Paul in London

SHIT! , originally uploaded by Igor Clark . The Hackney Gazette tries to give the knife crime story a local angle... As for Torn , I am hoping to catch it later this month...

What Wordle thinks about my blog postings of late... Shows, musicals and bit of pants... I'd like to think that sums things up quite nicely...

It isn't every time when you go to the theatre that there is a deathly silence at the end of the show... Only to be broken by somebody in the audience sighing and exclaiming, "Well... THAT was interesting..." But such was the case Sunday afternoon at the wake last performance of the musical All Bob's Women. The show opened Tuesday and posted closing notices the next day. Translated from an Italian show that apparently ran in Milan for months, it is billed as a sexy musical comedy. The problem with the show was that it was not sexy, not musical and it wasn't funny. But no point flogging a dead horse. The Evening Standard , The Stage and (most memorably) The Telegraph cover why it is a disaster. I was surprised by little things like: The actors had been rehearsing this show for many weeks Concert-like body mics and deafening sound to match it Half a taxi-cab appearing on stage Some weird woman in the audience who cackled every few minutes (I was half-expecting o...

280620086357 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Hmm that's deliciously naughty too...

I wasn't planning on heading out to see some musical theatre on Friday night, but the prospect of a bargain basement ticket to see Marguerite was too good to pass up. Fortunately the power of web advertising which was playing a excerpts the show on the internet while randomly browsing theatre websites on Friday (as you do) prompted the hunt for cheap tickets... It didn't take long to find them... The fact that the show is selling tickets for as little as £12.50 suggests that the economy is hurting the West End, the punters don't want to see a show updating the story of La Traviata or Camille to occupied France, or both... I suspect it is both. This is a pity as there is a fabulous cast headed by Ruthie Henshaw and Julian Ovenden (pictured left) as the two lovers Marguerite and Armand. I was last distracted seeing Ovenden in Grand Hotel and here he gets to play a bit of jazz, run around in boxer shorts and get into a bad temper... I challenge anyone not to go "...

Man #1: How about we give it to you at the Clapham Street Party ? Man #2: Do you think I'm the type of dizzy scene queen that would be seen at a street party? Man #1: Well yes... Man #2: Yeah you're right...

210620086276 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Hmm... That's deliciously naughty...

London Gay Men's Chorus at West End Live , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Saturday the London Gay Men's Chorus took part in West End Live in Leicester Square. Not only was it a preview of the upcoming show Songs of Innocence and Experience at Cadogan Hall (July 4 and 5), but it was a chance to show off the new chorus uniform of coloured shirt... And chinos... Tickets on sale now for our concert and West End Live continues Sunday... West End Live is a great showcase for what's currently on stage and well worth checking out... The rather fit cast from High School Musical on stage preceded our Saturday afternoon slot certainly got our attention...

Lord of the Rings , originally uploaded by Anika :) . As I suspected... There is a photo on flickr posted by someone who sat in a similar seat as I did when they saw Lord of the Rings - the overproduced, spectacular (bit like Wicked ) but woefully acted (unlike Wicked) musical on stage spectacular that is playing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane until mid July. Arriving at the theatre Wednesday night, It was quite a sight to be greeted with hobbits playing around. But more intriguing was the scene that was unfolding right behind me. An usher, after telling an old Italian woman that she could not take photos, wanted to confiscate the camera and return it to her after the show after he caught her taking another photo. She was having none of that and so someone more senior was called and harsh words including "breach of copyright" and "£20,000 fine". The woman didn't speak much English and as the show started and the harsh words continued, I started asking ...

London Naked Bike Ride , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Just what London needs more of... Full frontal nudity... This time it was the World Naked Bike Ride in London to protest against oil dependency (timely as strikes close some petrol stations ) and getting back to nature... It certainly stopped traffic... And there were all sorts of body shapes and slogans like "more ass, less gas" on display... It was all done in the best possible taste...