Hey there, hope you’re doing alright, and welcome to my latest roundup. March has been a bit of a mixed month for me, what with losing our Virgin Media service for almost a week (thankfully now fixed), and hearing about the government’s plans to cut disability benefits (which I’ve talked at length about in a separate post).
But there have been good things too, as I saw a couple of my favourite entertainers live for the first time, and enjoyed a variety of bits and pieces at home. So I’m going to focus on all of that in this post and video, which is relatively short I know, but I hope you find it interesting as usual!
Contents
Theatre
Michael McIntyre
My month started off in a really fun way, as I went to see Michael McIntyre at the Duchess Theatre, best known as the venue for The Play That Goes Wrong (which I’ve seen there before). I recently reviewed all of Michael’s previous stand-up specials and his Big Show in my blog, so this was perfect timing to follow on from that.
The show was only announced a couple of weeks beforehand, but by chance I happened to see the post quickly enough to bag myself a central seat in the front row. So I was very chuffed about that, especially as this is the first time I’ve got to see him live, and because his performances always sell out really fast. I think it helped that this one hadn’t been publicised far in advance, so it caught people by surprise and that worked in my favour.
The reason it was short notice – along with another gig at the Pleasance Theatre a week later – is that it was basically a refresher gig for him, as he gets back into his Macnificent tour, which he’s been doing since 2023 (and back then it was his first tour for 5 years). As he explained to us, he hadn’t done any gigs for a few months – his last one being in America at the start of December – but as he was about to fly out to Malta and Ireland to do some more shows, he wanted to get back into gear on home soil first.
So there were a couple of brief moments where he was a tad rusty, in particular missing one section of a routine that he couldn’t then do a callback to later on, and scrambling for a word he wanted to use at another point. And he did also ask a couple of fleeting questions to members of his backstage team. But because he’d explained things at the top of the show, and because he was still on top form regardless, the audience didn’t care. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and you didn’t really notice those very minor bumps in the road as he steered round them very well. The fact that he was honest about them was good really.
His set, which lasted for over an hour (I didn’t time it precisely), started with him chatting to a couple of people in the first couple of rows. In particular, the sight of a woman in the second row drinking wine directly from a carafe (a vase-like container) immediately caught his attention! She did have a plausible, if unusual, reason for doing so – she and her partner were sharing their wine with a stranger sitting next to them, who she’d given her glass to, so she was left with the carafe – but Michael had fun gently teasing her for it. Beyond that though, he just got into his routine. He doesn’t do a lot of audience interaction really, he just briefly says hello to the front rows that he can see when he first comes on stage, like many comedians do.
Some of the material in his performance I had already heard in his recent 25th anniversary special aired by the BBC – about drinking wine with his wife, trying to start a diet in America, and bedroom issues relating to their mattress, pitch darkness and noisy stomachs. But it was still really funny to hear it all again anyway, as he has such a great style of delivery, and there were extra elements within them that hadn’t been on TV. He also admitted that he can no longer do his excellent routine about silent letters on stage, because the BBC’s video of it has already gone viral, with nearly 4 million views in just 2 months, so everybody already knows it!
But there were also plenty of topics that I hadn’t heard him cover before, including the unusual features of weather apps, notifications from his Apple products, the reason he now wears a second ring, and the strange combination of videos he’s been addicted to on TikTok thanks to the algorithm, among other things.
And there was also a section that was completely new even to him, as he’d only just written notes on it, so he fished them out and went through them, getting a great response from the room. There’s definitely scope for a properly scripted routine there, as what he was coming out with was already hilarious. Suffice to say, if you ever hear him talk about things like cocktails, peacocks, breaststroke, tit for tat and Smeg fridges, we were the ones who were witness to its trial run!
So all in all, it was an amazing show. I was laughing constantly throughout, and genuinely crying with laughter a few times. He’s so good, and he appeals to such a broad range of people of all ages as well. I enjoyed chatting to an elderly gentleman next to me, for instance, who has seen a lot of the older comedians in the past like Tommy Cooper and Ken Dodd, and he’s also a big fan of Michael’s. So it’s no wonder he’s so popular on TV as well – proven by the fact that his Big Show and The Wheel have just been renewed for 2 more series, which is great news, as I love his Big Show in particular.
