Something For The Weekend

Glengarry Glen Ross - Q&A night

Last night at the Apollo Theatre  Martin Hearn hosted the Glengarry Glen Ross question and answer night. Four members of the cast and the show's talented director took time after the show to talk to an audience of lastminute.com customers. As usual, it was a very relaxed event - a real chance to meet the actors behind the costumes and to hear what they had to say about the show and more.

There were a lot of questions about comparing the show with the movie and how difficult it was for the cast and the audience to try to think of them independently. It was great for the cast to hear the audience's opinions as well as for the audience to probe the cast about every and any aspect of the show that caught their interest - and there were a few. Having seen the solid performances and the cinematic set design, there were a lot of questions about the difficulty of the accents and how the actors felt that the language itself helped them with their Chicago accents. 

If you think you'd like to attend a Q&A event, why not come to the Swimming With Sharks Q&A on October 23rd? Ask Helen Baxendale and Christian Slater your questions about the show. There will be more Q&As coming up too, exclusive to lastminute.com, so keep an eye out for your favourite shows.

Slater bares his gnashers

Swimming with Sharks rips the romance out of Hollywood – it takes the dreams and naïve ideals of a young and hopeful writer, gives them a grope to find out what they’re worth in hard cash and then puts them up for sale. It’s a man-eat-man world in LA and you have to talk fast and think quick if you’re going to make it among the sharks.

The young hopeful is Guy. He’s a fresh, eager recruit straight from college and he’s landed the prestigious role of PA to Buddy Ackerman (played by Christian Slater). Personal Assistant, with the emphasis on the “personal”; Guy’s job is to pander to Buddy’s every whim - everything from making him coffee to duping babyfaced would-be actresses into sleeping with him. Buddy is not an easy man to please, either, so when Guy gets caught between his boss, his first love and the opportunity for fame and fortune, it really is an all or nothing situation.

Anyone who’s seen the film will know that the plot of Swimming With Sharks is a spaghetti junction of crosses and double-crosses. The shifting of fate and the cunning manipulation of expectations keeps the audience teetering in the balance all the way through, always wondering what’s truth and what’s just LA baloney with a Hollywood wrapper on the tin. Despite the tension, though, this showbiz play is all about the showmanship. The wise-cracking dialogue between Buddy and Guy goes at a hundred-to-the-dozen pace and keeps the audience tittering with witty topical references and belly-laughing at the sheer perversity of Buddy’s attitude to life (and, of course, Guy).

There can be few people treading the West End boards who know the slimy innards of Hollywood as well as Christian Slater. After a long and successful film career he must have met a dozen “Buddys” and a hundred “Guys”.  So it’s not surprising that he plays his part to perfection - a consummate actor in a role that’s hardly a great stretch of his imaginative faculties. British rose, Helen Baxendale, who we all know “off the telly” (most memorably in Cold Feet) is also extremely well cast and plays the subtle role of the love interest, Dawn, with skill. She’s endearing, but still enigmatic which is crucial to the plot.

It’s quite fitting that the only relative-unknown is Matt Smith who plays the eager young puppy, Guy. It’s a big part alongside some very big names; the pressure to perform is pretty much at top notch, but perform he does. Smith is loveable, bumbling, gutsy, honest and shrewd. Everything the part needs, he has in spades.

So, will you like it? It’s worth mentioning that the double-crossing play will even double-cross you: the pace and energy of the dialogue could fool you into thinking that it’s going to be a light-hearted sit-com-like cruise. But, just when you’re getting comfortable with your interval tub of minstrels, the play shifts drastically and takes you completely unawares into uncharted territory. So, if you’re hoping for a candyfloss farce, keep looking. You’ll love Swimming with Sharks if you love thrillers. To use movies (loosely) as comparison, it’s a bit like Private Benjamin meets Devil’s Advocate meets L.A. Confidential… that might seem like quite a claim, but in Hollywood anything goes.

Buy tickets to see Swimming With Sharks from £17.50
(price correct at time of post but subject to change)

Check out Christian Slater's video blog for the show.

