Thursday 20 April 2017

2017 | THE FIRST QUARTER


Evening honeys!

It seems I've been having waaaaay too much fun to update my blog for over a month (or y'know, over-faced with uni work but the former sounds far better).

After having the best start to the year, I've decided on a new quarterly feature where I can recount all the years highlights every 3 months and share everything I've been up to without boring you all stiff month after month with individual posts.

Like I'm doing with the start of this post. I'm boring myself so much that I keep watching Modern Family and pretending this hasn't started yet.

Moving on. I have the best year planned (or the next 9 months) and I'm so ridiculously excited to experience everything, meet old friends for the first time and travel to some pretty great places.

So, without further ado, here are the highlights of January - March 2017.

Buckle up kids, this is gonna be a long ride.

NEW YORK

The absolute highlight of the year (my entire life) was taking a trip to New York. After 15 years I finally got to see the one city I've always wanted to see. I'm still crying over it. And posting tonnes of pictures on Instagram.

Read the full NYC blog series here.

WAITRESS ON BROADWAY


Did I ever mention that time I saw a show on Broadway? (I did, multiple times but whatever). I still listen to the soundtrack an obnoxious amount of times and I still can't believe I ticked that off the bucket list.

MEETING KILLIAN DONNELLY


Whilst on the best. trip. ever. I met Killian Donnelly (most known to me for playing 2 of my favourite characters, Combeferre & Coufeyrac, in different productions of Les Miserables) who was a complete sweetheart.

MEETING GEORGE BLAGDEN


It's incredible when someone you admire so much appreciates you coming to see them and the travelling you do for it. This man is honestly the sweetest person I have ever met in my life. And I mean in that in the sincerest way, never before have I met someone as humble, and so genuinely happy that he has support, as him. He is mesmerising to watch and his talent is inspiring. .
. . I was so moved watching yesterday's performance. I can't wait to see what he does next. .
. . So, I may have been a little caught off guard when he came and sat behind me during La Ronde to support Alex, and I may have seemed incredibly awkward. But we laughed it off later and chatted in a way that usually makes me freeze up when I'm stood in front of someone of such importance to me. Last night I learned that we both Lancashire-born kids (well kinda), I had no clue that he was born 20 minutes from my hometown when I always though he was born and bred in the south. .
. . I guess someone I've had 2 conversations with, and another brief encounter, brings out the best in me. .
. . Thank you George Paul Blagden 💛
A post shared by Samantha Ball (@iamsamball) on


One of the highlights of my life - in general - was meeting this absolutely wonderful gent, George Blagden. He too played one of my favourite Les Miserables characters (if not my fave), Grantaire in the 2012 film.

I was so in awe the moment I saw him on stage at Hampstead Theatre back in January, I knew he was a fantastic film and television actor, but it does not compare to his stage presence.

I'm pretty sure my Instagram captions above explain the enormity of both experiences.

I'm still shook. Someone pinch me.

PLATINUM

Platinum was the first production I saw George Blagden in as well as it being his stage debut. It was a great piece of theatre, entertaining and very interesting. Do you know how surreal it is seeing someone you look up to performing right in front of you? (It's happened a ridiculous amount of times to me). I can't cope.

THE PITCHFORK DISNEY

I don't even know that to say about this play other than, surreal. By the end of it's month and a half run, I had seen it twice. I booked Platinum & TPD at the same time, I then met George who somewhat made me a little scared to see it and I turned up to Shoreditch Town Hall completely unaware of what to expect from this dark piece of theatre. It was beyond incredible. The cast were amazing (inc. Hayley Squires, Tom Rhys Harries & Seun Shote), the staging at The Ditch and how intimate the whole production felt.

I was so sure I had the best seat in the place the first time I saw it, then the second time I went I realised that was the best seat in the room. I could see the sweat on the actors faces, half of the play was perfomed inches away from me and I constantly had to pull my feet away last minute to avoid Tom from breaking them. Yeah, that close.

MEETING ALEX VLAHOS

With being a little bit of a George fan, I found tv show Versailles which is the literal bee-knees of television. Alex Vlahos is a Welsh actor who plays King Louis XIV's brother Phillipe, and is bloody marvellous. I caught him after his multiple performances in small production La Ronde which again was top notch.

He's such a sweetheart, so talented and it still feels surreal to think I met this angel.

LA RONDE



If you haven't heard of La Ronde, I suggest you open a new tab and Google it. But don't forget to come back and read the rest of this post, obvs.

 After I found out Alex was to be a part of the cast, I knew I had to book to see it, it was just a matter of when during it's short engagement at the Bunker Theatre in Southwark. In the end I found a matinee performance (the same day as The Pitchfork Disney) and planned another London daytrip.

 I'd describe the whole thing as incredibly clever with the utmost hard work put into it. No one knows how the story will play out, not even the actors, and that's what made it so damn interesting.

 Okay, so I was completely blindsided 5 minutes before the show started because who walked into the theatre and sat right behind me? Oh, it was only George Blagden, Hayley Squires & Tom Rhys Harries. How I didn't lose my shit is still a mystery.


THE MAINE LIVE

If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I LOVE The Maine. With only one UK show for the release of their latest album (Lovely Little Lonely) I took a cheeky little trip back to London and partied away for one hell of a show. By far the best The Maine show I've seen in the past 6 and a half years.

MEETING GARRETT NICKELSEN & JARED MONACO...AGAIN

I've met these crazy boys from The Maine countless times over the years but I've never seen the back of a venue so insanely crazy as it was after this show. I was damn lucky to see Garrett & Jared!

ALL TIME LOW LIVE


OLLY MURS LIVE

VISITING LONDON 5X

What's better than a constant stream of trips to the capital?

It's been one hell of a year so far and I'm still planning so much for the rest!

What are you highlights so far?

 S xo

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4 comments

  1. Unknown24 April 2017 at 22:01

    Ah I'm so jealous of your New York trip! I'd love to visit one day, hopefully soon haha. You can't beat a few trips to London thrown in there either, there's nothing better than just wandering around the capital on a sunny day. There's so much to explore! x

    Kathryn | Chapters of Kat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam Ball28 April 2017 at 10:27

      Oh Kathryn, it's an absolutely wonderful place, I really hope you get to visit! Definitely not, London is one place that never gets old x

      Delete
  2. VictoriaaHelenn24 April 2017 at 23:22

    Oh wow! Looks like you've been having a great year so far! I'm so jealous that you have been to New York! It's on my bucket list!! X

    Victoria | VictoriaaHelenn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam Ball28 April 2017 at 10:28

      I hope you get to visit, Victoria! I hope you've been having a great year too :) x

      Delete

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