What a difference a few years makes

I nearly went to see Griffin tonight. When I say ‘nearly’, J and I had plans to walk through the snow from hers to the Vicky Vaults for an acoustic gig. I set off from home, it was snowing, and once I hit the main roads which are usually clear, it was lying fast, and there wasn’t enough traffic to keep it clear. It was pretty scary.

I made it to Monkgate, before deciding I was being foolish, and if I made it to the pub, I might not make it back. I turned round, and drove back home, sliding back down the roads.

Later, I was on the phone to Corinne talking about this:

‘You went to Cardiff in awful weather and with overturned lorries not to see John, and we went to Liverpool that time, not to see James.’
‘Yes, and I also went to Stratford in snow when I got there and some of the actors didn’t’
‘In the past, you’d have abandoned your car, and walked. But now you wouldn’t cross town for him’
‘I know. It feels rather strange. I knew you’d understand’. We laughed.

Pause

‘Imagine if it had been this week last year*!’
‘Oh God!’

*That is the week of the last DT Hamlet, and Barrowman in panto

Crazy days

I’ve been a bit busy lately! So I’ve not really had time to update on the rest of my visit to London, or seeing the lovely John Barrowman in concert, or my subsequent two trips to London, or my walking, or any thing else. There will be updates on some, but not all of these in due course, but sometimes it seems the moment to write has passed.

Basically, it’s all been a bit crazy, and isn’t shaping up to be any less hectic over the next few weeks, as I have a couple of major pieces of work coming up before I go on holiday. So, this weekend, I’m taking a moment to breathe.

Never say we let reality come into it

In the theatre bar, I’m describing the photo of Gethin from Heat, and Shona poses a question, (for we have, of course, had the obligatory Doctor Who conversation earlier)

‘But, Gethin, or John?’

I think about this.

‘John, he’s funnier’

‘Ah, but John, or David?’

Cat: ‘John’

I have to think about this one. There’s an awful lot to be said for both, but as I consider, there’s really only one choice, (despite the beauty of the Barrowman). He’s skinny, he knows his Shakespeare and he is, according to me at least, officially the best actor on tv.

‘David’

Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic!

We saw the shy and retiring John Barrowman in Gateshead on Friday evening, and it was thrilling. Sometimes when you have high expectations it can be a bit of a let down, as you’ve built it up so much in your mind that the reality doesn’t come close. Not this time!

From the moment he came on stage for ‘It Had Better be Tonight’, until he left it after ‘That’s Life’ he had us in the palm of his hand. He said he would make us laugh and cry, and he did. (There were also quite a lot of girly squeals and whoops from us, which is always the sign of a good show).

He performed quite a few of the songs from his latest album ‘Another Side’, mixed with musical theatre, and other numbers. On the album, some of the songs come over a little over produced, and (dare I say it) bland. Live, it’s a different story. He is a theatre man, and it’s all there in the live performance. The set list was beautifully paced and structured, with stories of why he had included certain songs on the album, which personalised them, and gave more meaning. ‘You’re So Vain’ is one of my least favourites on the album, live, it was fantastic.

My favourites were: ‘The Doctor and I’ (actually ‘The Wizard and I’ from Wicked, re-written for the Doctor and Captain Jack). Oh. My. God. He so wants to play Elphaba – well, I’d pay!

‘Man of La Mancha’ which closed the first half (and which someone on Facebook hilariously referred to as ‘the song about a donkey*’). I adore that song, and I want to see him play that part now.

‘I Won’t Send Roses’ – again, I love it, it’s cynical, yet touching.

'Weekend in New England' - my favourite song on the album.

He even coped with the automated fire alarm going off at the worst possible moment, just as he was telling the story of his sister in law who died. He turned the hiatus into a Q&A session with the audience, and, when all was sorted, turned the mood, and brought us back into the moment. Now, that’s an actor.

Sadly, there was no opportunity to meet him this time, as he had to go back to London 'to choose a Nancy' (there was much hilarity from that), so that's the second time Cat and I have missed him. It's only a matter of time, remember, it's the long game.

And, see, I never mentioned his a**e once!

