There’s still a small amount of time left to book  Christmas or New Year theatre breaks but the choice of shows left will keep getting tighter the longer you leave it. Theatre Breaks in the Holidays January is a peak time for West End theatres in general but specific dates around the school holidays always have a high demand and booking tickets only will very soon become impossible for most of the popular musicals and plays.  Not everybody realizes though, that theatre breaks packages will still be available for top shows with good seats and plush central London hotels, long after the scramble for individual seats has subsided. That’s because the holiday and theatre breaks companies block book seats in advance and have priority arrangements with the hotel groups, In this way they can still offer top  seats for London theatres and best affordable rooms in the most convenient hotels for a price that is nearly always better value than that you could put together yourself, even if the dates you wanted were still available. Top Musicals for Theatre Breaks So which are the top five musicals for theatre breaks in London this season? Top new musical for 2011 is GHOST with fabulous rock music by Dave Stewart Ghost

musical: Ghost

starring: Richard Fleeshman, CAISSIE LEVY, SHARON D CLARKE

Book Now: Ghost theatre breaks

opening night:24 June 2011 booking until 13 October 2012.

Top Family Musical, also new for 2011 is MATILDA Based on Roald Dahl’s dramatic novel.

musical: Matilda The Musical

starring: Paul Kaye

Book Now: Matilda The Musical theatre breaks

opening night:25/11/2011 booking until 12th February 2012

LAST CHANCE! Priscilla Theatre Breaks  

musical: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

starring: Ray Meagher

Book Now: Priscilla Queen of the Desert theatre breaks

opening night:March 10 2009 booking until 31/12/2011

Perennial Favourite Wicked Theatre Breaks  

musical: Wicked!

starring: Rachel Tucker

Book Now: Wicked! theatre breaks

opening night:2006 booking until Open Ended

More Wizards and Witches in the West End Wizard of Oz Theatre Breaks  

musical: The Wizard of Oz

starring: Danielle Hope

Book Now: The Wizard of Oz theatre breaks

opening night:March 1st 2011 booking until Sunday October 28th 2012

Backbeat is the new Beatles musical which covers the early period of teh Beatles success story, mostly in Hamburg where John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe entertained the nightclub goers in the Reeperbahn district. The main focus of the show is Stuart Sutcliffe, the “lost” Beatle, who played incompetent bass guitar but was an art school friend of John’s and an ambitious young painter. The show follows Sutcliffe’s relationship with the German photographer Astrid Kirchherr – who was responsible for the Beatles’ mop-top haircuts and some superb early images of the group. It also depicts Lennon’s angry feelings of rejection, and McCartney’s relief that he has got John back.

This article titled “Backbeat – review” was written by Lyn Gardner, for The Guardian on Tuesday 11th October 2011 18.08 UTC Does London need another jukebox bio musical? No, and it doesn’t get one either in this intelligent, multilayered and often touching account of the Beatles’ early days in Hamburg and Liverpool and the “lost” Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe. The epitome of cool, Sutcliffe was John Lennon‘s art-school buddy and a gifted young painter who abandoned the group for art and the love of Astrid Kirchherr, the photographer who took some famous moody shots of the band and originally styled their mop-headed, collarless look. Sutcliffe died aged 21 of a brain haemorrhage, just as the Beatles were on the brink of success. Based on Iain Softley’s 1994 movie, Backbeat is – despite all its raucous energy and high levels of amplification – often quite downbeat. It’s all the better for it. More a play with songs than a fully fledged musical, this is not a show threaded through with familiar Beatles’ hits: a brief glimpse of John improving on Paul’s faltering attempts to write Love Me Do is about the closest we get. Instead we see the boys in their Hamburg days when they were essentially a covers band playing in a seedy nightclub, perfecting their sound and skills on hits such as Twist and Shout and Please Mr Postman. The music is delivered with some panache that does eventually lead to the inevitable dancing in the aisles, but it’s a mistake to think that Backbeat is about the music or is indeed the verifiably true story of the early days of the Fab Four. In David Leveaux‘s moody, often painterly production it is much more about art and ways of seeing. There is a small, quiet scene where Sutcliffe contemplates the changes wrought by a lighthouse beam. Oh and it’s about love, in particular the love between Andrew Knott’s arsey antagonistic Lennon, who claims that all art is “dick”, and Nick Blood’s charismatic Stuart, who sees the band as a diversion and is forced to make the hard choices about who he should be with and what he should do with his life. “You’ve got to let me go,” he tells John, and it’s as if he is trying to disengage tenderly from a lover. It’s a small show wrapped up big for a West End theatre, and there are moments of clunkiness in the handling of the ensemble in the Hamburg scenes. But it’s always visually arresting and, finally, a little bit heartbreaking too.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

