Wednesday 3 October 2012

Phantom of the Opera - Sept. 27



I saw the matinee show of Phantom of the Opera on Thursday, September 27.
And for the first time in my life, I have to write a review that is more negative then positive actually ... First time ever ...

I didn't have a great seat, as I was so late booking (P6, should anyone be very familiar with Her Majesty's Theatre *lol*), but that didn't bother me so much actually. The theatre wasn't full so I didn't have anyone in front of me, and I saw the stage fairly well - it was only when things happened high up on the stage - or the end of the chandelier's journey! - that I couldn't see, as those parts were blocked my the Dress Circle.
Have to give credit to Her Majesty's Theatre when it came to Programmes and Souvenir brochures - on one point. When you bought a set, you got it in a bag, which was a lot easier to handle than two loose ones (especially since the brochure is quite large!). However, I was a bit disappointed to see that they hadn't updated the souvenir brochure with the new cast change, so it still listed Peter Jöback and Killian Donnelly ...

The audience was not a great one ... unfortunately. Lots of tourists, taking photos both before the show and during the break, so the staff ran around like crazy telling them photography was not allowed *sigh*! I had an elderly couple next to me, who actually started talking during the show - which to me is just unacceptable!!! Sure, they only did it when the music was really loud, but you sit only inches from each other, and it was still quite disturbing - and rude!!

Phantom of the Opera is a truly spectacular show, very impressive - both the scenery and the music are almost overwhelming and very majestic - unfortunately, I did not have a great deal of luck with the main performers on this show ...

Scott Davies played Phantom, he is the understudy, and I saw him in a "Best of West End" show in 2006. Back then I felt he was quite good but he had a tendency to overdo things .... this time he overdid things constantly. Everything was taken so far into extreme and it very much collided with my idea on this very interesting and mysterious character. I am sure many people enjoy his performance but I can't say that I agree with the way he choose to interpret the character, and there were quite a few things I was bothered about.

Sofia Escobar played Christine, and she basically saved the show for me!! She was really really good, just a few times I felt she went a bit over the top, but mostly she did an amazing job! I can't quite say if she was better than Gina Beck, who played the part in 2009, because Beck was fantastic - but Escobar really carried the show when I saw it now!

Simon Thomas as Raoul did an okay job! Can't say that I was that impressed with him though, I felt he was way to edgy and sharp to be the true Prince Charming, so I was a bit disappointed there as well!

As Firmin and André I got to see Barry James and Gareth Snook, familiar faces from Les Misérables - I saw James in 2009 as well, but it was really nice to see Snook live - he did an amazing job on the comedy! :)

Overall, however, not a great musical experience, unfortunately. I know these things can happen at times, but of course, it's not very nice when it does.

And some photos from my souvenir brochure:


Les Misérables - Sept. 26



I went to the matinee show of Les Misérables on Wednesday September 26, and overall it was really really great show! :-)

Though I had booked fairly late I had somehow managed to get a fantastic seat, A10, which is exactly what it sounds like - first row, almost in the middle!
Quite amazing, I haven't had a seat like that since I saw Phantom of the Opera in Stockholm in 1995!!
You get so up close to the stage, and if we stretched a bit, we could see the orchestra which was totally cool! The conductor was a really nice guy and as he was doing last minute preparations before the show he suddenly turned around to us and said: "Good afternoon! I hope you enjoy the show!" :-)

I got so much out of the show, the performances from the actors and the attention to detail that a stage production like this actually pays, from sitting so close to the stage. I had for instance not previously seen the burn mark on Valjean's chest, which is visible both in the beginning of the show and when he goes before the court at the end of "Who am I?" - and I had not seen the fact that he has the number 24601 on his prison clothes!
When it comes to details it was almost too much so in "A Little Fall of Rain", as there was more blood there then I would have thought!
Another thing I hadn't seen before occurred during the fight on the barricade, when Valjean comes to join the students. It is not until the first fight is over and Enjolas says "Marius, rest!" that Valjean knows who Marius is! It was quite clear in this show that that was the moment he discovered who Marius was among all the students.

I also actually never knew how much 'in contact' the conductor is with the actors on stage. Of course, now I realized he'd have to be in order to time the music, but I'd never really thought about it before. It was quite clear as I sat so close to them, the conductor at times looked more at the stage than at the orchestra! Very cool! Also impressive to see how well the conductor read some of the actors, it was almost as if he could sense, through a look or a turn of the head, when the actor was going to start singing. Amazing!