*If anyone is wondering, it's Don Quixote

Rarer than hen's teeth

It’s a little after midnight on Saturday morning, and it’s now officially my birthday. I’ve already had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in the Travelodge bar (very quietly, as I threatened not to give them a lift home), and we’re now back in the room and I get to open my presents.

‘It’s come a bit unwrapped in my bag’. Corinne passes my present over. I can see through the paper what looks like the Doctor Who logo on some card. It can’t be, for they are impossible to get hold of.

I open it, and turn it over. It is a ‘Mini John’ figure*. I’m a bit overwhelmed. Cat picks him up, ‘the profile is uncanny’. And indeed it is, for earlier this evening, we saw real live John on stage at The Sage, Gateshead**.

We turn him round to examine his other ermm, credentials. ‘That bit’s not quite as accurate’! For in reality, the Barrowman a**e is indeed a vision to behold.

*or, if you wish, Captain Jack Harkness, but he will forever be Mini John.
**Of which much more later

The next best thing?

For those of us (that would be me, then) suffering withdrawal symptoms, Dancing on Ice (aka Strictly Ice Dancing) started tonight. In my eyes, it’s not as good as Strictly, as it’s too ‘ITV’ and also there’s the chance that someone could get seriously hurt. And no one can ever be as impressive on the ice as they manage to be on Strictly - it takes a lot of effort even to stand up!

But, of course, I did watch the first two series, and weathered the emotional trauma when John Barrowman was unfairly voted out early in Series 1 (well, he’s still not over it, so I don’t see why I should be either). Last season was less emotional, probably because I did like Kyran Bracken, who won, but I didn’t really have a favourite.

This year, well, at this stage who can say. I have to say that on tonight’s showing, they were all a bit rubbish. There's another male (ex) Blue Peter presenter, who apparently is also Welsh, but I can't see that he'll work the same magic. At the moment, I'd be voting for Philip Schofield, if I could.

At least I’ve never voted in this one (yet?).

You say 'obsessed' like that's a bad thing!

I just found my two current favourite boys on YouTube. There to seem to be a lot of reasons to watch Blue Peter these days. It was never this pretty in John Noakes's days!

Enjoy!

The Long Game

Two years ago, a decision was made to go and see John Barrowman on stage. Nearly a year ago, Corinne and I went to Cardiff, (not) to see him. So, when we saw that he was doing panto again, this time in Birmingham, it was not without some trepidation that we decided to book. We opted for fairly early in the run, in the hope that if he was going to have to take time off, it would be later on.

We’d booked for last Friday, so you can imagine how I felt when I got up to find it was covered with snow on Thursday morning. But it melted during the day, and on Friday it was clear, if dull and grey.

On the way down, listening to John on the cd player, we both admitted that we weren’t allowing ourselves to get too excited, as we’d only believe it when he walked onto that stage. Birmingham proved the usual nightmare to navigate in, (‘we’re heading for Dudley…ok, now I’m stressed’), and having made the obligatory wrong turnings that are a part of any real road trip, we arrived at the hotel, and more importantly, the car park next to the hotel. Which was within staggering distance of the Hippodrome.

We went shopping, and walked back past the theatre, but didn’t allow ourselves to go too close in case there were signs up. Instead we reminisced about past visits.

We ate opposite the theatre, and pretty quickly realised that amongst the theatre-going patrons, we were probably overdressed. This was re-inforced when we went into the theatre. Clearly people in Birmingham do not dress up for the theatre!

We couldn’t see any signs. We bought programmes, and laughed at John’s effusive 2 page biog, ‘an Entertainer with a capital E…a unique talent…a hughly amusing and memorable guest’. Bless him, he doesn’t hide his light under a bushel.

The show started, and suddenly, there he was on stage, singing and dancing. There was probably a huge sigh of relief. There was also whooping, as Theatre Snob rules about not applauding people for making an entrance were broken. But then, we’d waited two years for this

As for the production, well, the production values were significantly higher than Cardiff, and I really enjoyed the show (though I could have done with less of the Grumbleweeds, and there was one frankly very disturbing scene where one of them impersonated Cher). The 3-D Genie was very effective, and John was very funny, with quite a few ‘in jokes’. He clearly would have loved to be Joseph, given all the allusions, and his coat of many colours at the end of Act 1. Best line, probably ‘just what I’ve always wanted, my own group of dancing boys…and girls’. By the interval, we were well into the spirit, and purchasing our own pair of flashing bunny ears.

