Legally Blonde | UK Tour | New Theatre

Legally Blonde has long been one of my favourite films: it's a story about being true to yourself and fighting for what you believe in. It's inspiring whilst still being a lot of fun and I think it's fair to say that the main character, Elle Woods, influenced my love of blonde hair and the colour pink! I saw an excellent amateur production of the show a few years ago (by Wolverhampton Musical Comedy Company at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre) so I was obviously thrilled to find out that the official tour would be stopping off in Cardiff. I grabbed my gal pals, donned my sassiest pink outfit and headed to the New Theatre for what really was a spectacular performance.

Twelfth Night | Grand Theatre

Twelfth Night is definitely one of my favourite Shakespeare plays (up there with As You Like It and A Comedy of Errors but that's a story for another post!) so when I saw that the Watermill Theatre were bringing a contemporary musical take of the play to my local theatre I couldn't resist picking myself up a ticket. Entering the auditorium, even before the performance has fully begun, I felt transported to a dusky jazz club with actors milling around the audience and serenading us with bluesy music. It created an intimate and relaxed atmosphere that set the scene for the rest of the performance.

La Cage Aux Folles | Grand Theatre

La Cage Aux Folles is a musical that won't fail to warm your heart. I knew very little about the show before the performance but I am so glad I got myself a ticket as this production is a treat from start to finish. Put aside the flashy costumes, set and wickedly humerus dialogue and what you're left with is a show with acceptance, love and family at it's core which is truly a wonderful thing and it's the balance between theatrical and sincere moments that make this show something special.

Evita | UK Tour | Grand Theatre

Evita is a show that I've had on my to-watch list for quite some time and apart from knowing the big hits (Don't Cry For Me Argentina etc), it's a show that's been a bit of an enigma to me. I was super happy when I found out that I'd won a pair of tickets to the show in an Instagram competition so that I would finally get to find out what Evita is all about.

Ryan O'Donnell of Sunny Afternoon | Interview

Sunny Afternoon, the Olivier award-winning jukebox musical based on the life and music of The Kinks, has been touring the UK since August after a successful run in London. I've seen the show twice before (you can find my review of the London production here and the touring show here) so I was thrilled when it was announced that the tour would be stopping off in my home town of Wolverhampton. I met up with frontman Ryan O'Donnell, who plays Ray, to chat about life on the road and developing the role over time.

Patience | Grand Theatre

I'm a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operettas so when I heard that the English Touring Opera were bringing a production of Patience to my local theatre I just knew I had to go. Their work is being performed less and less these days but it will always hold a special place in my heart as I performed in a range of G&S productions, including Patience, during my teenage years. It was wonderful to see a diversified cast (more so than I've generally seen in operettas) and an audience that were truly appreciative of the humour and beautiful music.

The Red Shoes | Wales Millennium Centre

I'd heard so much hype around Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes that when I heard it was coming to Cardiff I just had to get myself a ticket. The Millennium Centre is a stunning venue so it's always a pleasure to visit but I was even more pleased when I managed to bag myself an under 26s ticket for just £10. I've seen a few ballets in my time but they've all been fairly traditional (think Swan Lake, The Nutcracker) so I was very interested to watch a more contemporary production and I was certainly not disappointed. Set in the 1940s, the show tells the story of a girl who longs to dance but is torn between the two men who inspire her, with fateful consequences. It was a truly stunning production, almost cinematic at times, and I can't stop thinking about it!

The Sound of Musicals | UK Tour | Symphony Hall

Last night my Mum and I took our annual visit over to Symphony Hall in Birmingham to see The Sound of Musicals, a concert with the Manchester Concert Orchestra and four West End singers featuring songs from a variety of shows. I've lost count of how many times we've been to see this particular show but I do know that this is Kerry Ellis' (star of Wicked and Murder Ballad) third year performing the show, while Graham Bickley (Les Mis, Miss Saigon etc) has done even more than this. This year they were joined by the superb Joanna Ampil who has played a variety of roles worldwide including Kim in Miss Saigon, along with Oliver Tompsett who I actually saw as Sky Masterson in the West End production of Guys and Dolls this summer. As usual, the program was packed with wonderful show tunes and as always I really enjoyed the show.

The Rocky Horror Show | UK Tour | New Theatre

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has such a cult following so when I saw that the UK tour would be returning to Cardiff I decided it was time I found out for myself what all the fuss was about. I watched the film a few months ago and thought it was brilliantly weird so I couldn't wait to experience the live version. The atmosphere in the theatre was absolutely electric from the moment I walked in: there were so many people dressed up and you could just tell everyone was ready to have a great night.

