Giants in the sky 🌱
Deals from £10 and a panto review? Oh yes it is!
Well I’m rounding off official reviews for the year with the annual staple - a trip to New Wimbledon Theatre’s panto! You can always trust this venue to put on a good show and Jack and the Beanstalk certainly lived up to my usual expectations.
AD - GIFTED. I received a free ticket to this show, however my review remains completely impartial!
Giants and cows and beanstalks, oh my! Theatrical fans of this newsletter will be pleased to know that New Wimbledon remains suitably stagey with their 2024 pantomime, with amended hits including Joseph’s Pharoah’s Story (‘strange as it seems this is a tale of magic beans…’) and Crazy For You’s I Got Rhythm (change any reference to music to ‘moosic’). Luckily Into the Woods’ Giants in the Sky was pretty self-explanatory already, but these new lyrics are just a small snippet of a silly yet well-crafted script. Joe Pasquale (as Silly Simon) also takes on the role of co-director, and it’s clear from the start of his influence as he appears riding a moving toilet and sprays loo roll into the crowd! The kids lapped up the goofy physical comedy, proving Pasquale is still rightly an audience favourite.
Opposite him, Alexandra Burke takes on the role of the smooth villainess Mrs Blunderbore. The name certainly doesn’t match the character she brings to the stage, which is cool and cruel, and far from boring! The opening of act two is a essentially a gig with a fantastic performance of Bad Boys, followed up by Hallelujah later on. Burke’s fans will leave fulfilled!
It was great to see a good old classic panto horse (well, cow), complete with spectacular dance routines. The set is full of surprises, including gargantuan giants which seem to frighten adults and children alike! I was privileged to see a BSL performance on this particular night and loved how the interpreter was included in certain gags - I firmly believe BSL can complement shows rather than purely being an access add-on and this was a perfect example.
It’s pure silliness with stagey fun thrown in - I had a blast! Jack and the Beanstalk plays until Sun 5 Jan. Tickets are on sale from just £13.
Happy ticket-buying!
Rochelle 🎭🎫
Carrying the banner
In the news this week…
David Tennant and Cush Jumbo-led Macbeth performance halted due to audience incident
The Yard Theatre to be demolished ahead of new venue’s construction
Barbican Centre to undertake essential repairs in major redevelopment
I’m kind of a big deal
The Duchess closes in less than a fortnight, and there seems to be one last great deal to be taken advantage of! You can see the brilliant Jodie Whittaker for just £15. There’s some fantastic seats available in the front of the stalls right up until the penultimate day of performances.
Hey big spender
Here’s your discounts, offers and cheap seats this week.
🏃 New rush alert! Get £25 tickets for Only Fools and Horses while its at the Eventim Apollo in London. They’re available on the TodayTix app daily at 10am.
There’s £10 tickets for The Holly King and the Oak King at Battersea Arts until 20 Dec, use code HOLLYNEWS.
Get £10 tickets for King James at Hampstead Theatre.
There’s £12.50 tickets to the King’s Head panto, Cinderella.
Get £13.50 tickets for Stalled in February.
There’s £15 tickets to Odd and the Frost Giants at the Unicorn Theatre this Sat (14 Dec) - use code ODD15.
There’s £18.50 tickets for the drag panto Peter Pan at the Phoenix Theatre.
Selected grand circle seats are just £20 for Tina.
If you want to plan a little further ahead for Only Fools and Horses, there’s £22.50 tickets available. There’s some much better seats for just £10 more though.
It’s your last chance to get £25 tickets for Waiting for Godot in its final week.
There’s £25 tickets for Circa’s Duck Pond.
And get best seats for £25 for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs panto in Bath. Use code SNOW25 - valid 18 Dec 2pm and all performances 2-9 Jan.
Don’t throw away your shot
Competitions, on-sales and announcements.
So you know The Choir of Man announced it was closing as the Arts Theatre was being refurbished? Well, change of plan! They’ll have a few months off then will be back from Mar 2025 as the redevelopment timeline has changed. Tickets are on sale for its new run.
Evita will run at the London Palladium next summer. Ticket details are yet to be confirmed but you can sign up to their newsletter (or keep an eye on mine) for further announcements.
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals will return in January at the AO Arena! Sadly they announced the tickets and they sold out before anyone really realised what was happening, but keep an eye on the event page for any returns.
The Bodyguard will embark on a new UK and European tour in 2025. Check the website for on-sale dates.
Following press night, The Devil Wears Prada musical has extended its West End run - tickets are now available until Oct 2025.
The filmed Bonnie & Clyde musical will be shown in cinemas next year - tickets are on sale now.
Prima Facie has just been added to NT at Home. Some extra additions have also been confirmed for next year, including Waitress! You can subscribe from £9.99 a month of £99.99 a year.
StarKid will return to the London Palladium in Apr 2025. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on 13 Dec.
Win tickets to see The Importance of Being Earnest in cinemas plus some goodies.
And finally it’s your last chance to enter Mamma Mia’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!
That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please tell your friends. I’m also open to suggestions and requests for certain discounts, so do drop into my DMs. Right, time for a night in prepping for Sweet Charity auditions! 💃
