I can't remember who was first to suggest we go to see Sweeney Todd - probably Helen, but it might have been something I said. Anyway, when I was looking for the confirmation email today, I had terrible trouble finding it - and no wonder! Turns out I booked it last September. I remember it was the first day tickets went on sale, and the website was so busy you couldn't log on. So I bought the tickets with London Box Office instead - they were the cheapest alternative. Handily, the cheapest they had were in the Upper Circle, which is a full two floors below the entrance to the Balcony. So I took those.
Helen had to get the train into town, and initially thought she wouldn't get there until about 6.45. With the show starting at 7.30, that didn't give us a lot of time to eat beforehand, so we booked a table in the restaurant of the Coliseum, where the show is staged. It's only open to holders of tickets for that night's performance. Then, just this week, she discovered she could come earlier, so we cancelled the booking and decided to take our chances with the many restaurants nearby.
We had a lovely, sunny afternoon today, as I checked how booking was going. Turns out the top two levels are completely sold out for the entire run - I've never seen the like for this venue. Then it turned out Helen's train was delayed - a person under it, as happens so often. So she was slightly later than planned, then I started doing something in the office and was also slightly later than planned, so our relaxed dinner plans weren't quite so relaxed!
After I met her at Charing Cross, we headed out for my preferred option - L' Ulivo, on Villiers Street. But it turned out to be full, and we decided to try for somewhere nearer the venue. Boy, was that optimistic! First, turning into William IV Street, we tried Spaghetti House. After several minutes of standing just inside the door and waiting to be noticed, we weren't the only ones to give up. We subsequently discovered that the main entrance is around the corner, but still, that's no excuse for ignoring your customers!
Instead, we ended up across the road from the Coliseum, in Prezzo. At least the maitre d' immediately acknowledged our presence and gave us menus when he had a moment, promising faithfully that we'd have no more than a 7-minute wait. Well, I didn't time it, but we soon saw a table free up. The suspense grew as we waited for them to clear it, set it, and lead us to it. And just as they finally did all that, we were nearly pipped at the post by someone who, I'm sure, wanted the same table! But he shooed her away, so I didn't have to engage in single combat with her on an empty stomach.
When the nice man came for our drinks order, we gave him the food order as well. Helen fancied some garlic bread, which is generally a starter but which she asked to be served along with the main course - an eye on the clock, you see! She had pasta, I had chicken in a mushroom sauce. And maybe just over five minutes later, we were served the whole lot. Not so shabby!
Great service, great location. Food not so terrific, honestly - I dunno about the pasta, but my wine was watery, and both chicken and sauce were rather tasteless. We didn't have time for a dessert - but on the evidence of this, if I'm looking for somewhere in the vicinity again, I'll search on.
We crossed the road to the theatre, and I collected the tickets as the five-minute bell sounded. You can enter the Upper Circle by either the grand staircase or the back stairs - guess which we chose? ;-) We took our seats - more comfortable than the Balcony, better upholstery and with armrests. The place was packed, predictably - and quite warm, at that height. And shortly after, the lights gently dimmed and the show began.
The Standard is vexed that this show is too West End - too theatrical, not dark and gruesome enough, like another production of the same story that's currently playing. (I'd try and find out where, but I haven't been able to get details on a general search, and Time Out's search is hanging - as usual.) Well hey, I like gruesome - but I like a bit of West End too, from time to time, and this production certainly doesn't disappoint! The review in the Standard is spot on - the lead actor's singing blew me away, and Emma Thompson can hold a tune too: and seemed to be having the most fun of anyone on stage!
Which brings me to the staging. You know, this is the wrong theatre for this, in a way. It's a classic West End show, but the way it's done doesn't suit the venue. The orchestra, instead of being tucked away in their pit, are up on stage with everyone else, and the action takes place around them. (Indeed, they sometimes play a part.) There are ramps leading to a platform, which mostly acts as Todd's barbershop, and when things happen up there it's fine! Unfortunately, most of the action happens towards the front of the stage, which makes it very difficult to see if you're in the upper levels, and not at the front of your section. Indeed, it was rather comical to see everyone craning forward when the action moved to the front. They even provided screens for the Balcony, so people could see what was happening when the actors went off stage.
