Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Beautiful The Carole King Musical at the Aldwych

205 Reviews

Star Travel Rating

5/5

Review type

Things to do

Location

Date of travel

February, 2016

Product name

Product country

Product city

Travelled with

On your own

Reasons for trip

This was a last-minute booking online just a couple of days before, but a good deal for £15 with no booking or card fee through “londontheatres.com”:http://londontheatres.com as a special offer. Tickets are quite expensive, up to £90, but this was a special offer right at the top of the Grand Circle – and although you missed the top of the heads of a couple of singers on a platform on stage, we had a clear view of the whole stage and the sound was excellent. There are seats available in stalls for those who cannot manage the stairs.

Aldwych Theatre is a lovely old building, with traditional ornate plaster-work around the bar and a splendid chandelier. The performance is at 7.30pm so they tell you to get there early to collect tickets, and to allow time for bag searches, but you do have to wait outside until the bar opens at 6.30pm. This was a special birthday celebration performance to mark 1 year, so there were a lot of “celebrity” guests also arriving (nope, got no idea who most of them were) – I did recognise Alison Steadman with friends in the bar, and later Vanessa Feltz – but for some others, there was a bit of a whip-round between them when they realised the bar didn’t take Amex…tut, tut.

This was an exciting show about all the music Carole King worked on from when she was at school, and was a fascinating picture of how the promoters/ songwriters decided who should sing each new song. For those who remember them, there was a brilliant representation of the over-the-top dance routines of groups like the Drifters and the Chantelles with lots of synchronised arm movements! There was a superb performance by the “Righteous Brothers” of You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling.

It was a wonderful journey through her writing and singing partnerships, including the problems with her marriage and ultimate divorce. There were lots of funny bits too, especially when they got their babysitter Little Eva to try singing their new song The Locomotion! They were all wonderful singers, especially the one who played Carole King in this performance. As it was the anniversary show, they were all joined on stage at the end by the original US producer.

Overall, it was an unexpectedly exciting evening reminding me of all those brilliant songs from my youth. Oh yes, and a reminder of the fancy little mini-dress with rows of fringe I used to wear to discos – such a long time ago now!

Jacqueline

Join the club

Become a member to receive exclusive benefits

Our community is the heart of Silver Travel Advisor, we love nothing more than sharing ideas, inspiration, hints and tips between us.