Before I move on though, it’s also worth mentioning Michael’s support act – Jake Lambert – because he too was very good indeed, and I would go so far as to say the best support act in all the gigs I’ve seen to date. He came out first and did a great set of around 20 minutes, before there was an interval and then Michael did his entire set without a break. Jake’s routine was mainly centred around him being autistic, or more specifically how everyone else around him saw the signs that he was autistic long before he did, all of which was very funny. But he also spoke about having trouble with small talk, why he doesn’t like phoning home, why older ghosts are better than the ones we’ll become, neck tattoos, and the differences he’s noticed between British and American people and culture. So that was a great opener to get everyone in the mood, and I can recommend looking out for him.
John Barrowman
From Michael McIntyre to Captain Jack on fire, and I finished the month by seeing the marvellous John Barrowman at Cadogan Hall, which is just a short walk from Sloane Square station. I’ve never been to that venue before, but the former church is a nice place, and the staff were really friendly and helpful.
This was John’s final show in his Laid Bare tour, which has marked his return to the stage since all the malicious and false allegations about his behaviour in the press forced him out of work. And he was absolutely brilliant, telling lots of interesting and very funny stories about his personal life and stage work, while performing lots of wonderful songs to illustrate it all.
His stories included why he married his partner Scott three times, how he made a mess of himself during a car journey, an incident during a play where they improvised around a lady falling off the stage, being friends with Bernard Cribbins (who played Wilfred in Doctor Who), and why he didn’t play by the conventional rules in auditions. There was also a fun Q&A section with the audience, including a story about another embarrassing incident at a stage show, the significance of a special cuddly toy, and an amusing game of “Kiss, Shag or Marry”.
Along the way, he performed many songs that he’s previously released on his albums (which I really ought to buy), ranging from joyful and upbeat to thoughtful and heartfelt. These included great versions of Listen To The Music, A Thousand Years (which he’s learned is popular at weddings, and indeed was used my best mate’s special day), Love Changes Everything, Don’t Rain On My Parade, Man Of La Mancha, Beautiful City and I Won’t Send Roses.
During the second half of the show he also addressed the troubles he’s had over the past few years, after everything that came out in the press. Basically, the press and others shared misleading and false information about his behaviour on the set of Doctor Who, jumping on the bandwagon after the much more serious allegations against Noel Clarke. It was all based on stories that John had already explained in his autobiography many years previously, but it led to his career falling apart as people and opportunities unfairly deserted him.
So, reading from text he had pre-prepared to make it easier, he took us through his journey of various stages, including grief, denial, anger, depression and acceptance, interspersed with sections from the song Skyscraper. It was very frank, sometimes quite dark, and ultimately very moving, especially as he choked up towards the end when thanking us, his “fan family”, who have given him the reassurance that being on stage and entertaining people is where he belongs. This tour has clearly been part of his therapy and getting back to normal, and it is indeed wonderful to see him performing again. So that section ended, quite rightly, with a long standing ovation as we all gave him our full support.
Finally, he concluded the show with a powerful rendition of I Am What I Am, which was very fitting. He allowed us to film it as well, so I’ve included part of it in my video accompanying this post.
So I thoroughly enjoyed the show, it was well worth going along to, and I’m so glad he’s back on stage doing what he does best. He has since announced that the tour was so successful that he’s going to stream the Glasgow concert that was filmed at a later date, and may even do a Christmas tour. So that’s quite exciting as well.
Entertainment
Torchwood
This month marked the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who’s modern revival, as the first series began on 26 March 2005, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming 15th series (aka Season 2) in April. So to celebrate that, along with seeing John Barrowman live as mentioned above, I’ve now finished rewatching all of Torchwood, the adult spin-off, which means you can read my lengthy posts about Series 1, 2, 3 & 4. It’s been great to go through them again, and I hope you enjoy my reviews of them all.
It also means I’ve completed writing my reviews of Russell T Davies’ first era as showrunner on Doctor Who, which is a big milestone. So next – after I’ve done the current Season 2 – I’ll be moving on to Steven Moffat’s era, beginning with the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, for which this April marks the 15th anniversary of his first regular appearance.
Gladiators
The second series of Gladiators has continued to be really good, including the new events Unleash (where a contestant is chased around a course by a mystery Gladiator) and Crash Course (where contestants have to do 2 laps of a track in the Atlaspheres while the Gladiators try to hinder their progress), along with new Gladiators Cyclone and Hammer. The contestants all throw themselves into it brilliantly and put in some seriously impressive performances, with every episode producing big surprises.
