Tuesday 27th December 2016, after the Christmas break I’m back at the Centre here in Cardiff Bay, for two more performances of the brilliant Mary Poppins. Another show I could watch time after time and never get bored with, it’s just perfect.

For today’s matinee we have Verity Biggs playing Jane Banks and Lewis Furnee as Michael Banks. For the evening performance Violet Tucker is Jane Banks and Finley Miller plays Michael Banks. Again both pairs are absolutely excellent in their respective roles.

Today I’d like to talk about the songs in the show. I’ll start with act one today and move onto act two on my next visit. As the orchestra begins we have a medley of songs sung by Bert with the Banks family and servants. A great start to the show getting you in the mood for proceedings to come.  As we meet Mary, the first song we hear from the brilliant Zizi Strallen is ‘Practically Perfect’,beautifully sung with the help of the Banks children. Zizi has such an amazing voice, probably the best I’ve heard in all the recordings of this musical.

As the show moves on we get to the brilliant park scene and ‘Jolly Holiday (with Mary)’. With the help of the ensemble, this scene is brought to life, with fabulous singing and dancing throughout. Beautiful voices soar through this wonderful auditorium, to rapturous applause as the scene ends.

Zizi carries on with her absolutely magnificent voice in ‘A spoonful of sugar’,with help from the children and servants, and also the superb voice of Rebecca Lock (Mrs Banks), at the end of the scene. Another iconic song, sung perfectly by all, to huge appreciation from a packed audience. Moving onto ‘Precision and order’, sung by the ensemble, again in great voice, as the ensemble have done, during the whole show.

Then onto one of my favourite songs, that usually brings a tear to my eyes. ‘Feed the birds’, with the fabulous Grainne Renihan and Zizi Strallen. Both of them have tremendous voices, and sing this piece better than I’ve ever heard before. How they manage not to shed a tear themselves, at the sheer beauty of this song is beyond  my comprehension. So beautifully sung.

Nearing the end of act one, comes another iconic tune. ‘Supercalifragistic’, sung by most of the cast, is just so brilliant.The whole production of this song is amazing, with fabulous singing from all, and a magnificently choreographed set to go with it, Sheer joy.  Moving swiftly to ‘Playing the game’, where all the toys come to life to make the children treat them better. Another brilliant scene, with such good choreography and wonderful singing by some of the ensemble,it takes us nicely to end of act one,when Burt (Matt Lee) gives us a great taste of ‘Chim chim Cher-ee’, as Mary Poppins flies off stage, so ending act one. 

An amazing first act, with brilliant singing from all the cast, to some fine, iconic songs, that most people know and love. Songs from act two on my next visit. Both shows today were absolutely fabulous, as usual.

Saturday 24th December 2016, Christmas Eve and back at the Millenium Centre for my fourth performance of Mary Poppins. After another long week in work, I’m so looking forward to this musical again, as it’s just brilliant. 

For today’s show we have Lottie Sicilia playing Jane Banks and   Regan Garcia as Michael Banks. May I say that all the children I’ve seen, (three separate sets of these young actors) have all been absolutely brilliant. The talent we have in British theatre, at the moment is incredible, (as I’ve been saying for ages), and looking good for the years to come. 

Again today the show was just fantastic. Zizi Strallen is better than perfect as Mary,working comfortably with Matt Lee, as Bert. So many excellent performances by all the cast, as they have been in all the shows I’ve seen so far.

A shorter blog today as it’s Christmas, but I’m back at the Centre for more of the same after Xmas, so I’ll go into a bit more detail of the show at my next visit.  

Sunday 18th December 2016. Today I’m back at the wonderful Millenium Centre in Cardiff Bay for another performance of Mary Poppins. After yesterday’s superb shows I can’t wait to see today’s instalment. Watching these shows so many times, I get the opportunity to view each of them from a different vantage point. Yesterday for instance I had front/middle and front left side of the upper circle. Today I have a totally different position, as I’m in balcony d (side of the circle). The opposite side to yesterday, so I get to watch from a different angle. The view changes every time, that’s why I continue to watch so many of the same show, I get a totally new aspect each time, which makes each performance special for me.

Moving on to today’s matinee performance, with a few cast changes, mainly to the roles of Jane and Michael. Violet Tucker is Jane with Finley Miller as Michael.

After two days of viewing this musical, I’ve fallen in love with it already. Fabulous singing and dancing. Magical special effects,(so difficult to achieve on a live theatre show, without looking cheap and nasty), that are so good and work so brilliantly as the show moves on. Not to mention the fantastic set, flowing seamlessly from scene to scene.

