Last week my mother was visiting from Denmark! I love it, when she is here as we always do fun and adventurous things together! Even though I now consider myself a real “Londoner” – there are still so many things I haven’t seen and explored yet – and that’s why I love having visitors! I want to show them as much of my beloved city as possible – and the bonus is, that I might get even more cultural enlightened than I was before!

Welcome to Theatreland…

If you ask me, you can’t visit London without going to the theatre – and luckily I had two tickets to the world’s favourite family musical “Annie”, which is currently playing at The Piccadilly Theatre!

London Theatreland – also known as the West End, is the area of central London containing many of London’s commercial Theatres. The term originated in the early 19th century to describe the fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross including Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street. The West End is London’s alternative to New York’s Broadway Theatre and represents the highest level of commercial theatre one can reach in the UK!

It was a busy Friday evening in front of Piccadilly Theatre…

Be sure to arrive early if you want to enjoy a bit of sightseeing before the show! 

Waiting for a drink and some yummies at the bar inside the theatre… (credit cards are accepted here)

The Piccadilly Theatre is built across three levels, with a capacity of 1232 within the auditorium. Split over the Stalls, Royal Circle and Grand Circle, there is a seat to suit every budget and preference. We had seatings at The Stalls – the area closest to the stage with the best views in the theatre!

There are different bars and areas inside the theatre where you can sit and enjoy a pre-drink before the show begins… (also this theatre has excellent toilet facilities so you dont have to worry about having to wait in a line during the entire pause!)

We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the show – so instead I will show you some of the press photos that were given to me to give you a good impression of our wonderful and very entertaining evening

Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie and her fellow orphans are forced to live a life of misery in the drunken Miss Hannigan’s demanding orphanage

The poor girl tries to escape in search for her real parents, but she ends up back at the orphanage...

However Annie’s luck changes when she’s chosen to spend a fairytale Christmas with famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family

Strictly Come Dancing star Craig Revel Horwood starred as the infamous orphanage manager Miss Hannigan. He did an excellent job – and made us laugh many, many times! (bonus-info: Craig Revel Horwood is scheduled to appear until 26 November, excluding Saturdays. He will also NOT be performing on 22, 24 September, 16, 18, 25 October, 6, 20 and 23 November)

No doubt the entire cast were shining. The real stars were however the children – and my mother and I couldn’t stop repeating ourselves saying “It is incredible how talented these very young actors are…”

The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre in 1977 where it ran for six years, going on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical. Songs from the show including “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life” went on to become standards of the American songbook – and thanks to the numerous revivals and productions around the world have made Annie one of the most recognisable musicals of all time!

My mother managed to take a quick forbidden picture of me with popcorn in my hands all ready for second part of the show!

We had a wonderful evening at The Piccadilly Theatre! “Annie” certainly is a musical that can be enjoyed by guests of all ages!

The following days, I couldn’t stop singing “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow!” Frenchie truly thought I must have gotten mad. But no, I was just smitten. Smitten by a young girl’s voice – so full of life and so full of hope… Exactly what I needed these days, where exciting things are coming my way! More about that later…

“Annie” will run at the Piccadilly Theatre until 6 January 2018. Get you tickets here! 

X Louise