The Little Cardiff Blog

It has been about 10 years since I first saw Wicked at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff and I was almost a bit nervous going in – could it live up to the hype and memory I had in my head of how good it was?! Well, it not only lived up to it but went above and beyond, sweeping me up for an evening into a spellbinding world of magic, music and friendship.   The Surprising Backstory of the Famous Witches of Oz… Wicked reimagines Gregory Maguire’s novel (based on L. Frank Baum’s classic) making us question everything we thought we knew about heroes, villains, and what it means to be truly “wicked”. The show tells the untold story of Elphaba (the so-called “Wicked Witch of the West”) and her surprising friendship with Glinda the Good. Set long before Dorothy arrives, the show takes us to their university days, where two young women – one misunderstood and fierce, the other bubbly and adored – meet and form an unlikely bond. Through their choices and challenges, the story qu...

If you're planning a visit to Cardiff, you need to make sure you hit Church Street as there really are some amazing places on that street now...it just keeps getting better and better! I've got two more places to review coming after this and they're both on the same street. So safe to say it was a great place for Rosa's Thai to choose to open up their first restaurant in Wales.  I'd missed the launch event and everyone had said fab things, so was really looking forward to finally giving it a try. They offered me a voucher in return for my honest thoughts, thank you, really enjoyed it :) Soooo let's get into it :D VIBE A really low key relaxed vibe! Just what I needed after quite a hectic day. Staff were really nice, can't fault the service. Great place to arrange to meet friends after work where you know it will be busy with a bit of a buzz, but not loud and rowdy and on the other hand not too formal. Could be a good spot for a date.  FOOD (the details of wh...

The smash-hit musical Waitress , complete with an impeccable score by Grammy Award winning folk-pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is currently showing at Wales Millennium Centre. I went in blind, not really knowing what to expect from the storyline and never having listened to the soundtrack, and have to say I came out feeling very uplifted and charmed by this show. I've got nothing but positive things to say about it - the story didn't drag for a second, the characterisation was excellent and I absolutely loved that though there was romance, there was an even stronger focus on female friendship (not too surprising given the production comes from a female-led creative team!). Based on the 2007 indie film written by and co-starring the late Adrienne Shelly, Waitress tells a simple, intimate story of Jenna, a small-town waitress trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage with her husband Earl. Her passion in life is baking and her job waiting tables in Joe's Pie Diner is a...

What a glorious feeling it was indeed stepping out of the theatre after last night's performance of Singin' in the Rain at the Wales Millennium Centre. Humming the songs on our way to the car park, we were still riding the high of that post-musical flutter of excitement, not ready to part with that special feeling of escapism you experience so acutely with a rich production like this one. It struck me that going to see an on-stage production of a legendary film like the 1952 smash hit must be real treat for so many families who have introduced younger generations to it over time and have a connection to it. It just has that lovely, warm quality of having a place in the hearts of people from so many different generations. The musical production, from Director  John Church,  stays faithful to the critically acclaimed original, bringing to life the magic of the Golden Age of cinema, a thoroughly feel-good comfort blanket that will sweep you away into the timelessly glamorous wor...

I didn't expect to come out of the theatre raving about this show, but let me tell you I absolutely did! The musical adapatation of the cult family classic School of Rock is a riot of high-octane energy that never dips, side-splitting comedic moments and songs that'll have you strumming your air guitars along with our unlikely hero and his talented troupe of mini rockstars. With a book by Julian Fellowes and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber , something really special has been put together here, reviving the spirit of the original film which translates perfectly to the stage. Our leading man, Dewey Finn, is a lazy, immature slacker, but a thoroughly loveable one who ends up becoming a real force to be reckoned with by the end of the show.  Passionate about music, Dewey's got his heart set on winning the local 'Battle of the Bands' competition. But the reality is he's not even in a band anymore, having been kicked out of his most recent one for 'ruining everythi...

It's time to start believing! A magical ride that will keep you engaged, have you wonder at the effects and illusions and make you chuckle the whole way through, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is definitely a show that will delight kids and adults alike. I've been going through a huge Disney phase over the past two weeks, enjoying musical films from both the Golden era and more recent years, so when I had an invitation to the on-stage production of this cult classic I leapt at the chance. So, a little bit of backstory. I must admit, the 1971 film isn't one I remember a great deal, of but I have vague memories of catching it on TV and seeing the cartoon fish and all of the animals playing football. In terms of cultural impact, it's definitely been overshadowed by Mary Poppins which was out a few years previously. Both blend live action with animation, feature a strong female lead who takes care of young children, and introduce us to an extroverted supporting male lead along th...