Today July 27th being the start of the one year countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games in Stratford, East London as part of the countdown launch, a large number of West End theatres have announced new extensions to the period for which the most popular shows can be booked. This is to allow London Theatre breaks to be booked well in advance for the period of the Olympics, and indeed the Olympic year 2012 as a whole, during which there are all sorts of special events laid on. Some of the shows announcing 2012 booking dates extensions are the following West End musicals and plays: We Will Rock You Wicked The Wizard of Oz Billy Elliot the Musical Blood Brothers Dreamboats and Petticoats Jersey Boys The Phantom of the Opera Mamma Mia! Legally Blonde the Musical Ghost The Musical  Les Misérables Shrek The Musical Disney’s The Lion King Million Dollar Quartet  The Mousetrap The 39 Steps Stomp Thriller Live War Horse The Woman in Black Rock of Ages  Matilda The Musical

Over on the Theatre Breaks Wiki, the list of current musicals for theatre breaks in London has been brought bang up to date. So here they are for you:   Current Musicals for Theatre Breaks in London

B

Betty Blue Eyes Billy Elliot Blood Brothers

C

Chicago

D

Dreamboats And Petticoats

G

Ghost The Musical

L

Legally Blonde Lend Me A Tenor Les Miserables

L cont.

Love Never Dies

M

Mamma Mia

P

Phantom of the Opera Priscilla Queen of the Desert

R

Rock Of Ages

S

Shrek The Musical South Pacific Stomp

T cont.

The Jersey Boys The Lion King The Million Dollar Quartet The Wizard of Oz Thriller Live

W

We Will Rock You Wicked

Ghost The Musical started previews in London this week at the Piccadilly Theatre with Caissie Levy as the leading lady. Caissie Levy stars in Ghost the Musical Ghost has been a great hit with the Manchester audience during its pre-West end run and one of the firm favourites of everyone who has seen it is Caissie Levy. Caissie plays Molly Gordon, the female lead of the show. Caissie is a Canadian with a gorgeous voice and good acting skills. She needs them both during Ghost. This is a very demanding role as Molly’s character goes through an amazing range of emotions as the show progresses. We saw Caissie on the West End stage last year in the visiting Broadway production of Hair. Although Hair is a very much an ensemble piece I felt when I watched it that Cassie’s performance really stood out. She played the idealistic Shelia with real conviction and her voice rang out in songs like Good Morning Starshine. I think this bodes very well for her performance as Molly. Caissie’s other most famous role is probably as Elphaba in Wicked in the Broadway production.  In recent interviews she has drawn parallels between Ghost and Wicked. She felt that the range both of vocal skills and acting required of Molly and Elphaba were rather similar. When asked she agreed it was possible that, like Wicked, critics would not like Ghost and it might be a show that would appeal more to audiences. This wasn’t true of the Manchester critics who gave the show  great reviews but London can be harder to convince. Caissie has a gorgeous voice and I thought you might enjoy a sample:

Nick Clegg is the unlikely hero of Nicked, a new musical that’s unfashionably sympathetic to the Lib Dem leader

