Merry Christmas To All From Access London

Welcome back to Access London. A huge Thank You to everyone that has followed and supported this blog and cause in 2011 - Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With lots going on in the Capital in 2012, it should be a year to remember. Thank you for all your Christmas messages this week and emails on what you're looking forward to seeing next year. To answer one question many of you asked me in those messages: I'm starting off the new year by seeing Matilda, Pippin and Tosca (ENO) in January.

At the end of January, Access London will be holding an online auction with lots of great theatre treats, hopefully you can join in and I look forward to seeing you there - more details to follow at the beginning of the new year.

I believe I've answered most messages sent to me up until Thursday this week, if you sent me one after this day, I will get back to you shortly after Christmas. All that's left for me to say in this post is Merry Christmas and enjoy the day wherever you are and whoever you are spending it with.

I'll leave you with a few messages from some MT performers who have been kind enough to show support for Access London this year. Once again, a Huge Thank You to them all, your time and support is always so much appreciated.....


"I wish you all a wonderful Christmas filled with Joy, Love, Magic and Music! Thank You for all your love and support!"

"Desejo a todos um Feliz Natal cheio de alegria, amor, magia e musica! Muito obrigada pelo vosso carinho e apoio!"

From Sofia Escobar, Phantom of the Opera.

Sofia is currently playing Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre and has extended her contract there until September 2012. You can see her perform Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday evening performances and Thursday and Saturday matinees. To book Access rate tickets to see Phantom, call: 0844 412 4648.You can follow Sofia on Twitter @sofia_escobar


"A Merry Christmas from the UK tour of South Pacific. Thanks to Access London for their support. Lots of Love and Festive Cheer to you all! x"

From Nick Wyschna, South Pacific.

Nick is currently playing Buzz Adams in the UK tour of South Pacific at The Oxford New Theatre until 31st December and then moving to The Mayflower Southampton 17 January - 4 February 2012.
You can buy Nick's album 'Lost In The Wilderness' from his website HERE
And follow him on Twitter @NickWyschna


"Nadolig Llawen to all Access London readers! See you on tour next year!"

From John Owen Jones, Phantom of the Opera 2012 Tour.

John will be playing the role of The Phantom during its 25th Anniversary 2012 tour which opens in Plymouth 27 February - 31 March 2012. He also has a new album coming out in Spring 2012. You can buy his current album from Dress Circle HERE
You can follow John on Twitter @johnowenjones


"Happy Christmas everyone! Here's hoping 2012 will bring total access to ALL theatre goers."

From Rebecca Caine, Musical Theatre & Opera Soprano.

Rebecca will be performing with the 3 Phantoms once again in February (10 and 11) at the Chichester Festival Theatre - to book tickets, including access rates, call 01243 781 312. Rebecca also has her own concert on 25 March at The Pheasantry, London - booking information to be released in the new year, definitely one for the diary although unfortunately the venue is only accessible via a flight of alomst 30 steps. If you can manage these though, please do book and go.
You can buy Rebecca's album 'Leading Ladies' from Dress Circle HERE
You can also follow her on Twitter @RebeccaCaine


"Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all you lovely people! Look forward to exciting things happening in 2012 for Access London! x"

From Lee Bowen, Musical Theatre and Opera Tenor

Lee will be appearing at Iford Arts Festival in 2012 singing Dr Caius in Verdi's Falstaff. For more information, visit www.ifordarts.co.uk You can also follow Lee on Twitter @LeeBowenTenor


"To all the Phantom fans.....Thanks for your ongoing support. Wishing you all a very Happy and Peaceful Xmas and a fabulous 2012!! xxLove Scottyxx"

From Scott Davies, Phantom of the Opera & Tosca

Scott is currently stand-by Phantom at her Majesty's theatre until September 2012. He is also currently performing at the English National Opera (London Coliseum) as Spoletta in Tosca. Final performaces are on 17, 21, 24 and 29 January. To book Access tickets, you can join the ENO's Access Scheme for free to be entitled to the Access rate, call 0871 472 0666.


"Hi all! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. Hope to see you at Her Majesty's very soon. Lots of Love, Jo."

From Joanna Loxton, Phantom of the Opera

Jo is currently playing Madame Firmin in Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. She also covers for the role of Madame Giry. To see Jo perform as Madame Giry, these are the next dates that she is on: 2-4 February and 26 March - 4 April 2012. To book Access tickets to Phantom of the Opera, call: 0844 412 4648. You can follow Jo on Twitter @Joloxton


"From the sunny South Pacific to Access London and all your readers, a very very Merry Christmas to you all."

From Chris Jenkins, South Pacific

Chris is currently Swing and Assistant Dance Captain on the UK tour of South Pacific at The Oxford New Theatre until 31st December and then moving to The Mayflower Southhampton 17 January - 4 February 2012.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisjenko


"Hi Everyone. Australia is great, nice to be home for Xmas! Hoping to be back in the UK very soon! Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas."

From Daniel Gourlay, Dancer, Singer, Actor

Daniel was part of the London 'Love Never Dies' cast. He is currently at home in Australia but hopes to be back in the UK soon.
You can follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielGourlay89



"For all of you who have any relationship with the fantastic Access London, have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous 2012! Please keep going to the theatre and challenging and enjoying not only yourselves but those who create the work! Mx"

From Michael Xavier, Actor and Singer

Michael will perform opposite Connie Fisher on a 3 month tour of Wonderful Town from March 2012.
To keep up to date with all of Michael's news, please have a look at his website, where you can also listen to soundclips of him singing.... MICHAEL XAVIER
You can also follow Michael on Twitter @michaelxavierMX


"Hope you all had a Happy Christmas. Wishing everyone a healthy, bright and wonderful 2012. X"

From AJ Callaghan, Les Miserables

AJ is currently performing in Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre and also covers the role of Fantine. To see AJ as Fantine, these are the next dates that she is covering: 2-11 January and 6-8 February 2012.
To book Access tickets to see Les Miserables, call 0844 482 5137.



