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Christmas Mysteries: A Sherlock Carol @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A mash-up of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes would seem an unlikely pairing. Yet it provides a surprisingly fun Christmas-themed adventure. These two Victorian tales (albeit separated by about 40 years) provide the basis for an inspired adventure at Christmastime that just also happens to turn out to be a murder mystery as well. With lavish costumes, a few spooky set pieces and some good old-fashioned stage trickery with lights and a lot of smoke machines, it is hard to resist. It returns to the Marylebone Theatre for Christmas after a run there last year.  The premise is that after Holmes sees off the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, he is left adrift in London. People thought he was dead, and he might as well be. Disinterested in the misdeeds of other Londoners, Holmes has even given up on his friend Dr Watson. It's almost as if he has become a Scrooge. Or half a Scrooge, moping about shouting, "bah" in respon

Movies: 2 Days in Paris



2 days in Paris was pretty good. Written directed and starring Julie Delpy it was a bit like a French Annie Hall. It may not be such a great movie to see if you are single, with all this angst on screen about being in a relationship and being alone. Catching it with Mandy (who is single too) she didn't have as much a problem with that but rather that the characters didn't stop talking. Well they were New Yorkers. I just found it great therapy. It showed that there is hope for all eccentrics out there to find somebody just as weird. The funniest scene involved no dialogue on the metro as they were getting spooked by a crazy guy with no sense of personal space. Oh the memories of Paris that came flooding back (even if when I was there I knew the crazy guy). Shot on the streets of Paris I have made a mental note to get back there once the new Eurostar link opens in November. Sure Waterloo looks great in The Bourne Ultimatum but the Eurostar from St Pancras looks even better...

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Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
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