Something For The Weekend

Lady of the Rings...

Our resident theatre-guru and all round middle-Earth fan Claire Taylor could hardly sit still in anticipation of her "behind the scenes" tour of the upcoming Lord of the Rings musical last week. The show is getting tongues wagging all over town,... I mean, just how are they planning to bring a story (and set of movies) of such epic proportions to the stage in the Theatre Royal  this May? And surely the live horses will poop everywhere, and the Hobbits will molt, and the grass on those rolling hills will wither under the spotlights? HOW, CLAIRE? Tell us how! 

"Once I got wind that we were invited to see backstage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, wild horses could not keep me away. That’s because this theatre is now home to the most exciting show to come to the West End this year...
The Lord of the Rings.

For me, and I am sure countless others, the curiosity levels around this show are far higher than anything else that has swept onto the stage for a long time. ‘How will this classic and epic tale be adapted for the theatre?’ is the question on everybody’s lips. I have heard reports back from a few who ventured to Toronto, where Kevin Wallace debuted his show last year, but this does not rival the chance to take a peak for myself.

Entering the function room at the Theatre Royal there is already a bubbling anticipation from everybody in the room as we wait to see the results of the cast and crew’s toils during the last two months of rehearsals. Even for those who saw the show in Toronto, there’s still an excitement about all the work since then to make this show even bigger and better.

It isn’t long before our anticipation is satisfied, and we are led forward into the theatre where we can take a peak at the work going on behind the scenes. As theatre-goers, it is sometimes easy to forget the amount of sweat shed backstage to provide us with the delights that we witness when we go to the theatre, so it was fabulous to be able to see this first hand. Rows upon rows of laptops and equipment, taking up the seats that will be filled with eager faces in May, indicate the amount of work involved in creating this new stage masterpiece.

I make my way through the technical throngs to find myself onstage, looking back at what seems to be an immense space of seats. This is my first time on a West End stage, especially in a theatre of this size, and it is humbling to realise what will face the performers as they bring this show to their new audience. It’s also exciting to see the space of the stage and to wonder at the potential it can provide.

The potential is quadrupled once the mechanics of the stage are revealed. Imagine a floor made up of a puzzle of interlinking pieces, each with a mind of its own. We each took to a piece of the stage and began our ride, not for the faint hearted. Not only was the stage revolving at quite some pace, it was also moving up and down, unlike anything I had ever seen in a theatre before. I finished my ride more than a little dizzy but also awestruck at the performance that my imagination was unveiling. Once the scenery, performers and costumes are in place this is going to be a spectacular of gargantuan proportions.

It's time to get excited...."

Book your LOTR tickets now
Visit the backstage blog here

Going Doon, Doon, Doon...

Going out on a school night is naughty, but we all know that’s why it’s fun. Still, you shouldn’t be drinking your way towards a week-day bacon-craving in a darkened cavern. And you really shouldn’t be doing it with Patrick from tech on a post-work “just the one”, even if he has been stalking you for months around the water-cooler. 

If you need a place to hide with your illicit love interest, sexy  Doon in Trafalgar Square, a glamourous themed hideaway downstairs from Scottish restaurant Albannach, is pretty much the perfect place. Say the name in a Scottish accent!  This happy hot-spot has just launched a “wicked” new cocktail menu, and with fresh fruit in a berry blast, and chocolate shavings in a coffee-toffee cup of calories, you’ll be forgiven for wanting to treat the entire tech team in turn. Naughtiness beckons from every corner.

Doon invites you down Thursday to Saturday for the resident DJ - spinning a mix of jazzy house, funk and Brazilians beats.  It might be better to save it for the weekends, when you can schmooze till the early hours without fear of waking up late next to the office no-no. But then again...Koulla and I managed to steer our way out of mid-week trouble last Wednesday, look, (almost).

