Saturday 26th January 2019, back in Cardiff Bay at the Millennium Centre for the final performance of ‘Jersey Boys’ at this venue before it moves on. Absolutely love this musical, so much superb music and classic songs, all squished into a two and a half extravaganza.

The story of the rise of ‘Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ is fascinating to watch, as they weren’t exactly angels growing up, although the musical has shared its time with more of the great music they produced, adding in snippets of their private lives without inundating the audience with too much detail on their outside lives. A well balanced show in other words. I also love the way the individual band members have their say on what happens next, on their rise to the ‘Hall of Fame’.

The CD of the show is excellent and worth a listen to, but as with all others, watching the show live on stage gives it more impetus and fills in the bits between songs. A musical that can be watched again and again as it just gets better with each viewing.

Yet again another fabulous performance tonight, can’t believe it’s over already, still I’ve managed to have the opportunity to watch a great musical at a great theatre. Totally love this show, looking forward to the next tour already.

Saturday 19th January 2019, and another musical comes to the Millennium Centre here in Cardiff Bay, tonight see’s the return of ‘Jersey Boys’ for a couple of weeks.

Featuring the fabulous music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, which just happens to be one of my favourite bands of all time, this musical is packed full of classic songs, performed by a great cast. I particularly love the build up to ‘Sherry’ with the Piano intro before the guys get into this classic song. Along with Sherry comes another of my all time favourite pieces of music, ‘December 63’ which is high up in my all time top 50, and happens to be sung brilliantly by this talented cast.

With the superb on stage band playing their instruments live to accompany the cast singers really adds to the feel of this Musical, making it more autobiographical, as the boys go through their history as everyday people and musical artists.

Michael Watson who plays Frankie Valli has a tremendous voice and sounds so much like the great man himself, if you closed your eyes you would swear he was in the room.

Fabulous show again tonight, they just keep coming and getting better every time

Saturday 12th January 2019, back for the final performance of ‘Matilda’ as it finishes its run at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, before heading for its next venue.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching this incredible show over the lead up to Christmas and the New Year. Another musical to add to my growing repertoire of shows seen at Theatres over the last six years.

The all important cast line up for this final show in Cardiff can be seen in the caption below.

There are so many amazing scenes during this magical production, that keep you enthralled from start to finish, but there is one part of one scene that gets me every time. It’s when Miss Honey attempts to get some advanced books for Matilda to look at, it lasts about 20 seconds but it’s so beautiful it makes the whole show come together. Matilda gives Miss Honey a massive hug, Miss Honey’s response is so beautiful, her voice just becomes so tender and heart warming. It’s another piece that has to be seen in the auditorium, for me it’s a game changer, a moment of sheer brilliance and magic. Another piece of pure brilliance is the ending, again so beautifully done and extremely heart warming, a second touch of brilliance at the end of each act.

Once more another fabulous performance from all the cast tonight, a fitting end to the production in Cardiff before its move to Plymouth for the next stage of its UK Tour.

Saturday 5th January 2019, my first show performance of the new year, back at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay for my fifth showing of ‘Matilda’.

My last blog concentrated on the music and songs of Act One, today I’d like to look at the music and songs from Act Two. Starting with ‘Telly’, sung by Mr Wormwood and his Son, an audience oriented piece which is funny and quirky and leads us into the start of Act Two, and one of the best songs in the show.

‘When I Grow Up’ is a fabulous piece sung by the Ensemble casts, ending with a short duet between Matilda and Miss Honey. Visually impressive and beautifully sung by all involved and getting the second half of the show off to a great start.

Next up is ‘I’m Here’, a duet sung by Matilda and aided by the voice of the Escapologist. Another superb song highlighting the voice of Matilda as she sings side by side with her duetting partner. This leads nicely on to the best song that Miss Trunchbull has the pleasure to sing.

‘The Smell of Rebellion’ is yet another piece of music superbly written and visually impressive to watch. The lyrics speed up as the song moves on, giving the actor playing the role some tongue twisting dialogue. The song changes in mid flow, giving a serene and relaxing experience to an energetic song, before hitting a crescendo towards the end. This has to be seen live to give the music and lyrics it’s worth to the show.