..as they did, on occasion. There's a small amount of audience participation, you could say - which would be easier in a smaller venue. They're victims of their own success, I guess! However, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a terrific show - Thompson is a natural comic, and revels in her role, and the title character's singing could blow the roof off.. and that is a wonderful score.
I mentioned it was hot, up where we were. The fellow beside me seemed in distress, his companion rubbing his back at one point. He got himself a bottle of water at the interval, but stayed to the end - so it was physical, rather than a dislike of the show, I'd say.. At the interval, it was good to stand, and we firstly made a dash for the toilets, beating the crowd - and on exiting, passed a queue of biblical proportions. We got ourselves ice creams and took them back inside, where I led Helen to the front of the Upper Circle so she could see the building better; she'd never been before. She snapped a few photos.. link here.
The first act was longer than the second, but this is a long show, coming in at just under three hours, including the interval. And after the standing ovation at the end, it took longer for us to make our way through the slow-moving sea of people that were leaving. But she made her train, and I was just in time for one of my own, and all was well. Excellent show, highly recommended! If you're looking to book a ticket, it runs until Sunday week, but tickets on the official website are severely limited.
On the train home, I was shocked to read that the underground fire in Holborn closed several theatres, yesterday and today - we were lucky we weren't further east! Also, yesterday, it caused severe delays on the Bakerloo Line, which I took the two days before. Good timing on my part..
I'm off to Ireland for Easter tomorrow, and still haven't got around to booking Flanagan's for Sunday lunch. Might do it tomorrow. I fly back to London on Tuesday, and for Wednesday I've booked to see Des Bishop at the Soho Theatre. Never seen him live, but have loved watching him on tv! Then it's looking like a trip to the Guildford office on Thursday, which means no going out - I get too tired, with the early start.
Showing posts with label londonboxoffice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label londonboxoffice. Show all posts
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Play: Skylight
I've been trying for ages to get a seated ticket to Skylight. You see, they do allow people to stand around the back of each level in Wyndham's Theatre, but I wouldn't care for that - if you do, there's pretty good availability for those tickets on their website. And nobody, but nobody, had seated tickets available. Until last Wednesday, when I was looking for a ticket for tonight, and LondonBoxOffice.co.uk turned up trumps, with a choice of two single seats in Row L of the stalls, and only a £17 markup. I checked, and the seat reviews were ok, except that someone mentioned the legroom in that row wasn't great. Well, I booked the aisle seat, so I figured I'd be ok.
An afternoon of doing not very much meant I was rushing, as usual. Another theatre that's easy to get to, it's just to the left of Exit 1 of Leicester Square Tube Station. Well, it should have been easy to get to, except that crowd control was in operation in the station, and we were obliged to leave by Exits 3 and 4! I chose the Cranbourn Street exit, and when I emerged, couldn't see a landmark I recognised -- I never normally use either of those exits. Fortunately, I thought to look around me, and glimpsed the corner of the Hippodrome, which is around where I needed to be.
When I found the theatre, on reflex I joined the long queue I could see snaking into the left entrance door. Of course, I had no idea whether that was the collection queue, and asked the first person in it who turned around. No, this was the returns queue - where people waited in the vain hope that someone might have returned a ticket and they might be able to get in. "You don't have a spare?" they called despairingly as I made my way past the entrance, to the faster-moving queue at the right entrance door. A guy standing in the middle door invited anyone that already had their ticket to come in that way. I handed in my printed confirmation to speed up my ticket collection, and made my way straight to the stalls - the lady who tore my ticket was a bit flustered, what with the crowd. "Never mind," I said, "only a few more to go!" She laughed at that.
