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Post by bimse on Jun 17, 2022 17:37:54 GMT
Saw The Lion King in Edinburgh recently. Worst audience I’ve ever been in I think! Constant chatter from everywhere, a couple of kids beside me had a full blown argument at one point. An adult along from us kept trying to initiate clap alongs, which never worked but she kept going… There was also a kid near the front of the balcony that had some kind of colourful flashing toy that they would set off randomly. A steward finally clocked exactly where it was and the family looked so shocked they were told to put it away and kept ‘whispering’ about it. I get it’s kind of a kids thing, but I took a 7 year old with me for his first theatre trip and he was great because we explained what the theatre is like! He’s certainly not a quiet by nature child. Interesting that you had such a bad experience, I saw the Lion King a few weeks back on a Saturday evening in Bradford. It was a sell out , and I can only say it was a delight to be in that theatre. The audience was very responsive , but incredibly well behaved . Of course I can’t speak for other performances , and I’m going to Footloose soon , not my kind of thing, so watch this space, there may well be a different vibe !
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Post by bimse on Jun 16, 2022 18:13:02 GMT
From Acorn Antiques:
“ Gainsborough’s Blue Boy ? Yes, I think we have that in mauve “
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Post by bimse on Jun 16, 2022 18:06:10 GMT
Julie Walters directing Shakespeare……
“it may be Shakespeare, but it’s got to be fun, fun, fun! “
“and you three witches, don’t just stand there, do a bit of business with your shower caps ! “
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Post by bimse on Jun 3, 2022 17:55:46 GMT
Guys and Dolls (NT)
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Post by bimse on May 25, 2022 10:46:49 GMT
Same here, I live in the north of England . I’m happy for this new infrastructure, but it would be great if the rest of the country could also have a share. Trains on my local line have recently been cut back, permanently, making it slower to get anywhere. We’re just grateful the line hasn’t been closed, so I suppose that’s our share of levelling up. Indeed. MCR Piccadilly area will be decimated by a massive concrete train-line for HS2 because work to build an underground station would cause 'too much disruption'. London seems to have managed well enough with all of the underground works been going on. Wonder if we'll see a thread of equal excitement for the launch of Burnham's Busses... Couldn’t agree more, well said .
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Post by bimse on May 25, 2022 7:06:50 GMT
Oddly there's not a single destination I regularly go to where the Elizabeth line will make it faster - I'll have to make a special trip to see it. Same here, I live in the north of England . I’m happy for this new infrastructure, but it would be great if the rest of the country could also have a share. Trains on my local line have recently been cut back, permanently, making it slower to get anywhere. We’re just grateful the line hasn’t been closed, so I suppose that’s our share of levelling up.
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Post by bimse on May 15, 2022 13:09:04 GMT
Saw this yesterday evening (14.5.22) at the lovely Alhambra Theatre, Bradford. Great to be back in a sold out theatre again, the production was incredible, so slick and colourful, and the impressive cast performed as if it was their very first performance. A superbly well behaved and responsive audience, of all ages, gave a well deserved standing ovation.
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Post by bimse on Apr 24, 2022 4:14:10 GMT
Has he done any other shows people have seen? Years ago I saw him in the concert version of Kristina- from Benny & Bjorn from ABBA who were there at the time- at the Royal Albert Hall/ He's also on live CD recording. 1996 in The Lily Savage Show on the North Pier, Blackpool, it was a good show too , ran from July to November. I would think this was at the start of his fame, and before his major illness.
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Post by bimse on Apr 15, 2022 11:18:39 GMT
Worse than Julie Goodyear’s leather clad rendition on tv of that same song? Many years ago admittedly, but I’ll never be able to unsee it. It was excruciating. Tried to find that out of morbid curiosity, but could only find this. Sign her up! She wasn’t in very good health years ago when she did Celeb Big Brother, but she’d probably still show up more than GC. Ah ! That was it, my mistake , it was these boots are made for walking , I’d tried to banish it from my mind .