This article titled “Anyone for Nicked: the Clegg musical?” was written by Euan Ferguson, for The Observer on Saturday 23rd April 2011 23.05 UTC Least likely contender for Spring Hit in Theatre-World, I think it’s safe to say, is going to be Nicked. It’s basically a musical about Nick Clegg, written by a performance poet: that’s when it’s not being a play about the alternative vote. Not, on paper, I think you’ll agree, the most urgently prepossessing of dramatic ideas. And although political theatre does have a proud tradition, and the TV/film adaptations of aspects of the Blair years were enthralling, there’s also a particular recent history of turkeys, especially when “satire” is advertised within. Also… well, Cleggy. Isn’t he a bit obvious? Isn’t this what we call a laughably soft target? Fears totally unfounded. Preconceptions proved damnably and delightfully wrong. Watching early rehearsals for Nicked, one of the productions showcased in this year’s HighTide festival in Suffolk, it’s clear this could be a thing of brilliance. And, actually, something Mr Clegg might want to travel to Halesworth to see – festival director Steven Atkinson estimates about 70% of visitors come from London – because it manages the seemingly impossible at the moment: it humanises the Lib-Dem leader, and makes you think again. Among the scenes I saw, in a small, busy rehearsal room, piano in one corner, cast leaning casually against the walls as they waited to become Samantha Cameron, or Miriam Clegg, or Vince Cable, or David Laws (remember him?) or the Queen, was the crucial one that had Jason Langley and Sam Hodges, as Clegg and Cameron, meeting in an underground car park to warily woo. It’s done as a tango, perhaps the perfect form, the tango having originated in Buenos Aires as a dark celebration of the ever-changing dance of power/need/compromise, both physical and figurative, between sailors and whores. So Dave and Nick tango, head leaning against head as the music builds, and I won’t spoil it but they’re given some pretty good lines, and sing them grandly, and twirl and stamp. It’s great dramatic fun and makes you think, and I realise fairly quickly that this is not a Clegg-knocking exercise. “Absolutely not,” says the writer, Richard Marsh, as far from my idea of “performance poet” as you could imagine – self-effacing and engaging, if a little unslept. He’s been teasing and tweaking the script nightly, to give it greatest relevance when the show opens, because so much has happened to Clegg since “Cleggmania” after those election debates; and continues to happen. Marsh, and director Pia Furtado, will be changing it right up until the week of the AV vote. The script focuses, yes, on those early negotiations, our extraordinary coalition and aspects of the fallout, but it is not yet finished. “Whatever happens, this is just a human story,” continues Marsh, who has in a previous short play, among other things successfully fused Guantánamo Bay with Harry Potter. As you do. “What I wanted was to tell a story about someone whose job is politics. And humanise them, try to get people to relate to him from the view of his own set of circumstances. Everyone is the hero of his own story. But the more I’ve looked into Nick Clegg” – Marsh even read David Laws’s book. All of it – “and those extraordinary days while the coalition was being founded, a handful of very, very tired white men deciding the future of our country, the more I realised the drama of those days.” Steven Atkinson, the festival director, pulled a string or two to arrange a visit to Downing Street, to allow Marsh a glimpse into the physicality of how it all worked – men in rooms, bartering and phoning and sweating and swearing and worrying and wooing, as was happening half a mile away that sunny May in other dark corridors in and around Smith Square – but the outcome wasn’t just a power-play or a point won. It was, as we know, the car ride to Buckingham Palace, here done as another song, this time of joyous comradeship at a deal successfully done. “Just give me PR and then/ we’ll share the keys to Number 10!” Queen Liz looks on, even sings, in wonderfully sardonic fashion; Sam Cam dances with sly exuberant delight. “It’s been quite hard to hold on to my original thoughts of Nick as a person while he’s been getting stuck whack in the middle of decisions I don’t personally agree with,” says Marsh, who, when he first conceived this production, could not have foreseen the storm of opprobrium to land on Clegg of late. The team’s job, and I think rightly so, is essentially to question the knee-jerk reaction of much of this, remind us there is a person at the centre of it, fraught with his own dilemmas, and to do so in verse, with dance; it’s a little miracle it seems to be working so well thus far. As Atkinson says: “Does anyone who’s jumping on him now ever ask themselves: what would you do in the same position? What was the alternative?” The fast-changing nature of the coalition and the way it’s perceived has led to problems or, as politicians would doubtless have it, challenges and opportunities. Marsh is keen to apologise to his director. “Pia’s very patient. We’ve had to cut whole songs. Cut things that didn’t happen, insert things that did or had more impact than we’d first imagined.” Furtado smiles, patiently, itching to get back to rehearsals. She’s spent a while with them earlier just working on character, real character: “The last thing any of us wanted was some Rory Bremner-style caricature.” In one strangely touching scene, Jason Langley’s Clegg pleads with David Laws, a strong friend and fine financial mind caught in that early expenses/gay row, not to resign. Laws, a pitch-perfect Peter Caulfield, but with, I suspect, a better singing voice, breaks from song to solemn dialogue, after Clegg insists: “Most normal people won’t care.” “No, Nick,” he replies. “Most normal people will get political this year.” And they did. Which is better, surely, than apathy. But along the way, some may have forgotten the humans involved at the middle. Quite bizarrely, a sharp little musical – 70% splendid fun, 30% insights wiser than our own leader columns – could just start redressing the balance. Steven Atkinson is even talking about a West End transfer.

Nicked premieres on 30 April, as part of the HighTide Festival, at the Main House, The Cut, Halesworth. hightide.org.uk

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

If you are very quick and can make it to London’s West End for Saturday 9th October 2010 you could very well win two free tickets to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi. There’s a quick fire competition over on the Love Never Dies blog to win two top price tickets and all you have to do is leave a comment. Love Never Dies continues the story of the Phantom of The Opera with Raoul, Christine and the Phantom ten years later set in Coney Island, New York around 1910. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s big musical has been running in London since February 2010 and is due to open in Australia and Toronto soon, then eventually Broadway, New York. Easily one of the best big musicals in London, Love Never Dies is a feast for eyes and the ears from the start and keeps your interest right the way through with some very clever changes of tone and scene. To win two tickets urgently, you’ll need to go over to the Love Never Dies blog right away and leave a comment saying why you’d like to see the show on Saturday. Here’s the link again: http://loveneverdiesphantom.co.uk Good luck!

