Saturday, 7 January 2012
new year
It's only day seven of the new year and Christmas 2011 already feels like a lifetime ago, except it wasn't as we still have the remnants of the decorations to clear up and put away. Today the kids were invited to a party at the New Cross Scout Hut in Brakespeare's Road. Very good it was too. Theme of Dr Who so lots of seven year olds as darleks making a lot of noise. The cake was shaped to look like a tardis. Brilliant. The pinata was also a tardis. Excellent. Made my efforts for my kids' birthdays look very amateurish. In other news my 7yo is turning into more of a voracious reader than I had thought possible. I bought her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Monday. She's finished it already - part read to her and part read by her. V impressive except she now wants the complete Roald Dahl collection. This is clearly going to be another expensive year....
Monday, 5 December 2011
Christmas
First Christmas card actually arrived on Saturday. The second came today. Some people are just too organised. However, in a vain attempt not to be left behind, I've now written and sent 90 per cent of the ones I need to so feeling a bit more organised! Even my three year old helped stick the stamps on the envelopes, though a few of them obscured the addresses. Next job is to make some cards and then clear up the glitter
Aladdin at Greenwich Theatre
Aladdin, Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill
Until January 8
Box office 020 8858 7755
Five stars!
Christmas in Greenwich just wouldn’t be Christmas without Andrew Pollard’s annual panto offering.
This year it’s Aladdin (sponsored by Lamps r Us) and from the moment the lights go down in the lovely small auditorium that is Greenwich Theatre the atmosphere is charged with excitement.
The must see panto of the season does not disappoint and is jam packed with gags, live music, silliness and mayhem coming thick and fast at an astonishing rate for two hours.
Indeed, the action zips along at such a rate you hardly have time to stop laughing.
Aladdin (Adam Dougal) and his mum Widow O’Twankey are on their uppers. Their laundry business barely earns them enough to live on, much less feed their pet panda. But then Aladdin meets Princess So-Shy (Laura Wickham) and a strange long lost uncle offers him a job and the promise of jewels galore.
There are various hilarious thrills, spills and adventures to be negotiated and there are of course plenty of local cultural, geographical and political references including the Olympics.
The small cast excels but there are stand-out performances from Anthony Spargo as the evil Abanazar and Daniel Norford as the dancing Genie. Paul Critoph as the rapping Emperor Fu was inspired. But it’s Andrew Pollard’s witty, pacy and punchy script and outrageous Dame Widow O’Twankey which steals the show.
Complete with sumptuous and glitzy costumes, dazzling lighting and pyrotechnics, plenty of Oriental joshing and romance, and a flying carpet, this is the high-flying highlight of the festive season.
It was blingtastic and my ribs still ache from laughing so much. I’m already looking forward to next year’s show.
The Snow Queen
Think you know the story of The Snow Queen? Well a new take on this classic Hans Christian Anderson tale now on at the Unicorn Theatre will make you think again.
In an inspired move, author Anupama Chandrasekhar has set the story in India with Gerda becoming Gowri, beautifully played by Amaka Okafor.
When her best friend Kumar (Ashley Kumar) disappears after a freak snowstorm on the southern tip of India, Gowri sets off on a gruelling and challenging quest to find him and save him from the icy grip of the Snow Queen (Nimmi Harasgama).
Armed only with her self-belief and talisman shell, Gowri’s journey takes her through the burning heat of southern India, lush backwaters, the bustling vibrancy of Mumbai’s street markets, glitzy Bollywood and desolate bandit country before she reaches the stark and ice cold palace of the Snow Queen.
Along the way, she encounters plenty of strange, exotic and wonderful characters, from an old lady who wants to play games with her in her garden to the Sea Goddess with attitude, who eventually agrees to give her safe passage to Mumbai, the cast of a Bollywood movie, a three-headed man and a gang of bandits.
The cast of seven works brilliantly covering a multitude of characters, and with a stunning set, beautiful music and dancing, ensures this fantastic production will delight adults and children alike.
I took my 7yo daughter and she loved it!
Unicorn Theatre, Tooley Street, until January 8. Call the box office on 020 7645 0560 for details.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Interview with Cbeebies presenter Katy Ashworth
If you don't have young kids - or aren't a preschooler yourself - the name Katy Ashworth is unlikely to mean much. But to millions of youngsters, this bubbly 25-year-old is as A-list as they come.
Any regular viewers of CBeebies will know Katy as one of the channel's link presenters, and host of the hugely popular show I Can Cook. And in a couple of weeks she'll be bounding onto the stage at the Broadway Theatre in Catford in her one-woman show.
Speaking to me ahead of the gig on October 26, she proves every bit as chatty, full of beans, enthusiastic and bouncy as she is on the small screen.
"I'm so at home on stage entertaining kids," she says. "I think it's where I'm meant to be, so it's great to be back doing what I love best."
Talking 19-to-the-dozen and with an infectious laugh, it's no wonder Katy has endeared herself to an army of young fans. And the appreciation seems to be mutual as she admits she has the "best job in the world".
"I've always loved messing about with kids and making them laugh," she says, "and I've been an entertainer for kids' parties on and off for eight years.
"I really do have the best job. Sometimes it feels a bit unreal though - I've been very lucky."
Katy won her sought-after position almost straight out of university, and was as surprised as anyone to get it.
Laughing loudly, she says: "I did a drama degree at Exeter University and when I graduated I saw a job in the Stage newspaper for a CBeebies presenter. I sent in a show reel of me and my niece messing about and having a laugh in the kitchen. A couple of weeks later I got the job. How random is that!"