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Post by bimse on Apr 14, 2022 16:13:32 GMT
Could she be any more non committal? 🙄 There was a clip on the IG of the GC singing Hey Big Spender at her own live show and it was bloody awful. Worse than Julie Goodyear’s leather clad rendition on tv of that same song? Many years ago admittedly, but I’ll never be able to unsee it. It was excruciating.
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Post by bimse on Apr 7, 2022 18:27:00 GMT
Did you get your account back Dawnstar ? My account seems to have been hacked and I can’t get it back . I don’t recall any scam type messages , but people are telling me they’re getting bitcoin type offers via my account . Fortunate I’ve got back ups for my photos . No, I still haven't heard anything back from Instagram. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do. It's very depressing. Your problem sounds different to mine though. Sorry to hear that Dawnstar, likewise I haven’t been able to get my account back, and it does indeed seem like a different cause. I’m taking a break from Instagram for a while , I was getting too obsessed with it, not healthy , and in addition not the kind of site I feel I should be participating in , too unkind on many levels .
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Post by bimse on Apr 6, 2022 7:44:03 GMT
I didn't think I'd been liking more posts recently than I usually do... Did you get your account back Dawnstar ? My account seems to have been hacked and I can’t get it back . I don’t recall any scam type messages , but people are telling me they’re getting bitcoin type offers via my account . Fortunate I’ve got back ups for my photos .
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Post by bimse on Mar 17, 2022 7:37:15 GMT
I saw the original production with Paul Eddington and Patricia Routledge which was just sublime , then a tour in the 1980s which was a bit of a let down. I’d love to see this production but I doubt I will . When I saw the tour includes Bath , I guessed quite rightly Richmond and Brighton would be involved , Cambridge is a bit more adventurous , but as usual nothing any further north , at least not yet.
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Post by bimse on Mar 16, 2022 8:43:00 GMT
Overheard, about theatre, on a train from Manchester to Leeds, during 2021. I was sitting near a group of students , a young man and three girls. The young man informed the others that on arrival in Leeds they were going to a matinee at the theatre , which starts at 2.30. (I wondered to myself why they hadn’t got an earlier train, as the train was due to arrive in Leeds at 2.15, and that would mean a rush over to the Grand Theatre). One of the girls enquired what they’d be seeing . The young man replied “a musical”. “Oh lovely , will there be songs? What is it called?” “Yes, and It’s called “Waitress” Silence , while that information was processed, followed by … “What’s it about?” “A Waitress” More silence , then …. “Will we have time to grab a burger first?” “Oh yes, bags of time” I got the distinct impression that there wasn’t much interest in the theatre visit, and their arrival for curtain up (if at all) was not guaranteed.
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Post by bimse on Mar 15, 2022 14:38:26 GMT
Coming out of a performance of Piaf, a few years ago, I overheard someone ask the people he was with “so which one was Piaf then?”
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Post by bimse on Mar 1, 2022 15:41:28 GMT
Advice for someone down south... Is it conceivably possible to drive from the matinee (ending around 5pm) at Buxton Opera to Leeds Playhouse in time for the 7:30pm show? Google Maps tells me 1h 45 mins, but is that optimistic? Never done it but sounds optimistic for a Saturday and I wouldn’t even consider it for the mid week matinee. Buxton is slap in the middle of the Peak District, single carriageway roads. I assume Google tells you to drive to Sheffield then get on the M1? I think it would be stressful. Very optimistic, Buxton is well away from the nearest motorway in either direction , my route planner gives the quickest route at 2 hours 12 minutes (via Sheffield and the M1) , then there’s the often horrendous traffic to contend with . I wouldn’t risk it .
