A Curious Night at the Theatre

Every now and again I come away from a moment feeling so happy, so lucky and so inspired that I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to: be it applying for an internship I'm convinced I'm not good enough for, traveling round the world at the drop of a hat, or walking up the stairs at Covent Garden tube station (harder than it looks: there's a lot of steps...). There's simply nothing I can't do and 'impossible' is no longer a word in my vocabulary. It's a magical feeling that I've not experienced for a while, but the floodgates were opened when I emerged into the cool night air on Shaftesbury Avenue following an utterly fantastic and totally unique evening at the theatre.

At half one yesterday afternoon I spotted this tweet from the Radio Times:

I don't know anyone who wouldn't be at least a little intrigued at the phrase "The Doctor to battle Moriarty" and given the fact that I'm a fan of both series, as well as desperate to finally see 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time', obviously I followed the link as instructed. I was met by an article outlining the most incredible concept.

 

[image sourced from rsvpbook.com]

'A Curious Night at the Theatre': a one-off gala charity evening of theatre, music and comedy with a live auction to raise money for The National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism. As I read the endless list of stars involved I got more and more excited and convinced I had to go, but refused to get my hopes up with ticket availability as it was so last minute. I assumed I'd have to content to following the whole thing on Twitter and stalking the internet for pictures and reviews in the coming week. However, in a stroke of pure luck there were seats left in the stalls and within 15 minutes my bank balance was £63 smaller and I was printing off my confirmation email. It was a decidedly stress-free and incredibly lucky experience (unlike the ordeal booking Coriolanus tickets at the Donmar Warehouse: worst 28 minutes ever...).

I arrived at 7.30 and battled through a cluster of photographers snapping Jamie Campbell Bower to collect my ticket from the box office. I'm normally extremely wary of the stalls (and felt like I was weirdly cheating on the Dress Circle with my booking) as I always end up behind someone with a massive head, but the Apollo Theatre seems to accommodate that kind of eventuality well, and I have to admit that my seat was amazing, hence my sneaky pre-show photo:

Hosted by Mel Giedroyc, the basic format of the evening involved the World Premiere of Simon Stephens' and Mark Haddon's new detective story interspersed with musical performances, comedy and an auction.

 

[image sourced from festmag.co.uk]

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' tells the story of Boone (Luke Treadaway), a young man with Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism) who sets out to discover who killed his neighbour's dog. This follow-on saw Treadaway reprise his Olivier-winning role, and featured live performances from Jude Law (a supply teacher in comically tight trousers), and Niamh Cusack, as well as filmed performances. Interrupting Boone's after-school game of Tetris, the Doctor (Matt Smith) warns him of a computer virus written by the dastardly Moriarty that threatens to remove the public's ability to understand metaphors. In order to stop this disaster from unfolding Boone takes a trip to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen (Helen Mirren), who - after quietening loud drumming off-screen - puts him in touch with MI6's finest computer geek Q (Ben Whishaw). Armed with the formula to stop the virus from spreading, Boone finally meets Moriarty (Andrew Scott), foiling his plan and leaving the audience utterly astounded in his wake.

[image of Jude Law and Luke Treadaway sourced from the Ambitious about Autism Twitter account]

The fourth wall was regularly and hilariously abused and the actors poked fun at their iconic roles and awards. It was light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and boasted a cast of characters that really were a fans dream come true. The metaphor theme provided a strong and central heart to the piece, grounding it and reminding the audience that we weren't just there to laugh at Niamh Cusack fangirling over Jude Law; Ben Whishaw commenting on how ripped Treadaway is for playing a 15-year-old; and Andrew Scott responding to Boone's lack of fear towards Moriarty with: "Of course you’re not, I’m a skinny Irish man with a lovely smile." This was an example of devilishly clever theatre in its own right, even before adding the rest!

Throughout the evening, the acting scenes were broken up by musical performances. Each of them were truly sensational and completely unexpected. There was the phenomenal girl group The Boxettes, who performed without accompaniment and using only their own vocals; Dereck Paravicini with Adam Ockelford - an INCREDIBLE pianist; and goosebump-inducing songs from The James Christy Band and Bat for Lashes. I'd highly recommend all of them, and will definitely be looking out for them now!

[image sourced from cartoon-heart.tumblr.com]

Other highlights include stand-up from Simon Amstell, who spoke mostly about Ben Whishaw and his obscene comments about Justin Bieber had me crying with laughter. However I simply can't write a post without mentioning the hugely successful auction. Lots included a handmade Tommy Hilfiger suit; a walk-on part in the stage production 'War Horse'; tickets to the Burberry S/S '14 Show and a trench coat signed by Christopher Bailey; and a huge 'Curious Incident' West End package. Notably however, was an incredibly expensive cup of tea: afternoon tea at the Ritz with Matt Smith went for £6000! Bidding was fierce and being in the stalls was rather frightening as everyone around me seemed to be constantly wafting bits of paper and thinking nothing of dropping a couple of thousand for a bottle of champagne and a tennis match or tea with Mel Giedroyc! I sat frozen the entire time for fear of making a sudden movement and ending up bidding against the cast of Made in Chelsea (who were sat in front of me...).

[image sourced from cartoon-heart.tumblr.com]

Mel had teased all evening about a special guest, giving clues such as they like hummus, and the person sees a GP an awful lot. Imagine the surprise from the audience when on strolled Chris Martin with a guitar! He performed two songs - Viva la Vida and Paradise - without a microphone, during which his trousers came undone (cue anecdote about them doing the same thing when he performed with Rihanna) and the audience joined in when his voice cracked on a high note. He informed everyone that so far an enormous £83,000 had been raised, and he wanted it to reach £100,000 by the end of the evening. By the time he finished his set, he'd pledged £10,000, Jude Law matched him, and undoubtedly most of the audience were keen to reach into their pockets too if they hadn't already.

 

[image of Chris Martin performing sourced from Luke Treadaway's Twitter account]

I pledged and donated during the performance, but if you fancy it too then visit this page here.

Despite going in with pretty high expectations I didn't really have a clue what I'd let myself in for this evening. It was simultaneously everything I expected and beyond my wildest imagination. This was definitely my best impulse buy of 2013 thus far and I'm so glad I stumbled upon that single Radio Times tweet! Not only was this the most memorable and unique of evenings with stand-out comedic performances, beautiful music and a host of iconic characters laughing at each other, but it also confirmed my faith in humanity. I'm incredibly humbled by the generosity of the audience, from the auction bidders with quite frankly more money than sense, to the audience members hidden in the depths of the gallery. To be sat in a theatre surrounded by so many people - and total strangers - coming together to support such a worthy cause really was a magical and inspiring experience. These kinds of moments are impossible to replicate, and I'm beyond grateful that I had the chance to see it all first-hand.

Katy Rudd and Luke Treadaway did a fantastic job with the show, and undoubtedly deserve all the praise that's due to come their way. Only one question remains: when's the next one?!