A combination of seeing a musical that I had never seen before, added to the fact that it was by Stiles & Drewe (big fan here) combined with the fact that Sedos were the ones putting on said show left me very excited for my Wednesday evening theatre trip to the Bridewell to see Just So. Just So is a
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There has been a huge amount written about shows to see in 2024 but as regular readers of mine will know I’m very passionate about amateur theatre. For this reason I have put together my top 5 amateur musicals to see in 2024 in the London area. I would also love to hear from you see which other amateur shows
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The sinking of the Titanic is a moment that has gone down in history, remembered for the grandeur of the ship itself, the literary of mistakes and the sheer numbers of lives lost. The musical however comes at the tragedy from a much more personal level, focusing on real people who were aboard the ship. In the musical we meet
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I should say from the off that I am usually more of a fan of modern musicals and that the more traditional style of shows really have to go some to hold my interest and Holiday Inn most definitely falls into the traditional catalogue. The show itself is where Irving Berlin’s song ‘White Christmas’ originated from and it tells of
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Spring Awakening is based on the 1981 German Play which tells of a group of teens coming of age in the late 19th century. The show itself originally opening in 2006 on Broadway but since then it has spawned many revivals including a very successful run at the Almeida in 2021/2022 so I was keen to see how Geoids were
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The downside of reviewing any production is that it is extremely difficult to sit back and enjoy the performance for what it is. Notes made contemporaneously (not necessarily legible in the clear light of day) or complete reliance on mental notes mean that attention is necessarily divided. A further complication related to amateur productions is the awareness that, by definition,
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Sedos have got versatility down to a t, the last show I reviewed for them was Sunshine on Leith, a musical with songs by the Proclaimers and my current visit was to see Sondheim on Sondheim, two musicals that couldn’t be further apart stylistically. Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue featuring an eclectic mix of Sondheims songs, including songs
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Legally Blonde is a show I know like the back of my hand having seen 5 different versions of it prior to Festoon’s production and having directed an amateur production of it myself. Add onto this the fact that I am blonde and a lawyer it is a show that is very close to my heart. With shows that mean
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In My Fair Lady, a classic musical, pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins is so sure of his abilities that he takes it upon himself to transform a Cockney working-class girl into a lady, who can pass for a cultured member of high society. His subject turns out to be the lovely Eliza Doolittle who agrees to speech lessons to improve
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Sunshine on Leith is a musical which focus on home, family and what these mean, all set to the music of the Proclaimers. We meet Dave and Ally who have returned home to Leith, after serving in the army. Ally is returning home to his girlfriend Liz and Dave to his family but as the show goes on some relationships
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