Sara Sha'ath

Feeling peckish? Up-coming food festivals

Tsikoudia Festival
Not one for the lightweights, Tsikoudia (or "raki") is a Greek spirit made from grapes, but be careful, it's a whole world more potent than wine. The festival takes place in Voukolies' a town on the lovely island of Crete and celebrates the local drink in all its various forms and in combination with lots of other yummy local produce. 
Voukolies, Greece - First week of November

Flights and holidays in Crete

Räbechilbi Turnip Festival

Ok so maybe a turnip festival doesn’t sound that appetising, but that’s ok. It’s not about eating the turnips – it’s about celebrating them with a big night carnival with tons of street food, music and entertainment. Thousands of turnips are carved out like pumpkins and used to light the town and the float parade. At this time of year, Switzerland is postcard-picturesque too - a great warm up to the festive period. Why not combine this with a little Christmas shopping in Bern?
Richterswil, nr. Zurich Switzerland - 10 Nov 2007 (annual) - parade begins at 6.30pm

3* Zurich city break - 10 Nov, 2 nights from £133

Tasting Week - La Semaine du Goût
Despite the rather off putting name, this festival isn’t about dodgy joints, it’s about “real food”. The festival is a French institution and is celebrated all over the country with each region honouring their own specialties. It’s a great time to travel the country with tastings, cooking workshops, markets and exhibitions involving the top chefs, farmers, gourmands and of course the peckish public.
Bordeaux - 15-21 Oct 2007

Fly Heathrow to Paris with KLM from £96

Henrietta Green's Food Lovers' Fair
If you can’t get away very far, why not pop into London to have a wander around the food lovers' fair in Covent Garden where you can taste and pick up some international delicacies. 
Covent Garden - 4-6 November

4* deluxe, stylish top secret hotel from £70 -  5 minutes from Covent Garden (up to 69% off )

Circleville Pumpkin Show
If you’ve always wanted to see “real” America, this is your chance. We're not talking about the glamorous cities like Boston and New York here, but a wholesome, rural town where battles for prize-vegetable tiaras and beauty-queen rosettes are hotly contested (but all in good fun) and hog calling and pie-eating competitions are a normal part of celebration. The festival is enormous with over 300 thousand people attending – so well worth the trip for a big slice of the pumpkin pie.
http://www.pumpkinshow.com/
Circleville, Ohio - 17-20 Oct 2007

Find a flight to Columbus, Ohio 

What does a Michelin Star taste like?

Foliage looks out on to Hyde Park and has taken that airy city oasis as inspiration for the restaurant itself. The leafy theme runs throughout the décor from the golden fronds on the wallpaper to the motifs on the napkin rings. There are even autumn leaves from the park used as table decoration. The inside-outside feel also comes from the huge windows, which look out onto the park and let in the bright daylight. Even on a gloomy autumn day, the natural light is really uplifting – a breath of fresh air without getting chilly and wet.

The speed lunch gives you a flavour of the restaurant’s full menu, but with just a few dishes to choose from – a choice of two or three courses depending on how long you have for lunch.

When the newsletter team took a lunch hour out to visit Foliage we were blown away by the food. Dan had the chicken with broccoli, golden sultanas and Gewürztraminer. He didn’t know what to expect from the sultanas, but they worked so well and really brought out the rest of the flavours of the dish. I went for a vegetarian option of gnocchi with mushrooms, sage and onion and butternut squash. The bites of fresh gnocchi had an amazing soft texture and the tiny mushrooms were not only incredibly cute but so flavoursome.

For dessert we both had the mango cheesecake with mango and lime sorbet and basil caviar. The cheesecake was lighter and creamier than you might expect, almost like a mousse – offset by the sweet, refreshing sorbet it was a great way to round off the meal without being too heavy. We had a full afternoon in the office to get back to after all.

Taste the high life without the gold-plated price tag:
London fine dining from Veerswamy to The Ivy.

