It’s amazing how a show as ubiquitous as Les Miserablescan at once be utterly recognisable and thoroughly fresh. This tour, currentlyspending some time in Southampton at the Mayflower Theatre feels morealive than any of the half a dozen or more previous visits I’ve made to revolutionaryFrance.
Rock of Ages @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
There is little in life that is quite as entertaining as utter chaos. When everything seems to happen completely at random and nothing ever stays still you just can’t stop watching. It’s why people still tune into clip shows on TV or binge bizarre Youtube videos… It’s also the spirit that Rock of Ages so […]
Swan Lake @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Swan Lake is probably the first thing that will come to mind when you mention ballet to most people… rows of perfectly synchronised corps de ballet dancing to instantly recognisable Tchaikovsky orchestrations in graceful harmony. Anyone who has ever been face to face with an angry swan will recognise that they’re actually powerful, aggressive beasts […]
American Idiot @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
When, way back in 2004, Green Day released American Idiot it was a clarion call forthe disaffected youth of the US. It leapt up the charts on a wave of criticalacclaim and commercial success and was much beloved of a certain callow youngmusic blogger in provincial Portsmouth. Fast forward 15 years and I don’tperhaps listen […]
Sunset Boulevard @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
“I am big! It’s the pictures that got small” With those words we learn everything we need to know about Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage adaptation of the classic Billy Wilder movie. Ostensibly an ode to the glory days of Hollywood and its first stars, this is really the story of a woman stuck […]
Titanic Plots A Course for Southampton!
Here in the Cheap Seats we never used to be big fans of Titanic, but when we saw Danielle Tarento and Thom Southerland‘s sublime production last year our minds were totally changed (you can read our rave review here). Now we’re thrilled that this glorious production is coming back and will set sail from it’s spiritual home […]
The Curious Incident of The Dog In the Night-Time @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre has been a top destination for touring musicals for longer than we can remember and in recent years they’ve added top class drama to their repertoire. We sent Emma van Kooperen to check out Curious Incident as it arrived on the south coast!
The Red Shoes @ Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
THE RED SHOES by Bourne, , Choreographer and Director – Mathew Bourne, Designer – Lez Brotherstoni, Lighting – Paule Constable, Plymouth, 2016, Credit: Johan Persson/ It’s a rare thing, when you’re a regular theatregoer, to see something that is truly fresh and wonderfully new! Matthew Bourne seems to have knack for it though and his […]
Billy Elliott @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Billy Elliott is a musical steeped in the eighties, from Thatcher to Miners strikes by way of some very bright leg warmers it drips with the trappings of the decade… and yet, with a story about standing up for what you believe in and seizing the opportunity to escape from a life with no future […]
The Wind In The Willows @ The Mayflower, Southampton
I’ve had a tough week, the day job has been grinding me down and I haven’t seen the sun in days. Frankly, when I left the office yesterday I was thoroughly fed up and downbeat… but a short trip to the river bank had me practically skipping out of the Mayflower with a grin so […]