Thursford Christmas Spectacular 2015

Nanny Cora and I went to see the Thursford Christmas Spectacular on 23^rd December 2015; this being the last post of 2015 (even though it is 2016 I have been busy). It was the first time I’ve ever been to the Thursford Christmas Spectacular and we were lucky to get some last minute tickets. We drove up early in the morning in order to get the full festive experience. Thursford lies in the heart of the North Norfolk countryside. It all takes place at the Thursford Collection which is some sort of train museum throughout the rest of the year. The Spectacular usually begins in mid-November and performances are daily until the end of December (this year ending on the day we went, 23^rd). Thursford create their own miniature Lapland all in Norfolk, the trees covered in fairy lights and there are little scenes as you walk along the gardens of winter animals, elves preparing for the big day and Father Christmas himself. Me and Nanny Cora stopped off in a large tent for our lunch before having a quick look in the shops. The shops are delightful, especially the Christmas gift shop full of festive trinkets which Nanny Cora bought me one to keep, reminding me of our wonderful day.

 

The auditorium and stage of Thursford are huge and I haven’t actually seen anything quite like it. Nothing on the touring productions nor in the West End has such a festively decorated auditorium and a stage that spans practically the whole room (which was a problem at some points as I didn’t know where to look). Luckily for us audience members the performers often split into two mirroring sides so you get the full Thursford Christmas experience wherever you are sat. The auditorium seats up to 1,424 which is much more than most theatres and I was surprised to realise that over 2,000 coaches visit the Thursford Christmas Experience from every country in the United Kingdom each year; and when Santa’sMagical Journey is on there can be up to 5,000 people visiting daily (poor locals). It is staggering to think that there are only 22 dancers in the performance with 350 auditions taking place in London earlier in the year. If this was something there were a total of 1,123 singers applying to be part of the 2015 Thursford Christmas Spectacular for only 54 parts (that’s harder than getting onto a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology so well done to those that succeeded).

 

Thursford Christmas Spectacular really makes Christmas that little bit more exciting. The music, dancing and costumes were all fabulous and damn right gorgeous. As well as that a full orchestra plays on stage throughout the performance and you should all know by now that seeing the orchestra on stage is really important and special to me. Just to excel how exceptional the performance was the only other place, in Europe, where there is a longer dancers’ kick line is in Paris. Talking of costumes there are no less than 3,240 individual costume pieces in any one performance and you can guess the laundry bill of poor Thursford. As I have said the set is absolutely out of this word and it takes 25 burly men 8 weeks to put it all up ready for the performance (and only 6 weeks to take it down, why the 14 day difference I do not know – it’s like a return journey always going quicker). Within the auditorium there is a working fairground which was fantastic. I was gobsmacked to realise that during the Christmas season 37,000 tubs of ice cream, 3,500 litres of mulled wine and 29,000 mince pies pass the lips of the audience members (honestly I only had 2 of the mulled wine litres). The Thursford Christmas Spectacular makes over 10 million pounds for the local economy too, so if you are boring and don’t like Christmas, or music, or dancing, or comedy or snowmen at least this amazing show creates a bit of cash for Norfolk.

 

The Thursford Christmas Spectacular incorporates dancing acts, singing, orchestrations, comedy, some lady (Anaelle Molinario) that can bed her body like rubber (that’s it a contortionist – this was so difficult to watch I actually felt pain when she was looking at the souls of her feet while lying flat on her body) and some live doves which were beautiful but I was a bit wary about them pooping on me; plus I am not great with things that fly anyway. When I say dancing acts I mean these girls and guys could dance, and boy did those ladies know how to move their bodies. The costumes that the dancers wore were honestly true Christmas glitz and glamour, feathers and rhinestones and everything you want from something with the word ‘spectacular’ in the title; Suzy Andrews should be proud of her department. Again when I say singing I do not just mean a few Christmas songs and a ballad; there were pop songs, Christmas songs, carols and some big orchestrations; AND musical theatre  with a version of Chim Chim Cher-ee (from Mary Poppins) with all the chimney sweepers with their brushes on stage as well as a beautiful rendition of Climb Every Mountain (Sound of Music –I do not know who sung this but her voice was gorgeous); I was so pleased as two of my favourite film musicals came alive on stage. Paul Eastwood was the comedian and compere for the day and he was fairly funny but typical gags that you hear on the comedy circuits. He got the crowd warmed up and the old dears love a giggle. There were also readings and poems which was a nice edition; it was basically like a Festive Christmassy variety show.  

