Karen Gillan stars in Jumanji: The Next Level

Karen Gillan will be gracing the screens of Eden Court's Playhouse theatre in Jumanji: The Next Level.

The drums are yet to play, but the game has changed, and the heroes must journey across jungle and deserts to high snow capped mountains and across rope bridges to save one of their own so they can once again escape the game.

Director: Jake Kasdan

Cast:
Karen Gillan (Eden Court's ambassador)
Dwayne Johnson
Kevin Hart
Awkawafina
Jack Black

Running time: 123 minutes

For dates, times and tickets, get them quick.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

135th Blog Post - Oor Wullie is coming this February!

One of the funniest (and cheeky) characters from The Sunday Post is coming to be on Eden Court's stage next February - Help Ma Boab! It's Oor Wullie!

With this performance we will celebrate Wullie's 80th anniversary as Wullie, together with his friends Fat Bob, Soapy Soutar and Wee Eck, tries to answer the question: Where's his bucket?

For dates, times and (more importantly) the tickets, do hurry before Wullie's friends grabs them all!

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

The Snow Queen will bring to chill to Eden Court

Han Christian Anderson's famous story (forming the basis of Disney's film Frozen) is coming to Eden Court, thanks to the Scottish Ballet.

When Kay gets kidnapped by the Snow Queen, young Gerda sets out to find and rescue him, meetings a wide range of characters representing the seasons of the year, and discovering the power of love within herself.

Want see the trailers, to know the dates and time and get you tickets?

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Beauty and the Beast is on the way! - Get your tickets Now!

The Panto is returning to Eden Court, and this year it's Beauty and the Beast, so get your tickets.  The show will be on from the 6th of December till the 5th of January in the large Empire Theatre.  After seeing Jack and the Beanstalk last January, I hope to see it.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Parking Fee at Eden Court

If you wish to park at Eden Court, there is a car park round the back of the building, or you can park in the Cathedral pay and display car park nearby.

The charges for the car park are below:

• 0 - 1 hour is £1 
• 1 - 2 hours is £2 
• 2 - 3 hours is £3 
• 3 - 4 hours is £4 

I should warn you that these car parks can get busy, so park early or find a car park that's not too far from Eden Court.  I hope that this is useful to those who wish to visit Eden Court.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Review of Spider-Man: Far From Home

I have seen Spider-Man: Far From Home, and I enjoyed it.

In the film, Peter Parker is still dealing with the loss of Tony Stark, so he hopes that the school trip to Europe will help him.  But things are never that straight forward, when he's asked by Nick Fury to stop a new threat.

We get to see a couple of old faces come back and we find ourselves wondering what is real for Peter.  The jokes between the relationships of characters give an added piece of humour to the film.  Nothing was always has it seemed to us too.  Skrulls appearing in Nick Fury's place while the real Fury seemed to be on holiday on a space station, and then there's the question, (Spoiler Alert!) now that Peter's secret is out, what is he to do now?

I hope that you will come see and enjoy at Eden Court.

130th Blog Post - Review of the Lion King

I have watched The Lion King, and I was impressed.

The new version may be almost be a complete remake, but I enjoyed the additional scenes that were added, such as when Nala left to find help, and some additional jokes, like the reference to another Disney song Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast.  In the original film, the subject on how Scar got his scar and name is never explained, but in this version we only get a hint.

There may be debate on whether or not the film is animation (due to the animals), or live action (with the stunning scenes and African backgrounds), but I'd say that the film can be both.  The animation was very well done, I can't image the hard work that must have gone into it all.

Hearing James Earl Jones's voice as Mufusa sometimes makes me wonder if he enjoyed returning to one of his most famous roles.  Chiwetel Ejiofor's role as Scar most certainly captured the evil character I grew up watching as Jeremy Irons did in the original.  Listening to the old songs that every Lion King fan knows and loves made me feel that the film was The Lion King.

So well done Jon Favreau.  In the adverts at the start of the film, we, the audience, saw the trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home where Favreau's character Happy makes an appearance and has to think of a "new plan", I joke to myself "Perhaps he should try Hakuna Matata."

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

The Rhythm of the Dance

One week till The Rhythm of the Dance comes to Eden Court.

A vast wealth of Irish talent in song and dance are once again returning, this time for it's 20th anniversary tour, for an audience for all ages in the Empire Theatre.

For tickets on the 13th of this month, hurry.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Spider-Man comes to Europe...and Eden Court

The end of a era has come to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Peter Parker (Spider-Man) is taking a trip with his friends, but misses Tony Stark after the events of Avengers: Endgame.  However, Nick Fury has followed Peter to ask him to help deal with a new threat with Quentin Beck, known as Mysterio.

