Theatre - an act of two halves, if you stay to the end

Theatre - an act of two halves, if you stay to the end

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I took someone to the theatre not so long ago, who doesn’t go very often. We went to see Les Mis, which I have seen countless times.

She was enthralled and captivated, and she was telling me that she has missed out on so much. She was exhausted watching and listening to this wonderful production.

She put her coat on, hugged me and thanked me for treating her, and said next time it was on her. I started laughing, and so did the people around me.

I asked her ‘Where are you going?’ and she said ‘it’s finished?’ I smiled and explained it was the end of the first act.

She went bright red and said ‘there’s more?’ I promised I would never mention her name.

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When I was on radio years ago a listener rang, he had been to see the Life of John Lennon at the Everyman Theatre. He said he’d never been to a live show before, loved every minute of it but complained it was too short, he’d also walked out at the end of the first half, he was delighted to find out there was more to come.

Talking about showbusiness, I heard a story the other week which I promise you is not a joke. A certain Light opera company were planning their future productions.

As someone who, years ago, was a member of one of these groups, I can say with good authority that the pecking order and in-grown snobbery is rife. Some of the members think that they are better than others.

This particular member, a bit of a diva and prima donna - asked what we were planning to do. She was told that they were looking at Evita.

To the shock and horror of everyone she announced that she had never heard of it. One member said ‘Elaine Paige? Madonna?’.

Still none the wiser, the lady in question came back a few days later and said ‘you all think you are so clever, I’ve done my research and it’s not called Evita.. It’s called Education Evita’. You really could not make it up.

Recently I went to the home of Shakespeare, Stratford upon Avon. There was a formidable actor playing the lead role, his opening speech was a complete cock-up.

He stopped and apologised to the audience saying he had had a bad night with some vintage wine, and could he try again. The audience actually roared with laughter.

He came back on, word perfect and got a standing ovation. There is no business like show business.

Here’s to a very Happy New Year. Let’s hope it’s going to be a happier 2024 across the world.

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