Musicals and Other Shows

[Anita Bensoussane]

Official videos of quite a few shows, including a number of musicals, have been made available free of charge online while theatres are closed:

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-the ... 51198.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They might only be accessible if you're in the UK, I'm afraid - I'm not sure.

Last night I watched the musical of The Wind in the Willows, which was filmed when it was on at the Palladium some time ago. Tony and I saw it at the Mayflower in Southampton in 2016, so it was lovely to be able to view it again. It's a magical show with clever sets and melodious songs. I love the rowing boat, caravan, cars, train and barge - and the animals' cosy dens. Badger's sett reminds me of Tony's Cave of Books! Rufus Hound is great as Toad and I'm also a fan of Simon Lipkin who plays Ratty. We didn't have Simon Lipkin when we saw the show in Southampton but we have seen him in other musicals (notably as a dog in I Can't Sing! and as Mr. Poppy in Nativity!) and he was brilliant. The Wind in the Willows is a delightful show which sweeps the audience into another world. At a time like this it's wonderful to be out on the river with Ratty and Mole among the willows with all the wild creatures!

Edit:

More shows are mentioned here:

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-the ... 51268.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One Man, Two Guvnors had Jemima Rooper in it (as well as James Corden) when Tony and I saw it at the Adelphi in 2012 and it was really funny. Unfortunately, if you watch it you won't get to see Tony being called up onto the stage as I did! The show being broadcast is the National Theatre version and I don't know whether Jemima was in the cast at that time.

[Katharine]

That's interesting Anita, I shall try and check out the Wind in the Willows one, maybe it will inspire me to finish reading the book.

I'm feeling very glad that I was able to get to London last year and see Jason Donovan in Joseph. There is another short run of the show scheduled to start in July, and I had been toying with going to see it again, but under the current situation, I suspect that it may well be cancelled.

I do however have tickets to see him performing his hits in a concert here in Ipswich in November, fingers crossed that things will be more or less back to normal by then. If anyone is a fan of his, on his Instagram page there is a short clip of him singing 10 Good Reasons with Gary Barlow - certainly put a smile on my face.

Looking back, I had a very lucky year last year, being able to see Madness live, plus Jai McDowall singing songs from well known musicals (another act I'd hope to see again this year, which has been postponed).

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is scheduled for September, and I'd love to go and see that again, but I think I'll wait a little while to see if it's likely to go ahead or not before I book tickets, although I know that venues are offering refunds or transferring tickets.

[Boatbuilder]

Official videos of quite a few shows, including a number of musicals, have been made available free of charge online while theatres are closed:

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-the ... 51198.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They might only be accessible if you're in the UK, I'm afraid - I'm not sure.

Last night I watched the musical of The Wind in the Willows, which was filmed when it was on at the Palladium some time ago.

I have just tried it using a VPN Browser from here in the UK and which gave me a Spain IP address and I was able to view that same one, Anita - 'Wind in the Willows'. I had to go through a sign-up procedure first so I used one of my lesser-used emails. You can also use your Google or FB accounts to sign up. So, it looks as though it is accessible from abroad.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for that, John (Boatbuilder)!

Fingers crossed that things will be getting back to normal by the end of the summer, Katharine, and that theatres and concert halls will be able to reopen!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I watched One Man, Two Guvnors on the National Theatre YouTube channel last night. The story is a little slow at the start but great once it gets going. Jemima Rooper (George in the 1990s Famous Five TV series) has a major role and is very good but I think my favourite character is the impossibly doddery waiter, played by Tom Edden, who cracks me up! As you can imagine there's a lot of chaos and hilarity with James Corden at the centre of it all. Blyton fans may be amused to know that the characters have several discussions about whether it's possible for male/female twins to be identical!

There's one scene where two men from the audience are invited up onto the stage to help lift a trunk. When Tony and I went to see the show we were in the front row as we'd bought day seats, and Tony ended up being one of those men!

[Lucky Star]

There's one scene where two men from the audience are invited up onto the stage to help lift a trunk. When Tony and I went to see the show we were in the front row as we'd bought day seats, and Tony ended up being one of those men!

I hope he wasn't so stage struck that he is giving everything up to become an actor. Seriously that sounds like a wonderful addition to the day.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It was hilarious! Tony told me that while he was on the stage he could see Jemima Rooper laughing at him from the wings.

[Fiona1986]

I watched One Man Two Guvnors last night and thought it was excellent. Jemima Rooper was a wonderful guvnor - unsurprising as she's had plenty of practice playing a boy already. If you pay attention during the scene featuring the soup you'll see our very own Pippa-Stef in the front row.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I missed seeing Stef in the front row - I'll have to try to watch that bit again!

[Wolfgang]

Talking of Stef, it's a pity she no longer posts here. I hope she's doing fine.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I too hope Stef is okay.

This evening I watched the musical The Battle of Boat on YouTube. It's a National Youth Music Theatre production, performed at the Rose Theatre in Kingston in 2016. I was already familiar with the soundtrack as I have the CD so I was pleased to have the chance to put the songs into context. It's an inspiring story about children in World War I who are determined to "do their bit" and the songs are lovely, with stirring harmonies. I really enjoyed it. My only criticism is that the clothes are generally drab-looking, especially as the props and scenery are minimal. I suppose that's realistic for World War I but I wouldn't have minded a touch of artistic licence!

If anyone would like to watch it, here are the links to the two Acts:

The Battle of Boat Act 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv2_b0R ... xY0i-Op4WA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


The Battle of Boat Act 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enYFNcxBJmM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

This evening I watched the musical Flowers for Mrs Harris online. The performance was filmed at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018. A really sweet and tender story with engaging characters who touch the heart - I liked it a lot.

Last night I also enjoyed watching the National Theatre version of Jane Eyre (2015) online. It's a quirky, creative performance and Madeleine Worrall plays the role of Jane with great feeling. An imaginative interpretation of a classic.

Edit: A musical production of Pride and Prejudice is being streamed free of charge tomorrow at 2 pm (it may still be available to watch after that for a limited period - it doesn't say):

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-the ... 51360.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Katharine]

I finally got around to watching one of the shows that Andrew Lloyd-Webber has been streaming. This week it was Cats.

I knew nothing about the show, other than a couple of the songs, and to be honest I was feeling rather indifferent to it as I settled down to watch.

Two hours later I was struggling for words to express how I felt.

The dancing was beautiful, very balletic in places, plus a bit of tap. The choreography was cleverly feline.

The costumes and makeup were brilliant, an advantage of seeing it on TV as opposed to in a theatre, as I'm not sure how well they would show up from a distance, especially as the set is quite dark.

A moving performance by John Mills - gosh can that man act!

And a tear-jerking ending from Elaine Paige. The cast had great voices, but her voice really has an extra special quality.

I'm hoping there is a DVD of that performance that I can purchase once shops are open again, as I definitely want to watch it again.

[Anita Bensoussane]

You've expressed exactly why Cats is so entrancing despite not having much of a storyline, Katharine. The feline quality of the dancing and costumes is indeed incredible and the songs and harmonies are beautiful (I agree that having Elaine Paige and John Mills in the cast is the icing on the cake!) I also enjoy the mixture of playfulness and wistfulness in the song lyrics, many of which are taken directly from T. S. Eliot's poems.

And yes, there is a DVD of that performance as I bought one some years ago!

[Katharine]

Thanks Anita. I'll keep an eye out for the DVD, hopefully pick it up in a local charity shop, if not it will go on my birthday wish list with instructions NOT to get it from Amazon, but a local shop.

Hopefully the DVD is the version I saw yesterday?