A Chorus Line – theatre breaks

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Linda - theatre breaks writer
A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line – now booking for London theatre breaks

A Chorus Line is already proving popular with people booking theatre breaks, even though it is still currently in preview. The show is now booking right through till January 2014 and looks set for a nice long run at The Palladium. A Chorus Line  has its press night on February the 19th but it is already catching lots of public interest.

The Cast

  • John Partridge as Zach,
  • Scarlett Strallen as Cassie,
  • Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila
  • Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as Diana.

The story of A Chorus Line

The show tells the stories of a number of Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. It is a real ensemble piece with 17 main characters. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre, we see each of the characters in turn go through their audition pieces and we also learn about their lives and careers. We also meet the director Zack and his choreographer Larry. I’m not going to go further into the story in case I spoil it for you.

It is a much better story than the 1985 film might have led you to believe and I think it will be quite powerful to see actually on stage. The story is based on a sort of reality. It came out of several taped workshop sessions in the mid 1970s with Broadway dancers, including eight who eventually appeared in the original cast. This gives it quite an authentic flavour as a glimpse into the lives and motivations of people we never normally notice as individuals in a show, the chorus. Kelly Bishop, the original Sheila said:

“It’s about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it’s too late for them to dance anymore.”

The Palladium Production

The production caused quite a buzz in London by holding open auditions for the minor roles. Dancers, and want-to-be-dancers queued round the block in hopes of a chance to be seen. This really set the tone for the show with a real life demonstration of the drive to be in musical theatre some people feel. It had a brief run in Glasgow before starting previews in London on the 2nd February.

A Chorus Line Theatre Breaks 

A wide range of breaks to see A Chorus Line are available via our Readers Offers site. Click here for more details

 

 

 

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Popular Shows in January 2013

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Linda - theatre breaks writer

The theatre breaks business has gone well this month with plenty of future bookings via our Reader’s Offers site. January and February are always popular months for booking breaks for the coming year.

The BodyguardIt is good news that The Bodyguard has extended to September as it has been well liked. It is a good mix of strong songs and a bit of action, so something for everyone, “romantic but not soppy” was how one chap described it. We’ve seen quite a few bookings for early March and I’m wondering if they might be Valentines gifts. I do hope so! What could be more romantic than “I will always love you”?

Viva Forever!

Viva Forever!

Of course the old favourites still take the bulk of the bookings but among the newcomers Viva Forever! seems to be finding an audience, what ever the critics might say about it. We are seeing quite a few group bookings for 2 day coach trips to Viva Forever! and I can’t help feeling these might be hen nights. A theatre break is a brilliant choice for a hen night but until recently there has been no obvious replacement for Dirty Dancing. That used to be the #1 choice for hen parties, might it have had something to do with the gorgeous male dancers? Maybe? Mamma Mia is another hen night favourite but, would you believe it?? not everyone loves the music of Abba! (I know! Strange eh?) Anyway Viva Forever! now seems to be filling that gap. It has a great Girrl Power vibe so just the thing for female bonding weekends. Of course that doesn’t have to be a hen night and some of them might just be old friends reliving their teeny-bopper years. I think tapping into the Spice Girls generation just as they reach their mid twenties is a very smart move and not just for Viva Forever! If they get into theatre going now and develop a taste for musicals, well, that’s the future audience for everything else the West End has to offer. Once you have experienced a good theatre trip you will always want to go again. Next time maybe they’ll want to go to see a romantic show with their partner, maybe something romantic and approachable, like the new show Once. Or maybe something riotous and outrageous like The Book of Mormon! There hasn’t really been anything to fill the gap left by Avenue Q and I suspect that is exactly the demographic The Book of Mormon will appeal to, judging by their Facebook page!

Anyway we need some high energy, young, lively shows in the West End to keep that age group coming. Of course we hoped Loserville would do that but the less said about that the better.
Already booking well is a show aimed at an even younger audience, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is going to be huge. Of course if won’t just be families that want to see Charlie, Roald Dahl’s timeless stories appeal to everyone whatever their age. That 20 something audience will also be keen to see this show, I suspect, given their attachment to their childhood icons.

A Chorus Line London

A Chorus Line London

One show that I thought would be doing better is A Chorus Line. Maybe there just hasn’t been enough media hype about it yet. It will probably take off over the next couple of weeks. It is likely to be a great production of a classic show but it just doesn’t seem to have caught people’s attention yet. I’m sure it will once it gets going. A real Broadway style musical it fills the niche left by Chicago or maybe that wonderful production of Sweet Charity from a couple of years ago. There’s nothing else quite like it on in the West End at the moment, it has a great cast and so it should do well. I certainly want to see it myself and hope lots of other people will too.

