Tuesday 31 December 2013

2013 Round Up

Last summer I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Birmingham Hippodrome's First Night Bloggers. So far it has been such privilege to be able to spend many happy nights at the theatre, glass of wine in one hand and my ticket in the other. What do I have to do in return? Review the shows. Sounds like I win on both ends here! 

Our first experience of press life was at the Dance Consortium's Sutra, a dance show that combined contemporary dance and kung fu. With that in mind I entered the auditorium for the first time as a First Night blogger and sat through the most incredibly bizarre performance I'd ever seen. It was absolutely sensational! 

Next we were invited along to the Welsh National Opera where I saw Wagner's Dream. This was my first experience of the WNO and I had only ever seen one opera before. It was clearly for quite a niche audience but unfortunately I was not part of that niche. Thinking back to the plot now, it actually left me with a lot to think about and even inspired one of my dissertation ideas.

Over the summer we attended the Youth Arts Summit. The event opened by showcasing some of the talent that resides among Birmingham's youth and was then followed by a debate. Although I felt that the adults dominated most of the discussions, I hope to see some changes come about from what the younger attendees had to say.

My first day back at university had the most perfect start at the Snow White panto press event. It was a sparkling morning where the press had the opportunity to meet the cast and meet the Hippodrome's latest Snow White, Danielle Hope. 

Illuminate lit up Birmingham for a wonderful weekend, providing all sorts of thrills for audiences of all kinds. Just knowing that I attended two out of the three days should tell you just how much I enjoyed it. 

War Horse galloped into our hearts in October with a series of related events. We had the opportunity to speak to some of the cast of the show as well as the acclaimed writer Michael Morpurgo. We returned to the Hippodrome again later to hear the man himself read extracts from his book as part of Remembrance day. Such a beautiful book and every event that trotted into the Hippodrome did it complete justice. 

Finally to top off a fabulous experience - so far - I embarked on the world of panto. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs definitely held up the shimmering reputation of panto at the Hippodrome  and was a perfect way to end 2013 at the theatre. 

I think it is obvious that I have enjoyed every second of this experience so far and I cannot wait for another fun filled year at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2014!

Here is what to expect:

                       










Monday 23 December 2013

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was #fabulous!


I cannot even remember last time I saw a pantomime but I wasn't looking particularly looking forward to being faced with over dramatic acting, ridiculously cheesy scripts and jokes well past their sell by date. 

By the end of the show I was on my feet with the rest of the audience, I'm not sure what panto memories I was drawing on but clearly they had all been wrong.  

In true style Gok Wan flew onto stage in his panto debut as the magic mirror in a costume so glitzy that he could probably see his own reflection in it. As expected he was a complete natural and had the audience in fits of laughter. His take on the sister act song, Fabulous was well... fabulous! You can catch Gok Wan on channel 4 Monday 30th December at 19:05  for Gok does Panto 




The handsome prince John, played by John Partridge was indeed everything you would expect in your panto prince! Dashingly handsome - not afraid to show some muscle and able to belt out some show stopping tunes such as One Direction's 'Live While We're Young' and Bruno Mars' 'Runaway Baby'. Leading lady Danielle Hope played the sweet-natured Snow White. She remained calm and collected despite the chaos that inevitably comes along with pantomime. Her voice is as breathtaking as ever demonstrated through her taken on 'The Voice Within' by Christina Aguilera. 





Screen and stage star Stephanie Beacham played the evil queen Sadista. Her evilness was only matched by her glamour making her perfect for the the fairest villain in all the land. 





Gary Wilmot got all 'dressed' up for his role as Nora Crumble, the cook at the palace. He proved that even though there isn't normally a dame in Snow White, no pantomime is complete without one. 


Matt Slack and Paul Zerdin - along with his puppet pal, Sam - played brothers Oddjob and Muddles and were the stars of the show (for me at least). Although I couldn't quite bring myself to join in, they were absolutely fantastic in getting the audience involved and providing the physical comedy that pantomime is so well known for. I didn't imagine I would find this so funny but I found myself putting my hand over my mouth to stifle the sheer volume of my laughter. Both were quick on their feet and their wit made the audience very forgiving of some clear technical issues and several moments of corpsing. One of the highlights was when Oddjob and Muddles join Nora and the Man in the mirror to dream about what they would do if they weren't working for the queen. The choreography was sensational and the song - completely hysterical. 



