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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2018 12:24:54 GMT
I'm on 147 with 10 more to go, but the ten have a helluva lot of heavy lifting to do if they want to be better than Summer and Smoke. I'm not even sure I can do a "these were my ten best of the year, in this order" list this year, because when I try thinking about it, I just default back to thinking about Summer and Smoke and I find it hard to remember what else I've even seen, let alone what else I liked. What I'm saying is I REALLY LOVE Summer and Smoke.
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Post by maggiem on Dec 10, 2018 12:42:53 GMT
In no particular order of date or preference...
Art (Salford Lowry & Birmingham Hippodrome) This House (Salford Lowry) The Cherry Orchard (Manchester Royal Exchange) Death of a Salesman (Manchester Royal Exchange) The Producers (Manchester Royal Exchange)
Macbeth (RSC Stratford) Tamburlaine (RSC Stratford) Troilus & Cressida (RSC Stratford) Antony & Cleopatra (NT Olivier) Julius Caesar (The Bridge)
The Grinning Man (Trafalgar Studios) Network (x2) (NT Lyttleton) Pressure (x2) (The Ambassadors) Red (Wyndhams) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Duke of Yorks?) Summer & Smoke (Duke of Yorks) True West (Vaudeville) Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (x2) (Palace Theatre)
Still to come... Dr Dolittle (Salford Lowry)
NT Live Follies King Lear Madness of George III Merry Wives of Windsor Macbeth Hallelujah! Julius Caesar
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Post by robertb213 on Dec 10, 2018 20:06:02 GMT
I can't finalise quite yet, but with 3 weeks to go, I'm on 128 so far (86 paid, 37 through volunteering, 5 through reviewing). Unless anything blows my mind in the next 3 weeks, my highlights will be Jeremy Jordan, Megan Hilty, Company and the Kinky Boots tour 😀
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Post by AddisonMizner on Dec 10, 2018 20:36:47 GMT
I’ve only got one more show left of 2018 - WHITE CHRISTMAS in Leicester on Sunday. I’ve seen quite a bit this year - most are listed on my profile so I won’t put them all down here. As well as those, I have been to see a fair few Met Live in HDs, Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau at the Barbican as well as Pavol Breslik and Piotr Beczala at Wigmore Hall. Out of everything, here are my highlights of the year:
- AMADEUS at the National - A visually stunning spectacle. I loved this!
- MACBETH at the ROH - This was my first time hearing Anna Netrebko sing live, and she did not disappoint. An absolutely stunning voice, and I can’t wait to hear her again (hopefully in 2019).
- THE KING AND I - A breathtaking production of a show that I adore. I was an absolute mess for most of it. It was also great to finally see Kelli O’Hara live, and she was just divine.
- COMPANY - An absolutely innovative production, which made me see the piece anew. Everything a revival should be.
Honourable Mentions:
- Allison Cook in SALOME - The production was questionable, but the central performance was stunning.
- LSO’s CANDIDE - If only for Make Our Garden Grow. A spine tingling moment, that still sends shivers down my spine, and tears to my eyes. A moment of the year truly to cherish.
Quite an ecclectic mix, but so much enjoyment. Here’s to an equally successful 2019!
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Your 2018
Dec 11, 2018 6:51:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2018 6:51:41 GMT
Despite a slow start, and two months off theatre to focus on my dissertation, I’ve had another bumper year, although not the most I’ve seen in one year.
Musicals Everybody's Talking About Jamie (x2) Pinocchio Barnum The Grinning Man Pippin (x2) Kinky Boots Legally Blonde Chess Tina Heathers (x3) Titanic Fun Home The King and I Bat out of Hell Hamilton - 2nd Time Miss Saigon - 5th Time Dreamgirls - 4th Time Aladdin - 3rd Time Matilda - 3rd Time Eugenius! Nativity Company The Calendar Girls Caroline, or Change White Christmas
Still to see this month: Frozen Once On This Island The Band’s Visit Murder for Two
Plays Mischief Movie Night The Birthday Party The Lieutenant of Inishmore War Horse - 2nd Time A Very Very Very Dark Matter A Christmas Carol
I’m also returning to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes next week.
By far my top shows this year are (in no particular order) Tina, Fun Home, ETAJ and Heathers at The Other Palace. I have high hopes for my trip to NYC too though, so that could still change.
