Went to see this last night with Mark. It was very funny, clever and lots of fun. Loads of costume and set changes which all seemed to done by the actors themselves, absolutely seamlessly too. Buckets of talent.

Went to see Swan Lake at the Hippodrome tonight. I must admit that I liked The Nutcracker better but this was still quite stunning.

Went to watch Oliver! at the Hippodrome last night. Really enjoyed it, in particular the sets. Some of the scenes of London were breathtaking.

I wasn’t sure whether a Fagin by Neil Morrissey would work but he pulled it off by making it his own. He isn’t the greatest of singers, nor quite as menacing as the film’s Fagin, but he was funny and his acting was good. The children were delightful and Nancy had an amazing voice. The production was quite saucy, especially Oom-Pah-Pah. All very good fun.

Photography isn’t allowed in the theatre so here are a couple of images from the website:

Tonight, at Birmingham Symphony Hall, the LSO performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It was simply stunning. I don’t mind admitting that was moved to tears.

A night like tonight reminds me that life is full of beauty and wonder. This is what I live for.

Last night we were treated to a fabulous buffet:

which was followed by an evening at the ballet. The Nutcracker was magical, breathtaking and very moving. The music, dancing, costumes and set all come together to create something of immense beauty. Photography isn’t allowed in the theatre so this photo is taken from the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s website:

Went to see Chris Addison at The Junction last night. We sat right at the front, which was maybe a bit close as you had to look up at him and he was really tall. He was sharp and very fast. I was impressed enough by him that I’ll be seeking out The Thick of It. He’s just a few years older than I am so I identified with a lot of what he said. He looks so young though for nearly 39! He made plenty of jokes poking fun at the middle class, in which he counts himself, which I rather enjoyed. The main message I took from his act – and I quite like comedy with a message as long as it’s not too preachy – is that we do moan too much; there’s never been a better time to be alive.

Went to see Balmoral on Monday night. I’d been looking forward to seeing Rik Mayall for months but it turned out that his character is being played by an understudy. Apparently Mayall is ill, but on Googling I found news stories from a few weeks ago claiming that he left the production. Anyway, I wasn’t hugely impressed with the play and I don’t know whether RM being in it would have improved it. I’ve seen a few farces now and while Balmoral had some funny moments, it didn’t stand up against Relatively Speaking by Alan Ayckbourn, for example.