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Post by bimse on Feb 17, 2022 18:24:17 GMT
I didn't cry, but was definitely shocked and very saddened when Victoria Wood died. I did cry when John Inman died though. I'd worked a fantastic panto run with him way back in 2002/3 and he was such a wonderful man - a fantastic performer, and so friendly off-stage. I was shocked at the death of Victoria Wood, and very sad indeed when John Inman died , I’ve heard he was very good to work with. Similarly the pantomime dame Jack Tripp (no apologies for mentioning him again), yet another consummate performer, like John Inman , a true professional and a true gentleman. I think for me it’s not just the end of an era, but I have such happy memories of these performers . Edita Gruberova (opera singer) and Cesaria Evora (singer from Cape Verde) are two others who I had a real sense of grief for,
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Post by bimse on Jan 23, 2022 14:22:45 GMT
Derek Hatton, the politician from Liverpool, once appeared as King Rat in pantomime at the Tameside Theatre , Greater Manchester. I’ve no idea what his performance was like, but I can’t imagine what possessed the producers to think this appearance could pass as interesting or entertaining. Bizarre.
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Post by bimse on Jan 21, 2022 21:25:43 GMT
Back in the 60s it was quite common for popular singers of the day to be advertised as the star name in a pantomime , but in fact they’d just be included as an interlude , to perform a few of their songs, but not really as part of the pantomime. I have a flyer for Dusty Springfield headlining one such pantomime in Liverpool, as far as I know she just made an appearance unrelated to the pantomime . I’d be interested to hear from anyone who saw any of these kind of pantomimes , Dusty Springfield apparently hated her first panto experience and never repeated it. Susan Maughan made at least one panto “guest star” experience (Southampton, with Little & Large when they were Syd & Eddie) but went on to become one of the finest principal boys in the business , a real class act . Different for the lead comedian of course , which is what this thread is really about , there should be real engagement with the show , they are supposed to carry the show. Frank Bruno was dreadful when I saw him in a panto . He didn’t actually do anything . Susan Maughan was certainly in pantos well into the 1980's in main roles. I don't know if she ever did a guest spot unrelated to the main story. I have a programme in my collection from the Gaumont (now Mayflower) Theatre, Southampton for the 1965-66 season which lists Susan Maughan as making a guest appearance, also Syd Little is on record as saying Susan Maughan didn’t want a “speaking” role that year, she had a singing spot in the ballroom scene (the article mistakenly says the year was 1969).
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Post by bimse on Jan 21, 2022 16:40:38 GMT
Starring John Whaite , with a spectacular dancing dream sequence to close act one . Les Dennis is free since Fat Friends folded , to take the Matt Lucas role. But not Sherrie Hewson as Pru Leith, please !
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Post by bimse on Jan 20, 2022 7:22:33 GMT
27th January Grand Opera House, York 28th January Harrogate Theatre
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Post by bimse on Jan 19, 2022 13:51:40 GMT
Back in the 60s it was quite common for popular singers of the day to be advertised as the star name in a pantomime , but in fact they’d just be included as an interlude , to perform a few of their songs, but not really as part of the pantomime. I have a flyer for Dusty Springfield headlining one such pantomime in Liverpool, as far as I know she just made an appearance unrelated to the pantomime . I’d be interested to hear from anyone who saw any of these kind of pantomimes , Dusty Springfield apparently hated her first panto experience and never repeated it. Susan Maughan made at least one panto “guest star” experience (Southampton, with Little & Large when they were Syd & Eddie) but went on to become one of the finest principal boys in the business , a real class act . Different for the lead comedian of course , which is what this thread is really about , there should be real engagement with the show , they are supposed to carry the show. Frank Bruno was dreadful when I saw him in a panto . He didn’t actually do anything . Cliff and The Shadows had several successful runs at The Palladium. Yes indeed , they did two pantomimes there , Cinderella and Aladdin . They took part in the actual story rather than just being a musical interlude , which is what Dusty did . In later years of course quite a few pop stars of the day made successful pantomime appearances, Mark Wynter was a very successful principal boy, Freddie Garitty and the Dreamers did many pantos , Marty Wild made at least one appearance , and of course Cilla Black .