Director: Jon Watts

Cast:
Tom Holland
Zendaya
Jake Gyllenhaal
Samuel L. Jackson

Hurry for tickets, the film is on view Friday 26th till Friday the 1st of August.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.  

The Lion King

The live-action remake of one of Disney's most classical films, The Lion King, is coming to Eden Court, and I can't wait to see the king.

We know the story of Simba as he discovers what makes a lion into a king, while his uncle Scar schemes of getting the title from his brother Mufusa (voiced by returning James Earl Jones).

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast:
Danny Glover
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Seth Rogen
James Earl Jones

Running time: 117 minutes

I've got my ticket to see the new version of a timeless story.  If you don't and want tickets and the viewing times for them, do hurry, you don't want to miss them.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Review of Apollo 11

I went to Eden Court to see Apollo 11, a documentary-film of the lunar landing that happened 50 years ago this Saturday.

The film followed the mission from launch (50 years two days ago) to the landing with unreleased recordings of the mission.  The screen included the countdowns to certain parts of the mission (such as how much fuel Neil Armstrong had left in the Lunar Landing Module as he descended onto the Moon) and there was a few funny moments, such as Buzz Aldrin saying that he'll leave the door slightly open so he and Neil wouldn't get "locked out", a few of in the audience chuckled at the joke.

The screen looked at multiple shots that happened at the same moment together, allowing us as the audience to take in what was happening else where.

At the end during the credits, the names of the people who worked on Apollo 11 were listed so the number 11 was shown.

Neil Armstrong, the man who landed an eagle so he took take that small step for man, one giant leap for mankind died in 2012.  

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

125th Blog Post - Under Milk Wood

On Sunday night, the Eden Court Community Chest drama group performed Dylan Thomas's play Under Milk Wood, and we did a good job.

The rehearsals was perhaps the hardest rehearsals I have done.  We had a hour added to the Tuesday's classes, and last weekend we were at Eden Court between 10 till 4 both Saturday and Sunday with a full tech and dress rehearsal before the big event.

I was playing:
Mr Pugh - who plots how to murder his wife, but never seems to take that final step (except in his dreams)
PC Attila Rees - who struggles getting out of bed in the morning
Evans the Death - the local undertaker
Nasty Humphrey - a naughty school boy who is the son of Mr Waldo
and some background characters - who just pot about here and there.

In one scene, I had to change from Mr Pugh to Attila Rees and back again.  Thankfully the rehearsals and help from the cast enabled me to go off stage as Mr Pugh, grab the police coat, run backstage, grab the helmet, walk across front of the as Rees, go off stage, take the helmet and coat off, then return to the stage as Mr Pugh.  I'm glad that the scene worked as well as it did.

There were plenty of other colourful characters:
Captain Cat - a blind retired sea captain who dreams of his drowned sailors and
Organ Morgan - a man who cares more for music than around him
Rev Eli Kenkins - who seems to give her services in the form of poems
Polly Garter - a local girl keeps having babies
Mr Waldo - who dreams of the gossip surrounding his character and keeps marrying, and is scared of a paternity summons
Sinbad the Sailor - the local pub owner
Willy Nilly - the postman who seems to know the contains of the post he's delivering before the receiver gets the mail.

The play went very well, and I'm both glad, and sorry, that it's over.  I look forward to the next project.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Review of Avengers: Endgame

The waiting for Avengers: Endgame was worth it for I enjoyed the three-hour film very much.

For an Avengers film, there was much humour in it, such as the early attempts of time travel and the interacts with the characters both in the present time and the time travel.

It must have taken a long time to write the script and ensure that the story was clear to understand with hard decisions has to what will happen with the characters as Chris Evans was retiring from playing Captain America and I've heard that a few of the main character are departing.  The full action of the film surely must make one of the greatest superhero films in recent years.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is due to be released about July, I look forward to it.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Meet the real Tolkien

After Percy Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The hobbit film series, it is about time that we have a film about the incredible author who created the legendary world of Middle-Earth, and Nicholas Hoult brings him to life with Lily Collins as Edith Bratt, the love of the author's life as he makes friends and goes off to the the trenches of the First World war, where most of his inspiration will come from.

Running time: 111 minutes

Director: Dome Karukoski

Cast:
Nicholas Hoult
Lily Collins

If you wish for viewing dates and time and the tickets into Tolkien's journey, hurry or you will a true adventure of an author's character.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Avengers: Endgame comes to Eden Court

The climax begun from Avengers: Infinity War is coming, and you can get to see it at Eden Court.

