast of fun” by The Daily Telegraph in their 5-star rave review and the Daily Express says ‘“To anyone that has seen the Book of Mormon, this is a must-see younger brother of a show!”

Based on the 1984 cult classic, The Toxic Avenger tells the story of the citizens of Tromaville who are crying out for a hero. Enter Melvin Ferd the Third, an aspiring earth scientist determined to clean up the toxic waste problem. When a corrupt Mayor and her government goons get wind of his plans, they vow to stop this heroic feat, Melvin is tossed into a vat of toxic waste, and transformed into The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey’s first superhero!

Prepare to laugh, scream and sing as ‘Toxie’ rocks the house and saves the day.

"It's raucous, it's filthy, it's in your face... and highly recommended" 
★★★★★ LondonBoxOffice.co.uk

“Simply unmissable" 
★★★★★ Musical Theatre Review

Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee 3.30pm
Sunday 3pm & 6.30pm
(no performance Tuesday 03 October)
Press Night Monday 02 October at 7pm

Previews: £19.50, £29.50
Main Run: £19.50, £29.50, £39.50, £44.50, £59.50

Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes including an interval
Age Recommendation: 12+

Adam Gwons musical Ordinarie Days at Drayton Arms Theatre with Streetlights People Productions

So, one of the reasons for choosing this particular time to go to London is this limited engagement at Drayton Arms Theatre: Adam Gwons musical Ordinary Days. I found a clip on youtube from a concert in New York for a couple of years ago, and fell in love. 

Director: Jen Coles, Executive Producer: Nora Perone, Associate Producer: Neil Cameron, Graphic and Print Design: Natalie Lomako, MD: Rowland Brache, Tech Director: Geert Rigters, Warren: Neil Cameron, Deb: Nora Perone, Jason: Taite-Elliot Drew, Claire: Natalie Day. 

Ordinary Days - Meet Warren! (Neil Cameron)

Ordinary Days - Meet Jason! (Alistair Frederick)

Ordinary Days - Meet Deb! (Nora Perone)

Ordinary Days - Meet Claire! (Kirby Hughes)

Ordinary Days at the Drayton Arms: Ensemble

Vegan and vegetarian in London

Here's a map over vegan, vegetarian or vegan friendly restaurants in London.

I found the link over at Vegan London, a great vegan site. 
Green = vegan

Blue = vegetarian
Brown = omnivorous, but vegan friendly

Cinderella on ice at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park

On Monday, we're seeing Cinderella on Ice, with the Imperial Ice Stars,  at Winter Wonderland, in Hyde Park.

From The Imperial Ice Stars home page:

The Imperial Ice Stars' third production, Cinderella on Ice, had its world premiere in New Zealand in July 2008 and went on to play to more than one million people during its two year, 22-country world tour, garnering outstanding reviews across-the-board.

Cinderella on Ice continued to build The Imperial Ice Stars'reputation for innovation in the skating world, both with their daring manoeuvres on the ice and their unique style of story-telling. Stunning skating feats, some only seen in Olympic arenas and some never attempted before, were performed within the confines of a frozen theatre stage, including breathtaking high speed throws and incredible lifts and lift sequences.

Producer James Cundall, Chief Executive of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, explained "By giving these exceptionally talented skaters the freedom to experiment outside competitive skating, while working alongside some of the top figure skating coaches in the world, we are able to take ice choreography to new limits."

Cinderella on Ice was conceived and choreographed by Tony Mercer, widely regarded as the world’s leading creator of theatre on ice, together with the highly respected ice coach Evgeny Platov, dual Olympic gold medallist and four time World Champion, and Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, the 2006 and 2007 ice dancing World Champions.
On Monday, we're seeing Cinderella on Ice, with the Imperial Ice Stars,  at Winter Wonderland, in Hyde Park.

More Here. 

CHRISTMAS WITH THE RAT PACK at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

13 Dec - 6 Jan

Christmas with the Rat Pack is still the coolest party in town so beat the winter blues with Frank, Sammy and Dean.

Drift back in time to the glamorous, glitzy nights of Vegas in the company of three of the world’s most popular entertainers, performing an array of seasonal classics including Baby it’s Cold Outside, Let it Snow, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland & Jingle Bells.

You'll find tickets HERE.

Walking in London

I quite like walking in London. Everything seems to be close by, because everything you pass is interesting, so the walking, in itself, never gets to be tedious. One forgets that one's walking. 

It would be a different thing if one lived there, I guess, but I have the luxury of just visiting.

But this particular day, 28th of November 2017, is going to be interesting, cause there is gonna be a lot of walking. 

First we start the day by walking from our hotel, the St. Giles on Bedford Avenue in Fitzrovia, to Sam Wannamaker Playhouse on the other side of the Thames, in Southwark, where we are going to see the new musical ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS, and then we set off to Drayton Arms Theatre, in South Kensington, to see Adam Gwons musical ORDINARY DAYS.

