This article by Andy contains a brief review of Enlightenment at the Hampstead Theatre.

We’re always on the look out for new plays and venues for visitors here on London breaks to add to the possibilities for an extra evening out at the theatre, and it doesn’t always have to be in the West End by any means. There are theatre pubs, fringe theatres, off-west-end theatres and regional theatres all within the M25, many within central London itself. The play that was brought to our notice is called “Enlightenment” written by Shelagh Stephenson and directed by Edward Hall, Hampstead Theatre’s new Artistic Director.

So Monday night took us to see the venue for the first time, right next to the Swiss Cottage roundabout and tube station. Arriving inside Hampstead Theatre felt more like visiting a leading performing arts centre for one of the major UK cities, like Canterbury or St Andrews, or Exeter. Not knowing anything much about ‘Enlightenment’ beforehand, I was able to deliberately keep an unprepared mind for the unfolding emotional drama as the plot weaved its way through the minefields of improbability. There was a small scientific thread in there somewhere, citing a theory akin to or possibly preceding chaos theory which needs further investigation but the big story was a classic human tragedy investigating the nature of identity and touching themes designed to disturb the audience’s sensibilities particularly poignant to parents. As a father myself, I feel particularly well placed to understand the two main characters anguish at not knowing the fate of their missing son.

The Hampstead Theatre is an impressive modern theatre venue, small enough to be intimate and with perfect acoustics and yet large enough to stage quality serious theatre productions, drawing in audiences from all over the capital, with excellent transport links on the fast Jubilee line and all the central connections just a few stops away, so this would be a sensible logistical addition to any London Breaks package.

Enlightenment is a traditionally constructed play in two acts with a beginning, middle and end, realistic characters, a straightforward time line and just about believable events. There are moments where the sanity of everybody is questioned, but that is a reasonable thing for a play to do. The staging is impressively modern and effective with good use of additional sound and video, back projection and slick scene changes with transparent rising and falling furniture. Maybe it was just me but upstairs and downstairs became strangely confused, or was it deliberate? Nothing is quite as it seems with this play which has been running since September, so the acting should be well bedded in by now. There were times when I though the playscript was possibly a class above the performance, but in the second act I dropped that misgiving, particularly with all three female characters who worked well together, and the addition of a sixth character in the second act pulls the whole play together and leaves you on the edge.

Cast:
Daisy Beaumont
Richard Clothier
Paul Freeman
Julie Graham
Polly Kemp
Tom Weston-Jones

5 Star London Breaks at Reduced Prices!

Winter seems a long way off as we enjoy the lazy days of an English summer but if you want to get a great deal on a wonderful break to see some of the best ballet around you need to plan ahead. There’s really limited availability on this offer so you need to act fast. Each ballet is only on for a short run and will sell out quickly.

Three Wonderful Ballets at The London Colliseum

The Nutcracker

First – from mid December to early January: Dec 16th 2009 – 2nd of January 2010

A magical London break to see The English National Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in the majestic surroundings of the London Colliseum would make a perfect start to the festive season.

The Nutcracker, complete with all the classic trimmings is a wonderfully indulgent way to kick off the winter blues and get into the mood for all that lies ahead.

The story we all know and love comes to life as Clara meets The King of the Mice, journeys to the Land of Sweets and sees the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. No child and few adults can resist this sugary confection! It’s the perfect introduction to the ballet for children.
This production has been staged in London for the last 7 Christmases and this year is your last chance to see it. It definitely won’t be on next year!

The show runs from Dec 16th 2009 – 2nd of January 2010.
Book a London Break to see The Nutcracker

The Snow Queen

Next, for just one week – Jan 8th – 16th 2010 - The Snow Queen

Snow Queen London Breaks

Perfect for slightly older, brave children, (or adults!) is the scary tale of Gerda and Kay and their encounters with the evil, heartless Snow Queen. Little ones might find it just a bit too scary but anyone 8 or over should be fine.

The story, dancing and music work wonderfully together in this production and create an amazing atmosphere.

The production is choreographed by Michael Corder. Prokofiev’s music and the magical set designs all fit together to create the icy court of the Snow Queen.

Just fabulous!

You will really need to be clever and act fast to grab tickets for this one!

Book a London Break to see the Snow Queen

Giselle

Only on for 4 nights! Jan 20th to 23rd

Last is my own favourite, Giselle. It is the ultimate romantic ballet. Best suited to adults and older children Giselle is a wonderful, tragic love story.

Giselle falls in love with the handsome Duke Albrecht, but she discovers that he has deceived her. She dies of a broken heart.

Albrecht finds Giselle’s grave in a mist-wreathed forest glade. The grave is haunted by the vengeful ghosts of abandoned brides that force men to dance to their death. Giselle returns from the grave to save her beloved Albrecht from this fate.

