The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular

Like many Whovians, I was lucky enough to get hold of two tickets to the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday 27th May. Following my previous attendance at the outstanding Doctor Who 50th BBC Proms (Read the review here), I couldn't miss the chance to watch the music being played out live once again, this time on the road. 

The tickets originally went on sale in August 2014 for £20 per person, so it was one of them events that seemed like it was ages away, but it soon sneaked up on us.

Armed with my new Doctor Who t-shirt, sonic earrings and bracelets, we managed to catch the train straight from work and took our seats at the newly refurbished Arena for the 7:30pm start. I had been listening to the soundtrack all day at work and on the train to get me in the mood for the spectacular night ahead. As it was half term, the tour had also been treating fans to matinee performances at 3pm everyday and I've got to admit, I was slightly worried the orchestra wouldn't have enough UMPH in them to put on another 2 hour show. I was very wrong.

The show started smack bang up to date with a brilliant montage and accompanying music to Peter Capaldi's new 'who' era. We were then greeted on stage by the Fifth Doctor himself; Peter Davison, who welcomed the audience, cracked a few jokes, told a few stories and generally steered the evening along, full steam ahead. The incredible music was accompanied by the voice of the extremely talented Elin Manahan Thomas, who brought a a shed load of tears to my eyes during the night. The BBC Orchestra of Wales conducted by Ben Foster were absolutely fantastic, and are the same awesome bunch who record the actual soundtrack for the show. 

I think its fair to say the music created by Murray Gold is just out of this world.

We were greeted by lots of the infamous Doctor Who monsters of past and present who entertained the audience including the Daleks, Cybermen, Whispermen, Silurian's, The Silence... you name them, they were probably there! The night was mainly focused on the latest series of Doctor Who, including the most recent emotionally-packed Christmas special. However, there were plenty of nods to past Doctors with my favourite being the large segment dedicated the Matt Smith's series 5 finale The Pandorica suite. Apparently, Doctor Who composer Murray Gold used likes on YouTube to determine what songs to play during the concert, so the setlist really is for true Whovians.

I do believe the second half of the show following the interval was definitely a lot stronger, featuring more monsters, more interaction and the most-loved songs. 

On a bit of a downside, we were unimpressed with the seating arrangements at the Barclaycard arena. The show was by no means a sell out, as we could tell by the texts we were bombarded with in the days running up to the event from EE, treating us to half price tickets(!!!!!) and the whole of the lower tier below us was completely empty. We don't know how the organisers could really justify pushing all the ticket holders to the upper tiers, away from all the action, pretty much stuck up in the rafters. Like many of the audience, we decided during the interval to make  our way down to a more suitable set of seats in the lower tier area.

Sadly, we missed the last 25 minutes of the show as we had to catch the train home, so if anyone has any snippets they would like to share of anything I missed, please leave a comment below or contact me on Twitter to fill me in - I'd love to see what I missed.

I was hoping to buy a programme during my visit, but in my opinion, they were were a bit too pricey at a whopping £15! Looking back at the Doctor Who Proms back in 2013, I paid a cool £4.00 for a very similar souvenir book, so needless to say I left the Symphonic Spectacular disappointed and empty handed.

It was a shame these couple of bad points by the organisers over-shadowed the whole experience, to what was all in all a good night. 

The best thing about the show as it brings fans of all ages together who wouldn't necessarily listen to classical music going to an event like this and in some cases, introducing and educating them in the genre of music. 

Although the UK Tour has now finished, keep your eye on the website for the latest news and updates.

I will be uploading a video from the proms shortly, so keep your eyes peeled on my brand new Youtube Channel over the next couple of days. 

Blog to you soon!

