 I love dance.
I love to dance, but I haven’t really explored it much as a viewer, so Paul from my dance class suggested I go check out The Royal Ballet and Opera House in Covent Garden; a place I’ve passed a million times, but have never seen a show at (I’ve been inside and on the balcony a few times). Anyway, it was bloody good! I chose this show because I love musicals and musical theatre, and this was a kind of reinterpretation of sorts, so probably more accessible for the casual viewer. In total, the show was 2 hours long, with two, twenty-five minute intervals! Bit of a rinse if you ask me, but luckily I didn't splash out, otherwise I might have felt ripped off! Definitely going to make it a habit to watch more dance performances! Honestly, it’s always enthralling to see performers at the top of their game, and with dancers, more so! If you wanna feel good in mind and soul, join a dance class, and then go see a dance show!
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 Back to the Future is one of my all time favourite movies! I was around when it came it out, and have loved it since I first saw it back then. I also love Musicals, so I was eager to watch this ever since it took to the London stage.
I finally got a round to watching it, and was excited going in. What followed was a complete and utter travesty!! How do you take a stone-cold classic and turn it into some cheesy, mediocre piece of uninspired theatre? Go see this show to find out! Firstly, the songs. As a kid, I owned the Back to the Future soundtrack, because the film had some proper tunes! This ‘reinterpretation’ shuns most of that iconic soundtrack in favour of original songs, so the characters can sing and dance their way through the story. I love a good song and dance, so it could definitely work, if the songs were any good? Unfortunately, they were all terrible! Also, the show is reliant on the audience having seen the movie; it takes so many short cuts and liberties, that unless you’ve seen the film, you probably won’t follow the action very well. It should serve as a stand alone piece of theatre, and not act as a poorly performed tribute band. I could go on, but I feel like I’ve conveyed my disappointment. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the most successful theatre shows are those that are based on movies, and movies don’t get made unless they’re based on a book, comic, or video game. Audiences simply don’t show up for original work any more, and because of that, we keep being served this slop. The production design was great, as were the actors. George McFly stole the show, as did the backing dancers, one of whom was so heavily pregnant that watching her dance made me nervous for her safety! Despite its shortcomings, there were plenty of people in the audience roaring with applause at the end. It’s all so depressing. Do yourselves a favour and go watch ‘Operation Mincemeat’ instead.  One of the best things about London, in my humble opinion, is the abundance of world class theatre we have to choose from. There is so much talent concentrated in this city, it’s almost criminal not to enjoy it!
Another great thing about London is how pretty much every nation on Earth is represented here; the vast majority of people here are foreign born, and the theatre scene reflects those international, and touristic tastes. Therefore, it was nice to see a show that spoke to a specifically British audience, or at least one that has an awareness of British comedy history. The show is about three great British comedians from decades ago, who share a dressing room, and discuss their lives and the sacrifices they’ve made, all while poking fun at one another. The actors were brilliant; absolutely recreating the comedians in voice and mannerisms, without it seeming like an impersonation. The show itself was very funny and poignant, but it really helps to have some background knowledge about the comedians (such as the fact that one of the comedians actually died of a heart attack on stage, but the audience thought it was part of his act, and couldn’t stop laughing). It was also the most amount of British people I’ve seen in an audience in a long time, and it was nice; reminded me of my youth, when London was full of British people! Haha.  I saw this one-actor show at The Arcola Theatre, and while it was impressive to see one actor tell a story, I did feel it was unnecessarily bombastic in places.