Love Never Dies Tickets Competition was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

I wish I could tell you about South Pacific. Where it will actually be. The huge set. The enormous orchestra. The music, lovely beyond description. The waiting. The timeless repetitive waiting…. According to an article in the Guardian Harold Panter, head of the Ambassador Theatre Group said: “We are going to be bringing over the Lincoln Centre’s wonderful production of South Pacific – extraordinary moving piece of work, basically about men at war,” he says. Only with some nice songs? “Mr Hammerstein and Mr Rodgers knew a thing or two about creating wonderful music, yes, but the core of it is that it is about something. It is wrong to lump all musicals together.” Personally I can’t wait. I love South Pacific and grew up listening to it’s gorgeous melodies. Song like Bali’hi, Nothing Like a Dame, Happy Talk and I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair were part of the soundtrack of my childhood. However it seems there is a problem. If we are to see the lavish Lincoln Centre production complete with huge orchestra rather than the smaller touring production the show will need to go into one of the largest London theatres and none of them are free for the foreseeable future. While we wait you can at least enjoy the whole of a small screen version of the Lincoln Centre production courtesy of Youtube I’m off to wash my hair
Click here to view the embedded video. South Pacific comes to London was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

What’s On Now In The West End We thought it might be useful to provide a quick reference of musicals in alphabetical order to help show what’s on in the West End as we go into the winter season. Starting with just the top musicals for London theatre breaks

Avenue Q Billy Elliot Blood Brothers Chicago

Dirty Dancing Dreamboats And Petticoats Flashdance Grease

The Jersey Boys Love Never Dies Legally Blonde Les Miserables

The Lion King Mamma Mia Oliver Phantom of the Opera

Priscilla Queen of the Desert Sister Act Stomp Sweet Charity

Thriller Live We Will Rock You Wicked

Last Chance to see: Avenue Q finishes on October 30th 2010 then embarks on a UK tour. Sister Act also finishes on October 30th 2010 Sweet Charity closes on November 6th 2010 Oliver! finishes 8th January 2011 What’s on Soon in the West End: There are lots of short run plays and comedy acts coming up but these are the confirmed musicals in the pipeline: Love Story A new musical version for the stage produced by Michael Ball, opens Saturday, 27 November 2010 Shrek The Musical Replaces Oliver! at the New London Theatre January 2011 The Wizard of Oz – with Danielle Hope as Dorothy and Michael Crawford as The Wizard opens March 1st 2011 Ghost the Musical a stage adaptation of the sensational film opening in July 2011 Viva Forever A brand new musical story using the songs of the Spice Girls opening in 2012

What’s On In The West End – Musicals was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog

Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia, the Abba musical, is 11 years old this month and it has become a firm favourite for theatre breaks. We went along to see the show recently and I can really see why it remains so popular. It was a terrific night out, full of fun, laughter and good music. We came out of the theatre surprised to find ourselves back in London, always a good sign. Mamma Mia – it’s not the film Well, we’ve all seen and enjoyed the film of Mamma Mia and the show transports us to that magical Greek island. This is done partly with a deceptively simple set and lighting effects but mostly it’s the acting and the music that transports us. The show follows a slightly different tack to the film and concentrates a little bit more on the younger members of the cast. In the film Sophie (the daughter) and Sky (her fiance) are quite minor characters in many ways. On stage this changes and some of the most memorable songs are performed by these two. It’s Abba but not as we know it. The music is undoubtedly Abba and you do find that you tend to know all the words. The difference is that the songs have been transformed into musical theatre and suddenly you can hear the strength of the melodies and the power of the words. I’ve never been fond of Abba but I enjoyed the show immensely. For Abba fans, and there were quite a few of them there, it is total bliss. The show is timeless and ageless I was worried that the show might have dated but I shouldn’t have been. It still seems as fresh, fun and charming as it did when it opened. If you are old enough to remember Abba the first time around, you’ll love it even if you wouldn’t have been seen dead listening to something so ‘uncool’ at the time! The costumes are fun, especially the Donnna and the Dynamites, Abba at it’s most kitsch ! The ensemble’s costumes in the hen night scene did find me occasionally wondering if I could revive some old 70’s favourites before common sense took over
But what really impressed me was the age range of people enjoying the show. Sitting next to me was an Indian lady who had brought her grandchildren, two delightful little girls (ages 6 and 8). They all loved the show and Grandma joined in with many of the songs! There were lots of children at the performance I went to and they were all very well behaved, perhaps because what was going on on stage really caught their attention. Even on a Monday night the cast were full of energy and fizz. They created a real party atmosphere and by the end of the evening everyone was on their feet singing, clapping and dancing along.

a

There’s never a better time for a London break than just after the Christmas holidays. The week in between Christmas and New Year is one of the busiest weeks of the year in London theatreland, and then January continues in pretty much the same vein. This year, 2010 there is such a good selection of shows on offer I defy anybody not to be able to put together a pretty exciting London break package. There are family shows, musicals, plays, comedy, opera, ballet, rock concerts, and more.

