I’ve mentioned elsewhere that the addition of SkyPlus to our household has transformed my television viewing. I appreciate this does make me sound like all the TiVo fans out there, but I think it really does make a difference to some people. Nonetheless, fads in television viewing still exist. This time last year I was a big fan of The Shield on Channel Five – I thought it was quite innovative – but it quickly became another formula-driven cop-show. On the other hand, Channel Four’s Teachers, now showing its third series on Wednesday evenings, remains one of the sharpest programmes on screen at the moment and more surreal by the week. I’m starting to walk past real-life schools looking for donkeys in the playground and teachers smoking around the back.
I went to see the new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the new London theatre. Basically, I went to see Stephen Gately, but he’s taken to having a performance off on a Saturday, so we were treated to Lee Watermoth in the main role. It’s a fun musical, not as lavish as the last West End production, but a little updated and certainly worth a visit for the fun. The performances were great, and I have to admire the cast for putting on such a good show with so few people in the audience. Give it a go; it’ll make for a more colourful day!
So, I’ve been away for the weekend. Usually, I hear a little about this year’s big brother, but I am not really following it. There are certain things you understand after a couple of series, one of which is that eventually they all start to remove layers of clothing.
I imagine that the current weather has our lot stripping off on a daily basis. Which, I guess, should send some of the viewing figures up this year! But I do know a couple of things:
The girls keep getting voted off
This is because people want to keep the cute guys on
Federico is cute but keeps failing the tasks
Now, what would I know about this stuff if I watched any of it? Perhaps I should read the official site occasionally.
The final episode saw the Crossroads hotel boss Angel (Jane Asher) realise her job had all been a dream – as she returned to her real-life job as a supermarket checkout assistant in Birmingham called Angela.
I’ve posted quite a lot today. But I just had to post this one. Crossroads was a dream? What a nice way to end the week …
Of course the shocking music headline of the day is that Cilla admits to smoking cannabis (honest – I heard the interview 🙂
In an interview with Mark Lamarr on BBC Radio 2, the 60-year-old entertainer said she had “smoked a joint” while she was singing star in the 1960s, but had been a “good girl” when it came to harder drugs. [Source: Cilla admits to smoking cannabis]
The Salon, Channel Four’s current reality TV show set in a beauty salon is an interesting concept. Book an appointment for a cut and blow-dry and then see yourself on television. To be honest I was quite keen on this one (I’m not sure why it appealed more than some of the other formats, but it did). Sadly, silly scheduling means I saw the two opening shows and have not watched another one. As it turns out, I am quite glad as it seems it could turn into a celebrity rehabilitation centre. Missing out television exposure? Turn up and get your hair cut and your celebrity past will, most likely, mean you’ll make it to air. Has anybody really sunk this low to grab some TV time? Yes, Michael Barrymore. [Source: Ananova | Channel 4]
It’s been said to be the world’s greatest thriller and, ashamedly, I was not aware of Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth until I saw it last night at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. And what a fantastic play it is. As a thriller is was quite intriguing and it was certainly sad that the theatre was very empty (then again, it’s a Friday before Christmas so maybe people don’t go to plays). There were some mixed reviews for the original cast and I am not sure what the critics would make of Ian Ogilvy and Jonathan Kerrigan. I thought they did a great job and I was hooked. As it’s not too busy, theatrenow is a great place to get discount tickets a couple of days before you want to see it.
I went to see Boy George’s Taboo last Friday and have been contemplating the blog entry ever since. I have to say that I thought that it was fabulous and I want to see it again (I even ordered the soundtrack last night!). It’s a fictional account of a lot of real people, but most of the plot must be based on Boy George’s own life story, as I recognised many of the characters and plot lines from his book Take It Like A Man. Obviously, he is a key (though not the central) character. I would thoroughly recommend this to anybody visiting London, regardless of the way you feel about Boy George. It’s a strange time capsule of a musical, and his songs are great – although several of them are old (some of which are taken from the underrated album Cheapness and Beauty, which I regard as one of the best of all time). The story is tender, the performances top-rate, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny (especially Julian Clary). Lastmiunte.com often has cut-price tickets a few days before a show. Go see it. Often.
I thought Taboo was fantastic – and I wasn’t sure what to really expect. I think I had envisaged it as something akin to Closer To Heaven, but it wasn’t really like that at all. I loved the fact that The Venue is quite small and quite intimate, which made you feel closer to the stage (and the audience bits help) and, of course, it brought memories flooding back (although I was watching events in the early ’80s from the safety of the north).
I am a big fan of Boy George’s more recent albums – Cheapness and Beauty is one of my all-time favourites. When I heard some of the songs were being reworked for the show, I was worried. Luckily, few have been re-penned, and those that have been re-done are still as good as they are on the CD (although different). I was stunned by how much the mannerisms of the Boy George character seem to be like the Boy George we see on TV, etc. It was a remarkable performance. Duncan Bennett as Billy was superb (was he really in the band Point Break? I don’t remember him) as well as being some appealing eye candy 😉 It was a thoroughly entertaining night out, and I would recommend it to anybody.
Julian Clary was superb and, of course, looked stunning in those Leigh costumes. I would be interested to see how other people play the part, as he put his own stamp on it without it seeming to be too Julian Clary.
I’ve ordered the CD – the cheapest I could find it was £10.99 at Play247 – although it was on back order, I noticed tonight that they have posted it to me. I’m sure the CD doesn’t do the show justice (they rarely do), but I hope it will be brilliant anyway! Lastminute.com always seems to have discounts on top-price tickets. I bought the cheaper seats directly from the box office and, to be honest, I think my view was as good as anybody with the more expensive ones (the theatre isn’t really large enough for it to make a difference). However, Lastminute’s discount seats are even cheaper, and I shall certainly be going again.
In case you’re wondering, my attempt to bring forth an avalanche of programmes from my childhood didn’t quite have the desired result. However, Danny Baker on BBC London this morning did spend some time talking about Rainbow (fab title sequence here). Somehow, it doesn’t seem quite so much of a spooky coincidence as the whole Fame thing.