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Post by kiwi on Dec 11, 2018 14:02:25 GMT
I should probably keep an actual list, but off the top of my head I remember
Hamilton Girl from the North Country Kinky Boots (Seeing again next week) HADESTOWN The King and I Miss Saigon The Band Fat Friends The Musical Fun Home x2 Motown The Musical The Grinning Man Young Frankenstein Dreamgirls 42nd Street Wicked Six (Seeing again in Glasgow) Heathers Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story Eugenius! Pinocchio
War Horse This House The Great Wave Nine Night The Inheritance
Plus about 25 shows in the Edinburgh Fringe & some amdram shows my friends were in.
My favourites have to be Girl from the North Country, HADESTOWN, Fun Home & Nine Night.
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Your 2018
Dec 11, 2018 18:00:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2018 18:00:11 GMT
I'd also include two special mentions for musical films A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody. Amazing films with amazing performances. I suspect for alot of us, Mary Poppins Returns will join that list too.
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Post by indis on Dec 11, 2018 18:07:02 GMT
saw not that many shows this year as last year but was on the road even more : was in Kilworth to see "Guys and Dolls", saw West Side Story in Malmö and in Dortmund, loved both - and been in London in summer for a week to see some musicals , saw Bat out of hell, the King and I, Hamilton, Knights of the Rose, Chicago and Les Mis , oh and Book of Mormon again
my higlights - Guys and Dolls, West Side Story Malmö and Dortmund, Bat, the King an I plus 2 concerts i saw with Anton Zetterholm this year, one with his fiance Harriet Jones, and this monday with his former Glinda Joana Fee Würz, was supposed to be Harriet again, but for personal reasons she had to cancel on short notice
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Post by david on Dec 11, 2018 22:03:38 GMT
After reading this thread it got me curious to see how many trips to the theatre I had done this year as I don’t normally keep count. I quick count up of my programmes currently stands at 109 with an end of year trip to London coming up should bring the grand total to 112 for 2018.
The standout WE musical productions for me have been Hamilton, Fun Home, Company For WE plays, the standouts have been The York Realist, The Inheritance, Pressure and Summer and Smoke For regional theatre - Copenhagen and Flowers for Mrs Harris (CFT), Madness of King George III (Nottingham) and Mary Stuart (Salford Lowry).
The stinkers - The Prisoner, Julie and I’m not running (NT)
It’s been a great year for regional theatre in Manchester and Liverpool, especially at the Manchester RX who seemed to have had an excellent 2018 programme and the 2019 programme looks just as exciting.
It was also great to meet some of the other board members at various productions throughout the year.
So with 2018 coming to a close here is to an exciting and fun filled theatre viewing in 2019.
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Post by Dr Tom on Dec 12, 2018 0:29:46 GMT
I haven’t counted, although I’ve certainly been to the theatre more than 100 times this year, which is a record for me and seems a huge amount of shows (and money). And that’s included shows in Melbourne, New York and Toronto, as well as other parts of the UK.
A lot of that was down to a change of job and needing to be in London regularly (and what is there better to do to fill your evenings?). I’ve been making regular weekend trips for a few years but it’s different when you’re based here.
The compromise has not been seeing the local touring shows so much. I just haven’t been in the right place.
I base a lot of theatre visits around what’s on, what styles do I like, what do I want to see before it closes and the cast changes? My guilty pleasures this year have been 42nd Street, Jamie and The King and I. I also love seeing different casts and understudies. I’ve seen some excellent (and terrible) fringe productions. I’ve seen Beautiful on three different continents.
And I’ve already started booking in things for 2019.
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Post by londonmzfitz on Dec 12, 2018 13:46:59 GMT
Been slim pickings this year; after quite a few disappointing shows last year I’ve been more select about shows this year.
5* Hamilton (3 visits) Kinky Boots - with Killian & Matt Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Christmas Carol with Rhys Ifans Guys & Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall Les Miserables (Killians last one at Queens) Harry Connick Jr at the Palladium 4* 42nd Street Brief Encounter Chess at the ENO Heathers Network 3* Christmas Carol with Stephen Tompkinson King & I Me & My Girl (Chichester) Follies An American In Paris 2* Spamilton A Very Very Very Dark Matter 1* Young Frankenstein Hamlet
Booked but missed (excuses include ill health, couldn't be arsed and too blooming hot to get on a train)- Wise Children, Bring It On, Key West, Julius Caesar. I love my spreadsheet which tells me I have 42nd Street last matinee, Come From Away, Waitress and Ramin and Tim Minchin shows set for 2019.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2018 14:44:33 GMT
Guys, it's December, we'd be worried if you *hadn't* started booking for 2019 yet!
