JAMES MCAVOY PROVES TO BE A REAL SWEETIE IN NEW SHOW

Beverley Lyons

X Men’s James McAvoy got rave reviews for his dress rehearsal of Cyrano de Bergerac - after letting the audience pay with sweeties - and going topless. 

The Hollywood A lister decided to invite people to London's Playhouse theatre ahead of the official opening night to make theatre accessible to everyone. 

He told fans ahead of the show: “We are doing an open dress rehearsal. That means that even though we are rehearsing, Anybody and everybody come can come. That means you can pay whatever you like 1p or 1000p. You can pay in sweets or anything you like really. We’re pretty excited.  It’s pretty unprecedented in the West end.”
As he also gave out Haribo from a box to some of the theatre goers outside in the queue, James said: ”Hope you enjoy the show. This is a dress rehearsal. Be kind.” 

The stage production was stark with few props but the rhyme and performances got thumbs up from the fans ahead of the official previews. 

The fact that James also performed shirtless in just a pair of leather trousers also got rave reviews. 

Paige Oblong Ellìot wrote: “Other plays may be good but are they James McAvoy in leather pants sitting in front of you shirtless with leather pants on? I thought not.”

Abha T was one of the punters who took advantage of the offer and paid £12 for tickets that would normally cost £119. 

She said: “The show was fantastic. The cast was incredible.”

Scottish actor Max McVey also said of the performance: “Amazing performances by all! Had me in tears by the end of it. Fantastic first half. Couldn’t help but laugh. On the edge of my seat the whole time. And such wonderful use of rhyme.” 

Another lucky ticket holder Sylwia added: “The show was outstanding.”
And Mira Vasiliu wrote on Twitter: “Just saw Cyrano de Bergerac  at @ThePlayhouseLDN and now I don’t know what to do with myself. How do you return to your life after seeing something like that?? #cyranodebergerac #JamesMcAvoy #theatre #London.”

BACKSTREET BOYS FAN ENDS UP PAYING AJ’S CAB FARE IN GLASGOW

Exclusive
Beverley Lyons
A Scots Backstreet Boys fan ended up paying the taxi fayre for one of the US singing stars when he said he didn’t carry any cash.
Louise Hendry, 37, a financial services administrator from Glasgow was waiting outside the band’s city centre hotel when the bizarre incident happened.
And she admits she still can’t believe that she ended up paying up the cash for one of the I Want It That Way idols.
Louise was standing outside Glasgow’s Blythswood hotel trying to catch a glimpse of the lads who played the SSE Hydro last night when singer AJ McLean from the band arrived from a shopping trip in town in a black cab.
Louise, a Backsreet Boys superfan,  who walked down the aisle to the song Drowning, and even has a lyric from the song tattooed on her neck, said: “AJ had left to go shopping earlier and came back with his minder in a black hack a few hours later. He was carrying lots of shopping bags. There were two girls from Germany waiting for him outside the hotel as well as me and when he saw us he said: “‘I’ll see you in a minute. I haven’t got any cash to pay my cab.”
He went inside the hotel and I could see him asking the concierge about where he could try and get some money. He was told there was a bank machine across the road, but I  told his minder I would pay it to save him any hassle. I rushed over and although the meter said £5.10 I gave the driver £6.”
“When AJ came out the hotel I told him I paid his taxi and he said: “I really appreciate it” and gave me a kiss and a cuddle.”

“I’ve loved the band since I was 22 when my sister liked them and had their dvd in the house . Brian initially caught my eye but I’ve loved them all since”.
“I was so happy when AJ came over for a hug and it was absolutely worth more than the £5.10 taxi fayre. He said he’d enjoyed his day shopping but had bought ‘way too much s***’ as usual.  It was priceless and made my day. I met a Brian later too and had a laugh with him.”
The married mum of one laughed: “AJ has not paid me back yet and I’ve already bought my £93 front row ticket but you never know, I might get an upgrade on the tour.”
Louise said it was lucky she had cash on her as normally she only has her card on her too.
She explained: “I don’t tend to carry cash any more but  I had it because we going for a Chinese meal. I guess I had to miss a starter because of that but I don’t care cause I had a great day.”

