Tuesday 25 December 2012

Faye's Christmas Tweets, Treats And.......


Feet : -)

Just look at all the pressie wrapping. Santa Claus certainly visited the Brookes household and must have decided Faye has been a VERY good girl this year.

@Faye_Brookes Lovely cast of Sleeping Beauty, Canterbury have a magical day tomorrow ! Thanks for the festive fun ! I made it, now homebound...

@Faye_Brookes I'm home....... Awww bliss x

@Faye_Brookes MELLY CLISMAS EVERYONE !! 🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

@Faye_Brookes Can't actually see the floor.... x pic.twitter.com/WJUAfFxO

@Faye_Brookes Downtown....2 hour Christmas special, yes please!

@Faye_Brookes Canterbury bound after getting Clismas giddy with the Barbers up north !  Thanks for a good one Santa !  #spoiltrotten  Back to work to sleep...

Hope all you guys had a wonderful day.

Only 364 days or 8736 hours until the next one. That's hardly any time at all : -)

Monday 24 December 2012

Merry Christmas From Legally Blonde

I'd like to wish the splendiferous Faye Brookes and all our wonderful readers a very Merry Christmas.

There's just one day to go and two more Sleeping Beauty shows before Santa Claus takes to the skies and millions of Turkeys go in the oven. I hope you're ready.

@Faye_Brookes Excited now about Clismas.... @Hayleycrittend1 thank you so much for my sparkly nails! #christmasspirit

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I originally wrote this post early this morning but it's now 7:30pm and Faye is on her way home for what I hope will be a magical day.

@Faye_Brookes Lovely cast of Sleeping Beauty,Canterbury have a magical day tomorrow ! Thanks for the festive fun ! I made it now homebound...

Now the blog wasn't around in December 2011 so we didn't have the opportunity to post this excellent video made by the Legally Blonde Tour cast to celebrate last years festive season.

The goods news is that means we can post it now :)


Wednesday 19 December 2012

Public Reviews - Sleeping Beauty Review

I'm back from my trip to York. Rovers crashed to a 4-1 defeat and our manager was sacked just minutes after the final whistle but I had a good time looking around another beautiful English city.

I actually parked in a small car park opposite the theatre where Faye performed in Legally Blonde  back in September.

I also went in search of the super size pink flower in Faye's picture but alas it wasn't to be. Would probably have been a little awkward to carry anyway : -)

Moving on, the next Sleeping Beauty review comes from 'The Public Reviews' website and was written by Victoria Bawtree.

More praise for Faye and this fantastic show. If you live in Kent and you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? You'd be a fool to miss it.


Sleeping Beauty Review
The Public Reviews - 5th December 2012

It’s panto time again and Paul Hendy and Emily Wood’s Evolution Productions is back in residence at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre. This production brings the sunshine back to a cold winter’s evening with plenty of laughs and heaps of audience participation.  It also comes complete with fantastically colourful scenery, imaginative costumes, and a spectacular fire-breathing dragon named Helga, presumably after set and costume designer, Helga Wood.

Ben Roddy as Nurse Nellie and Lloyd Hollet as Jangles the Jester make a fabulous double act and keep the one-liners rolling; plenty for the adults as well as the children.  Their sketch with the vinyl record sleeves is extremely clever, particularly for the grown-ups, but while most album titles were unfamiliar to the younger audience, the delivery made it funny all the same.  Lloyd Hollet’s ad-libbing with a quartet of unpredictable four- and five-year olds was also spot-on.

The ‘big names’ this year are Toyah Willcox as Carabosse the bad fairy, and Gareth Gates as Prince Michael, closely followed by children’s favourite Katrina Bryan as Fairy Moonbeam.  Toyah Willcox has an incredible energy and presence, and her vocals are strong in her rock numbers, as expected.  Katrina Bryan is as smiley on stage as she is on CBeebies and she could easily have sung more as a soloist.  Gareth Gates has the teenage audience members in the palm of his hand, but also enters into the spirit of comedy with style. Faye Brookes is every inch the leading lady in the title role as she returns to Canterbury fresh from her recent success in the Legally Blonde tour.

There were, however, some problems with the overall balance of sound in this performance, and it was not always easy to hear the soloists clearly, particularly in the big production numbers.  In their first duet, Gates and Brookes were unfortunately fairly inaudible. Hopefully this is a relatively easy issue to sort, as otherwise there is nothing else marring a fantastically enjoyable evening of family entertainment.

