Review – Much Ado About Nothing, Wyndham’s Theatre

In which Phil goes all Statto.

Commercially speaking, it doesn’t really matter what the critics or the audiences or anyone thinks about this show, let alone the Whingers.

The inspired pairing of David Tennant and Catherine Tate ensured Doctor Who About Nothing quickly became a big to-do about something, practically selling out before previews began; probably even before the cast had started running their fingers under their lines.

Caught up in the frenzy, Phil spent a couple of hours trying to buy tickets on a crashing website when booking opened, getting to the point of nabbing two excellent seats only to lose them. And again. And again…

Review – Celebrity Autobiography, Leicester Square Theatre

This post is briefly to say that Phil has been called upon to verify Andrew’s gushing Edinburgh review of Celebrity Autobiography and has concurred with the findings of Andrew’s original report. These are words you are unlikely to hear again: Andrew was right. Urg.

The Whingers dropped in to the Leicester Square Theatre on Thursday evening when the line up (which varies from night to night) featured CA creators Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel plus Bridget Christie, Doon Mackichan, James Lance, Tiffany Stevenson, Smack The Pony‘s Doon Mackichan, Ugly Betty‘s Michael Urie and someone called David Tennant.

Review – Legally Blonde Gala Night, Savoy Theatre

Yes we know. We are getting more insufferably grand by the day. And that grandness is tugging at the already fraying hems of the very fabric of the Whingers’ existence. That fabric being, of course, a fine Gentleman’s Harris Tweed and very old Bri-Nylon* in Phil’s and Andrew’s cases respectively.

But when Producer Sonia Friedman absolutely insisted that it just wouldn’t be a proper opening gala without the Whingers lending their presence at Legally Blonde, refusing might appear petty and churlish and make them appear even grander than they already believed themselves to be. What indeed were the boys expected to do?

In Which The Whingers Reveal Doctor Who’s New Look…

After months of speculation, this weekend saw the unexpected announcement that Matt Smith is to take over from the David (back injury) Tennant* as the new Doctor Who.

Andrew (who famously doesn’t do telly) cares about such matters. But, despite being sure that Mr Smith will no doubt prove an excellent choice, the Whingers’ own casting department had been barking up all the wrong trees.

In which the Whingers plan their legacy to the arts world

The story so far: pianist Andre Tchaikowsky bequeathed his skull to the RSC with the wish that it be used in a future production of Hamlet. It was eventually used by David Tennant at Stratford although it probably won’t be when the show transfers to London.

Mr Tchaikowsky died at the tender age of 46 in 1982 but until Tennant picked it up this year it has only been used in rehearsals although it did get an airing – literally on the roof of the RSC for the first two years.

This extraordinary story has, of course, got the Whingers thinking about their own mortality and – always thinking of others – they are anxiously fretting over to whom they should leave their own body parts.

Review – Hamlet with David Tennant, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon

Yes, yes, we know it’s not the West End and that it’s Shakespeare, but it had to be done.

Done by Andrew, anyway. Phil refused to be dragged away from his metropolitan “lifestyle” (Let us hope that involved him doing something about the state of his fridge for there is surely something rotten in it) for a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Even now Phil insists that it is necessary to change trains to get there and refuses to listen to Andrew’s account of the contemporary transport arrangements. He utterly refutes Andrew’s report that there are no longer such things as third class carriages. Andrew has held his tongue.

Oh well, every dog has his day and so, it was that Sue K (Clarification: Andrew is the dog in this analogy, not Sue) stepped into Phil’s fill-in mode. And the first thing to report is that an evening at the theatre apparently does not necessarily involve bickering. This was something of revelation to Andrew who found the entire outing both intellectually stimulating and emotionally restful.