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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...
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Theatre: Assassins

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You know you can't hide your roots... I always like to say that for some reason... But Saturday evening arriving at the Landor pub er Theatre to see Assassins I felt thoroughly un-Australian. There I was dressed for a night at the theatre (albeit fringe theatre in the same street as a raid on two crack dens the night before) to be surrounded at the bar by many, many pissed Australians in thongs (the flip-flop kind), singlets and shorts as if it really was January in oz. It was no surprise that amongst all this malarkey the Fosters was flowing rather smoothly. I took solace with the fact that I was at least wearing Aussiebums even if nobody else knew that. Well that was sort of disclosed later in the evening after inviting the West End Whingers and their friends back to my flat and forgetting that I had not yet put away all the washing... But anyway, after getting past the rowdy mob downstairs I settled in to watch the show armed with a G&T. Assassins is Sondheim's take ...
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Hot news this week in London

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RUDE , originally uploaded by the_moog . Not all bloggers in South West London are frightfully witty. Some are a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Perhaps even... pissweak? Never has such a piddling topic been elevated to such grand heights...
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Overheard on the Number 37 Bus Friday

Old woman: It's not right... Young woman: No it's not right... Old woman: I said to her. No... It's just not right....
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Movies: Sweeney Todd

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Sweeney Todd , originally uploaded by fairytalecinema . Rather than wait until next Friday for it to come out, I went with Fraser and Mark to see Sweeney Todd Sunday evening in preview. Neither of them knew what to expect but felt somewhat reassured by the large number of gay men in the audience (or perhaps they were just cruising I couldn't tell once the lights went down). Sweeney Todd is a great musical. It is so well written and a great mix of comedy and horror. I have seen it at least twice including the recent John Doyle production (which seemed to somewhat influence the above poster artwork). None of the productions I have seen however were gory enough for my taste. So I was somewhat relived to be thoroughly disturbed by the blood and gore in this show. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing such a movie when you were rooting for a serial killer to stick it to the victim one more time... Blood flies, bodies crunch, it is disgusting, but in the context it all feels so sa...
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News in Waltham Forrest This Week

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News , originally uploaded by Mr Bizzle . Perhaps he was on a bender...
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Movies: No Country For Old Men

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no_country_for_old_men , originally uploaded by Sky-Hunter . My friend Adam decided to see No Country For Old Men without me saying that watching it me would be an awful experience as I would be gasping for air and yelling out "fuck" all the time in the theatre. Well I really do get carried away with what gets put up on the big screen so I couldn't blame him. So instead I caught the film with Mandy, who doesn't mind my quirks in the theatre as much as she likes to munch on the noisiest snacks you can buy at the candy bar. Tonight it was chilli flavoured rice snacks. Anyway, both of us had long stressful days so nothing like an intensive taught thriller about a sociopath with a cattlegun to ease your nerves... Half way through the film Mandy hissed at me to be quiet because my deep breathing was disturbing her. Mind you, she had pulled her sweater almost over her head to avoid some scenes. It wasn't that it was particularly gruesome... But it was a particularly ...
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Scenes from Southwark Tube Wednesday

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Source: www.luther.net.nz Bloody tube workers with their sense of humour...
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Overheard at the gym Saturday...

Man #1: Oh I didn't realise that the gym closed at 7... Man #2: Yeah so what are ya going to do? Man #1: Well I need to go to the bathroom anyway so I will catch ya later... (He walks off... The sound of a door closes is heard) Noises then heard: Pfft! Phwt! Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb!
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