The Lion King

          I originally went to see the show in around 2001/2002 after only a few years of it being in the West End. All I remember is we were in the Stalls and sitting in the central section of seating about half way back and in the seats right next to the left hand isle. These are by far the best seats. Not the exact ones I sat in, I can't remember the exact row or seat number anyway, but any of the Stalls seating and most defiantly as close to an isle as you can. All will become clear when you see the show. This time when I went to see it, with a friend, we sat in the first row of the Dress Circle. These were also brilliant seats.

          The show has always been in the Lyceum Theatre and so it feels very at home and very natural being performed there. The areas around the stage, around some of the walls and the ceiling, are covered with beautiful wood carvings. I'm not sure if they're real wood but the effect is fantastic. Also before the show, there are a couple of bongo players and a few animal noises to entertain you. As soon as you enter the audatorium you are drawn in to the show, before its even begun, with all the sights and sounds that great you. Not necessarily a feeling of African, but it does its job. That feeling of Africa most definitely comes later.

          The show starts with The Circle Of Life, a song that is known by almost everyone and that has on ots own come to represent the 1994 film. The song helps with amercing you in Africa as it opens being sung in the Zulu language. The lyrics are as follows:

 

Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba [Here comes a lion, Father]
Sithi uhm ingonyama [Oh yes, it's a lion]

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Ingonyama

Siyo Nqoba [We're going to conquer]
Ingonyama
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala [A lion and a leopard come to this open place]

 

          Talking of music, for the film and the show the music was written by Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with an original score by Hans Zimmer. The music in the show is very close to the original score of the film, with only a few slight changes. There are only a few minor changes. That is fantastic for children who are only just being introduced to The Lion King, but also for those, like me, who have known The Lion King for a number of years. You can almost sing along. Its always fun and happy, even to an extent in the sadder songs. They all have a slight pop feel, but they are all loaded full of emotion and meaning.

 

          With the brilliant set, which has moving aspects to it, and the fantastically ornate and interesting costumes, you know the show is going to keep your attention and always be a spectacle. The costumes represent animals and are fantastic. They don't just represent the animals, as after a while I found myself believing them to be animals. The large animals like the giraffes and elephants are exquisite, and the costumes that represent either the flocks of birds or herds of gazelle and full of movement. Another costume that caught my attention was that of the leopard. The woman who played it was fantastic at using all the moving parts to express the characteristics of a wild cat perfectly. In fact as a write this I'm watching the Planet Earth DVD and the way the actors and animal costumes move in the show is extremely close to real life. That is in no small way because of the mask and puppet designs of Julie Taymor and Michael Curry and the choreography of Garth Fagan

          Like the film, there is some comic light relief in the 'coming of age' story through the characters of Timon, played by Richard Frame, and Pumbaa, played by Keith Bookman. Both men have had extensive film and television roles to there names, though they aren't particularly well known. They play the roles brilliantly and in fact their voices are exceptionally close to those from the film. Another brilliant character in the show, and film, is Scar who in the current cast is being played by George Asprey. He manages to play the villain of the story fantastically but still makes you love him, just a little bit. His use of the moveable mask is also fantastic. My only disappointment was with the character of Zazo. Not because Ashley Artus plays him badly, but I just wasn't as fond of him in the show as I was of him in the film. I mean Ashley is a fantastic actor. His list of TV, film and theatre roles are testament that he has talent. It just hard for him though to beat the original performance of Rowan Atkinson in the film.

          Definitely a show which I am unable to fault. Unlike many West End shows, The Lion King never has reductions in the ticket price. Depending when you go, tickets range from £27.70 to £125. You will need to book fast to get the seats you want. Even after almost 15 years on stage its still as popular as ever. Even with these high prices I still recommend everyone to see this show at least once in their lives. Tickets and Info

Barking In Essex

          Fuckey, shitty, crap, cunt, fuck, shit and bugger!!!! If that has offended, insulted or disgusted you DO NOT SEE THIS SHOW. If on the other hand your ok so far, than by all means read on.

          Why did I start with such offensive and controversial language? Well this show is packed full of it. In fact I have never heard the word 'cunt' said so much in such a short space of time. however a lot of the time the swearing is a source of hilarity as its usually Sheila Hancock who's saying it. I know its meant to be a portrayal of a criminal Essex family, but the amount of swearing is over the top and after a while it was starting to annoy me. Not because I was offended by it, but because the amount of it was just unnecessary. Thankfully, the amount of swearing does reduce in the second act. I saw this show during previews, so there is every possibility the amount of swearing gets reduced.