After the events of Infinity War, the Avengers, with help from newcomer Captain Marvel, reorganises in the intent of finding Thanos and undo everything he has done with the Infinity Stones.

Running time: 182 minutes

Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Cast:
Chris Evan
Robert Downey Jr.
Scarlett Johansson
Chris Hemsworth
Brie Larson
and Eden Court's Ambassador Karen Gillian

For the viewing times and tickets for what I hope will be one of the greatest superhero films in history.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Review of Captain Marvel

I went to see Captain Marvel at Eden Court, and I enjoyed watching the film, and it leaves me looking forward to seeing Avengers: Endgame later this year.

I think that Nick Fury provided much of the comedy of the film such as his interaction with Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, and his friendship with Goose the ginger cat.  It was interesting in how Nick got the idea that would (the Cinematic Universe's timeline) become the Avengers.  Since I have never read any Captain Marvel comics, I am not familiar with the Free-Skrulls War storyline, but I don't think that it mattered that much because as with many war films, it's never clear who's the enemy and who's the allies (particularly if there's shapeshifters involved).  It was here that we get (I think) the first hint of what caused Ronan to become the villain we've already seen him as.

I liked to storyline of how Carol Danvers transforms into Captain Marvel, with the flashbacks hinting and telling her past life before getting involved in the space war, and then trying to regain her memories, and start to take a stand for what she realises is the right things.

I liked the tribute to Stan Lee, first the Marvel logo showing clips of Lee's many cameos throughout the MCU, and then there was the cameo in the film, where he and Carol seem to give a friendly exchange of looks.  I hope that there will be a cameo in Endgame, as it would a fitting end of the cameos of one of the greatest comic book creators in history.  If there's one more cameo in the next Spider-Man film, I'll be keeping my eyes open for that.  Thanks Stan Lee.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

120th Blog Post - Captain Marvel Lands at Eden Court

Carol Danvers will making her appearance as Captain Marvel to Eden Court's big screen this April.

Set in the 1990's, Captain Marvel will follow Carol (Brie Larson) as she discovers her powers while trying to protect Earth from the Skulls, in doing so becoming one the most powerful superhero, with the help of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

For tickets to see the latest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Better hurry, or you will see Captain Marvel till Avengers: Endgame.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

The Beauty and the Beast Panto is Coming

The Panto for next December, Beauty and the Beast, is coming to Eden Court with the first night on the 6th of December.

I'd advise getting your tickets early, before they're all taken.

I hope it'll be as good as Jack and the Beanstalk.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part comes to Eden Court

The sequel to the first Lego Movie is assembled and coming to Eden Court.

The follows Emmet after the Lego DUPLO appears into the world and starts to wreck everything, leaving Emmet to once again try to save the world and everyone.

Directors:
Trisha Gum
Mike Mitchell

Cast:
Chris Pratt
Elizabeth Banks
Alison Brie
Tiffany Haddish
Nick Offerman

Running Time: 107 minutes

For tickets to see Emmet save the Lego world again.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Pay a Visit to Under Milk Wood

The group that brought Fawtly Towers, Allo Allo and A Christmas Carol is returning to the stage.

Now called Eden Court Community Cast, the group will be back on the OneTouch Theatre, for one night only this time.  Directed by Steph Smart, the group will bring to live Dylan Thomas's famous play, detailing life within Llareggub in one day, portraying a wide range of characters including Captain Cat, the Pughs, Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, Mr Waldo and Polly Garter.

Get your tickets on the Eden Court website.  The night of the performance is on the 30th of June at 7.30 pm.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Dan Snow's Visit to Eden Court

Last night, Dan Snow, TV presenter and historian visited Eden Court.  I found that even though, I'm tall, Dan Snow was still as tall as he looks on TV.

Mr Snow talked about the history of the places that he had visited, and gave a few jokes, and how he got into doing history.  One of the things he talked about was the HistoryHit.TV, an on-line website of historical programmes, a bit like Netflix, where there programmes and podcasts by Snow and other people connected to historical events and things.  Growing up, and enjoying history, it sounds interesting.  One of the pieces about it was about looking to the remains of a Scottish laird who kept jumping between supporting the Jacobites and the Redcoats so he could become a laird, but got caught out, and was executed.  The location of his remains is mystery, one source says he was buried at the Tower of London, but one myth says his followers stole his body back to his ancestral home and buried him there.  The coffin he rumoured to be however revealed that there was only a young woman inside, so the search continues.