The People's Choice: winners revealed

Sixteen thousand votes later and your winners have been announced. Our theatre team have been out and about in London handing out the illustrious People's Choice awards. See what the stars and theatres had to say to their fans:

Favourite Theatre Actor
Lee Mead - Joseph

Lee told us he was thrilled to receive the award as it's his first real award. He said:
"I just want to say thank you really to everyone who voted for me. It's just a surprise to win! It's really nice to be appreciated for what you're doing. I wouldn't say that awards drive me, but it's so nice to be appreciated for what you do. It's going right here in my dressing room (places it down)...next to my rear of the year award. Thank you all who voted, its cool...my mum started crying when I told her, she was really happy for me."

Buy tickets for Joseph from £22.50

Favourite Theatre Actress
Connie Fisher - Sound of
Connie was stunned by the number of people who voted for her: 'Really? Wow! How cool is that? I've never been popular and this makes me feel really popular. I jumped up and down when I heard that i'd won.'

We asked Connie how many children she'd mothered so far during the role so far:
'Well, three lots of six, plus another eighteen, plus one, plus nineteen... Fifty-eight!'

Buy tickets for The Sound of Music from £35

Favourite Play
Equus
Daniel Radcliffe was unavailable to collect his award. If you fancy owning this bespoke trophy, send us your best Radcliffe lookey-likey photo. We'll be giving the award to the person who looks the most like our beloved teen star.
Email us here.

Favourite Musical
Wicked
We asked Kerry Ellis who plays Elphaba what sets Wicked apart from other musicals:
"It has everything, most musicals have a main area that they have done really well but Wicked is a good all rounder. It's got the music, costumes, the set and the story. The story has so many hidden messages that keep you interested.
People can identify with the friendships in the story; it appeals to everyone and keeps them coming back. One of our fans has been to see the show 35 times."

Michael McCabe, Executive Producer sent his thanks to the people:
"On behalf of everyone involved in WICKED, I'd like to thank all the lastminute.com customers who have voted for WICKED and to offer my personal congratulations to our incredible London cast led by Kerry Ellis and Dianne Pilkington. It is very exciting that WICKED has been honoured by the theatregoing public whose support of, and reaction to, the show has been so fantastic from the outset. We are thrilled to have won both 'Favourite Musical' and 'Favourite Theatre Moment' of 2007 and delighted that the Apollo Victoria Theatre has also been named 'Favourite Venue'."
Buy tickets for Wicked from £15 

Favourite Theatre moment
Defying Gravity from Wicked
We asked Kerry how long it took her to learn how to fly:
(Laughs) "Hydraulics are the magic to flying... I do fly, It's magic, pure magic. Children ask me all the time. The lights go down, you can't see anything then the towers come in, there's smoke and so many things going on, its so important that it all goes together."

Favourite Theatre
Apollo Victoria
Richard Brown, general manager at the Apollo theatre  was delighted to receive the People's Choice award for Favourite Theatre.

Favourite Pre-Theatre Restaurant
Pizza Express Haymarket


Favourite Song from a Musical
Music of the Night - Phantom Of The Opera
When our theatre guys visited Ramin Karimloo he was already looking very scary in full make up and costume. We asked him what his favourite song from the show was:

"Well its got to be Music of the Night, that or Point of No Return... this is really cool. Thanks guys.'

Buy tickets to Phantom of the Opera from £40

And last but not least, the person our customers most want to see back on the West End stage - Daniel Radcliffe

KuBu leaves Koulla walking on air

KuBu Spa is a city spa in Henley-On-Thames, which offers treatments based on Balinese ‘rituals’. From the moment you step inside out of the busy street the calm and serenity envelops you along with the very pleasant scent of incense.  At reception I was asked to take a seat and complete a form asking me various questions about the treatment I was having and if I had any allergies etc.  After that I was given 4 bottles of massage oil to smell.  These are the various oils, which they use for the massages and I was asked to pick my favourite. Now I have had a few massages in the past and I had never been given the chance to pick the oil before.

There were two oils which were more relaxing and two oils which were more rejuvenating. I had to take a train back to London and didn’t want to have to deal with that in zombie mode so I opted for the rejuvenating Orange and Clove massage oil. It smelt amazing and I was also informed that the oils are totally organic and are blended exclusively using organic ingredients from Bali.  I had the choice of a 60-minute massage and a 30-minute body scrub or a massage for the whole time without the scrub. I opted for the massage and scrub. I thought this is a good start to the day and I was right! 