Book a London Break to see Giselle

London Breaks to see Giselle

Spring is a super time of year for a London break. The city is just warming up, the parks are full of spring flowers and the weather is mostly pretty good. Obviously you are not guaranteed sunshine but you are a lot less likely to get rained on than you are further north or west in the UK. This means you can really enjoy the sights of London without the city heat or the summer crowds.

St James Park in March

Days can be warm and sunny but the evenings can be quite chilly. So pack a light coat and maybe a pashmina for coming back from the theatre. You probably won’t need an umbrella.

Three top shows to see on your spring London break

I’m going to suggest three shows that could be good choices for your London break this spring

• Priscilla – A new show but not a new production. It’s been going for several weeks now, so it’s pretty slick. It’s getting good reviews, the music is great (think 70′s disco standards
• We Will Rock You – still great and still packing them in. But there are persistent rumours of the show closing. Definitely worth seeing or seeing again!
• Hairspray – if you can act quickly you’ll be able to see Michael Ball before he leaves the production in June. I’m sure Billy Conley will make a great Edna but Michael has made the role his own and has to be worth seeing.

London Breaks this Summer

London breaks in the summer can be great too. The city is generally a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the UK and this is even more the case in summer.
The city buildings hold the heat so a hot day can mean it doesn’t cool down all that much in the evening either. This makes strolling round the West End after the show soaking up the atmosphere very pleasant.

Do the London thing and buy yourself some bottled water for use during the day. Use it to keep your cool, especially if you go on the tube. I also use Evian spray sometimes if it gets very sticky. Great for cooling off!

Dress in cool fabrics for the theatre as they can be quite hot, even if air-conditioned. Some of the theatres are ‘air-cooled’ rather than air conditioned. This means that the front stalls are coolest seats in Summer. Avoid the highest circle and the back rows as these are the biggest heat-traps. This won’t be an issue if you are buying your theatre break through a theatre breaks agency that guarantees you the best available seats.

Anyway it’s the perfect excuse to buy that little black linen dress you’ve been eying up! A cashmere shawl or cardigan is all you’ll need on top.

3 Top Shows to see on your summer London break

These 3 shows would be good choices for London breaks this summer:

London Breaks at other times of year

London breaks in autumn and winter have their own advantages but I’ll save them for another post later.

When it comes to choosing your dates for booking London breaks, I appreciate some can be more flexible than others. It all depends on what your visit is mainly for. Perhaps to mark a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary, in which case seeing a show on the big day may be important. Others will be happy to organise around the nearest weekend if a midweek break is out of the question because of weekday commitments.

Or seeing a special show may be the whole purpose, booking a london break to get those sought after tickets. If a midweek London break is at all a possibility then it does have a lot going for it. Not only are the best show tickets more likely to be available than on a Saturday night, and the chances of picking up a better value hotel deal increased, but also I think the London life is just a tad more authentic when the city is doing it’s business day thing, with places such as the City of London almost deserted at weekends. Not only that but if you plan to do a little shopping thne places like Oxford Street are much easier to negotiate when the Saturday crowds are absent.

Midweek London Breaks on offer

Several times a year there are special offers for Midweek London breaks with top musicals and these include a Monday to Thursday show and for some a Friday is a possibility as well. This reflects the fact that London hotels are in demand not just for business clients during the week but largely for tourists and visitors at weekends who outnumber the corporate residents, thus creating some spare capacity on weekdays. Of course Saturday night show tickets always sell out first as well, so midweek is the way to go if you can get away with it at all.

London Breaks by Rail

Travel to London from the UK is often best by intercity fast train network. Even if you are the sort of person who goes everywhere by car, for a London break, this is really not a good place to bring one because of the traffic, the parking problems, the unforgiveness of London drivers and taxis for those who are unfamiliar with where they are going and worries over breaking the congestion charge regulations. Rail travel on the other hand should bring you to central London in a relatively relaxed and stress free frame of mind to enjoy the theatre. There are just a couple of tips I’d point out to help you plan London breaks by rail.

* Rush hour – don’t arrive in London before 9.30am or depart for your return journey between 4.00pm and 7.00pm. This shouldn’t be a problem if you are coming a few hundred miles but could be an issue for those in the South East of England who try to spend the whole day in London as well as travelling.

* Quiet Carriages – If you should be unfortunate enough to be seated next to a loud mobile phone user or families with DVD players on some routes then seeking out the designated Quiet Carriage will solve it, and they can also be less crowded.

* First Class upgrades can be well worth the small premium, ( lookout for “Weekend First” deals) and you might get some sort of meal and and a newspaper thrown in.

For best value rail tickets, booking in advance is the key and if you book rail tickets as part of a London break with show, hotel stay and any attractions as well you can save up to 40% on the rail component.