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Post by bellboard27 on Dec 13, 2018 9:58:23 GMT
This year my shows are around a couple of hundred again (still several to go). The main highlight for me was the Ring Cycle at ROH – from the anticipation of the first sustained chord to the final standing ovation. Other highlights – The Inheritance (Part 1), ENB’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, Caroline or Change, Company, Summer and Smoke, Julius Caesar at the Bridge and a rather good production of Chicago in Paris.
In the “I want to poke my eyes out” category was Brief Encounter.
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Your 2018
Dec 13, 2018 13:21:38 GMT
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Post by dontdreamit on Dec 13, 2018 13:21:38 GMT
Guys, it's December, we'd be worried if you *hadn't* started booking for 2019 yet I'm slightly worried that I have confirmed tickets for November and December next year now. My partner has booked tickets for some comedian in 2020!
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4,967 posts
Member is Online
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Post by TallPaul on Dec 13, 2018 13:30:05 GMT
I'm slightly worried that I have confirmed tickets for November and December next year now. My partner has booked tickets for some comedian in 2020! That's a joke, right? 🙂
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2018 14:29:11 GMT
I'm not going to lie, I was extremely tempted to book a performance of Fairview at the Young Vic for 2020, but you can take a joke too far, so I stuck with early December 2019. That's my furthest out one, but most of my 2019 bookings so far only go up to June.
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Your 2018
Dec 13, 2018 17:37:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2018 17:37:45 GMT
Interesting. Can you share what they pay out for and if there’s an excess? I never take the insurance on tickets and often wonder if I am being silly.
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Post by joem on Dec 14, 2018 23:24:17 GMT
50 plays 1 play reading 5 operas
Haven't worked out which were the highlights yet.
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Post by schuttep on Dec 17, 2018 15:01:47 GMT
Will have seen 93 shows this year.
Loved the Wilde and Pinter seasons, Summer and Smoke, The York Realist, The Inheritance, Machinal, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Translations, Lehman Trilogy, Dealing With Clair, Company, In Praise of Love, Caroline or Change, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, The Overcoat (Clapham Omnibus), Little Shop of Horrors, Girls and Boys, The Height of the Storm, White Teeth, A Monster Calls,Home I'm Darling, and Hamilton.
Underperformers: Fat Friends The Musical, Macbeth (National), My Name is Lucy Barton, Miss Nightingale (Hippodrome Casino), The Way of the World, The Play That Goes Wrong.
Pleased to have finally got to The Bridge theatre, revamped Kiln, Ustinov Studio in Bath, Omnibus, and Winchester Theatre Royal.
Overall, a good year.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2018 15:06:17 GMT
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Post by Mark on Dec 25, 2018 3:28:24 GMT
Can finally do this after a busy week of theatre going last week. This is me done, unless we win the Hamilton lottery here in Chicago (Unlikely).
Musicals New Musicals for me:
Broadway
SpongeBob SquarePants (x2), Mean Girls (x2), A Bronx Tale, Carousel, Once On This Island, Frozen, The Band's Visit West End/London Girl From the North Country, Five Guys Named Moe, Eugenius! (x2), Ruthless! (x2), Tina, Pinocchio, Strictly Ballroom, It Happened in Key West, Knights of the Rose, Bat Out of Hell, Heathers (x6), Six, Sylvia, Company (x3), Mythic, Hadestown, H.R. Haitch, Spamilton, The Rink Other Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Johannesburg), The Last Ship (UK Tour), The Band (x2)(UK Tour/West End)
Repeat Shows from previous years: Broadway Hello, Dolly! (x2), Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Phantom of the Opera, Anastasia, Come From Away. West End Kinky Boots (x3), The Book of Mormon, Hamilton (x2), Aladdin, Young Frankenstein, Chicago, Chess, The King and I (x2), Fun Home, Little Shop of Horrors, 42nd Street, Everybody's Talking About Jamie (x2), Dreamgirls
Other Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Sydney), Come From Away (Toronto), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (UK Tour), The Girls (UK Tour), Wicked (UK Tour), Miss Saigon (UK Tour), Nativity (UK Tour)
Plays New Plays for me: London Network, John, The Birthday Party, Long Day's Journey into Night, Frozen, The Great Wave, Mary Stuart, Quiz, Nine Night, Consent, The Jungle, Home, I'm Darling, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Humans, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, The Inheritance Part 1, The Inheritance Part 2
Other Afterglow (Off-Broadway), Art (UK Tour)
Return Visits: West End Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Part 1, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Part 2, Red
95 professional theatre trips in total this year, my best since 2011! Lots to look forward to in 2019
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Post by sophizoey on Dec 25, 2018 7:49:16 GMT
A year I never expected to happen theatre wise. It started normally, seeing most of the big productions that visited my local touring house (Sunderland Empire) once or twice if I enjoyed them. Also went down to London every few months to catch me a dose of my favourite mediocre musical Wicked.