For the Canterbury stalwart, the famous Ghostbusters scene starring the bench is still there, and still just as funny, as is a large dose of panto slapstick, this time in the form of one enormous water bath. Congratulations must go to Roddy and Hollet for literally throwing themselves in with full gusto.  Just one word of warning – if you’re in the stalls, do make sure you keep your popcorn covered at the beginning of Act II…

Friday 14 December 2012

This Is Kent - Sleeping Beauty Review

Well I'm actually off on my travels again this weekend. In a few hours I'll be leaving for York ahead of their match with my team - Bristol Rovers - Tomorrow.

We're currently second from bottom of the football league and playing absolute sh*t so anything other than a crushing defeat would be a bonus but if the score doesn't go our way at least I'll get chance to look around another lovely City; similar to Canterbury in many ways.

Anyway, we'll move swiftly on because I know you haven't come here to talk about football. You're here to read about the fabulous Faye Brookes.

I've chosen the above picture with this post because of the York connection. I believe that shot was taken somewhere in York back in September on Faye's Birthday.

Before I set sail I thought I'd leave you with another glowing review of the Sleeping Beauty panto in Canterbury. This one was written by Laura Archer of 'This is Kent'.

You'll notice she mentions the possible relationship between Faye and Gareth Gates. Now I've deliberately steered clear of this topic so far, simply because even IF it's true it's nobody's business but theirs and relationships are difficult enough without being judged by all and sundry.

For the record, I actually think they'd be very well suited. They're both young, successful and in the same line of business, so probably share a lot of common interests. Faye is a truly lovely girl and Gareth seemed like a great guy when I met him earlier this month.

They certainly have great chemistry on stage but then they're both fantastic actors so we shouldn't read too much into that.

IF it's true then I really hope it works out because finding Mr or Mrs right is a tricky business and we all deserve to be happy. 

Here's the review:


Sleeping Beauty Review
This is Kent - 7th December 2012

Good Fairy Katrina Bryan from children's TV show Nina and the Neurons has cast her magic spell the Marlowe Theatre to create a spectacular production of Sleeping Beauty.

In the wake of last year's hugely successful pantomime Cinderella, production company Evolution had a lot to live up to.

The cast and crew do not disappoint. Sleeping Beauty has all the ingredients for a festive family treat packed with glitz, glamour, camp comedy and a fire-breathing dragon. 

Paul Hendy's witty script and a harmonious arrangement by musical director Chris Wong create the perfect present for this Christmas.

Former Pop Idol finalist Gareth Gates makes a splendid Prince Charming with his boyish good looks and a persuasive tongue.

His singing is pitch perfect as you would expect from a West End star. 

It is hard to believe it is ten years since Gareth first shot to stardom on Pop Idol, the forerunner of X Factor. But as far as his fans in the audience were concerned, he is still their number one artiste.

Gareth's soulful pop voice is complemented by the polished musical voice of Faye Brookes who stars as Beauty. She has the youthful looks and mellifluous tones of a young princess. 

Although Faye has a theatrical singing voice she still perfectly suits the panto's more commercial songs by the likes of One Direction, Owl City and Carly Rae Jepson. 

The rumour mill has been rife that she and Gareth are now a pair off stage as well as on. They certainly have great chemistry together - and the rumours can't be bad for business.

Anyone who isn't moved by their version of Come What May must have a heart of stone.

Former punk princess Toyah Willcox is enchanting as the evil queen Carabosse.

She has  great stage presence and basks in the boos and hisses as she plots against the beautiful princess who *****s her finger on a poisoned needle and falls asleep for 100 years.

The panto is pulled along by the hilarious double-act of Jangles the Jester, played by the fabulous Kent comic Lloyd Hollett from Margate and the superb Ben Roddy who is making his debut as a dame as Nurse Nellie.

  Lloyd appears in almost every scene and his energy and enthusiasm is infectious. He proves he is an accomplished all-round entertainer with his acting and singing.

Ben is a joy to watch as the outrageous Nurse Nellie. His performance is a far cry away from that of Dandini who he played in last year's panto.

He perfectly balances the characteristics of the traditional pantomime dame with modern humour.
Following in the footsteps of his friend and colleague the late Dave Lee, Ben was always going to have high expectations to meet. But he undoubtedly delivers. 

* Sleeping Beauty is at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury until Sunday, January 20.