The show has really found its feet this series, and they have been advertising for contestants for the next one, so here’s hoping it continues for a while now, as it’s perfect Saturday night entertainment.
Comedy
In terms of comedy, I still enjoyed The Last Leg and Would I Lie To You? during March as always. But I didn’t bother sitting through Comic Relief, which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary, as it just doesn’t interest me these days, as wonderful a cause as it is. I did look through a few of their sketches online out of curiosity, but the only one of any interest was their Not Going Out & Beyond Paradise crossover, which centred around the fact that Sally Bretton plays a character in both shows, although I’ve only seen her as Lucy in Not Going Out. It’s not a particularly amazing sketch, but it’s mildly amusing, with Lee Mack of course having the best lines.
Big Night Of Musicals
Sponsored by the National Lottery and now in its 4th year, the Big Night Of Musicals was once again hosted by Jason Manford, and was a lot of fun as always. He performed himself of course, singing the very apt song A Musical from Something Rotten! with Daniel Mays, which celebrates the joys and variations of musical theatre. It included a cameo from Michael Ball, who later gave a beautiful performance of The Impossible Dream with Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir.
I also loved the fact that there was a section introduced by blind comedian Chris McCausland all about audio described theatre, which has certainly enabled me to see many shows that would otherwise have been completely inaccessible.
But beyond all of that, I also really liked many of the other performances, including Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins, All That jazz from Chicago, a medley from Calamity Jane, Maybe This Time from Cabaret, and the big finale provided by the stars of Bat Out Of Hell. Plus there were nice performances from shows like Hercules, Mean Girls, Here & Now :The Steps Musical, Titanique and Dear Evan Hansen. So it was a really good mixture.
The Blind Detective
After listening to the first Blind Detective book by Christina Koning that my friend Claire very kindly gave me for Christmas, my mother and I have now moved on to the second book, Murder In Regent’s Park. It’s all about a series of murders where braille playing cards are left at the scene of the crime, so blind war veteran Frederick Rowlands is brought in by Chief Inspector Douglas to help find the culprit.
We haven’t quite finished it yet, but it’s very well written once again, being very descriptive as things are told from Frederick’s perspective. Some other characters from the first book also return, along with some people from Frederick’s past, and there are nice twists and turns along the way, so we’re looking forward to seeing how it ends.
BBC News Themes
The news is rather depressing I know, but the BBC’s theme tune by composer David Lowe is iconic and brilliant, making clever use of the pips. He’s produced a seemingly endless number of variations for the title sequences, countdowns, fillers and headline beds across the BBC’s wide range of news programmes throughout the UK and around the world. And now, after considerable demand, he’s released an album of his BBC News themes, which has a nice selection of tracks on it.
It may seem rather sad or nerdy to buy such a thing, but as a collector of classic theme tunes, I really like it. The opening Countdown 24 track will be familiar to anyone who’s caught the countdown to the top of the hour, with footage of reporters in various locations. And I also really like the East and Asia versions, along with the Abbey Road mix used for countdowns on sombre occasions like the Queen’s death. The compilation trilogy of earlier 2000s pieces are cool too.
Of course, it’s only a selection of David’s work, so there are things that aren’t featured, such as his beautiful 5-minute countdown bed to last year’s election results (cleverly incorporating the old ‘Arthur Theme’). And there are some great remixes out there by other people, including Simon Smith’s 2015 version and Ben Howell’s 2020 lockdown mash-up with Dua Lipa’s Hallucinate. But what we’ve got on this album covers all the essentials and is very cool. He has released other albums in the past of course, including a BBC World single, but this one is by far the most significant of his work.
Conclusion
And that’s it for this month, so I hope you enjoyed that. I didn’t get to do as much stuff as I’d originally planned, but seeing Michael McIntyre and John Barrowman live were the most important things and were totally worth it.
I did actually join a new social group this month as well, which I haven’t mentioned above, but I’ve only been to a couple of initial events and want to do some more to see how I get on before I write about them. But early signs are good, the people I’ve met so far have been really welcoming. So I’ve got some outings arranged with them in April, plus I’m going to see a theatre show on my own and am hoping to meet up with friends of mine too. So if all goes well I should have a fair amount to share next month.
Until then, I hope you have a lovely Easter and a great month in general, and I’ll see you again next time!
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