Jersey Boys @Prince Edward Theatre

Having seen the adverts for this plastered all over the tube stations, buses and from walking past the theatre itself, I finally bit the bullet and booked myself a ticket. I'd been putting it off because I couldn't find anyone that wanted to come with me, but since I'm not working, I'm getting more used to just going to do the things I want to on my own.

So, middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday, me and quite a lot of coaches of OAPs sat in the theatre and watched the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I didn't know the story at all, and it is staged with each of the characters telling part of the story from their viewpoint, with a whole heap of fantastic songs thrown into the mix - Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You managed to draw cheers and clapping from the first line! With other songs like Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like A Man and December 1963 (Oh What A Night) also in there, it made for a great afternoon of entertainment, and I can see why it's had such a long run here in London. One thing I will say was that even though there were a few empty seats in the auditorium, the crowd more than made up for it - even the actors looked surprised at the reception they got from an afternoon crowd at points, and a good atmosphere really makes all the difference.

Ryan Molloy did an amazing job as Frankie Valli, hitting those high notes quite easily, or so it seemed. The other actors playing the Four Seasons were excellent too, the accents were pretty good, the swearing was plentiful (there is a warning about this on the ticket booking site), but it never felt out of place within the story. The funny and sweet little dance routines were a reminder of the era of 50s and 60s music. Clearly a very talented cast and brilliant staging, and I left the theatre uplifted, with the songs in my head and a warm fuzzy feeling for the rest of the night.

Tap Dogs, Novello Theatre

If you've been around in London recently, you'll most likely have seen the adverts as you go up the escalator in the tube stations for Tap Dogs, with Adam Garcia's face grinning back at you. I've never been to a purely dance show, but I saw tickets on lastminute.com for 10 quid to sit in the balcony, so I convinced a friend to come with me and off we went.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from the show, for a start, because it's a dance show, it's shorter than most things you'd see in a theatre at only an hour and a half. But it felt like a full length show. Now imagine the tone of the show. It's like tap dancing, crossed with watching the chippendales (with less nudity). These guys are FIT, there are muscles everywhere. Their precision is impressive, I found myself holding my breath and staring in awe a lot. It was exhausting to watch them, but huge amounts of fun.

The show itself I found very inventive. I did wonder how they would keep us entertained just by tapping for an hour and a half, but there was a huge amount of set changing, cool lighting and sound effects, props... I don't want to give too much away, but I was mighty impressed with what they did. The only thing I'd say to be wary of was that sitting in the balcony, you don't get to see a couple of things... firstly, the girls beating a rhythm on the drums, and secondly there's a short section where one of the dancers is hoisted up - but the others are still on the floor, so I thought it was ok.

For the price we paid, I think it was an absolute steal. I probably wouldn't have gone to see the show if it had been much more expensive, but having seen it, I'd probably have paid maybe up to £20-£25 for a ticket because it feels like a proper full on show like a musical or a gig. I'm so glad that I went, and I can highly recommend it...especially while you can get cheap tickets on lastminute.com (a note though, the trailer REALLY doesn't do the show justice).

Just a warning though, if you're in the front two rows, better get your poncho on!

Grab a ticket now - it's only on until the 5th September.