Tickets cost £11 to £30.50 from MARLOW THEATRE or call 01227 787787.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Win Tickets To See Sleeping Beauty

I'll be featuring more glittering reviews of Sleeping Beauty very soon but I noticed Visit Canterbury are offering fans the chance to win two tickets to the show.

All you've got to do is fill in a simple form and you could be at the Marlowe Theatre watching a fabulous panto and the stupendous Faye Brookes.

All entries have to be in by 4th January 2013.

Just click on the link below, fill in the form and you're done. Good luck : -)

WIN TICKETS TO SLEEPING BEAUTY

Saturday 8 December 2012

My Sleeping Beauty Adventure

It was back in July that I first heard that Faye would be appearing in Sleeping Beauty this Christmas but at that stage I didn't think I was likely to go. I'd only ever been to one or two panto's in my life and they were as a very young boy over 20 years ago.

However, as the Legally Blonde Tour neared its Wimbledon finale the thought of missing out on an opportunity to see Faye sparkle in a new role was too much and I purchased my tickets. Not only for the opening weekend but also the final show on January 20th.

Canterbury is actually a 400 mile round trip from my home in Bristol so I booked two nights accommodation giving me time to look around this beautiful Kent city before the show.

It really is one of the most picturesque places in England with its quaint cobbled streets, ancient buildings and impressive cathedral. Faye couldn't really be situated anywhere nicer over the festive season.

The theatre itself is fairly central and on the banks of the river Stour but in contrast to most buildings in the city it's actually ultra modern having only opened about 12 month's ago. It reminded me a little of one of my favourite theatre's, the Wales Millennium Centre where I saw Legally Blonde back in the summer.

So the location and theatre were absolutely perfect but what about the show?

Well let's just say I'm counting the days until I go back and see it again.

Before I start I must warn you I'm going to struggle to remember even a quarter of this amazing show, it was so action packed with non stop, laugh a minute content. You really do have to see it, and probably more than once to truly appreciate just how much they cram in.

Lloyd Hollett - very accomplished as Jangles - and Katrina Bryan - a sweet Scottish Fairy Moonbeam - start by getting the audience involved in the show; and they really didn't need much encouragement.

Then the story begins at Princess Aurora's christening where bad witch Carabosse - played by the excellent Toyah Wilcox - puts a curse on the Princess; cackling that she'll die after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel on her 18th Birthday.

We then jump forward over 17 years and Faye bursts onto the stage - looking every inch a Princess - with a stunning rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City's feel good track 'Good Time'; FAR better than the original in my opinion and very appropriate because I can assure you a 'Good Time' was had by all.

Gareth Gates was the perfect Prince Charming and it wasn't long before he made his first appearance; much to the delight of many females in the audience; and one guy in the front row according to Jangles ;)  Unfortunately for them he only had eyes for Beauty and with the help of the King, Jangles and the terrific Ben Roddy as Nurse Nessie, he vows to keep the Princess safe.

The King was supposed to have destroyed all the spinning wheels in the castle but as the audience reminded them on numerous occasions with chants of "EXCEPT FOR ONE!", that wasn't the case.

As the story moved on there were some brilliant songs and many included glittering performances by Faye. Her 'Come What May' duet with Gareth was simply breath-taking; mad props to both <3 br="br">

There was even a classroom scene where Faye gets to wear a 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' Britney Spears-esque school uniform. Faye, of course looks SO MUCH BETTER : -)

There were far too many jokes to remember but the sequence in which Hollett and Roddy pull LP sleeves out of a barrow and pun on the names of pop groups is one to treasure.

Act one comes to a close with the inevitable finger prick. However thanks to Fairy Moonbeam it's just a VERY long sleep and not death for Princess Aurora. Assuming that is she gets a kiss from her true love, Prince Charming.

The audience has barely had time to get their breath back before Act 2 starts and we jump forward another 100 years.

There's heaps more fun and games including the Laurel & Hardy-esque bathroom scene mentioned in the Kent News review as Jangles and Nurse Nessie try to retrieve the magic gold axe from the castle.

Thanks to Carabose they need this to cut through the brambles that surround the tower where the Princess sleeps. Although they fail to find the golden axe, a silver one does the job and Prince Michael reaches Beauty just in time for her kiss.

Princess Aurora is soon confronted with Carabose's dragon which is alarmingly convincing, with flashing green eyes. However he's no match for Faye who quickly slays the dragon, announcing "it's amazing what you can do after a good nights sleep" : -)

So we get the happy ending we all knew we would but there is still time for more singing and dancing before the curtain comes down.

