Kiss Me, Kate (Leeds Grand Theatre & London Coliseum)

Oh, brilliant! I knew Opera North were brining it back next season but hadn't heard it was then going to the Coli. That'll save me another long train trip, having already seen the production in Nottingham & Cardiff. Mind you, a decent stalls seat at the Coli will probably cost more than my previous seats plus train fares! I hope they keep most of the same cast as the previous runs.

Edit: just looked at the ticket prices. Yes, it probably will actually be cheaper to go up to Leeds even with the train fare! Most of the Coliseum stalls are £115. Having just checked my ticket from Cardiff in December, I only paid £38. That is a ridiculous price difference even for London.

Edit 2: outer edges of front row in Leeds £42. Cambridge-Leeds return c. £40. Leeds it is then!

Yes, it was Whatsonstage (anyone need oxygen or a defibrilator ;-) ) since ENO's wasn't up last night. Okay, so front row stalls at the Coli booking direct with ENO at £95 + £15 train fare = £110. Front stalls in Leeds at £42 + c. £40 train fare = £82. So I can see it from the front in Leeds & still have £28 spare to grab a cheap seat at the Coli if I decide I want to see it more than once when the cast is announced!

While £20 for the back of the dress is a bargain compared to the amount it often goes for, I wouldn't consider it an excellent view. It's like looking through a letterbox. I'd say 2nd row balcony for £10 is perhaps a better bargain.

It's 20-30 June 2018. 12 performances.

This is an Opera North production, presented by Opera North at the London Coliseum. Opera North doesn't have a history of financial mismanagement, unlike English National Opera. I expect that Opera North would be taking too much of a financial risk if they hired the London Coliseum for longer than the two weeks of this run.

I'm a rather embarrassed to admit that I've never seen the stage version of Kiss Me, Kate. I'm less embarrassed that I've never been to the London Coliseum. Two birds, one stone, as the saying goes.

Perhaps understandably, there aren't that many online seat reviews for the Coliseum, so can anyone help?

I'm thinking dress circle G1/G58, then G2/G57 and finally L1. It's exactly 2 hours and 52 minutes long, so I suspect legroom will be just as important as view.

Sorry to be a bit of a grouch, but can anybody tell me whether Opera North do 'Kiss Me, Kate' as written by Cole Porter and Sam and Bella Spewack or make unnecessary and inappropriate changes as happened at Chichester?

Thanks, Oleanna. It's a great show and doesn't need tweaking, especially not on the scale as happened at Chichester. As far as I remember, Ian Talbot's production in Regent's Park remained faithful to the original and I was gobsmacked to realise that when they performed 'Too Darn Hot' at the beginning of Act 2 it was actually a genuine company of actors involved in playing Shakespeare – all different sizes, shapes and ages – and evoked a reality that Joan Little would have been proud of in her Theatre Workshop days. See my avatar where the signatory JL is the very same Joan Littlewood and Tony is me!

I bet it was my stupid computer that elided 'Joan Littlewood would' to 'Joan Little would'...or maybe it was me saving space!

Old and Young. Whoops! I go to the Young quite a bit but very rarely the Old. Muscle memory in my fingers ...

No. I keep them on in the winter when I am playing the piano so it's the same when I am typing!

tony, do you know the piano’s on my foot? No? If I hum it, will you play it?