My absolute favourite scene though has to be the Christmas Cake Recipe; I have tried to replicate it to friends but I really can’t do it justice. Basically it is a woman who is baking her Christmas cake however while adding the alcohol she keeps trying it to make sure it tastes OK. Obviously as the recipe goes on she gets more and more drunk and by the end cannot talk and gets the recipe totally muddled up. I think I loved this sketch so much due to its simplicity. It was a lady on stage, dressed in her baking wear and talking. Her skill at purposefully getting words and letters jumbled up was fantastic and I was literally crying with laughter; I do believe there is a radio version on YouTube by Gay Byrne (not as good as the version we saw but gives you an idea). Unfortunately the programme does not state who this person was but I honestly loved her. The show ends with bubbles falling from the ceiling (snow), confetti and balloons. The audience went absolutely crazy with applause and all those on stage really deserved the standing ovation they received; it really was a spectacular (I guess that’s why they call it that).

 

I would really urge people to start thinking about their trip to Thursford in 2016 to see this amazing show which has everything you need to get in the mood for Christmas. I know it’s early to think about 2016 Christmas however it does book really quickly and tickets are on sale now. I do believe I may attend again this year to see how they can top last year. I do believe Thursford is due to be 50 years old and I can imagine that year being extra special. So until next year Merry Christmas!  

 

Please get in touch on Twitter @AaronBurgess1989

Aaron Burgess

 

Rocky Horror Show, 2015-16 UK Tour

Happy New Year to you all and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and ready for the musical adventure that is 2016. I still have a couple of posts that need finishing for 2015 but what with the busy Christmas period, a drink-fuelled new year, back to work and a slight bit of man flu, I have finally finished my post for mine and Emma’s trip to Brighton to see The Rocky Horror Show (on 19^th December; I know it’s been ages, thank god I have a good memory). Before I get on with that I think I need to give you the details that we nearly didn’t reach the south coast. We left early ready for the trip and didn’t hit much traffic expecting to grab a bit of energy or fuel (no doubt a pint) in the capital before catching the train to Brighton. We somehow arrived late at Cockfosters station and rushed on the tube to get to central London. We’re sat on the tube heading to the first stop when Emma decides she cannot find her phone anywhere and realises she has left it back in the car at Cockfosters ……. seriously? Getting off at the next stop, hopping back onto the returning train where muggins here decides he will run back and get the phone (as we have a train from Victoria to catch in 40 minutes); I said I would go as I am faster (definitely not as fast as I was in my P.E. lessons and I was no Usain Bolt then either). I grab the phone, run back to the tube and eventually we are on the way to Victoria when we come to a halt on the line; “can you remove the bags from the door”, “I cannot start the train until the item is removed from the door”, everyone is looking at everyone looking at all the closed doors, “there is still an item in the door and the train cannot go until it is removed”, OH MY GOD we are going to be late for Brighton and miss our train, and miss Rocky Horror, the weekend that has not yet happened flashes before my eyes. Well we made it and had a fantastic weekend in Brighton (drinking and trying to eat – gag at the ham and cheese toastie) and panic subsides. Well it all seems a bit dramatic putting it into writing.

 

Brighton Theatre Royal has yet to feature in this blog so welcome to you. I have only been to Brighton Theatre Royal once before and that was two years ago to see, you guessed it, The Rocky Horror Show. The Theatre Royal in Brighton is a lovely little theatre just up from the sea front and in the heart of the city centre. I love the theatre as they allowed us to buy our programmes during the day as there was no way I could store it later on with what I had planned to wear (see below for pictures). The theatre has taken a somewhat unconventional approach towards pantomimes and decides to put on big musicals such as Rocky Horror and Priscilla (why not!) during the festive period. The theatre was opened in 1807 and seats over 900 people over four levels.  It is a very pretty and picturesque theatre and I have only ever been there dressed as a sweet transvestite, I do need to visit dressed in my smart reviewers attire.

 