There wasn't time for a drink - I made my way straight to my seat, thanking providence that it was on the aisle and I didn't have to disturb anyone. It's been a while since I was here, and I noted, approvingly, that there are no support pillars to block the view. My seat certainly had an excellent view, and although the overhang does probably start to cut off the top of the stage behind that row, for this production I think you could happily go quite a bit further back. As for the legroom, I really don't know what they were talking about, it was ample! unless you're very tall, but then, that's true of almost everywhere. Maybe the seat that was reviewed as having bad legroom was in the middle of the row. People were standing along the edges - I'd forgotten about the standing tickets. The standing area seems to be from Row M back - irritatingly for them, there's a ledge at the wall just ahead of that, which would be very handy for them: but they're not allowed to use it, ushers kept moving them back.
Well, this was a very different beast from The Crucible, last night! For a start, it's a lot shorter - I couldn't believe the interval came as soon as it did. It's also less.. momentous. The play takes place in a shabby flat in Kensal Rise, where Carey Mulligan - making her West End debut - lives, taking the bus every day to teach in a school in East Ham. We can see past her flat to the rest of the tower block. One cold December night, she gets home, intending to cook and correct homework, only to have her evening disturbed by two men from her past. The first is her (much older) ex-lover's teenage son, basically begging her to get back in touch with his dad, whose wife - the lad's mother - has just died of cancer, leaving him in a state. The second visitor is the father himself - Bill Nighy - who decides to take it upon himself to come and see whether she'll come back to him. It's obvious there's still something between them - but is the gulf between his love of wealth and a comfortable lifestyle, and her more socially conscious, but to him drab and self-castigating, lifestyle choices just too wide to bridge?
This is a very clever play, and real issues are carefully examined - from why she has chosen the hard life she lives, and the satisfaction she derives from it, to his opinion of the working classes: from why she walked out on him, to the reaction of his wife to their affair, and his loneliness. The acting from the two main characters is top-notch; it's such a relief to see big names living up to their billing! She's utterly convincing, and from the moment he takes the stage, he takes ownership of it - until he provokes her and sparks start to fly! He gives a bravura performance - he's quite hilarious - and you have no trouble believing that she could have fallen for this older man. Don't worry though, there's little physical intimacy between them in this play!
At the interval, I was one of the first to the toilet - thankfully, because there are only two cubicles. And at the end we were happy to give them yet another standing ovation. Runs until the 23rd August - booking essential. On my way home, I was glad to at least be able to enter the station via Exit 1..
Tomorrow is looking like a film again - Boyhood remains far ahead of the competition in IMDB ratings. An interesting project by Richard Linklater, it stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as the parents of a boy whose story is chronicled through the film, which begins with their separation. And follows it over the next 12 years. In real time. In other words, it took 12 years to shoot, in which time the lead character aged from 6 to 18 (everyone else aged 12 years too, of course). The director's daughter played the boy's sister. A new concept, that. It's playing in my local cinema, at three different times, which allows me some leeway if the weather is as beautiful as it was today!
An afternoon of doing not very much meant I was rushing, as usual. Another theatre that's easy to get to, it's just to the left of Exit 1 of Leicester Square Tube Station. Well, it should have been easy to get to, except that crowd control was in operation in the station, and we were obliged to leave by Exits 3 and 4! I chose the Cranbourn Street exit, and when I emerged, couldn't see a landmark I recognised -- I never normally use either of those exits. Fortunately, I thought to look around me, and glimpsed the corner of the Hippodrome, which is around where I needed to be.
