This year's walking project: the Yorkshire Wolds Way

79 miles, from the Humber estuary to Filey Brigg. It doesn’t seem that far after 110miles of the Cleveland Way.

We started two Sundays ago, and have already completed the first stage, so it’s now 66 miles to go. Of course, we will do this in our inimitable style, so are trying to work out where the best pubs and coffee and tea shops are. (Note: the Yorkshire Wolds are lacking in tea shops in comparison to the North Yorks Moors. They’re just not as touristy)

Once again it’s an opportunity to discover parts of Yorkshire, practically on our doorstep, that we’ve never been to before. Walking along the breezy Humber, and under the huge span of the bridge was fascinating, as was discovering that this route has been used since the Bronze Age. The dry, chalky valley and wide hill tops of the Wolds are very different to the rugged bleakness of the Moors. To me, not as dramatic, or quite as inspiring, but with their own charm.

I’ll try and update as we go along.

The one where the obsessive gene kicks in

As I checked twitter before getting out of bed, I saw that David Tennant and Catherine Tate were going to be on BBC Breakfast to make ‘an announcement’. Given the rumours that had been circulating for the last couple of weeks this could only mean one thing.

So, I got up, and I turned the TV on, and I waited. Around 9.45am they were finally on and confirming their joint project of Much Ado About Nothing at Wyndhams Theatre from May to September. Great news, but then David casually confirmed that tickets were on sale ‘from now’. While the BBC were still showing Doctor/Donna extracts, I was already texting Corinne to set the wheels in motion. For the problem was, commercial West End, no priority booking!

The next few hours were to make me realise just how easy getting tickets for Hamlet and Love’s Labour’s Lost had been with my priority RSC booking status.

As soon as the interview finished, I was on to the Delfont MacIntosh website. The trouble was, so was everyone else, and it had already crashed. After a few tries, I tried the phones. This wasn’t just about getting tickets, it was about getting good tickets. Whites of the eyes, not back of the balcony.

Engaged. But again, eventually, I got into a queue. I listened to music. I was told a few times that ‘all their operators were busy’ and I may prefer to try the website. Then the line went dead, or to an engaged tone. I never actually spoke to a person. During the next couple of hours, I got rather tired of the suggestions to ‘try the website’.

I did keep checking. The first time I got to date selection, my heart rose. I was in, I chose seating area, and then it crashed. The next time I got as far as having actual seats. Then I got to put in my card details, and it was only after I clicked ‘confirm’ that it crashed. This happened at least three times, the third time, as I looked at the selection of seats in the middle of C row, I felt that it was mocking me. These were OUR seats, why wouldn’t it let me buy them?!

What was worse was that by lunchtime it was coming through on Twitter that ‘lots of you are getting your tickets now’. Well, not us, and this didn’t help, as they were being sold, but not to me. And I was running out of time.

You see, I’d arranged to pick up my new car yesterday. You’d think that was a very exciting prospect, but it turns out it paled in comparison to booking theatre tickets. At about quarter to one that garage rang me to ask where I was, as they’d expected me in the morning.

‘I’ve, ermm, been distracted. I’m on my way.’ As I left, Corinne continued with the assault on the website to no avail. I kept checking, but we’d made no progress, though clearly others had.

We had one last strategy, personal box office assault, which Corinne was dispatched to carry out. It was, finally, the one thing which worked, as just as was setting off out for the evening, I got the call.

‘We’ve got them, Row F.

Phew. Though honestly, David, next time, do us a favour, and go back to Stratford. It’s much easier on my nerves, and my blood pressure.

My theatre year - 2010

It was a pretty good one as far as number of productions seen, as I managed to see 40 shows, after a bit of a slow start in the first few months of the year. I certainly seemed to see a wide variety in many different spaces, and some of the most exciting theatre I saw wasn’t in traditional theatres. It was also a year in which I finally achieved my ambition to complete the Shakespeare canon, so thank you to the Globe for performing Henry VIII.

So, in the best tradition of end of year reviews (which I’m a bit late with, as we’re into the new one), here are my highlights, and lowlights, of 2010.

My favourite Shakespeare production was undoubtedly the Globe’s Henry IV Part 1, which was a great ensemble performance, with a brilliant Falstaff from Roger Allam, bringing out the humour and the pathos of a character that, in lesser hands, can seem quite tedious, so that you wonder why Hal would bother with him.

My favourite musical production was Chess, which I thought was an excellent, and exceedingly camp, revival. I also enjoyed Spamalot, though more so on a second viewing, and that might have been partly because the cast were clearly having so much fun, in what was Marcus Brigstocke’s last week in the show.

My theatre ‘discovery’ of the year was Belt Up Theatre, who we first saw in The Tartuffe back in May, not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for. We then saw them in an Edinburgh attic, a York park, a library, and a pub restaurant, as well as in the Theatre Royal. I love them for their energy, their prolific output, and sheer enthusiasm for producing theatre. Yes, some of the shows can be a bit ragged at the edges, but that’s part of the fun, and all of them have been unmistakably ‘Belt Up’ in style. It’s a long time since I’ve found much in the theatre at York exciting, but they are a truly exciting company.

I also attended some of the NT Live cinema transmissions, seeing London Assurance, Complicite’s A Disappearing Number, and Hamlet. It’s a great idea to let people see these productions who would never otherwise get the chance, but it inevitably looses something, as you are watching what the camera selects for you, and the immediacy of live theatre is lost. I felt it worked best with the comedy, reasonably well for Hamlet, but not particularly well for Complicite.

As for low points, well, sadly, here I have to single out the RSC Antony and Cleopatra that we saw at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford. I think at the time I tried to see the best in it, though when you find yourself singling out Enobarbus for praise, you know you’re in trouble. The problem was in the casting of Cleopatra, and yes, she really was that bad. I longed to see what Katy Stephens, the understudy, would have done with the role. I will, however, excuse the RSC this aberration, as I’m really looking forward to seeing the new RST now that it’s complete.

As for 2011, well, I’m looking forward to Belt Up doing the Beggar’s Opera, which sounds like a perfect show for them, I’m also looking forward to visiting London, even though we have nothing booked at the moment, and to going to Stratford*. I may also finally get to New York, so it could finally be Broadway, baby. And if yesterday’s rumours prove true (and who knows), I would LOVE to see DT play Benedick.

*All this makes me realise that I need to get some theatre booked, the diary is empty!