Sitting In The Cheap Seats

It’s always exciting when  MyTheatreMates   announce the shortlist for the annual  Also Recognised awards. Being one of the Mates ourselves we take a lot of pride in these awards and are lucky enough to be able to share our two cents on possible nominees!

Portsmouth’s  CCADS have long built up a reputation for presenting local premieres of big musicals and intriguing plays, all  in their own distinct style. They’re back with one of the biggest new musicals of the last few years!

The announcement of a new season at  Chichester Festival Theatre  is always greeted with excitement here, like spring come early! Of course the 2017 season is all the more exciting as it marks  Daniel Evans ‘ debut as Artistic Director.

Billy Elliott is a musical steeped in the eighties, from Thatcher to Miners strikes by way of some very bright leg warmers it drips with the trappings of the decade… and yet, with a story about standing up for what you believe in and seizing the opportunity to escape from a life with no future it feels worryingly apt for the current political climate!

Image credit: Peter Cook (c) RSC We’ve often said that when the  Royal Shakespeare Company announce a new season it’s like we get an extra Christmas and their latest news is particularly exciting with a new adaptation of a Christmas classic, a West End transfer and a particularly exciting play series in the Swan. Read on to find out all the details…

Alex as Orlando in the RSC’s ‘As You Like It’ It probably won’t come as a surprise to any regular reader that I always get excited about the new Royal Shakespeare Company season and I’ve been particularly looking forward to them attacking Shakespeare’s Roman plays. Despite the season not starting until March I’ve been hungry for information on what to expect. Thankfully Alex Waldmann was kind enough to give me – and you – an idea of what to expect! Alex is a veteran of the RSC and of Shakespeare productions in general so it was fascinating to get his insight… grab a cup of tea and settle in, this is a cracking read!

There’s no better way to kick the post-Christmas blues than an early January trip to the theatre, so this year we decided to go an extra step and head to Stratford upon Avon for a short break. Of course, when you’re in Stratford you’d be mad to miss a trip to the Royal Shakespeare Company so we booked well in advance to see The Tempest .