Then I saw the touring production of Wicked with their Standby Elphaba at the helm and my stagey year changed a little bit. I know this is crazy but I've some how seen Wicked 33 times this year (3 times in London and a shockingly embarrassing and I didn't realise this until I counted 30 times on tour). However production wise that has not been the highlight of the year and I've mostly kept going back because the performers in the touring production are some of the best I've ever seen. (I can assure you that in 2019 once the production has close, I will be back to my standard Wicked every 2 months, unless there's something better to see in London)
I've seen 21 other shows this year including visits to 10 new shows. With the other visits mainly being repeat visits to the shows I've enjoyed most. Kinky Boots (London and UK Tour) along with finding a love for Legally Blonde in general has been the highlight of my year.
So that's 54 theatre visits this year, 10 west end visits but visits to 6 various touring houses up and down the country. It might have mostly been for one show, but I'm quite proud of all the travelling I managed to fit in with my theatre trips.
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Your 2018
Dec 25, 2018 8:49:30 GMT
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Post by No. on Dec 25, 2018 8:49:30 GMT
Not as much as most of you, but I’ve seen 6 shows this year which is way more than I usually get to. As I said I know it’s not much, but I already have 3 booked for 2019 (and the Strictly arena tour) so here’s to hoping I break through the barrier a bit more!
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Your 2018
Dec 25, 2018 10:57:26 GMT
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Post by theatremad on Dec 25, 2018 10:57:26 GMT
2018 hasn't been great, made redundant in June and pretty much out of work since and family illnesses.
Theatre wise (not exhaustive):
RSC: Imperium, A Christmas Carol, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Merry Wives, Duchess of Maori, Mrs Rich, Miss Littlewood, Maydays, We are Arrested/Day of the Living, YP Comedy of Errors, Three Letters, Troilus and Cressida, A Christmas Carol again, Tamburlaine, Tartuffe, Timon
Warwick Arts Centre: Trying it On
NT: Lehman Trilogy, Hadestown, Pericles, Absolute Hell
Globe: Eyam
West End: Pinter 1,2,3,4. Quiz. Inheritance (well tried). Mary Stuart. Phantom, The Mousetrap. Book of Mormon
Donmar: Measure for Measure
ROH: Ring Cycle 4
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Post by haz23 on Dec 29, 2018 19:29:16 GMT
I have three highlights this year; Hamilton, Company and The Last Ship. All were incredible.
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Post by itsemily on Dec 29, 2018 21:05:14 GMT
My 2018 Shows: (In order)
February: Shen Yun at the Dominion Theatre - If I'm honest I didn't enjoy it all, it was my dad who wanted to see it so we went as a family trip. He didn't like it either. I really struggled to stay awake (although I would point out that I had been awake since 5 am),the show just didn't appeal to me although the dancers were all very talented. Flashdance The Musical at the New Victoria Theatre Woking- Pleasantly surprised me, I thought Joanne Clifton was great and the songs were surprisingly catchy, I like the film but wasn't sure how well it would transfer on to the stage turns out it did this very well in my opinion!
March: Ballet Rambert's Ghost Dances at Woking Theatre. My god mother had specifically flown over from Greece to watch this with us, I had never been to a Rambert show before so I was not sure what to expect. The show was split into three acts of 3 completely different dance pieces with two short intervals. Wasn't very keen on the first act, quite liked the second act and absolutely loved the third act! My godmother loved the whole show but didn't like the theatre. Would not tell us why.