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Booking a theatre break in January

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Linda - theatre breaks writer

Book a theatre break to give yourself an affordable treat!

Booking a theatre break in January might seem a bit rash but it could be just what you need. After the hubub of the holidays there’s always a bit of a flat feeling in January. Just watching the TV you can see what many of us do in this quiet time after all the excesses. We plan ourselves a nice treat! All the holiday adverts looks so enticing but so expensive. I’m not ready yet to think about splashing out for a summer holiday what I need is a little affordable luxury. That is exactly what booking a theatre break in London offers, the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom of January.

I Want It Now!

Viva Forever!

Viva Forever!

Now you might be the spontaneous sort who thinks of this and immediately goes off to look for the first available date. You’ll book your break and be off before the end of the month. If this is you then you’ll want a lively show, something to really get the blood pulsing and sweep away the January cobwebs. Can I recommend something like Viva Forever (sing it with me: “zigazig ah!”). It’s full of Spice Girls songs cleverly re-worked into an interesting plot and the humour comes courtesy of Jennifer Saunders.The critics were unconvinced but then were they ever going to like something that involved the Spice Girls? Ignore them and enjoy!

If you are slightly older school, how about Jersey Boys? Lots of sing along songs and a cast of charming young men – perfect for January cheer-ups!

I Am Happy to Wait a Few Weeks

Valentines Day

Maybe though, you are more romantically inclined. Dare I say it? Valentines Day is not so far away. What could be more romantic or earn you more brownie points than a theatre break in London. There are two ways to approach this.

Booking a theatre break

Booking a theatre break using the wizard

1. Book a break for Valentine’s Weekend – that is the 15/16th of February this year (2013). This shows that you are dynamic and seize the day. Great for making a good impression but a bit of a whirlwind. The slight problem with this can be that eating out that weekend is very hit and miss. Lots of places have ‘special’ (translates as ‘expensive and not as good as usual’!) menus on that week and are heavily booked. If you are going to do it you’ll need to act fast. The most romantic shows sell out that weekend, so quick – go check our Readers Offers! and use the handy wizard to find out what you can book from your location for that weekend.
2. Book a show for sometime after The Day and give a gorgeous card. Next get a fancy gift box and make it as sparkly as possible. Glitter may well be involved but think romantic sophistication not play group! Into the box you put all sorts of little clues as to what you might be doing and a card with the date of the theatre break, saying what time to be ready. So if I was doing it my box would contain: a little model London black cab or maybe a Routemaster bus, a tiny copy of the London A-Z, a card that says “Pack for two nights away” and a clue that relates to the show you are seeing, maybe a little top hat ornament or perhaps an umbrella? Then add some heart shaped chocolates and something that smells nice too (always a welcome addition!) Heart shaped confetti is a nice touch too. Result!

Perfect shows for Valentines include Top Hat, Singin’ in the Rain, and the wild card, We Will Rock You (trust me on this one, it has a tender love story at it’s heart and blokes love it! What could be better?)

Spring Theatre Breaks

If you are not in such a hurry and can be a bit more flexible about your dates then maybe look for something in March or April. London can be lovely in the spring and you get the best dates, prices and seats by booking early. Travel is a bit less daunting once the better weather has arrived, especially if you are doing self drive.

As for shows there is a huge choice in the West End this spring with shows to suit every taste. You can go for a tried and tested favourite like Les Miserables, (bound to book up fast on the back of the film so booking well in advance is a good idea!) or try something totally new.

If you are like me the anticipation of knowing that you’ve got a lovely treat, booked and paid for, on the horizon will help you get through those gloomy days of January and February. We all need these little treats to keep us going but in these days of austerity they have to be affordable. Luckily, theatre breaks in London still come into that category, unlike some of those tempting TV ads!

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Les Miserables Theatre Breaks in London after the Film

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Andy

Les Miserables the Film

A new film version of Les Miserables, a long term favourite for theatre breaks as a stage musical, had its world premier in London in December, in advance of coming out on Christmas Day in the US and a bit later in the UK on January 11th 2013.

les miserables movie poster

Les Miserables movie poster

Effect on theatre breaks

So what are the implications of having a high profile movie launch for the West End show itself? Well a lot of people will have heard of Les Miserables, nearly everybody in some ways, as its being going for quite a few years now and is heavily promoted in London and nationally. The song that Susan Boyle famously sang as an outside contender on a TV talent show came from Les Mis and that gave it a boost as well. The film version will probably be welcomed most by people who have already seen the musical in London at some time over the past years and are curious to see how well it transfers to the screen. They’ll know that it can never replace the experience of seeing a live performance by flesh and blood actors in the moment on a theatre stage but will be interested to observe that the screen actors were directed to sing the parts for the movie live in one take at the same time as acting, rather than recording a soundtrack first in a move that was intended to hold on to some of the characteristics of live theatre performance.