The Rocky Horror Show is an amazing show and features in my top three without a doubt (Cats being #1 of course). I am not sure whether it is the audience participation aspect, the lack of the notorious fourth wall, the fact you can dress up and put some make up on or just that it’s a crazy and whacky story, with some interesting and peculiar characters and a fantastic score (probably the latter two). Rocky Horror is an original musical and when I first saw it on film many years ago (thanks to my late step-mother Sarah Burgess <3 ) I was hooked and shocked by what was on the screen, in a good way. Richard O’Brien’s fantastic creation has entertained millions of people across the world with its amazing music and pertinent lyrics. Rocky Horror arrived on the stages of London in 1973, with O’Brien writing the music, lyrics and book. My favourite songs include ‘Wild and Untamed Thing’, ‘Double Feature/Science Fiction’, ‘Sweet Transvestite’, ‘Planet, Schmanet, Janet’, ‘Rose Tint My World’ and ‘Whatever Happened to Saturday Night’. The whole score is great with not one song I dislike, however some songs worth a separate mention, the playlist often features in my car on a long journey, just wish I was in my stockings too. Since 1973 Rocky Horror has been on countless UK tours, reaching Broadway quickly and Australia soon to follow. Two years after the west End O’Brien created the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with many of the original West End cast reprising their roles; including O’Brien himself as Riff Raff, Tim Curry as Frank N. Furter, Nell Campbell as Columbia and Patricia Quinn as Magenta. The film is amazing and if you haven’t seen it, who are you – stop wasting time reading this and go find it J. Rocky Horror won the 1973 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical (not receiving any for the original Broadway production). I find it crazy that Rocky Horror has only ever received nominations since this and has not received the high-acclaimed accolades it deserves for one of the best musicals ever written.

 

The performance we saw was amazing and the theatre was full of crazy Rocky Horror fans all dressed up to the heels and back, us included. We met a couple by the bar (typical!) and got chatting to them and they were absolutely lovely (hello Hayley and Alan) and they were from Suffolk (my birth place) how crazy is that; I think that is bizarre as we were in Brighton but Emma wasn’t impressed. We also received lots of (un)wanted attention from other theatre-goers as we looked fabulous, me as Frank N. Further (my back was killing me for at least five days) and Emma as Columbia in her sparkly and glittery gold outfit. The performance was directed by Christopher Luscombe and the set designed by Hugh Durrant. The set for me almost reminds me of a pantomime with very cartoony and animated sets of sceneries, buildings and a car but it works really well. Sue Blane designs the costumes and they are fabulous; the easy ones must have been Magenta and Riff Raff but when it comes to Frank N. Further is must have been a ball to design. Rocky must also have taken her ages (haha!). As the show goes on the costumes get better and better and camper and camper, it’s so much fun to watch. Choreography is by Nathan Wright and I cannot exactly talk about dancing without mentioning the Time Warp which is immense especially for us audience members who get to join in the show with the dance moves, it’s just a jump to the left!

Diana Vickers (possibly best known for her participation in the 2008 series of X-Factor) plays Janet and I was so pleased. I watched Vickers on x-factor each week and enjoyed her performances as she grew as a performer. Her voice is very well suited to the role of Janet playing boring old Janet Weiss at the beginning but soon letting her real personality out throughout the performance with some saucy songs which Vickers sings great. Her acting is surprisingly good as well. Janet’s fiancé, Brad Majors, is played by Ben Freeman, well known for his gorgeous looks in Emmerdale however when it comes to geeky and plain he still pulls of geek hunk. Freeman was an awesome Brad and sings beautifully, being no stranger to some big named theatre shows (including Wicked, The Sound of Music and Legally Blonde).  The one and only Frank N. Furter is portrayed by Liam Tamne who was bloody brilliant; he makes a fantastic transvestite with some hot moves, delicious thighs and a fabulous voice to add to the mix. Tamne who is no stranger to the West End stage neither, has performed in some well-known shows including Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. I have also seen Oliver Thornton play Frank N. Further (as well as in Priscilla) and he is also fantastic bringing his own quirkiness to the character.

Comedian Steve Punt, well known for some of his radio shows and comedy acts, portrays the Narrator. It must be so difficult to play the Narrator as he is the character that typically gets all the ad lib, heckling and abuse from the audience (which is still hilarious and takes place each night wherever Rocky Horror goes). He plays the Narrator well and adds his own comedic style to the role. Paul Cattermole, known for his S Club 7 years, plays Eddie and Dr Scott. Rocky was ……… a really good actor and singer although he was wearing animal print and not gold. However his six-pack made up for that and I ended up not paying much attention to the animal print after all. The rest of the cast create a fully-fledged camp, trans and beautiful lot, including Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff, Sophie Linder-Lee as Columbia and Kay Murphy as Magenta. All in all The Rocky Horror Show is immense, whacky, out of this world, funny, sexy and AMAZING! I cannot say any more than that apart from it is still on tour and needs to be seen. Currently showing at the Opera House in Manchester, it will soon be visiting a theatre near you (including Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Aberdeen). It really is worth a watch and if you can’t get out to the theatre at least watch the film.

 

Remember to get in touch on Twitter @AaronBurgess89 and leave some comments or ask a question. Until next time hope you all stay musical and healthy.

 

Aaron Burgess