2012 is a special year for the United Kingdom and theatre breaks, not just because of the London 2012 Olympic Games, but also because it’s the The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year as well. That means a lot of extra activity and tourism in central London which will have an effect on the West End venues and on Theatre Breaks bookings.  Over twenty shows  have responded by extending booking dates early so that you can book early, right now, for all the popular musicals and plays right through into the 2012 celebration year, which may help a lot of people to combine tourism trips and spectating with theatre breaks in London. First the two main events of the year:

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

The Department for Culture, Media and Sports is responsible for coordinating the Government’s role for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Buckingham Palace will be coordinating the Queen’s programme for the Diamond Jubilee, including the arrangements for the central Jubilee weekend in the first week of June 2012.

For further information about the Diamond Jubilee and the events taking place during 2012, please visit direct.gov.uk/diamondjubilee

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games

Olympic Games 27 July-12 Aug 2012

The London 2012 Olympic Games will feature 26 sports, which break down into 39 disciplines.

Paralympic Games 29 Aug-9 Sept 2012

There are 20 sports in the Paralympic programme for the London 2012 Games. Paralympic Cycling breaks down into two disciplines: Road and Track.

Cultural Olympiad

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

London 2012 Festival

The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the four-year Cultural Olympiad, taking place from 21 June to 9 September 2012.

Complementing the sport events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Festival will be the biggest party the UK has ever seen, with a huge range of events from leading artists from all over the world.

Theatre Breaks

To be honest, nobody really knows exactly what effect all of this is going to have on London theatre breaks during the 2012 celebration year. Obviously there is going to be a high demand for hotel accommodation and London is going to be prominent in the world’s attention.  People who are in London anyway may well wish to visit the West End theatres as part of the whole London experience, and there are certainly plenty of great shows on offer this year. Meanwhile the traditional theatre going public may decide to avoid certain dates in order not to get caught up in the crowds and busier traffic. In order to make the most of the 2012 opportunity presented though, the London theatres as a whole have announced extensions to the booking dates for more than 20 popular shows well in advance, so that those with Olympics tickets or other intentions can book theatre breaks as part of their overall London trip  of a lifetime. The shows which have extended so far are as follows:

Some of the shows announcing 2012 booking dates extensions are the following West End musicals and plays:

We Will Rock You

Wicked

The Wizard of Oz

Billy Elliot the Musical

Blood Brothers

Dreamboats and Petticoats

Jersey Boys

The Phantom of the Opera

Mamma Mia!

Legally Blonde the Musical

Ghost The Musical 

Les Misérables

Shrek The Musical

Disney’s The Lion King

Million Dollar Quartet 

The Mousetrap

The 39 Steps

Stomp

Thriller Live

War Horse

The Woman in Black

Rock of Ages 

Matilda The Musical

When you are planning which show to see for your theatre break a good start can be think about what kind of music makes you feel good. Of course you don’t have to be old enough to remember it the first time around. It’s perfectly possible to be nostalgic for a time before you were even born! The music of the 60s is full of optimism and energy. It takes us back to a time when anything seemed possible and far away from doom and gloom. Theatre breaks to shows like these are a kind of time travel so sit back and enjoy visiting a very different world.

Theatre Breaks Back to the ’60s

In this post I’m going to concentrate on the 60′s and if the 60′s are your choice then there’s a couple great shows on in the West End right now that are perfect for theatre breaks.

Hairspray

Has to be a contender for your 1960s theatre break. The show is full of the music, colour, costumes and feel of the ‘feel good 60′s’. The plot is uplifting and there’s lots of laughs. You’ll come out singing “Good Morning Balitmore” and feeling anything is possible.

Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and their rise to fame. They wrote masses of hits in the early 60s. You’ll be singing along to songs you know and love and audience participation is positively encouraged. Just have a look at a few of the 60s classics you’ll hear.

Other 60′s Things to do on your Theatre Breaks

You might want to keep to a sixties theme on your theatre break and London is just the place to do that. Check out some of these cool attractions to really get that ’60s vibe.

Madame Tussauds

Theatre Breaks Tussauds visit.

You could spend a whole day here there’s so much to see and do but your quest is to experience the Swinging 60s. To do that you hop into a time travelling black cab and take a journey back through London’s history. The small version of London’s world famous taxis have room for just two and will drive you through the historic and cultural events that have shaped London. So sit back and enjoy the ride as you move all the way from Tudor times to Carnaby St.

