Shows From London:

The Woman In Black - The Fortune Theatre, London, 02.12.2014:

(Antony Eden as The Actor, Young Mr Kipps)

The play is based on the 1983 book by author Susan Hill. Generally played by just two actors throughout the whole entire play. One man playing the part of The Actor and another man playing the part of Mr Kipps and various other small parts, its a play within a play.
The production first opened at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 1987. It then went on to being performed in London's West End in January 1989 at the Lyric Hammersmith, still being shown there today, making it the second longest running non-musical play in West End history.

(I went to see it on Tuesday whilst in London, do go and see it if you can, we were sat second row from the very front and pretty much in the middle, tickets were meant to be £53 and we got them for £28..Its great when you go to a half-price ticket booth!!)

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The book tells the story of Mr Arthur Kipps, a solicitor, as a young man as he goes on a journey to the small town of Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of one of his clients. Whilst at the funeral he spots a young woman, dressed all in black with a worn-out face, standing in the churchyard.
Bemused by the villagers' reluctance to speak of the woman in black, young Mr Kipps travels to Eel Marsh House, Mrs Drablow's (his client) former residence, an old building in the middle of a marsh cut-off from the mainland when at high tide.
Sorting through her papers, he finds a box full of letters and whilst reading them discovers the dreadful secrets of the Woman In Black - to his own terrible cost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Black_(play)

(Julian Forsyth as (old) Mr Kipps and Anthony Eden as The Actor, 02.12.2014)

The Original cast included Charles Kay as Arthur Kipps and John Duttine as The Actor. In public literature, the actress in the title role is listed as 'Vision'.
This is shown when the two actors take their bows at the end of the show, the woman playing the title role doesn't take a bow just to keep the impression of the mystery of the Woman In Black alive.

The play is now used within GCSE and FE Drama curriculums and as a basis for English Literature essays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Black_(play)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftIvPLHn_3o
(Below; a trailer of The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre, 2012)

The Phantom of The Opera - Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 04.12.2014:

(Programme from Phantom Of The Opera)

(Geronimo Rauch as The Phantom and Harriet Jones as Christine Daae, Above and Below)

(Below is the trailer for Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre from 2012, starring Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom)

Facts and Figures:
*Estimated to have been seen by more than 140 million people
*Won over 70 major theatre awards including three Olivier Awards, an Evening Standard Award, seven Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critic Circle Awards
*Opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, London 27th September 1986

*Original cast included Michael Crawford as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae
*The West End production played its 10,000th performance on 23rd October 2010

*Has been produced in 151 cities and 30 countries around the world
*It has been translated into no fewer than 13 languages including English, Danish, German, Dutch, Japanese and Spanish

*The cast album has been done 6 times on Platinum in the US, twice Platinum in the UK, 9 times Platinum in Germany, 4 times Platinum in the Netherlands, 11 times in Korea and 31 times Platinum in Taiwan

*Joel Schumacher directed a big screen version of the show which was released worldwide at the end of 2004. Starring Gerrard Butler as The Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae, Patrick Wilson as Raoul and Minnie Driver as Carlotta

*'Learn To Be Lonely', a new song written for the movie, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2005 Oscar Awards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEXZ5Jadb7s

(Video link for 'Learn To Be Lonely' sung by Beyoncé)

(The stage setting for the opening of Act1 - Auction Scene, taken on my phone)