A Tale of Two Cities | Royal and Derngate Theatre | Guest Post

Today I've got a review for you written by my lovely mother, Liz Bolas. Liz is just as interested and involved with theatre as I am and has recently become an ambassador for the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. This involves her previewing touring productions that will be visiting the Grand Theatre in the future and we thought it would be great to share her review of the show to give you an idea of what to expect before you book your tickets. This will hopefully become a regular feature so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

My experience of Charles Dickens was tainted at school in 6th form by his novel Domby and Son so when I was invited to got to The Royal & Derngate theatres in Northampton to preview A Tale of Two Cities, before it comes to Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre, it was with trepidation that I accepted. I am happy to report that my view of Dickens has been totally turned around by this stunning production from the Touring Consortium Theatre Company.

Sunny Afternoon UK Tour | New Alexandra Theatre

Back in January I was lucky enough to be invited to see the West End show Sunny Afternoon by Box Office UK (you can read my full review here) but before then it wasn't a really show that was on my radar. I knew that it had won multiple Olivier Awards and even though I only knew a few Kinks songs  it exceeded all my expectations. I was excited to hear it was launching a UK Tour and managed to snap up some incredible seats last minute - directly at the end of the catwalk that juts out from the centre of the stage. I took my parents along and they enjoyed the show just as much as I did. I'd genuinely forgotten what a lively and fun-filled show it was and it gave us all an excellent  afternoon at the theatre.

Chicago | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

It's been quite a while since I last made it to the theatre and even longer since I've visited my local Wolverhampton Grand Theatre so I was very excited to finally be seeing the UK tour of Chicago after hearing such great reviews of it. While I'm a big fan of the film and the music, I'd never actually seen the show on stage. I'm very pleased to say that it exceeded all my expectations and I would recommend this show to anyone who is after a lively night out.

Avenue Q | New Theatre Cardifff

I recently read that Avenue Q has been in constant production since about 2009 (after first hitting Broadway in 2003) and I can absolutely see why. This is my second time seeing the show- the first time was last year's tour, and this year the tour kicked off in Cardiff with over twenty cities to visit before finishing in June. It's a show that I think I could see over and over without getting bored of and  now I'm going to try and explain why!

Shrek The Musical | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to the press night of the Shrek the Musical UK Tour during its visit to Wolverhampton. Despite currently living in Cardiff for university, I decided to take a trip back to my home theatre to finally see the show for myself having heard so much about it for so long. I packed myself a bag and hopped onto a train hoping the trip would be worthwhile.

Shrek was one of my favourite films as a child and funnily enough I re-watched the film just a few weeks ago: it was just as hilarious as I remembered, which made me very excited to see the show transformed for the stage.

Wicked | Closing Night | The Lowry Theatre

On Saturday night I was super excited to head up to Salford to see the final night of the Wicked UK Tour. I've seen Wicked twice before- once in London many years ago and last year when the tour came to Birmingham- so I'm a big fan of the show and know if practically inside out. However last time I saw the tour, I saw almost a completely different principal cast (alternate Glinda Carina Gillespie and Nikki Davis-Jones as Elphaba) but Emily Tierney aa Glinda and Ashleigh Gray as Elphaba blew me away. Having never been to The Lowry theatre before, booking seats was a bit of a guessing game. I chose row C in the Grand Circle which were actually really great seats as we had a view of the whole stage, no restricted view at all.

Twelve Angry Men | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Photo Credit: Birmingham REP

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Going into the theatre for Twelve Angry Men, I really didn't know what to expect. I knew nothing about the plot or any of the actors so it was quite refreshing to go into something with no preconceived ideas about whether or not I was going to enjoy it. I'm pleased to say I really did and I'm very glad that I decided to see the show.

Beyond the Barricade | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Image Credit: www.ent24.com

Image Credit: www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Beyond the Barricade is a national tour featuring four former principals from Les Miserables that has been going for almost 16 years. This was the second time I've seen the show (the first was early 2014 at the Town Hall Birmingham) so I was interested to see how the show had changed since then. All though it has been over a year since I saw it last, there were sections of the show that I definitely remember and that haven't changed but none the less I still enjoyed the show as a whole because each item still felt fresh. There were songs and medleys from all the big West End shows: Miss Saigon, Phantom, Wicked among others, but what really stood out to me was the four-part singing. There was a beautiful arrangement of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' from Carousel, as well as 'Tell Me It's Not True' from Blood Brothers. I also really enjoyed the 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' from Evita and West Side Story Quintet.