A man walks into a bar…

The Weir by Conor McPherson Occasionally we like to have a different kind of reading experience in our Book Group, and for this month’s read, we chose a play. This particular choice was  prompted by the fact that the father of one of our number was mounting a production later this autumn. Older plays on the Read More

Books in Bath and a French Farce

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Bath, it’s only an hour and a half from us, and the delights of the city are many. Yesterday was all about shopping, dining and theatre – we’ve done the heritage bit on previous visits.  We arrived in time for lunch (Nandos), then got stuck into shopping… One Read More

It brings it all back …

I’ve waxed lyrical about my favourite musicals before – Oliver! in particular. It still is, I think, but the musical that lead me into a rockier direction was Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve been sparked off to post about it because, belatedly, I’ve started watching Superstar – Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s current TV search for a singer to Read More

Nights at the Theatre

Front Row: Evenings at the Theatre by Beryl Bainbridge From 1992 until 2002, Beryl was the theatre reviewer for The Oldie magazine, and  her reviews have been collected in this volume. Collected columns like these can easily date, however Beryl prefaces each review in her idiosyncratic style with comments about what she’d been doing, or thoughts about arriving at the Read More

Matilda – A Musical at the RSC

Yesterday was one of the best musical theatre experiences. My daughter thought it was better than Oliver! (which we saw in 2009, reviewed here).  I’m torn between the familiar big spectacle of Oliver! which I have always loved, and this wonderful new piece of theatre, adapted from Roald Dahl’s children’s classic Matilda, which deserves to become Read More