I always try to mention the ensemble and the mini orchestra settled in the pit throughout. Without these amazingly talented people, the show would never get off the ground. As I’ve always said, these guys and girls, don’t get a lot of publicity, but they should,as they are brilliant, just adding so much to the show. Today’s ensemble cast are superb, with their group dances and harmonies, combining with the principals to make each show so special to all who view it. Then we have the mini orchestra (don’t like’band’ it doesn’t sound right for this show), working away feverishly in the pit, bringing the music alive, in their inimitable way. Keep the excellent work you do going, because I will always champion this part of the cast for every show I get to see.

Another truly fabulous show, sitting on the balcony opposite and watching the light show at the end and looking across at Zizi as she flies was breathtaking. The chance to watch that from so many different positions is just worth it everytime. Again everyone in the show was superb. A fabulous way to enjoy a chilly Sunday afternoon, can’t wait to come back for more.

Saturday 17th December 2016, after a long week in work I’m finally back at the Millenium Centre here in Cardiff Bay, for a couple of performances of Mary Poppins. Been so looking forward to seeing this production, I’ve heard so many brilliant reviews. This is another show I have never seen before, the last time I saw the film version was probably 20 years ago, so you could say this is new for me. So let’s see what I think about this show.

Oh my god, what a totally fabulous show, I have no idea where to start. Lucky I’m seeing it a few times. So much to talk about. The cast comes first, I think. And what a cast. Zizi Strallen is just magnificent as Mary Poppins, her voice is superb, her dancing skills are superb, she just looks like a Mary Poppins should look like. Burt is played expertly by Matt Lee, who again, is just brilliant, so charismatic and full of charm. And a great dancer to go with it.

The Banks family, again fabulously played by Neil Roberts as mr Banks with Rebecca Lock as mrs Banks. Rebecca has such a beautiful voice, it’s pleasure to sit and listen to her and Zizi singing to a huge crowd at this amazing theatre. The children were excellent with Violet Tucker playing Jane Banks and Finley Miller playing Michael Banks,(for the matinee), and Verity Biggs as Jane with Lewis Fernee as Michael, (for the evening performance). 

Moving to the servants with mrs Brill played wonderfully by a fabulous actress in Wendy Ferguson and Robertson played by Blair Anderson. Two other voices of brilliance come to mind, that of the Bird Woman played by Grainne Renihan and miss Andrew by Penelope Woodman, just magnificent. As all the voices are for the whole show.

The set was probably the best I’ve seen for a musical, so much going on all the time, so colourful and spectacular, adding so much to the brilliance of the whole production. As I said earlier, so much to talk about, and for me, many shows to come, to split up the different aspects of this wonderful musical.

In all, a brilliant musical extravaganza, full of everything you could ever want on a theatre stage. Honestly cannot wait to see this again, So so good.

Saturday 26th November 2016. It’s the weekend, and my last visit to the brilliant Billy Elliot the musical, as it ends it’s run in Bristol today. This is another show I’m going to miss, but at least I’ve had the opportunity to watch this amazing musical in two different venues and cities. The cast for this show are just superb, with a great mix of child and adult actors working so well together, to produce such a fantastic production, a totally amazing musical.

So to today’s matinee performance. We have Billy played by Lewis Smallman, Michael by Elliot Stiff, Debbie by Italia Ross, and the role of the small boy played by Nicola Turner.  

What an amazing coincidence, my first show for Billy had Lewis playing the lead, my last show also has Lewis in the title role. And what a performance today. Lewis was again outstanding. This young man seems a lot older than he actually is, he just gets better and better with every show. To literally run this show, on stage for 95 % of the time,it’s hard going, but seems to do it with ease. The ballet scene and electricity were just superb. Also the finale scene, Lewis had so much control of the whole thing, simply brilliant. (As I keep saying at every opportunity). I’m proud to say that I met Lewis and his family in Cardiff, what an amazing young man, I hope his career blossoms in the future, and leads onto some excellent parts in different productions as the years go on.

I must also add that all of the Billy’s I’ve seen, have also been excellent, although I think I’ve seen Lewis (7 shows)  more times than Adam, Matthew or Haydn. And the same goes to these fine young actors as well. Good luck to all of them, in the future.

And yet again another incredible performance from all the other young actors and actresses involved in today’s proceedings. These young stars of the future are just magnificent and get better every time I see them. I know I say this every show, and every show it’s true, the standard of performance from all, is second to none. It’s also great to see that the British theatre scene is so strong at the moment, with some incredible talent everywhere you look. I think that is another reason I see shows so many times. I just can’t get enough. 

So it’s been absolutely fantastic to have the opportunity to see this fabulous show so many times. I love it to bits. So from me I wish every single one of the cast best wishes for the rest of the tour. In the words of Tony ‘knock em dead kiddo’

Thursday 24th November 2016, another day off work today, so back at the Millenium Centre in Cardiff Bay, for a matinee performance of The Full Monty. As I’ve never seen the film before, I must admit I’m not sure what to expect today,  still it’s theatre at its best, so I’ll probably love the show, I seem to do that for everything I see.