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Post by bimse on Jan 19, 2022 9:27:55 GMT
Back in the 60s it was quite common for popular singers of the day to be advertised as the star name in a pantomime , but in fact they’d just be included as an interlude , to perform a few of their songs, but not really as part of the pantomime. I have a flyer for Dusty Springfield headlining one such pantomime in Liverpool, as far as I know she just made an appearance unrelated to the pantomime . I’d be interested to hear from anyone who saw any of these kind of pantomimes , Dusty Springfield apparently hated her first panto experience and never repeated it. Susan Maughan made at least one panto “guest star” experience (Southampton, with Little & Large when they were Syd & Eddie) but went on to become one of the finest principal boys in the business , a real class act .
Different for the lead comedian of course , which is what this thread is really about , there should be real engagement with the show , they are supposed to carry the show.
Frank Bruno was dreadful when I saw him in a panto . He didn’t actually do anything .
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Post by bimse on Jan 19, 2022 9:17:12 GMT
I've never seen a Panto not even attempt to incorporate a star casting into a show like this before Just as an aside, in my day the speciality acts weren't properly incorporated either - as Billy Connolly memorably observed "Now that we are all alone, I think I'll play my xylophone". Roy Hudd (I think it was) used to tell of a panto where the Good Fairy would grant wishes to the principal girl , who replied “for my first wish I’d like to see Issy Bonn singing My Yiddisher Momma “.
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Post by bimse on Jan 19, 2022 9:13:48 GMT
I usually find the big American stars who do it for the money are the worst- Priscilla Presley a few years ago at Wimbledon I think it was seemed bemused more than anything. Ditto Mickey Rooney. I remember walking past the Opera House in Manchester when Priscilla Presley was in Snow White. They were literally giving tickets away in the street , not something I’ve ever seen before although I know it happens .
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Post by bimse on Jan 11, 2022 7:23:10 GMT
Just ok, it didn’t entirely grip me somehow, some nice comedy elements (however unlikely) , several plot holes as mentioned above, but way too many characters introduced for my liking , few of whom were interesting or likeable . Endings which leave the way open for a sequel are really disappointing for me , I always feel I’ve been led on a wild goose chase and the writer is just making it up as he/she /they go along (like Line of Duty which everyone seems to think is so ingenious and clever . In which case so was Crossroads).
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Post by bimse on Jan 3, 2022 21:29:52 GMT
I think it might be an attempt at copying a very clipped English accent — think "Asc't". But perhaps not understanding how the sound is made, they've swapped the vowel for an "i" rather than clipping it. That’s what they’ve done , Esc’t is no doubt the aim, but they don’t come anywhere near any sound heard in upper class English . A massive fail for the language coach
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Post by bimse on Jan 3, 2022 21:27:11 GMT
I’ve been listening to the recording of the Broadway production and watching online videos. The accents in the Ascot scene really grates food me when they all constantly sing “Ascit” with IT on the end, I’ve never heard anyone ever referring to “AscIT”, or have I missed something? I thought they had voice and language coaches to help with this kind of thing? I've certainly heard both as-cott and as-cuut (which is I guess similar to ascit?) in Britain, no clue if one is 'correct', but I don't think it's exclusive to this production (though the less said about the accents in the Broadway production generally, the better) As-cut or Es-c’t , to sound “posh” but never As-citt
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Post by bimse on Jan 3, 2022 12:34:12 GMT
I’ve been listening to the recording of the Broadway production and watching online videos. The accents in the Ascot scene really grates for me when they all constantly sing “Ascit” with IT on the end, I’ve never heard anyone ever referring to “AscIT”, or have I missed something? I thought they had voice and language coaches to help with this kind of thing?
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Post by bimse on Jan 2, 2022 8:02:17 GMT
I don’t know if this is the correct place to post this but I wonder if there are any plans to relaunch the Phantom of the Opera UK tour which was cancelled due to the pandemic?
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