The Railway Children

A children's classic from E.Nesbitt has been brought to life in the heart of Waterloo Station. This venture from director Damian Cruden has won an Olivier award for best entertainment and yet I still had my reservations. After all a play set on the tracks of the ole Eurostar station seemed a bit like a gimmick. These reservations however were immediately lifted.

The sixty tonne steam locomotive 'Sterling Single', which could easily be argued to be the star of the show, didn't apear until the end of the first half. Instead smoke and sound effects were used which gave the play a magical feel. The set is based around the track with large wooden blocks placed over the top of it, allowing plenty of movement. This mixed with the breaking of the fourth wall created a modern and interesting twist on a classic story.

One downside was that the actors were at first hard to connect with, being very similar to children's presenters in their acting. This seemed to work after a while and gave the play a strange sense of charm. Marcus Brigstocke's role as the station master 'Perks' allowed for comic relief from the main plot. His ease in the role showed and he was confident and enthralling to watch.

Although a show aimed at children and train lovers, I thorougly enjoyed this piece of the theatre and believe that it is worth a visit even if just to see how the reclaimed site works as a theatre.

Ringo Returns

Ringo Starr headed home on Sunday night to play at The Liverpool Empire to a packed audience. This seemed to be a brave venture for the Scouser who hit the headlines three years ago after slating Liverpool on the Jonathon Ross show. Ringo ironically began his show by shouting, 'It's good to back' and all it seemed was forgotten.

A man of few words, Ringo let his music take control of the evening and although perhaps one of the less popular members of the Beatles, RIngo showed that his songs are just as important as his fellow bandmates.

Ringo's choice in the musicians surrounding him was an excellent one, with  Edgar Winter (The Edgar Winter Group), Rick Derringer (the McCoys) and Wally Palmer (The Romantics). A line up anyone would be proud to have. This 'all starr band' showed just how talented they are, playing songs such as 'Broken Wings' and 'Dream Weaver' with impressive vocal and musical talent.

Ringo managed to get the right balance between his hits with The Beatles and his new bands own talents. The crowd were wooed with hits such as 'I wanna be your man' and 'Boys' making everyone from young children to the sound man to Ringo's own Aunt Ev sing along. 

Ending on Lennon's 'Give Peace a Chance' reminded the audience of just how important this man is to history, being a part of one of the most influential bands of all time. Ringo will perhaps never match up to the showmanship that Paul McCartney has but he certainly delivered on every front to an audience who welcomed him back with open arms.

 

Ringo Starr - Europe Tour

Next week I have the pleasure of attending Ringo Starr's European tour in his hometown of Liverpool. I will be reviewing this next Sunday so please have a read!

John Cleese - The Alimony Tour

One of the greatest comedians to grace our tiny island arrived in Liverpool on Tuesday 1st June at the prestigious Liverpool Empire. The theatre has hosted British wonders such as The Beatles and Julie Andrews with visiting stars such as Frank Sinatra. This epic theatre therefore was the perfect host for one of Monty Pythons tallest, John Cleese. I have always enjoyed everything the Pythons have produced, finding their comedy some of the most surreal and hilarous pieces of madness around. Their wit and stupidity intertwines so that even the grumpiest of people laugh hysterically.  It is with this knowledge of Cleese that I wondered what his very independent show would consist of. It worried me somewhat that perhaps the show would be self indulgent and that Cleese would be far removed from his audience. I was pleasantly surprised that the show was one that highlighted Cleese as an 'everyday man' who simply needed a tour to earn money to pay off his cruel ex-wife, a story he so readily informed us of. Starting the show in this way did seem a little odd as most stars appear to love being on stage without any other purpose. However cleese's honesty did him justice. After a few anecdotes about his family, who were orginally named Cheese, John moved on to discussing some of his favourite work. This felt far more personal after hearing such in depth details about his heritage.

Cleese has an easy nature about him which draws the audience in and makes you feel as if the theatre is his living room and you're discussing old times over a bottle of red. It is this mixed with some wonderful clips of his work that make the two hours literally fly by. You could hear the sighs from the audience as Cleese announced the end of the first act. A personal highlight was watching a clip from Graham Chapman's memorial service in which Cleese stretched the boundaries in a funny and moving way, which only he could pull off. His well timed swearing shakes everyones silence and grief and turns it into fits of laughter, proving Cleese's comedy genius.

Overall this was one of the funniest and most moving events that I have had the opportunity to attend and I thoroughly reccomend it to anyone, particularly those who have seen any of John Cleese's brilliant comedy and laughed so hard they thought they might burst.


For those of you who want to see John Cleese perform check out: www.the johncleese.com
In memory of Graham Chapman have a peek at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsHk9WC7fnQ

Welcome!

My first ever venture into the land of blogging and I'm not sure whether to be frightened or excited. I'm a school teacher during the day and enjoy writing so I'm taking some of the skills I teach and attempting to use them myself. I'm looking forward to writing about some of the events I have the pleasure of attending. I recently had the privledge of seeing the great John Cleese at Liverpool Empire and so will be posting my review very soon!

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For those who know of any fashion or entertainment events happening in the South East please email me at:
bettwest@hotmail.com