The cast for today’s show consists of some recognisable faces including Gary Lucy, Kai Owen, Andrew Dunn, Lewis Emerick and Chris Fountain, and a great performance from the young lad playing Nathan (Gaz’s son). Also some great acting from the ensemble, making this a really good show.

I couldn’t stop laughing for most of the show. Really funny throughout, totally enjoyable and a show definitely worth another viewing, if it was here a little bit longer. One week never seems enough.  Added to the funny scenes,  were a few sentimental moments, which really hit home, sometimes producing a little tear. Especially the scenes with Gaz and Nathan, talking about custody battles etc.

The whole cast were simply fabulous, and because of that the show simply raced by, two and a half hours of pure, brilliant, entertainment gone too quickly. That’s another reason to try and see it again next time around. Really surprised me just how good this show actually was, (as I think I may have said before).  The day doesn’t end for me there. Off to Saint Davids Hall to watch the magnificent ‘Shires’ tonight. If they are as good as this show this afternoon, I’m in for a stupendously fabulous day off work.

The weekend is here again, it’s Saturday 19th November 2016, and I’m back at Bristol Hippodrome for my 17th performance of the brilliant Billy Elliot. The weekend wouldn’t be complete without at least one show, and even travelling from the Welsh Valleys on match day,(Wales v Japan this afternoon) to Bristol to watch this Magnificent show, makes my whole week worthwhile. This is yet another show I can’t get enough of, I could never get bored watching this musical.

For today’s matinee cast we have Billy played by Haydn May, Michael by Bradley Mayfield, Debbie is played by Lilly Cadwallender, and the role of the Small boy goes to Isobel Chalmers. I have to praise this role, in particular, Isobel was Brilliant today, it’s fabulous to see someone so young play a role in a great musical, that just adds something different to each scene. Another change from Thursday is that Scott Garnham returns as Tony. Again I have to say just how good Haydn is in the role of Billy,(just as Lewis was on Thursday), such a brilliant performance for one so young. Again the acting skills are so good now and getting better with each performance, the dancing, of course, was again superb,as it always is on every show. We got to see ‘Angry Dance’ today, after the problems with the set on Thursday afternoon. I also want to praise all the Michael’s and Debbie’s that have hit the stage, they are all fabulous as well.

Once again this show never fails to impress the audience, and today was no exception. A wonderful performance by all the cast again, as is the case for all of the shows I’ve seen so far. The children playing the main roles get stronger every time I see them. The supporting cast of ballet girls and the other child actors, are also brilliant in everything they do on stage, for such young men and women.

The only problem with visiting Bristol is I can only see the one show per day, travelling back to the valleys after 10.30 pm on the train is pretty awful. Loving Billy Elliot the way I do I want to see it twice every visit. But I will have to make do with one show for now. I’ve seen it 17 times, so I can’t really grumble, well not that much anyway.

Thursday 17th November 2016, day off from work, so in Bristol now for a visit to the Hippodrome, for another performance of Billy Elliot. Shows are coming thick and fast at the moment, with the brilliant Mamma Mia finishing it’s run in Cardiff, its Billy’s turn for more viewings. I must admit I love both musicals equally, (which I could say for every show I’ve ever seen), and it’s just fantastic to be able to see these fabulous theatre experiences so close to home.

For today’s matinee performance we have Billy played by Lewis Smallman, Michael by Elliot Stiff, Debbie by Italia Ross, and the role of the Small boy played by Isobelle Chalmers. Also we have a change of actor for the role of Tony, ( normally played by Scott Garnham) is played by Tom Bainbridge. 

As usual the show today was awesome. Lewis Smallman was phenomenal again, (as he always seems to be). I have to say what a brilliant performance, his dancing is just superb, and watching him throughout the last few months, his acting skills and timing are so good, even the little things, waiting to deliver lines after applause and things like that, you’d think he’s been doing this for more years than his young age would otherwise suggest. Even with a long delay for ‘Angry dance’ at the end of act one, (which due to a technical fault, couldn’t be performed), he came back out, at the start of act two and carried on as if nothing had happened. Due to the set malfunction, the show was half hour late finishing, But it was still a magnificent show.

I think the other Billy’s are exceptional as well, but I’ve seen Lewis more times during my visits. The whole cast is just so fabulous, and the mix between the adult and child actors is brilliant, as I think I might have mentioned before. Another show I could never get bored with.

 The standard of U.K. Touring musicals is exceptional, with a lot of the shows just as good as their West End counterparts. Also may I add that the vocal talents of all the casts of the shows I’ve seen recently, have been awesome. The drama schools around Britain must be teaming with fabulously talented people, as they seem to get better every year. Just look at Billy Elliot, most of the cast are school kids, but yet, on stage they are brilliant, learning their craft at such a young age. Being a young star in Billy Elliot, Matilda and Charlie and the chocolate factory,  would lead on to a brilliant career in the theatre industry, or you would hope that, at least.