Another weekend, another adventure for me.  Today I buggered off to Aberdeen alone, for the matinee performance Monty Python’s Spamalot.  Why on my own?  Well, most of my friends aren’t Python fans and my family don’t like it at all (what?!).  Also, when I looked at the seating plan, there was only 1 single seat left in the front row and I wanted it.

I caught the (expensive) train to Aberdeen, and on arriving, I wandered into Union Square for the first time.  It’s massive!  I went for a wander to the Apple Store and had a quick go of an iPad but I’m still of the opinion it’s a big iPhone.  It would be good for e-books though- think of how well it’s doing compared to Amazon’s Kindle.  For the record, I don’t want one.

Anyway, onto Spamalot….

When I walked into the theatre, there was a loud, majestic score playing and I think everyone knew at that point that they were in for a great afternoon.  I took my place in my front row seat (oh yes), which was practically like sitting on the stage and shortly after that, the show began.

There’s an announcement at the start saying it’s ok to take pictures, let your phones ring and tweet throughout the show.  This is followed by an “oh no, you’re NOT allowed to do any of those things.  Shit….”.

Before I continue any further, I don’t want to spoil the show for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, so I’ll try and keep it brief(ish).  If you’ve seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail you’ll know what’s coming.  Some of my favourite parts-

- The first song involved fish and slapping.  If you’re a Python fan, do I really need to say anymore?

- “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”- the Rocky Horror Show has the Timewarp as the ending singalong/get up and dance section.  Spamalot has this.  Cheery song and was a great way to end 2 hours of hilarity.

One of the funniest performers was probably Todd Carty (you’ll know him as Tucker from Grange Hill or Mark Fowler from Eastenders, depending on your age).  He played Patsy and had some of the best facial expressions (not to mention the shapes he pulled during the “Laker Girls Cheer Song”.

There was a bit of a funny moment near the beginning of the show too….

When all the knights came out on stage, there was one, Sir Bedivere (played by Robin Armstrong I think) who was wearing glasses.  As it turned out, I was the only person in my row wearing glasses and somehow we both caught each others eye at the same time (think it was to do with the specs).  Anyway, I was sitting laughing at something at that point.  He stared at me and grinned, I stared at him, we both laughed, then the people sitting next to me started laughing

To conclude (sounding all serious now), it was a fantastic show (I know, I know, I seem to say that about everything I see but it was brilliant).  If you want an afternoon/evening of silliness, go see Spamalot.  I giggled though the entire show and my mascara was all over my face.  This is something I want to see again

What are you waiting for?

Note: I’ve heard there’s a UK cast recording being released soon.  I’ll be having that.

Mood : silly   Music : Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life  by  Spamalot Cast

My friend Di and I decided to venture down to Edinburgh for the day, to see what was going on at the Fringe. We had a 2 hour train journey to get there and it was a beautiful day traveling right down the coast. It didn’t even feel like 2 hours but maybe that’s because we were yapping so much.

Passing Murrayfield Stadium brought back some old memories…that’s where we’d queued for hours in the pouring rain to get near the front at the Bryan Adams concert back in 2007 (entirely my idea, I hasten to add).

On arriving at Waverly Station, we weren’t quite sure what to do first. It was lunchtime so we grabbed some food from the station and went and sat beside the Scott Monument. The first thing we noticed: the place was mobbed! It was a lovely sunny day so everyone was making the best of it.

We headed up the mound, with the intention of walking down the Royal Mile. Whilst walking up there, we got our first flyer of the day. A guy walked up to us and said “your days are numbered”. Sounds rather ominous, doesn’t it? No, no, just a part of the Fringe madness.

Finally, we arrived at the top of the Mile (it’s a wee bit of a climb). As soon as we looked around, we saw some living statues. I took a few pictures (had the SLR with me) but when I went to take a picture of one of the performers in a mirrored costume, he held out his hand! What’s the deal with that?! You’re the one standing in a public place dude.

Diabolo Street Performer
There was a guy on Mile, just next to St Giles Cathedral performing with a Diabolo (these seemed to be very popular this year). I can’t say if he was good or bad or what he was actually doing. If you haven’t met me, I’m a bit of a shortarse and couldn’t really see through the sizable crowd.

St Giles Cathedral
As I previously mentioned, the guy with the Diabolo was performing right next to St Giles Cathedral, a place I’d never visited. Now, I’m not a religious person, however, the architecture of some of these old buildings is pretty amazing. On entering the building, I was struck by how quiet and peaceful it was inside, in complete juxtaposition with the atmosphere outside.

