When it was released, Jack Whitehall was going on tour with his new stand-up tour, Settle Down. We looked for a venue near us, but it looked like the O2 London was the closest. It upset me that I later found out he was playing at Woking Theatre. Here’s our experience of the show and traveling to the O2 London.
This would be my second time seeing Jack Whitehall live on stage. The first show I saw him was his Gets Around tour at Newcastle where he ruined the opening of The Lion King. He made me laugh so much and forgot my troubles. Since then, I have watched him in Bad Education, Netflix specials, and my favorite Travels with my Father. I’ve read his book Him & Me and listened to his podcast on Audible. I’ve become a fan of his parents and their podcast The Wittering Whitehall’s.
Getting to the O2 London was causing us issues, as where we live had plenty of options to travel to the venue. We chose to drive so far and then get the tube to North Greenwich. As we got off the tube, we followed the signs to the arena which was easily signed and posted.
As we walked up to the O2 arena we discovered a map and followed to the entrance H of the arena. We went through the airport-style scanners and took the escalator to the top.
We spotted the merchandise stall where I bought the program and instantly regretted not purchasing the Michael Whitehall Appreciation Society. We took our seats and waited for the show to begin.
His warmup was Lloyd Griffiths, who is a comedian and tenor which came as a surprise to me. He was very funny, and we both said we would go see him on his own show.
Jack then made his entrance and started with jokes about the current BBC presenter. He told us he was filming for his Netflix special to be aired in December. He continued with Jokes about alcohol and life. He was on stage for 40 minutes before we took an interval break.
During the break, he did an old fashion Kiss Cam like you see in the film ‘How to lose a Guy in 10 Days.’ They put the camera around the audience (well 1 section) and then the last couple was Hillary and Michael Whitehall Jack’s parents. They got the biggest cheer of the night which Jack commented when on stage.
Jack told us the story of how his girlfriend was diagnosed with Diabetes. He asked the audience who has diabetes, which I cheered. He said about how it affects her and how he can recognise the signs. Something happened in that moment as he brought it to reality for me and my partner, he squeezed my hand. Thanks, Jack, for being brave and for telling the story. I don’t know if I would have gone into a hypo seeing Harry Style.
He moved on to becoming a dad and how some friends say it’s the best thing ever and others say it like don’t do it. They don’t do it camp is mine. I saw how happy he is about becoming a dad. How he’s excited and his last hurrah before coming as a dad. Not only have I come away with a smile on my face, felt loved in a moment, and know that I never want to go on Safari!!
After the show, we made our way back to North Greenwich tube station which took nearly 40 minutes from leaving our seats to getting on a tube. I don’t deal with crowds well, the staff were very officiant and helpful to get everyone onto a train. We made our way through and to the first carriage which was quiet and we made our way home.
Overall, we had an easy route to and from the O2 London and learned a valuable lesson about traveling to the arena which will help Peter Kay. Seeing Jack, made me laugh and smile and was the medicine I needed. I’m grateful for his story about the diabetes diagnosis. But seeing Hillary and Michael on the screen was the bonus.
I’m looking forward to the Netflix special being released in December 2023.
mission-charlotte.co.uk 