South Pacific

Another lovely evening with Georgia at the Theater Royal in Plymouth. A lot of things to say about this production, it was something I had never seen before but always wanted to, and I can't say it was incredible. I think the most detrimental aspect was the length. It clocked in at roughly 2 3/4 hours which is far too long for a show. I did love the story line though and I though the musical numbers were good but the acting was some-what lacking. I think the whole show has an acquired taste in terms of the fact that I have never seen the film and my Mum: who went to see the same show a different day, thought it was very good, she had grown up with it and had a certain appreciation for it that we did not. We were very disappointed that we didn't get to see Samantha Womack, as keen Eastenders fans I'm sure this would have been strange but I do think we would have enjoyed it more. I sufficiently annoyed Georgia with my rendition of 'Wash that man right outta my hair' so all was good :)

Murder on the Nile

I really enjoyed this as I had never seen a mystery before- and I had always wanted to see an Agatha Christie show- I don’t think there are many genres left that I haven’t seen yet, my overall opinion was really good although I think that the set could've been more extravagant to compliment the  fantastic use of sound effects and costumes.  It was especially interesting seeing what Charlene (a french student) thought of the show as she doesn’t understand English completely. She said that she was fine apart from when they spoke really fast- which is funny because it doesn't come across fast at all to us. The acting was outstanding and the roles cast very well, I felt that the humour from Kate O'Mara's role was much needed as in a way it added to the suspense by making people suspect different people due to her sarky but provocative comments. (It was also nice to receive a tweet from Susie Amy afterwards who was very lovely- and very pretty). Georgia was very happy to find the first person she has ever met with the same birthday as her (Ben Nealon).

This is the website for the production we saw, with information and images on there!

http://www.kenwright.com/index.php?id=1222

Please help me share my blog by telling people about it as I really need feedback- thanks xxx

Doctor in the House

I loved this show. I hadn’t seen a comedy before- certain parts of other things I have seen have been humorous like Legally Blond. The show starred Joe Pasquale and Robert Powell and we were lucky to be able to go to the stage door afterwards (back to tradition) to meet them and get their autographs. As Robert Powell said- it was just very silly. I wouldn’t hesitate to go and see something with them in again. The set was very inventive and the special effects, music and script was very good. the Video below is the promo for it when it came to Plymouth.

Missing

     I think the only way to describe this piece of theatre is odd. I had never seen anything like it before and I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it but I also wouldn’t say I loved it. I definitely wouldn’t pay to see it or necessarily see it ever again, and I wouldn't recommend it for young children as it was a bit disturbing. It's really weird seeing different peoples interpretations of it as I saw a girls status on Facebook about how she found it amazing, whereas Georgia and I were not really... well, i don't really know actually.
     I think it was a good experience as it is good to experience different thing, also the lighting was very good and the whole thing well-polished- the timing was incredible. But other than that I don’t feel there is much more to say about it.

HenryV

     On the 17^th of May 2012, Georgia and I went to See Henry V at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. It started at 7.30pm and we had good seats (like last time at Breakin convention- Although Georgia will disagree). Our seats were in row B of the stalls, and right in the middle in seats 12 and 13.

     I am not a big fan of Shakespeare’s, I think he was very clever and his storylines incredible but I don’t really enjoy myself when I go to see it. I found myself very bored although not as bored as expected due to the amazing special effects and lighting. I didn’t expect to be encaptured by the storyline as I was. I also thought the make-up was incredible; it was so realistic I wouldn’t be surprised if it was real (which I hope and don’t think it was). I was in awe of the actors- the amount of lines they each had to learn was staggering and I didn’t pick out any mistakes at all (although I do not have much experience with Shakespeare) Overall, I am glad I went as it was a good experience but I wouldn’t pay to go and see it again in a hurry. A certain someone we were sat near to didn't exactly help improve our experience.

     Although I said I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare, I don't think this was the best play to go and see as a first experience, I would love to go and see something like 'Romeo and Juliet' or 'A Mid-summer Night's Dream'. I hate to admit it but I think that neither myself or Georgia understood a lot of it because of the difficult language and the fact that a lot of it was in french. We definitely understood the story line completely, it just detracted from the performance tyring to understand completely.

