The Alan Titchmarsh Show

Rachel and Louise will be appearing on the Alan Titchmarsh show on Monday 2nd May at around 4pm.

The show is broadcast on ITV.

I may not be about on Monday so if anyone else is able to record the part featuring our 'Wicked' witches and upload it to You Tube it would be most helpful. If you email me the link to your video I'll add it to the blog.

Dans 'So Jest End' Report

Thanks to Dan for sharing his 'So Jest End' experience.

I thought I would tell you about Jest End tonight.

As you know Rachel was in it a couple of years ago so is a big fan of it and was actually in the audience tonight with her husband Guy.

Anyway I thought I'd tell you about one of the sketches/songs that you'd appreciate.

2 of the actresses came onstage, both dressed in black clothes, one with a big mad black afro type wig and one with long black wig. The big wigged one said "Welcome to the west end news, I am Hannah Waddingham, the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz", then the other actress says "and I'm Rachel Tucker"

Hahahaha - brilliant... they have a Rachel Tucker sketch... when she's in the room!

The actresses proceeded to bicker with each other about who was the better witch and better singer etc - this quite quickly turned into a parody of 'what is this feeling'. I can't remember the lyrics too well, but when the other one was taking the piss out of Rachel she said something about not being able to belt higher than an E and something about sounding like she needed to get her nodules removed to improve her voice.

To be honest I didn't really get these references as for one Rachel always belts higher than an E and also her voice sounds perfect, but I’m sure they are some in-jokes between the writer Garry Lake and Rachel.

I didn't say hi to Rachel, for some reason I was a bit shy (or hung-over) and felt it was a bit of an odd situation, seeing as I was waiting for my friend to go to the bathroom and Rachel happened to just come out lol.

More Love146

Thanks to Laura, Colleen and Amanda who have been a great help keeping me updated on any new pictures and videos of the Love146 charity event in Trafalgar Square last week.

We are still waiting for the release of the official video but we're expecting to see it very soon and as soon as we do you'll see it here on the blog.

As you can probably tell the 3 pictures below were taken at the Flash Mob rehearsals.

Mad props to Rachel for fitting this into her already hectic schedule.

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Here are a couple of unofficial videos to keep you going until the official one is released. If you look closely you can see Rachel performing in the distance.

You might want to turn the volume down on the second one though as the sound quality is not very good.

Love146

Rachel recently tweeted that she'd done something really exciting for Love146 who are an excellent charity who not only help to stem the tide of human traffiking but to eliminate it completely.

Amanda found these excellent pictures taken by Mark Murfitt of the 'Flash Mob' which took place on Monday in Trafalgar Square.

I had no idea what a Flash Mob was but apparently it's an impromptu dance routine in a public place.

Thanks to 'Gaz' for helping me out by supplying the following information:

Rachel was joined by past and present divas of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Charlotte Riby, Portia Emare and Gemma Atkin. They were backed by dancers from an array of West End musicals including We Will Rock You, Dirty Dancing, MAMMA MIA!, Grease, Wicked, Love Never Dies, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Wizard of Oz and the English National Ballet.

The singers and dancers performed a routine to a specially arranged track by Annie Lennox to highlight the shocking fact that child trafficking is a major problem here in Britain.

The campaign is dubbed “Can You See Me” because the crisis is all too often hidden and taboo – when in fact it is going on in towns and cities throughout the country, right in front of us.

You can listen to 'Little Bird' and see more pictures of this great event by visiting Mark Murfitts blog.

MARK MURFITT BLOG

We'll add the official video to the blog as soon as it's released, which should be in the next few days.

I found the following quote from Rachel on the Love146 Facebook page:

"All of us were shocked to hear the terrible fate of children even in our home towns and cities. This is our way of trying to raise awareness, and getting people behind love146's campaign to make a real difference to some of the most damaged children in the country."

If you want to help LOVE146 bring an end to child sex slavery & exploitation, visit their website by clicking on the link below:

LOVE146 WEBSITE

Name That Show (Part 2)

Rachel LBC Interview

Thanks to Laura for sending me the link to this lovely interview Rachel had with LBC (London's Biggest Conversation) after winning her WOS award. It was uploaded by Karis who also created the wonderful picture montage below.

'Thrill Me' - London

I just wanted to quickly write up a little piece having seen ‘Thrill Me’ at the Actors Centre on Tuesday 5th April 2011. As you all know, Rachel’s husband Guy Retallack directed this show and it had its opening night on Tuesday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When I last saw Rachel she had asked me to go as a favour to help support Guy and new musical theatre. I’d already been thinking about it to be honest and when I found out that tickets were only £13-15 it seemed a bit of a no-brainer!

Described as a “Musical thriller”, ‘Thrill Me’ does just that. Right from the outset, this musical is incredibly dark and sinister. One very talented pianist and two incredible voices beautifully provide the chilling soundtrack. George Maguire and Jye Frasca (both West End stars) play the only two characters in the show – Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, and do an absolutely sensational job from start to finish! Their voices perfectly compliment each other and carry around the small and intricate settings of the Tristan Bates Theatre.

And it’s not just the very talented pianist and actors that make this production so extraordinary – the lighting and sound technicians deserve a special mention as well and the combination of each element culminates into a stunning and perfectly unique piece of musical theatre. Intricately directed by Guy, ‘Thrill Me’ really was an absolute privilege to go and watch. I know it's sometimes a lot more tempting to go and see a hugely successful West End show such as 'Wicked' whilst in London, but I really strongly urge you to go and check out 'Thrill Me'. New musical theatre deserves our appreciation as there are so many talented people just waiting for their chance to get a foot in the door. It's not all about the big money-making shows but about the smaller shows too, set in small theatres and seating less than 50 people at a time but nevertheless producing a very enjoyable evening of extremely high quality entertainment.

I can't emphasise enough just how much I enjoyed this show and how much I would reccommend it to anyone looking for an edgy new musical with something slightly different to offer. That is totally compelling, interesting, haunting and gripping. A little off-West End gem that is DEFINITELY worth a visit!

P.S Just in case anyone needed further persuasion... Jye Frasca and George Maguire are GORGEOUS!

Flash Back

To celebrate Rachel's year in Wicked I thought I'd post a couple of great IDA videos that remind us why we first fell in love with this super talented lady.

The first amazing video was sent to me recently by Amanda and the second is on old favourite created by Jess. Enjoy!