Mamma Mia - The Review

Just come back from Mamma Mia - the movie not the stage show.  

It was stupid, camp, with ropey singing - really Pierce Brosnan can sing nane and Colin Firth isnae much better.  I loved it.  Loved it.  Loved it.  The campness was delicious, the action was fantastically fun, the scenery was gorgeous (I have to go to Greece!), the acting was much better than the singing and it was just fantastic.

The dodgy singing is totally forgivable as its all done with great humour.  You should go see it.  As soon as possible.

Theatre Review - Absurdia

So I decided to be clever and move my theatrical visits on from the musicals. And I took my friends along to expand their minds too. A non-musical play. That's what we needed.

So on the whim of an attractive looking e-flyer from the London Theatre Newsletter I picked Absurdia. A play about absurdities in life. Starring Peter Capaldi. And you got a free toy elephant when you booked. What could go wrong?

Well, the script for a start. Maybe I'm not clever or middle class enough but it was rubbish. Mr and Mrs Paradocks (or whatever they were called) were unhappy that the elephant they had delivered was too big. And where were the gum boots? And could Mr P please form a government. And on and on with the inane ramblings. Other people laughed. They seemed to get it. We were the only ones who appeared to be lost. It was bad, bad, bad.

The first member of our group walked out after 50 minutes. The next two found the tea-cosy on the man's head after witterings about why was the wallpaper pushed up against the wall the final straw. The pub down the road from the theatre provided an enjoyable place to spend the night. I've never walked out of the theatre before and felt really bad about doing so but on the other hand - life's too short.

If you like French absurdist comedy, or you're just a bit poncy, then this might be the play for you. For us it was a waste of hard earned cash. I'm going back to see Avenue Q - it's the only thing to scour the experience out of my head.

Also - I never got my elephant.

Sound of Music Review

One of the big events over Christmas and New Year (other than our very first time organising a family Christmas in our own wee home) was taking both sets of parents to see The Sound of Music at the London Palladium.

I was addicted to How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria and when Connie won we booked tickets pretty much before Graham Norton finished the show. My mum and dad were (are) huge Connie fans, even to the point that my dad voted. This was a Big Thing!

It was a fantastic night. Connie was fantastic as Maria, from the opening scene where she sings the big number right to the very end where the von Trapp family sing on the mountains she really shines. Her voice is really sweet and she is totally convincing as the will-o-the-wisp, and quite adorable when she realises she loves the Captain and has to run away.

Alexander Hanson is a handsome leading man who is strong enough to really sell his part, but has the nouse to know that really we only care about Maria.

The von Trapp children are great and the night we went the little girl playing in Gretl is just sooooo sweet.

I was also totally bowled over by Lesley Garrett as the Mother Superior, although Darren did think that she over-sold "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".

The set is fabulous, perhaps the best I have seen (excluding the Les Miserables one) and everything just came together beautifully.

If you can - get to London and see it. It's worth every penny.