          Unfortunately Sheila Hancock, Lee Evans and Keeley Hawes forgot or fumbled a few of their lines, but they have only been performing for a couple of days so I'm sure that will improve with time. Sheila Hancock is brilliant and well worth seeing just for her performance. with a great sassiness, sharpness and an over the top exaggerated 'Essex bird'. Lee Evans is also good, playing a bit of a stupid character. I find it hard though to forget his comedy acts and that is great. It stopped me getting to amerced into the show. Keeley Hawes was also good playing, like Sheila, an over the top, exaggerated 'Essex bird'. She played it well and I got the impression she was enjoying the character. Karl Johnson, who I know from Lark Rise To Candleford, is fantastic as the elderly next door neighbour. I completely forgot the character he played in the TV show. All of the costumes are ok, but nothing that really jumped out at me.

          The sets are also brilliant. The scene only changes once, but there is so much going in that the lack of scene changes hardly matter. The opening set in fantastic and, in my opinion, far better than the sent in the second act. Infancy there were a few claps from the audience, as well as a few laughs, as soon as the curtain went up. The laughs were only because of its over the top and exaggerated Essexness.

          I must again make it completely clear, if you are offended by, or just don't like, swearing, DO NOT SEE THIS SHOW. Saying that it is a relatively good show, though nowhere near as good as I had hoped given the acting talent that's in it. Obviously they are limited by the script, which reads more like a second rate tv soap opera, but I still thought someone like Sheila Hancock could do a lot better than she did. I'm not going to tell you to give this show a miss, but be prepared to be a little disappointed. I'm only giving 3 stars because I know with time it has the potential to improve, though that may take longer than the length of time its in the West End for. Tickets and Info

The Woman In Black

          I was very excited to see this. Its the second longest running non-musical show in the West End, having been performed in a West End theatre since 1989, and has seen a resurgence in bookings thanks to the Danial Radciffe 2012 film. I went to see this with two of my friends and we all loved this show. A good scare, but some of the scares actually make you laugh afterwards.

          The theatre is on the smaller side, but that makes for a much better experience. Be prepared for a wordy play, with not much action, not a lot of scenery and to be honest a script that really is a bit slow. Why after all theses do I still think the show is good? To be honest I don't know, but it IS good. Admittedly you need to go with the understanding its a serious play, though that should be obvious. Its not scary in the since of say a gory film, if you've seen the film you'll understand that, but its more suspenseful. Suspense is something I'm not the best fan off. Ill go hide behind the chair as soon as I can, but I really was strangely looking forward to seeing this. Not the best play I've seen, but its well worth seeing it simply because its the second longest running West End show.

          To be honest I don't want to say to much as I don't want to spoil the show for anyone who decides to see it and you should. All I will day is a lot of the scaring is done with lighting as a lot of the stage is either darkened or totally in the dark. the woman in the title of the show, is only one aspect of the show that causes the scares. One has to concentrate slightly, well I did, to follow the story and the plot so the scares make for a good break in that. I also think its good to go with a group of people as your emotions can bounce of one another and you will most defiantly want to talk about it afterwards.

          The acting is good, with only two actors, though they are constrained by the 1987 script. The scripts is based on the 1983 book which was written by Susan Hill, which to an extent dictated the path the script took. The woman unfortunately is unaccredited so as to add to the story of her being a ghost/apparition.

          Like I said before its a play that should be seen, but go with the understanding its not exactly a nights light entertainment. Tickets and Info

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

          This musical can be summed up in just two letters. 'O' and 'K', for that's all this show was. OK. Don't get me wrong, the music was good and the performances were good, but the show as a whole was just not up to what I had hoped.

          I think before I can go into the show, Ill have to start with me experiences with the two films that have been adapted from the original book. I am a massive fan of the original film from 1971, though that was called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, staring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film had the best mixture of Gene Wilder's slightly bonkers and scary Willy Wonka and Peter Ostrum's exceptionally lovable Charlie. The film was marketed with the tagline 'It's Scrumdidilyumptious!'. I think that is the perfect word for the film. The best scene of all is when they go into 'The Chocolate Room'. In the 2005 remake it doesn't have a name though its been called 'The Candy Land scene'. In the original 1971 film, and to an extent the 2005 Tim Burton remake, this scene is absolutely fantastic. To an extent, awe inspiring. You believe, to an extent, the edible grass and flowers, as well as the chocolate waterfall and river. The remake less so than the original surprisingly because of the computer graphics.

