Andrew is on sabbatical but Phil is soldiering on to help you decide between the Merlot and the Marlowe and generally putting London's West End theatre to rights
Ooops. This had fallen down the back of the Whingers’ metaphorical sofa and now seems – strikingly like the Whingers themselves – almost ancient history.
But we were brought up in the distant days when writing thank-you letters was basic manners and although in our defence there has been much thanks given privately, the wonderful people who supported us must be publicly recognised. Read the rest of this entry »
According to his column today Baz Bamigboye has “donated £100 to the Actors’ Charitable Trust, which runs the Denville Hall care home for elderly actors”.
That sounds very generous of him but let us be clear: the Whingers won this money fair and square.
In January 2010 Mr Bamigboye bet the Whingers that Legally Blonde would not be running a year hence. It is. Yet somehow he hoodwinked us into believing that the decent thing to do would be to give the money to charity. Read the rest of this entry »
If you don’t read veteran showbiz scribe Baz Bamigboye’s “It’s Friday” column on, er, Fridays in the Daily Mail you won’t have seen a piece mentioning a £100 bet with the West End Whingers.
And for those of you who did see it, the Whingers wish to set the record straight. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a scandal we tell you! An outrage!
No secret is made of the fact that a hefty part of a Whinger’s theatrical outing involves civilized time spent in the bar before and after the performance. And during the interval if there is one. And during the show if drinks are permitted in the auditorium.
But there seemed a particular perversity in the Royal Court Theatre sending Phil a flyer for a play called The Priory offering Happy Hour at the Royal Court Bar”.
Of course The Priory isn’t about anything to do with that Priory, rehab home to Susan Boyle and the stars, but Phil didn’t know that at the time and as ever, with an eye for a bargain, he filed it away in his cabinet in his “Very Important Flyers” folder (cross-referenced under “Cheaper ways to drink” and eagerly awaited his next trip to The Court. Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers have been vegging out again.
Yes this weekend it was that time of year – the Lambeth Country Show 2009 – when the Whingers whipped out their trusty potato peelers to prove that creative inspiration is not only confined to the stages of (one or two) West End theatres.
After last year’s huge success and subsequent media furore in the Vegetable Figure category with their almost entirely theatrically unrelated “Amy Greenhouse” creation the only way was down. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, we’ve almost recovered enough from our hangovers to say a few words about the previous Saturday’s Third Annual West End Whingers Party.
But a full recovery may take longer than that of the economy. In fact it could be another 23 years before either Whinger feels himself again (and let’s face it no one else will, ba boom!).
In truth, neither Whinger remembers much about the evening so what follows is pieced together mainly through photographic evidence, reports from those who say they were there and hopeful speculation. Read the rest of this entry »
The Whingers are normally of a secular and rational nature. Well, secular anyway. Spiritual things tend to pass them by.
But their scepticism took a nasty jolt this morning due to what can only be described as a minor miracle which occurred when Phil was preparing his breakfast.
Eschewing his usual pop-tarts he opted to toast some healthy organic wholemeal bread. Imagine his consternation when this 
popped out of his toaster:
Not merely the Virgin Mary nor even Jesus (which would have been quite festive) but one half of the West End Whingers logo burnt quite clearly onto his intended brekkers.
Andrew is claiming that it’s his half of the logo that has been represented and Phil of course claims that it is his.
Unable to settle the argument and therefore agree to whom the proceeds from its sale on ebay would go the Whingers have agreed to do the charitable thing: it will be donated as a raffle prize for the forthcoming Third Annual West End Whingers Party on Saturday.
Footnote
If you haven’t received your invitation to the Third Annual West End Whingers Party yet, don’t worry – it’s probably simply because we didn’t invite you. If you think this is an oversight – and not a deliberate slight – please do contact us.
Always an early riser, Andrew has spent hours this morning counting his column inches over and over again and feeling rather self-satisfied at the result. Read the rest of this entry »
It all started when Andrew and Phil were idly filling in time waiting for some production or other (possibly Daddy Cool) to finish so that they could go to the pub.
They were reduced to reading the bits you don’t normally read in the programme (i.e. everything apart from who’s been in Midsomer Murders) and found a crossword in the back. They can even still remember the first clue:
“Oh, what a lovely -” (3) Read the rest of this entry »
Some things are clearly not meant to be.
The Whingers were fully expecting to be able to review their own West End stage debuts in Fat Pig.
Having missed out on making their Broadway debuts in both Xanadu and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee they leapt at the chance to secure on-stage seating at the new Neil LaBute play at the Trafalgar Studios.
Andrew had got himself into a right old tizzy of excitement. He had spent weeks planning his “performance”, trying to pin down the nuances of his character (sadly elusive) and, most importantly, deciding what he should wear to draw most attention to himself. He eschewed Phil’s offer of his favourite fashion item of the moment: a Sarah Jessica Parker style fascinator, instead settling for his old favourite “Ignore Me. I’m Just Reviewing Your Performance” t-shirt.
But their plans were cruelly dashed. Read the rest of this entry »
And here are the pics to prove it really happened.
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A West End Whinger 