My lucky, lucky boys got to have a wonderful day together this weekend; it is so important for JJ to spend time one on one with his Dad and for them to have the opportunity to be guys together.
They headed up to London to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane courtesy of TodayTix, a new (for the UK) mobile app that allows users to buy the best priced West End theatre tickets in around 30 seconds between one day and one week before the performance.
I got to use the TodayTix app to procure the tickets for my husband and son and it really was very simple. The app is available to download for iOS, Android and Amazon and just took a minute. Once you open the app you can start to browse straight away for the shows that take your fancy and you get an indication of the kind of price you might pay. Of course, there are various pricing options for each show depending where you want to sit.
Buying the tickets was also really simple. I just selected the show I fancied, then the date and performance time chose the area we wanted to sit in and the app's algorithm allocated me the best seats available in that area and I then had to swipe to buy and it was all done in seconds.
Within moments I had an email confirmation and the option in the app to add the appointment to my calendar or passbook app, making it all very easy to use.
The theatre tickets are held at the box office under the booker's name and the confirmation email said they can be picked up 45 minutes before the performance by quoting the bookers name. However, my reminder email on the morning of the performance said they could be picked up 30 minutes before the performance, so this might just be something for TodayTix to iron out, so there are no inconsistencies.
I will happily use this service again as I don't like the unpredictability of going up to London on the off chance of finding cheap tickets, this way we can be assured that we get to see the show we fancy as we will know up to one week in advance if there are tickets available. I agreed to sign-up for promotional mailings and the email newsletter has been very good so far as it has flagged up some great deals, and as you can see from the image below, there are some bargains to be had, for over 40 West End shows.
As for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, they both loved it. The reviews have all been excellent since this show opened back in 2013 and what's not to love? We all know this popular Roald Dahl story and all my family have loved both films, so it is great to see it re-enacted and in my opinion, nothing beats live theatre and especially when it is a musical, My husband tells me we need to save up as the girls and I would love it, so it might be a future treat for us, booked via TodayTix so we can secure a great price of course!
I asked JJ what his favourite part was and he kept talking about the set. Apparently, the staging and lighting effects are amazing, he loved the fact the big bed at Charlie's house came out of the floor and he also mentioned the Oompa Loompas were really great with their crazy dancing and very clever costumes which made them look shorter than they were.
Then my husband told me it was a really great show in general and the acting was of a high standard by all the main actors. The story was consistent with the book and more like the original film but it was also original enough to keep you engaged and set it apart from the films. He also mentioned that there was a different set of music to what you might have expected.
Disclosure: We received two complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review of the TodayTix app. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.