As a special treat for my OH I'm going to treat her to a theatre show in that London and a night at a hotel as a christmas prezzie.
Being a man, I havent really got a clue about what shows there are and whats good. Im guessing some sort of musical might be good, but what do I know?
So what would the STW collective suggest for an enjoyable fun night out in theatreland?
my wife liked the showstoppers show.
I wasnt there so i cant comment on content.
Is Hamilton still on? Might be hard to get tickets but not impossible.
Dear Evan Hansen; Come from Away; Waitress - all have been thoroughly enjoyed by my wife and daughter who are big into their musicals and are a bit different from your average stories.
Is she a potter fan? you could get her either part or part 2, both of which i would MASSIVELY recommend!
I've had a quick look whats currently on and what I've therefore seen. I've seen Matilda, Sister Act and Lion King. Which I'd pick would depend on the lady in question really. I read matilda, loved the movies sister act and lion king hence choosing them but if she's a different person then maybe pick something else. You can't really go wrong with any of them tbh.
If she has a sense of humor go for The Book of Mormon. Best show I ever saw by a country mile.
If she wants to be down with the cool kids then Hamilton (though tickest are still hella hard to get I think).
Did this last year and got a gazillion Brownie points for it.
Train early Sat morning, quick lunch in a cafe and then a spot of wandering round sight seeing. Popped over to the Hyde Park Christmas Winter Wonderland late afternoon, Mexican for dinner then watched Wicked at the Apollo (it was awesome). Sunday was more sight seeing and lots of walking about, nice lunch, more sight seeing. Monday we spent pretty much all day in the Tower of London including 2 hours queuing to see the Crown Jewels (I'd recommend getting the audio tour, it was ace) before getting the late afternoon train back after a couple of nice happy hour drinks.
Cracking couple of days, weather was okay (just breezy and fresh feeling) London was busy as you'd expect, but the Mrs loved it
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Im going for a midweek show, based on the logic that it'll be cheaper, better seats available and London wont be so busy.
Is Avenue Q still running? Go see that if so, it's ace.
Pro tip, get yourself over to the ticket booth in Leicester Square early doors. They sell last-minute theatre tickets at vastly reduced prices.
Les Miserables every single day of the week. We went last year and my wife just wanted to buy more tickets and walk straight back in to watch the next performance.
The new Mary Poppins show gets great reviews too but I haven't seen it myself yet.
When The Greatest Showman debuts I am sure it will be a hit and I will be at the front of the line for tickets.
If she has a sense of humor go for The Book of Mormon. Best show I ever saw by a country mile.
This...so wrong, so funny.
Les Mis, Matilda all good. The Play That Goes Wrong is next on our list
If musicals are her thing, I've seen these and they were all good - in this order ...
Book Of Mormon
Wicked
Matilda
Sadly, Avenue Q has not been on for ages. If it were, that would be my top pick ("everyone's a little bit racist")
Mrs Dubs wants to see Mary Poppins next.
Woman I work with saw the Tina Turner thing, said it was good.
https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/musicals
The Play That Goes Wrong is next on our list
It's "ok". I wasn't that impressed, but I find farces a bit meh.
Wow - I thought The Play That Goes Wrong was mega!
Typical stw thread creep - I started going to the opera at the royal opera house. I knew nothing about it but just went as I didn't fancy any theatre. I have always got returned tickets at the box office at c 6pm on the day, usually pay c 40 gbp for a middling seat, top ones are 200, cheapest 10. Guests love it, they cannot believe they are enjoying opera.
London wont be so busy.
Your from out of town aren’t you... 🙂
All of the above but especially Hamilton and the Book of Mormon are excellent. It helps to know a little background of Alexander Hamilton before you go to the former IMO and bear in mind it’s hip hop orientated. Wicked is good, Japanese Drummers are excellent also. Go early and have a bottle of red and order another for the interval, sit in the glamour and chat for a bit.
Not really Kryton, I only live about 100 miles away, regular visitor to the smoke.
Midweek in Jan it wont be as busy with people, compared to after easter, for example.