Doon, Doonstairs at Albannach, 66 Trafalgar Square - dine in the sexy restaurant from just £15 for two courses - exclusive to lastminute.com

Door policy: Friday and Saturday, free before 10pm, £7 after
(or £5 on Guest List).
To get on the guest list email here
To book one of the 5 intimate vaults for 10 people or more call: 020 7930 0066 

Win a weekend at The Gore hotel

House too messy to deal with? Well you can shun responsibility for one more weekend when you enter our hot little competition to win a two-night stay, including full English breakfast each morning, in The Gore Hotel, London.

A simple brass plaque is all there is to tell you that you’ve arrived at The Gore in Queen’s Gate between fashionable Knightsbridge and Kensington, (and a short little stroll to Hyde Park).  But once inside, prepare to enter a world of highly-polished antiques, oak paneling, rich fabrics and welcoming open fires. Quite perfect for the current arctic London climes, and cooling, we’re sure, in the summer.

The Gore’s 50 guest rooms are all highly individual – filled with antique furniture, period pictures and prints to make you feel as though you’re living in a perfectly English Jane Austin novel.  Some rooms are even named after the celebrities who once stayed in them, including Judy Garland and Dame Nellie Melba.

Here too, the modern blends seamlessly with the traditional. The ornate beds, each an antique, are made up with pure white Egyptian cotton bed linen.  Lounge to your heart’s content, and lie in for as long as you want!  The bathrooms offer environmentally friendly products and every room is equipped with complimentary Wi-Fi access and a lovely flat-screen TV.

The Gore has a well-earned reputation throughout London for the fine food served in its informal and lively restaurant, Bistro One Ninety Queens Gate, which has been home to many a celebrated chef, didn’t you know?  Might be worth checking it out – even if you don’t win the hotel stay there’s nothing stopping you going out for dinner.

Just a step across the hotel’s elegant entrance lobby is the world-famous candlelit Art Deco mahogany-paneled Bar 190 with its ornate plaster ceiling and intimate atmosphere, which attracts a mix of fascinating people. Here guests and local residents mingle with celebrities from the worlds of film, television, fashion and publishing. It’s a bit like a private party and you’re invited.

Let’s not forget the lovely Green Room – The Residents Drawing Room with its period paintings, where guests can take afternoon tea served by courteous and friendly staff. Or you might just settle for a quiet pre-dinner drink by a roaring winter fire.  Whatever you do at The Gore, it’s bound to be a memory you’ll treasure long into the rest of the year.

Click here to enter the competition
or Book a weekend at The Gore Hotel here

This Thursday @ Punk...

Sean Rowley and Guilty Pleasures present the new monthly Thursday night "Digging Your Scene"                     
                               
Digging Your Scene is an Eighties Crusade. A house of worship built on neglected nuggets, rare diamonds and you're-gonna-miss-me-when-I'm-gone classics from the world of Eighties Pop. Kicking off this Thursday 22nd March and takes place on the third thursday of every month.

Between 6pm & 7pm it is Unhappy hour, the most miserable hour of your week. But hey, at least you're amongst like minded people. Soundtracked by the sorrowful sounds of the 80's (expect quite a bit of Smiths). It is free to get in between these hours, but you have to pay to get out! 

Then between 7pm and 12pm it's Digging your Scene proper. An eighties pop crusade hosted by Sean Rowley & Paul Simper. 

Five Pounds before 9pm, Seven thereafter. 

champagne chat with a dentist...

So… I’m sitting at my desk and the phone rings, and unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I’ve just tipped two little plastic cups of champagne down my neck in celebration of a new system we’ve just had installed here in the office. It’s a funny old world when we’re toasting computer programming, but hey, if it makes our lives easier it means less time behind our desks, and more time to sip champagne.

I digress. So, I’m sitting at my desk, feeling the bubbles, wondering what to reheat for dinner, when the phone rings and it’s Alistair McGowan just calling for a chat about his new show. He is of course, starring as the egotistical, sadistic dentist in Little Shop of Horrors and we were supposed to talk last week, but kept missing each other. Well,… OK, so I kept missing him. It’s not as though I’m the one running round London trying to chat to every journo in town about my new West End show. I’m too busy implementing computer tools.