You can add a trip to Madame Tussauds to your theatre break when you book for only an extra £15 and there’s masses to do there. After a £1 million+ make over Tussauds is much more than a waxworks these days with several interactive exhibitions. It’s a great addition to your theatre break!

If you do go you must arrive early to avoid the long queues that build up as the day goes on. Make your way there straight after breakfast and be there just around opening time (9:00am weekends, 9:30 week days).

Carnaby Street

Theatre Breaks - Carnaby St

Carnaby Street is not quite what it once was but the spirit of the 60s is kept alive by fascinating shops like The Face.

Here you can browse and explore both new reproductions and vintage 1960s items. The sixties were one of the most stylish decades of the last century and they still influence current fashions so indulge your nostalgia itch and treat yourself!

Today’s Carnaby area is more than just Carnaby Street itself. The pedestrianised area just behind Regent Street has lots of new stores and a passage through to Kingly Court. Set around an open courtyard, there are three floors of one-off ‘concept’ shops and studios where it can be possible to find items not sold anywhere else in London.

Original Bus Tour

Theatre Breaks Routemaster bus

What could be more iconic of the 60s than a red London Routemaster bus?

The Routemaster still runs on a couple of routes in central London. If you want to ride one it costs the standard £2 ticket for each ride.

The Routmaster runs on routes 9 and 15.

• Route 9 -Royal Albert Hall — Hyde Park Corner — Piccadilly Circus — Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych.
• Route 15 -Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych — Fleet Street — Cannon Street — Monument — Tower Hill.

The red Routemaster is the authentic 60s way to see the city but it’s definitely not the most comfortable or the best view. For that you need The Original Bus Tour. This is a comfortable modern alternative that will let you see all the sights from a comfortable, modern, open-topped bus. You can hop on and off at several points and there’s an interesting commentary. The whole Original Bus Tour takes around two hours to complete and visits:

Buckingham Palace – Piccadilly Circus -National Gallery -Downing Street – Big Ben – London Bridge – St Paul’s Cathedral – Tower Bridge – Tower of London- Westminster Abbey

Your tour can be booked at the same time as your theatre break and costs £18 each for adults. (To see all these sights by Routemaster could end up costing your considerably more!)

Time Travel Theatre Breaks to other Eras

Of course the 60s aren’t the only times you might want to visit on your theatre break.

I’ll be writing posts about each of these eras to help you choose the show for your perfect theatre break.

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.

War Horse

War Horse, the sensational play with giant equine puppets arrived at the New London Theatre after an acclaimed run at the National.

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.

Sister Act News

Patina Miller and the rest of the cast of Sister Act continue to build up the expectation for the Palladium’s new show. Whoopi Goldberg herself managed to overcome fear of air travel in order to appear on the Jonathon Ross show and other publicity appointments in London.

Avenue Q – Theatre News is good!

Avenue Q announced that it won;t be closed forever afaterall, but is due to reopen at the Gielgud Theatre on 1 June after a month-long break from the Noel Coward Theatre.

Spring Awakening

The cast of Spring Awakening brought a refreshing new musical to the West End’s Novello Theatre after a successful run at the Hammersmith Lyric theatre. Previewing from March 21st this youthful, exhuberent but also dark musical play has had nothing but good reviews.

Moonshadow – Theatre News not good

One piece of bad news this month is that the Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens musical Moonshadow failed to find a West End theatre available for potential transfer and thus postponed opening at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton in July as originally planned.

Jersey Boys Wins Olivier Awards

The Jersey Boys musical goes from strength to strength coming top of the New Musical category amongst other awards at the 2009 Olivier Awards.

Consolation for Zorro!, a great flamenco musical which closed this month was an award for Best Supporting Role in a Musicalwhich wentdeservedly to Lesli Margherita who was sensational in Zorro!.

Emergency New Fagin for Oliver!

In a surprise announcement, Russ Abbot was asked to return to the role of Fagin in Oliver for a couple of weeks in April. Rowan Atkinson was forced to pull out for three weeks to undergo minor surgery for a hernia. Russ Abbot played the role of Fagin in the 1997 production and also in a couple of touring productions.

New Edna for Hairspray

Michael Ball has been a riot as the lead role in Hairspray for around two years so now a new Edna has been announced for July and it’s non other than Brian Conley whose West End theatre experience includes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2005.