When you’re looking for ideas as to what to see in the West End, consider all your options carefully. The fantastic musical “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion features the stirring music of rock group ‘Queen’. Alternatively, if you love a good cliff-hanger, the classic “The 39 Steps” should do the trick.

Meanwhile, if reality TV and the search for stars to appear in ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Grease’ and ‘Joseph’ has whetted your appetite – if so, make sure you secure a ticket for one of these un-missable shows. Or for something a little more traditional, opt for a trip to a stirring opera such as Verdi’s ‘Aida’ or maybe a trip to the ballet in Covent Garden.

The beauty of London’s West End, however, is that so much is packed into such a small area: theatres, hotels, restaurants, pubs, and shops are all conveniently located close together – making it a great place to visit for an action-packed break. Also, many restaurants in the West End offer a special value menu for theatre-goers wishing to eat before attending their selected performance, especially in the area around Leicester Square – so remember to take advantage!

Theatre breaks are not just a summer activity, but can be enjoyed all-year round. Moreover, London’s tumult of activity never ceases, so you’ll be able to see the sights whether you visit in the height of summer or the depths of winter. With many historic attractions, such as Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, plus far more besides, you will never be stuck for attractions to appreciate. Plus, many of the other marvellous sights of the country’s capital are just a short journey away from the West End, including London’s newly crowned number one tourist attraction – The London Eye.

And no visit to London would be complete without a spot of shopping! Hot-spots such as Oxford Street, Regents Street, Carnaby Street and Knightsbridge are all ripe for a spot of retail therapy. From chain stores to exclusive designer shops you’ll find them all, but remember to get back to your hotel in plenty of time to change for curtain-up!

Perhaps your ideal theatre break involves adding romance to your theatre break with a stay in an intimate boutique hotel in London with your partner, or maybe you just want to plump for a budget hotel. Either way by booking a hotel in the West End you’ll never be far away from the spotlight.

When it comes to budgeting for your home theatre, you have some big choices to make. It’s possible to spend anything from $1000 to $1,000,000 on a home cinema, although typically a good setup will cost no more than $3000. The key is to budget wisely, don’t spend all your money on a Projector while buying cheap speakers or your experience will suffer!

Typically, a Home Theatre setup will consist of a DVD (or nowadays a Blu-Ray) player, a Home Theatre Amplifier, a set of surround sound speakers, and a Projector and screen. Some people prefer to use an LCD or Plasma TV, but while these are good enough for TV programs, sports or video gaming, nothing less than a proper projector and screen setup will give you the real “big screen” feel you get at a movie theatre. When budgeting, don’t forget to include the cost of extras like cables, and seating, and even dedicated lighting and remote controls if you want them.

With the death of HD-DVD, Blu-Ray is now the only hi-def movie format, so the heart of you system should be a good quality Blu-Ray player. There are now plenty to choose from, with prices starting from around $300, but surprisingly, one of the best Blu-Ray players is a the Sony Playstation 3. Not only is it a very capable video games machine, but it’s video output is of a very high quality, and it benefits from very speedy menus and loading due to it’s powerful processors.

Your next purchase should be a Home Theatre Amplifier (Amp). Home Theatre amplifiers are different from Stereo Amplifiers, in that they can decode the sound formats used by DVD’s and Blu-Rays, and have outputs for 6, 7, or 8 channels. A good amplifier is a must, look for one that is powerful enough for your room, and can also decode the latest sound formats. Some amplifiers will also switch your video between multiple inputs and outputs, which can be useful if you want to hook up several sources to your projector and speakers.

Speakers should be chosen to match your amplifier. For home cinema the most popular setup is 5.1, where there are 5 main speakers, and 1 “subwoofer”, a speaker dedicated to producing very low “booming” sounds. If you want to feel every explosion or gunshot of a film, buy a speaker package with a high-quality subwoofer! The 5 normal speakers are placed around your seating position; one in front, one each to the front left and front right, and one each to the rear left and rear right. 6.1 and 7.1 systems are available with even more speakers, but 5.1 is good enough for most rooms.