I then was led through the relaxation room to the back room where I could get changed. A robe and slippers were waiting for me in my locker, which I slipped into. I took a seat on one of the relaxing loungers and waited to be collected by my therapist Laura. She led me to my room where she asked me to take a seat and put my feet in a bowl of warm water, which was filled with rose petals. It was so relaxing and I felt like a queen!  She gave my feet a lovely massage in the warm water while she had a chat with me about the massage and scrub I had chosen.

I had chosen the Balinese massage which is apparently the most vigorous out of the three, the other two being Aromatherapy and Hot Stone Massage. I had never had a Balinese and thought when in Bali do as Balinese. I told her that was totally ok but to go easy on my shoulders as that is my most tense and sensitive area. She was very friendly and then explained the whole treatment process in a really nice way. So then the massage started, it was a full body massage and I could really feel her working the knots out of my muscles.  She did my front and then asked me turn over so she could do my back.  The whole massage was so relaxing and I felt so totally serene that I almost fell asleep.  Once the massage was over she asked me to stay on my back and then began the scrub working in the opposite way so at the end I was in the same position as when she had started.  My skin was tingling from the scrub and while I was coming around she let me know that my bath was ready.

There was a glass of champagne and some chocolates next to the bath.  She pointed out all the toiletries on hand and extra towels. She said she would come back in about 20 minutes or so when I was finished. I stepped off the bed and went over to the massive white tub in the room, it was filled with rose petals and flowers and I couldn’t actually believe that this was all for me. I felt so special. I stepped in and the water was perfect…I laid back and submerged myself in the hot water. I sipped my champagne and ate my chocolate. I don’t think I have ever felt so utterly relaxed and beautiful. I really felt like a queen being pampered in the most royal and amazing way.

They do say all good things must come to an end but I left the room feeling relaxed and totally rejuvenated. I didn’t have a headache and I didn’t want to fall asleep, which is what sometimes happens to me after a massage. I made my way down to the relaxation room and had a lie down on the lounger while I flicked through a magazine. When I was ready I got changed and put my crown away, my day of being a queen was over but I had a massive smile on my face and felt like I was walking on air.

The whole experience is so totally professional and what I noticed the most was the huge attention to detail that the staff pays; it really makes a big difference. Everything was exactly where it needed to be and everything ran just so smoothly that it really added to the calming air of the experience. You also have access to the facilities pretty much all to yourself, the staff stager the treatment times so you don’t feel like you are in a cattle market and its in out in out. You really do not feel rushed at all and are encouraged to relax on the relaxation bed as long as you like. The bed made for two along with all the furnishings are all originally from Bali and really add to the ambience of the experience. 

KuBu is not the kind of place you would come to for your everyday bog standard facial/wax/massage, this is a place where thought and emphasis has been put on a specific and very special kind of treatment. The Balinese ritual is well worth a visit for an amazing treat as the staff are just so good at what they do.  I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who needs to de-stress and get away from it all for the afternoon…a trip to Bali via Henley-on-Thames is well worth it. 

Win a weekend at the Parkes Hotel, Knightsbridge

The mansion house Parkes Hotel in Knightsbridge has an air of antique respectability. Sitting in the lounge among the rich brocaded fabrics and tasselled sofas, admiring the leatherbound library and the artwork, you might begin to feel as though you should be wearing a powdered wig - if it weren’t for the fact that you’re flicking through a copy of Esquire or Vogue.

The air of grandeur carries through from the wooden-clad reception throughout the hotel too. Though in the rooms, the emphasis is more on luxury, creature comforts and all the mod cons. For example, not only is there wifi (free of charge) throughout the building, but the large flat panel TVs in the rooms can also be used to access the internet using a keyboard remote.

