The end of 2024, saw a flurry of theatre visits. A nice way to see out what has been an incredibly busy year.

 

When we headed up to see the Lord Mayors Show in November, knowing it would be an early start, we had decided to stay up the night before. Of course we had to make the most of our additional day and amongst other things we booked a matinee showing of Choir of Man.

Several friends had seen the show previously, some more than once, and we were assured it was a brilliant show. It is playing in the Arts Theatre at Covent Garden, an intimate theatre, perfect for including the audience, into what is essentially a night, or in our case an afternoon, at the pub. 🍻

Called the Jungle, we are immediately introduced to 9 of its regular customers, by a character known as the poet.  They are recognisable as every day blokes, meeting for a pint or two, talking about the ups and downs of life, from a romantic break up, to life and work and the passing of a parent.

 

In between the narrative, we were treated to a musical spectacle, as the multi talented cast, played and sang well known, powerful songs, from Queens “Somebody to Love, 500 miles, and 50 ways to leave your lover, which included a magnificent tap routine too.

The audience are made a part of the show, with pints being poured on stage and the cast running around the theatre, handing them out amongst the crowd. Beer mats are thrown out into the auditorium and at various points, people are invited to join the cast on stage, to sit for a pint, to dance, or sit alongside the piano.

True to life, too many pints means a trip to the urinal, and this was hilariously portrayed on stage. I have personally not witnessed what goes on at a urinal, but the scene was exactly as I would imagine it. AND reminded me why I never eat peanuts left in bowls on the bar 😳.

Amongst the fun and laughter, it also shows a serious side to men, in respect of mental health, that it is ok to talk, to show your vulnerable side, to mull over your problems over a pint in the pub, but most of all to enjoy life.

It is a truly interactive, immersive show. The cast are brilliant and enormously talented. We left after a 90 minute continuous performance, feeling as we’d just spent the afternoon in a very lively, friendly pub.

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As we hit the countdown to the holiday season, we decided to stay a bit closer to home and support our local theatres. One of them was taken over by new management earlier in the year and we have visited with the grandkids a couple of times.

 

This evening, however was going to be one for the grown ups. With one of our friends we headed down a little early to enable a nice catch up over an alcoholic beverage beforehand. The bar was packed, so obviously everyone else had the same idea 😂.

As we took our seats in the auditorium, we sat amongst a similar aged audience, all ready to enjoy an ELO tribute band and listen to some well known tunes and lyrics from our more youthful era.

We have seen a couple of ELO tributes before, but it was a first time for this group. They didn’t disappoint, playing all the old favourites and having a very witty banter with the crowd in between.

They were accompanied by a trio of ladies, two on the violin and one playing a cello. With a laser show above our heads during some of the tunes, it was a fabulous show.

Everyone left the theatre with a huge smile on their face, some singing the tunes we’d just listened to. Such a lovely evening and only a short drive to get home. Perfect 😍 

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Our final foray to the theatre of 2024, was to another local, but smaller one situated in the Old Town, the Stables.  We decided to make it a full evenings outing, first visiting one of the old pubs on the seafront. The Albion, is now a popular music venue, but we were visiting to enjoy some of their infamous pies. Made on the premises, they promised to be a tasty treat. They certainly didn’t disappoint and alongside a cold pint of cider, were a perfect start to the evening.

Venturing out into the chilly December air, we found a spot on the roadside and awaited the start of the local tractor run. A fairly new addition to our Christmas festivity calendar, it was a colourful spectacle. An array of tractors of all different sizes, beautifully decorated with lights and Christmas decorations. A seemingly endless number lighting the dark evening sky, honking their horns to announce their arrival. The fresh faced young farmers driving passed seemed to be having a wonderful time and as we made our way to the theatre, we could hear their horns still honking in the distance.

The play was an Agatha Christie, the Unexpected Guest. As we took our seats we were anticipating her usual mix of murder, suspicion and intrigue. Scene one and as the play commenced, the murder had already occurred. We were immediately given our first suspect. Concentration was going to be needed to solve the murder.

Disappointingly our view wasn’t the best, but being in the back row, the Bestie stood up to get a clearer view and I was able to wiggle about to see the actors as they moved across the stage, without annoying anyone behind. It wasn’t the best of performances we’ve seen and one person in front of me left after just ten minutes. Strange but it did give me a better view of the stage.

As with all Agatha Christie’s almost every character was given a motive to have committed the murder. We just had to listen to the clues to gradually dismiss each suspect.

Being the final performance, we were served Prosecco and canapés during the slightly extended interval. As we chatted and sipped our drink, giving our opinions of who the murderer was, the honking of the tractor run once again became evident, and we watched them as they passed by towards the end of their tour.

The bell sounded, calling us back to our seats. Several more people around us had decided not to return for the second half. 🤷‍♀️ Fortunately for us it gave us a much clearer view of the stage and we were able to enjoy the performance more.

Act two introduced more characters and their relationship to the deceased. We were thrown more clues as to who might have committed the offence. As with most plays, the second part draws you more into the plot. The twists and turns gradually eliminated each of the suspects, until my hubby’s deductions at the interval were proved correct 👏👏👏

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What a wonderful way to draw the year to a close.

Just the Christmas celebrations to go 🎅🍹

We were though, looking forward to a little bit of chillaxing on the sofa and recharging our batteries.

🍸🍻🌲🎅🦌🎅🌲🍻🍸