Hello dear reader!

Hi there dear reader!

Let me entertain you, let me make you smile! 

My name is Ilse, and I am a Belgian theatre and musical theatre enthousiast. And this is my first post! 

Well, to be honest, there are other words for my addiction, a theatre geek, a theatre freak, someone with an insatiable craving for theatre?

To give you an idea of what it is like... My body may be in Belgium, my heart is in Londons West End. Normally I plan to take 4 or 5 theatre trips to London each year, but I guess in the future I will make more trips there. If the lockdown due to corona-virus has learned me one thing, it is that I can't live without theatre. My soul needs it. 

I also visit theatres in Belgium and The Netherlands, but it really can't compare to the sheer brilliance of theatre in London.

And I don't like translations, they take away from the true meaning of the lyrics, and also ruin the rhyme and the rhythm of a piece. The translation of a musical like Cats is a good example. A translation of Shakespeare is another.

In London the quality of the theatre is so sublime. It is like everything is just right, the music, the actors, the singing, the decor, the lighting... I have seen productions which will stay in my heart forever. I still talk about them 30 years later, and I'm sure I will talk about them for much longer.

I know there are already many theatre blogs out there, and some very good ones. Why make one myself?

I really wanted to start a blog this year, to follow the mission that I have set for myself this year.

This year I turn 50 and I want to see at least 50 show between 13/10/21 and 12/10/22.

#50showsformy50birthday

I plan to write a review of every show I'm going to see.

I love to write, and first of all I write for myself.

I want to write about the emotions I go to when I visit the theatre. I want to write about all the tears and all the laughter I experienced in a theatre.

I want to write about the unique energy in a theatre, that energy that flows between the cast and the audience. That energy is never the same, no two shows are ever the same. Even if I went to see the same production twice in a day, each performance is different. That is one of the magical things about theatre.

I also want to share my experiences with you, dear reader. I might have a different perspective on soms shows because English isn't my native language. I might be able to give you some tips om which shows to choose. Or I might be able to give other tips about buying tickets or travelling to London.

Let me talk about what is happening in theatreland right now.

Some theatres in London have reopened, with social distancing of course.

The Mousetrap, Everybody's talking about Jamie, Six, Les Miserables staged concert were some of the shows which openend. Immediately people posted pictures online, theatrelovers sitting in the auditorium with stagey masks on, videos of the curtain calls, some very emotional speeches of the cast on their opening night.

Of course I am so happy for the castmembers who can go back to their jobs that they love.

Of course I am so happy for all the British theatrefans who can go back to the West End.

But here I am, In Belgium, and travel restrictions are still in place. At the moment, I can't travel back and forth to the United Kingdom without quarantaine. It feels like there is a huge 'Berlin wall' in the middle of the Channel between Europe and the UK, impossible to cross.

And although I will be fully vaccinated by mid June, it looks like I will still need two corona-tests IF I will be allowed to travel to the UK in the near future, one here in Belgium and one there two days after arrival. So it won't be easy to get there this summer, and I hope travelling there will get easier by fall.

What hurts the most for me, is that I will miss opening weekend of Cinderella in June. Cinderella is the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, with an alternative Cinderella story, it won't be the fairytale we expect. It is the show I am most looking forward to, I love Carrie Hope Fletcher, who will be playing the lead. There were already some song released from the show and they all sound amazing.

Carrie's voice shines through in 'Bad Cinderella' , 'Far too late' and 'I know I have a heart', the last one is my favorite until now. She will be an amazing Cinderella.

Ivano Turco will be playing prince Sebastian, the song 'Only you, lonely you' that is already released shows that we can expect a great new young talent. He makes the song sound fragile and powerful at the same time.

I have front row tickets to see Cinderella in November, but I would have really like to be there opening weekend. It would also have been interesting to see, if they would have changed anything, from previews to the official opening in July.

I did book a hotel in London for a week in July, I don't really believe in a miracle, but I want to be prepared for one! There are some plays I really want to see, 'Under Milk Wood' at the National Theatre, 'Constellations' at the Vaudeville Theatre, 'Hamlet' and the Windsor Theatre royal. 'Under Milk Wood' is already sold out, but I might try returns and try for Friday Rush tickets (I will have to figure out how they work, it will be the first time I try those). The musicals I would like to see that month are 'Cinderella' at the Gillian Lynn Theatre and 'Hairspray' at London Coliseum. There are some other options to 'fill the week', like 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Open Air theatre or I might just look at the TKTS site if there are any on the day offers.

I will leave you for now, dear reader, I will be watching 'the show must go on' show on Youtube tonight with tears in my eyes, it will be a selection of songs from Musicals in the West End.  hope to be back there soon.

Ilse