Creature comforts don't stop at Egyptian cotton and Molton Brown cosmetics either – the marble bathrooms have underfloor heating to make sure your feet don’t get chilly during your morning shower and the mirrors are even steam-proofed. The shower itself, is like standing underneath a giant’s watering can the head is so big. Add to that an astoundingly varied minibar (mini doesn't describe it) and you might find you get a little too comfortable in your room to leave at all.

There are 32 spacious rooms in this seven floor hotel. They range from the superior suites, which are considerably larger than your average London flat and some even have balconies, to single rooms which have English-sized double beds and still enough space to swing a cat (though you’re not allowed pets so you can’t put that to the test).

The location has to be one of the best in London, just seconds from Harrods’ ornate dome and the high-end shops of Knightsbridge. It’s also a great area for restaurants with dozens of choices for an evening meal. The Parkes Hotel doesn’t have it’s own kitchen, but it has a lovely breakfast room where you can enjoy anything from Swedish pancakes to a full English. When it comes to fresh, hot food, you won't be disappointed though. The staff are extremely accommodating; if you don’t want to leave the hotel, they have an arrangement with a number of the nearby restaurants and will bring you in any meal you choose, beautifully presented with everything you need from napkins to wine glasses. They also cater for ad hoc requests and will go out of their way to find you what you fancy. So whether it’s cream tea for two or a buffet lunch for a group of people, you won’t be left doing the shopping yourself.

If you'd like to spend the weekend at the Parkes Hotel, just email us with your name, address and daytime phone number to be in with a chance of winning a two night stay.

Or, if you'd rather not leave it to chance, book your stay here.

A Macbeth to be reckoned with

“So fair and foul a day I have not seen”

When Patrick Stewart’s booming baritone fills the Gielgud with Macbeth’s first line, you can’t help but feel you’re in for a rip-roaring piece of theatre. This is the man, after all who staged “A Christmas Carol” playing every part himself to rapturous critical acclaim.

Stewart's Macbeth is highly theatrical, yet very human and intensely magnetic; as he descendes into insanity, you find you're dragged down with him, so that despite the blood and gore (and despite the fact you know the outcome of his dreadful deeds) you find yourself willing him on to sanity and secrecy.

It’s a brave production with some outlandish, stylised touches - like the huge splashes of blood which seem to emanate from the perpetrators own throats and even a scene where a trio of corpses, with the help of the witches, become puppet-mediums for the voice of the devil.

The action takes place in the gloomy, clinically-tiled kitchen of Macbeth’s castle - the underbelly of the house where Macbeth and his wife plot and scheme and bare the ugliest recesses of their souls. It’s a bare, simple set, which compliments the historical setting. Rather than the distant struggles of feudal kings, this production is brought forward to Soviet Russia; a context that modernises the way you think about the power struggles. When there are military uniforms all about, the blood and gore and ambition seem so natural. But the historical context isn’t rammed down your throat either – it’s there in the costumes, attitudes and mannerisms but there’s no attempt to change the feudal titles or modernise the dialogue. (Heaven forefend! The purists would be livid.)

Watching this production of Macbeth, I was pretty sure that if I had brought someone who wasn’t familiar with the play they would have understood it perfectly. Sometimes, the archaic language can be a real stumbling block, but the standard of the delivery is extremely high and you find yourself totally absorbed in the action as though the dialogue were written yesterday.

Some of the actors (Stewart’s masterful Macbeth aside) breathe a new life into their characters. For example, the reserved family-man Macduff, played by Michael Feast and the amiable, dignified Banquo, played by Martin Turner, are both very full, clear and memorable performances. Kate Fleetwood’s Lady Macbeth is cold, calculating and alienating from the get-go, but as her character crumbles you even find yourself drawn into her feverish regrets.

If you love Shakespeare then you’d be a fool to miss this consummate performance of one of the great plays. If you don’t normally go for anything this “heavy” I’d probably recommend it even more. If there’s a performance that can show how gripping and thrilling Shakespeare can be, this is it. If you’re an aging Trekkie, though, give up now – he won’t say “make it so”, no matter how many flowers you throw.

Tickets for Macbeth are selling fast, so get in quick if you want to see this phenomenal performance.
Buy tickets from £27.50

Sara Sha'ath