The show opens in March 2010.

Happy New Year for 2010 from the Theatre Breaks LTB blog team.

It’s been a great year in London’s West End with some surprise hits and some unfortunate flops as well, and we look forward to 2010 especially with the opening of the Phantom of The Opera sequel Love Never Dies and the new Wizard of Oz. ]]> http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/227/happy-new-year-from-theatre-breaks/feed/ 0 http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/225/london-theatre-break/ http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/225/london-theatre-break/#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:31:22 +0000 http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/?p=225 London Theatre Break

I’m just running through a few options here for a London theatre break. It’s going to be fun and I’m getting excited already at the thought of going back up to the West End for what seems like the first time in ages. The last time we went to see a big musical was around this time last year when we went on a short London theatre break to see Oliver. Jodie Prenger was great and Fagin was good too, I think we caught the show at a good time after they’d all relaxed into their parts and before the Fagins kept changing. Still you can’t blame any of these people for whom the London stage is perhaps not their main sphere of activity for not wanting to carry on and do really long runs. It was definitely the singing and classic song that made the show so I think that makes up my mind which genre I’d like to book up this time around.

Musical London Theatre Break

Much as I do appreciate a bit of Shakespeare , Oscar Wilde, Pinter or Beckett if I’m going to splash out on the whole London theatre break thing with a posh hotel, meal out and everything like that then I like to know with absolute certainty that I’m going to laugh and cry and dance in my seat, and come away with several great chorus lines ringing in my ears so once again it’s going to be a Musical London theatre break this year. Now there would appear to be about 25 musicals on offer in theatreland at present so that doesn’t really narrow down the choice of show very much does it? I’ll list them down, then cross off the ones that aren’t really my cup of tea shall I?

Avenue Q, Billy Elliot, Blood Brothers, Chicago, Dirty Dancing, Dreamboats And Petticoats, Grease, Hairspray, The Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, Lion King, Mamma Mia, Oliver, Phantom of the Opera, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Sister Act, Stomp, Thriller Live, We Will Rock You, Wicked

So what does that look like? Well obviously we can cross out Oliver as we saw that  one last year. Out of the rest, I think it’s got to be either Phantom or Grease. Different ends of the spectrum in some ways, but we know some of the songs from Phantom after hearing the CD whereas Grease is a musical we could perform half of by heart without any mugging up at all! OK, we plumped for Phantom  of the Opera, and if it comes up to expectations then we might just go and see Love Never Dies for next year’s London theatre break, or even earlier if some of my investments come through in time. Next we need to choose a Hotel and dates. That’s the slightly precarious part because it all depends on availabiity.

Choice of  Hotel for a London Theatre Break

I like to be near the City of London, which is a bit further east from the West End but only a short cab ride away, but I’m going to be flexible and if something comes up in Holborn, Westminster or the Strand that’ll be fine for a weekend London theatre break. We are lucky enough to be able to take Mondays or Thursday off too though, or any day really, so access to the City next day would be convenient, if I can get away with it. Right, I’m off to check the online theatre breaks booking sites now, wish me luck!

This was a guest post by a reader from London Theatre Break who wishes to remain anonymous

Kerry Ellis (Wicked, We Will Rock You) has being lined up to take over from Jodie Prenger as Nancy in the current West End production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Kerry Ellis as Elphaba in Wicked

1) Try to be flexible about your dates.

This is really going to help you get to see the show that you want at the the price you can afford so even if there is a special anniversary coming up or something like that it’s well worth investigating several days either side of the exact date. It’s also worth think carefully about whether your London theatre break really needs to be on a weekend or a weekday because the difference can be surprising and it’s not always in the direction that you might think.

2) How important are the seats?

Not all seats are created equal by far, and for some people the experience sitting in the middle of the stalls is much superior to that at the back of the circle. I think it comes down to personal preference and experience though, so think carefuly about your previous theatre experiences and then check out which kind of seats are being offered as part of your theatre break. Some offer “Best seats available” which sounds like it could mean anything but actually that’s one of the better offers. Others offer “Top Tickets”  or “2nd price and 3rd price” but if there is a seating plan then with a little bit of imagination you can get a pretty god idea of what your seats are going to be like. Don’t forget also that there’s a huge difference in the size of some of these London theatres, with quite small intimate vintage theatres in listed building in the heart of theatreland, and then some quite huge auditoriums for the really big shows like Wicked and We Will Rock You.

3) Transport to London.

I know how much people value their own personal space in their car but London really is the exception in our car-dependent world. Getting around cantral London can seem like a jungle to the unaccustomed driver and there’s nearly always nowhere to park. So you’ll end up in some undergound car park that costs nearly as much as a theatre ticket and you’re still miles away from the theatre. So the best bet is usually to arrive by train and the get about on foot, by taxi or even on the tube.

4) Musicals or Plays.

You might have a show in mind when you start looking online but don’t be put off if you can’t get the most famous musical on the dates you planned, there are always new shows coming into the West End and sometimes it’s more fulfilling to go and discover something new that hasn’t been reproduced on tour or elsewhere yet. One of the best things about the London scene is that you can often get to see some very famous actors and actressese performing in classic plays by the great authors, so that’s something to consider as a change from the latest blockbuster music revival with the original Broadway cast.

