Hey guys, I hope you're all well! I want to start today's post by saying Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there, I hope you've all been spoilt on your special day. Secondly, i'm going to apologise for not posting for a few weeks, i've been so busy and tired and i've just not had any inspiration....BUT i'm back now with a little life update for you all about what i've been getting up to recently...enjoy!
So recently, i've been working alot but mainly short shifts and i've just been so tired. So, as some of you who read this may know, i'm a big fan of a band called Collabro. To give you a little information on them, they are a 4 piece musical theatre boy band, (originally a 5 piece), who formed in London back in 2014. They then went onto win Britain's Got Talent that same year and have had many successes since, most recently, the boys 3rd studio album, and 1st as a 4 piece, 'Home' released on 3rd March 2017. Home features 13 songs, 12 of which are well known and much loved musical theatre tracks ranging from Les Miserables, Wicked, Love Never Dies, Jekyll and Hyde and more. They have also included their 1st ever original track 'Lighthouse' which was co-written with Ben Adams of A1. If you're a musical theatre fan and haven't heard of or checked these boys out before, then i'd recommend giving Home a listen to, it's such an incredible album definitely worth checking out! On Thursday 2nd March, the boys did an intimate album launch gig at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicster Square, London. They performed the 13 tracks for the first time to an audience, had a few jokes and tears on stage also! What was nice about it too, was the fact the boys decided to do a little Q&A giving fans the chance to ask them questions, lovely idea! This was a wonderful and emotional evening from start to finish and I wish I could do it all over again!
A couple of weeks go, I had a lovely week off from work and it was well needed...'me time' I called it! During this week, I had 2 trips into London including 2 theatre trips. Wednesday 8th March seeing Les Mis and Thursday 9th March seeing Phantom. Myself and my friend Fleur went to both of these together and had a lovely time!
Les Miserables - we went to the Wednesday matinee show which was my 13th time seeing this show - incredible as per. The whole cast were just amazing, to name a few in some of the principle roles: Adam Bayjou as Jean ValJean, this man is a seriously talented performer with a beautiful voice, the few times i've been lucky enough to see him in this role he hasn't failed to reduce me to tears during 'Bring Him Home' and during his death scene, incredible performer! Paul Wilkins as Marius -everyone who knows me and my love for this show knows i'm a bit of a sucker for this character and I think Paul could potentially be my favourite out of the 4 'Marius' i've seen. He really does have a beautiful voice and it draws me to the character even more, his version of the song 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' is definitely my favourite, and once again, I cried...I think you may start to get the hint now that i'm a bit of an emotional person, oops.
Phantom of the Opera - again, a matinee show on the Thursday this time and my 3rd time seeing this wonderful show and probably my favourite time so far. Again, I want to talk a little about the 3 principle roles; Raoul, Christine and of course, The Phantom. Nadim Naaman as Raoul, I just really love this mans voice, I don't really know what else I can say. In my opinion, he's phenomenal. He plays the role of Raoul with so much passion and i'm personally #TeamRaoul. One of the main things I love about Nadim is aside from performing, he's recorded 2 AMAZING albums; 'We All Want The Same' and 'Sides'. These just really show how talented this man truly is. Ben Forster as The Phantom, as the saying goes '3rd time lucky', well that was the case for Fleur and I. 3rd time seeing the show and we FINALLY got to see Ben in this role. I'm in love with his portrayal of the character and adore his voice, what more can I say?! He's incredible. Celinde Schoenmaker as Christine Daee. This woman is absolutely gorgeous and so talented. I'm in awe of her performance as Christine and in awe of her beautiful voice. As a ballet dancer myself, I also really enjoy watching the ballet girls in Phantom and they truly inspire me (and make me wish I was that good!). Unfortunately, I don't know the names of all cast members but none the less, they are all fantastic and they make the show even more brilliant than it already is. I can't lie though, as much as I loved seeing Ben as The Phantom, I also really would love to see Luke McCall in the role as I constantly see good reviews from his performances. I can't wait to get back to this beautiful theatre and see this show again fora 4th time, hopefully soon!
I also enjoyed a little bit of time in Trafalgar Square before meeting Fleur on the 9th, luckily it was a beautiful sunny day in London so it made waiting alone that little bit better. After finally meeting up we headed to Planet Hollywood and enjoyed a lovely meal and a glass of prosecco each - perfect day!
On Sunday 12th March...another London trip! This time was to go to a Peak Productions show which is a company owned by Michael Auger (Collabro member) where he gives upcoming artists a chance to showcase their music. This was a lovely and funny afternoon/evening in London spent with friends before watching a talented girl band - Ida - perform a number of songs from pop crossover tracks, musicals and opera songs, beautiful ladies with beautiful voices! We were also treated to a couple of songs from Michael & Matt (Collabro), Matt performing a Monologue from blood brothers with the two of them then performing a duet from Blood Brothers following on from it, and a great/funny version of 'Be Our Guest' from the Disney CLASSIC, Beauty and The Beast. All in all, a wonderful day and evening had by all I think! I also went to see the new live action Beauty and The Beast on Sunday 19th March and it was AMAZING!! Emma Watson is wonderful as Belle and I can't wait for another little cinema trip to see it again. Has anyone else seen it yet? If so, let me know your thoughts :).
My final little outing to tell you about was a little day trip to Mersea Island in Essex to see my friend Lauren who has recently moved there temporarily. There isn't much to do really in Mersea but it's quite a peaceful little area and I had a lovely day regardless and am looking forward to going back and seeing her again soon!
So that's it for today's post, I hope you've enjoyed reading about some of my recent adventures! What has everyone else been up to recently? Anything exciting? Let me know, i'd love to hear!
Thank you for reading and i'll be back sooner next time, promise!
Lots of Love, Beki xx
