Hi,

Just a small report on the first night of our Les Miserables cast. I'll be honest, when I open in a new show I'm not very aware of how the show is going or how I'm doing in it or even the piece itself. My head is more focused on being in the right place and saying the right things. Generally getting it right. This show is especially complecated as there are a lot of costume changes and technical elements to be aware of. Not to mention, not falling off the set and singing well!

However, last night was a bit different. by the end of the first act ,singing that score and especially "one day more" I was fully aware of which show I was in and the power of it. I thought it went pretty well and I'm looking forward to being in that environment for some time.

Jon.

Hey,

Any regular readers of this blog will now realize that it doesn't get updated by me as often as it should. So you'll just have to take my apologies for that as read from now on, thank you.

Les Miserables rehearsals have proved to be even more fun than I thought they were going to be. We're being given the license to create new interpretations on the characters, in some cases new blocking too, couple this artistic freedom with the right-of-passage scene's (marching in a triangle, dieing in slo-mo or a convict on the chain gang) and you get a happy cast. For those who have never seen Les Mis, those references will make more sense once you have seen it! I'm also having my costumes made for me from scratch and they are beautiful. Hand crafted suits are the only way to fly.

On a sadder note, Dickens Unplugged will be closing in the West End this month. It will be appearing elsewhere soon and my love goes out to Adam, Alex, Gabe, Matthew, Simon, Joey, Ben, Brian, Les and Marion. x.

Til next time...

Hi,

Just a quick nudge for all theatre goers. I went to see Dickens Unplugged in the west end last night. Now, having been involved with this show earlier in the year, you could dismiss me opinion as bias. But, I have to say even with my leanings I still think that this is one of the most original, intelligent and truly entertaining nights out in London. They've made a few updates since I was in the show and every one of them have me howling (much to the alarm of the people infront of me!).

So, in conclusion, all must go straight to the Comedy Theater and see this show. There's a link to their site from my links page or if you cant wait that long it's www.dickensunplugged.com

Let me know what you think after you've been and taken all your friends.

Cheers,

Jon.

Hello again (or if it's your first time here, welcome and please keep your feet off the furniture.),

I'll start with a small apology. Posting blogs hasn't been possible til today as I've hardly had time to sleep let alone write as the Chess Schedule is the most grueling I've ever worked through. Luckily it was also the one of the most rewarding and amazing 12 days of my career. I guess I'll take it step by step...

Rehearsing with that cast, Groban, Menzel, Badella (the list goes on see www.chessinconcert.com for more) was like watching a master class in how to be talented and down to earth at the same time. Josh especially is the most gentlemanly guy you could hope to meet, while Clark Peters is easily the coolest guy on the planet.

If you saw the concert you'll know how well it went down, and if you didn't you may be able to purchase the DVD of it that was recorded. I can't wait to see it from an audience point of view as i was so busy running around back stage wondering what my next entrance was.

The highlight of the experience for me was getting to hang out with the Soloists group of which I was included. This was a group of  premium West End leads, who like me, were more than delighted to play second fiddle to such a stellar group as the principles as we had. I've never known such a wonderful, easy going and supportive group to work with so thank you to all of them.

A quick word about the dancers - Hot! All of them were stunningly good looking. I couldn't quite get over it. They're the sort of good looking that you want to poke, just to see if they're real.

And lastly, the venue. I never quite get over it. This was my 4Th time performing at the Royal Albert Hall and i just never get tired of it. Looking out from the stage to the auditorium as a sell out audience get to their feet to thank you for a nights work brought a huge smile to my face. Thank you to you if you were one of those people.

OK... I think I'm done.

In other news the West end Rocks pictures have been posted on the photographers site. here's the link:

http://www.mattjamie.co.uk/theatremad/westendrocks/

Enjoy the hair and Rock-face!

Les Miserables rehearsals start next week, viva la Revolution.

bye.

So, west end rocks is over. And boy did it Kick! I haven't had that much fun in ages! I want to say thank you to everyone who came to the gig. We raised a lot of money for theatrecares (who have changed their name to Theatre MAD - Theatre Making A Difference) and I couldn't be more pleased with how the music was. To be honest, I wanna do it again. Theatre MAD were recording the gig and taking pictures throughout. I will post them as I get them, I'm particularly looking forward to seeing exactly how silly my "rock-hair" was.

The next project to focus on is Chess and I can't wait. I've been learning the script and music, trying to get it down because it's very complected. Rehearsals start next week and as far as I know it's sold out and there may be a recording of the concert, lets keep our fingers crossed.

Talking of recordings, my friend (and outstanding musical theatre composer) Laurence Mark Wythe has completed work on a concept album for his new children's show "The Lost Christmas". I'm featured on the album and I'll have some of the music to go on my site shortly. In the meantime, it'll be available on itunes soon, so look out for it.

