Linda looks back on 2009 for London Theatre Breaks as the top of the year approaches:

Winter 2009 is here and I’m just wondering what sort of a year this has been for theatre breaks. There’s been a recent survey that assures us reality TV has actually boosted ticket sales. The box offices are claiming the credit crunch has had little effect on bookings, with most theatres usually full. But what has been the reality?

The West End Shows

In terms of shows one or two have closed early but the old favourites like We Will Rock You carry on. Avenue Q was saved from oblivion by popular demand and has moved to a new theatre. The Lion King is as popular as ever and proudly boasts that it is so well booked that it has NEVER released tickets to the reduced ticket agencies.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Some good shows reached the end of their natural life and wonderful though Spamalot was it really was time for it to say goodbye. It’s been replaced by Priscilla and that has been a fair swap. Carousel never really quite hit the spot and its closure wasn’t any great surprise. It was sad to see the end of Cabaret and a shame they couldn’t take a leaf out of Chicago’s book and find a constant stream of new familiar faces to keep us going back.  Joseph went too and no doubt was mourned by thousands of Lee Mead’s fans but it was another how that seemed ready to go. No doubt it will be back someday.

One show I thought should have done better was Spring Awakening, which I just loved. All that energy and a theatre full of young people the night we went. I felt positively ancient, and that’s a good thing! (honest!)

Oliver has of course been a total triumph with Jodie Prenger making a real name for herself. Who would have thought she’d still be there doing 8 shows a week nearly a year later? What a star. I saw her at West End live this year and she has a super voice and a lovely stage presence. She managed to upstage Christopher Biggins, to great comic effect and that takes some talent for comedy! I think we’ll see more of Jodie once she moves on but for now she seems happy where she is. She’s on her 3rd Fagin and this is the one I’d really like to see. I think Griff Reese Jones will make a great Fagin and be well worth the trip.

Hairspray has seen some major changes with the departure of Micheal Ball. Still Phil Jupitous is doing a grand job and Brain Connely was very well recieved in the part. I wonder how long Micheal will stay away, I’m sure I heard somewhere that he’s thinking of coming back to Edna. We hope!

Wicked is going from strength to strength and is the most popular musical at this witchy time of year. Kerry Ellis is just a distant memory now and Alexia Kadhim has made her own interpreation of Elphaba. I think she has a lovely voice, quite different to Kerry’s but wonderful all the same:

New shows coming into the West End and available for theatre breaks include Legally Blonde which I was less than keen on when first announced. Since then I’ve had a good look at the videos on youtube and listened to the cast recordings and I might just change my mind. It might be fun and has the sort of casting that makes me want to see it.

What to say about Love Never dies (apart from “I can’t wait!!”)? Well it’s definitely going to be a huge event and it should be a spectacular in the best Andrew Lloyd Webber tradition. The Coney Island setting should give it a great atmosphere, you know how creepy fairgrounds can be. We’ve all seen Scoobydoo   It’s got two faboulous stars in Sarah Boggess and Ramin Karimloo (I’ve been doing this so long I can now spell these names without flinching!)

In the next part of this annual theatre breaks review I’ll be looking at the travel implications and prospects for London theatre breaks into 2010.

Flaming June comes around just after Spring has well and truly sprung, but before the main Summer holidays, which is in some ways ideal for theatre breaks with outdoor things to do in London. The river trips and topless bus tours come into their own at this time of year, as do the green spaces and parks.

West End Live

For the West End, there’s one special event which comes around each year usually around the third week and that’s West End Live. It’s a free entertainment festival put on in central London’s Leicester Square, right in the heart of theatreland, which serves to promote individual shows which take part and the West End as a whole. Participation varies, for example with Hairspray sending a full cast in costume to perform one number to kick of the show in 2009, and others such as Oliver and Wicked sending along one star to do a big number solo.

West End Live takes place over one weekend towards the end of June and I’m not suggesting anybody hangs around for the whole thing from start to finish, especially if your time in London is limited. Standing up for that length of time is exhausting enough and there’s a certain amount of waiting about between acts. It’s not really worth arriving early and queuing up to get inside the square for the start either, as the queues do build up to quite a length with people wanting to bag a place near the front but it definitely is worth dropping in for an hour or as proceedings get going and the crowds stabilise , and catching any shows you particularly want to see by keeping an eye on the programme of events. This will be found each year on the London Theatre Breaks blog in the West End Live section and they do stick very closely to the times stated because the singers and dancers need to know exactly when they will be on so they can schedule it in amongst rehearsals and even matinee performances on the Saturday.

To give a sample of the happy atmosphere and the kind of performances to expect live in the square here are a few crowd videos from theatre breaks youTube.

Wicked

Alexia Khadime from Wicked sings The Wizard and I.

Priscilla Queen of The Desert

All singing All dancing All camp Priscilla

We Will Rock You

Every year the cast from We Will Rock You put on a big show with a full cast in costume doing several numbers

Oliver!

Jodie Prenger from Oliver sings As Long as He Needs Me

Chicago

In 2009 the cast of Chicago included none other than Jerry Springer

Other Things to do in June

Long light evenings are conducive to wandering about outdoors and pavement cafe meals in interesting side streets. Hyde Park and Regents Park are best known but the smaller St James Park is close by Victoria and Westminster and features a bandstand with live music sometimes, an airy Inn The Park with beautiful roof terrace, and a lake with exotic ducks geese and pelicans.

West End Guide shows and theatres May09

When you are thinking about shows for theatre breaks you can use our West End Guide to What’s on Where to get an idea of the size of the theatres.
This can be very useful when you are looking for a show but you aren’t really sure what you want to see.
Bigger productions like Sister Act or Wicked are in the largest theatres whereas something like Stomp, although it’s still great fun, isn’t in quite such a spectacular setting.

Of course size isn’t everything when it comes to theatres. Phantom of the Opera and Les Miz are both in smaller, older theatres but the theatres are quite grand and their productions are still full of spectacle.

In the heart of the West End of London is an area sometimes called ‘Theatreland’. Traditionally it is bordered by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east.
Important streets with theatres include :

• Drury Lane,
• Shaftesbury Avenue,
• The Strand.

The area contains around forty of London’s largest theatres.They tend to show mostly musicals, with a few classics, new plays,and comedy performances.

West End Guide to the Theatres

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Most of the theatres were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. All of them are privately owned.
All of the older theatres have great architectural character and range in style from the grand neo-classical to the very ornate rococo. They usually have luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration, with lots of gold and plush.
Occasionally the older theatres have limited leg room and restricted views from some parts of the theatre. Tickets for these areas are usually sold cheaper and are not usually offered as part of theatre breaks.
Audience facilities such as bars and toilets are often much smaller than in modern theatres.
The buildings are all listed and this can make it hard to make improvements. However several theatres have introduced modern comforts such as air conditioning and new sound systems.

The Largest Theatres in The West End

The largest theatres in the West End seat over 2,000 theatre-goers.

• The Palladium – currently about to show Sister Act – 2286 seats
• The Apollo, Vcctoria – Wicked – 2208
• The Theatre Royal – Oliver!- 2196 seats
• The Dominion – We Will Rock You – 2163 seats
• The Lyceum – Lion King – 2100 seats

I’ll be posting more soon on our West End Guide