There’s something about the glitz & glamour of Hollywood’s golden age that continues to intrigue theatre goers. Some love the nostalgia, for others it’s a link to a time they never had a chance to experience themselves. Top Hat is a perfect example, the epitome of style over substance, it nevertheless manages to consistently draw in the […]
Oklahoma @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Ah Oklahoma, another in that list of musicals who have been produced and cast so perfectly in the past (in this case the wonderful National Theatre production that gave Hugh Jackman his big break) that you begin to wonder why anyone would dare attempt it again! But clearly Music & Lyrics – the collaborative effort […]
The Merchant Of Venice @ Shakespeare’s Globe
You could be forgiven, if you didn’t know The Merchant of Venice well, for believing it to be a tragedy and more so for thinking Shylock is one of Shakespeare’s most caricature villains. Thankfully Jonathan Munby directs with flair, amping up the comedy without losing even a hint of pathos in what may already be […]
Way Upstream @ Chichester Festival Theatre
There are a few signs that tell us here at Sitting in the Cheap Seats that spring has finally sprung. The trees and flowers begin to bloom, there are occasionally consecutive days without any rain and the surest sign of all… We find ourselves venturing to Chichester Festival Theatre for the launch of their summer season.
Carlos Acosta – On Before @ Mayflower, Southampton
There’s a sense of anticipation that overtakes you when you just know the performance you are about to witness will be something special. I’ve been longing to see Carlos Acosta dance for some years now and when I discovered he’d be performing the very personal On Before at the Mayflower I knew I’d have to be in the audience.
Spamalot @ The Mayflower, Southampton
Generally speaking if you go tosee a musical and the whole cast corpse midway through act 1 it can be seen as a bad thing… thankfully when the cast of Spamalot at the Mayflower did just that last night we were all in on the joke (I won’t spoil it in case he uses it again but suffice it […]
Anything Goes @ The Mayflower, Southampton
There’s not a lot to be said for Anything Goes that hasn’talready been written, but suffice it to say that for an 80 year old it’s certainly a sprightly show and this wonderful production, directed by Daniel Evans for Sheffield Theatres is a toe-tapping treat from first to last!
To Kill A Mockingbird @ The Mayflower, Southampton
We loved this charming production when we saw it in Chichester’s intimate Festival Theatre, but will admit to having reservations about how well it would fit in at the vast Mayflower. Emma van Kooperen is our roving reporter letting us know just how unfounded our worries were…
Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense @ Chichester Festival Theatre
It’s rare we get the chance to see a production more than once, there’s simply too much to see and not enough time to see it! You can take it as read then that a show has to be pretty good to coax us into seeing it in three different venues!
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas @ Chichester Festival Theatre
‘The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas’, one of the most popular books of recent years and a wonderfully moving film, was bound to appear on stage at some point. The characters, the subject matter and the approach that speaks to children as much as adults seem a perfect match for the theatre. As such we […]