I’ve said it before, but my experience of people who’ve suffered trauma is that they tend to hold it in, mask it and maybe even repress it. That is difficult for an actor to portray, and requires an audience to notice minute subtitles, but it makes for a much more emotive experience. It’s far easier to hit the audience over the head with a sledgehammer of shouting and screaming, which is what we got here. After the show, there was a Q&A with the actor and director, and it became pretty obvious why they made the creative choices they made; they were both young, probably haven’t experienced much in the way of life, or trauma, and the director especially, had a posh accent, so connect the dots if you will. I tend to be a lot more forgiving of theatre than I am of film, but this show wasn’t great. Plays in London at the moment are all just so damn depressing, as if depressing people was the epitome of high art, when the opposite is true. We live in bleak times; the audience is already depressed, it takes more skill to lift their spirits!  I tend to gamble more when going to the Theatre than I probably would when going to see a film, mainly because there’s always something unique, and beneficial about seeing actors perform live; even if the show isn’t great, watching actors practice their craft can teach a filmmaker a lot. This, I went to see this show without knowing anything about it (also because the tickets were affordable), and again, it was totally worth it!
The show was camp as hell, but good fun! It was short and sweet, and provided a few properly funny moments. Can’t really ask for much more.  So I went to see this magic show, not knowing anything about the Magician or the show itself; one of the great things about London is that there’s so many shows at affordable prices, it’s worth a gamble on a night out.
The show didn’t disappoint, and at the end, the Magician, Asi Wind, even taught the audience a memory trick that I can still pretty much remember now, all these months later! Good times.  I went to see 101 Dalmatians The Musical at the New Wimbledon Theatre.
Usually these Disney theatre productions are big, fancy affairs; fun for the whole family. This one, however, was very much aimed at the little kiddies, and often felt more like a pantomime than a production backed by the mammoth that is the Walt Disney Company. The songs weren’t particularly memorable, but the actors were fine. I dunno. I’m open-minded, and try and go see everything, but that can often result in a waste of time! Haha. It was alright I guess, especially as I’ve never seen the animated movie it’s based on, and probably never will now either!  I went to The Other Palace theatre to see a performance of Songs For Slutty Girls.
Living in London, we’re spoiled by having the best theatre scene in the world! So I go every opportunity I get. I love it, and my favourite type of theatre at the moment is Musicals. That said, I do still have standards! Unlike the characters portrayed in this show! To be honest, I’m writing this in January 2025, and I don’t remember much about this show, other than feeling that yet another celebration of promiscuity was tiresome. Also, the songs weren’t great, and the humour was flat. Still, anytime someone takes a risk to stage a show, you have to applaud the effort, and seeing a bad show is often more rewarding than going to see a bad film. The connection with performers when they’re in front of your very eyes is very real. However! It wasn’t for me (or intended for me either!).  I went to see Machinal, the highly acclaimed play (somewhat) based on true events.
At the end, most of the audience stood to applaud: I wasn't one of them. The play was fine, most of the actors were fine, it just didn't resonate with me. Plays these days are such downers, and this is one of them; whilst there are some good actors on display, I personally felt like the lead wasn't one of them. She overacted her way to a standing ovation, and fair play to her for doing so. My experience is that those who suffer most, tend to be the most silent, whereas this show took the opposite approach. Also, it would be interesting to see if an audience would be half as sympathetic to the protagonist if the roles were reversed between her and her husband? I can guarantee there would be no standing ovation in that instance! Still, if you don't mind being bummed out after a trip to the theatre, give it a gander. Me? I think I’ll stick to Musicals!  I love musicals! Most musicals portray characters that are outsiders, who yearn for more.. In that sense, this show is no different; but that's also the reason why I enjoyed it so much!
I'm a perpetual outsider, and yearning seems to be my default setting! The story concerns a young man that leaves his home in the US, and travels to Europe in search of himself, and to become the consummate (music) artist. We've all been there right? Except most of us never actually leave; which is why shows like this offer that vicarious sense of adventure that we crave! I eagerly anticipated the finale, hoping I might learn some profound wisdom.. but life isn't like that. There often isn't anything profound to be learned at the end, except that we should have enjoyed the journey more and just did whatever we wanted to do! The songs are decent; you probably won't google them on your way home, but they do the job. Overall, it's definitely worth a watch! |
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