Thursday 02 January 2025.

Thursday 02 January 2025. ROBIN HOOD panto live at The London Palladium. Iconic venue holds the biggest and best celebrity panto. Starring national treasure Jane McDonald as Maid Marion and Palladium panto royalty Julian Clary as Robin Hood, this spectacular show also sees the return of favourites Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Charlie Stemp and Rob Madge alongside West End stars Marisha Wallace and Tosh Wanogho-Maud who make their Palladium panto debut. It is on until Sunday 12 Jan 2025. I have been to see The Palladium Panto a few times before...it is always top notch. ------------ I always see this panto in the middle of the week , but it always still sells out this iconic 5000 capacity theatre . Although there are some children about , it is mainly an adult crowd , due to the smutty words on stage and expensive tickets if you are going as a family. The ratio of kids to adults here is much lower than the usual out of town panto that's aimed at families. The show is on for two hours 10 mins over two sets of 80 mins and 50 mins . The stage production is very lavish and Julien Clary has around a dozen over the top costumes. Whether Clary is dressed as a maypole, an owl or even an entire fairytale castle, “less is more” is not the mantra here, regardless of whether they complement the plot or not. Speaking of which, has an extra effort been made to focus a little more on a narrative thread this time around? No. Do any of us really care? Absolutely not. The chemistry between Clary and McDonald is panto gold, of course, as they both share a love for cruising (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and her constant requests for him to “satisfy her womanly needs” are, alas, always met with a closeted hint of resistance. In a show that boasts giant, fire-breathing dragons and flying fire engines, ghosts floating over the audience and even a 3D film section at the start of the second half , it’s simply the communal spirit of pantomime that brings the real festive fulfillment at the Palladium. Nigel Havers is again the butt of old person jokes. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin has a couple of excellent solo spots. There are male and female dancers Jane McDonald arrived 40 mins into the show and sings a few good cover versions. A few lines of topical banter too, including the cutting of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and Greg Wallace. Last year's Palladium star Jennifer Saunders made a surprise entrance on a chariot as King George. Not sure if this happens every night. In the second half Paul Zerdin got four kids on stage , ages 6 to 8 for a sing song of " Jane McDonald had a farm" . There was plenty of non stop jokey smut from Julan Clary and a couple of times it was downright crude , but it was an excellent entertaining evening to start off the new year. -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- Tuesday 31 December 2024. Happy New Year to all visitors to this website. LONDON NEW YEARS EVE Fireworks Display in Central London. 100, 000 tickets priced from £20 are all sold out. The event is 8pm to 12.30pm ...djs to warm the crowd up... I have been a few times before. The fireworks are shown live on BBC TV in the UK at midnight and other countries around the world. -------------- We were there 10pm to 12.30pm. Edinburgh and Blackpool fireworks displays were cancelled due to very strong winds, but not too bad in London, a bit windy and no rain. We are in the Red Zone Half the crowd seems to be non-English. We had a great view of the River Thames all lit up. The djs warmed the crowd up nicely. At 11pm a couple of dozen party boats came close to the fireworks...must get on one of them in the future. The fireworks at midnight for 10 or 12 mins were superb. The TV doesn't do justice to the sound of the thunderous noise that the fireworks make, when you watch it live . A very enjoyable event. -------------- Very sad news that legendary DJ JOHNNIE WALKER has died at the age of 79....he had been ill for some time... His current Sunday afternoon 70s show on BBC Radio 2 was the only radio show I consciously made an effort to listen to. He had a great radio career lasting over 50 years. Johnnie Walker began his radio career in 1966 on Swinging Radio England, an offshore pirate station, before moving to the legendary Radio Caroline where he became a household name by hosting a hugely popular night-time show. Following Radio Caroline's closure he joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969.

Posted 30th December 2024