Something For The Weekend

Never Forgotten - No need to wait for the summer stadium shows

Nervous, very nervous would be the best way to describe walking into the theatre to see Never Forget. Not because I thought it would be a bad show, more because I though that I might embarrass myself by joining in too much. Sadly I was so right, and I don't even like Take That.

At the moment, the West End seems full of musicals set to the tunes of formerly top selling bands, with We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia dominating both the box office and the headlines. Never Forget though may well beat them to the crown of the most fun show out there this year.

There is definitely a difference between shows that are funny and shows that are fun. This falls fully into the later category. It's the story of a group of friends who try to raise money by entering themselves into a tribute band contest. Imagine someone managed to condense a years worth of Coronation Street storylines into a 2 hour stage show and you have some idea of the plot of the show. If it can happen to these boys, then you better believe that it will. Only on stage (or possibly the East End of London) do you ever consider having business meetings in a strip club!

This is definitely one of those shows where the audience are up on their feet for most of the show. Don't worry, no matter how much you fight against it, you'll be joining them. Even when the entire stage turns into a giant shower!

Get your mates together, have a few drinks before hand and get down to The Savoy Theatre before this show closes. It really is that good.

Sean Collins

Never Forget is at the Savoy Theatre until November 15th 2008
Book tickets here

Piaf (Vaudeville Theatre, The Strand)

Drugs, dodgy men, a voice of painful, soul-aching honesty. Yup, 50-odd years before Amy Winehouse, the world was being wowed by the powerhouse vulnerability and gripping back story of Edith Piaf. Heat magazine wasn’t around in those days of course, so Piaf had the added allure of mystique. In light of our ongoing obsession with the supernaturally talented royally messing up their lives, Jamie Lloyd’s production of Pam Gems’ play Piaf, is indeed timely.

Having played to rapturous reviews at the Donmar Warehouse, and now settling into a stint at the Vaudeville, Piaf is a slight but never less than enthralling journey through the icon’s mysterious life. Even if you only have a passing knowledge of the songs and that distinctive rasping voice, Elena Roger’s performance as Piaf is worth the ticket price alone. Detailing Piaf’s ascent from Parisian street prostitute to diva addict, Roger is uncanny in her vocal impersonation and captivating in her portrayal of Piaf’s bedevilling unhappiness, reliance on men and electrifying personality.

Soutra Gilmore’s minimalist set is compellingly claustrophobic in the madness, only becoming serene when Piaf is in the spotlight and her voice takes flight. Gem’s script undoubtedly takes second billing to the acting on show here, although it does have its inspired moments, particularly when Piaf and Marlene Dietrich (Katherine Kingsley) are in tandem.

So what price on a Winehouse play of similar content in 50 years time? Perhaps knowing the whole story already renders it rather pointless.

Dan Pilkington

Buy Piaf tickets here from £26

Following in the footsteps of Bond and the hamster, the world's largest Indoor Skydiving venue

I never had the desire to jump out of a plane. I never wanted to feel the wind beneath my hair. I certainly never trusted my hand eye coordination to save me from certain doom. When it was suggested to me that I should do this excursion, the conversation went a bit like this;

Dan "This week we want you to go indoor skydiving"

Sean"No chance"

Dan"No seriously, we want you to go into skydiving"

Sean"No chance"

Dan"Get a move on, you're going to miss your train"

Sean"Nope"

Dan"Move, Now!"

So after a quick diversion to the toilet (and to next), I set off to the centre just outside Bedford

Jersey Boys - Prince Edward Theatre, London

If, as they say, the kids of 2008 think that fame is something thrust upon them after a few weeks singing other people's songs on X Factor, then things were a little different in 1953. The road out of blue-collar, Mob-controlled Fifties Jersey was somewhat rockier, with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons managing to clock up prison, alcoholism and financial ruin in between becoming the biggest pop group in America.

Jersey Boys, the musical story of the Four Seasons, is, at face value, an all-singing, all-dancing tale of the American Dream; four boys from the wrong side of the tracks made good through talent and determination. Thankfully this huge Broadway hit never sweetens the pill, showing the harsh realities of families and friendships falling apart on the road to the top, as well as the dizzying highs, making it somewhat darker than your average West End schmaltz fest.

Despite note-perfect performances from Ryan Molloy as Frankie and the rest of the cast, the star of the show is the songbook of Bob Gaudio, the awkward rich kid who wrote classics like Oh, What A Night, Big Girls Don't Cry and Can't Take My Eyes Off You. As each one drills into your head, along with the slick set piece Sixties dance moves, you realise just how many Frankie Valli songs make up the modern pop cannon.

So even if you're not up and dancing in the aisles by the final scene, you’ll definitely feel like you've seen an important chapter in the history of modern pop music. Perfect for any budding X Factor hopefuls out there.

Book your Jersey Boys tickets here - with no booking fee

Dan Pilkington

Dan is a former music journalist, our resident musical expert and loves bands named after inanimate objects. Never ever ever ever ask him if he knows anywhere good to go when the pub shuts,unless you want sit on sofas held together with gaffer tape in bar that only sells 1 lager (always overly strong). It will however have a great stereo and will have featured on the album cover of a 1960s EP that only ever sold 60 copies,

Back to High School

We broke out our pom poms last night at the Hammersmith Apollo for the High School Musical stage show. While my 4 and 3 year old companions knew everyword, I hadn't even seen the film!

Host your own hot dog eating championships

 Uncle Sam Wants You!
Even if you’re not from the US you can still have a great time on the 4th of July.  Celebrate just like the Yanks and you’ll be having fun in no time.

 

Take on your own Amazon

We were beginning to get fed up with people coming back from their holidays and telling stories of how they swam with dolphins, climbed waterfalls or went white water rafting! It's not they aren't great things to do, it's just that we were starting to get a bit jealous.

So if we couldn't afford a holiday to the real Amazon, where could we do it over here? We also set ourselves a limit. It had to cost under £50 each including travel and a post raft beer.

The lunatics are running the asylum, making the most of the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy

We've heard all about the summer exhibition a million times this year alone. We knew that Tracey Emin was helping select the exhibits this year and we saw the truck delivering the latest sculpture to take pride of place in the courtyard, but we wanted more. How could we make the most of our visit to the Academy? Our intrepid reporter Kate, ducked through a side door and joined one of the free tours of the building itself.

 

Host your own Canada day party

Canada Day, Eh?
Okay, so even if all Canadians don’t insert the fabled ‘eh?’ into every spoken sentence it doesn’t mean that you can’t try to do it on Canada Day.  There are plenty of other ways to soak up Canadian culture as well

Find your favourite album cover

Ever fancied gathering your mates together and reshooting your favourite album cover, but with you as the star? Here's a few ideas of ones that you can remake quite quickly.