When, way back in 2004, Green Day released American Idiot it was a clarion call for the disaffected youth of the US. It leapt up the charts on a wave of critical acclaim and commercial success and was much beloved of a certain callow young music blogger in provincial Portsmouth. Fast forward 15 years and I don’t perhaps listen to the album very often now but it still holds significance as it’s first theatrical incarnation was one of the first theatre pieces I reviewed and quite probably the point that convinced me to start this site. Now, a good few years later here I am again in Southampton for the launch of a new national tour.
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As the National Theatre’s production of Macbeth gears up for it’s tour around the country casting has been revealed this week, so read on to find out who you can see and where they’ll be! (we can’t wait for it to visit our friends at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton) 
Every now and again a show comes along that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It might not be something new, but it just catches you and you fall in love with it. When Titanic the Musical opened at Southwark Playhouse back in 2013 it was received rapturously… but I didn’t see it. When it was transferred to Toronto for a limited season it thrilled the Canadian theatre crowd… but I still didn’t see it. When it launched director Thom Southerland’s first season at Charing Cross Theatre I made sure I was there (and you can read that review 
“I am big! It’s the pictures that got small”
Here in the Cheap Seats we never used to be big fans of Titanic, but when we saw Danielle Tarento and Thom Southerland‘s sublime production last year our minds were totally changed (you can read our rave review 
Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre has been a top destination for touring musicals for longer than we can remember and in recent years they’ve added top class drama to their repertoire. We sent Emma van Kooperen to check out Curious Incident as it arrived on the south coast! 
Billy Elliott is a musical steeped in the eighties, from Thatcher to Miners strikes by way of some very bright leg warmers it drips with the trappings of the decade… and yet, with a story about standing up for what you believe in and seizing the opportunity to escape from a life with no future it feels worryingly apt for the current political climate! 
2016 is nearly over and while we’re looking excited to see what 2017 holds it would be remiss of us not to reflect on the shows that have entertained us this year! 
I’ve had a tough week, the day job has been grinding me down and I haven’t seen the sun in days. Frankly, when I left the office yesterday I was thoroughly fed up and downbeat… but a short trip to the river bank had me practically skipping out of the Mayflower with a grin so wide I could feel it in my ears! 
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