"Here's hoping you have a very Happy New (Olympic) Year filled with exciting and stimulating theatre experiences. May you continue in your fabulous, undying support of the arts and look forward with me, to a raft of new shows and concerts in 2012. With love, Richard Halton"

To keep up with all of Richard's news, visit his website www.richardhalton.co.uk
You can also follow him on Twitter @richiehalton

Access London Celebrates Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary

Welcome back to Access London and thank you once again for your continued support for disability access and awareness in the Capital.

Last week, Access London launched the first in its series of special posts to celebrate Phantom of the Opera's forthcoming 25th Anniversary this October. The last post highlighted the fabulous access to Her Majesty's Theatre, on London's Haymarket, that is home to Phantom.

Her Majesty's Theatre has level access to its stalls from street level, through a side door on Charles II Street. In my experience, Her Majesty's has some of the most helpful and attentive FOH staff, ready to assist those with disabilities. Those with a disability can qualify for the special Access Rate to see the show: Access tickets can be booked through the See Tickets Agent on their dedicated Access Line: 0844 412 4648. For all other ticket types for the show, please call: 0844 412 4653.

For more details on the Access at Her Majesty's, please see our previous post.

Phantom is celebrating its 25th Anniversary with several concerts being held at The Royal Albert Hall on the 1st and 2nd October 2011. Unfortunately, the public tickets for these events have now sold out but you can still enjoy the magic of Phantom by watching the London performance at Her Majesty's Theatre - the current cast sees John Owen Jones as The Phantom and Sofia Escobar as Christine Daae.

For those who did manage to buy tickets for one of the concert performances, the Royal Albert Hall has many facilities to cater for its disabled visitors. Ramped access to the hall is located at Doors 1, 3, 8, 9 and 12. Public lifts are located at Doors 1 and 8 and serve all levels from Basement to Gallery. The Arena Foyer bars can be accessed via a platform lift from the Basement level at Door 1.

There are fourteen wheelchair spaces, with adjacent companion seats, situated in the Stalls at Ground floor level. There are also six wheelchair spaces in the Circle at sections P, R, V and X and four spaces within the unreserved standing area of the Gallery. Many concerts and performances at the hall (including Phantom's 25th concerts) allow free entry to a carer/companion for each disabled visitor.

The hall has several wheelchairs onsite that can be reserved by disabled visitors to use throughout their visit. There are accessible facilities on each level of the hall. The hall also has 10 Blue Badge parking spaces that can be booked in advance and used for free during your visit. For all access enquiries (tickets, wheelchair loan and parking spaces), please call the hall's dedicated Access Booking Line on 020 7070 4410.

The Royal Albert Hall also has a service called 'Access List' that allows disabled visitors to join, for free, and register their needs in order to make booking access tickets an even smoother process. For more details on this service, please call the Access Booking Line on 020 7070 4410.

Our previous post on Phantom's 25th Anniversary Celebrations included an extremely popular interview with former Roaul, Michael Xavier. Access London is delighted to now share another interview with a former cast member with you - Richard Halton. Access London would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Mr Halton very much for taking the time to answer our questions and support disability access and awareness.

"Between 1997 and 2003 Richard spent much of his time at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. He first played the part of Monsieur André, a role he enjoyed for a total of two years before becoming the walking cover of The Phantom in 1999.
Overall, he had the pleasure of performing Erik over 100 times."







AL: You joined the cast of Phantom after it had been running for over 10 years. How did it feel to be part of such an iconic and much-loved show?
RH: To be part of such a truly great production like Phantom ranks right up there as one of the highlights of my career.

AL: You played both the roles of Monsieur Andre and The Phantom, how did this come about?
RH: When I came back to the show in 1999, Cameron offered me Andre with 2nd cover Phantom, so it was a no-brainer to accept really!

AL: Who has played opposite you as Christine and Raoul?
RH: Christines - Myrra Malmberg, Meredith Braun, Debbie Dutcher, Charlotte Page, Celia Graham, Claire Hammacott, Jo Pullen, AJ Callaghan. Raouls - Mike Sterling, Gardar Thor Cortes, Matt Cammelle, Robert Finlayson.

AL: What was your favourite song or scene to perform as Andre and then as Phantom?
RH: My favourite scene as Andre was Prima Donna and my favourites as Phantom were the 1st Journey (in the boat) and Music of the Night.

AL: You have performed in many operas and West End productions, which are closest to your heart?
RH: Favourite roles and productions close to my heart are - Ravenal (Showboat), Onegin Guglielmo (Cosi), Marcello (Boheme) and of course Phantom!

AL: Do you have a Birthday Wish for Phantom and its fans?
RH: My Birthday Message to the Phantom of the Opera cast, crew and fans - Many congrats, a quarter of a century and still going strong. Here's to the next 25! x


Once again, a huge Thank You to Richard for answering our questions. To keep up to date with Richard's news you can VISIT HIS WEBSITE HERE
You can also follow him on Twitter at @richiehalton

To keep up to date with all of Access London's posts, you can follow this blog or follow us on Twitter at @HorizonVA

There is lots more to come on Phantom's 25th Anniversary Celebrations, including lots more interviews with current and former cast members - up next, current cast member and Christine Understudy.