The seven dwarfs, much like Snow White, didn't seem very central for a show called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but despite being 'short' for stage time they delivered a big performance. The chorus was highly energetic and emerged in a variety of overblown glittery costumes. 

As expected from any pantomime the set was full of whizzes and bangs and plenty of special effects. The dragon seemed to be a favourite of the younger audiences. 

Not being from Birmingham I had only heard via word of mouth just how spectacular pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome is every year. Take it from someone who was apprehensive at first. Go buy your ticket now!









Don't forget the relaxed performance on Thursday 30th January. Read More...












Tuesday 19 November 2013

THE BIG GIVE 2013


This year Birmingham Hippodrome will be taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge

This is a more relaxed performance of this year's pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Thursday 30th January 2014 - 1pm


The relaxed show invites children with autism and those with learning difficulties or sensory and communication disorders to enter the magical world of pantomime. The aim of this performance is to make the theatre - going experience special for all these children, some whom may be first timers. 

The loud sounds, bright and strobe lights and pyrotechics will be reduced or removed in order to make the children feel more at ease.

All the staff, including the cast will be there to accommodate to the audience and their needs. 



Eve Smith (Development Manager):



Donations made online from 10am on Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 December could be doubled, so we are encouraging everyone to save the date and help us provide a unique theatre experience for disadvantaged children.




If you would like to donate and support this performance can make a donation by clicking here from 10am on Thursday 5th, Friday 6th & Saturday 7th December. 

Click here to donate through the Birmingham Hippodrome Website




Click here to buy tickets for the relaxed performance.

Click here to buy tickets for the panto.

Friday 8 November 2013

Michael Morpurgo remembers...

Much like Joey the horse, War Horse has been embedded on the heart (and my blog!) of audiences for the last few weeks. 

Just shortly before the final performance at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Michael Morpurgo read an abridged version of his renowned book accompanied by musicians, John Tams and Barry Coope.

Since finding out that this event was taking place I checked my e-mail everyday for the availability of tickets. I could never have imagined that it would be an incredibly remarkable event and one that I will probably never forget. 



Morpurgo's love for his novel simply shone through his performance. In a discussion after the reading we decided that we adored the way he became each of his characters, whether it was changing his tone or his accent, it was like watching the show all over again. 

I took a friend with me who had never seen the play but was a huge fan of Mr Morpurgo and his work. She commented on how suited the music was to the narrative. I couldn't agree more. Each chapter of Joey's tale was separated by the marvelous musicians and slotted in perfectly. 



Joey and the rest of the cast have now galloped out of the Hippodrome but it has been so much fun being able to explore the text and how it came onto the stage. If you have a chance to see War Horse as the tour continues, make sure you get your tickets fast! 






Click here to see where  War Horse will be going next.





 




Saturday 2 November 2013

Only Remembered with Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo, acclaimed author of War Horse, will be returning to the hippodrome once again for a special event leading up to Remembrance Sunday this weekend. Only Remembered will take place next Friday, November 8th 2013. 

It is no surprise that the show, currently mid run at the Hippodrome, is sold out and you can click here to find out why. Whether or not you have been lucky enough to get tickets, this is an event you won't want to miss. 

Morpurgo will be reading extracts from his novel accompanied by musicians, John Tams and Barry Coope, who will be setting the mood with the songs from the production [Click Here to hear my interview with the man himself!]. 


Only Remembered takes place at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Friday 8th November at 2pm.

Tickets: £15-£21               Schools: £10

Click Here to get your hands on some tickets! 



Saturday 26 October 2013

Birmingham Hippodrome Illuminates 25th- 27th October

As much as I love sitting in a warm, comfortable theatre auditorium, surrounded by the excited buzz of the surrounding audience. It is such a treat, every now and again to wrap up warm, stand outside and explore the city through the alternative variety of entertainment that illuminates the charms of this city. 