Afterwards, well of course we were stage dooring. We commented how odd it feels now, when you don’t know someone, but Barrowman fans seem to be well behaved and polite.

He was about the first out – armed with his own pens, I do like a man who is prepared! He immediately explained that he wouldn’t be posing for photos, as his parents had been in and were waiting for him, so people should take them while he was signing, but this was said in such a charming way, you couldn’t fault him. We told him about our trip to Cardiff*, and he actually apologised, so Coza added that we’d enjoyed Cardiff anyway. He also explained that this year they have a contingency plan in place. Up close, those eyes are very blue, and quite disconcerting, and then when he flashes that smile… Sadly, I never quite caught it on camera, but believe me, it was there. He looked slimmer than on TV, so it does adds pounds. He took the time to make sure that everyone who wanted something signing got it. He was utterly lovely, and not at all starry.

Afterwards, where else, but the closest bar**, to look at the pics, and chat. It is all about the long game, we’ve never been short haul girls, and finally, we’ve met him.

*Yes, the classic line, we’ve come all the way from York, was trotted out

**I’m very fond of the Hippodrome. It has all the essential theatre amenities. Good restaurants close by, a good stage door, and a bar close by. And excellent sightlines too.

Alone Again

Spoiler alert for Last of the Time Lords

I was told last week by Director Boy* that my blog sometimes can’t be read because I talk about Doctor Who, but I did point out that I always start with a spoiler notice. So, there it is, be warned.

And so, the series has come to an end, and I’m trying to reflect on what I thought about the three part finale.

The good – a wonderfully manic performance from John Simm as a deranged Master, Martha Jones saving the world with a word – and didn’t that just hark back to The Shakespeare Code! DT breaking his heart over the one person whose death would leave him truly alone once again. Lucy Saxon – there seemed to be such a lot going on in that relationship that couldn’t be developed in a ‘family’ show. The fact that some very clever plot points had been littered throughout the series and finally made sense. I love it when a show trusts the intelligence of its audience.

It seemed fitting at the end that there should be a parting of the ways for the Doctor and Martha. She has a road to travel which is different to his, (and in my head, is going to hook up again with the dishy Dr Milligan).

The not so good – DT as a CGI character in a cage - though I could see why the idea of keeping the Doctor as a 'pet' appealed to the Master - and wasn't that just what the Doctor was going to do to him at the end? The contrived explanation at the end that Jack is the Face of Boe. I mean, really! I felt Jack was rather wasted in the final two episodes, after his great return in Utopia, but I'm looking forward to his return to Torchwood. After all, this time, he chosen to return to them, and has addressed his issues with the Doctor.

Overall, it hasn't been my favourite series of the three, but it's had some great high points. But it remains the best drama on tv, and, we still have DT's Doctor to look forward to.

How long is it till Christmas?

* He does have another name, but thanks to Corinne, this is how I think of him for blogging purposes.

Jack's back

Spoiler alert - just in case you're waiting for the repeat on Friday

Yes, Captain Jack has finally found the right kind of Doctor, and what we never realised was that he’s been looking for him a lot longer than we thought. Nearly 150 years in fact, having arrived back on earth in the 1860’s. It was lovely to see the banter between him and DT’s Doctor, and to explore just why he had been left behind. It was also the Jack from Season 1, rather than the more moody Jack from Torchwood, flirting with everyone, and everything he met.

I haven’t said much about Doctor Who recently, and I have to admit that some episodes this series have been a bit disappointing (the Daleks in Manhattan two-parter, and 42), but recently we’ve been on a roll of good episodes. I loved the Human Nature two-parter. Oh how I cried for John Smith and the life that he could never have, and what a fantastic performance it was from DT. I could have written a great deal about that one, given the time. Blink was as good as I expected from Steven Moffat, who wrote the brilliant The Girl in the Fireplace last season.

