By Christine Swan

So far, this year has shaped up to be another vintage of theatre trips. My first foray of 2025, was to The Hampstead Theatre to watch a production of Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love. I am not a Classics scholar so a great deal of the conversation relating to ancient languages and stories was as mystifying to me as X86 Assembly Language would be to a student of Latin or Greek. However I appreciated the general drift. The love of the title was between A. E. Housman and another young undergraduate also studying Classics. I did enjoy the charming punting sequences, with boats, propelled on wheels, aided by the actors’ feet. The boat sections clipped together enabling undergraduate chums to share a boat or propel themselves independently. I found this quite fascinating, as clever things often are to me. I did enjoy the Invention of Love but it was perhaps my lack of classical education was a deficit.

In the same weekend, I also watched Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes at the Young Vic, starring the brilliant Anne-Marie Duff in the role of Regina Hubbard Giddens. This was a beautifully acted piece with all of the cast maintaining their languid Southern drawl perfectly. Stylishly menacing and deliciously conniving. After the performance, myself and my old school chum waited in the cold air to see if any actors might have a chat. Anne Marie Duff was absolutely delightful and appeared very pleased that we had enjoyed the show. She was very generous with her time on what was a very chilly winter’s evening – what a star!

My February jaunt to London began at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington. An unassuming entrance and lots of stairs, take you down to the theatre. I knew absolutely nothing about the musical Stalled as it had been recommended by my friend, who, when I asked, said that he didn’t know anything about it either. A musical set in a ladies loo with an all-female cast. Let me tell you, this was an absolute highlight of my year. I do hope this musical gets another run because it was superb. Each member of the cast weaves their part of the story into the fabric but, it is the toilet attendant who harbours the greatest pain. As the heartbreaking truth is exposed, the power of friendship and sisterhood, heals and lessens the pain. We are stronger if we stand together. My friend turned to me and asked what I had thought of the play: “Well?” he said. My only response was tears. This story spoke to me. Losing a child is to join a god-awful club that you never asked to be a member of. The singing was beautiful, especially the tender song “Fly”, sung so perfectly by Lauren Ward. I loved it. Some reviewers didn’t, but I did, and selfishly, that’s  all that matters.

Another trip to London Town

My second play of this weekend was Kenrex at the Southwark Playhouse. One actor, Jack Holden, plays all of the characters and uses his physicality to signal to the audience who the speaker is at that moment. The actor is accompanied by a single musician, John Patrick Elliot, threading thumping, atmospheric music through the performance. Was it country or blues? The first is too upbeat, the second not sinister enough. Both performers work incredibly hard for the entire show – their energy is incredible.

I had been suffering from a rather persistent cold during my weekend in London and had also booked to watch the Newsagents at Birmingham Symphony Hall. I could easily have cancelled but decided to be a trooper and soldier on. I enjoyed the evening but goodness me, I did feel grotty. Ice cream just about kept me going but antibiotics kicked the bug in its streptococcal backside.

Getting ready for the Newsagents

February ended with The Gift at the Park Theatre. Described as a poo-dunnit, what would you do if somebody sent you a box of it and you didn’t know why or who? Farcical hilarity and comic paranoia abounds in this laugh a minute romp.

The second trip of the weekend was to the tiny and bijou Finborough Theatre, West Brompton, which is now awkwardly accessed through a restaurant. The Passenger was an extraordinary tale of Jews avoiding capture in Nazi Germany by travelling on the railway endlessly. Tense journeys lead to crushing fear of discovery and a descent into madness driven by living in permanent fear. One of my key loves of small theatres is the fact that you can be totally immersed, with such a short distance between audience and actors. The performance fills your field of vision and you can be there totally in the moment. It is an excellent venue for minimal space, maximum impact theatre. The Passenger was a fine example of small theatre hitting hard.

The stunning bar area in the Gielgud Theatre

March was a big month in theatre for me, and currently there aren’t many bigger tickets that Lionel Bart’s Oliver! Everybody knows the songs in this faithful revival, and I overheard numerous conversations during the interval of audience members reminiscing over their school performances and the parts that they played. I could remember every word of Food, Glorious Food! The performance is everything that you would expect in a reworked re-run of this popular musical. Simon Lipkin is a perfect Fagin with lots of fifth wall breakage and witty asides. The encore invited an audience singalong, and they obliged. This is a wonderful, feel-good night out, in a beautiful theatre. It was a “push the boat out” ticket price – West End ticket prices can be eye-watering but there are bargains to be had in the form of preview nights and the upper circle. As a vertigo sufferer, the latter isn’t a great option, and, as somebody who often plans last minute, I am usually too disorganised for the former.

Oliver! At the Gielgud Theatre

My final theatre visit of March was back to the Park Theatre for Farewell Mr Haffmann. This is another wartime story involving the concealment of a Jewish man by his French colleague and his wife, on the agreement that he fathers their child. A bizarre arrangement that appears to work well until the hosts hold a dinner party and invite the Nazi ambassador and his wife. Instead of concealing Mr Haffmann, he is invited as an additional guest. Nigel Harman is chilling when he reveals that he has known who Haffmann was all along – cue an audible gasp from the audience. A play that definitely hits hard with its originality and jaw-drop moments.

A sunny March afternoon in Covent Garden

I had intended this post to cover six months of trips, however, my theatrical habit has led me to need to divide the year into quarters instead. Indeed, I am editing this post from the outside area of the gorgeous Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. It’s amazing how much you can pack into a whole year if you really try.