          The 'Chocolate Room' scene in the musical was the most disappointing thing of all. it was as though a school project was rolled out onto the stage. I know the producers, director and creative team are limited by the size of the stage and theatre and, to a greater extent than film, money. This scene however, which is arguably the most important visually, appeared to have very little spent on it or even thought into it kick starting children's imaginations. The waterfall looked like cheap plastic with a few lights and the flowers and grass looked no more edible than than a bright blue frog with yellow spots.

          The Oompa Loompas are one of the most iconic aspects of both the book and the films. The 2005 remake was disappointing as the Oompa Loompas were all played by the same actor and were basically just clones of the same person. Don't get me wrong though, the actor, Deep Roy, is very good. In the original film though each Oompa Loompa was played by a different actor and that made the back story of them being a tribe from a far off land a lot more believable. The musical is brilliant in portraying these mythical peoples. The costumes the actors were are brilliant and, among other things, give the show a bit of light comical relief. The other comical relief comes in the form of Augustus Gloop. His comical relief in both the 1971 and 2005 films is minimal to non-existent. In the musical however he is a fantastic character played brilliantly by Jenson Steele, who is making his West End debut in this show and who was also a replacement for a child who left the show before it had started. From the song in which he is introduced, with his over exaggerated German accent and stereotypical German characteristics, you know he's going to be funny. Its a shame that he is the first child to fall foul of the chocolate factory in The Chocolate Room.

          I'm sad to say that I was distinctly disappointed with Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. Douglas is a very versatile actor, having appeared in many films, theatre productions and television shows as well as directing a number of times. I feel he is good with drama as well as comedy. Because of this, I had high hopes for his portrayal of the slightly 'mad scientist' chocolatier. I was left rather flat however. not because he was bad, but because I expected so much more from the character. I'm not sure who else should have been cast, but I'm not sure Douglas Hodge was the right choice. He didn't seems as approachable as the Willy Wonka in both the original film or the later remake. He also didn't. to me have an element of madness. He just seemed a little rude at times. In places he was funny, but it didn't seems like a fully forced character.

          Definitely a show that young children will enjoy, but if you know and are a fan of the 1971 film or even, to a lesser degree, the 2005 remake, be prepared to be at least a little disappointed. Tickets and Info

**UPDATE** - It has recently been announced that from the 19 May 2014 Alex Jennings will take over the role of Willy Wonka.

The Cripple Of Inishmaan

       On the Delfont Mackintosh website they describe the play as follows:

 

 Cripple Billy, orphaned since birth, just might have found a way off the Isle of Aran and a route all the way to Hollywood if he can persuade a small community of Islanders how much he wants to realise his dream.

 

       Not the most appealing of descriptions and doesn't sound the most interesting of plays, but I thought id give it a go.

      

       As with most of the shows I seem to be seeing at the moment, I went to see this show because of who was in it rather than for the show itself. This time because of Daniel Radcliff. Before seeing this show, his acting left me rather deflated. It was nothing that really impressed me and in fact was, in my opinion, fairly average. A few of my friends however, having seen him on stage before, said that he was a brilliant stage actor. I felt I had to decide that for myself.

 

       I now totally agree with my friends. He was fan-bloody-tastic. I mean don't get me wrong, he isn't the best stage actor of all time, but he is certainly bloody good. I would even say he is one of the best actors of his generation and I am sure he will become one of the great stage actors. His Irish accent blended in perfectly with those in the play that are actually from Ireland. He is very good at pulling an hart strings and then in an instant making you laugh. A lot of people criticise the casting of an able bodied person in the role of someone with a disability, however when it comes down to the nitty gritty they need to pick the best actor for the job. Are people throwing their arms in the air because Daniel isn't Irish either?

 

       The play is very good at chopping and changing between comedy and highly emotional. This isn't just due to the story line, though that helps a great deal, but it is also strongly helped by the brilliant acting. This is well worth a see before is closure on the 31 August.