The show’s going well, he says, considering he only got the chance to rehearse for about two weeks before going live at the Duke of York Theatre. Of course, Little Shop of Horrors has been playing at the Menier Chocolate factory for a while, so he got to learn the lines by watching the others, but most of the time he practised the script and the songs at home, in his living room.  Was he wearing his pyjamas and big fluffy monkey-foot slippers while he did it? Well, who knows, but his suave and sinister character doesn’t really call for anything less macho than a leather jacket and a good pot of hair gel, so I won’t ask.

“I’ve just come straight from performing in the Merry Wives of Windsor, in Stratford (a new musical version of Shakespeare's popular comedy), so I was really just thrown into it. I couldn’t wait to play such a sadist, it’s such a hilarious part. I mean, I love the fact that he’s a dentist and he’s insane, it’s like the image we all have of them anyway, intensified.”

He’s right, I have horrific half-memories from a dental encounter, when the anaesthetic didn’t work on a wisdom tooth removal. Ouch! So did he use his impressionist roots to mimic the wacky ways of Steve Martin in the movie version? We all know his celebrity repertoire of over a hundred impersonations, including David Beckham, Gary Lineker and Tony Blair. 

“No, I didn’t watch the film again, I think I’ve seen it once and that was years ago. Steve Martin did a great job, and I really didn’t want to watch him again in case I mimicked him.  I wanted to see what came out of me in the role.”

Fair enough. What does he think about the comments and reviews in the press so far? I reckon they’ve been pretty good – after all you can’t really go wrong with such a well-loved musical, especially once you’ve included a modernised, animatronic plant and a stellar cast including Sheridan Smith (2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps).

“Oh I try not to look at what the press write to be honest. I like to think I’m doing OK, and then I’ll probably read something like, ‘ look at that long-legged, lanky man bending about all over the place’ and then my actions will consciously change because of it. Yeah,.. I’d rather not know!”

OK, that’s probably wise, I think, wishing my plastic cup had some more champagne in it. So what’s next in line then, any plans for world domination, like Audrey II?

“I’d love to do something quite wordy next, I think. You know, a big play with lots of words! Obviously the singing thing is fun but something quite meaty would be different after doing all this comedy. I’ve actually written a couple of plays I’d love to see about getting into production, that would be brilliant – another string to the bow and all that!”

Well, you can never have too many strings, in my opinion. Looks like everything’s going swell over on Skid Row for Alistair, and we’re loving the mini parts he plays as Seymour’s fans in the later part of the show. That’s the Alistair we know and love – talking funny. Not that a spot of laughing gas doesn’t make a good impression, of course.

I let him get back to the show as I pour myself some more champers and return to my computing celebrations.  Oh, the difference in our evening schedules. Still, I bet Alistair’s not having such glorious, re-heated (and extra tomatoey) bolognese for dinner.

Becky Wicks

To book tickets to Little Shop of Horrors on lastminute.com, click here

everyone loves a holiday romance...

I might be one of the lucky ones but my very first kiss was under a palm tree, on a family holiday to Florida when I was 13. Now, when I think of Florida, I remember little Patrick in his Bermuda shorts, planting one on me before riding off into the night on his BMX. Bless.

Last week, in association with the DVD release of The Holiday, we asked you to use our fancy Google-map to locate your most romantic destination, and tell us why you love it so much. Which place makes your heart skip a beat at the warm and fuzzy memories it inspires? If yours is the chosen declaration of love, you could win five nights in star-studded LA, or one of 30 copies of the DVD.
The competition's still open, have you entered yet?

