Live performances have never really been my thing.

Not because I don’t enjoy them when I go, but just because I seem to prefer a nice movie at home, or a quiet night with friends, to the hustle and bustle of a night at the theatre, or the noise of a live concert.

(plus I have been known to be a bit tight in the wallet department in the past)

So goal 78 aimed to make me go out and see more. This covers anything live that isn’t sport, so this could be band gigs, theatre productions or even Carols by Candlelight!

Moving to London made the goal much easier, with the abundance of live theatre to see, at relatively cheap rates if you look hard enough.

So here are the ten performances I have been to. I plan to go to many more before I turn 30, and have just become a member of the Barbican Arts Centre, which has monthly film, live theatre and classical musical performances.

1. The Phantom of the Opera (Princess Theatre, Melbourne)
This was one of the best things I have ever seen. The singing was amazing, the set design even better and I would recommend it to anyone. And no, most of the singing wasn’t opera!

2. Spamalot (Her Majesty’s theatre, Melbourne)
Classic must-see for any Monty Python fan. Should-see for everyone else. Very good.

3. The 39 Steps (The Playhouse at the Arts Centre, Melbourne)
A murder mystery comedy based loosely on the work of Alfred Hitchcock. 4 actors played the roles of 130 different characters remarkably well. Laugh out loud funny.

4. Gotan Project (The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London)
Not really my scene, but really impressive musician-ship. Their style is tango with some jazz, funk and pop. Actually, their style can’t be defined. The band played with a random selection of movie scenes playing throughout, and tango dancers dancing at the front. Very weird, but I liked the fact that it was different to anything I had heard before. But for me, the music was ‘background music’ for me.

5. We Will Rock You! (Dominion Theatre, London)
Great show, great cast, standing ovation at the end. Only let-down was that the cut off my favourite Queen song, Don’t Stop Me Now, halfway through (it was meant to happen, but I was just getting into the song).

6. Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre, London)
Good show, but Nat tricked me into going by saying that it wasn’t all singing. Yes it was, but it was well worth seeing anyway. We had bad seats, so I sprung 50p for a hire of some binoculars.

7. Dylan Moran (Hammersmith Apollo, London)
Famous for his role in Black Books, Dylan Moran played a good set, but for me he had lots of smile moments, but very few laugh out loud moments.

8. Amateur Comedy at the 99 Club (Oxford Circus, London)
Amateur comedy was just that. Had a few laughs, but there was nothing memorable. MC was the funniest, which is a sign of the quality of the night.

9. Amateur Comedy at  Hardimans Hotel (Kensington, Melbourne)
Four acts – three were no good, but a musical duo called Elbowskin were unbelievable. I definitely would pay to see them again. MC’d by the Fabulous Adam Richard from Fox FM, who was pretty funny too.

10. Cinderella – the Pantomime (Wimbledom, London)
Have to say, even though this is meant for children, I laughed the whole way through. Loved it, and will definitely be doing more pantomimes next year – even if it does embarass Nat a little that I turned into a big kid.

My favourite – We Will Rock You!