Not to mention, as a student the word FREE is highly appealing...

Click here  to see the schedule 





Last Night I started my night at The Laterns of Terracotta Warriors Exhibition. This exhibition can be found in the Gallan Car Park on Hurst Street (You can just follow the arrows). As the sky outside became darker and darker, the impressive lantern statues of the warriors glowed brighter and brighter.  

Lantern art is a traditional art form in China and takes a lot of careful and delicate work to get the details just right. Xia Nan is the creator of this lantern army and make sure you go up close to each of these warriors to appreciate the intricate details of the facial expressions. 

This exhibition was originally created for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. 




Our next stop was Body in Motion 360° Panoramic Cinema Experience. Based in the Arcadian, enter this dome shaped tent and sit yourself on the floor. Don't get to comfortable because you'll find your self spinning around to follow the story that unfolds all he way around you. This is most certainly suitable for the whole family. I was just as enthusiastically wriggling around on the floor as any of the other children. 






Finally we ended our night outside the Hippodrome watching, Flaming Oz, This is a dance duo with a fiery twist. Despite the rain that decided that to drizzle down at the moment is began, the ooing and ahhing of the audience showed just how excitable the audience were and all for a good reason too. 



I'm heading back over there tonight for a second dose. 




Tuesday 22 October 2013

Interview with Michael Morpurgo - Author of the book

Although he was born after the war, author of War HorseMichael Morpurgo, grew up surrounded by the ghosts of the war. He tells how when sat in a pub one day, a painting caught his eye. The painting was a cavalry charge and an old man in the pub told him about his experience in the war and what happened to all the horses he loved. This was the seed that was planted into Morpurgo's mind and grew into the story of War Horse... 


We had such a fascinating time talking to him and only wish that we had more time, you can listen here to our interview!

















Saturday 19 October 2013

War Horse 16 October - 9 November

War Horse has got to be one of the most touching stories I have ever had the pleasure of seeing on stage. Despite the brutality and inhumanity of  World War One, Joey the horse reminds everyone both on and off  stage of compassion, an emotion often buried in the ruins of a war. 

The story, based on the book by Michael Morpurgo [Click here to listen to the interview], tells the tale of Joey and his friend Albert and their friendship undeterred by their parting as Joey gets sold to the British army.  

The puppetry is so tasteful and so beautifully made that it is easy to forget that he is not a real horse, even though you can see the people controlling him. The puppeteers are beyond impressive as they respond to every movement and every sound they hear on the stage. From the twitch of an ear or the flick of the tail, there is no doubt that this horse will capture the hearts of audiences night after night [Click here to read the interview with the heart of the horse, John Leader]. 



The Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa are the talented people behind the puppets in the show. I would love to see more of their work as they have redefined all expectations of what a puppet is and in what context they should be used.

While the horse may have been the focus of the show, that isn't to say that the humans were any less of an asset to this show. The range of emotions through the show whether it was the friendships between Joey and his various owners or the rage of war, there was no doubt that the whole audience was captivated by every moment. You could hear every gasp and see the wave of the audience ripple back at the sound of every gun shot. The way the language divides were dealt with by the characters added some lightheartedness to this play and credit is definitely due here to the actors with their impeccable humor timings in spite of the seriousness of the plot.

Unfortunately yet, understandably tickets for this show are sold out at the Birmingham Hippodrome. I would definitely recommend anyone to find any theatre with a few tickets remaining and go see this show.  




On Friday 8th November, the author of War Horse will be returning to the Hippodrome for a special event, 'Only Remembered' where he will be reading extracts of his book in the lead up to the following Sunday which will be Remembrance Sunday. Click Here for more information. 


Human Cast: James Alper, Lee Armstrong, Peter Ash, Emily Aston, Nisa Cole, Joe Darke, David Fleeshman, Adam Foster, Bob Fox , Jason Furnival, Sean McKenzie, Alex Moran, Suzanne Nixon, Tom Norman, Joseph Richardson, Paul Simpson, Simeon Truby, Martin Wenner.

