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New Year Theatre Breaks

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New Year Theatre Breaks 2010 New Years Eve Theatre Breaks - Big Ben New Year theatre breaks are a great way to bring in the new decade. As it falls on a Friday night this year lots of shows have performances on New Year’s Eve and London is, of course, a fantastic place to be on such an important night. I’ll go through each of the shows, suggest some central hotels, cover some of the great things on in the city centre after the shows close, and suggest some things to do on New Year’s Day. Shows for New Year Theatre Breaks All the following shows have performances on New Year’s Eve 2010 . As of today these all still have some tickets, many only as part of theatre break packages. They are going fast so if you want a New Year’s Eve Theatre Break act now. Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break Musicals: Billy Elliot Blood Brothers Chicago Dirty Dancing Jersey Boys Legally Blonde Les Miserables Mamma Mia Matilda, A Musical Oliver! (Matinee only) Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Lion King The Phantom of the Opera Thriller Live We Will Rock You Wicked Plays: Deathtrap The 39 Steps When We Are Married Woman in Black Yes, Prime Minister Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break Hotels for New Year’s Eve Theatre Breaks You really want to be central to make the most of being in the capital at New Year. I’ve seen quite a few locally organised breaks advertised where they whisk you back to an out of town hotel for a celebration after the show. This is fine but it does mean you miss out on the fun and excitement of Big Ben’s chimes and the magnificent fireworks displays. To me this is part of why you’ve come to the capital. To miss out on it stuck out of the city, no matter how nice your hotel, would be a shame. I’ll explain more about the fireworks and the New Year’s Day Parade later in the post. Ideally you want your hotel to be in the central area, say not more than 1 mile from the theatre. Sounds expensive? Actually surprisingly not too bad. I looked at good tickets for Phantom of the Opera and 2 nights and found I could get a 3* very central hotel for £250ish per person. This isn’t much different to a normal weekend rate. New Year Theatre Breaks by Rail Advice – Come By Rail if You Possible Can This is one weekend you do not want to have a car in central London. Really, it’s better to come by rail usually anyway but New Year sees vast numbers of road closures and a car is really going to cramp your style. The theatre breaks agencies usually allow you to include your train tickets and can save you up to 40% on the normal price. After the Show – the fireworks. You won’t get out of the theatre in time to grab a prime position for the displays. They will all be filled by about 10pm. However, no need to despair. Wrap up warm and get yourself to a spot where you can see the London Eye and you will be able to see a really spectacular show. The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast down the length of the river and then the display starts. If you prefer you can head for Trafalgar Square. There are no events planned but there is a huge screen which will relay the countdown and chimes and then show the fireworks. Just try to keep out of the fountain! No, really, it’s a really bad idea. Once it’s over you can smugly watch everyone head for the overcrowded tube as you stroll back to your cosy central hotel. By the way alcohol is not prohibited in the centre of London on New Year’s Eve so if you did happen to have a hip flask with you it might be a very nice way to bring in the New Year! New Year’s Day Parade After a full English breakfast, ( see hip flask above!) and a gentle potter round the hotel it’s time to head off for the parade. This has become a really fun event. It starts at 12 and goes on till 3. This year is the 25th anniversary of the parade and it looks set to be an extra special one. There are numerous marching bands, floats and performances. You can get a taster of it from this video: Click here to view the embedded video. Ideally why not book tickets for one of the grandstands. They are not too expensive with even the V.I.P. one at Whitehall only costing £20 each. These give you the best view of the parade. Check Availability for Your New Year Theatre Break New Year Theatre Breaks was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog
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September 14 2010, 10:22am | Comments »
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Short breaks in London with a Show

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Short breaks in London with a show are a great choice for mid-week or weekend holidays. Here are my top 3 recommendations for shows this coming Spring. Couples who just want to see a show as part of a trip to London, perhaps as part of a special occasion have lots of choice when it comes to shows and things to do. London is a great place for short breaks and there is a lot for couples to do and see. There are all the art galleries, lots of classy shops and, of course, the sights of London. That’s the thing about the capital it’s still fun even if you’ve seen it all before. When you are choosing the show for your short break I’ve got three top recommendations for you at the moment. Choose Your Show Les Miserables In your position I’d go for Les Miserables as a first choice. Tickets have got a little bit trickier to get hold of due to the SuBo effect but the theatre break agencies still have plenty of availability. If you can be flexible about your dates and can travel mid-week there are some brilliant deals for Les Miz. Traveling mid-week also gives you a good choice of 3* and 4* hotels at very reasonable rates. Les Miserables is one of the longest running shows but it still remains one of the best. People always seem to enjoy it and it still seems as fresh as it ever was. Dress Code: best frock or jeans, this is London – no one cares! Hair However if semi-classical score is not to your taste you could try revisiting the 60s and trying something brand new but re-cycled. Hair is coming to the West End in April and it’s going to be huge. This is the full Broadway revival production, all singing, all dancing, full of colour, life and energy, just like time traveling back to those days. They say if you remember the 60s you weren’t there but Hair is all that you might have missed and more. There is flower power, hippies and The Age of Aquarius, not to mention a bit of nudity and other, rather innocent naughtiness! Dress code: Afghan waistcoats, bell bottoms and patchouli (only kidding!). Though it might not be a bad choice of costume if you want to join in with the onstage party at the end of the show:

