I have been immensely fortunate when it comes to exposure to
musical theatre and live-stage performances. When I was younger, my aunt used
to purchase tickets for myself, my younger sister and my mother to see shows on
the West End, some of which, I still have the programs for now. I remember the
first West End show I went to was Hairspray when I was around eleven or twelve
years old. We got to stage door after the performance and the programs we
bought were covered with signatures from cast members that were delighted that
we had enjoyed the show. The last time I went on one of those trips was when I
was sixteen. I had seen Wicked with my family and not everyone had enjoyed the
performance as much as I had. But I was still much too young to go to the
theatre alone. However, my love for musical theatre in particular didn’t cease.
It was only recently, in October of 2018, that I went to
another West End performance, where I saw Heather’s on tour with two of my
friends, just weeks after I’d managed to purchase Hamilton tickets for myself
and my mother in the new year. It was then that I realised I had happened
across an expensive habit. Since then, I have made four more trips to see shows
in London; Hamilton (twice), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Harry Potter and
The Cursed Child and The Great Gatsby at Gatsby’s Drugstore.
I figured that, I would share some anecdotes about my
experiences, because, honestly, I just love to share and remember the fun I had!
SO, Hamilton:
On 20th February 2019, I finally got the
opportunity to be in the room where it happens and got to see Hamilton: An
American Musical with my mother. In this instance, the day was really stressful
as I was doing a 24 hour round-trip from my student accommodation in Derby, to
London to see the show, back home to Essex and then back to Derby before a 5pm
lecture the next day.
I was very stressed doing this, and, generally, wouldn’t
recommend this to anyone unless they have a better grip of their anxiety than I
do. The only reason I opted into this is because I knew that my lecture was
non-compulsory and informed my lecturer well in advance that I may be slightly
late to his class, just as I didn’t want to go to class with my luggage.
One thing which did confuse me about the system at Hamilton
was some of the wording on the website as it said that tickets needed to be
collected for the show by 6pm on the day of the show. I took this as meaning
that, as I had already bought my ticket, I would have to be at the ticket box
by 6 to collect my tickets before the show started at half past seven. This was
not the case, and it actually meant that anyone who was hoping to purchase
tickets to see Hamilton that evening would have to have done so by 6pm on the
day of the show. I am writing this as this misunderstanding meant that my
mother had to leave much earlier to meet me in London than she had to, which, I
will admit, eased my anxiety significantly.
Due to the proximity to Victoria Station, we decided to have
dinner in the station, and then head to the theatre to take photos outside the
venue, join the queue and buy programmes before the show so we wouldn’t have to
queue in the intermission. My mother, understanding my anxiety, was accommodating
to my whims, despite being fed up of me taking photos. I just couldn’t contain
my excitement! After two years of being obsessed with this musical, I was
finally going to see it onstage!
To say that the show made me emotional would be an understatement!
I didn’t stop crying from Blow Us All Away until the curtain call! The only
thing that would have made the show better would have been being able to stage
door afterward, however that was something I was unable to do due to my mother
having a bad pain day and with issues with the trains and us not wanting to have
to wait an hour to travel home when she was that much pain. I relented and went
home with her.
Travelling back up to Derby was significantly more hassle
than it necessarily needed to be. I had been lucky; because I bought my train
tickets from my home in Essex, back up to Derby on the day I bought my Hamilton
tickets, I was only able to purchase an open return. Which was, thankfully, the
best thing. I had run into several issues enroute back to Derby in the process
of coming back to Derby, one of which being that I was unable to take the
District Line from Tower Hill to Kings Cross.
Instead, in the company of one of my friends, Marika, who I
ran into at Fenchurch Street, on her way to a lecture, I went to Aldgate East,
which took ten minutes. When I got there, we had to wait for a Hammersmith and
City Line train to Kings Cross, and by the time I arrived, the train I had been
hoping to get from London back to Derby had departed. Had I bought a train
ticket for a set time, I would have had to buy a new one, so I was lucky enough
to just have to wait for the next train, which was due to depart forty minutes
from my arrival. So, my last piece of advice in this instance would be, if
you’re travelling cross-country to see shows on the West End, buy an open
return, because you cannot predict what will happen to the London Underground.
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