821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on May 2, 2018 16:11:41 GMT
Really enjoyed the Drury Lane tour on Monday, so glad I got my act together and done the tour before the theatre's refurb. It's a real shame all the historic machinery will be removed during the refurb, especially as it all still works (and is grade 1 listed), seeing that was probably the highlight of the tour for me.
The crew were testing the set pieces/everything in the fly so we couldn't go on stage but I rather enjoyed watching them work/test everything, I could have quite happily spent the whole hour just sat watching from the royal box or the front of the royal circle. I've only ever sat in the stalls or the balcony (when seeing a show) but the view from the front of the royal circle looked amazing.
My friend who I was with doesn't do ghosts or anything remotely scary but really enjoyed the tour, they didn't think the ghost tales in the cellar were all that bad in the end and definitely not worth missing the whole tour over.
Also it was confirmed to our group that the theatre's refurb will begin in March 2019, with a planned reopening in September 2020. 42nd Street will most likely close close to the start of the refurb but that isn't completely confirmed yet
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137 posts
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Post by jason71 on May 2, 2018 20:55:50 GMT
I'm going on the RSC backstage tour in two weeks time
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1,351 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on May 7, 2018 21:11:50 GMT
I'm going on the RSC backstage tour in two weeks time I liked that one... we went the day they were doing the get out for Richard II so some areas restricted but really interesting to watch from the gallery as they broke down the set. Enjoy  |
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on May 7, 2018 21:15:39 GMT
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3,331 posts
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Post by david on May 7, 2018 21:52:43 GMT
I’m off to NY in the autumn so I will definitely keep an eye out for this to see if any dates become available while I’m over there! |
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490 posts
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Post by bimse on May 8, 2018 5:32:57 GMT
It’s worth keeping an eye on the Heritage Open Days. Interesting buildings throughout the country are open for the public to view, and there are usually a few theatres involved, different ones each year , and not just in London . Last year I visited the delightful Plaza Theatre in Stockport . You could walk on the stage, view the dressing rooms, back stage, projection room, have a go with a follow spot , as well as view the beautiful Art Deco auditorium and foyer . There were talks at certain times in the auditorium , and volunteers giving short talks at different areas . A wonderful visit , and all for free. This year the Heritage Open Days are over two weekends : 6-9th and 13-16th September, but not all venues will be open both weekends or every day, so it’s worth checking out their site which will give details of venues from July. www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting |
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Post by basi1faw1ty on May 21, 2018 12:19:25 GMT
Did a (complimentary) NT backstage tour on Saturday. Excellent insight from the tour guide (forgot her name but she had a hint of Newcastle/South Shields in her accent and was very nice), loved the props section on Drum Road, and it was all rather fun. When we entered the Olivier the stage wasn't of the Scottish play that I was expecting but they were building the set for Translations and the tour guide had to almost shout over all the sawing and drilling from the builders down below. It all looked very impressive still. (Loved also seeing a guy in a hard hat practicing the violin as we sat in the Olivier circle.)
Then we got to the Absolute Hell set and I thought we'd be actually walking on it but she only took us to a little corner at the back and we weren't allowed to step onto the stage so I was a little disappointed in that. But after the tour ended I met a man named Speedy (who is involved in the 4 minute set change that happens in AH) and after I said how much I enjoyed AH and how impressed I was by the very fast set change in the middle of Act 2, he took me through his room and onto the set itself! I actually walked across the stage, past a woman testing the mics, over the rugs, past the bar area opposite a load of labour posters, then up the stairs into the club dining room. It was surreal.
No idk what I did to deserve it either but there you are.
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137 posts
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Post by jason71 on May 26, 2018 9:08:21 GMT
Recently did the FOH & BTS tours. Really enjoyed both tours. It was nice to go backstage & other areas that you don't normally get access to
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2018 15:23:08 GMT
The Palladium one is great, deffo do that
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 14:07:44 GMT
The Palladium one is great, deffo do that I cant find any available dates for this, is it still operational? I’d love to do this one, personally. |
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3,331 posts
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Post by david on May 27, 2018 14:14:56 GMT
The Palladium one is great, deffo do that I cant find any available dates for this, is it still operational? I’d love to do this one, personally. At present they don’t. This is confirmed by Theatre Monkey a few pages back on this thread as I asked the same question as it’s the one theatre I would love to go backstage on! |
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 18:28:10 GMT
^ Thank you David, I’d missed that one! Hopefully it will be a possibility again at some time.
