Those moments you'll never forget

I know regulars will expect this one from me but the staircase appearance in 42nd Street. Just brought a tear to my eye writing it.
Will think of more later.

Seeing the opening sequence of the Lion King on tour in Bristol, still the only time I’ve seen it but it’s brilliantly done and so moving.

All I can say in reply to this is: ENVY!

The first previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I’ve never known anything like it. The level of excitement and anticipation I think will forever remain unmatched in a theatre for me. But there was also a nervous energy, because we were all stepping into the unknown together - the first 1400 members of the paying public to ever find out what happened next, nineteen years later.

I was a nervous wreck from start to end. As soon as I took my seat for part one I suddenly found myself wanting to stop it all - the books were so perfect that any new information could taint it forever. Some of it did and my heart sunk, but we went places and saw faces that I felt I was on a firebolt all of my own.

The end of part one is spectacular and one of the best things I’ve seen. It’s so simple to stage, but it’s staged so well and in terms of the story, the sh*t has really hit the fan.

It was torture waiting 48 hours for the second part, but then something magical happened - when we had taken our seats for part two, some of us spotted JKRowling slipping into one of the boxes. It was surreal but so special - being a self confessed Potterhead - watching the author watch their characters brought to life.

I had the good fortune of a second visit to see it about a week later, and it a lot of fun knowing what was coming, and getting to watch the audience react. The script hadn’t yet been published at that point so if you were good at not looking for spoilers, for those first few weeks everyone was going in blind.

I’ve seen the play a lot over the years and three years later the audience has changed, but I suppose it’s hard staying spoiler free for three years if you’re a huge fan of the books (or worse, the films). Still, the onstage magic still lands and it’s nice to see and hear people react to that. But nothing beats those first two previews.

- The intoxicating trill of my first West End musical. (Jason Donovan in Joseph at The Palladium.)
- Patti Actual LuPone bringing the house down with "Ladies Who Lunch" at The Gielgud.
- Falling in love with Donna Murphy as Dolly Levi at The Shubert in NYC.
- Finally seeing Lea Salonga sing live (and her voice blowing the entire cast out of the water) at the Miss Saigon 25 performance at the Prince Edward.
- Company closing night at The Gielgud. Particularly Rosalie Craig's "Being Alive" but the entire evening was so special, even sharing the room with Sondheim himself!
- Imelda Staunton's Rose's Turn at The Savoy.
- David Suchet's final moments as Joe Keller in All My Sons at The Apollo.

There's so many



Michael Boyd's Henry VI trilogy was full of moments I will never forget. I'll go with the very beginning of Part 1 watching the once great Henry V descend down the stairs, stood at his grave, doubled over coughing blood and crawled into it whilst this tolling music played. It's played in this video. That set the tone for what was to be the most thrilling theatre I've seen over the entire Histories eight play cycle with that music played multiple times.





Later on in that cycle there was the moment when Jonathan Slinger's Richard II, just after a painful deposition scene, was left on stage as dust fell on him. One of the saddest moments I've seen

I'll never forget the first Beauty and the Beast UK tour. The Beast singing If I Can't Love Her as the set turned to reveal the balcony followed by that Entr'acte was what turned me into a musicals fan.

I salute the Arcola Theatre for their production of Carousel. One of the most imaginative pieces of theatre I've seen done in a small space. Highlighted when, after the fun fair sequence, they pulled out a tree made out of cloth out of a box that hung above the stage. Magical

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flying is another. So too watching the structures turning to become the barricade in the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert video. Looks more dramatic than watching that it live at the queens. The staircase number in 42nd Street for sure, especially watching from the front row.

Bert's proscenium walk was jaw dropping seeing it for the first time during Mary Poppins during it's preview run in Bristol. Temper, Temper however was perhaps the scariest moment I've seen on stage.

I could pick a few in the Old Vic's Christmas Carol, but I'll choose the moment the cast sang Christ was Born on Christmas Day around the theatre as the snow comes down and Scrooge wakes a redeemed man.

The ending of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part 1 was the highlight of that series. The reveal and the appearance of the dementors, even if I was near the back of the stalls and couldn't see a lot. The reactions from the fans was enough.

Watching the ending of Maria Aberg's As You Like It with the cast singing Laura Marling's glorious music just left me grinning.

The revolve turning non-stop in Peter Pan Goes Wrong

That moment in the King Lear when the remaining characters run to save King Lear and Cordelia and we wait. The only time I was wishing the inevitable didn't happen was in the Derek Jacobi production. The only Lear I cried for.

