Deep in London’s East End (in my alley – heh heh), this short running musical felt very appropriately accommodated at Wilton’s Music Hall. I’m sure we are all familiar with Dr Jekyll’s experiments to conquer mental illness by carving out the evil from the good and how turning this experiment on to himself unleashed a savage murdering beast on to the streets of London so there is no need to expand on that here. That is, except to say that the atmosphere in East London well suited the story.

Overall, the musical was fairly enjoyable – singing was generally fantastic and the orchestra were great. It was obvious that there were still some teething issues to be nutted out (such as mic work) but otherwise it was a good performance for an off West End show. Staging it at the Hall created an interesting opportunity as it allowed the chorus to sing from behind us creating a very “surround” sound feel. My only complaint was for the school-like chairs that had my back screaming in pain after about 20 minutes into the first act and the lack of seat pitching which makes viewing difficult if you have anyone in front of you – tall or not.

I’m really starting to like the Peacock Theatre. The two shows that I’ve seen there (including tonight’s) have both been weirdly fantastic.

La Veillee des Abysses starts with a storm with five people fighting against it behind a gauze curtain – definitely an interesting start to this evening’s performance. Again I can’t find the words to describe the show – I guess it is kind of like a circus – with a mix of dance, theatre, acrobatics and clowning with scenes seamlessly morphing into the next with minimal interruption to the flow.

To give you an idea of what we witnessed there are five performers in the show each with their own particular strength:
– Creator, dancer, comic: James Thiérrée (purportedly Charlie Chaplin’s grandson)
– Opera singer and pianist Uma Ysamat
– Contortionist Raphälle Boitel
– Dancer Niklas Ek and
– Capoeira dancer Thiago Martins.

There is no real plot but what you get is magic. Not in the literal sense but in the sense that it must have been magic that allowed this performance tonight to come together for the visual and aural treat we were served. I feel like I’m gushing but the show definitely deserves it.

Catch it where you can – you won’t regret it.

Tonight A to arranged to see the comedian Omid Djalili at his (A’s not Djalili’s) old Uni stomping ground, the Bloomsbury (UCL).

Djalili is billed as Britain’s only Anglo-Iranian stand-up comedian and this really comes through in his performance as he takes advantage of his cultural heritage by contrasting his experiences of life in the west and the east. His performance tonight, as the title suggests – No Agenda, wanders from topic to topic and happily never got too heavy in the political aspects of life in western society as an Iranian. As a result it felt like we could relax and accept the comedy for what it was.

I’ve heard it said that with Djalili that you should always expect the unexpected – and there were definitely a few things I didn’t expect to see including an entertaining slide show in the background that played during his performance, and then there was the music and the dancing.

No Agenda was definitely not like any stand-up I’ve ever seen before.

At first I thought I was going to see a knock off of a Cirque du Soleil show but I was pleased to see it wasn’t (though having said that it must be noted I’m a huge fan of the Cirque franchise). Momix Opus Cactus was more dance than circus. But merely calling it dance really doesn’t do the show any justice. Its probably a little cheesy to say but it really was like moving art.

I could go on an on about the inventiveness of the performances with acts including a swing-hammock, low trapeze, glow-in-the dark tumbleweed type things (can’t even describe this), rolling jacks (think skateboard type use), and this massive thing which defies description (see the picture to the right instead) but I think instead I will leave it to these pictures, courtesy of Momix.

Momix Opus Cactus is definitely something that needs to be experienced rather than read about.

They should have called it Dancing in the Theatre! Dancing in the Streets is a wonderful tribute show that covers a lot of the cool music from one of the best eras in music history – Motown in the 1960s.

The atmosphere had a slightly different feel from another tribute show, The Rat Pack, but with either show you are going to get some dedicated fans. At tonight’s show there were clearly two sides to the theatre – the dancing side and the rest! Be prepared to get on your feet – particularly if you have an especially vigorous group in front of you and you actually want to see any of the performance. Crowd participation actually makes a difference to the feel of the show as there is a definite energy that gives the cast something to play with.

As for the actual performance on stage, and not in the stalls, the singing was generally of a good standard but I felt that some songs were a little bit oversung (almost like the perfomers were shouting … or could it be my too old ears being so close to the speakers … ), the costumes were fab (gotta love the guys’ hairdos!), and the dancing was fun (they could have given today’s boy and girl bands a run for their money – heh heh.)

The show had me singing all the way home.

