I wish to thank the patient who sent me last Mondays Telegraph. There was a very interesting article on the opening, to rave reviews, of Billy Elliot on Broadway. The article is written by the creator Lee Hall. I quote from Oct 2 ” After the euphoria of the first preview night, I came to the theatre and wonder why the audience are still being seated at 8pm – the show was supposed to have started. I am told that the whole of downstairs has been taken by the American Arthritis Society and the Upstaires by the seniors of the Westchester County Country Club. Most of them are octogenarians and there is a buzz of hearing aids. The play eventually starts. Not a titter. It is a disaster. They clearly don’t get it. Yet at the end the place erupts. With immense difficulty they rise to their feet and applaud just like the first night. They had been watching it as a play, not as a comedy.”
I survived the sing along Mamma Mia at the Chichester Cinema on Saturday. It was good fun. I just hope the rest of the audience did not suffer too much from my singing.