And then, we'll walk back to our hotel, the St. Giles. 

All in all, we are gonna be walking 9,7 miles, which is 15,6 kilometers, and will take at least - we are fast walkers but easily distracted - 3 h 20 min.

EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE

The 29th of November I'm seeing EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. 

Jamie New is sixteen and lives on a council estate in Sheffield.

Jamie doesn’t quite fit in.

Jamie is terrified about the future.

Jamie is going to be a sensation.

Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight.

John McCrea, Josie Walker, Tamsin Carroll, Mina Anwar, Lucie Shorthouse and Phil Nichol lead a twenty-four strong company and an eight-piece band that ‘sends you out on a feel-good bubble of happiness’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

Hailed as ‘Billy Elliot for today’s generation’ WHATSONSTAGE, this fabulous, funny, feel-good brand new musical sensation hits London with catchy new songs by lead singer-songwriter of The Feeling Dan Gillespie Sells and writer Tom MacRae.

Sixteen: the edge of possibility.  Time to make your dreams come true.

In London For nine night only: Fascinating Aida

In London for
nine nights only!
In a fabulous Spiegeltent in the middle of Leicester Square.

11th-13th & 18th-23rd Dec 2017 at 7.30pm 

They’re back! 
Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman 

With a selection of old favourites, songs you haven’t heard before and some you wish you’d never heard in the first place. The songs are mostly topical - the glamour unstoppable.

With three Olivier Award nominations and 15 million YouTube hits for their Cheap Flights song how can you possibly miss them?

The King and I to be revived at the London Palladium in 2018

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I will return to the West End next summer.

The Lincoln Center's 2015 production won four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival when it originally ran on Broadway and will now transfer to London's Palladium. The show is directed by Bartlett Sher (Oslo) and will star Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe.

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the piece tells the story of an unexpected romance between a British schoolteacher and the King of Siam. It features classic tunes include "Whistle a Happy Tune", "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance".

Six-time nominee O'Hara won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress when she played the role of Anna Leonowens on Broadway. Her credits include The Bridges of Madison County, South Pacific and Follies. In 2019 she will return to Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate.

Watanabe made his Tony Award-nominated Broadway debut in the role of the King in 2015, and is probably best known for his film roles in Batman Begins, Inception and Godzilla.

The King and I was last revived at the Palladium 18 years ago, starring Elaine Paige and Jason Scott Lee. The musical's original London production will celebrate its 65th anniversary next year. Further casting is to be announced.

The King and I runs at the London Palladium from 21 June until 29 September 2018.

Pret a Manger

I almost never have a "proper" meal whenever I am in London. I mean, there isn't time to sit down at a one of those restaurants where a waiter comes to your table to take your order. It's so much easier to just grab something on the go, or go to one of the many fast food chains. 

One of my favorite is Pret a Manger. As a vegan/vegetarian, I always have lots of great options, it's fast, often organic, and tastes great. Often, I've tried not to go inte one of their restaurant, try someplace else, but end up in going there anyway, because it's just so good and convenient. 

This is what Wikipedia says about Pret a Manger: 

Pret A Manger is an international sandwich shop chain based in the United Kingdom, commonly referred to simply as "Pret".

Jeffrey Hyman founded the first Pret a Manger in London on the 21st of October 1983. The first Pret A Manger shop opened in Hampstead, London, in 1984. The name Prêt à Manger (French pronunciation: ​[pʁɛt‿a mɑ̃ʒe], ready to eat) was based on prêt-à-porter, French for "ready-to-wear" clothing.

This original Pret A Manger was located opposite Hampstead Underground station, had its own kitchen, and offered ready-to-eat freshly made natural food, filled baguettes, Croque-monsieur and other ready-to-go convenience foods.

Opening in June 1983, the company traded at 58 Hampstead High Street for eighteen months at which time takings had dropped to below break-even point and the company went into liquidation. It was sold by company liquidator David Rubin to college friends Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe.

Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham started a new operation, but using the Pret A Manger name and brand purchased from the former companies liquidator. They opened their first shop of the new Pret A Manger in July 1986, located at 75b Victoria Street in London. Beecham and Metcalfe had met while st udying at University.

The pair pioneered the chain's menu of handmade natural food, freshly prepared in shop kitchens, and they are still significant shareholders in the company.The iconic logo was created by Adrian Kilby, founder of The Formation Creative Consultants Europe Ltd in the 1990s.

In 1995 Metcalfe and Beecham set up the Pret Foundation Trust with the aim to alleviate poverty in the UK.The Trust receives donations from the sale of products and collection boxes in shops. The donations fund Pret's "Charity Run" vans which deliver unsold food to homeless shelters at the end of each day.

The first shop outside of London was opened on Broad Street, New York in 2000. In 2016 there were 74 Pret shops in the United States.

