And I'm back!
Hello to all my readers out there! I just wanted to say that I am back from my hiatus. I know this blog has gone dark in the past for months on end but this past month and a half has just been a break for a couple of big life moments. LibraryGirl and I got married in the middle of July and just got back from honeymoon which has delayed any posting. So henceforth LibraryGirl will be referred to as MrsHeadTheatre or MrsHT. Apart from my happy nuptials in the past month I got to see 'Sweeney Todd' on the West End stage starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton it was...
'What happened then, well thats the play, And he wouldn't want us to give it away. Not Sweeney, Not Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!'
So expect a review to make its appearance on this blog very soon.
Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the past year would know that currently London is holding the Olympic Games. Sport is a different type of drama that is for certain but the theatricality of the United Kingdom shone through with the opening ceremony. There were many claims before the production even aired that it had no chance of matching China's efforts back in Beijing mainly based on the fact that most people hated the British involvement in the 2008 Olympics closing ceremony. The general consensus was that the bus which opened to reveal musicians and dancers... etc was eccentric and strange. Well last Friday night we showed that yes the UK is full of eccentric artists who can do wonders with choreography, music and lighting. Danny Boyle's production unfolded like a beautiful dream which all, in this writers opinion, revolved around the central theme of the Shakespearian qoute:
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again
Of course the fact that it involved Sir Branagh, a personal hero of mine, and contained some of my favourite music tracks kept me pleased. However Boyle showed himself to be a master of imagery when he seared into every viewers memories the sight of 5 interlinking Olympic rings hammered from hot steel. That and the sight of James Bond with HRH Queen Elizabeth the II are probably the two things people will remember from this games opening ceremony but I think a lot should be said for the NHS staff who danced so enthusiastically during their segment and who just gave their all... plus the drummers in the Industrial section who carried on drumming all night it seemed. The technicians on this show proved why the UK still produces the best musicals in the World and has the best film crews. All in all a wonderful production which I hope gets released on bluray so I can have a copy of it.
So I shall be back to provide a review for Sweeney Todd, I'm not sure if it will be a vlog or just a written blog but you can be sure to find it here along with all my theatrical musings in the coming weeks and months as I head for 10,000 page views.
