We've got three reviews for GEORGE and SKELLIG due to appear in The Guardian and The Times. You could say there is a sense of anticipation in the air...!

It's wonderful to have friends who have faith in your abilities, but I do have to wonder about my friend Fiona, who believed me when I told her I'd entered the television competition SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and won!

Must admit I enjoyed convincing one of the (experienced!) actors in SKELLIG that by some strange quirk in the wiring, all our backstage calls at The Bloomsbury get played over the loudspeakers in the auditorium at the London Palladium, so that at that very moment the audience for SISTER ACT were hearing our beginnners call for SKELLIG....

Those involved with the last tour of THE JUNGLE BOOK will be pleased to hear that Gidon Fineman, who at just 16 years old created the incidental music for the show, has just received a scholarship for the prestigious four year composition course at the Royal Academy of Music.

Well done Gidon!

(good ol' BSC - always spotting the talent early!! Like young Dean Logan - currently playing Michael in SKELLIG - another bright spark to look out for!)

I love hearing the comments from the kids as we leave the stage after the curtain call:

"Skellig! We love you Skellig!"

and my favourite so far

"What happened to the toilet?"

I love when you arrive for your early morning show feeling just a tiny bit underwhelmed at the prospect and the audience turns it into one of the best shows of the run! They were such a rowdy bunch this morning you almost felt they wanted to be on stage with you. What's great with an audience like that is having a part like Skellig - who can be engaging, funny, and then frightening, so they never really know what you're going to say or how you're going to react. As the Americans would say, it's a part you can turn on a dime. And as the show went on, the audience fell more and more into silence. Grand stuff!

I don't watch enough British drama to know - but it doesn't seem that often that you can enjoy such excellent acting as portrayed by Ruth Wilson, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo, Shaun Parkes, Ashley Walters - and Naomie Harris - in SMALL ISLAND. What a cast!

This year has been hugely difficult for the BSC, as for many companies. Yet since September things have rapidly improved and it is with huge relief that we approach 2010 in extreme good health. The support BSC has received over this period from its employees, suppliers and collaboraters has been unprecedented - and without this support I don't know how we would have got through it.

As I write today, the HORRIBLE HISTORIES company has left for its week in Dubai, GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE continues to break all box office records, SKELLIG opens next week in London, HORRIBLE SCIENCE is cast with another top notch company of actors and stage management and a wonderful looking script - and there is a hugely exciting project looming which could take place as soon as March if all goes to plan.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has helped to get us through 2009. Here's to happy holidays ahead for all!

The Dahl Estate came to The Old Rep Theatre on Monday and the wonderful news we received today is that GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE has been given approval to make its London debut next Christmas following a year long national tour!

Big congrats to everyone involved in creating this truly fantastic show! An exciting adventure lies ahead...

A comment from Carrie who has seen the show:

“It was the first time I’ve been to the theatre, it was fantastic. I enjoyed the ice cream.”

The Old Rep serves such good ice cream!

I saw GEORGE again yesterday and was bowled over. What a fantastic show. What wonderful performances. The audience adored every second of it.

With eleven weeks still to go, GEORGE is already the best selling Christmas show in BSC's history. A great way to end the year!

It is also the longest run in the history of The Old Rep Theatre - having now been extended to 13 February - a fourteen week season!