In 2001, McDonald's bought a 33% non-controlling stake in the company, which they sold in 2008 to private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital, owners of clothing retailer Fat Face.

The company opened its first shop in France in 2012, and had a total of 19 shops in France in 2016.

In 2016, its group sales were £776 million.

(More Here)

SparaSparaSparaSpara

Romantics Anonymous: In Rehearsal

Take a sneak peek behind the scenes of Romantics Anonymous, a new musical opening 20 October in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Romantics Anonymous: Trailer

Romantics Anonymous is an unusual and tender love story in which the obstacles to happiness are not the usual external barriers, but those sneaky little ones we know all too intimately: the ones within.

Young Frankenstein - Cast Photoshoot

Ross Noble & Lesley Joseph ‘Young Frankenstein’ interview – BBC London News

Backstage with: Young Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein Musical A NEW MUSICAL COMEDY COMING ALIVE AT THE GARRICK THEATRE! Official Trailer

What is a West End Theatre?

West End Theatre, according to Wikipedia, "is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of "Theatreland" in and near the West End of London. Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London.

In 2013, ticket sales reached a record 14.4 million, making West End theatre the largest English-speaking audience in the world. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.

Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation. The first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain. Both are known to have been used by William Shakespeare's company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark, where it was used in building the Globe Theatre in a new theatre district formed beyond the controls of the City corporation. These theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649.

James Burbage

After the Restoration (1660), two companies were licensed to perform, the Duke's Company and the King's Company. Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle's Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new structure designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Outside the West End, Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a "Musick House", with performances of opera; as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site slightly north of its current location, and the Royal Opera House opened in Covent Garden on 7 December 1732.

The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, and all other theatres could perform only musical entertainments. By the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music. Initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel.

1800 Century melodrama

The West End theatre district became established with the opening of many small theatres and halls, including the Adelphi in The Strand on 17 November 1806. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, opened on 11 May 1818. The expansion of the West End theatre district gained pace with the Theatres Act 1843, which relaxed the conditions for the performance of plays, and The Strand gained another venue when the Vaudeville opened on 16 April 1870. The next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. The Criterion Theatre opened on Piccadilly Circus on 21 March 1874, and in 1881, two more houses appeared: the Savoy Theatre in The Strand, built by Richard D'Oyly Carte specifically to showcase the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, opened on 10 October (the first theatre to be lit by cooler, cleaner electric lights), and five days later the Comedy Theatre opened as the Royal Comedy Theatre on Panton Street in Leicester Square. It abbreviated its name three years later.The theatre building boom continued until about World War I.

During the 1950s and 1960s, many plays were produced in theatre clubs, to evade the censorship then exercised by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The Theatres Act 1968 finally abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom.

"Theatreland", London's main theatre district, contains approximately forty venues and is located in and near the heart of the West End of London. It is traditionally defined by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east, but a few other nearby theatres are also considered "West End" despite being outside the area proper (e.g. The Apollo Victoria Theatre, in Westminster). Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane, Shaftesbury Avenue, and The Strand. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic and modern straight plays, and comedy performances.

Many theatres in the West End are of late Victorian or Edwardian construction and are privately owned. Many are architecturally impressive, and the largest and best maintained feature grand neo-classical, Romanesque, or Victorian façades and luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration.

However, owing to their age, leg room is often cramped, and audience facilities such as bars and toilets are often much smaller than in modern theatres. The protected status of the buildings and their confined urban locations, combined with financial constraints, make it very difficult to make substantial improvements to the level of comfort offered. In 2003, the Theatres Trust estimated that an investment of £250 million over the following 15 years was required for modernization and stated that 60% of theatres had seats from which the stage was not fully visible. The theatre owners unsuccessfully requested tax concessions to help them meet the costs.

From 2004 onwards there were several incidents of falling plasterwork or performances being cancelled because of urgent building repairs being required. These events culminated in the partial collapse of the ceiling of the Apollo Theatre in December 2013. Of these earlier incidents, only one led to people being hurt, but at the Apollo Theatre 76 people needed medical treatment for their injuries.

In 2012, gross sales of £529,787,692 were up 0.27% and attendances also increased 0.56% to 13,992,773-year-on-year. In 2013, sales again rose this time by 11% to £585,506,455, with attendances rising to 14,587,276. This was despite slightly fewer performances occurring in 2013.

The Other Palace

The Other Palace is a theatre in London's West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, which was damaged by a fire in 2002 and subsequently demolished. It was acquired by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatres Group in 2016, and given its new name.

Described as "the first newly built theatre complex in central London for 30 years", the building was designed by Foster Wilson Architects. The theatre began its debut season in September 2012 with the London premiere of Sandi Toksvig's Bully Boy.

After its acquisition by Really Useful Theatres Group, Paul Taylor Mills was appointed as the new artistic director, with a program intended to develop new musicals. The name change will become official in February 2017

Here's their Youtube channel.