When I found the theatre, on reflex I joined the long queue I could see snaking into the left entrance door. Of course, I had no idea whether that was the collection queue, and asked the first person in it who turned around. No, this was the returns queue - where people waited in the vain hope that someone might have returned a ticket and they might be able to get in. "You don't have a spare?" they called despairingly as I made my way past the entrance, to the faster-moving queue at the right entrance door. A guy standing in the middle door invited anyone that already had their ticket to come in that way. I handed in my printed confirmation to speed up my ticket collection, and made my way straight to the stalls - the lady who tore my ticket was a bit flustered, what with the crowd. "Never mind," I said, "only a few more to go!" She laughed at that.
There wasn't time for a drink - I made my way straight to my seat, thanking providence that it was on the aisle and I didn't have to disturb anyone. It's been a while since I was here, and I noted, approvingly, that there are no support pillars to block the view. My seat certainly had an excellent view, and although the overhang does probably start to cut off the top of the stage behind that row, for this production I think you could happily go quite a bit further back. As for the legroom, I really don't know what they were talking about, it was ample! unless you're very tall, but then, that's true of almost everywhere. Maybe the seat that was reviewed as having bad legroom was in the middle of the row. People were standing along the edges - I'd forgotten about the standing tickets. The standing area seems to be from Row M back - irritatingly for them, there's a ledge at the wall just ahead of that, which would be very handy for them: but they're not allowed to use it, ushers kept moving them back.
Well, this was a very different beast from The Crucible, last night! For a start, it's a lot shorter - I couldn't believe the interval came as soon as it did. It's also less.. momentous. The play takes place in a shabby flat in Kensal Rise, where Carey Mulligan - making her West End debut - lives, taking the bus every day to teach in a school in East Ham. We can see past her flat to the rest of the tower block. One cold December night, she gets home, intending to cook and correct homework, only to have her evening disturbed by two men from her past. The first is her (much older) ex-lover's teenage son, basically begging her to get back in touch with his dad, whose wife - the lad's mother - has just died of cancer, leaving him in a state. The second visitor is the father himself - Bill Nighy - who decides to take it upon himself to come and see whether she'll come back to him. It's obvious there's still something between them - but is the gulf between his love of wealth and a comfortable lifestyle, and her more socially conscious, but to him drab and self-castigating, lifestyle choices just too wide to bridge?
This is a very clever play, and real issues are carefully examined - from why she has chosen the hard life she lives, and the satisfaction she derives from it, to his opinion of the working classes: from why she walked out on him, to the reaction of his wife to their affair, and his loneliness. The acting from the two main characters is top-notch; it's such a relief to see big names living up to their billing! She's utterly convincing, and from the moment he takes the stage, he takes ownership of it - until he provokes her and sparks start to fly! He gives a bravura performance - he's quite hilarious - and you have no trouble believing that she could have fallen for this older man. Don't worry though, there's little physical intimacy between them in this play!
At the interval, I was one of the first to the toilet - thankfully, because there are only two cubicles. And at the end we were happy to give them yet another standing ovation. Runs until the 23rd August - booking essential. On my way home, I was glad to at least be able to enter the station via Exit 1..
Tomorrow is looking like a film again - Boyhood remains far ahead of the competition in IMDB ratings. An interesting project by Richard Linklater, it stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as the parents of a boy whose story is chronicled through the film, which begins with their separation. And follows it over the next 12 years. In real time. In other words, it took 12 years to shoot, in which time the lead character aged from 6 to 18 (everyone else aged 12 years too, of course). The director's daughter played the boy's sister. A new concept, that. It's playing in my local cinema, at three different times, which allows me some leeway if the weather is as beautiful as it was today!
Friday, 31 May 2013
Passion Play
My journey into town tonight was enlivened by running into Liam and Mashrur (hi guys!), who were heading into another part of town for dinner and a movie. No, not like that.. a whole bunch of them were going to see Star Trek - Into Darkness, in 3D. Hope you all enjoyed it..