The job, presenting I Can Cook, involves Katy helping kids to knock up an easy and tasty recipe from scratch in the CBeebies kitchen. Its considerable success (a new series is currently being recorded) is largely down to her easy going and friendly manner - and the fact she's just a total natural with kids.
I tell her my three-year-old son now loves to cook, having been inspired by her.
She roars with laughter: "A lot of people tell me that. But do you know what? I'm actually not much of a chef. I do enjoy cooking though, and it's fantastic creating fun and imaginative dishes with the kids on the show.
"I think it's a great life skill, so it makes me feel touched and proud when people say their kids love to cook because of seeing the show. It's lovely!"
Perhaps surprisingly, the show she's currently touring with has nothing to do with cooking. According to Katy, she entertains the audience with songs, nursery rhymes, dancing and games, and basically tries to stage a big kids' party.
"Being on CBeebies is amazing, but it made me miss theatre and performing in front of a live audience, so it's been great to do this," she says. "We did a spring tour of the show and it was awesome - the kids really got into it. It was such good fun I wanted to do some more dates, so here I am!"
Aimed at ages six and under, the show is highly interactive and, according to Katy, "an absolute riot".
"It's so cool, I absolutely love it," she says with a giggle. "All the songs are familiar but they will be done with a twist. Most of the time it'll just be me on stage with my guitar and magic suitcase, but I do have my special guest, Monty the Monkey, who is great fun and the kids love him.
"It's just a simple, yet fun show which I'm hoping the parents will love as much as the kids."
Looking to the future, Katy says she definitely wants to carry on working with youngsters.
"I've got a lot of ideas up my sleeve for kids' shows, theatre shows and musical theatre, so we'll have to see what turns up," she says.
"For the time being, I'm loving doing CBeebies and I'm going to be doing a panto of Peter Pan in Chatham this Christmas - with Vanilla Ice, which is totally random!"
Katy Ashworth's Meet, Greet, Sing & Play Roadshow is at The Broadway Theatre, Catford on October 26. Visit http://www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk/ or call 020 8690 0002.
Any regular viewers of CBeebies will know Katy as one of the channel's link presenters, and host of the hugely popular show I Can Cook. And in a couple of weeks she'll be bounding onto the stage at the Broadway Theatre in Catford in her one-woman show.
Speaking to me ahead of the gig on October 26, she proves every bit as chatty, full of beans, enthusiastic and bouncy as she is on the small screen.
"I'm so at home on stage entertaining kids," she says. "I think it's where I'm meant to be, so it's great to be back doing what I love best."
Talking 19-to-the-dozen and with an infectious laugh, it's no wonder Katy has endeared herself to an army of young fans. And the appreciation seems to be mutual as she admits she has the "best job in the world".
"I've always loved messing about with kids and making them laugh," she says, "and I've been an entertainer for kids' parties on and off for eight years.
"I really do have the best job. Sometimes it feels a bit unreal though - I've been very lucky."
Katy won her sought-after position almost straight out of university, and was as surprised as anyone to get it.
Laughing loudly, she says: "I did a drama degree at Exeter University and when I graduated I saw a job in the Stage newspaper for a CBeebies presenter. I sent in a show reel of me and my niece messing about and having a laugh in the kitchen. A couple of weeks later I got the job. How random is that!"
The job, presenting I Can Cook, involves Katy helping kids to knock up an easy and tasty recipe from scratch in the CBeebies kitchen. Its considerable success (a new series is currently being recorded) is largely down to her easy going and friendly manner - and the fact she's just a total natural with kids.
I tell her my three-year-old son now loves to cook, having been inspired by her.
She roars with laughter: "A lot of people tell me that. But do you know what? I'm actually not much of a chef. I do enjoy cooking though, and it's fantastic creating fun and imaginative dishes with the kids on the show.
"I think it's a great life skill, so it makes me feel touched and proud when people say their kids love to cook because of seeing the show. It's lovely!"
Perhaps surprisingly, the show she's currently touring with has nothing to do with cooking. According to Katy, she entertains the audience with songs, nursery rhymes, dancing and games, and basically tries to stage a big kids' party.
"Being on CBeebies is amazing, but it made me miss theatre and performing in front of a live audience, so it's been great to do this," she says. "We did a spring tour of the show and it was awesome - the kids really got into it. It was such good fun I wanted to do some more dates, so here I am!"
Aimed at ages six and under, the show is highly interactive and, according to Katy, "an absolute riot".
"It's so cool, I absolutely love it," she says with a giggle. "All the songs are familiar but they will be done with a twist. Most of the time it'll just be me on stage with my guitar and magic suitcase, but I do have my special guest, Monty the Monkey, who is great fun and the kids love him.
"It's just a simple, yet fun show which I'm hoping the parents will love as much as the kids."
Looking to the future, Katy says she definitely wants to carry on working with youngsters.
"I've got a lot of ideas up my sleeve for kids' shows, theatre shows and musical theatre, so we'll have to see what turns up," she says.
"For the time being, I'm loving doing CBeebies and I'm going to be doing a panto of Peter Pan in Chatham this Christmas - with Vanilla Ice, which is totally random!"
Katy Ashworth's Meet, Greet, Sing & Play Roadshow is at The Broadway Theatre, Catford on October 26. Visit http://www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk/ or call 020 8690 0002.
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