Mr & Mrs Dewar.

Dear Mummy,

You looked so beautiful on your wedding day, but please can you eat something?!

Love your concerned daughter,

Simone x

Ready For This? High Wycombe.

This was my favourite so far on this tour; a really fun show.

The theatre was really modern and the sound was so crisp, but it did feel very open (and a little empty) and I could only hear the very few people that were sitting around me (I thought it was just a really quiet crowd...).

There were a lot of little mistakes which makes it all the more funnier to those who've seen the show more times than is necessary. The wrong ending was sung during the 2nd movement in Confessions and If I Didn't Have You needed to be re-started 3 times.

There was a guy in the second row (Murray, who turned out to be our bear) who was wearing a really bright and distracting t-shirt and while Tim was talking to him about said shirt someone yelled out "bioluminescnece" which prompted some very hilarious ad-libbing. The funniest for me was the little story about the fish who wouldn't need a night-light while reading in bed.

"Murray-bear" was great. He was wearing baggy black trousers with chains and Tim took one off and attached it to his (zebra/black and white tiger) skinny jeans. When Murray put the bear hat on his "emo fringe" was covering his eyes so he couldn't see and Tim took a few minutes to put this right. I do love the way Mr Minchin plays the keytar as the bear takes off the suit (which was thrown with such force, as was the chair, at John when the sing finished).

Not Perfect was a song that i'd been wanting to hear for encore for a long time, 'twas lovely.

A thought.

I loved the Scooby Doo impression during Storm tonight.

Ready For This? Cambridge.

I really like Cambridge, it's pretty and has a lot of old fashioned bikes with baskets on the front. I had lunch with friends and did a lot of walking. Over lunch we talked to the American's about the differences in common sayings (quite funny) and I was told that I am way too paranoid and I over-think things.

Our tickets said that we were sitting in row E, which turned out to be the front row. It was a pretty good view and my gaze was usually drawn to Tim's hands; particulary good when he played The Good Book, If You Really Loved Me and Darkside. The only downside of sitting front row and slightly to the left of centre meant that the lights were directly in my eyes for Ready For This?, I Love Jesus and Storm.

The bear tonight was a die-hard fan and although he was quite good and threw some pretty funky moves, I think it works better when the he's caught off-guard. Mr Minchin noticed that both spotlights were on the bear and he asked where his spotlight was, cue the most English heckle ever: "it's behind you!".

There were lots of funny little ad-libs about cream. A guy down in front that was 40 but looked about 30 promted Tim to ask what cream he used and it escalated from there. Mr Minchin said that we all had our own associations with cream and that's what made it funny, from the farmers, to those who were fans of the band, to the teenage boys. Whenever there was a slightly awkward pause in the show Tim just had to say "cream" and we all got the giggles.

White Wine In The Sun was sung for encore and it was really, really beautiful. The last time I heard that song live was when I was in Perth and I was sitting next to Mummy and she was holding my hand.

A thought.

Nostalgia is a nice feeling.

Sammy J In The Forest Of Dreams. Epsom.

Yesterday I caught the train to Epsom after work to see Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams one last time. It was an odd town and a very small audience (the entire audience ended up telling Sammy and Heath our names), but it was by far the best performance i'd seen.

It went overtime by half an hour due to plenty of ad-libs that had me slumped in my chair (caused by extensive laughter). The door knocking sillyness must have continued for a good 10 minutes; Farlo and Fish-bucket started eating the set to see if it would make the audience laugh (it did) and then Fishbucket did some stand-up.

Terry the squirrel was a favourite.

A thought.

I hate stage doors.

Ready For This? Brighton.

It's always so nice to jump on a train after work on a Friday afternoon bound for fun. This Friday the train was destined for Brighton to see another of Tim Minchin's shows on his second tour of Ready For This?.

Upon arrival we headed to a pub around the corner from the Brighton Dome (where Tim was to be performing that evening) for drinks and lovely chats with the angry (feet)ers - always such a joy.

The audience were very vocal and seemed to know most of Mr. Minchin's work. Loud cheers ensued after each song was introduced; 'If I Didn't Have You' getting the loudest.

I loved how far the Jesika joke has come along since last Saturday and he seemed to be a lot more confident on the keytar.

Jamie was very entertaining and really got into his role as the dancing bear.

The highlights for me were when Tim's voice cracked during 'Confessions' and he promised everyone a 20p refund for his cock-up, when he descibed life as a spiritual Tupperware party ("everyon'e trying to sell you see-through crap you dont need") and the introduction/"talky-bit" to Darkside (he'd bought a new piano and just like a new car, he had to give it a thrashing).

After the show we went and hung out at the stage door and waited for Tim. We were lucky enough to have a little chat before calling it a night. It was also lovely to say a hello to Chris Cox, who had also made the trip south to catch the show.

A thought.

I am awkward.

Mother Courage And Her Children.

On Thursday I went to the National Theatre to see Mother Courage and Her Children featuring music by Duke Special and his band.

The music, set, staging, special effects and acting were absolutely brilliant but I just felt the play as a whole was just that little bit too long. I've heard this is to be expected of a Brecht play.

Mother Courage is an anti-war play set in the 1600's Europe and tells the tale of a mother of 3 scrounging off the war. Slowly and surely the war kills her children and sends her to poverty.

Duke and his band were wonderful, but there just wasn't enough of their music in the show for my liking. At one point Duke was playing right of centre stage and his profile was projected in black and white onto two huge canvas's on either side of the stage (one inverted), which looked so cool. The closing song gave me goosebumps; picture Mr Special standing centre singing un-accompanied with the exception of a tenor drum that he beated to keep time.

It was great to share the evening with some lovely friends, some of which I hadn't seen in a very long time.

A thought.

I have a few too many obsessions of late. I'm having trouble keeping up.

Mostly About Arthur.

On Wednesday I went to a really beautiful pub in Kensal Rise called Paradise to see Jonny Sweet perform the show that won him "Best Newcomer" in Edinburgh this year. It was wonderful and not at all like your average comedy show.

'Mostly About Arthur' is a memorium about Jonny's late brother who was a blurbist.

Sweet's character is quite a simple man and I just loved the his dialogue throughout the performance. The laughs were mainly at sayings, mannerisms and facial expression (sometimes reminding me a little of Key or Basden) - which I am a big fan of in comedy. I really enjoyed the interaction with the audience too.

I'd recommend taking a look if ever the opportunity arrises.

A thought.

I stalk too much.