Then there will be people who manage to see the film but wouldn’t normally go to the theatre for reasons of logistics, economics or taste. Quite possibly sizeable fraction of that audience will gain an appreciation for the spectacle, the music, setting and theatricality of the show from the film and will promise themselves to try and see it on stage one day in order to complete the experience. Thus the show and the film can only really bolster each other’s popularity and longevity rather than eat into each others audiences in any way.

** Check Availability for Les Miserables Theatre Breaks **

As per Mamma Mia!

A good precedent for such a phenomenon can be found in Mamma Mia! a very different musical in tone and style, almost completely opposite in fact but a show that had been successful around the world for years as musical theatre before a high quality film with well known stars was made. Rather than drawing from the huge cast of stage actors though, Mamma Mia! the movie drew on big names from the world of film. Well it’s a light musical comedy where close up facial expression and comedic timing are most important and the fact that Meryl Streep can actually sing is a bonus, whereas the fact that Piers Brosnan couldn’t is not a problem. The point is that the film of Mamma Mia helped to remind or show people that you don’t have to be a big Abba fan to enjoy the musical and therefore it should be high on your list of choices for show tickets and theatre breaks if you want a really good night out. Mamma Mia played for many years at the larger Prince of Wales theatre near Leicester Square and is now sustainable at the other theatre in London.

The same can be expected to happen with Les Miserables after the film has been out for a little while, and gets shown on TV in due course. People who may have heard that Les Miserables is a bit heavy and serious, being set in the time of the French Revolution may not have considered going to the theatre what with it being both French and also historical, but will see it in a proper light after having been exposed to the movie. The combination of new converts and renewed aficionados should be enough to maintain the already relocated Les Miserables in the Queens Theatre for many years to come.

War Horse would be another example, not a musical, but a stage show that has been made into a film by none other than Stephen Spielberg and there are no signs of the current run at the New London Theatre ending anytime soon, especially with the word of mouth gaining momentum of how amazingly convincing the live puppet horses perform as characters in the original play. Some of the other current West end shows that are popular as theatre breaks also have a film version but that doesn’t quite work in the same way since shows such as Billy Elliot existed as films first and were then developed as musicals, so not the same process as Les Miserables or Mamma Mia at all.

** War Horse Theatre Breaks **

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Viva Forever Preview

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Linda - theatre breaks writer
Viva Forever Preview

Viva Forever Preview

Last night’s Viva Forever preview was the first of several before the official opening night on December 11th. Like most West End musicals the show will play to a paying audience for a short time before the official opening. During this time press and others are welcome to visit the show but are not supposed to review it. This is because the production can change quite a lot during the period of the previews. Songs can be added, or cut, based on audience reactions. Little bits of dialogue and sometimes even whole scenes can be reworked because they didn’t quite work in front of a live audience. Maybe people laugh in the wrong places, or don’t laugh when you’d hoped they would. During this process of refinement performances change and develop too as the actors and actresses bed themselves into their roles in a way that you just can’t in a rehearsal space.

During the preview period it costs a little less to see the show but you have to be aware that there may be rough edges. Sometimes  timings can be out and shows run late, sometimes theatrical equipment causes problems. It is all part of the experience of live theatre.1A lot of people would worry about that sort of thing happening during a special theatre break so theatre breaks to previews are a bit unusual.

Viva Forever Previews – a good time to book theatre breaks

If you are not worried by reviews then the previews can be an excellent time to book a theatre break to see a show like Viva Forever! Once the press night has happened2 then the critics reviews will start to appear and the show will either be loved, hated, or get a mixed reaction. If it is loved then theatre breaks will be snapped up really quickly. If it has mixed reviews or is panned then it all depends on how much the production team believe in the show. Many shows have gone on  to be commercial hits without good reviews. There is bound to be a lot of interest in Viva Forever! just because of the size of the Spice Girls fan base. Oh, and in case you’ve forgotten there will also be ‘The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever’ a documentary on in early December on ITV1.

I’ve got my fingers crossed for Viva Forever! a little bird3 says everyone enjoyed last night very much. I think the show might be every bit as good as Mamma Mia and we’ll all be singing  those Spice Girls hits again soon.

There are lots of options available for Viva Forever! theatre breaks in our Readers Offers section. Most of them are for dates from early January with just a few left for December. Click here to look for yourself and see if anything takes your fancy.

  1. By the way none of this seems to have happened to Viva Forever! last night and a good time seems to have been had by all ! [↩]
  2. Viva Forever! is having theirs on 11/12/12 [↩]
  3. it might just be called twitter! [↩]
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