Breakin' Convention

     On the 11th of May 2012, Georgia and I wen to see the Breakin' Convention tour at the Theater Royal/Drum Theater in Plymouth. The production was: 'An international festival of HipHop dance theater'. Although the art form was obviously dance- it did include some beat boxing which was new to us both. I had not seen things exactly like it before: apart from the BeatBreakers crew, whom I had seen before in a cultural dance festival at Plymouth University (in which I performed also).

     Overall, I found the whole experience breath-taking and I recommend to anyone and everyone as it is something worth going to see. I saw it free with the ANLO scheme but I definitely would have paid money to see it if I had needed to. The night consisted of 2 performances, one in the drum Theatre (a little theatre adjoining the main theatre) and one in the main theatre. In the drum performance my friend and I had to be separated as seats were not allocated, although I didn’t mind too much as we were directed to front row seats! This performance consisted of an opening by beat boxer Dainjamouth, who was then followed by Puzzle, A group consisting of both boys and girls. Their performance included a main dance at the start and end but in the middle different group came on a did a bit, like a group of approximately 7 year olds and two groups of teenage girls. They were very good individually but when performing together it was unpolished and out of time, and you could really differentiate between the good dancers and the people who did it for fun. After puzzle was ‘Express Crew Street Factory’, who were very good and very cute. They were a group of about 10 6-10 year olds? (Although I am not entirely sure about their ages). They were absolutely phenomenal, especially for their age.

The main show in the Theatre royal was a lot better I think. My views about the different performances:

o   BeatBreakers- As I have seen these before- I found myself comparing the two different performances, and I have to say that I preferred their performance last year as they had more variation in their music- which was also well know compared to this time. But they were still incredible and their timing and choreography was tight and well executed.

o   TrashDollys Dance Company- Although good as is expected for an event like this, both my friend and I found it dreadfully boring and unexciting. We thought the same about Class 66. This was also boring and a bit unfortunate as their piece lasted 15 minutes.

o   Tricky Crew- My friend and I both thought this to one of our favourites, It wasn’t too long and was very captivating and cleverly choreographed.

o   Vagabond Crew- As is specified in the program, this is the best B-Boy crew in the world, and this certainly showed in their performance. It was incredible but it was 35 minutes long and dragged on. Their theme was evident and sustained throughout and parts were very funny.

o   ILL-Abilities^TM- These were favourites of the night. I am not afraid to say I nearly cried in their performance it was so inspirational and brilliant. The program details their performance but not them. There were 6 people (one of which wasn’t there and they showed a video of him). One has lazy legs which meant he had to use crutches; I think he was one of the best. Another was born with a shortened arm and leg and next to no fingers (this was the one who was missing), Another 2 were missing both or one leg, one to cancer and the other’s feet are at knee height- the cause is suspected to be thalidomide as he has been like it since birth. Another was deaf- and he said during his solo that he creates his own beat in his head and this was incredible as it always seemed to fit and be in time with the others when they danced together. Overall, this group was awe-inspiring; I think it goes without saying as they got a standing ovation half way through their performance as well as afterwards. I love their motto: ‘No Excuses, No Limits’. It really puts thing into perspective and make you think. I highly recommend everyone checks out their website: www.illabilitiescrew.com

So… Overall it was absolutely incredible as I have already said, but I cannot put into words how this experience has made me feel (especially ILL-Abilities^TM).

Swallows and Amazons

     On the 3^rd of May 2012, my friend Georgia and I went to see Swallows and Amazons at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. The show involved singing and acting and it reminded slightly of when I went to see The Witches in 2006. We went with the ANLO scheme so we didn’t have to pay anything.

     As with ‘The King and I’ I found the start a bit slow and boring. The use of props was very good although some looked a bit cheap and tacky. Also- The whole thing wasn’t really aimed at my friend and I’s age group so parts which were meant to be funny we often found ourselves not laughing at. Despite this I thought it was worth going to see, especially because we got really good seat for nothing, and did start to enjoy myself- especially at the end. I really liked how they included audience participation with the cannon balls and passing the boats back through the audience (Georgia and I got to hold the Amazon for a long time). So overall it was good but not my favourite thing to go and see and I don’t think I would be willing to pay money to go and see it.