See ya...

Hey,

So, rehearsals for West End Rocks are going really well. Better than I could have hoped when we started. You can now book tickets through the venue's site too www.madamejojos.com , and tickets are selling well. It's only a 230 capacity so don't delay if you want to see the show! I'm so excited about some of the performances, they're going to truly kick ass!

In other news, I have been offered the role of "Marius" in "Les Miserables" at the Queen's Theatre, London. I start rehearsals in May and open at the end of June later this year. If you've never seen the show then go now as the current cast are one of the strongest I've seen (and I've seen it a lot!). This show is one of the main reasons I became interested in musical theatre. So, as you can imagine, I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to be a part of it.

I've managed to get hold of some recordings of myself and will posting them on the site very soon. I may even have got hold of some video footage of the theatrecares Christmas concert from last year...more news on these as I have it.

J.x.

hey,

So, it's official, I'll be perfroming in Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall on May the 12th and 13th. I'm so excited about working with such an amazing cast. Check out the RAH's site www.royalalberthall.com for more info and to book tickets.

J.

Hi,

jonrobyns.co.uk will soon be getting a bit of make over! The designer of the site and I have been developing the new look for a while now and it looks really great. The site will still have all my news and pictures etc but we're adding a few more features to it too. So, stay tuned!

I'll be having some time off for a while to concentrate on some teaching and a few workshops. I'll keep y'all posted of any developments as and when I can.

J.

Just a quick Congratulations to Leeanne Jones, Micheal Ball and the company of Hairspray for their Olivier Awards, if you haven't seen Hairspray yet, go now!

Hi,

So the end of the Dicken's unplugged run has come and gone. I'll be posting some pictures of the production soon but in case you missed it or would like to see me again sporting a dress, go to www.unpluggedtheatre.co.uk. This is Adam Long's blog and news site. So, keep close watch of that site for any updates on the west end transfer possibilities.

I can't say how much I enjoyed being "unplugged" for a month. I never believed it  possible to exceed the level of silliness of Avenue Q but we have truly done it, and I loved every minute! However, a word to the wise - don't wear boned corsets and wedding vales and expect to be able to play the accordion well!

In the mean time I'll be keeping myself busy with the west end rocks gig, which is progressing well - it's gonna toooooooooootally rock dude!

I took part in the 1st annual WhatsOnStage.com Theatre Goer's awards. I sung a song from a new musical that will be staged later this year at the Kings Head Theatre in north London called Betwitx! The whole evening was great fun. I got to share a dressing room with Daniel Boys again, which is always a giggle.

The best part of the evening for me was that, the evening proved how much talent is in London and how important it is that the west end community gets together to celebrate it's achievements. Broadway seems to have a greater sense of community than the west end and staging cabarets and award ceremonies is important to getting that feeling over here.

Go to www.whatsonstage.com to see some pictures and videos of the evening.

All the best...

Jon.x.

hey,

just a quick plug for the gig for theatrecares. check out their webiste for the poster of the line up. i think i take the award for the stupidest pose!

you can book tickets by calling: 020 7395 7528.

www.theatrecares.org.uk.

more to come soon...

That's right, the facial hair that I've become quite fond of, is itchy as hell. Now, don't get me wrong I like it and I think it looks good in the Dickens costumes, which are amazing. Very authentic and have a lot of buttons!

We've started adding in the costumes to the blocking of the show. Rehearsals for Dickens Unplugged have been going very well and I'm getting extremely sore fingers playing so much guitar, but it's all worth it. The shows going to be great. It's so well out together and the cast continue to surprise, impress and amuse me Daley.

Rehearsals for West end Rocks have also started this week and it's gonna rock (obviously). The gig has been confirmed for the 27Th of April at Madam Jo Jo's (www.madamejojos.com) in Soho, London. The line up of performers consists of 5 band members and 4 vocalists. They are:

Vocalists;

Oliver Tompsett (www.olivertompsett.com),

Cassidy Janson (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?useaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=150319207),

Paul Ayres who will be appearing in Jersey Boys later this year

Rebecca Trehearn who is currently in Dirty Dancing.

Band;

myself

Ben Heathcote and Adriano Agostino who are both in Mama Mia

Joseph Attenbourgh who is part of the Dickens Unplugged cast

Chris Gardner who will be in the touring cast of Mary Poppins later this year.

The gig is for theatre cares and there is only a small capacity in the venue so get your tickets as soon as you can. This is a charity that's very close to my heart and I'm delighted to be working with and supporting them to raise money. I hope you can help too. There's a link from my links page for more info.

see ya ,

Jon.

(....damn itchy facial hair........)