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3,331 posts
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Post by david on May 27, 2018 18:36:57 GMT
^ Thank you David, I’d missed that one! Hopefully it will be a possibility again at some time. I think they stopped doing tours because that it was due to health and safety issues because of the all different stuff going in and out if the theatre at the moment and the issue of moving equipment around the building. |
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 22:59:49 GMT
Ah I’m so sorry guys! I did it a few years back, 2015 I think, so I just presumed it was still going on! Used to be certain fridays of months I think. It was best I’ve been - 2+ hours, very informative. You got to go onto stage, sub stage, boxes etc and they had the original Tiller Girls guiding you round as guests too. Hopefully they bring it back, sorry to get hopes up
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3,331 posts
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Post by david on May 27, 2018 23:24:35 GMT
Ah I’m so sorry guys! I did it a few years back, 2015 I think, so I just presumed it was still going on! Used to be certain fridays of months I think. It was best I’ve been - 2+ hours, very informative. You got to go onto stage, sub stage, boxes etc and they had the original Tiller Girls guiding you round as guests too. Hopefully they bring it back, sorry to get hopes up The Palladium tour situation really is a funny one. One minute they offered tours, and then suddenly they just vanished. Being up north meant that when tours where scheduled it never matched up with my London theatre trips so I kept missing them. As you say hopefully they can bring them back in the future, even if it was only 1 day a month. I would be down there in a flash! |
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Post by ensembleswings on Jun 17, 2018 15:09:41 GMT
Took advantage of Miss Saigon being in Bristol and went along to the Bristol Hippodrome tour this morning, they usually offer the tour on a Saturday but because of how much time Saigon want/need before the matinee performance they've offered it on a Sunday for Saigon's duration.
It was a rather lengthy tour at just over two hours but we did get to see basically everything FOH and backstage with the only exception being the dressing rooms, very informative and fun way to spend a morning. I've visited the Hippodrome many, many times yet the amount I learned about the place was quite remarkable, there were also many features that I'd simply walked past and hadn't even noticed before.
Standing on the stage you realise just how big the stage and auditorium are whilst the wing space is practically nonexistent, it's no surprise that most things have to be flown. Also lovely to go up and see how the fly system works, it's still all ropes/cables which are manually rigged rather than computerised (which many seem to be these days).
For less than £10 I feel this tour was a real steal, definitely got far more than my moneys worth. Recommend to any of you that can get to Bristol.
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5,169 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Jul 12, 2018 12:57:51 GMT
Unless I've somehow missed it, I don't think there has been a post about tours of the Harold Pinter Theatre. Somewhere else to add to the list!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 13:14:25 GMT
I'd love to do that job. I always fancied myself as a tour guide. I used to think I'd love to be one of those guides with an umbrella and a microphone dragging people round the Rijksmuseum or Pompeii or Buckingham Palace but mincing around a theatre telling people stories about Edith Evans or Elaine Paige sounds delightful.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 14:15:38 GMT
^I fear "Lettice and Lovage" all over again... Oh yes, I'd make it all up of course. "And in here is where Elaine Paige ripped out Marti Webb's hair after Ms Webb received a particularly good review for one of her 'Evita' shows causing Ms Webb to have to wear a wig that she still needs to this day . . . . " "And in here is where Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi were caught playing naked Twister in a production of 'Whoops Vicar, There Go My Bloomers!' after eating brownies made by co-star Dame Peggy Ashcroft containing some of her best home grown marijuana. Showing themselves to be total professionals, they managed to finish the matinee and the evening show that day . . . " |
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Post by Mr Snow on Jul 12, 2018 15:25:07 GMT
^I fear "Lettice and Lovage" all over again... Oh yes, I'd make it all up of course. "And in here is where Elaine Paige ripped out Marti Webb's hair after Ms Webb received a particularly good review for one of her 'Evita' shows causing Ms Webb to have to wear a wig that she still needs to this day . . . . " "And in here is where Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi were caught playing naked Twister in a production of 'Whoops Vicar, There Go My Bloomers!' after eating brownies made by co-star Dame Peggy Ashcroft containing some of her best home grown marijuana. Showing themselves to be total professionals, they managed to finish the matinee and the evening show that day . . . " Where can I book? I've checked TodayTix but you must have Sold Out? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2018 21:04:59 GMT
The backstage tours at the Festival/King's theatres in Edinburgh are amazing - Graham (the tour guide for the Festival theatre) is a lovely guy and is so passionate about the theatre. You learn so much about the theatre and see pretty much the whole building (FOH areas, auditorium, stage, backstage areas, dressing rooms, green room, stage door area, function rooms) at the very reasonable price of £10. They've stopped doing them just now but I will definitely be going on the Festival Theatre one again when Les Mis comes.