I headed off to Theatreland for Passion Play, in the Duke of York's Theatre. It's a while since I booked it, so I'd forgotten that I got quite a good deal on this - a seat 2/3 of the way back in the stalls, for 1/3 off, with LondonBoxOffice. Mind you, I see the theatre now has a similar offer on their own website, with 1/3 off top price tickets until the end of June. Also, from a conversation I heard behind me, I think there were upgrades - this isn't selling as well as it should.
Zoe Wanamaker stars. I must admit, I was dubious. I've been to so many ho-hum shows in the West End, with big-name stars and overpriced tickets, about which you could say, at best, "Well, yes, it was watchable". But you know, this is an extremely clever play. It centres on a middle-aged couple, where the husband begins an affair with a younger woman. It's very stylish, and Zoe is a delight to watch, but it really takes shape when their alter-egos/inner selves appear as actors dressed like them and resembling them physically, who vocalise their inner thoughts and imagined conversations. This device is used to powerful effect in the second half, in particular. And at stages throughout, we're treated to the most marvellous choral classical music (Zoe's character is supposed to be a professional chorister).
Actually, it reminded me a bit of Gone Girl, the latest thriller by Gillian Flynn, in the sense of being an examination of a marriage from the inside, where we are privy to each person's inner thoughts. It's a really excellent book, and would make a great companion piece to this.
Passion Play is booking to the 3rd of August, and really deserves more people to go and see it. It's head and shoulders above most of the stuff that gets shuffled around the West End. And yes, there is nudity - some behind screens, some more explicit, but all very tasteful. The last image, in particular, is stunning and the standing ovation was well deserved!
And tomorrow, for variety, we have The Play That Goes Wrong, at Trafalgar Studios. I hear good things. The run was extended, and although I was under the impression that tomorrow was the last day, apparently it's booking right through next year! I guess it's not having any trouble with ticket sales, then.. I also guess it'll be a long time, in that case, before I come to this theatre again, having already seen it. That's the thing with these long-running plays; by the time a new production finally opens, you've forgotten where the theatre is!
I headed off to Theatreland for Passion Play, in the Duke of York's Theatre. It's a while since I booked it, so I'd forgotten that I got quite a good deal on this - a seat 2/3 of the way back in the stalls, for 1/3 off, with LondonBoxOffice. Mind you, I see the theatre now has a similar offer on their own website, with 1/3 off top price tickets until the end of June. Also, from a conversation I heard behind me, I think there were upgrades - this isn't selling as well as it should.
Zoe Wanamaker stars. I must admit, I was dubious. I've been to so many ho-hum shows in the West End, with big-name stars and overpriced tickets, about which you could say, at best, "Well, yes, it was watchable". But you know, this is an extremely clever play. It centres on a middle-aged couple, where the husband begins an affair with a younger woman. It's very stylish, and Zoe is a delight to watch, but it really takes shape when their alter-egos/inner selves appear as actors dressed like them and resembling them physically, who vocalise their inner thoughts and imagined conversations. This device is used to powerful effect in the second half, in particular. And at stages throughout, we're treated to the most marvellous choral classical music (Zoe's character is supposed to be a professional chorister).
Actually, it reminded me a bit of Gone Girl, the latest thriller by Gillian Flynn, in the sense of being an examination of a marriage from the inside, where we are privy to each person's inner thoughts. It's a really excellent book, and would make a great companion piece to this.
Passion Play is booking to the 3rd of August, and really deserves more people to go and see it. It's head and shoulders above most of the stuff that gets shuffled around the West End. And yes, there is nudity - some behind screens, some more explicit, but all very tasteful. The last image, in particular, is stunning and the standing ovation was well deserved!
And tomorrow, for variety, we have The Play That Goes Wrong, at Trafalgar Studios. I hear good things. The run was extended, and although I was under the impression that tomorrow was the last day, apparently it's booking right through next year! I guess it's not having any trouble with ticket sales, then.. I also guess it'll be a long time, in that case, before I come to this theatre again, having already seen it. That's the thing with these long-running plays; by the time a new production finally opens, you've forgotten where the theatre is!
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