We were lucky enough to get to see 'In The Same Deep Water As Me' at the Saturday matinee...having read the previous review the reviewer has my utmost sympathy as that could easily have been us! However the theatre was very apologetic about the main actor being off due to an accident and the understudy was on stage with only two days notice therefore he had to keep the script with him. It was no bother anyway as it was an office setting. The production was hilarious - some real characters and many laugh out loud moments. Anyone who has worked in a standard office will see so many things hit home. The play is so on point with the theme of the rip off insurance companies too. The theatre itself is great - small and intimate - one annoyance is that the seats are benches - so hope your fellow theatre goers are polite and not taking up too much room! We had the end of the bench so we were fine. There are a couple of bars and plenty of loo's. We will certainly look for other plays going on there and visit again.

My first, and last experience of the Donmar. The matinee performance of 'The Same Deep Water as Me' was cancelled yesterday (17th August) because a cast member was ill and they don't have understudies. I was told at 10.30 am when I picked up the tickets that cancellation was a possibility so we waited expectantly; when we heard nothing, we assumed it was to go ahead. Management sent an email 2.5 hours before the performance was due to start, but I didn't get it until I got home that night. A phone message to call the theatre was left on my mobile phone only 40 minutes before the performance was due to start, but when I called the number, it was just the standard recorded message with no mention of cancellation. By the time we got to the theatre at 2pm to find out what was going on, it was too late to do anything else, although when we got to speak to the manager at 2.15 pm she suggested that we could still find an alternative! Hardly a possibiity! A wasted 200 mile return trip for me, and my friend visiting London from Australia missed the only opportunity to go to the theatre. If they don't have understudies, why don't they have a risk management plan and at least let people know in reasonable time so they can find an alternative? Shockingly bad organisation and an extremely disappointing experience. They are providing a refund, apparently, but no alternative tickets for the performance and an expensive visit to London wasted for us. The whole thing was extraordinarily badly managed.

The Donmar Warehouse is Covent Garden's hidden theatrical gem. It is tiny (only 250 seats) and very hard to secure tickets. Once inside you are able to almost shake hands with the actors as you that close to the stage. The Donmar is subsidised theatre which enables it to experiment with new writing and acting talent as well as established players. It appeals to all ages which means that the audience is part of the performance.
We saw The Night Alive by Conor McPherson which is set in Dublin. It is a story of grim everyday life where the five actors all carry baggage from their lives and try to live day by day. There is violence but also tenderness. The constant swearing is a reflection of the characters everyday conversation. This play gives the actors full opportunity to live the parts and thereby creates great entertainment.

I have seen over 50 different plays at the donmar and nearly every one has been first class. The quality of actors are high class and there have been some well known names. The first play was The Real Thing in 1999 and I will be booking the next productions in a few days time. A truly wonderful small intimate theatre.