So here’s looking forward to the perfect January London break in 2010.

London theatre packages come in a variety of shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common. They make delightful gifts! Choosing presents for loved ones is never easy and when it’s for a much loved Mum and Dad it can be really hard. What can you get the couple who have everything? A giant food hamper perhaps? Well, maybe, but it’s just food. Might be, dare I say it, a little dull? After all your Mum is just going to add it to that already overstocked pantry and freezer and while your Dad might enjoy the bottle of malt whisky it doesn’t really show much thought does it? London theatre packages are much more interesting and entertaining. First of all you get the fun of choosing what show you think they’ll enjoy. I’ve got some more advice about that in a minute. Then you can pick them a nice hotel, maybe throw in a pre-theatre dinner, and book their train journey as well. If there are a few of you sharing the expense you could add in an extra night and maybe one of those river cruises with dinner if it’s an extra special occasion. By now you are probably thinking this is going to cost a fortune but theatre break packages for London are really quite good value at the moment. You can get weeknight tickets for Les Miserables and one night in a 3* London hotel for under £100 at the moment. Adding  an extra night only adds around £35 each! Dinner is around £15 – 20 per person. All very affordable really. And just think of the brownie points on Christmas morning! London Theatre Packages Choosing a show

So how do you choose what they’d like to see? Sometimes it is obvious and easy to just choose their favourite show. If your parents are not quite so predictable I’d start with their music collection if I were you. Here’s some tips: Lots of classical stuff, some light opera, SuBo’s new CD = Les Miserables or just possibly Phantom of the Opera. If you are feeling adventurous book for Love Never Dies so they can brag to their friends about being the first to see it! Not much after 1965, except maybe some Shawadiwadi. Your Dad goes a bit funny when anyone mentions Olivia Newton John – they are going to love either Jersey Boys or Grease! Your Dad’s rock collection is rivaled only by your Mum’s passion for Freddie Mercury – has to be We Will Rock You Your Mum knows all the words to Dancing Queen and still has all her signed photos of Bjorn. Your Dad liked the film – Mamma Mia of course

I expect you get the idea by now. You could always surprise them and choose tickets to Chicago (still the sexiest show in town) or even Dirty Dancing. They’d have a great time at either whatever their musical taste. That’s the thing really. All the shows that are on in London are worth seeing. Oh and it’s not just musicals, you can get London theatre packages to see plays, opera and even ballets! a

Related posts:London Weekend Breaks By RailFriday Theatre Breaks with Dinner and HotelWeekend Theatre Breaks in London

Are you looking for more information about London weekend breaks by rail? That’s actually a very good starting point because you’ve already made the best decision as far as transport goes for arriving in London. Go by train and you’ll not have to be worrying about things like car parking, how to pay the congestion charge or long motor way traffic jams holding up coach journeys. The fast inter city trains are also the quickest way to get from most UK cities into one of the central London mainline stations. London Breaks by Rail - Express Routes Weekend breaks can be for a West-end theatre show on any Friday, Saturday or Sunday night combined with a hotel stay of one night or more, including the show date. The most popular break tends to be a one-nighter including the big Saturday night out, but getting away early on a Friday makes a lot of sense too. Traveling on a Friday and Saturday gives a clear run through but Sundays can be fine for getting home too, depending on which rail line takes you back. All I’m saying is, check for regular Sunday engineering works if the service that relays between your city and London is one that may be prone to scheduled maintenance on a Sunday. Longer Weekend Breaks If your weekend break means going home on a Saturday of course, the traditional weekend has only just begun but then again I’ve noticed that for some people around here, the weekend definitely starts to ramp up on a Thursday night! London can be a very pleasant play to stay on a Sunday with less of a hurried atmosphere but still plenty of things to see and do so staying on for the whole weekend and then booking to get back on a Monday during the daytime can make for an extremely satisfying London weekend rail break, more like a mini holiday really. You could even make it a three or four night stay with the weekend theatre trip included, especially worthwhile if you have a long distance rail journey from one of the smaller rail networks that lie beyond the core inter city services. London Shows for Weekend Theatre Breaks One of the advantages with buying a theatre breaks package is that you can get good tickets for any of the more popular shows, even on a busy Friday or Saturday night. I tried to get an impulse ticket from the famous half price ticket booth the other day and after a lot of waiting around I came away without making a purchase. That was because the shows on offer didn’t include two that I was most interested in, and because the prices offered are not anything like half price at all. So supposing you’ve always wanted to grab a friend and go and see Hairspray, Dirty Dancing or Sister Act on a Saturday night but couldn’t find any available tickets except from the disreputable touts and so-called discount kiosks, well the answer is to do just a little bit of forward planning and organise a weekend break in London for just a few weeks down the line, then you can get on with life knowing there’s a fantastic treat in store for you to look forward to. London weekend breaks by rail are also perfect for really special occasions such as a big anniversary or celebration. Never mind seeing Les Miserables from the back of the upper circle, with theatre breaks packages it’s often possible to get best available seats with a competitive price guarantee, because the tour agents buy blocks of tickets way in advance and can therefore hold the best seats open for people who are booking the whole London weekend theatre package thing with the hotel stay and return rail tickets included. This is just one suggestion, but supposing you were a big fan of the Phantom of The Opera having seen it many years ago, and fancied repeating the experience in today’s West End. This gives you two possible shows for London Weekend breaks by rail because the new show with the Phantom opens in March 2010 and it’s going to be one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s biggest shows ever, called “Love Never Dies“. By booking the rail tickets well in advance in combination with London weekend breaks, (that’s the show and hotel stay), you get the full discount on the rail tickets which can mean as much as a 70% saving off the regular return saver. If it appears as if the only shows on in London are the big musicals then that’s certainly not the case. There are always a number of serious plays also on in the West end, usually for shorter runs but not always, and these are also available for London weekend breaks by rail. In 2010 there will be more Shakespeare, Pinter and Becket as well as modern American playwrights, and some comedy plays too. So you’ve decided very sensibly to opt for London weekend breaks by rail, thought about which show you’d both like to see, and maybe opted for a Friday night or Saturday theatre ticket depending which suits you best and considered the best time and day for homewards travel. All that’s left is to balance the convenience of a central London hotel with the economy of staying a little further out, but there is always a good selection of options available when booking London weekend theatre breaks. Now let me see, what else is there to worry about? a