For more tips and advice to get the most out of London Theatre breaks you might visit the Theatre Breaks Magazine

Political theatre in London has had more than its share of problems and the latest venue at risk is The Tricycle theatre in north London, which has staged a series of productions based on recreations of seismic political events such as the Scott inquiry, the Nuremberg trials, the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and the Bloody Sunday inquiry.

The Tricycle’s misfortunes follow hard on the heels of the collapse of several other radical theatres. The 7:84 theatre company in Edinburgh closed in January after funding problems, and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow was said to be in discussions with its local authority and could be facing cuts in a “week of bad news” for arts organisations in Glasgow.

Some of Britain’s leading artists, including Paula Rego and Antony Gormley, said this weekend that they intend to help save The Tricycle by donating works for auction later this month.

“It is very important to have political theatre,” said Gormley, “where recent events, or attitudes to events, are reflected on.”

Rego added: “English theatre is the greatest in the world and the plays in smaller theatres are often the ones that the larger venues shy away from.”

Other famous names to donate include the actor Sir Antony Sher, the illustrator Ralph Steadman, the artist Maggi Hambling and Sir Peter Blake, who designed The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album cover.

The theatre, which has also produced acclaimed plays about Guantanamo Bay, Deepcut – the Army barracks where four soldiers died of gunshot wounds – and the Hutton inquiry, needs £2.75m a year to stay afloat, only a third of which comes from ticket sales.

The Tricycle’s artistic director, Nicolas Kent, said that, while Tricycle productions have transferred not only to the West End but to other stages around the world, and it has hosted world-renowned actors such as Vanessa Redgrave, audiences have preferred more light-hearted work during the recession.

“The pressure on us because of the recession is twofold,” Kent said. “The cash we raise from charitable trusts has gone down enormously, and there has been less money coming in from individuals.

“Last autumn people were worried and tended not to spend money on going to the theatre, particularly serious theatre. They were opting for more light-hearted shows. We put on Deepcut and got great reviews but it did not do as well as we hoped at the box office.

“Musicals have been doing stormingly well, but all serious theatres rely on donations and they have been drying up.”

As if to hammer home the point, the Hackney Empire, which also has a strong political track record, has announced it will close early in the new year for nine months amid financial difficulties.

War Horse at The National

The theatre published its annual report for 2008/09, which showed that its box office reached 93% capacity, with 817,000 paid attendees, the highest total attendance in the last seven years. The theatre staged 25 productions in the year, of which 17 were new.

It achieved a £456,000 surplus for the financial year and turnover increased to £55 million. The biggest earner for the year was the First World War story War Horse, which took £2.7 million at the box office and had a 99% capacity.

War Horse in the West End

War Horse National Theatre

War Horse is based on the celebrated novel by Michael Morpurgo. The First World War is the backdrop for this exciting tale of bravery, and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse.

The full cast for “Breakfast at Tiffanys,” has been announced.Breakfast At Tiffanys will start previews at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on September the 9th, prior to an official opening Sept. 29, for a run that is currently booking to Jan. 9, 2010.

The Cast of Breakfast At Tiffanys

• Anna Friel – Holly Golightly,
• Joseph Cross – William
• James Dreyfus- “Fred” Parsons
• Suzanne Bertish – Madama Spanella

Other members of the cast:
Dermot Crowley,John Ramm, James Bradshaw, Gwendoline Christie, Felix D’Alviella, Nicholas Goh, Annie Hemingway, Sam Hoare, Natalie Klamar and David Phelan

• Directed by Sean Mathias,
  Set and costume designs by Anthony Ward,
• Lighting by Bruno Poet,
• Sound by Paul Groothuis,
• Choreography by Wayne McGregor,
• Original music composed and arranged by Grant Olding.

Breakfast At Tiffanys- the story

Set in New York City in 1943, the story of Breakfast At Tiffany’s revolves around a young writer from Louisiana, William “Fred” Parsons. Parsons encounters the delightful Miss Holly Golightly Charming and vivacious Holly is the ultimate good-time girl. Her looks and coquettish behaviour ensures that everyone she meets falls in love with Holly. Fred isn’t immune to her charms and falls hard for Holly but he is poor. Holly has set her heart on a rich husband. S has plenty of choice, she might marry Rusty, a playboy millionaire or maybe José, the future president of Brazil? But Holly’s plans go wrong when she begins to fall in love with William – and then her past catches up with her.

I expect most of us have seen the film and the divine Audrey Hepburn, I thought I’d try and find a clip of her singing Moonriver

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thriller Live the West End stage spectacular featuring the music of the late Michael Jackson, is to go on tour all over Europe starting in Munich, Germany, from July 21- August 2. Thriller Live will then tour around Europe with dates confirmed already for Barcelona, Spain, Cologne, Frankfurt and Berlin Germany, Zurich, Switzerland, Vienna, Austria, Paris, France, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Prague, Czech Republic, Warsaw, Poland, Copenhagen, Denmark and Helsinki Finland.

Thriller Live in the USA

THRILLER Live will also travel widely across Michael Jackson’s home country, the United States of America on an extensive tour within the next 12 months.

A lot of people have been posting this video recently and the reason why is clear – Alexia Khadime giving it up for The Wizard And I in a theatre breaks video that was captured at London’s West End Live theatre festival in Leicester Square last Saturday. What’s not to like?