The ending of Rupert Goold's Merchant of Venice watching Portia dancing on one high heel shoe whilst that Elvis Presley impersonator sang. Also the violent and fiery fight scenes in his Romeo and Juliet

Hans Kelsing as Richard III pretending to mockingly phone Obama and Merkel in Kings of War. I'd also mention his Friends Romans, Countrymen in Roman Tragedies but Ray Fearon in Gregory Dorans African Julius Caesar had me hooked.

Sylvester McCoy's Fool being hanged in the 2007 Ian McKellan King Lear

The reunion scene in Dominic Drongoole's Pericles was so heartfelt. It was if Pericles' daughter was remembering herself as he gradually recognised her.

That moment at the end of act 2 in the Bath production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf when Tim Piggot Smith's George snapped and left. It's the only time I considered leaving in that interval and not because the production was bad.

I still remember Joe Dixon as Bottom, with a large furry ass' head on, singing 'The ousel cock so black of hue' like a DJ in the Gregory Doran's 2008 revival of his Dream. Had me in stitches

In Matilda the Musical I don't like the moment where Miss Trunchball reveals the endless chokey's she built, but I have to say the way they did it when the musical opened in the Courtyard Theatre was very effective. It felt like the whole audience was trapped. Much better than the lasers but obviously not achievable in the Cambridge Theatre

The bookshelves toppling over and the bear puppet made of book pages appearing in David Farr's The Winter's Tale.

Sitting in the Watermill Theatre for the first time for Calamity Jane I couldn't have asked for a better into to this that theatre. Felt like you were part of the action with the whole place set out like a saloon and the actors up close playing the instruments and singing. Glorious.

Adrian Edmondson's Malvolio realising that he was played in what was otherwise the average 2017 RSC production. Even made one of his tormentor's regret what they did. Just shows how tragic that character can be.

Cynthia Erivo's I'm Here in The Colour Purple. The only time I've seen a song get a standing ovation.

That controversial act in George Bernard Shaw's Man + Superman turned out to be one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in the Simon Godwin production. If Tim McMullan is the Devil for real than sign me up for hell because he had me stitches

Sweeney ToddMade me gasp loudly enough that I'm probably on the bad behavour thread

The one that really stands out for me is pretty obscure: The Monster in the Hall by David Greig. It's about a teenage girl who's caring for her father, who has MS. He wakes up on the morning they're due a visit from social services to find he's gone blind. Along the way we'e introduced to the social worker, a lad the girl pretends she's seeing so people don't know he's gay, and a Norwegian biker the dad met through internet dating. No set, no props other than a few microphones, just 4 actors (one lady playing the social worker and the biker) in the round. Fairly straightforward comedy-drama...

Until near the end when the girl steals her father's motorbike and all the other characters follow her on another bike. That scene was just amazing. It was performed with lots of shouting, skidding around and hanging-on-for-dear-life while riding their imaginary motorbikes, one actress switching roles constantly. By this point you're caught up in the drama of it so it's a genuinely thrilling chase, but at the same time the whole thing is so absurd that it also ends up being hysterically funny.

Yep, I was there too... and reacted the same way

Kinda wish I’d known what to expect so that I could somehow appreciate it more as it happened. By the time it ended I was just blown away and couldn’t believe what I’d seen. The sort of thing you really need to see again and again, but obviously never can (apart from the very well worn blu-ray of course!)

A few that have already been mentioned:

The house appearing and then the split stage in the original Sunset Boulevard.
The bunk beds in Peter Pan Goes Wrong (actually that show is full of them but that was the moment that I truly realised what I was in for)
The Staircase in 42nd Street as well as the final section of "Dames"
Mary Poppins flying.
The first time of seeing Phantom the boat and the candles coming through the smoke was incredible.
Can I count David Copperfield's flying illusion at Earls Court? Even though I know how it was done it was a spellbinding illusion.
Michael Ball singing Anthem in Chess at the Coliseum.
Julie Walters entering the stage for the first time as Mrs Overall in the Acorn Antiques preview and the audience going wild.
Alexandra Jay appearing as the "duchess" at the end of act one of My Fair Lady. That whole production was pretty much perfection for me.

Actually, its not theatre (but very theatrical), a moment I remember so vividly was Madonna in the Girlie Show at the end of Justify My Love, performed in very Ascot Gavotte-ish black and white costumes, turning and looking at the audience as the curtain dropped before walking to the back of the stage. Out of all the times Ive seen her, that remains the most striking image in my head.

Carousel at the National in 1993. Just amazing, especially the overture.