I've been seeing that I've been getting a few views on my blog, and I was wondering if people could possibly leave some comments as I need them for my arts award. Anything: small or big, is appreciated. Thank you xx

The King and I

     On the 12^th of April 2012, my friend and I went to see The King and I at the Theatre royal Plymouth. The show involved singing, dancing and acting and I had seen things like the storyline before (The Sound of Music) but I had never seen Oriental Ballet in such a form as this. We went with the ANLO scheme so we did not have to pay anything.

     Although the start was slow and a bit boring, I found that I really enjoyed the whole thing. Especially the play within it- The little Cabin of Uncle Tom (I think). The dancing was beautiful, as were the costumes. I thought that the balance between humour and seriousness was just right. The role and performance by the children was especially astonishing given the ages of some of the children, it was very well practised and executed. I learnt from it that you never turn your back on the King of Siam- or any monarch for that matter.

I definitely wouldn't list it highly in my favourite things I have been to see because of the fact that the standard was not as high as many others and I didn't feel it was as well polished as previous things. The theater was as good as usual and I felt that the award they have received for the most welcoming theater was well deserved. The video here shows a sort of trailer for the tour we went to see long with comments by other people at the performance in Edinburgh.

Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra

On the 3^rd of April 2012, the Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra assembled in the RumStore at Carnglaze Caverns for their annual concert. The orchestra is one of Music Cornwall’s ensembles and includes 60 of the most talented musicians between the ages of roughly 13 and 20 from across the county, with members from Saltash to Penzance. The concert lasted about 2 hours not including the interval and this year the theme was pieces from around the world. The audience consisted of about 300 people including many special guests this year. The program this year:

o   Four Character Studies from Master Humphrey’s Clock, by Malcom Binney

o   Yosemite Autumn, by Mark Camphouse

o   Lincolnshire Posy, by Percy Grainger

o   Nocturne for Harp, by Claire Grundman

o   Wedding Dance, by Jacques Press

o   The White Tower, by Otto Schwartz

o   Outback, by Thomas Doss

o   Encore; Maleguena by Ernesto Lecuona

I didn’t just watch this concert; I took part in it as I am a member of Cywo (Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra) and I loved it. It wasn’t a new experience as this was my second year as a member, but in a way it was a new experience due to the different musical program, this overall year at Cywo was better than last year because I have made lots of new friends that I have loads in common with and am more likely to stay in touch with due to this. I think last year’s program was better simply because there was music that people would have recognised like West Side Story, and an audience is more likely to enjoy it if they can recognise the music as a lot probably weren’t trained musically and therefore wouldn’t have appreciated the music as much. I would definitely recommend this whole experience to anyone, but it comes with quite a lot of pressure and is a lot of hard work. The meetings are only once a month but are all over the county and are very long days (The longest being 8.30am till 9.00pm!). You also have to be a certain (skill/grade) level as the pieces are not easy and Janet- the conductor- does not settle for ok!  The work is worth it though, when you take you final bow and know you’ve done well.

This is a little bit of information about the orchestra from the music service website!

Link: to the website showing photos taken at the event

Link: to the music service website report on the event

The Phantom Of The Opera

    On the 3rd of March 2012, my mum, Godmother and 4 other people went to the Theatre Royal in Plymouth to watch Cameron Mackintosh’s production of the Phantom of the Opera. As the title details, this show was an opera, but it also contained acting and some dance. It was a new experience for me as I had never seen an opera before.

    Overall I found it very good because of the mixture of suspense, joy and other varied emotions that the singers created. The part at the start when the cloths are ripped suddenly from the chandelier made me jump (as was intended) - it didn’t help with the position we were sat in, meaning we were right level with it. At certain parts I felt very much like crying, as was the nature of the story. The only thing that ruined it for me was the fact that I could see the wires and saw the phantom go under the bed at the end. As this was not their fault, I cannot find anything else bad about it. My enjoyment was totally unexpected as I do not tend to enjoy Opera at all, it is in no way my style of music. I was also surprised by the fact that I recognized any of the songs ie: Think Of Me and The Angel Of Music.

       Although I state that I enjoyed it even though it was an opera: I don't think I would enjoy any other opera's as I really don't like that music style. I would like to be surprised if I was to ever go and see another and I would still recommend going to see phantom of the opera even if you: like me, don't like opera.

The Theater Royal was a fantastic venue as usual and prices were quite reasonable.