Whilst I'm tempted to gamble on getting tickets before the show, I really want to be a bit more organised than my usual play it by ear plans. Its a special treat for the OH so I want it to be hassle and stress free.
Les Miz or Book of Mormom might be the choice. I know she enjoyed the Les Miserables TV series from earlier in the year.
When we saw Les Mis it was weird because the actor who played the grown-up Cosette in Paris was, err, a different colour to the actor that played her as a child. Cue lots of confused audience members looking around trying to get a handle on just WTF was going on.
But it didn't detract from the show which really is astounding.
Back to Mary Poppins, the choreography was co-arranged by Sir Matthew Bourne which means that dance aspect of it is sure to be amazing. I saw his Swan Lake (the Swans all played by males) in Bradford and that was great.
Seen a few. Lion King has excellent staging and a well known score. Matilda is safe, amusing but a bit lightweight. Mamma Mia is a great feel good singalonga ABBAfest. Book of Mormon is way, way different and outrageously funny. I'm pretty broad minded and was surprised how few taboos it left unmolested. FGM? Murder? Hitler? Rectal bible insertion? Yep, it goes to all those places and many more. Haven't laughed so much in ages!
^^^ Yeah we saw Matilda recently too - I wouldn't go to see it just as adults but it is good family stuff. Lion King I would happily go to see in adult only company.
One show I would love to see with the full West End production would be Phantom of the Opera - I saw it in Manchester and it was great, but I am sure it would be even better in London.
Another one to recommend (but not a 'show' as such): The Reduced Shakespeare Company doing The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) - hilarious.
I tend to find some of the more recent stuff (and especially 'adaptations') to be a bit disappointing - we saw Grease (with Shane Richie playing Danny and he accidentally swallowed a cigarette on stage) and was equally disappointed with We Will Rock You and Billy Elliot. They are okay, but not amazing.
Shows to avoid:
Cats. Utter garbage.
+1 Les Miserables - there is a reason why it is the longest running show in the West End
Woman I work with saw the Tina Turner thing, said it was good.
Fiend of mine was in that, should have gone to see it really. Is The Blue Man Group still going? I loved that when I saw it.
love Les Mis, but can be hard going if you dont already know the music.
Book of Mormon is fantatstic, even better if you go in without knowing what to expect!
MAtilda is brilliant, Lion King too
Stage show of Only Fools is good fun.
School of Rock is a favourite tho.
there is a run of Big the Musical on atm too which is supposed to be great.
can be hard going if you dont already know the music.
Surely everyone knows the music, if only through aural osmosis?
Matilda is excellent, much better than I expected.
Daughter is a huge musicals fan and had a treat week in London with her mum. Les Mis is still a bit meh! if you're 12, Hamilton was amazing and my wife still hasn't told me what off peak mid week tickets cost, though daughter has!
Dear Evan Hansen booked for next spring.
(If you ever get the chance to see Made in Dagenham the Musical on tour it's waaaay more fun than you'd expect)
The book of Mormon is undoubtedly one of the best things I've ever seen, ever. As long as she isn't easily offended you won't regret it!
Matilda is a great production, but The Play That Goes Wrong was excellent if you like a bit of slapstick and absurd comedy.
If you are looking to go early next year it is worth waiting for these offers to become available in early December. https://officiallondontheatre.com/new-year-sale/
I took the family to see Wicked in February this year, I think best seats at the Saturday matinee were £40 each. It was a great show, suddenly the Wizard of Oz all made sense.
Currently trying to decide what to get tickets for next year.
Would she like ballet at the ROH? Fairly special venue, more so than your standard theatres.
Book of Mormon all booked and a hotel in Bayswater (close, not!) for next week. She was well chuffed on christmas day. Managed to draw it out by giving her the travel tickets first, then the hotel ticket. About an hour later I gave her the show tickets!
Looking ofrward to have some "just the two of us" time. Love my son to bits, but I feel we don't have enough time of our own, so hopefully this will be just the ticket.
Arrive in London lunchtime Tues and leave Wed after 4, so plenty of time for doing stuff.
Touching the void is on in town & very good it is too.
