So, I read 14m people went to the theatre in London last year...that’s a lot of bums on a lot of seats!

I first went to such an event when about 11, from school to see The Mikado and Carmen and really enjoyed it.

A bit later on, being raised in Brum we went to see, I think, Twelfth Night at the RSC in Stratford with Judi Dench, Donald Sinden and Bill “Mr Snudge” Fraser...we’re talking mid/late 60s here!

But then really didn’t go again till much older:- The Dukes, the Octagon, theatres in Manchester.

Saw Blood Brothers with Clodagh Rogers as lead in London and took 200 young people to see Grease there too...they couldn’t sort out in their heads that it was real actors and not the film!

Same happened at work again when some youngsters couldn’t sort out the Willy Russell’s Stags and Hens was a play and not some kind of virtual documentary.

I used to take a car load of my daughter’s friends every Christmas to the children’s Christmas play at the Library Theatre in Manchester:- Scrooge, Secret Garden come to mind...our last such venture was to Spice Girls - the Movie!

Could they chatter all the way there...AND back!

Cabaret’s my favourite film ever...as a stage production I’ve seen it twice at our wonderful Blackburn College, once at Lancaster with Helen Shapiro as Fraulein Sally Bowles and another at the Bolton with an ex Corrie actress as the lead.

Do you get out into live theatre?

Did you used to?

What’s your fave?