Somehow it was 5 months since we last visited the West End Theatre, and so we were anxious to correct this. Happily we found two discount tickets, at £55 each, to see "Back to the Future", the Musical at the Adelphi Theatre. They were good dress circle matinee seats, C10 and C11, and we had an excellent view of the stage. The Adelphi Theatre is in The Strand, not far along on the left hand side walking away from Trafalgar Square. To get there for us, it was drive to Broxborne Station, train to Tottenham Hale, and Tube to Leicester Square. For the return journey we took a No 26 bus from The Strand to Liverpool Street station, and then the train to Broxborne. Nothing was all that busy, perhaps the trains were quieter with so many working from home ?

The show got a 3 star review in the Guardian, but 5 stars in the Daily Telegraph. I was curious to see which I would agree with - and very happily it was the Telegraph. It's great to get a 5 star show in our first theatre visit of 2024 ! Most people know the story from the film of the same name. Marty McFly (Michael J Fox in the film) goes back from 1985 to 1955 when his friend Emmett Doc Brown's (Christopher Lloyd) experiment goes wrong, and meets a young version of his parents, George and Lorraine McFly. In 1985 his mum Lorraine is an alcoholic, and his father a spineless character, being bullied by his work supervisor Biff Tannen. The time travel machine is a converted DeLorean car, powered by plutonium in 1985. Doc has accidentily been exposed to this radioactivity and lies dying as Marty is whisked back to 1955. Still in 1985, a lady was campaigning to restore the old civic clock destroyed by a lightening strike in 1955. Marty had picked up one of her leaflets, and so when he finds himself marooned in 1955, he can tell the Doc the exact time of a lightening strike. If they can tap this power, maybe Marty can return to 1985. Unfortunately in 1955 Marty's time travel has altered destiny. It now seems that his parents never met, never married, and never had children - no Marty nor his brother and sister. Marty has to ensure that they do meet, and do marry, etc. A complication is that the young Lorraine McFly falls for "future boy" Marty, and certainly doesn't fancy spineless George - yes being bullied by Biff in 1955. Biff is also pestering Lorraine. Marty has to avoid Lorraine's advances, give George some backbone, and get back to 1985 in time to save Doc. In short, it's an action packed, good story.

The show started off a bit slowly, maybe 3 stars per the Guardian, but everything improved when Marty went back to 1955, and continued to get better and better. Could it be as good an ending as I've ever seen ? All the cast were good, especially Ben Joyce as Marty, and Cory England as Doc. It was all performed at great pace, the singing and dancing were spot on, and the band / orchestra really rocked with a terrific beat. I though the special effects were definitely 5 star, and there was lots of humour. And yes, a happy ending. It would be unfair to say the DeLorean car was the star of the show, but it was magnificient, and a "coup du theatre", just before the end, the car left the stage, hovered over the audience, and did a victory roll.

In brief, West End theatre at it's best, and a resounding 5 stars.

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Browsing through what's on in the West End theatre, we chanced upon discount tickets for a matinee performance of "Standing at The Sky's Edge", a show voted best new musical. We thought why not give it a a go, without knowing too much else about it. It was on at the Gillian Lynne theatre in Drury Lane, and we had two excellent seats in the second row of the dress circle, B30 and B31. For us, getting to the Gillian Lynne means taking the car to Broxbourne station, rail to Tottenham Hale, and the tube to Leicester Square. For the return journey it's the No 26 bus to Liverpool Street station, and the train to Broxbourne.

The previous show that we saw we rated excellent - 5 stars. This show was an excellent 5 star crafted production, brilliantly depicted on stage, great stage presentation, etc and it did get lots of overall 5 star reviews, but I rated it 3.5 stars as an overall theatre visit. You don't exactly leave the theatre uplifted with spirits raised. That said though, the cast was great, as was the music, and as was the orchestra.