Over 2000 of you have entered so far, and searched the world on our lovely map. The Maldives, Caribbean, USA and Mauritius are coming up tops, so we thought we'd share just a few of the comments we've received from you love-struck lot:

ON ITALY…
“Rome is perfect - loads to do & see together & lots of intimate trattorias to eat in whilst gazing into each others' eyes” – Cerian Bran
“Exquisite wines, sensational culinary delights, beautiful country side and the sensual lust for life and living”. - Tom Brady
“Florence is themost beautiful, romantic, scenic city I've ever been to. The whole holiday had the air of romance to it”.  – Sally Russell

ON INDONESIA…
“The potential seclusion on the islands sets the stage for a deep bonding experience with your partner.” – Liam
“It combines stunning scenery, graceful people and an atmosphere of serenity. It even made my husband feel romantic!!!” - Jacqueline Ebdy
“After a very traumatic divorce and a few years on my own my new husband proposed marriage with the sun rise”. - Marina Mantle

ON THE CARIBBEAN…
“My wife & I got married in Jamaica, the most perfect day in the most perfect of locations, something I'll never forget!!!”  - Mark Heath
“Caribbean days in the sun, hot nights are lots of fun, getting frisky in clear water, haven't you been? You really oughta!” - Donna Ford
“Memories of us walking barefoot for hours on a beautiful, semi deserted, moonlit beach, to the sound of whispering waves”. – Kay Reid
“I met my Canadian wife to be on the sun kissed and moonlight decks of a cruise around the beautiful Caribbean”  - Glenn King

ON THE MALDIVES…
“The isolation of a water bungalow over the bright blue ocean makes you feel you’re the only 2 people in the world!” – Richard Smale
“It’s where my new husband and I started married life. It was the next chapter after an amazing four year journey”. – Rebecca Oliver
“Turquoise sea, small island, no traffic, no noise, white soft sand, big moon star-filled sky. It’s easy to fall in love again here”. – Phil Friel

Don't forget to enter the competition here

St Patrick's Day on the town...

Our Guinness loving girl about town, Deborah James takes a look at what's coming up on the booziest day on the calendar...

Did you know that it’s common practice to plant a potato on St. Patrick’s Day? This tradition is done to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.

Personally, we’d rather celebrate Paddy’s day in true style – Guinness in hand – so for anyone less keen on planting and more keen on partying, we’ve come up with a list of options to keep you out of the garden this weekend.

Everyone claims to have a bit of Irish in them, whether it’s a Great Grandmother who once went to Dublin or a brother-in-law owning land in Limerick.   Any connection is acceptable, so don a green-t-shirt and get to the splendid St Patrick’s Day parade in London, Sunday 18 March.   You’ll be swept along in a whirlwind of floats, musicians and dancers.  Those wanting to feast on a bit of proper Irish grub, you’ll be spoilt for choice, as there are food stalls galore in Covent Garden, selling cheeses, soda bread and smoked fish.  If the commotion gets a bit much, you can sit back and relax in the Prince Charles cinema, which is kindly showing free Irish films all day.  The fun kicks off at noon in Trafalgar Square.

For those with music on their mind, you can celebrate the saintly ‘snake-ridder’ at various different London venues.  Clubbers can club along to The Mass, Brixton, for drum’n’bass at the St Patrick’s Day Blazer – although anyone looking for traditional Irish tinkling melodies may be a little disappointed/thoroughly confused/deafened.  Those interested in flailing around, Michael Flatley style, should get their dancing shoes on and head to Brogans, Fulham, to enjoy true Irish ales and live music until 2am.  The more classical amongst you can waltz along to St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, where you can appreciate a medley of violin, flute and harp music by the London Irish Ceilidh band.

We’d like to leave you with one more fact to tell to anyone questioning your Irish authenticity on Saturday night: The tiny island of Montserrat in the Caribbean is the only place in the world apart from the Republic of Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland in which St Patrick’s Day is a public holiday.  Ha, now kiss my Blarney Stone. 

a much hotter Potter...

The media’s had a field day with the Potter puns, but all joking aside, Daniel Radcliffe’s transition from dorky, ill-treated young wizard, to freaky yet perfectly formed 17 year old is a more impressive stunt than when he first rode a broomstick.