What did the butler see? I’m not really sure because as far as I could tell there was no butler. Instead, what I saw was a very complicated storyline that starts with a doctor’s attempt to seduce his (still innocent) potential secretary and his cover-up that eventually leads to proclamations of insanity, cross-dressing, mistaken identity, shootings and just general mayhem (and there is a LOT of running in and out of doors.)

So the whole thing was set in a mental aslyum so I guess you can expect that it would eventually get “crazy” but I thought at times it bordered on ludicrous with some characterisations becoming almost overbearing.

Overall, not a bad effort for this re-telling of a 40 year old story. There were enough laughs to keep you entertained.

On an impulse my brother and I ended up with tickets to the Rat Pack at the Savoy. It feels like this tribute show to Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin has been on for a very long time but obviously it is still as popular as ever from how packed the theatre was.

The show really is more about the music than anything else. I mean – it was really a great era of music. We were entertained by an ensemble of this such as The Lady is a Tramp, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Candyman, Mr Bojangles, That’s Amore, and New York New York (the city so great it was named twice) but as the show went on I thought the performances got slightly weaker.

The three leads playing Frank, Sammy and Dean were okay. I thought Frank was played a little square and Dean a little too camp but overall I guess it was a fair imitation of the trio. Sammy’s over the top characterisation was probably the best of the three. And the leads were well supported by the brilliant band and “Berelli Sisters”.

The die-hard fans were quite entertaining (for a bit) with their shakin’ and rockin’ enough to disturb our seating and the singing – well, I would prefer that if you can’t you don’t!

PS We had front row seats and I was pleased to see that we had a pretty good view of the entire stage .. feet included!

R surprised me with tickets to this little gem of writing. Eight actors in 42 different roles tell the stories of real Muslims, Christians, and Jews surviving the civil war in Israel. The central theme is food and cooking (actually prepared on stage) with each story intertwined with recipes for such things as Kusa mahshi u waraq (stuffed courgette and stuffed vine leaves); fattoush (stale bread salad); hoummous (chickpea dip) and falafel.

The meaning behind this play has never been more timely in light of recent terrorist attacks on London – with one particular scene (the accidental leaving behind of a bag in a cafe that causes immediate alarm) striking a cord in all of us viewers and another (describing a suicide bomb attack) has us shaking our heads.

At times the depth of information in the play seems almost overwhelming but otherwise all “sides” are given an even hand and leaves one with “food” for thought. [Sorry for the pun!]

Jason Donovan returns (I think to ride it out until the final show on September 5) to the leading role of Caractacus Potts the inventor, the father and the hero. His return and the impending finish prompted me to visit the TKTS booth for tickets to today’s matinee performance. (Tickets are not cheap so my advice is to look for deals where you can.)

I ended up front row centre and again it was fun to be up close and part of the action – except for the fact that people’s feet and the back of the stage were lost to me and the effect of Chitty flying out over the audience, not once but twice, was kinda lost. Still – it was worth it for the eye contact made with Jason and the wink and smile I got. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Musically the songs are catchy (if just a tad overlong) and the choreography fun to watch. I had to giggle when little dogs suddenly ran onto stage during one song and obviously kids agreed with me if their squeals of delight are anything to go by. The musical almost had a pantomime feel as we oohed at exciting scenes and boohed and hissed at the Child Catcher.

I have to save the last word for the set design. In a word – remarkable. It was a sight to behold.

Starring Johnnie Lee Miller, Aden Gillen and David Threlfall, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me is a heart-warming tale by Frank McGuiness of three hostages (an American, an Irishman and an Englishman) in Beirut learning to cope with captivity. For such a bleak subject matter, the play is entertaining and the humour comes thick and fast.

Adam (Miller) the American doctor and Edward (Gillen) the Irish journalist are joined in their cell after months of captivity by Michael (Threlfall) a straight-laced Englishman Middle English teacher. Edward whose devotion to Adam hints at more than just friendship, seems threatened at first but soon the three ease into a balanced relationship … until Adam is taken by their captors and killed. Once Adam is gone the tentative peace is also gone. Edward and Michael turn on each other but after a climax of sort are able to meet on common ground and find their relationship stronger than expected.

All three men acted their hearts out. I found myself particularly touched by Miller’s performance – twice being brought to tears by this gentle and thinking character. Gillen was the energy and Threlfall was best when he had me laughing.

This play is well recommended and even though it first premiered in London in 1992 the play’s subject matter is still, if not more, relevant as ever.