Jersey Boys Maybe Jersey Boys is more your scene, sing along as you watch the story of Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons unfold. Walk Like a Man, Sherry Baby, and a host of other tunes you’ll enjoy discovering you still know all the words to are woven into the story of five young lads from New Jersey.
Dress code: Very snazzy Trilby hats available in the foyer of the theatre So there you are three top shows to choose from, all of them ideal to fit in with your short breaks in London with a show. a
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February 12 2010, 8:44am | Comments »
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London Theatre Packages

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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
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December 16 2009, 2:43pm | Comments »
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Les Misérables theatre breaks review

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Les Misérables theatre breaks Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a major production in the same league as The Phantom of the Opera. The musical tells of the story of Jean Val Jean, an ex-convict who could not escape his past. Like the Phantom, Les Mis has been conducting a couple of world tours off and on over the years. I’ve never seen the play elsewhere but I have been told that the travelling cast is nowhere as good as the one based in London, not sure how true that is though. Well, when we finally got to experience it for ourselves last Saturday, it totally blew us away.

Les Miserables Cast Being a large scale production, they can boast a cast of more than two dozen, probably many. Having many recognizable characters, it’s not really possible to recycle actors and actresses to take on more than one role so the cast is very much a full one. Though the main characters generally possesses well endowed voices, the main actor to look out for is the one who take on the role of Javert, a policeman who was bent on capturing Jean Val Jean. His baritone voice carried through the theatre magnificently and you could feel his anguish when faced with the dilemma towards the end of the play. Also look out for a boy who acts as Gavroche, a young street urchin. His clear and cheeky voice captures the hopes of the youths in the chaotic situation that engulfed 19th century France. Staging Les Miserables Something that really distinguishes Les Miserables out from other shows is the use of the circular stage. By rotating the stage and the clever use of lights, props and settings can be changed while causing absolutely no disruptions to the unfolding of the drama. In fact, scenes that depict people walking across distances were done seamlessly. Look out for the scene when Jean Val Jean carried an injured Marius through the sewers and you’ll know what I mean. Les Miz – My conclusions Les Miserables , without a doubt is worth the full ticket price and perfect for the best theatre breaks in London. To those who have read the 1200-page original unabridged version of the story, this musical will bring to life those characters that have been so strongly portrayed in what was purported to be the story of the century even then. To those who are unfamiliar with the turmoil that swept 19th century France, Les Miserables will provide a strong introduction to the subject.

a Les Misérables theatre breaks review

Related posts:Les Miserables Theatre BreaksLes Miserables – new cast memberThe Susan Boyle Effect and Les Miserables
July 20 2009, 5:58am | Comments »
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The Susan Boyle Effect and Les Miserables

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According to yesterday’s Telegraph sales of tickets for Les Miserables have gone up by 46 per cent since Susan Boyle sang I Dreamed a Dream in the first round of Britain’s Got Talent. It’s certainly true that tickets have become much scarcer and you need to book a few weeks ahead to be sure of getting them, even when you are booking a theatre break. At the moment you can’t just decide that you want to see Les Mis next week. Still if you can be patient and wait until July there does seem to be a bit more availability for mid week performances. I Dreamed a Dream is a solo sung by Fantine in Act 1 in the musical. Susan Boyle’s version has attracted more hits than any other You Tube clip. It would be so easy to include that clip but I thought you might enjoy a more authentic taste of Les Miserables so here’s Gunilla Backman back in 1999, she was a gorgeous Fantine. Although it’s hard to be compared to stars like Ruthie Henshall ,current Fantine, Allyson Brown seems to be getting lots of praise.

** Book Les Miserables Theatre Breaks **

Related Posts:Les Miserables - new cast memberWhere are they now? TV Contestants On StageWicked cast changes - a new ElphabaLes Miserables Theatre BreaksLes Miserables - the classic musicala The Susan Boyle Effect and Les Miserables
June 11 2009, 6:02pm | Comments »
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Les Miserables - new cast member

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Antony Hansen, who is only 19, has landed the part of Feuilly and will understudy the leading role of Marius in Les Misérables from June 22nd 2009. Antony who comes from Steventon, near Didcot, is best known for his appearances in the BBC1 show Any Dream Will Do back in 2007. Although he was knocked out in the final live shows Anthony was not disheartened and has continued to pursue his dream of performing in the West End. Antony said in an interview in his local paper “The last two years have been a bit of a blur — from first auditioning for Any Dream Will Do, through to achieving my dream of appearing in London’s West End in my greatest musical of all time is just mind-blowing. “Two years ago, I was at St Birinus School studying for my A-Levels and appearing in the school’s production of Les Misérables. “Now I will be moving to London for 12 months to appear in Les Misérables, in the West End. You have to just go for it and become the best you can.” After Any Dream Will Do, he joined the UK tour of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat in January last year as Napthali, moving to the lead role for the last 3 months of the tour. I must do a round up post of where the other singers from Any Dream Will Do are soon as many of them have done very well, though few as well as Anthony as yet.

Related Posts:Joseph gets a new lead - Gareth Gates!Joseph star Lee Mead confirmed through to Jan 2009News - Joseph(Lee) takes a break.We Will Rock You gets a surprise new cast memberJoseph Theatre Breaksa Les Miserables - new cast member
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May 14 2009, 11:11am | Comments »