THEATRE TALK: A First Time For Phantom

Phantom Is Inside My Mind

Because I am extremely cheap, I still have a chunky list of 'big' shows to see in the West End. I've never seen Chicago, for instance, or Billy Elliot. Woman In Black remains a mystery to me, as do Oliver, Jersey Boys and the Lion King. I only recently saw Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, the first of which was fun, the latter tedious and overlong. However, I was lucky enough to finally experience the joys of Phantom Of The Opera this week, after a kind friend took me as a very belated birthday surprise. I wasn't really sure what to expect - I've seen plenty of Andrew Lloyd-Webber shows in the past, like Cats and Joseph, but this is the biggest one of all, the long-runner, the most famous.

Although it's by no means the best musical I've seen, Phantom is definitely a fun night out at the theatre. It's incredibly melodramatic and awfully cheesy, but is packed full of some of Lloyd-Webber's best chords, ably performed by a cast that, on this trip, included former We Will Rock You cast member Simon Bailey as Raoul, stand-by Scott Davies as the Phantom, but most impressively, Rebecca Lock as Carlotta, who you must agree is woefully underused after hearing her incredible range. Screw Christine Daae, we want more of the stroppy diva!

Lock previously starred as Kate Monster/Lucy The Slut in Avenue Q, where she belted impressively but was outshone comedically by former Trekkie Mark Goldthorp. Phantom seems to have provided her with a great opportunity to finally properly show off her vocal range. While I'm not sure I'll be back for a good long while, Phantom has certainly proved its worth.

What to see?

Well, Hair opens for its first preview next Thursday, which is sure to be a crazy experience. I saw it in New York and plan to see it here. While the book is thin as a piece of rice paper, the energy the cast create is amazing and some of the harmonies are just fabulous. There's a 'quiff upgrade' for £40 best available floating around somewhere on the internet if you are feeling the urge to get on down with (and possibly get groped by) the Broadway hippies.

Cheek by Jowl's Macbeth at the Barbican sounds like a decent punt for your money, while a friend of mine saw Sarah Kane's 4:48 Psychosis, also at the Barbican, and raved about it (though this IS the same friend who adored 11 & 12, which I found stultifyingly boring). Catch Kursk at the Young Vic (I will certainly be trying to) and, if you can, make time for Ghost Stories at the Lyric Hammersmith, which, thanks to some great writing by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson, passes 120 minutes ridiculously fast with its ghoulish scare tactics.

The V&A comes up trumps

Did you know that the V&A has started putting on regular showings of archived theatre productions? For free? I bet you didn't, but now you do, perhaps it's time to head over to South Kensington. Run by Peter Huntley, who is a Stage One producer but also a longstanding V&A employee as well as a regular Broadway World contributor - here's his fabulous piece celebrating Sondheim's birthday - the programme shows pieces like the 2001 production of Noises Off (starring the fabulously talented Jeff Rawle and Stephen Mangan amongst others) as as a drop-in service every Sunday afternoon. Coming up next is Othello, starring Ray Fearon in the title role, as well as Richard McCabe and Zoe Waites.

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