Sunday 13th November 2016, and back at the Millenium Centre in Cardiff Bay, for the final performance of Mamma Mia, before it continues on its Uk tour  later this month. I’ve had a ball watching this amazing musical for the past month. I can’t believe just how much I’ve fallen in love with this production. 

Everything about this musical is perfect. The singing is just magnificent, by all the cast. The dance routines are fabulous and so clean and crisp, the same for every show I’ve seen. The energy of the whole cast is prevalent throughout each performance and just gets better every time. The band in the pit have also been superb, their musical precision on every track, at every show, has been phenomenal. I know I’ve mentioned this in most of my other blogs, but I can’t help it, this is just how I feel about this monumental musical. It’s simply brilliant. In fact if this was running for another month I’d still want to see it another 20 times on top of the shows I’ve seen so far. Just can’t get enough.

The production crew have been amazing also. With lighting, sound ,stage management and all behind the scenes staff, working together to choreograph this whole show. Making it the spectacle of brilliance, the audience appreciate time after time. The scenes just flow into one another with ease. The only problem with that is it goes so quickly. Before you know it  the show is over, so you just want to see it over and over.

In all my blogs so far for Mamma Mia, I think I’ve covered all the major points I want to put over, about this excellent musical. My only regret is that I never had the time to see it more than I did. I think I needed to see this more than 19 times. So let’s hope it tours again in the next five years or so. I can watch it on even more occasions when that happens. 

On to today’s final performance at the Centre,to start off we have Stuart Hickey playing Harry. As I’ve been saying throughout, the vocal talent for this musical is incredible, as every actor has such a good voice. But I have to mention a few cast members who are phenomenal. Firstly Lucy May Barker (Sophie), her voice is just amazing, I would put her on a par with Carrie Hope Fletcher as one of the best voices I’ve heard at the Centre. Every time she sings I get a lump in my throat, and a tear to my eye. Such a fabulous voice.  Secondly to Sara Poyzer and Jenna Lee James for their portrayal of Donna. Both of these singers are incredible, bringing the role to life with such vast vocal ranges, from real belters  (The winner takes it all) to the subtle and sweet tones, such as the brilliant ‘Slipping through my fingers’. And I can’t forget all the other lead roles, as these singers are just brilliant as well.A real pleasure to sit and relish these wonderful singers, live at the best theatre in the world. (Of course I’m talking about the Millenium Centre, as usual). Again another fabulous show and one I will never forget.

Saturday 12th November 2016, it’s the weekend again and I’m back at the Millenium Centre here in Cardiff Bay for two more performances of the brilliant Mamma Mia musical. Today I’m going to finish talking about my favourite scenes of the show, which is more or less all of them. We ended last time with Sam singing ‘Knowing me, knowing you to Sophie.

The set changes to Donna’s bedroom as she tries to get ready for the wedding. Harry arrives and promptly gives her a cheque to cover the wedding costs,then breaks into a beautiful rendition of ‘Our last summer’,along with Donna,as they reminisce about the past. A lovely scene this is, as it paves the way for my favourite scene of all. As Harry leaves, Sophie enters to show her mum the dress.

This scene has me reduced to tears everytime I watch it. Sophie asks her mum to help her get ready. Donna begins and as the music starts for the introduction to ‘Slipping through my fingers’ I can feel the tears welling up. A truly magnificent piece of theatre then ensues, as Sophie puts on her dress as a tearful Donna watches on. As Sophie leaves she asks her mum to give her away. Such an emotional scene and so beautifully done. As if that wasn’t enough Sam enters and confronts a tearful Donna who puts him in his place with another fantastic rendition of  ‘The winner takes it all’. One amazing scene with three superbly sung Abba songs in its midst. Definitely the best scene of the show.

The final scene (before the finale) takes place at the wedding venue. With Bill and Rosie getting together for a comical routine, as Rosie tries to seduce Bill. Singing ‘Take a chance on me’Mayhem ensues as Bill wants nothing of it, until they share a kiss and the whole scene changes. A change of pace from the cryfest of the scene before. The pair are disturbed as the guests arrive for the wedding.