Related posts:Theatre breaks with discount railWeekend Breaks with BasilFriday Theatre Breaks with Dinner and Hotel

There are plenty of good reasons for choosing London breaks around Christmas and the New Year if you’re looking for a chance to get away and enjoy some real cultural entertainment. It’s the height of the show season for one thing, with comedy specials, concerts, plays, pantomime, Shakespeare and of course musicals.  During the festive season London really goes to town with the decorations and lights and puts on not one but a whole series of outdoor ice skating rinks for that special winter wonderland atmosphere, so there is no shortage of things to do in London in the  wintertime.  Then there’s the shopping, with all the big department stores putting on special displays and having ranges of goodies that you just cannot get hold of outside of the capital. People come for London breaks from all over the UK and abroad too, so whoever you are you never feel alone amongst Londoners because the chances are the people next to you in the theatre are from out of town too. Apart from the big winter wonderland exhibition at the O2 there are also festival type events going on in places like Hyde Park and the Southbank, Kensington and Carnaby street. Here is a list of some of the most popular musicals this season for London breaks : Oliver Dirty Dancing Les Miserables Phantom of The Opera Lion King Billy Elliot

In the run up to Christmas some of the West End theatres stop running plays and musicals and instead offer top name comedians live on stage, which makes an opportunity for people from out of town to visit London on what we cal “Comedy Theatre Breaks in London”. A comedy theatre breaks will include tickest to the theatre for a great night out comedy show, and a room on teh night of the show in a smart hotel in central London. Last year, in 2008 for example we had Bill Baily’s comedy and music Tinselworm show and also Eddie Izzard’s amazing standup performance, both in Shaftesbury avenue theatres. This year, 2009 we have Dylan Moran, the surrealist Irish comedian who starred in cult TV sitcom “Black Books” among other things. Dylan Moran Theatre Breaks in London Dylan Moran Eddie Izzard is back this year but only for one night so it’s at the O2, where there;s a Russel Brand show too.

O2 comedy breaks – Eddie Izzard , Russel Brand

On Tuesday Nov 3rd 2009 many West End Musicals favourites will be helping light up the city as part of the switch on of London’s Christmas lights. At 3 main venues in the centre of London stars from major productions will be involved in the switch on. Sister Act – Oxford Circus It’s the 50th Anniversary of the Christmas lights in Oxford St and the Sister Act cast will be there in force to make sure the ceremony goes with a swing. The switch will be flicked by Jim Carey (no really, Truman himself!),  the girl group The Saturdays, Taio Cruz will also entertain the crowds. Sister Act Oliver! – Regent St Oliver! star Jodie Prenger and the London Community Gospel Choir will be at Regent St. Colin Firth (down girls!) will be doing the switch on. The Noisettes and  Daniel Merriweather will also be performing. Jodie Prenger as Nancy in Oliver Hairspray – St Paul’s Cathedral The cast of Hairspray will be at St Paul’s Cathedral, along with Spandau Ballet, Little Boots, St Paul’s Cathedral Choir and Bob Hoskins doing the honours. St Paul's Cathederal, London More stars will no doubt soon be announced and I’ll keep you posted here on the Theatre Breaks blog a