The scene moves quickly on to include another beautifully sung piece of music, which happens to be another of my favourites in this musical. ‘Quiet’ is a solo piece that Matilda has to sing while Miss Trunchbull is on the warpath. Yet again we hear the beautiful and innocent voice of Matilda sweeping through the Auditorium.

We then get onto my favourite song in the show, ‘My House’, another beautiful piece of music sung by Miss Honey. Her voice on this track is just exquisite, I must admit to a few falling tears when I listen to this.

The final song if Act Two is ‘Revolting Children’, Sung by the Children’s Ensemble to start and followed up by the adults to end it. Another fantastic piece in the show as they finally get rid of Miss Trunchbull, and the pupils celebrate.

The show ends with a reprise of ‘When I Grow Up’, as the whole cast take their bows, with an enormous cheer as Matilda takes to the stage, and so well deserved.

Saturday 29th December 2018, my last show for this year, and it’s at the Millennium Centre here in Cardiff Bay to watch my 4th performance of ‘Matilda’.

I’ve talked about how brilliant this cast is so I’d like to move on to the music and songs for the show, written by Tim Minchin. Act one begins with ‘Miracle’ sung by the children’s ensemble at first until the adult Ensemble come in later in the piece. A great introduction to the proceedings as it gives the audience a chance to assess all the Ensemble cast working together.

Next up we have ‘Naughty’, and a chance to here the voice of Matilda as she sings her first solo piece of the musical, a cracking little song, always sung brilliantly by the Matilda appearing in that performance, tonight was the turn of Nicola Turner, who was outstanding in the role.

The scenes move quickly to the next piece entitled ‘School Song’ which is sung by the both Ensembles as school children, another great song which is far better watching live on stage than the CD would suggest, involving the school gates and some letters, a really fancy creative piece and choreographed to perfection.

‘Pathetic’ appears next on the playlist when we get to here the beautifully stunning voice of ‘Miss Honey’ (Carly Thoms). This piece moves onto the entrance of Miss Trunchbull, a rather fearsome headmistress, and the first song of her repertoire, ‘The Hammer’ another piece where we first get to hear the singing voice in action, quite impressive it is too, lots of action involved, a very energetic song to go with it.

Next up is a song to broadcast the voice of Mrs Wormwood, with ‘Loud’ a dance spectacle with her and Rudolpho. Yet another energetic song written to make the actors work for their money. Another song better seen live than the CD would suggest.

Just after ‘Loud’ we have another brilliant song, sung by Miss Honey entitled ‘This Little Girl’, about Matilda and how special she is. This is a short piece of music but again really beautifully sung, and one of my favourites within the show.

The final song of act one is simply entitled ‘Bruce’, as we see the cake eating scene brought to life. Another superbly written song, choreographed and sung by the children’s ensemble. Yet another song needed to be seen live on stage to appreciate the intricacies of the scene.

The cast for tonight’s performance appears in the caption below.

Christmas Eve 2018, back at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay for my third performance of ‘Matilda’, during its run in the Welsh Capital over the next few weeks.

Yet another superb show graces the halls of the Centre. I’m loving it so far, and quickly entering the catagory as one of my favourite musicals, joining a long list of shows already included.

The all important cast list for today’s performance appears in the caption below.

A very impressive performance from everyone today, especially Nicola Turner as Matilda, who I last saw playing the small boy role in Billy Elliot a few years ago. I’ve now seen three different Matilda’s and they have all been amazing. So much talent for one so young, as I’ve said all along the future of theatre is in safe hands with these youngsters. One other to mention is the role of Bruce, played brilliantly today by Tom Lomas, a great voice, especially on the last song of the show ‘Revolting Children’, yet another talent for the future.