The wedding scene itself is brilliant as Donna admits she doesn’t know who Sophie’s dad is, Sophie decides to call off the wedding for a while as her three dads admit they would rather have a 3rd of her as a daughter. Another magic moment, and so heartfelt. As the party breaks up Sam calls them all back as he proposes to Donna with the aptly titled song ‘I do,I do,I do’. A really happy ending  to a fabulous musical adventure. The show ends with Sophie and Sky heading off for their adventure to discover the world, with Donna and the three dads seeing them off. Sophie sings a reprise of ‘I have a dream’ before heading off towards a huge impression of the moon at the back of the set. A moving end to a glorious musical.

Of course the show doesn’t end there. We then have the finale as all the ensemble take the stage for three more renditions of Abba classics. We start with a great dance routine to ‘Mamma Mia’ before Donna, Rosie and Tanya enter dressed in brightly coloured 70’s Lycra and platform boots for a brilliant version of ‘Dancing Queen’. Not to be outdone by the girls, Sam, Bill and Harry enter in equally brightly coloured gear and burst into the final song of the show. Another fabulous version of ‘Waterloo’ this time with the whole cast. I have to say I totally enjoyed every last minute of the show, with every scene just perfect.

And finally onto today’s performances, we have Jennifer Harding playing Tanya and Linda Holmgren playing Rosie. Boy were they good in the role. This is the first time I’d seen any of the ensemble playing these roles, and they were excellent, never letting the production down in any way. As I’ve said before, and always will, the ensemble are worth their weight in gold. I always try to mention them in some of my writings, as without them the show would not be a show. Brilliant just brilliant. And as for the show itself, again just amazing, I can’t get enough of this wonderful musical. As I’ve been saying for the last month, definitely one of the very best shows I’ve ever seen.

Thursday 10th November 2016, day off work today, so I’m down at the Millenium Centre here in Cardiff Bay for two more performances of Mamma Mia, before it’s run in Cardiff ends on Sunday. Recently I’ve been talking about my favourite scenes from the show,which if I’m honest, is probably every scene in the whole production. I finished my last blog at the end of act one, so I’ll start today’s with the start of act two.

After the ‘Entr’acte’ the second act opens with a really colourful dream sequence, I really love this opening. We see Sophie suffering from a nightmare to be confronted by her three dads, in full wedding regalia. And the whole ensemble dressed in swimsuits, goggles and brightly coloured long sleeve gloves. Together they sing ‘Under attack’ with a fabulously choreographed dance routine, seemingly trapping Sophie as she tries to escape her worries. At the end of this section, Sophie lurches to the floor and wakes with a scream as Donna enters to see what’s wrong. As Sophie and Donna row about the wedding, Sophie storms off leaving Donna on her own, who then sings ‘One of us’, so beautifully. Sam enters the scene, and as they both argue with each other about the wedding, they burst into song, with a fantastic rendition of ‘SOS. A fabulous start to act two, with three great songs packed into the opening scene. 

As the pair walk off in opposite directions, Tanya and the girls enter the next scene, with Pepper in persuit of Tanya. Another brilliant dance routine ensues, as Tanya sings ‘Does your mother know’ to a love struck Pepper. The dancing from some of the male cast is fabulous, especially Pepper, who must have born with elastic bands as muscles, his routine is just awesome. A funny and breathtaking scene, to lighten the mood before the wedding sequence. 

The next scene is another of my favourites, as Sky and Sophie argue over the fact that she has gone behind Sky’s back to look for her dad. As Sam enters at the end of the row, Sky runs off, leaving a distraught Sophie alone with Sam. As he tries to give her the vast knowledge he has of marriage etc, he sings a brilliant version of ‘Knowing me,knowing you’, to a bewildered Sophie. And I must say great singing by all the male cast in this role. A real treat to listen to and a magnificent start to act two. At this point I’ll leave it there for now, and continue the rest of act two in my next instalment.