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Wicked Theatre Breaks Winter Offer Wicked theatre breaks - Land of Oz Wicked is always a popular choice for theatre breaks but it’s extra special at this witchy time of year. Why not book a Halloween special treat with a difference this year and try a Wicked theatre break? The Story of Wicked The story of Wicked isn’t as straightforward as you might suppose. The tale of the two witches and how one came to be evil and the other good has a few surprises for you along the way. I’m really not going to say more than that as I don’t want to give too much away! Full of spectacular special effects Wicked is a great introduction to musicals for younger fans. Some of it is quite dark and scary but then most children enjoy that anyway. Staying in London with Children It’s a bit of a nightmare trying to travel home with tired children after a long show. This is where booking a whole package really pays off but don’t fall into the trap of booking a hotel miles away from the theatre. If you look closely at the hotel listing you will usually see a distance from theatre. Go for the one nearest if at all possible. Taking tired children on the underground late at night is no fun at all and should be avoided at all costs!If you are staying further out then a black cab is the best, safest and easiest option. Special Offer on Wicked Theatre Breaks There’s a special offer on Wicked theatre breaks this winter with Show and Stay. There is £20 off  Wicked theatre breaks to be taken in October and November 2009 if you book between now and November 2nd. **  book Wicked Theatre Breaks Online **

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Les Miserables on Tour If you’ve ever been on a London Theatre Break to see Les Miserables then here’s a chance to see the world’s longest running musical at a venue closer to home perhaps. Of course if you haven’t ever seen it properly in London then what are you waiting for? ** Book Les Miserables London Theatre Breaks ** Cameron Mackintosh announced recently that John Owen Jones will star as ‘Jean Valjean’, Earl Carpenter as ‘Javert’ and Gareth Gates as ‘Marius’ in the exciting new 25th anniversary production of “LES MISÉRABLES,”. This new production has spectacular new designs inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo and embarks on a major international tour starting in Wales. Les Miserables Stars John Owen Jones has been hailed as the best Jean Valjean since Colm Wilkinson. As well as starring in “Les Misérables” in both the West End and on Broadway he has also appeared as ‘The Phantom’ in “The Phantom of the Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London. Earl Carpenter who is currently playing ‘Javert’ in the West End production of “Les Misérables” has also starred as ‘The Phantom’ in West End.

Gareth Gates of course, is the multi million selling popstar who had the 2nd best selling single this decade. He played the title role of ‘Joseph’ in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre and was a semi finalist in ‘Dancing on Ice’ 2008. Les Miserables Score The score of “LES MISÉRABLES” includes the songs, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ (currently the world’s most popular song thanks to Susan Boyle), ‘On My Own’, ‘Stars’, ‘Bring Him Home’, ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’, ‘One Day More’, ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’, ‘Master Of The House’ and many more. Les Miserables Amazing History Les Miserables “LES MISÉRABLES” originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen’s Theatre on 3 April 2004 where it continues to play to packed houses. When “LES MISÉRABLES” celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World’s Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by “Cats” in London’s West End.

Seen by over 56 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages 34 cast recordings of Les Miz, Multi-platinum London cast recording Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast album. 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert album sold nearly two million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,000 productions of the Les Misérables School’s Edition scheduled or being performed by over 100,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.

Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Les Miserables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. The original London production of “LES MISÉRABLES” was adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. This new production will be directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the works of Victor Hugo and John Napier. Original costumes by Andreane Neofitou, lighting by Paule Constable and sound by Mick Potter. Les Miserables International Tour Dates LES MISÉRABLES International Tour 2009/2010 11 December 2009 – 16 January 2010 WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE CARDIFF 19 January – 13 February 2010 MANCHESTER PALACE THEATRE 16 February – 20 March 2010 NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL 23 March – 17 April 2010 BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME 20 April – 15 May 2010 EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE 26 May – 4 July 2010 PARIS – THE CHATELET ** Book Les Miserables LONDON Theatre Breaks **

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Peter Townsend of The Who has written anther rock musical. This one isn’t about growing up but rather about growing old. The musical is called Floss and tells the story of an ageing pub rocker and relationship with his wife. Songs from the show will appear on the next Who album. Townsend is said to be in talks for a US opening in 2011. He says he wants to tackle the issues the Baby Boomers are facing as they realise they didn’t die before they got old. The music will reflect the anger and disillusionment of this newly retired generation. Meanwhile that other Townsend offering, Quadrophenia continues its UK tour.

