Bare Cheek: What was that?
CAN’T REMEMBER THE NAME OF A BOOK, FILM, TV SHOW OR SIMILAR? MIKE HUNTER IS THE MAN WITH
THE ANSWERS…
Dear Mike,
Bit of a brain-teaser for you here, I’m afraid. When I was a lad, about 12 years old I would have been, I was taken by my mother up to London’s West End as a special treat. We had a slap-up feed in a posh café, and then saw a show at a theatre there.
I thought the show I saw was fabulous, the bee’s knees, but unfortunately I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. Now, the show was a musical, and involved a huge cast, including a large number of children. I think it was set in Victorian times, and most of the characters presented were of the lower orders.
I have only vague memories of the plot, but I reckon it concerned a young protagonist who escapes a workhouse where he is half-starved and makes his way up to London, where he falls in with a criminal element. After many trials and tribulations – including being adopted by a rich man, kidnapped by a violent burglar, and forced to pick pockets by a stereotypically-Jewish gang leader – the young man discovers his rich patron is in fact his grandfather, and all ends happily ever after.
I’ve a feeling this was one of the most successful musicals of all time, and that its songs are now standards the world over. I also suspect that it was based on a famous work by a great British novelist – perhaps Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, William Makepeace Thackeray, or someone like that. Please help, as I’d love to hear a recording, or perhaps even see the show live (if it’s still going).
Yours, in hope…
Keith Rumbalow, Hove
Dear Keith,
Well, I can see why you don’t “consider yourself” an expert on musicals! But never fear – “I’d do anything” to help you, and I’m sure you’ll “be back soon” to thank me again! The musical of which you speak is, of course, none other than Rent, written by Jonathan Larson. Keep those letters flooding in folks,
Mike X
You had to be there jokes told by my three-year-old son that made me laugh at the time:
Q: Why do fishfingers eat food?
A: Because they’re not sorted out.
Q: Why did the cuddle go to sleep?
A: That’s because it was sleepy.
Q: Why does Batman wear underwater slippers?
A: Because girls don’t wear them.
SPECIAL “THINGS IN BRIGHTON THAT HAVE CHANGED THEIR NAMES BUT WHICH EVERYBODY STILL CALLS BY THEIR OLD NAME” EDITION
In
• Brighton Pier
(The Palace Pier)
• Gay Pride
(Brighton Pride)
• Grand Central
(The Nightingale)
• Hed Kandi
(The Pink Coconut)
• Digital
(The Zap)
Out
• Queen’s Park Tavern (The Hanover)
• The Green Dragon (The Office)
• Audio (The Escape)
• The Standard (Kuture)
• The Stanford Arms (Circus Circus)