So to today’s performances, and as usual very impressive, the performances just get better and better on every occasion. The dancing is still as sharp and crisp as all the other performances I’ve seen. The singing, by all the cast is just superb, as it has been since show number one. I know I say this every time, but I have to admit, it’s just brilliant. This show is quickly moving up my rankings as one of the best shows I’ve seen over the past 4 years. 

Sunday 6th November 2016, and another visit to the Centre, here in Cardiff for my 14th performance of the brilliant Mamma Mia. Today is a special day for me as it’s my 100th performance of a show so far this year, and I’ve still got a few more weeks to improve that milestone.

Onto the show, I’m going to continue my appreciation of my favourite scenes of Mamma Mia. Moving on to another comical part of the proceedings with Sky and Sophie. Sky delivers a great rendition of ‘lay all you love on me’, before the rest of the male ensemble hijack the groom for his stag do, with a continuation of the song, dressed in wetsuits, flippers and snorkel. A really comical scene, with some good dance moves from the cast, and excellent singing to go with it.

As the boys move off stage, the girls take their turn, with a star turn from Donna,Rosie and Tanya, as they do a superb number to ‘Super Trooper’ dressed in silver platform boots and white/silver Lycra outfits, reminiscent of 70’s glam rock. Beautifully sung with the help of the female ensemble, who seem to be having so much fun on stage. An absolute fabulous scene.

The final scene of the first act revolves around Sophie, Sam, Bill and Harry. As they enter the girls do, Sophie asks them to stay, with the ensemble entertaining the men with another fabulous rendition of ‘Gimme,gimme,gimme’, some really crisp dance moves and great vocal range. During this section Sophie, approaches Sam then Harry to find out who could be her dad, until she meets Bill, who realises he may be her dad. The music changes and Sophie sings the beautiful ‘Name of the game’ to Bill. Who later joins in when he says he maybe her dad. As the rest of the ensemble join the festivities, the first act ends with Sam and Harry realising they could be her dad as well, leaving Sophie with a huge quandary of what to do next. The scene ends with a bewildered Sophie in the middle of the whole cast, as they finish with ‘Voulez vous’. Another brilliant,sharp and crisp dance routine, with fabulous vocal talents from all he cast. A superb end to a magnificent first act, that really gets you in the mood for act two. I’m going to leave it there for today and continue my appraisal on my next blog.

So onto today’s show and I didn’t think it could get any better, boy was I mistaken, yet another fabulously brilliant performance by all the cast. Just awesome yet again. This musical and this cast amaze me every time, it just gets better and better. Can’t wait to see this show again, before it leaves Cardiff next weekend.

Saturday 5th November 2016, in Cardiff at the Millenium Centre for another two performances of the totally fabulous Mamma Mia. I can’t believe Just how much I’ve fallen for this show, I’m getting withdrawal symptoms already, and my last show was only on Thursday evening. What a difference now,to my younger days, when I didn’t really like the music of Abba. This musical has changed all that forever.

Today I’d like to talk about some of my favourite scenes in the show. This may take a while, as there are so many. The first scene sets out the theme, as Sophie posts her letters to her prospective dads, and sings a few lines of ‘I have a dream’ so beautifully, before her friends and bridesmaids (Lisa and Ali) crash through the doors. As Sophie tells them what she’s done, reading from her mums diary, they all break into song (Honey Honey) with a wonderfully funny routine, setting everything up nicely for the rest of the show. 

The next scene sees the arrival of Rosie, Tanya and Donna along with Sky, Pepper and Eddie. As they introduce each other we have a fabulous routine with Money Money Money, as the whole ensemble get involved with an imaginative set and a great rendition of the song by Donna (Sara Poyzer) and the cast. Brilliant to watch,so slick and well put together.

Moving onto the next scene, Sam,Bill and Harry enter, as they meet Sophie for the first time. This is when we really get to hear the amazingly beautiful voice of Sophie, (Lucy May Barker), along with Harry, Bill and eventually Sam, as they sing ‘Thank you for the music’. I love this scene,it’s so beautiful to listen to. This moves nicely to another funny scene when Donna meets Sam, Bill and Harry, her mortified look is brilliant, as she realises Sophie’s dads have turned up for the wedding. Donna belts out a great version of ‘Mamma Mia’, with the help of some strategically placed ensemble members, backing her on the chorus.

