Hi!

I know I haven’t blogged in a while but the coursework is really building up now and I’ve barely had time to draw breath….anyway, I got the amazing opportunity to interview the actor stefan booth for the coursework my ‘web research’ journalism unit and I thought I would share the article I wrote with you 🙂 (I’m really proud  of it) Hope you all like….

‘Going on tour’ some actors aspire to do it from day one, some others grow into it and get swept away with it. Whatever is said about it, this bold career move is a relentless one and not one for the faint hearted. Stefan Booth knows all about this whirlwind journey as he is currently touring with the smash hit west end musical ‘Chicago.’ On the stage he plays Billy Flynn- a corrupt lawyer, but at the stage door he is the complete opposite- taking the time to sign autographs and talk to fans. This is pleasantly surprising for someone who is touring up and down the country with more dates coming up for venues in Europe. 

With every week bringing a new destination, it can sometimes be hard to get in the quality family time many of us take for granted, with being a very hands on dad, Stefan tries not to leave seeing his family for more than two weeks at a time and he says the restless nature of touring can be tough on his family, especially his two young children but he says “we get on with it- it’s something we are continually working on.”  And says that “sometimes it helps when they come to me for a few days and we make a little holiday out of it”

With touring being the whirlwind it is, it is hardly surprising that a typical day on tour is quite topsy-turvy. Booth describes a typical day on tour resembling “what a normal person would consider back to front” with the day starting with time to relax with it normally ending in a show. But even with this busy routine and the thought of home, Booth wouldn’t miss it for the world saying “Playing Billy Flynn has been a lifelong ambition for me. Every time I go out in front of a live crowd the feeling I get is electric. It’s addictive.” Also the calibre of show makes the experience even more exciting, “working on an award winning show with incredible music that everyone loves coming to makes it very special to be a part of.”  The audience only plays a small part in the whole touring stint, but they play a crucial part. On the 12^th to the 17^th of March this year, the production was at the Kings Theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth and it received great reviews. The theatre also notices the presence of a big star in their shows with the higher sales. Darren Tipper, director of marketing at the Kings Theatre said “shows like this generate a lot of feedback as Chicago is a very slick production so the feedback is always very good.”  He also said that the big name stars are what will often bring in a more substantial audience.

The tour is moving fast, travelling across the UK for the rest of this year, and even hitting European soil from the 22^nd to the 24^th June.   

Hey again!

I come to you today from my room slightly hungover. (for the 2nd day!) 

This was all due to a small student event on Sunday (slight understatement) called Carnage. I was the last one this term and since I hadn’t been to one yet I thought I’d give it a whirl. To sum up I got in a 4am…it was a good night!

Moving swiftly on, I went to the cinema on Saturday to watch the new release, Wanderlust starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd (with a small cameo appearance from Ray Liotta) It was marketed as a comedy but I didn’t find it that funny. There were small comedic bits in it but they were only worth a slight snigger. Its all about a couple who under financial strain, go looking for a fresh start after losing their condo and having no hope in the job department. Their fresh start came abruptly to them in the shape of a hippy commune off the beaten track. The cringes start from the very moment the commune is introduced to the film when they are chased by a bold, middle aged nudist (see what I mean). 

The potential message in this film is a logical one and one that will get some people thinking about how they live their lives. It explores the concept of living without the burdens and mod-cons of modern life, and to be fair it is interesting to watch George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) trying to cope and fit in with the commune, try to ‘let it all go’ and embrace the commune’s beliefs (particularly the concept of ‘free love’).

However the funniest characters to watch is George’s brother, Rick who alongside his irritating egotistical chat, has some rather funny anger outbursts, and his partner who is convinced of the fact that if she smiles enough, her brain will be tricked into thinking she’s happy.

So is this film worth paying to see? Not really. The film is more of a cringe-fest than a comedy.  

Right, that’s all for this week. So until next time, have a good week!

This is the cinnamon challenge I tried!

This is not actually me in this video but I thought I would add this to give you more of an idea of what a  Cinnamon challenge is.

Happy viewing! 🙂

Hi all!

So, another week has gone past! The time has flown by for me recently! My computer had another blip (but its all sorted out now hopefully), I got my dvd’s and printer, done a few challenges and then spent the weekend with friends!

If you’re wondering what I mean by ‘a few challenges’ I mean the cinnamon challenge, a chilli challenge and the half eight challenge. The half eight challenge was by far the easiest! For those of you who don’t have the foggiest what I’m on about, the cinnamon challenge is where you have to try and eat a whole tablespoon of cinnamon. I ended up doing this twice…..yeah. For more of an idea, I will post a video of someone else trying the challenge. Trust me when i say this, if anyone asks you to try it, say NO! Its DISGUSTING! The chilli challenge was- dare i say- a tad better (it didn’t make me gag) and the after eight challenge was far, far easier!

So that was Saturday night and Sunday. A few days before I received my 6 dvd’s through the post, one of which was One Day starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. I’d not actually seen this at all previous to the dvd’s release so I thought I would watch it and give my verdict on it.

The film tracks Emma (Hathaway) and Dexter’s (Sturgess) their friendship from 1988 after their graduation from college. As the title suggests, it shows them on one day (15 July) up until 2011. It’s a lovely story of friendship through each twist and turn as the years go by. However, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit starved of substance and character development throughout the film as it can only cover one day. Fair enough, thats the story structure but as one day left and the next year arrived, you felt like you were playing catchup again. An example of this would be when Dexter’s mother is suffering from cancer. Instead of a bit more development on that storyline, the audience was then suddenly taken to the next year where it was then mentioned she had died and then the story carries on. Apart from this, the story was sweet and touching and you feel for the characters and hope for the best for them.

Over all, the story captures you and takes you on a turbulent journey discovering all the potential of a friendship and how a relationship established on one day can last for years. It’s a shame about the story structure though.