You know how it is. Some weeks you barely step out of the house and then sometimes you seem to spend as much time in the theatre as Michael Ball! After a few weeks of not doing very much due to pressure of work and illness, the past 10 days has been a bit of an over-indulgence, with some dramatic courses tasting better than others. We started on the Saturday with a spontaneous return visit to Jersey Boys. We loved the show when we first saw it and had intended to go back again at some point, but the wonderful music pouring out of the speakers outside the theatre lured us in on the spot. We had great seats and I’m happy to say that the cast were as wonderful as before.
I’ve never seen an audience go as crazy as they do for this show and a total standing ovation at a matinee is very rare. If your spirits need lifting, book tickets now (0844 482 5138; www.jerseyboyslondon.com)! How about a CD release for this wonderful version? Please?
Monday brought entertainment of a very different ilk when we caught And Then There Were None in Bromley as part of its national tour. The Agatha Christie Theatre Company has her productions down to a fine art and it was great to see familiar faces such as Gerald Harper, Denis Lill, Mark Wynter and Peter Byrne trying to find out who the murderer was before they were bumped off. The play will tour round the country until later in the summer – for details visit www.kenwright.com.
Then it was off to the Albert Hall on Tuesday night for Chess in Concert. Scarily, it’s almost 25 years since the original concept album, but the whole thing sounded wonderful with the City of London Philharmonic and an amazing cast of young Broadway stars. Being Chess, it overran (I remember wondering if we were going to have to leave partway through one of the 1986 previews simply to catch the last train), which made for a late but exhilarating night.
Gluttons for punishment that we are, it was back to the West End on Saturday afternoon for a preview of Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig at Trafalgar Studios, starring Kris Marshall (looking fit and healthy following his accident), Robert Webb, Joanna Page and a luminous Ella Smith. I had wondered whether the play’s subject matter – should Tom be embarrassed to be dating the overweight Helen? – would put off those of us who could stand to lose a few pounds, but it’s uncomfortable viewing whichever side of the weight equation you fall on and nobody much comes out well except for Helen. Call 0870 060 6632 or go to www.theambassadors.com/trafalgarstudios to catch some of Britain’s hottest talents on stage. This week will be theatre-less, but we will be sitting in the dark again – I just can’t wait to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. See you on the front row!