Horse Cast: Thomas Gilbey, Oliver Grant, Finn Hanlon, Karl Haynes, Karen Henthorn, Steven Hillman, Michael Humphreys, Linford Johnson, Andrew Keay, Rebecca Killick, Tom Larkin, John Leader, Helen Macfarlane, Alex Moran, Suzanne Nixon, Tom Norman, Peter Twose, Richard Vorster.



Interview with John Leader - The heart of the horse

John Leader, a Birmingham born actor who just graduated from East 15 where he trained in Physical Theatre in 2013. He spoke to us about his experiences so far as part of Joey the horse in the War Horse.


How do you make the horse look so lifelike? 

JL: A lot of training. I think is definitely a good place to start. I think working together as three people, a mini ensemble inside a horse just listening because we don't speak inside the horse so all the sounds are made by us. We don't speak so I think to learn a physical vocabulary between three of us that we can listen and breathe together, I think that goes into how to make it work. 





So you respond to whatever is happening rather than scripted sound?

JL: Yeah I think that's the great thing about what we're taught here is how to always be a horse. It sounds very weird, be the horse. There's obviously set choreography because you have to, for safety reasons, you can't have a big huge horse just galloping wherever he wants to gallop, but then a lot of the time we just get to be the horse. Someone drops a bucket on stage, we get to react to it and I think that's the amazing side, no two shows, even though you've watched it, watch this show tonight it will be completely different. We get to respond a lot of the time how we want to respond to what's going on around us.




How long did it take you to get used to it all?

JL: Get used to it? I think we're still getting used to it. No, I mean we're used to it now but we do two weeks rehearsal  just puppeteers when we first start rehearsal and then we do another six weeks with the rest of the cast. It's eight weeks in rehearsals before we then take it on. I think, was a nice base and even when we open we don't know everything about it, we get to learn while being on the job so I think that's an amazing thing as well, we get to still learn while being in the horse. 





One of the things I find impressive is even when you're not moving around on stage, how dto do you get the minute detail of the twitch of an ear or the flick of a tail like a real horse might do?

JL: So, what happens is all three of us each have an emotional indicator chord and they're normally things you pick up on. So the head, they have the ears, so they control the ears so the ears can listen to what is going on to whatever is going on at whatever time. In the heart I get the breathing, so if he's angry, I get a lot of that through the breathing and then in the back they get the tail so they get to swish the tail as well. I control the front legs, the head controls the head and the back controls the back two legs and we also have our emotional indicator so when you bring those things together I think that's when you look at it and you really see a horse.






Did you have to watch real horses to see how they behave?

JL:Yes, so we went to the National Horse Trust and we got to watch horses and I think, for me I was never a huge fan of horses but I can safely say after this I want a horse! I don't know how well it would go down having a horse in Birmingham, just in my back garden running around, I don't think that will be too acceptable. I think when I finish this I'd love to own a horse, I think I've fallen in love with them, they've converted me. 




Check out Joey in action!

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Russell Brand - The Messiah Complex



You know when you've built something up in your head so much that you are sure the reality simply couldn't compare? Well this is how I felt after finally seeing Russell Brand on stage after a long on going fan girl crush. 


This was one of those rare occasions where you build something up in your head so much, but the reality is far far better.



Mr Gee was an excellent choice of warm up act I thought. His combination of comedy and poetry was really entertaining. I definitely felt warmed up by the time he was finished. I would definitely recommend everyone to check him out.  

The Messiah Complex is a condition where a person may believe that he is God. Brand looks at his idols Ghandi, Che Guevara, Malcolm X and Jesus Christ. He Explores what is about these men that have made them so great and their image so memorable but reminds everyone that even these men had their flaws. Is it right that these figures have been repackaged to encourage commercialism? 

Brand tackles all these issues so tastefully but that isn't to say that his normal cheeky personality doesn't shine through. He's such a joy to watch whether he is striding around on stage or meandering his way through his loving fan based audience. The laughter just rolled on and on from start to end and I'm not ashamed to say I may have been one of the loudest. 




Brand combines current affairs with ingenious wit and let's not forget, sex!  