This isn’t the first time Equus has had tongues (and other parts) wagging. Written in 1973 by Peter Schaffer it’s a dark, moving tale about one boy’s sexual confusion in the face of his mother’s hardcore Christianity, and how an obsession with horses weaves its way into his fantasies, resulting in disasterous actions. Alan Strang might well need an ‘e’ on the end of his surname, and it’s up to his sullen, psycho-babbling therapist (the excellent Richard Griffiths) to figure out what could possibly cause a 17 year old boy to viciously blind six horses.

Aside from ogling a naked Harry Potter – a scene that’s sold almost as many seats as his series of movies, the play Equus inspires a younger generation to explore the 60’s guru spun philosophy that the mentally ill display a passion withheld by the unfortunate sane, and an insight denied to all but a special few. It’s all a load of rubbish, obviously, but Richard Griffith’s fabulous performance as Strang’s almost admiring advisor makes you think that, perhaps, there’s something in the boys actions other than raging hormones and lust for a horny stable-girl.

Griffiths of course, played alongside Radcliffe as his evil Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films, so the two are proper chums, as was evident at the end of the show when they embraced as they walked off the stage.  As he did in his role as the teacher in The History Boys, he gives a rather dry performance, and peppers the scripted dialogue with his unique wit and charm.  The funny moments however, are few and far between, and the simple set, featuring just a few boxes and a set of stable doors, combined with moody lighting serve to deliver a totally unsettling 90 minutes. In a good way, of course.

The horses themselves are portrayed by toned, ballet-dancer-esque men in tight brown clothing, each carrying a huge, wire-framed head. They move their large, metallic hooves just as horses would and the gentle bowing of their heads throughout convey excellently the manner of the actual animals.  All of this of course, adds to the horror of the final scene, where Daniel’s violent thrashing amidst a shower of flashing lights is an "edge-of-the-seat" spectacular.

Equus is one of those plays that stays with you long after you’ve seen it – and not just for the shocking nudity of one of Britain’s best young stars.  Even so, Radcliffe’s impressive stage debut marks the start of an inevitable onslaught of acting opportunities. The world’s favourite wizard has truly grown up and as this muscular, mature actor casts his magic, prowling the stage, fists clenched, naked torso glistening in the spotlights, it’s plain to see our beloved little Harry couldn’t be further away from Hogwarts.

Review by Becky Wicks

Book your Equus tickets now with lastminute.com

Win signed Girls Aloud t-shirts for Comic Relief...

Ever since we were kids, we’ve sat glued to the telly as Lenny Henry made us cry with his heart-wrenchingly detailed accounts of poverty. We’ve also laughed hysterically at the stupid antics our celebs get up to, all in the name of charity. DON'T FORGET TO DONATE HERE!

Comic Relief was set up by comedians and uses comedy and laughter to get serious messages across, while making sure that everyone who gets involved has fun at the same time. The charity has raised over £425 million to date, with the latest Red Nose Day set for March 16th.

Over the years, more than 2000 celebrities have given their time and talent to Comic Relief - from Lenny Henry, Billy Connolly, John Cleese and Jerry Springer to Johnny Depp, Ali G, Davina McCall, Robbie Williams, Steve Coogan, Paul Whitehouse, Whoopi Goldberg and Woody Allen.

Coming to the telly every two years, it's the biggest TV fundraising event in the UK calendar, so if you haven’t got your red nose yet in preparation for this year’s shindigs, now you can support Comic Relief by downloading your fave bands. This year, it’s Girls Aloud and Sugababes’ turn to encourage us to do our bit. They’ve joined forces for this year’s charity single – a remake of the 1980’s classic, Walk This Way.  Watch the video now 

We managed to grab the girls to find out what they’d be doing with their precious time off, once the single’s made lots of money for Comic Relief.

Nicola says of her home in Liverpool: “My favourite bars are the News Bar - I go there in the day time for something to eat, the food is lovely. Then on a Saturday night it’s always a good night, I know the owners and I've been going for years. I also like Mosquito and if it’s a wild one my boyfriend will drag me off to Garlands. My favourite shops are Reiss and Topshop… Liverpool doesn't really have any designer shops so I go designer shopping when in London. Although there is a huge shopping center being built that's quite close to my new apartment, so hopefully there'll be some amazing new shops in there.”