April: Wicked at the Apollo Victoria: 3rd time seeing the show, enjoyed it as always and went to stage door for the first and probably last time, cast were lovely was not a fan of the other people waiting at stage door barging you out the way!
May: Karen and Kevin Dance at Woking! Brilliant show from Kevin and Karen Clifton (also featured Diane Buswell). Fantastically danced and very funny in places. Although I never need to seen a topless Kevin Clifton attempting to rap ever again!
June: Shrek the Musical at Woking theatre. Really enjoyed this (although not a patch on the Broadway DVD). Its an enjoyable show with some genuinely funny moments and a good cast. Met Laura Main at stage door who was absolutely lovely!
July: Wicked Cast Change (Matinee only) : I'd never been to a muck up matinee before and enjoyed the little changes they had added into the show (only seemed to be in the first half though). Ridiculously hot day which hampered my enjoyment slightly as I was just so uncomfortable! Show great as always though!
September: Kerry Ellis live at Zedel - first time seeing Kerry after being a fan for years! Great show with a fantastic set list, just wish there had been some Wicked! Loved the venue definitely plan on seeing something else there in the future!
October: Fame at Woking Theatre: Went along with my manager as she had managed to get cheap tickets. Wasn't expecting to enjoy it that much as I really don't like the film but I actually thought it was great. A very strong young cast with some fantastic dance performances. Would definitely see it again in the future. Heathers at Theatre Royal Haymarket: A bit of a sick and twisted show but I really enjoyed it. Great performances all round. Jersey Boys at Woking Theatre: 6th time seeing the show, the tour was lacking in something slightly from the London Show but I couldn't quite put my finger on it, the cast were fantastic but there was something missing for me. Still enjoyed it but had definitely seen it better.
Best show of 2018: Heathers Worst show: Shen Yun Biggest Surprise: Fame Most seen: Wicked (Jersey Boys was number six but only saw it once this year).
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Post by sf on Dec 29, 2018 22:15:37 GMT
I'm not going to lie, I was extremely tempted to book a performance of Fairview at the Young Vic for 2020, but you can take a joke too far, so I stuck with early December 2019. That's my furthest out one, but most of my 2019 bookings so far only go up to June.
Likewise. My furthest one out at this point is a preview performance of Fairview in early December.
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Your 2018
Dec 30, 2018 11:30:32 GMT
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Post by theatremad on Dec 30, 2018 11:30:32 GMT
Furthest out booked for 2019 is Ian McKellen at RSC
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Dec 30, 2018 12:34:33 GMT
Following my last theatre visits of the year yesterday:
Seen - 89 shows (I think - there are a couple of gaps in my calendar where I'm pretty sure I must have seen something. But if I can't remember it, can't have been much cop!) This is counting things like Pinter at the Pinter and Tonight at 8:30 as one show per performance.
Best (in no particular order): john (Dorfman) nine night (Dorfman) fun home (Young Vic) an octoroon (Dorfman) tamburlaine (RSC Swan) The Convert (Young Vic) Snowflake (Oxford Old Fire Station) Sweat (Donmar) Company (West End) The Inheritance (West End) Ear for Eye (Royal Court) Pity (Royal Court)
Best events: Tonight at 8:30 (Jermyn Street) Shakespeare at the Abbey (Globe) Pinter at the Pinter (Pinter) Ring Cycle (Royal Opera)
Worst: A Very Very Very Dark Matter (Bridge) by an incredibly large margin
Worst other than A Very Very Very Dark Matter: The Cane (Royal Court)
Disappointments: Sondheim on Sondheim (Royal Festival Hall) The Wild Duck (Almeida) Richard II (Almeida) Measure for Measure (Donmar) Emilia (Globe)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 17:20:59 GMT
Great year ramping up the theater attendance (not touching the level of some pros here though!) Took in a lot of new types of theatre (as opposed to just musicals) and first time attending Edinburgh Fringe, which was a 4-day highlight of the year.
40 Shows (including 10 at Edinburgh Fringe) with a lot of bargain hunting/day seating etc. Average ticket price for the year was £19 - the cheapest being free (thanks to a very generous board member!) and most expensive being Hamilton at £90.
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