It’s a beautiful place and I was stunned by the size of it (I was wondering what services must be like there). The stained glass windows were also amazing and I ended up taking quite a few photos of them. If you’ve not been there yet, visit it next time you’re in Edinburgh- well worth a look.

The RBS Royal Mile
This is the craziest part of the Mile. You walk down there and you will get flyered. What did I see there? The cast of Sector 17 the musical performing on a small stage, a Nazi version of Oliver Twist, people dressed as fairies skipping around, people dressed as Guantanamo Bay prisoners, guys handing out newspapers while wearing nothing but underwear, people sitting on the street using typewriters and a clown playing AC/DC’s “Back In Black” on a Guitar Hero guitar….

Really crazy and very busy. It was nigh on impossible to move at times- it was a sea of people and you just had to go with the flow. Loved it though.

Japanese Performer
This guy was performing just down from Starbucks. When we arrived to see what was going on, there was a already a large crowd but the performer was blowing a whistle and yelling at people to move forward. He took ages to get started and he continued to shout at the crowd which really began to annoy me. He was good though (especially at the end) where he juggled fire whilst balancing on a suitcase, a diabolo, pieces of wood and tins of Sainsbury’s sweetcorn.

Another thing that annoyed me around that area were the parents who were pushing their kids into the crowd. One woman demanded that I let her son through and proceeded to barge in. I didn’t move- if you want to see something, get there early, as I did. And another thing: I’ve already pointed out that I’m vertically challenged. Now, some kids are taller than me (children are giants these days) and if I let them stand in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to see! Sorry to sound like a grump but c’mon people!

The Guest Speakers
A follower of mine on Twitter informed me there were some free comedy shows down on Niddry Street so we headed that way. We came across Laughing Horse Comedy @ The Hive so we went in and walked to a wee room called the small cave. The show that was about to start was “The Guest Speakers” so we stayed for that.

It was a comedy sketch show where a variety of people (all played by the same person) come out on stage and give a (hilarious) motivational talk. The characters were introduced by another guy, who was supposed to be mopey and depressed. Eventually he tries (and fails) to dress up as the Joker from Batman.

There’s a link about the show here. The guy playing the various speakers was Rob Gilroy, and he was brilliant. The best character was probably Valerie the child psychologist- funny stuff . Think it’s the last day of the show today.

The Red Trouser Show
Heading back up the Royal Mile, we saw another large crowd waiting for street performers to start. This time, it was 2 American guys who called themselves The Red Trouser Show. They were very entertaining, juggling fire, pulling random people out of the audience to hold a ladder in the middle of the street and getting a child to help out in the act (he earned a fiver in the process!). Funny guys.

Princes Street Gardens
Once we were off the Mile, we found these giant set of steps that took us along by the National Galleries and we ended up wandering through Princes Street Gardens. Because it was a beautiful, sunny day, the park was packed! There were a few Chinese performers dancing in around in there too. I could have sat in there for hours but time was running out and we had to go catch our train home.

*                  *                     *

After a quick snack in a shopping centre, we headed back into Waverly and began the journey home. Again, the journey flew by and much yapping was done on the way home. I got back to my house just after 9pm, thoroughly knackered but very happy. What a fantastic day

If you want to see some pictures from the day- check out Flickr.

Mood : bouncy   Music : Barrowland Ballroom  by  Amy MacDonald

Ever since I’d seen the Rocky Horror Show at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen back in 2006, I’d wanted to see it again.

I, along with my sister, one of my cousins and one of my best friends all headed to the theatre to see the show this time around. I’d booked early and had managed to snag 3rd row seats for us (given the small size of the theatre, these are practically on the stage).

On arriving at the theatre and purchasing a programme, we discovered that David Bedella wouldn’t be performing in this show and instead, the part of Frank-N-Furter would be played by Stuart Ellis. I must say, I was a bit disappointed by this as I thought David was brilliant back in 2006 and I was looking forward to seeing him play the part again. Nevertheless Stuart did a fantastic job stepping into the role.

The show started bang on 7.30pm, with the band bursting into life for the opening number, “Science Fiction Double Feature”. Hilarity ensued from there onwards.

Just in case you didn’t know, Rocky Horror Show is one of the few shows where you are allowed to shout back at the actors on the stage (at appropriate times of course). There were some absolute crackers in Aberdeen tonight . Now I know that my family read my blog, so I’ll refrain from putting some of the ruder callouts on here. Anyway, here are some of the funny moments-

Columbia: I loved you, I loved you and what did you give me?
Audience Member: Herpes!

Rocky: Is it true that you that you don’t like men with big muscles Janet?
Audience Member: Just one big one!