The show originated in Sheffield, and was performed at the famous Crucible Theatre there. It's the story of 3 families living in the same flat in a high rise on Park Hill, a Sheffield housing estate. We are back to the 1960s for the first family, then into the 1980's for the second family, and then finally to the 2000's. In the sixties story we have Rose and Harry moving into a newly built flat. It's the time of the miner's strike, and the closure of the Sheffield steel works throws Harry out of a job. Rose works hard to provide for the family, but Harry gives up, and just sits there drinking all day long. Rose finally leaves him, but goes back and finds him dead in the same chair. Not very cheery ! Next comes the eighties family, coloured people escaping war in Africa. The young girl Joy feels lost in the UK, but is befriended by Jimmy. They sleep together, she becomes pregnant, they marry, Jimmy dreams of them all escaping to Australia, but Joy won't move, and Jimmy gets stabbed (I think). Again not very cheery ! Finally we are into the 2000s and posh Poppy is escaping from London from whom we think is an unfaithful boyfriend, but later we learn it is a girlfriend, Nikki. Nikki and Poppy do get back together at the end - so some sort of happy ending at last.

If the three stories were told consecutively they would be easy to follow, but they unfold simultaneously. Sometimes all three families are in the same space on stage at the same table, at the same time, and I had to struggle to remember who's who. Each period moves forward in time, and the characters age - sometimes with makeup, sometimes with different actors. So it's a brilliant idea the somehow works, but it's also confusing, and there aren't many jokes. There is one good football joke, however. A wife is quarelling with her husband, a football fan, and says "sometimes I think you like Sheffield Wednesday better than me". His quick response is "I like f....ing Sheffield United better than you!" Cruel, but funny. Electric date signs (see photo) do sometimes descend to help us with the year setting - I'd have been completely lost without them.

Overall a great idea to have all three families on stage at the same time, and executed with a good cast and perfect timing - who stands where, when - but I was struggling to follow it, and it's all very sad. If you want a fun day out try elsewhere. If you are into amateur dramatics, or theatre production do go - you'll be impressed.

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Every so often we look at the London Theatre websites to see what is on / what is available at a reasonable price. We found two seats in the Royal Circle at the Shaftesbury Theatre, in the very back row at £55 each - to see Mrs Doubtfire, the Musical. We then checked on the Shaftesbury Theatre website, and found the same seats at £45 each. We stayed at this site, but booked two better seats in the third row from the back at £65 each, K20 and K21. They were OK for leg room, and mine was excellent for view as I had an empty seat in front of me once the man sitting there moved along his row. We had not been at this theatre since 2015, but it seemed more or less the same, apart from some Unisex toilets. This meant I, a man, had to queue for the toilet, and also I felt a bit awkward as everyone else in the toilet seemed to be woman. I had to check that I had not made a mistake. For us, getting to the theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue obviously, meant our usual drive to Broxbourne, train to Seven Sisters, tube to Leicester Square, and then eventually ( after tea, a wander round, etc ) a walk to the theatre. For the return, the No 8 bus was nearer than the No 26, and so we took the 8 to Liverpool Street Station, and then Broxbourne, and then home.

We hadn't seen Mrs Doubtfire, the film, starring Robin Williams (as Daniel Hillard), but knew a little of the story. We had also been sent a gif of Mrs D. / Robin catching fire in the kitchen, and so looked forward to this bit. This, however, was bit disappointing - I didn't see any flames but only some smoke / vapour, and two resultant scorch marks. I think the story is well known. Daniel Hillard is the perpetually over cheery husband of his poor wife Miranda - life is a constant party and series of jokes. Eventually Miranda, in despair, decides she has had enough, and divorces Daniel. They have three children, two girls Lydia (14), and Natalie (5) and a boy Chris (12). Daniel loves his children, and to get better access to them, manages to get himself employed as their female nanny - a mature Scottish lady Mrs Doubtfire. Daniel's brother Frank, a make up artist, and Frank's partner Jack organise the transformation. Daniel has to jump through a few hoops to comply with the court divorce conditions, get a job and a decent flat for visits, etc, and submit to court vetting. He struggles in and out of costume, and tries to be in two places at once, as Mrs D and Daniel, etc. The first half is for the children, and the second half a little more serious. I thought Daniel and Miranda were going to get back together again - after Miranda confided in Mrs D, Daniel realised how unhappy she had been, and gave her a heartfelt sincere apology. But Miranda and Stu were now happily together - a more realistic conclusion. Daniel too has a happy ending - daily access to the children, and a job as a TV child entertainer who is both funny, but sympathetic too. Daniel was played by Gabriel Vick who was excellent - such stamina, flat out action, good singing and dancing. The orchestra was great, as were all the cast - well up to high West End stage standards.