★

Doctor Who Prom 2013

^ Photo Courtesy of the BF ^

 As part of the 50th Anniversary year celebration, Doctor Who returned to the BBC Proms with an amazing concert extravaganzer. Recorded over two identical shows, the final broadcast will be shown on Monday 26th August. Fortunately, I managed to get my hands on two returned tickets for Prom 3, held on the Sunday morning (14th July 2013) at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 

 Seeing as we were going to be heading down south this particular weekend, we thought it would make sense to organise the Harry Potter Studio Tour on the Saturday. *See post here*. We opted to stay in Milton Keynes for the night, which turned out to be about an hours train journey from London Euston Station, but it was easier on my partner who I made drive. We purchased our train tickets the night before, which was a good idea as we skipped the massive queues awaiting us the morning after, plus, because of our naivety towards the trainlines, we could ensure we purchased the correct tickets, at the cheapest price. With our student railcards in hand, we managed to buy a return to London Euston and an "All zones" travel card for a total of £13.20 each. Very impressed. Definitely worth chatting to the ticket advisor about the best option for your trip, don't always rely purely on the online information. 

 So we caught an early train to ensure we reached our destination with plenty of time to spare. The nearest underground station to the Albert Hall is South Kensington, but you should still allow a 10 minute walk, as it is still a fair way on foot. The crowds were huge and everyone was excited when we arrived, the atmosphere was amazing and we spotted a good few fezes! After walking all the way around the hall we managed to find our allocated theatre door.

 Walking into the Royal Albert Hall was surreal, I had watched dozens of productions on television based in the theatre, but I had never set foot into the building until now. After purchasing an extremely cool souvenir book (picture below) at a very reasonable price (£4.00), we located our seats, which were in the centre stalls and near the aisle, and waited for the show to start.  

 To the right is a photo of a very excited Kelly with the purchased souvenir programme and Proms ticket to hand, waiting for the show to start. It began at approximately 10.30am and ran for over two hours, with one 15 minute interval. For a proms ticket which cost a mere £12.00, that's not bad going!The programme is pretty hefty in size and includes a Q&A with the one and only Murray Gold, information on the Doctor Who series throughout its 50 year broadcast, a brief introduction and outline of some of the main cast and a running order for the day. The Doctor Who proms were performed by the London Philharmonic Choir and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and was conducted by Ben Foster. 

 I'm now going to include some photos from the morning. If you would like to avoid *spoilers* before the show is aired on the BBC later this month, please do not scroll any further! 

 All in all I thought the show was spectacular, the interaction between the monsters and the audience was brill and the special guests were a fantastic bonus! But the main and most important reason I kept phoning up the Albert Hall everyday for about a month on the hunt for return tickets is because of my passion for the music. And oh my, didn't it deliver! Murray Gold even popped up in the audience and took a bow on stage during the finale, what a genius! 

 Although I wasn't sobbing hard into my Tardis programme, I was very emotional listening to every track, feeling goosebumps up my arms with every note. I can't compare the two hours in that hall with anything I had ever experienced before, and I don't think I will ever experience anything like it again, but I felt like for a moment, all the fans in that room, young and old, shared a moment together, and it was special. 

 My favourite tracks were the infamous "I am the Doctor", the charming "Companions" and the breathtaking "Impossible Girl". But then they went and played "Vale Decem", to which my hard surface very nearly, for a moment, faltered... but I somehow managed to compose myself and carry on. Spectators at the Proms also had the added bonus of the world premiere "Song for Fifty", which was a very touching tribute to the long-running series.  

 Here's a very bad quality video I took whilst I was watching the show, featuring Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, enjoy:-  

 I am now extremely excited about seeing how the show is put together and broadcast on August 26th - which is bank holiday Monday everyone so mark it down in your calenders! *No channel or time slot has been announced yet as far as I know but I shall keep a lookout*. However, a release date for the Doctor Who Series 7 soundtrack has been announced. It will be hitting all good retailers on 9th September 2013 (the same day Iron Man 3 is due for UK DVD release - so that's going to be an expensive morning)! You can find more information on the soundtrack release and track listings HERE.

 Hope you enjoyed reading and the post wasn't too picture heavy. Next, I'm hoping to post about some of the London locations I visited whilst I was down south. Then, I will share my recent day in Cardiff with you all, where I visited the TARDIS set at the Roath Lock BBC studios. Ooooooooh!

 Thanks for reading
✰