Category: Art & Culture

The adapted production of Cervantes’ classic ‘Man of La Mancha’ as a musical sounds quite bonkers, but it works! The enduring appeal of Don Quixote and his side kick Sancho Panza shall never be ending, as we all seek escape from our daily lives and it’s pressures. The music can be a tad ‘Broadway’-like and milks it a bit at times, but it fits, whilst ’The Impossible Dream’ is still a tear jerker (not many people know that this particular song actually comes from this particular musical).

Kelsey Grammer as Don Quixote is an inspired cast – who knew that the psychiatrist from Cheers had such a great singing voice! Cassidy Janson, our Aldonza/Dulcinea of that night’s performance, delivered an incredibly sensitive performance and national treasure Nicholas Lyndhurst, was great in the role of the Governor and the Innkeeper – all in all a very enjoyable experience and a great theatre night out, with a cast, that’s unique to London’s West End.

The Germans take their carnival season very indeed – the whole country literally goes crazy for almost a week, and all’s above board: costumes, street parades, crazy speeches, endless parties…and nobody minds turning into a complete ‘fool’ for those few days! The floats parading down the streets give everyone and everything a good rap, mocking whatever is going wrong in life, job, family and foremost politics – so BREXIT is obviously at the top of the agenda! Whilst caramel sweets get thrown into the crowds to keep the fools happy, chanting the official greeting of ‘Helau’, which is indigenous to the Bundesland Hesse, but can also vary according to the region. Press that play button now to sample some proper German madness, as our camera went right amongst the crowd.