Just putting this on here as no one else has, although I think the world and his wife know about it by now!

3rd December, Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

Tickets flying out of the door as we speak (although the initial frenzy has died down) - back to Row K already!

I'm sure everyone who wants a ticket has found the link .....

I'm loving Lee's marketing strategy:-

Lee Mead‏ @leemeadofficial 40m
40 minutes ago

What more could you wish for than a singing nurse at Christmas #ShamefulPlug

LINKY THING

LINKY THING

Never mind that, he's now offering to wear the loincloth whilst eating a mince pie (on stage!!!) if the concert is a sell out!

Sadly I won't be able to go to the Christmas Concert this year as I'll be on holiday.
(Note to self - don't book next year's holiday until Lee has announced the date of his Christmas concert.)
And now it looks as if I'll miss the loincloth I hope the rest of you will hold him to that promise!

Lynne, what a shame. I hope next year will give you lots of opportunities to see Lee.

Thanks Tanith. I hope so too.

A damp, dreary Sunday in early December, with a "forecast" of "snow" ..... and what a fabulous day it was!

After settling into our hotel, we planned a walk to Covent Garden to admire the lights, followed by mulled wine at the Christmas Market in the middle of Leicester Square, before selecting a random restaurant in the Square for a pre-concert meal. Surprisingly for us, everything went to plan (apart from a bit of drizzle, but you can't have everything).

Touristy stuff done and appetites sated, we made our way to the theatre. The foyer was already full, and we soon spotted many familiar faces. We couldn't wait to get to our seats and for the show to start - at last we were allowed in, found our seats and spent the next fifteen minutes or so waving to friends as they piled into the auditorium.

Finally, the band trooped onto the stage (which had snowmen and Christmas trees!), and we were ready to start! The scenery from the play was still in situ, including a door just off centre stage. Suddenly Lee burst through the door and began the first song. I have to confess I haven't the foggiest idea what it was, as a severe case of Meadmush set in the moment he appeared (I am sure there will be proper reviews elsewhere), I think it was a Christmas song but could be wrong - but at the end Lee burst into a dance routine, taking in the whole stage! It was obvious he was out to have fun, so we cheered him to the rafters.

That set the tone for the whole evening - lots of Christmas numbers, mixed with old favourites (stand outs were Close Every Door and Maria), with wild cheering from the audience.

Then Lee had a big announcement - "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm in love!"! So, now that he has shouted it from the rooftops, so to speak, and talked about it on stage, I guess it's OK to mention his lovely girlfriend, Issy (?Izzy) and her little boy - especially as he dedicated "All I Want For Christmas Is You" to her (usually an upbeat number, but his version a slow, romantic ballad).

After the interval, Lee strolled back on stage wearing a Christmas jumper bearing the legend "I'm sexy and I snow it" - brilliant! Then, to our utter astonishment and delight, he announced he was going to sing "Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Superstar - only Lee could do that, dressed like that! But it was simply stunning, and the audience leapt to their feet as one at the end.

The concert was coming to an end much too quickly, but there was yet another big surprise in store. Lee left the stage in the middle of singing ADWD, then a few bars later bounded back wearing THE COAT!!! As he swirled around like Joseph of old, the audience went totally mental ... well, I did, and confess to screaming like a twelve year old at a Justin Bieber gig (I need emojis, where the heck has stupid Mr Bravenet has hidden them?????)! Then he did the big "amazing coloured coat" finish, and everyone was on their feet, cheering him to the rafters once again.
He came back on for a totally contrasting encore of "Blackbird", and then it was over.

A quick word of appreciation for Lee's guests, Natasha J Barnes (Lee's Cinders from last year) and Four Hymn, from the Salvation Army, who were all excellent. Also, a shout out to the band for their sterling efforts!

Snow! We had been promised snow. For reasons best known to themselves, the producers of the play had refused to let Lee use the snow machine inside the theatre, but he was not to be outdone - at the front of the theatre, snow was being spra*** from an upstairs window - people and the pavement were absolutely covered with the stuff. It was wonderful - and the looks of confusion on passing motorists' faces were priceless!

Quite a crowd of us went to the Stage Door afterwards, but then we heard that Lee would be at least an hour before he came out - he had friends in (a group from Holby), plus family, and I think the winners of a competition to meet & greet him after the show. We waited for a while, but then decided we ought to go as it was getting late, and people had buses and trains to catch. We were staying locally, so hit the bar in the hotel and sta*** up talking until the small hours (as usual!) about what a fabulous night it had been.

Forgot to mention that the lovely Guy Henry (Mr Hanssen from Holby) was also there, having dashed across London to catch the second half of the show as he had been busy filming. He happily stopped to chat and pose for photos in the "snow" outside the theatre.

Thanks A/Liz! Sounds like a fab night!

Re: the emojis - in the box where you compose your post, there's a little smiley face at the bottom right corner. Click on that and you get the emojis. There are loads! This one is my favourite ---> :guardsman: He looks like Lee!:laughing:

Thanks for the lovely long reviews! I must say that fake snow would have scared the daylights out of me!:grin:

Thanks A/Liz for your brilliant review. What a fabulous night it was. Lee, wearing the COAT and singing ADWD in full with that final amazing top note, wonderful.

Thanks A/Liz for the lovely review

Thanks so much, A/Liz for the lovely review.

And how wonderful that Lee is in love! I'm so happy for him and I know we all wish the best for him. He deserves to be happy and in love.

Lin has asked be to post some pictures shared by Amanda from Holland. Thank you Amanda :relaxed: :heart:

And some more :)

And a few more thank you so much Amanda :)

Those are lovely photos! Thanks Amanda (and Sunny-mead for uploading)!

The coat looks rather splendid - I love the photo of him standing with his back to the camera and arms outstretched!

Thanks for sharing!

Fab pics - thank you, ladies! :+1:

(Yay! I've found the smileys!)

Well, this will make you smile even more, A/Liz - Amanda from Holland also shared a few video clips and audio of Gethsemane!

DaydreamBeliever

ADWD

Gethsamane

WhiteChristmasAudioClip

Thank you, Amanda!

We've also added a very merry review from Jane W to the home page!

Thanks for your lovely long review A Liz. :+1: (I've found the emojis too - thanks johartuk)
Thank you for the photos too Amanda and Sunny-mead. Lovely to see the coat again and he was looking gorgeous! :heart:

Another lovely long review from Jane! Just nipping back on to the forum to read the rest of the comments now. Thanks to everybody for the reviews and photos.

Oooh thank you Amanda!