As for the performers, for the most part, I was really really lucky and had an amazing cast!!
Gerónimo Rauch - Jean Valjean
He did a very good job with a difficult part, he definitely has the vocal capacity for the part, and for me, the ultimate "test" of a good Valjean is "Bring Him Home", which is probably the most difficult song to do really well - and Rauch passed the test! :-) He also possessed stage presence and charisma which is very important. The only thing I have to say that I'm not very pleased with is the fact that because of his choices on intonation he often had to sing certain parts very quickly, and that meant that he didn't have the time to articulate properly ... It happened every now and again, and while I know the entire musical by heart, it was still a bit disturbing to me (I imagine even more so to some one not quite so familiar with the musical).
While I still have to say, David Shannon will probably always be my Jean Valjean, Gerónimo Rauch did a very good job!!

Tam Mutu - Javert
Javert is my favourite character in the show and so I do have high demands on the actor who plays him ... unfortunately, this time I was quite disappointed. Everybody is different, and Mutu had a great support in the audience, but I can't say that I liked how he interpreted the part.
During the first act I felt he was way to soft and did not portray the authority of Javert (at times I almost felt it would have been better if Rauch and Mutu had swapped parts there ... until I remembered that Valjean is a tenor-part and Javert is baritone - so a change might not have been such a good idea after all *lol*).
I felt that Mutu had a strange intonation in most of the songs and put emphasis not quite where it was supposed to be, which - to me - made his character quite strange and hard to figure out. "Stars" is one of my favourite songs but I didn't make much sense of it here.

Sierra Boggess - Fantine
This was the first time I truly realized how difficult the part of Fantine must be to play. She doesn't have that much stage time but still has to go through so much and portray so many different emotions. I can't say that Boggess was an outstanding favourite of mine, but she did do a very good job with the part!

Samatha Dorsey - Cosette
Hands down, my favourite Cosette!! No doubt whatsoever!
I usually find the character very difficult to understand, I have never quite figured Cosette out and no matter how talented actresses I have seen playing the part, I just don't get it ... Until now. Dorsey managed to play on Cosette's innocence without making her silly and awkward, but instead keeping the sweetness of the child singing "Castle on a Cloud". Amazing!!!

Cameron Blakely- Thénardier
He did a good job, the character is quite easy to "like" (if you know what I mean), and most of the songs and scenes he's in are very funny - can't say that he was a favourite, but still, quite all right!

Linzi Hately- Mme Thénardier
Fantastic to see Linzi Hately live again - saw her in an International Tour of Chess a number of years ago, and she is very talented!! I liked the fact that they hadn't given her quite so much make-up as Mme Thénardier usually  has, and to me this was a fast improvement. I have never quite understood why she had to look like some cartoon character, and I have to say I enjoyed the character more this time, as she somehow felt more 'real'. Hately is so talented and for me, who had previously seen her in quite a serious part, it was wonderful to see her do comedy, and do it SO well!

Helen Owen - Eponine
Helen Owen was the understudy for Eponine and she completely blew me away!! My favourite Eponine too! She was absolutely fantastic, and she balanced the difficult mix of tough street kid with innocent girl in love in an amazing way! "On my Own" was absolutely fabulous!!

Craig Mather - Marius
Yes, another favourite!! Third favourite in one show, not bad, right?! Craig Mather portrayed Marius better then anyone I've ever seen before, mostly because his understanding of the character, and the character development that takes place during this show!! Marius singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is a quite different person from the young rebel student, bumping in to Cosette - "I didn't see you there, forgive me!" - and falling instantly in love. Mather is the first actor who really played through the changes the character experiences, and I really loved that!

Liam Tamne - Enjolras
Not my absolute favourite Enjolras (don't think I really have found one yet, actually!), but I really liked his interpretation of the character! I felt he, more than many others, emphasized the fact that Enjolras is more experienced than the other students, he is their leader and he is really the only one of them who truly realizes what they are about to get themselves into. The lyrics speak of it, but I don't think I've seen an actor really act it out as clearly as Tamne did! Great job!

The kids were adorable of course - they always are ... unfortunately I never figured out who played in the show I saw! :/
I especially liked Little Cosette, who was absolutely fantastic and SO sweet - she was played by either Anya Evans or Ashley Goldberg.

All in, while I am a bit disappointed that my favourite character didn't quite see Javert as I see him, it was a really great show!! Fantastic seat, learned so many new things and found three new favourites! Fantastic!!!

Some pictures from the souvenir brochure: (and I do apologize for the quality ... I have been stressing all day, so it was these pictures or no pictures at all!)


Tuesday 2 October 2012

Day 6 - September 29

I woke up fairly early, which was good as I had to make an early start.
Turned out, however, I think I did make it a bit too early! :-)
I found it difficult to estimate how longer travel time would be needed for different things, especially in central London, and since I was a bit unsure of procedure at Stansted Airport I wanted to have a lot of time ... well I did ...