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Sister Act the Musical - Mixed Reviews The critics have given their  opinions of Sister Act the Musical and they don’t seem to be quite sure. Ratings vary between 4* and 2* . Have a look for yourself and see if you agree: Evening Standard (****) – “It’s been done before, the reasoning might have gone, so why not do it again? Put a singing nun centre stage in a musical and watch the piece climb every mountain … Whether or not divine intervention is involved, it’s a wimple-wibbling, habit-forming triumph … Before Peter Schneider’s production builds up the unstoppable head of momentum that led to the quickest standing ovation I’ve ever seen on a West End first night, there are some dubious early moments. Once we find Sheila Hancock’s delightfully droll Mother Superior (‘God has brought you to this place: take the hint’) waiting for Deloris, sorry, Sister Mary Clarence, things take a distinct turn for the heavenly. Alan Menken’s attractive, gospel-inflected score kicks in … Helped along by Anthony Van Laast’s energetic choreography … There can be no disputing the evening’s main draw: 24-year-old Miller, …. Her magnificent voice is rich, soaring and, crucially, unflagging. She might have been unknown last night, but today all that will have changed. Take it away, sisters.” Daily Telegraph (****) – Based like most new musicals these days on an old movie, Sister Act proves more enjoyable on stage than it did on film. I caught the show at the final preview with an audience of regular punters rather than the usual first-night rent-a-mob, and the cheers and standing ovation at the end were both genuine and deserved. The book, by Cheers writers Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, is strong, funny and touching. And the disco-inspired score by Disney favourite Alan Menken, with neat lyrics by Glenn Slater, is a cracker. Frankly, what’s not to like, especially when you’ve got a chorus line of jiving nuns singing their hearts out ecstatically? … The show’s real find is the American Patina Miller as Deloris. She has all the comic vitality of Whoopi Goldberg in the film, but she’s sexier and sings up a storm. When she’s belting out the disco-diva anthems you might be listening to Gloria Gaynor or Chaka Khan. She also has a funky, spunky stage presence and great comic timing … I suspect this musical comedy about a nun on the run could prove habit-forming.” The Times was less sure: The Times (*) – a rather sweet, sentimental film has been hyped up, coarsened, given what — were the Palladium flown to Times Square — we’d call the big, brash Broadway treatment … The film’s point was that Deloris liberates the nuns’ voices while they liberate her spirit. She puts modern soul into their Salve Regina, they put Salve Regina into her modern soul. But there’s no gentle piety here … There’s less deft comedy, but much more music, most of it indebted to the 1970s, where the action is now set. That lets Alan Menken, the composer, have a lot of catchy fun with period rock and disco … And that lets Patina Miller display the first of her star qualities, a terrific voice. Add warmth, humour, vivacity — and you’ve a star who lacks Whoopi’s wry vulnerability but adds dazzle to the razzle around her.” Others were less kind. Quentin Letts seems to object on religious grounds, whilst admitting it’s likely to be a hit: Daily Mail () – “Call me a miserable old monk but I hated Sister Act….. This noisy, pumpy, insistently American musical will doubtless be a solid summer hit for the Palladium. It will entertain thousands of people who are out for a simple night’s fun and don’t get their cassocks in a tangle, like I do, about church liturgy. Much of it is well performed. Just count me out. From the start there is basically one joke: namely, the spectacle of nuns grooving around on the dance floor. I know I may be taking it too seriously but I found myself recoiling sharply from this story’s saccharine values and its bullying gaiety. The thing is as shallow as the Aral Sea. Hideously formulaic. Musical by numbers. Yuck, yuck, yuck … The evening’s chief on-stage talents are Sheila Hancock, who plays the stern Mother Superior, and Patina Miller as Deloris … Miss Hancock is on fine form and Miss Miller, after an off-key start, shows herself to have a cheesy presence and a Merlin engine of a voice. ” Michael Billington’s objections are more varied: The Guardian (**) …A world away from the cloistered charmers of The Sound of Music. What we have here is a show that feels less like a personally driven work of art than a commercial exploitation of an existing franchise … What was originally a fairytale fantasy, however, makes little sense in its new, vulgarised incarnation … In order to pad out a slight story, every key member of the cast also has to be given a number … Alan Menken’s music admittedly has a pounding effectiveness and the opening number, ‘Take Me to Heaven’, is skillfully turned into a hymn to religious, rather than sensual, ecstasy. Patina Miller invests Deloris with a wealth of raucous energy and just about convinces in her conversion from fame-seeking individualist to member of the singing sorority. Sheila Hancock lends the show some needed gravitas as the Mother Superior … All too typically the nuns, in Anthony van Laast’s choreography, kick up their heels like the Rockettes and prance around in gilt vestments that might be described as surplice to requirements. (That last pun really should have been edited out - just awful!) Your Reviews of Sister Act I’ve not been yet but I do intend going over the summer. Meanwhile, dear readers: Have you seen it? What do you think of the show? Are the critics wrong yet again? Do leave us your reviews of Sister Act in the comments.

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