The Sleeping Beauty panto in Canterbury really is sensational and if you can get to the Marlowe Theatre before it ends on January 20th I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

After the show I headed to the stage door and to say it was cold would be an understatement, when I got back to my car it told me the temperature was -3. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long

As you can see from the picture at the top of my post - taken by Gareth Gates - Faye was looking A-May-Zing !! Loving the earmuffs, SO cute : )

Despite the freezing weather she was happy to chat and was as friendly and adorable as ever.

@Faye_Brookes@GasAttacK:@Faye_Brookes after Sleeping Beauty panto in Canterbury. twitpic.com/biudggThanks for coming Andy!

It was fantastic to see her in a new show, performing new songs and I'm glad I had the opportunity to tell her how much I loved her performance. She truly was mesmorizing.

She was the perfect Elle Woods and I'm happy to say she's also the perfect Princess Aurora. In fact I don't think Princess Aurora has ever looked or sounded so good ;) You can certainly see why everyone calls her Beauty.

So it's 43 Days, that's 1032 Hours or 61920 Minutes before I'll be heading back to Canterbury to see this stupendous show again. That's hardly any time at all : -)

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Kent News Sleeping Beauty Review

My Sleeping Beauty write up is still a work in progress but I have come across this excellent review on the Kent News website.

It was written by Chris Britcher and I'm not at all surprised to hear he thoroughly enjoyed this years panto. I honestly can't believe anyone would have anything but good things to say about this show.

You'll notice that just like many Legally Blonde reviews Faye Brookes is singled out for special praise. Princess Aurora is a completely different role to Elle Woods but Faye's transition from Malibu sweetheart to Disney Princess is seamless.

Here's the review:

Sleeping Beauty Review
Kent News - 5th December 2012

Writing a pantomime can be no easy task. There before you sits an audience as diverse as Alec Guinness’ CV and all with the expectation that their hard-earned money spent on the tickets will deliver laughs and pratfalls a-plenty.

With that in mind, there’s also the added complication of weaving in the particular talents of your eclectic cast – drawn from a wide variety of showbusiness disciplines – and still make sure you don’t lose sight of driving the storyline along.

Oh, and to remain fresh year-after-year.

All of which gives me a new respect for the husband-and-wife team of Paul Hendy and Emily Wood – the creative brains behind the regular knees-up at the Marlowe Theatre; the glass-fronted jewel in the cultural crown of arts-rich Canterbury.

Because Sleeping Beauty manages to knit a coat capable of warming the cockles of the heart of young and old alike and the disparate senses of humour of the ticket-paying masses.

With the exception of one scene – an over long skit about losing memory and loss of hearing when you get old – the script is tighter than Ebenezer Scrooge’s wallet and pelts along at a merry pace.

Toyah Willcox is an excellent Carabosse, endlessly eliciting boos and jeers as her character looks to kill the young princess.

Rising star Faye Brookes is a genuine force to be reckoned with as the title character, and her vocal performance was spot on. So good, in fact, it often frequently out-shone Gareth Gates as Prince Charming – a thoroughly likeable hero who made up in warmth for what he perhaps lacked in charisma.

Ben Roddy once again steps into the considerable shoes of the late, great Dave Lee as the pantomime dame, and proves himself more than capable of emulating his predecessor.

There are several well managed set-pieces – a Laurel & Hardy-esque bathroom scene, a clever and super fast-paced section based around the names of singers and bands, and the arrival of the dragon is one not to miss, nor to spoil here.

In short, Sleeping Beauty delivers across the board. It’s packed with songs, dance, humour and warmth, all wrapped up in a production and script which has clearly been well crafted by a team who know how to deliver.

It truly is family fun of the highest standard and, thank goodness, delivers value for money. If the economic gloom is getting you down – this is the perfect pick-me-up.

Sleeping Beauty runs at the Marlowe Theatre until January 20.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Sleeping Beauty Rehearsal Pics

I've arrived back from a lovely break in Kent but it might be a few days before I have time to do a full write up of my time in Canterbury and the incredible Panto at the Marlowe theatre.

I was honestly astounded by how much I loved it and of course Faye made an absolutely perfect Beauty : -)

As I said, I'll do  a proper write up shortly but I thought I'd add these rehearsal pictures and the panto TV advert I found on You Tube to keep you entertained while you wait.