One of the funniest scenes of the first act is up next with Rosie and Tanya settling into their room, when Donna bursts in, horrified at what just happened. A fabulous comic scene as Rosie, Tanya and latter Donna sing another two superb renditions of ‘Chiquita’ and ‘Dancing Queen’. A really well put together, funny, extravagant scene, and yet another one of my favourite parts to the show. What am I talking about, I love every scene. So I’ll leave it there for a while and carry on from there on my next instalment.

Just a quick word on today’s two shows, before I go. Again both were totally amazing, just can’t get enough of this brilliant musical.  Just magnificent.

So it’s Thursday 3rd November 2016, and I’ve made it back to the Centre for tonight’s performance of Mamma Mia. Didn’t have to rush tonight really took my time. Only sad part was that I missed act 2 of Billy Elliot in Bristol, but at my age, running for trains is not advised, I’m still limping a week later. Plenty of time to see more of Billy after Mamma Mia has finished it’s run here in Cardiff.

So to tonight’s show, I’ve really fallen in love with this musical, I can’t stop singing Abba songs, or playing the excellent stage cast cd. I must also mention the fact that this is the best sounding production of Mamma Mia I’ve heard. The whole cast are amazing. Singing is superb, the dance routines are sharp, crisp and full of life on every viewing.

Every visit I’ve been saying just how good this show is, and tonight’s was no exception. Sara (Donna) and Lucy (Sophie) have been out of this world, with superb voices ringing out into the auditorium. Every voice that utters any sound at all is just brilliant, from all the males and females of the whole cast, as I keep saying every show. In fact when you think a show couldn’t get any better, the next one does get better. I can’t say a single bad word about this totally incredible musical. Really can’t wait to see it again over the weekend. It’s that good.

Thursday 3rd November 2016, Back in Bristol at the Hippodrome for my 15th performance of Billy Elliot. For today’s matinee we have Billy played by Matthew Lyons, Michael by Henry Farmer, Debbie played by Evie Martin, and the role of the Small Boy is Nicola Turner.

Brilliant first act performance by all the cast. Matthew Lyons was just phenomenal (just as Lewis was last Thursday). The standard of the dancing was just superb again. As I said last week these young lads are just so good, and get better with every performance.  As I’ve seen so many shows now with all the Billy’s, I’m watching them grow in stature on stage, their timing and acting improving on every show. It’s great to see brilliant young talent being nurtured by this Fantastic team, who run this musical.

Watching the whole cast in action is just brilliant, it’s like watching a recording of the show everytime you see it, only you know it’s totally live. Awesome talent on show from a thouroughly brilliant adaptation of a musical.

My only problem today was I only got to see the first act. After running for the train last week, and nearly killing myself in the process, I left early so as to get back to Cardiff to see Mamma Mia, as it ends it’s run at the Centre next weekend. I’ve rebooked more Billy Elliot performances for later in the month, so still a load more chances to see it in full on those dates.

Sunday 30th October 2016, what a fabulous end to the weekend, back in Cardiff for another performance of Mamma Mia. Today’s subject of conversation has to be the work of the shows writers. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson. Whose prolific talents pushed Abba to amazing heights. 

If I’m honest with myself, as a kid growing up, they were never my cup of tea, their music was overplayed, so got a bit monotonous. That all changed with two factors, firstly on hearing for the first time the album version of ‘Eagle’ which is one of my favourite songs of all time. Secondly buying the cd of the stage production of Mamma Mia, which totally changed my attitude to all Abba’s past collections. Now seeing the music turned into the musical in front of my eyes, I don’t know how I ever doubted them. 