And so we moved on to Utopia, and what a red herring that turned out to be. It’s been probably the worst kept secret that the Master in the shape of John Simm was returning at the end of the series, and we’ve had trails all through for the mysterious Mr Saxon. What I wasn’t expecting was that The Professor (oh, how clever that was) had also used the chameleon arch to hide his Time Lord identity, and that he would then, as the Master, regenerate into John Simm and steal the Tardis. So the two-part ending is really a three-parter, and I can’t wait to see where this ride takes us, as we now have three brilliant actors* in the show.

*which is not to diss Derek Jacobi at all, who is also brilliant. I loved DT commenting on Confidential that he'd gone to the stage door to get his autograph when he was at drama school. We have so much in common!

Of dreams, coats, and reality tv

Reality TV. It sucks you in. Even with my level of cynicism, I’ve been pulled into Any Dream Will Do, and that’s without seeing all of the shows (they’ve been clashing with Doctor Who Confidential, and you only get the cutdown version of that on the repeats).

What I like is that, unlike the ‘other side’, they have judges who really know their stuff. And of course I love John Barrowman, who is always honest and fair in his comments, and if anyone knows what makes a leading man, he does.

I think it was on Eurovision night that I articulated that my favourite was Lee, and once you acknowledge that you care, even in a small way, you’re lost. After that, it became difficult to watch, though he always seemed streets ahead of the others, in actually being able to deliver a performance rather than just sing a song.

Gradually others fell by the wayside, and he was never in the ‘sing off’, and last night it was the final. Three of them, Lewis, the blonde cutie from Boro, who was lovely but a bit young to take such a gamble on. He’ll make it as a result of the show, but this wasn’t his time. He’d frequently been in the ‘sing off’, so I wasn’t surprised to see him go first.

Then we had Lee, and Keith. Keith was a bit of a dark horse, in that he’d never been in the bottom two either. He has a good voice, but his stage presence wasn’t as striking, and he was also, I’m afraid, just a little geeky.

I took comfort from the fact that everyone I’ve spoken to has picked out Lee as the one. He gave a couple of storming performances, of 'New York, New York', and 'Paint it Black' (one of my beefs about the show is that they never give them ‘real’ musical songs to sing until the ‘sing off’. Oh, I know why, but they’re up for musical theatre, not a pop career!)

The final song was a duet with both finalists singing 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Oh so many emotions watching that, it even made me a little tearful, and Lee was fantastic in it.

And then the announcement – Lee is Joseph – how could I have doubted? I yelled so loudly the cats dived in opposite directions off the sofa and went and hid under the table.

And now, I want to go and see the show. After all, it must be all of 14 years since I saw Philip Schofield do it.

Looking for the right kind of Doctor

After our disappointment at not seeing John on Thursday, and a pretty sleepless night not withstanding (remind me not to stay in Cardiff Travelodge again when its student night at Walkabout, and it’s open till 4am!), we were determined to follow the rest of our plans and see the Dr Who and Torchwood sites around Cardiff. Combined with a bit of shopping, of course.

So, map in hand, and fortified by a huge, and incredibly cheap, breakfast in a fab little café, we headed off, past Howells Department Store ('ooh, its where Rose worked, that got blown up'!), to find the shops.

Later, we headed down to the Bay by car, as it would have been a very long walk, there may have been squealing when we first saw the Millennium Centre, and the ‘Torchwood fountain’*. We took in Mermaid Quay, taking a photo of the Restaurant where Chris Eccleston’s Doctor had dinner with a Slitheen, and then went over to the Millennium Centre – sadly you couldn’t get to the Torchwood paving slab/lift to stand on it, as they were resurfacing that bit (how rude), so we had to improvise as above.

The foyer area, as used for the hospital in New Earth, was rather stunning (it also had a gift shop**, but it was a bit lacking in Dr Who memorabilia). No cat nuns either!

Then it was over to the Dr Who exhibition, which was fabulous, as it had on display David Tennant’s pyjamas and dressing gown, his suit and overcoat (how skinny is he!!), K9, a Cyberman and even a Dalek – which was actually pretty intimidating, or perhaps that was just my traumatising memories from childhood. It focussed very much on the recent series, with just mentions of previous incarnations of the Doctor, with lots of actual costumes and props. Very exciting - in fact I even got excited when told I had to wear an arm band (getting it off later was another story!)