Kimberley was looking forward to spending some time with her mum:

“For Mother's day my mum's coming down to stay with me and my sisters and we're gonna go to the theatre and go for dinner so it will be lovely to spend the day with her, cos it doesn't always happen. I'm looking forward to spoiling her!”

And we’re looking forward to seeing the single storm the charts for Comic Relief ladies. In fact, let’s all buy it now!

Email us now to win a Girls Aloud signed t-shirt

Little Shop of Horrors...

I don’t know what it is about this show, but there’s something in the ridiculousness of the whole thing that’s always been endearing. The dig at cheap B-movies and the over-sentimentality of its musical numbers seems to strike a chord with people old and young, and in spite of its roots in science fiction, there truly is something in this hilarious, horticultural hit that we can all relate to. In fact, even Dan here, who hates anything to do with people singing out their woes on a stage, loved this production. (And I’m sure he shed a mini tear towards the end! – Sssssh)

I last saw Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway in 2004. It was big, bold and brilliant, just as a Broadway show should be, but following a totally sold out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory here in London – a much smaller venue  – it has to be said that the intimate insides of a cosier space create a much better house for the performance.   As it relocates to the equally cosy Duke of York Theatre in the West End, we’re thinking it might have finally found its perfect home. After all, intimacy is a running theme between our heroes, Seymour and Audrey. Seymour longs to fit in - he’s an orphaned boy trapped in a lonely adult’s body, in love with his ditzy blonde co-worker and doomed to a life on dreary Skid Row.  Audrey herself is a beaten-up dreamer, just as enamoured with Seymour but stuck in a violent and loveless relationship with an egotistical dentist.  Both long for love in a way they’ve never experienced, and throughout our 90 minute adventure both inevitably achieve it.

Of course, fame and happiness come at a price. When Seymour becomes an overnight sensation after discovering a mysterious plant, finding enough fresh blood to curb its insatiable, alien appetite proves anything but a bed of roses...

You might remember Audrey, played by Sheridan Smith, for her roles in BBC hits Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and The Royal Family. She’s joined by (super-cute) Paul Keating in the role of Seymour, who recently played the leads in Closer to Heaven and the West End version of Tommy. Let’s not forget the incredible debut of our newest dentist, leader of the plaque, Alistair McGowan. Acting up is nothing new for this comedian and impressionist, but his equally camp and menacing performance as Audrey’s bullying boyfriend is fantastic.  The scene where he’s fighting the laughing gas is probably one of the best in any show in the West End at the moment – definitely one that will ensure he’s snapped up for future, funny stage roles.

Also worth a mention are Barry James as Mr Mushnik, who was actually the original Seymour in the 1986 West End staging at the Comedy Theatre, and Whose Line Is It Anyway regular, Mike McShane, who gives us the voice of Audrey II.

What makes this version of Little Shop of Horrors stand out from the rest, aside from the smaller set, is the modernization of the costumes and cast. Whilst still set in the slums of urban America, the doo-wap girls of old have been replaced by a trio of total trailer-trash, who are nothing short of hilarious. And whilst some versions of the show have stuck with the schmaltzy Hollywood ending inspired by the 1986 movie, this one gives us the real ending, which we’re certainly not going to spoil! Ironically, you’ll probably cry more tears over Sheridan’s outstanding, emotional outpour in the number ‘Somewhere that’s green’, than you will at the ending.  Let’s not forget that for all of its tugging at the heartstrings, this is a comedy after all.

I know Dirty Dancing was hot, Wicked was wicked, Spamalot was silly and Les Miserable left you sobbing like a girl, but if you’re looking for a combo of the best in the West End, you really can’t get better than this monster hit. Although, it might make you think twice about those pot-plants you just put on the windowsill. Review by Becky Wicks

To get your Little Shop of Horrors tickets, click here