Russell Brand is taking his latest stand up tour, The Messiah Complex, worldwide and fortunately enough he will be returning to Birmingham this April! 

CLICK HERE to buy your tickets!

Thursday 3 October 2013

Time Travel hits the Hippodrome as War Horse gallops into Birmingham




On October 25th the Patrick Centre,will enter a time warp and find itself back in the early 20th century rural France.

A family friendly sleepover will take place inspired by the award winning, National Theatre's production of War Horse and as part of a WW1 commemoration. 


Creative Learning & Audience Development Manager, Liz Leck said;

 “In true theatre style, at the end of the night there will be a family performance created on the evening from scratch – we are inviting families to dust off their musical instruments and bring them along! For those less theatrical, the theatre will be recruiting for budding war correspondents and cartoonists to create and publish the first ever copy of the Hippodrome Herald.”


In short, there will be something to appeal to everyone!

The National Army Museum will be sending over some representatives who will be showing artifacts from their handling collection. 

This event is part of Family Arts Festival who organise fun family events nationwide. CLICK HERE to find out what else they are up to. 

Tickets for the sleepover are £20 for children, £30 for adults (There must be a minimum of 1 adult to every 3 children)  and can be booked over the phone on 08443385000*


This event takes place from 7pm, Friday 25 October (last post at midnight) until 8am Saturday 26 October (reveille at 7am).


For more information on this event CLICK HERE or call Liz Leck on 01216893064.


*calls cost from 5p per min, 5% fee and £1 postage applies



War Horse runs from Wednesday 16th October 2013 - Saturday 9th November 2013.







Monday 23 September 2013

Star studded Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs meets the press...


This was certainly a magical Monday, in fact my first Monday back in Birmingham after the summer holidays. I can say for certain now that with the panto to look forward to among the many other treasures that the Birmingham Hippodrome will be dishing out this year, I am ecstatic to be back! 




This morning it was revealed that Danielle Hope will be playing Snow White. Danielle was the winner of the BBC's Over the Rainbow, where the prize was to play the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Since then she has played Éponine in Les Misérables. Once again Danielle embarks on an adventure with some slightly unusual friends in her panto debut.

Playing the ever so handsome  prince is John Partridge. John has recently finished a run of A Chorus Line at the London Palladium  but is probably best known by fans of Eastenders as Christian. John was a judge on the BBC's Over the Rainbow, so our princess will be woken up by a friendly face. 

It seems very fitting that fashion guru, Gok Wan, should play the man in the mirror in this production. Gok is known for his fashion t.v. shows including, How to Look Good Naked, on Channel 4. Gok is so stylish that even his sense of humor is in fashion but even he is dazzled by the glitter and glam of his panto debut. 

The glamorously wicked queen is played by t.v. and film star Stephanie Beacham.  She has played numerous roles both in the U.K. and the U.S. but here she is mostly known for her roles in Dynasty and Bad Girls and has even made an appearance in Coronation Street.

It may not be his debut to panto but it is most certainly a first for Gary Wilmot to be wearing a dress as the pantomime dame! Indeed, he is no stranger to the stage as he has previously starred in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Goodbye Girl and Me and My Girl. This will certainly be a bit of a change for Gary!

Another familiar face in the world of panto, funny man and ventriloquist, Paul Zerdin takes on the role of Muddles in this year's show. He brings with him however, a small loveable friend, Sam (who will be making his panto debut, I must add). 

Not a stranger to panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome, comedian, Matt Slack, returns once again to play Odd Job. He has also been in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre in London as well as Hot Flush! and Boogie Nights the 70s Musical. Matt is recognised as one of the country's leading panto comedians. 

All Photos taken by Lindsey Grant


Well I for one will be counting down the days now until opening night on Thursday 19th December 2013! I am very excited to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Birmingham Hippodrome this winter! 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs from Thursday 19th December 2013 to Sunday 2nd February 2014. Prices range between £12 - £39 (with discounts for concessions). 

Make this your family outing! After all, what is Christmas without a panto? 
CLICK HERE to get your tickets now!