I checked out of the hotel at 7 a.m., or shortly after - no problems at all, I basically only had to leave the key! :-)
Walked up to Praed Street and got a bit worried! In the direction from where the buses were coming, there were lots of blue lights blinking, so I was afraid it had been a traffic accident, and that it would cause stops or delays in traffic.
However, traffic seemed to move fairly quickly and it didn't take that long before a no. 23 bus arrived.
And wow - what an experience to ride a bus through central London at 7.30 a.m. on a Saturday morning! For one thing, we had green lights constantly, all through Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus! That is not supposed to happen - it's like ... against the law or something! *LOL!!!*
The bus ride, that normally takes about 1h 10 minutes or so ... took 30 minutes!! YIKES!!

We arrived at Liverpool Street at 7.45 and there was a Stansted Express train due to leave at 7.55 - perfect timing! Basically no people on the train either, which was a pleasant change to the ride from the Airport some five days earlier ...

We arrived at Stansted Airport at about 8.40 a.m. ... and my flight wasn't due to leave until 12.25 - yikes! Still, at this point, I was glad of the extra time, actually! It gave me the opportunity to walk around the airport, and figure out what was to happen when (okay, this sounds like I have had no experience of travel at all, which is not the case, but I hadn't been abroad since the summer of 2009 and this was pretty  much the first time ever I was on my own .... ), and that was good.
I had a sandwich and some water and the check-in desks for Malmö opened earlier than expected.
I had no problems checking in my bag and then it was time for the security check. For some reason it always makes me nervous and uncomfortable, even though I know I have nothing to hide or nothing that is dangerous. However, it went almost strangely smooth for me this time!
Placed my bag in the box on the band - the girls before me had to remove their shoes/boots, one of them was pulled aside for a body scan - but they just waved me through and I got my bag and that was it! Cool!

I bought a coke (to get rid of a headache that threatened to set it) and some snacks and waited for our gate to be listed. Walked around a bit, and bought some cool postcards - and waited for our gate to be listed. And waited. And waited. And waited!
Every other flight had gotten their gate, eventually even three or four flights leaving after the flight to Mamlö had a gate - but not Malmö ...
At this point I got a bit worried, thinking about delays and problems with gates and whatnot - and pretty much standing, pacing and sitting watching a monitor for about an hour was quite annoying!

Finally, around 11.50 we found out that the plane for Malmö was leaving from gate 48, so I set off ... and yes it is quite a distance to walk, that's for sure.
By the time I got to the gates, it was basically time to form into queues - which I hadn't expected ...
Things went smoothly however, although I think there were at least some minor problems - that none of the passengers were told about of course.
First of all, that the gate came up so late. Then we had to stand in line, they started to check passports and boarding cards and let people through, but we were stopped in a stairway and had to wait before being allowed to board the plane. After a while we were allowed out of the stairway and walked toward the plane, but were stopped at the stairs to the plane and weren't allowed to board ....

We ended up being about 10 minutes late from Stansted Airport, which after all, didn't feel that bad - and the flight went really well.
The touch-down in Malmö was not so pleasant though - apparently they had had stormy and rainy weather, so it was quite turbulent coming down, a bit too much so for my taste, and when we landed, the runway was soaking wet so it was quite slippery - however, no incidents.
When we got out of the plane however, we were apparently going to be shipped by bus to the main terminal - when did that happen in a tiny airport like Malmö?!?!?!
We ended up just at the Passport control, which was nice, and I was through very quickly, and had to wait for my bag.
They had, all in all, two conveyor belts at Malmö, at one of them would come bags from some Greek resorts and on the other, would be the bags from London. I went to the bathroom but they still hadn't started our belt - and then there were talks of the fact that all bags was on single conveyor belt .. so I went over to check - and within a few moments I saw my bag there!
I got it and went outside ... there were some issues with the Airport Transfer Buses which was quite annoying as I just wanted to go home, but in the end, at least, I got to Lund and were able to take a bus home! :-)

Was home about 6.30 p.m. - and it felt quite unbelievable that the whole trip, door to door, had taken almost 12 hour (yes, I know most of it was my fault because I was so darn early! *lol*)!!

Photos - Day 5

First some photos from my bus-ride - photos from Oxford Street, Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus! :-)



Outside St. Paul's Cathedral:


From the Millennium Bridge:


The Tower of London:


LOTS and lots of photos Tower Bridge and Tower Bridge Exhibition! :-)

From the 'Engine Room':

The cool little model of Tower Bridge:

More from Tower Bridge (and the Tower of London) :)


Photos from bus RV1 - first from London Bridge, looking at Tower Bridge - then from Waterloo Bridge, looking at London Eye, Westminster Bridge and Houses of Parliament/Big Ben.


Westminster Abbey - the last photos from the 'cloisters' inside the abbey - otherwise photographing was not allowed.


And finally, my hotel - Orchard Hotel (86-90 Sussex Gardens) - and Sussex Gardens (first photo looking east, second photo looking west):