Bjorn and Benny have a brilliant concept to turn their music, with a few rewritten lines, into a thouroughly amazing show. Making their songs and lyrics fit a certain pattern, to produce a show that actually works on so many levels. If you think about it, though, you can fit many songs into everyday life, but that’s where Bjorn and Benny’s brilliance comes into play. I can see why it’s run so long in the west end. I’m wondering just how many mothers have sang ‘Slipping through my fingers’ to their daughter on their wedding day, as they get ready. I know some mothers who have, and have mentioned just how emotional that has been. Or even broken up a relationship to ‘knowing me, knowing you’.

Having seen it so many times now, it amazes me just how many of these songs actually work in the whole show. It’s like Benny and Bjorn wrote every song all those years ago, knowing that they would be used in a magnificent stage show, somewhere down the line. A quick mention for the musical ‘Chess’ co written by these guys , which is another show I totally love and can’t wait to see a revival of that, if it ever comes this way. 

And so to today’s performance. As usual absolutely faultless, full of life and character, just so fantastic to watch. The whole cast were just awesome. As I’ve said throughout this run, want to see this show again and again, which at the moment I seem to be doing. Really can’t wait for more shows next weekend.

Saturday 29th October 2016, The weekend has finally come around again. I’m back in the Capital for two more performances of the brilliant Mamma Mia at the Centre. It’s only a few days since I last saw this musical,but I really can’t wait to see it again. 

Today I’d like to talk about the lighting and the set for the production. Firstly when you look at the set it’s minimal, but in a good way, and it really works. The central theme being the Taverna owned by Donna. The walls move around the stage, creating some really good scenes. Allowing the set to be opened up for group dance routines, then closed up again for the more intimate phases of the show. The floor of the stage becomes the focal point, with a path leading from the wings to centre stage, that the whole show revolves around, as most of the actors enter on this path. At the end, as it lights up to see Sophie and Sky off stage. Along with a massive moon on the back wall, producing a stunning effect.

The lighting of the stage really goes a long way to adding to the set. A large lighted, blue frame surrounds the stage throughout, with colourful backboarding adding to the effect. It makes the white walls of the taverna stand out more on stage. The use of the on stage lighting works well, especially for the dream scene at the start of act two. From my vantage point today, you could see the effects that lighting has on this set. Really colourful, putting added emphasis to the scenes playing out before your eyes.

When you add the two together you actually get an impressive set creation, fit for this fantastic musical. I think it’s great to see this show so many times, as I get the chance to talk about different aspects, that don’t really figure in most blogs. Trying to vary the topic of conversation means there’s time to mention these items, which, above all are a major part in putting on a production, such as this.

For this show though, I don’t think it’s the set people really come to see. A great show has to have the music in the first place, followed by superb singing and fabulous dance routines when the need arises. Of course everyone knows and loves Abba’s back catalogue, which is really what the audience want, and above all else, exactly what they get. 

Today’s shows were again so good, fabulous singing and dancing,as usual. Just a treat to watch another two shows in one day. 

Thursday 27th October 2016, well I made it back to Cardiff and to the Millenium Centre in time for tonight’s performance of Mamma Mia. What a day two brilliant shows really made this a special day off.

So on to tonight’s show and a few cast changes since my last visit,with Sara back as Donna and the understudy Sky, Bill and Sam, who were again incredible, never letting down the show on any way, which tells a story of its own. And that is what I’ve always said,that the ensemble and understudies are worth their weight in gold. 

The voices of the whole cast are again incredible, as usual, fabulous to listen to and even better to sing along to (to yourself of  course, wouldn’t want any unsuspecting theatre goer listening to my voice). The dance moves are so Crisp and vibrant, as usual, making viewing this musical a real treat as well as sounding great to go with it. This show just gets better every time I see it, which I’ve said all along, so no difference there then. 

A shorter blog today, but just to add a massive thank you to the staff at the Centre. I booked my ticket on the train coming back from Bristol, so arriving at the Centre at about 7ish, the staff on the ticket sales counter actually had my ticket ready for me. Now that’s what I call a really fantastic service, from the best theatre in Britain. Really capped an end to a wonderful day at the theatre.