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3,331 posts
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Post by david on Jul 15, 2018 17:17:30 GMT
Did the Royal Albert Hall Tour today. Being my first time in the building, I really surprised on how large the actual auditorium is inside. At the time of the tour, they where busy setting up for tonight’s Prom concert so it was interesting to see the tech aspect on how they do that. Our tour guide Patrick really gave a good account of both the historical aspect of the building and how it operates on a daily basis. I never realised that there are actually two free standing dromes on the building. I always assumed it was a single structure. I found it interesting learning how they dealt with the acoustics issue within the auditorium by using those suspended mushroom structures. I always wondered what purpose they served. In all, a worthwhile hour spent for a Sunday morning.
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276 posts
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Post by emsworthian on Jul 15, 2018 18:27:07 GMT
Hello, David. I'm glad you enjoyed your tour. I did the Royal Albert Hall trip with my book group earlier this month. We had Patrick as well. He was good but, at the risk of sounding pompous, I already knew all the points you mentioned. What I didn't know was all the money raised for both the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall was spent on the former and the money for the RAH was then found by selling boxes at £100 a time (a huge amount of money then but an absolute bargain for anyone who did take advantage of it.)
My book group did the Royal Opera House tour a couple of years ago and all those who had been on both said they preferred the Opera House tour as you had more of a sense of being backstage with it.
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Post by david on Jul 15, 2018 22:54:35 GMT
Hello, David. I'm glad you enjoyed your tour. I did the Royal Albert Hall trip with my book group earlier this month. We had Patrick as well. He was good but, at the risk of sounding pompous, I already knew all the points you mentioned. What I didn't know was all the money raised for both the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall was spent on the former and the money for the RAH was then found by selling boxes at £100 a time (a huge amount of money then but an absolute bargain for wanyone who did take advantage of it.) My book group did the Royal Opera House tour a couple of years ago and all those who had been on both said they preferred the Opera House tour as you had more of a sense of being backstage with it. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do the RAH tour. It’s been on my list of things to do when visiting London, but I never seemed to get round to sorting it out. I had a basic understanding of of the history of the building but it was nice to get a bit more depth, particularly the economical aspects of the buildings construction and maintenance. The prices that Patrick quoted for the box seats really did bring a tear to my eye. Unfortunately, I have had to pass on purchasing a RAH box at present! What would of been nice would be to of had the opportunity to get into the pit area to get another perspective on the size of the auditorium from a performers POV. I must now admit a bit of ignorance to the fact that until today, I didn’t know about the Prince Albert memorial statue across the road. So after the tour I made a point of having a quick look. I have to say it was very impressive and you can definitely tell that there was a lot of money spent on it. It’s design and attention to detail up close is absolutely stunning. You mentioned the ROH tour. Again that’s one place along the London Coliseum that I still need to get tours sorted for. Having watched Chess there, I definitely wanted to get sorted this year, but it looks like it’s now going to be 2019 before that happens. I’ve heard very positive reviews about the ROH tour, so depending on my visits to London upto Xmas, I’ll try and fit it in. |
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Post by theag on Jul 24, 2018 16:15:10 GMT
Having done a couple of different London theatre tours, the Royal Opera House backstage one is hands down my favourite. Getting to see ballet class/rehearsals and setting up for stage rehearsals as well as the massive backstage area was well worth the £12! Just a tip, if you’re particularly interested in seeing the dancers class/rehearsal don’t go in summer or their post Christmas break as they likely won’t be there!
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