Gerrard Kelly (narrator) to loud, obnoxious audience member: “You’re sitting in the dark surrounded by 2000 strangers. I’m on stage with a microphone. God has a plan, you’re not in it. Zip it!”

I wasn’t really sure what was going on during “There’s a Light” as I heard a bit of a commotion in the middle of the stalls. As it turns out, some idiots sitting in the dress circle had brought water pistols to simulate the rain for the scene. Totally inappropriate for the theatre.

I think the funniest part in the show was the bedroom scene between Brad and Frank-N-Furter. Again I’m not going to go into great detail other than that there was a great deal of hilarity because someone coughed up a hairball. Mid delivery of a line, Brad guffawed with laughter. Midway through the scene Riff Raff popped in and he was on the verge of laughter too. The audience was in hysterics (and I was crying with laughter). It’s the first time I’ve seen actors crack up like that on stage

At the end, there was a encore, where the audience had to do the Time Warp (I think everyone knows the dance). Fantastic party atmosphere!  One question though: how can the men on stage dance in such high heels?!  It’s not fair- I can’t even walk in the bloomin’ things

Overall the evening was absolutely brilliant though and I’ll be there next time the show comes back!

Mood : chipper   Music : Time Warp  by  Rocky Horror Show Cast

Before I start on the main part of the review, I should mention that I actually wrote the majority of this aboard one of the last trains departing Aberdeen station.

So yes,I went to His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen to see High School Musical being performed on stage.  Yes I, Lynsay Shepherd, who constantly made fun of the whole “brand” went to see it.  Stop laughing.  Stop laughing right now.  In order to regain some of my “street cred”, I actually planned on purchasing 2 tickets- one for my mum and one for my sister, as Christmas presents.  However, they didn’t want the tickets as presents: they just wanted to go anyway.  I felt a little left out so I bought a ticket for myself too.  No, really!

We arrived in Aberdeen a little early and decided to head straight to the theatre, getting there with more than enough time to spare.

The doors opened at 7.30pm so we thought it would be best just to queue, rather than wandering off in search of food.  Besides, we weren’t that hungry.  Have to say that I’m glad that we just stayed put because before long, the foyer at the front of the theatre was absolutely packed.  There were a lot of kids there and I was beginning to think we were the oldest people there (thankfully, we weren’t).

Oh, one random thing happened when we were queuing- one of the cast members was snaking her way through the crowd- no idea who she was!

After queuing for about 30 mins, we got into the main area of the theatre and took our seats in row I, 9 rows from the stage (I was in seat I18, not that anybody really needed to know that…).

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the show as I hadn’t watched the film before hand (although I was well aware of the hype surrounding it).  I knew that it was a Disney production, therefore it was probably going to be cheesy and squeaky clean.

The lights dimmed at 8pm and there was an offstage announcement, referring to the audience members as “Wildcats”.  The fun and games were about to begin…..

I don’t have a clue what the name of all the musical numbers were (a number of the tunes are still stuck in my head though) but the singers were fantastic.  The choreography was excellent as well, particularly during a scene when all the guys were playing basketball- really well done.  Think the song was called “Get’Cha Head in the Game”.  If someone had dropped a ball, that song could have gone awry!  Should also mention that the guy who played Troy was gorgeous- reminded me of a young Paul Gross (at a glance).

Another great song was “Stick To The Status Quo”-dancing on the tables and air cello- great stuff

There was a really funny bit that totally cracked me up during the “Drama detention scene”. Basically, the class teacher was making the students pretend to be animals.  At the front of the stage, one of the pupils was pretending to be an earthworm.  I can’t really describe the way he moved but it was genius (note: I believe the move is called an “Inch Worm”- google it.  I really wanna try and do what that guy did!

The finale was fantastic- a ton of foil streamers were shot from the roof.  Remember I said there were a lot of kids in the audience?  Well all these kids ran into the centre aisle of the theatre and started fighting over the masses of foil which covered the floor.  Really funny.  I loved the foil as well- shiney!

I tried to phone my friend at the end, to let him hear the finale but a steward came in my direction and said no mobile phones.  I thought he ws talking to me but I realised it was directed at the woman sitting 2 seats down from me who was taking pictures.  Fool.

After that, we had a freezing walk through Aberdeen, back to the train station.  The driver of the train was really nice though- he started the train up especially for us and let us on because it was so bloody cold.  We sat on the train for about 45 minutes before we departed.

So yes, after all that, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m now a High School Musical fan- a lot of fun .

…wait, did I just confirm that in writing?

“Wild cats everywhere , wave your hands up in the air”

Mood : bouncy   Music : Breaking Free  by  High School Musical Cast