We sat and drank cocktails looking out at the Bay, pondering that at any point someone could walk past, though sadly they didn’t... and thinking (and hoping and praying) about seeing John that evening. Oh well!

The people of Cardiff were lovely, really friendly and very helpful, from our taxi driver who sounded just like James Fox, to pretty much all the waiting staff we encountered, and the man who offered to take our photo outside the Millennium Centre. There didn't seem to be the cynicism about tourists that you get in other cities - York being one.

*I know that isn’t actually its name, but it is in my head

**which is actually quite funny, as the Doctor says it should have a shop and goes on about just where he would put it!

The non non-stalking of John Barrowman

About a year ago, around the time that he was (unfairly) eliminated from Dancing on Ice, there was a discussion about non-stalking* John Barrowman, given the opportunity. So, once we knew he was doing panto, it was pretty much a given that we would be going , even though it meant a trip to Cardiff** in January.

So last Thursday, in the middle of all the dire warnings of gales, and 'only travel if your journey is absolutely necessary'***, Corinne and I were on the road. It was quite a scary journey, and we did see at least 3 lorries that had been blown over in the wind, but we arrived safe and sound, if pretty tired.

Still, the thought of John revived us, as did food and drink, and we took our seats. Just before the show went up, there was an announcement. 'As John Barrowman has a severe throat infection, the part of Jack will be played by...' Corinne and I looked at each other with a mixture of shock, and horror. Where were the signs? Surely this couldn't be true, we hadn't come all this way not to see him?

But, it was, and we had. I think for at least the first 15 minutes I felt shell shocked, and numb. When 'Jack' entered, and there was a joke about a dalek that fell totally flat, my heart sank even further. It was clearly a production that was built so much round John, and his performance, it wasn't going to work without him. The fact that it was at its funniest when things when wrong tells the tale, and it wasn't a patch on York Theatre Royal panto (but then, no panto is, and I was making an exception for John). Being true Yorkshire, and having paid for the tickets, we stuck it out, but it really didn't get much better, and it felt as though there were songs missing, that John would have sung.

As we sat in the bar afterwards (a drink was definately needed at this point) I still really didn't know what to say - except that, as we were staying two nights, we could check if he was playing the shows on Friday.

Friday morning, we called in at the theatre, and reserved two tickets for the evening performance. They were expecting him to be back, as he'd been off 3 days, but advised calling later to find out for definate. Later, 'no, he's not doing the matinee, but it's 99% certain he's doing the evening show'. About 5.15, we called at the theatre - 'yes, he's definitely on'! So tickets were collected, and we headed for the bar, and much needed doubles.

We arrived back at the theatre about 15 minutes before curtain up. 'Val, the signs are back!' And, to my dismay, the signs saying that John was ill, which had not been there earlier, had been put up again. The box office confirmed that he had come in, but almost immediately had gone home again 'we could kill him'! So, we asked for a refund, as no way were we going to sit through that again, and spent the money on a really nice meal instead.

So, John, I really hope you're feeling better, as you must have been really ill to miss so many shows. You missed us too, this time. But there will be other shows and other times. It's a long game.

The above picture, therefore, is the closest that I got to John!

*copyright Corinne

**which is a bl***y long way

***theatre = necessary in my book

Royal secrets

I've just caught up with last weeks episode of Dr Who! It's a good job they show it 3 times, as with my life, I'd never get to see it. (I do have a video, I just can't remember how to find the video channel on the tv!!)

Fab episode, anyway, which left me even more impressed with Russell T Davies as a writer, and loving David Tennant's performance as the Doctor, and the way it is developing. It was also suitably 'Victorian gothic' for my taste, and I think I'd have been terrifed if I'd watched it as a child.*

I loved the way all the strands in the story were brought together at the the end and the suggestion the Queen Victoria had been bitten and that, therefore, lycanthropy has been passed down in the royal family! It also had echoes back to the 'Bad Wolf' theme from the last series, and even more excitingly, set up the 'Torchwood Institute', which as fans will know, is going to be the basis of spin off series with John Barrowman.

I can't wait to see where this series is going. I love a good dose of sci fi on the tv!

*I was scared by the daleks when I was young, and didn't come out from behind the sofa for about 5 years!