Monthly Archives: January 2007

Blogged & Tagged!

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Ok, Catherine tagged me so I write 5 things about me then have to tag 5 other bloggers, here goes.

Five things about me

  1. I’m off on holiday in Budapest with friends next month! – Yey!
  2. As well as my studies in Classics and Archaeology, I have a keen interest in Myths & Legends (i.e. Robin Hood, Arthur and the Pendragon Cycle, Holy Grail, Ark of the Convenant etc.)…
  3. I bumped (literally) into Boris Becker the morning of the day he won Wimbledon in 1989 – I walked around the corner (at Wimbledon) and he was doing the same from the opposite direction! He still won, so I can’t have damaged him too much? I also spoke to Kirk Douglas later that day – that was a good day. 🙂
  4. I’m qualified to teach dance (primarily tap and modern but also ballet, national, greek, acro, ballroom, contemporary etc.) which I started to learn when I was 5 years old and qualified when I was still in my teens. I don’t do as much teaching now as I’d like to, but I do like to keep my hand in by adjudicating local competitions – it’s always something to fall back on.
  5. I just bought this violin (the blue one – cos I’ve always wanted one) and am thinking of having lessons (I can play the flute and I try with the guitar). However, if I don’t master it, I shall mount it on the wall cos I think it’s FAB!

Right, that’s me done. OK, now I need to tag 5 folk, so it’s:

* Gary Davison
* Caleb Racey
* Jon Dowland
* Chris Franks
* Mark Agar

So you all need to tell us 5 things about YOU!

Delicious Humbug!

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I went to see Scrooge at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland, last night…what an amazing show. I’m a big fan of musicals and the Albert Finney version I have on DVD ranks up there in my top ten so, this ‘West-End Production’ had a lot to live up to. I am delighted to say, it certainly delivered.

Michael Barrymore entered to a round of applause from the audience and from that moment, we were hooked. His voice was crackly and hoarse (having had laryngitis earlier in the run as well as being into the 5th week of performance) but the voice of Scrooge does not need to be pitch perfect – he just needs a stage presence and Barrymore has that… in spades.

Highlights include Anthony Stuart Lloyd as The Ghost of Christmas Present– a powerful, yet velvety, baritone to sing I Like Life ; Barry Howard (from TV’s Hi-De-Hi) as The Ghost of Christmas Past – very entertaining, and Geoffrey Abbot as Bob Cratchit – a beautiful voice and a good actor. The rest of the chorus and cast gave a strong performance with such vocal clarity that the show would’ve still been a success without the story!

Scrooge image

In addition, the sets and special effects were fantastic. One minute a chair was empty, in the middle of the stage, the next, The Ghost of Christmas Past was sitting in it – amazing! The effects were provided by Paul Kieve, an illusionist responsible for effects in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He works as a consultant to David Copperfield, Derren Brown and Guinness World Records.

Once we reached the graveyard scene that’s set into the future – I was gone, as desolate as Bob Cratchit – I blubbed all the way through the remaining 20 minutes.

I know there’s bad press/media surrounding Mr Barrymore at the moment, but I (and everyone there) didn’t think about that. I went to see a fantastic show, and that’s what I got. I wish I’d gone before Christmas so I could go again before the run finishes next week. Bloody brilliant!