At the end I got to ask in the Questions and Answers session at the end.  During my childhood/early teenage years, I was Dan Snow do a series called Battlefield Britain with his father, Peter.  One of the episodes of the series was a programme about Culloden.  In it, when talking about the failed attempt by the Jacobites to surprise the Redcoats, the father and son did a kilometre across the countryside, in the dark.  Peter had the latest equipment (such as night-vision), while Dan had to do it like the Jacobites did (without the night-vision).  The question I asked was who pulled the short straw for him, and if he ever got back at them for it.  His answer was that, as a presenter, he got the parts that he had to put up with in order to do his job.  Now I wish that I might have asked Neil Oliver a question when he visited.

Last night, I enjoyed Dan Snow's talk.  I hope that such an event will happen again at Eden Court.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

115th Blog Post - Review of Mary, Queen of Scots

I've been to see the historical film Mary, Queen of Scots, and I must say that it's historically more accurate than Mel Gibson's Braveheart.

I knew a bit about the the period of history the film covers as I saw programme by Neil Oliver telling the role the Scottish clans played.  History generally remembers the deeds of great man and kings, but Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth of England were women who lived the times of kings and when men could over-rule their councils, and when religion (Catholic and Protestant) were fierce rivals and who the queens should marry and who would become their heirs.  I think that it's sad that the nobles against Mary were able to twist her supporters to end up supporting them, or kill off her other supporters.  Another point that connects to this day, is the issue of gender and religion; the Catholics and Protestants may be more peaceful now, but the issue hasn't gone away, and we are starting to see more women taking up the role of men.

I had never seen Saoirse Ronan on film before, only clips or trailers of her previous works, and I was impressed that she was able to portray one of Scotland's rulers who tried to prove her worth.  The same for Margot Robbie, who has been nominated for an BAFTA Award for supporting actress for her role.  I don't know who else has been nominated, but she would have my support at least.

David Tennant's John Knox was very good, because unless you heard his voice, and recognise the look he used to give when he played the Tenth Doctor in his time on Doctor Who, you wouldn't know it was him.

One piece of history that was unmentioned was that the English nobleman who helped Mary's son, James VI, become king of England was the son of the nobleman who convinced Elizabeth to execute Mary.  What a twist of fate? How history could change the fate of nations, and the world, so quickly.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court

New Eden Court Website is Up

Eden Court's website's newest version is now up.  The address is the same, just a new look to help navigate and find the latest shows and films.  I have taken a quick look, and I'm impressed.

I hope that you will come see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Review of the Jack and the Beanstalk Panto

I went to see the Panto performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, and I enjoyed it very much.  I think the last Panto I ever went to see a performance of Aladdin when I was still at primary school because I remember a couple of people coming to see my class and asking us to "Boo!" the baddy and "Yea!" the hero.  That was before Eden Court had its rebuild shortly afterwards.

The Panto was all full of songs and encouraging the children in the audience to join in.  There was a version of the "Oh no it wasn't!" from the baddy's assistant and "Oh yes it was!" from the audience.  There was parts I thought "How did they do that?", usually when there was a lot of speaking in a tight timing.  After Jack rescues the king's hen that lays the golden hens, the baddy's assistant goes to find out who is behind it all, and there a point when the characters give him a bell, and while encircling him give him the names of quiz shows, such as Pointless, Countdown, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Blankety Blank (that's an old quiz show I've heard about).  The audience was encouraged to say how Dame Trot (Jack's mother) looked in every scene the character appeared.

The next Panto will be Beauty and the Beast, and I hope to see it.

I hope that you come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Eden Court welcomes Mary, Queen of Scots to the big screen.

Widowed at a young age, Mary returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne while trying keep on good terms with her cousin, Elizabeth of England.  With religion dividing them in a male dominated world, the two queens soon become rivals, each equally determined to be more than who they are, as they make history.

Duration: 125 minutes

Director: Josie Rourke

Cast:
Saoirse Ronan
Margot Robbie

Here's to the Eden Court website for tickets and timings.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.

Swing into the Spider-Verse

Marvel's animated film with many Spider-Man from different universes grouping together to stop a serious threat.

Duration: 117 minutes

Directors: Bob Persichetti
                 Peter Ramsay
                 Rodney Rothman

Voices of the Cast:
Shameik Moore
Hailee Steinfeld
Nicolas Cage
Mahershala Ali

Here's to the Eden Court website for tickets, do hurry.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.