All in all, we liked the show, but were not really blown away. I would give it 3 stars out of 5. However if you have children or grandchildren to entertain, it's well worth a visit.

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Once again we hadn't been to the West End theatre for a few months. We saw that there were good, reasonably priced, matinee seats available for "The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button" - a musical - and so decided to give it a go. This was on at the Ambassador's Theatre, West Street - one of the smallest theatres in London. Last time we visited this theatre was back in July, 2019. Doesn't time fly - but not backwards, as per poor Benjamin Button. We followed our now usual route there - drive to Broxbourne Station, train to Tottenham Hale, tube to Leicester Square, and then walk up Charing Cross Road, on the right hand side (with Trafalgar Square behind us). Look along the side streets, and when you see St Martin's Theatre, head for that, and the Ambassadors in adjacent. We thought we might have to vary our planned return route as The Strand and lots of other streets were closed for part of the Saturday afternoon and the no 26 bus didn't seem to be running. Happily all was OK again when we left the theatre. The problem had been an emergency major gas leak repair closing or snarling up most of central London. Once again, it was walk down to The Strand, 26 bus to Liverpool street, train to Broxbourne, and then drive home.

We had reasonably good seats in the second row of the circle, seats B2 and B3. We paid the full price of £60 per seat, and a three pound booking fee. We sort of knew the story, but not any of the detail. It's set mostly in Cornwall. Of course, it's a fairy tale. Benjamin is born as an old man (smoking a pipe) and then ages backwards. His poor mum can't stand the stress / shame this might cause her, and commits suicide. His father keeps telling Benjamin he has no future, and locks him in his bedroom. Benjamin does have a window out of which he sees the moon each evening - which fascinates him. There are later songs about the moon - "suppose the moon fell in love with the sea", etc. He wonders if man will ever set foot on the moon, and lives long enough to see it - as a younger self. Benjamin wants to see life, escapes his bedroom, and visits the local pub. There he meets the love of his life but is tongue tied, and can only say "Beer, please". He likes the beer, visits once a week, and soon becomes known to the locals as "Beer please." He is captivated by the waitress, is harmless, causes no problems, and eventually they fall in love and marry. Initially he has reverse aged to 55 when they become a couple, but his father's warnings haunt Benjamin. When his wife remarks on his progressive youth, vanishing wrinkles, etc he runs away, works at sea, returns, and fights in the war. He is given compassionate leave and returns to see his new born son. "Is he normal", he asks his wife ? "What do you mean of course he is normal" she replies. There is also a daughter who sadly drowns. Eventually Benjamin is streaking his hair with grey, and painting in wrinkes to hide his youth. He never tells her his secret - but later she works it out. He is eventually her age, then younger, then his son's age, and then younger, and then dies a baby. The play gives an answer to the "suppose it happened, what would you do ?" question. There is a lot about time, and the flow of time, and time gaps are given in years, hours and minutes as folk song chants. Of course, it's impossible - but we go with the flow.

It's all performed as a continuous folk song by a gifted ensemble of about a dozen singing musicians. Maybe they are performing sea shanties. Everyone has a great voice, and the harmony and blending are captivating. Some times an actor dons a smock, becomes a character in the story, and then slips off the smock, to melt away again into the folk group. They all play a variety of instruments but perhaps predominately fiddles. The beat is terrific, and they all perform flat out all the time. It looks exhausting.

I really enjoyed this show - it was different. I wouldn't say its a 5 star show, but somewhere about 3.5 stars. Perhaps we could have done with more changes of pace, light and shade - more quiet numbers - but that's only a slight quibble. It deserves a long run, and I wish it every success.

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