Show Time Again

Clare from work shares a flat with a guy who's not into musicals. Anyone who knows Rob knows that ordinarily, he's not into musicals either (with the exception of Wicked, and I'm hoping to persuade him to see a couple of others after the success with this one), but that means that Clare and I can now go and see stuff together and leave the boys at home.

Clare got an e-mail from the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on Tuesday, offering her two-for-one tickets for Hello Dolly!, which is only playing this week, so we decided to go. I saw this musical years ago and I remembered the title song and something about 'It only takes a moment' (one of the other songs), but I didn't really remember the storyline, and I wouldn't class it as one of the musicals I simply have to see, but it seemed silly to pass up half-price tickets!

Turns out it was a good move because we thoroughly enjoyed it. On the face of it, we had great seats - row F - but rows A to G are on the same level; it isn't till row H that the incline starts. There was a tall bloke in front of Clare and the woman in front of me wasn't exactly tiny, so we had to strain our necks a little to see what was going on. Still, we've learned from our mistakes, had a good look at the layout of the theatre and will know for next time to pick seats no further forward than row H.

The title role was played by Anita Dobson of EastEnders fame, and she was fantastic. Darren Day was also in it, as Cornelius Hackl, and he was good, but I don't like to compliment losers, so I'll say no more about him, except that he has put on some serious weight...

Actually, after Anita Dobson, the people I was most impressed with were the 8 men who played the waiters (and various other parts, but this scene in particular was amazing) - they had a mind-boggling dance routine to do, and they did it brilliantly.

A great evening's entertainment - specially for only £14! Next on the list is Beyond the Barricade (a collection of songs from various West End musicals performed by 7 singers and musicians - a bit cheesy but well worth it) on 25 June, then we've resolved to see Blood Brothers when it comes to the Mayflower in October. Clare hasn't seen it before; I saw it in Manchester about 5 years ago and am desperate to see it again.