The Corner Shop
13th November 2018
Let’s be honest, every day is #LoveTheatreDay at The Corner Shop… however, we do love a social media hashtag here, so we thought we’d hop on board the “drama kid” train and attempt to remember our earliest theatre memory.
Needless to say, there are plenty of gems, so… enjoy the show!
Chloe – Mine was probably watching Jeffrey Holland, Jesse Spencer, John Nettles and Judy Buxton in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. I may or may not have waited at the stage door to meet Jesse Spencer as I had a bit of a school girl crush… CRINGE.
Amy – My first theatre memory is going to the panto at home in Cardiff with all the females in my family when I was about four or five. Yes, I had far too many sweets, yes, I got a flashing wand and yes, I thought it was completely brilliant. It’s been a family Christmas tradition ever since (minus the flashing wand, sadly).
Pip – When I was seven, me and my brother were sat down and told we were going to go on a family trip to London where we’d see Oliver! on the stage. I guess it was our version of that Disneyland advert when the kids find out they’re going to Paris. I loved Oliver (well, mainly the Artful Dodger) and knew all the songs by heart, in fact in recent years, I’ve been known to serenade new members of staff with ‘Consider Yourself’!
I sat in the front row of the top balcony of the Palladium, leaning over the barrier, wearing a flat cap we’d found for the occasion and belted out every song with the cast. I don’t know why no one around me told me to shut up but I had no idea that wasn’t the etiquette and had the greatest time. Now I go to the theatre weekly, or more often; it’s more common place than going to the cinema for me, but every now and again when I walk into a show I’ll remember just how magical that moment was, the incredible excitement in the build-up and reflect on how lucky I am to work in the theatre.
Clair – I played the narrator in our school nativity. I had the most lines. However they made me pretend to read them from a scroll so it looked like I hadn’t learned them, everyone thought I was reading. A bittersweet acting debut.
Natasha – I used to draw (awful) pictures for the shows that visited my local theatre. One day, I got a phone call from one of the leads in Saturday Night Fever who asked me to come and see the show that evening after receiving one of my creations. I ran down to the theatre, took my place at the end of row B in the Stalls and waited in anticipation. When he took to the stage, he ran down to my seat, gave me a huge hug and pulled me on stage for a dance. Apparently, I’d seen plenty of shows before this point, but this is the first one I remember. The. single. best. day. of. my. life.
Sam – The first theatre trip I can recall was travelling to London to see a really obscure musical called Annie in the West End. There was a TV show on at the time – similar to the Andrew Lloyd Webber talent show ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’ – where they followed the process of casting Annie. After watching the show for weeks, I felt personally invested and eager to see this small screen story brought to life on stage. I was a similar age to the kids in the show and I could totally relate to the story; it really was a hard-knock life! Whilst the production was obviously phenomenal, I mostly remember buzzing with excitement outside Stage Door afterwards, waiting for the cast to sign my autograph book (which I had recently filled with some pretty big names at Disneyland). The whole experience felt so grand and glamourous and it definitely fuelled my love for musical theatre.
Hannah C – Does chocolate covered raisins at panto in Manchester count?
Charlotte – My earliest theatre memory is seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Wales Millennium Centre for my birthday when I was about 10 years old. I remember being completely captivated by the sound of the orchestra tuning up before it began – I still get that wave of excitement when I hear it now.
Lewis – Button Moon Live at the Epsom Playhouse circa ‘85
Beth – The first time I ever went to the theatre was when I was 13/14 and I went to watch An Inspector Calls at the Novello Theatre for a GCSE English trip!
Augustin – I’m not sure it’s the first I’ve ever been to but the strongest memory I have of going to the theatre was seeing Les Dix Commandements in Paris. Based on the biblical story of Moses and Ramses (think The Prince of Egypt, but less American), my family was obsessed with the show. It was such a fun show, with amazing songs that are still stuck in my head close to 20 years later. We bought the CD months before the musical even opened, my sisters and I performed songs from it for Christmas, and I will always cherish memories of singing along in the car with the whole family on road trips.
Lydia – My earliest memory of the theatre was when I was about 7 years old and my parents took me and my sisters to see The Lion King. All I can remember is the excitement of the night and being totally amazed by the costumes and the music. I think it was then that I fell in love with musical theatre. Since then I’ve been hooked!
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