Excerpts of this article have since appeared in the Daily Record - from Scotland with Love theshowbizlion.com 

CAITLYN VANBECK VERSUS SIMON COWELL FOR XMAS HIT

X FACTOR contestants Caitlyn Van Beck and Nate Simpson have formed their own group called The Underdogs - and are going up against the X Factor winner for a Christmas Number One.
Tranent gal Caitlyn who reached the judges houses stage of the competition and Nate who was described as having a voice like Jesus by Nicole Scherzinger got together with eighties music legend Pete Hammond to write the new track Retro Soul (So Hot).
Pete did all the programming for Stock Aitken and Waterman on hits for Kylie, Rick Ashley and Bananarama and is nicknamed Pete 100 hits.
Caitlyn and Nate plan to release their single on Friday December 9.
Caitlyn said: "Coming off the X Factor was quite a blow but having the opportunity to work with the legendary Pete Hammond and of course Nate has just been incredible."

Excerpts of this article appeared in the Scottish Sun



- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

TK MAXX OPENS EDINBURGH STORE DURING FRINGE

The Fringe is in full swing and one retailer is taking full advantage of the fact by opening up a new store in Scotland's capital.
Performers, as well as punters, always need new clothes and accessories - and the new TK Maxx in Edinburgh is sure to cater for Showbiz types as well as those who are a little less extrovert.
The brand new TK Maxx store is coming to the capital's St Andrew Square on August 18 creating 120 new jobs at the same time.
The new store will be situated on South St David Street and span 1,979 sq metres.
The showbizlion is a big fan of TK's as we like to call it and we recently enjoyed some amazing goodies at a pop up store ahead of the new store launch.
The new central location store  offers big labels and designer gems at up to 60% less than the RRP and at a significant discount to the price on the high street, every single day. for us fashionista types there's a huge selection of fashion, jewellery and accessories for women, men and kids as well as homeware. With several deliveries arriving every week bringing thousands of new items to store, there will always be something new and exciting to discover which means we will always have something to wear to our parties.
TK Maxx told theshowbizlion.com: “We’re very excited to be opening our fifth store in Edinburgh, this time bringing TK Maxx into the centre of the city. TK Maxx is a store that offers a huge choice of great value style for the wardrobe and home interiors all under one roof and all at up to 60% less. With new items arriving each week, it creates the treasure hunt experience our customers love and means they will always find something new, individual and special at a great price.”
If you are interested in applying for a position at the brand new TK Maxx store, please visit
www.tjxeurope.com/careers for further information.


- The Showbizlion.com - With love from Scotland

JUDY MURRAY CHANNELS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FOR CHARITY

JUDY Murray was in her element as she put her best foot forward in a new spoof music video.
The world famous tennis coach and mum to champs Andy and Jamie took part in the cover of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling for The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice.
Just got involved in the video thanks to Speirs Gumley’s ongoing support of her Tennis on the Road programme, designed to make tennis accessible to children of all backgrounds and encourage take-up of the sport.
She said: “What a fun and novel way to raise money for a such a deserving cause. Speirs Gumley has also supported my Tennis on the Road programme, which builds workforces in local communities across Scotland so that kids, teens and adults from all backgrounds can get involved in tennis. It’s great to see their innovative and light-hearted style applied to fund raising for the ”
The film features staff from the Glasgow Speirs Gumley office as well as the hospice get into the groove at well-known city landmarks, from the Hydro and Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum to Hampden, the Science Centre and Kelvingrove Bandstand.
It's hoped it will raise £10,000 for the hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal to build a new home at Bellahouston Park.
The film was made to be shared on social media and drive donations to the hospice’s JustGiving page – www.justgiving.com/cantstopthefeeling. Donations of £5 can also be made simply by texting DANCE to 70660.
The hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal is raising the £21m needed to build a new, purpose-built facility in the city’s Bellahouston Park.
The foundations go down this summer and patients are expected to move there in 2018. The aim is to bring 21st-century hospice care to the people of Glasgow, a major step forward in the provision of palliative care services, providing the flexibility to develop and improve services and lower the age limit of patients to 15 years and over.
The video was the brainchild of Lorraine MacDonald, owner of Speirs Gumley, who was soon inundated with volunteers who loved the idea and wanted to be involved.
Speirs Gumley is part of the hospice’s 50-10 Club: 50 companies who have agreed to raise at least £10,000 each for the new hospice. Speirs Gumley has already raised £4000 and decided to take an innovative and fun approach to raising the remaining £6000.
Lorraine said: “We have been long-term supporters of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice and our team wanted to do something a little bit different to raise much-needed funds for the appeal. Thanks to a comedy night, we are nearly half-way to our target but wanted to do something a bit different to raise the remainder, and hopefully more.
“The team and I have had so much fun making this video. I hope it makes people smile, laugh and, most importantly, put their hands in their pockets for this fantastic charity that has touched the lives of so many people in Glasgow.”



- From Scotland with love from theshowbizlion.com