Saturday 15th December 2018, back in Cardiff Bay on a miserable wet day to watch another performance of ‘Matilda’ at the Millennium Centre. Even this terrible weather cannot dampen the spirit of watching this fabulous show.

looking at the cast list it’s nice to see a few familiar faces making a return to the Centre, a few of them appeared in the touring production of Billy Elliot, including Isobelle Chalmers who played the young boy (in Billy Elliot), and is now one of the young actresses playing Lavender in this show. Seeing so many shows it’s brilliant to be able to watch these youngsters growing up, so to speak, and appearing in different shows as their stage careers progress, just look at where Carrie Hope Fletcher is now. These amazing shows give these youngsters a chance to shine and most of them take that chance.

Again I have to reiterate just how good these kids are in this show. Matilda’s (tonight played by Scarlett Cecil) role is almost non stop, with some complicated lines to learn, but they just role them out as if they were talking to you over dinner. I think that’s why this show is so good, the kids take centre stage and just thrive on it, going from strength to strength as they progress. The applause for these young actors and actresses at the end of the show, goes to prove that.

Let’s move on to the adults with Miss Trenchbull, a fabulous role, with a menacing presence throughout, wonderfully played by Graige Els or recently Steffan Lloyd-Evans has taken the role. Brilliant to watch on stage as well. Also nice to see Dawn Williams back at the Centre, (her last few visits have been in Mamma Mia and Shrek).

Monday 10th December 2018, a day off work today as I’m heading to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff City Centre to watch the utterly brilliant ‘War of the Worlds’, a masterpiece from Jeff Wayne. Yet another one of my favourite shows, having grown up listening to this album constantly throughout my teens and early twenties. The newer version of the album is just as good as the old, a bit more up to date, for the times we live in. I must say though I still love both versions, they are part of my musical history experience.

A fabulous cast has been assembled for this tour, and I’m delighted to once again hear the silky, smooth, absolutely stunningly beautiful, effortless voice of the great ‘Carrie Hope Fletcher’ in the role of Beth (the Parsons wife), probably one of the best stage and theatrical voices I’ve had the privilege to see and hear in the last few years.

Jason Donovan also returns to the show playing the slightly mad parson ‘Nathaniel’. Together Carrie and Jason get to sing my favourite song from the soundtrack ‘The Spirit of Man’ in the second act.

Liam Neeson is seen in Hologram form and his interaction with the cast throughout the show is amazing, with extremely well put together scenes it’s worth watching just to glimpse the spectacle of it all.

Newton Faulkner and Adam Garcia join the cast for this tour as the ‘Thoughts of the Journalist’ and ‘The Artilleryman’, respectively. Both big roles to fill in this adventure, and one which they do extremely well. Let’s not forget another fabulous voice that appears in this superb production, that of Anne-Marie Wayne, playing ‘Carrie’, the fiancé of the Journalist.

The musical itself is such an incredible spectacle to watch, the set is enormous, with a huge screen situated behind it and to the sides. The special effects on screen and around the auditorium need to be seen to be believed and a superb sound system amplifies the Band and the Orchestra to reach every part of the huge auditorium. The lighting involved is also quite spectacular, with an impressive array of colours hitting the audience from all directions. This is probably one of the best lighting shows you will see on any theatrical show you intend to visit.

This 40th Anniversary production has been absolutely stunning from start to finish. A Real treat to watch an iconic musical soundtrack come alive in front of your eyes. You just have to sit back, take it all in and wow at what the creative team have achieved putting this show together.

Saturday 8th December 2018, today I’m back at the Millennium Centre here in Cardiff Bay for a performance of the brilliant ‘Matilda the Musical’.

Yet again another amazing musical, and already one of my favourites. I particularly love the interaction between the kids and the so called ‘grown ups’ throughout the production. The child actors and actresses are phenomenal (as was the case when Billy Elliot toured the uk), they seem to be so comfortable on stage, for their young ages. Annaliese Bradbury was absolutely brilliant as Matilda, with a strong cast of children working feverishly at her side. A full cast list can be seen below.

Another highlight for me was ‘Carly Thoms’ as Miss Honey, her voice was just incredible, and beautiful to go with it. Really enjoyed this incredible show tonight and looking forward to more shows leading up to the end of the year.