Lastly, you will want a projector and screen. The models that are right for you will depend on your room size and the level of ambient light when you watch your films. In general, look for the brightest, most high-contrast model you can afford, and buy a model that produces at least a 720p image, although preferably 1080p.

It’s a little like getting on a plane, the desire to get more seats in the auditorium than perhaps is comfortable in order to maximise revenue per performance. It’s logical and maybe in some of the older theatres previous generations weren’t as tall as us but whatever the case it still makes for theatre seats that are not as comfortable as they could be.

Living in Lancashire most of my theatre visits are in the county and I just have to tell you about the exception to the rule above that I recently found in Blackburn.

It came about through my wife’s business. She runs networking events for local entrepreneurs who are looking for business networking Lancashire and specifically along the M65 corridor. One of her venues in Blackburn is not so good so a change was in order and it was one of the members of her business networking groups that suggested looking at the Thwaites Empire Theatre.

I have to say that I was quite sceptical but one of the directors of the theatre was willing to show us round and throw in a free performance for us. We watched an excellent production of “Shearer Or Me” but it was the tour of the theatre that really brought the visit to life.

The theatre was originally a cinema constructed in the early 1900s and packed it’s guests in on bench seats for a penny at the front, two at the back and a whole four pence for the balcony. It thrived until the advent of the television and also because it’s not ideally situated for the centre of Blackburn it fell on hard times and was eventually closed. The building lay derelict for many years until 1996 when it was acquired by a number of local businessmen with a vision to restore the theatre to it’s former glory.

Fortunately the men with the vision had plenty of business networking advice and went about securing funding from local businesses and the Blackburn family brewery Thwaites. Lot’s of hard work, five years of planning and £650,000 later and the Thwaites Empire Theatre was born complete with stage, orchestra pit, seating for 180 and of course a hospitality bar. I understand that part of the financial deal with Thwaites is that the theatre takes the brewery beer until the debt is paid off and to give you some idea of the magnitude of Thwaites generosity this won’t be paid off in my lifetime or probably yours. In fact I also understand that if the brewery now makes a bad business deal it’s referred to as a theatre deal!

The stalls used to seat 600 and now seat 180 so you can see how attention to customer comfort has taken precedence over the “bums on seats” mentality at other establishments and it was when sitting down that many people commented that this has to be the theatre with the most comfortable seats in Lancashire. The balcony was eventually completed in 2007 with further donations of £250,000 and to this day the theatre is run not for profit by volunteers.

It’s a beautiful theatre and well worth a visit and you never know, there maybe some business networking events being run there in the future.

If you fancy a short trip away that offers plenty of culture then a theatre break could be the ideal solution. Here you simply book the hotel and theatre show as a package in order to benefit from discounted rates – this saves time and money when compared to searching for and booking the different activities separately. Therefore, you can take in a theatre show and have a break in the capital city of Britain, all at the same time.

By booking one of London’s top shows and combining it with a stay in a well located London hotel, you get to see a high quality production as well as being able to access and explore some of the capital city’s most popular attractions.

The West End is the largest theatre district in the world and at the centre of Britain’s commercial theatre scene. The West End name originally came from the fact that it was situated to the West of the city of London.

A vast majority of London’s West End theatres are easily identified due to their location in the area commonly known as Theatreland. Theatreland is bordered by The Strand, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Kingsway, whilst Shaftesbury Avenue is considered to be at the heart of all the theatre activity. A few theatres fall outside of these boundaries but are still considered to be in the West End; the Victoria Palace, the Apollo Victoria, the Old Vic and the National Theatre all fall into this category.

Once you’ve had your trip to the theatre you certainly won’t be spoilt for choices of things to see and do in one of Europe’s most popular cities.

A trip to Chinatown is an authentic experience where you can enjoy some traditional delicacies and wander through the paper lantern lined streets. Bordering Chinatown you can find Soho, which is a busy and bustling district.

If you wish to experience more culture then you could visit the city’s many museums or art and photography galleries. The Southbank has an exploding arts scene, nice walking paths along the riverside and famous landmarks such as the Oxo Tower and London Eye. St Paul’s Cathedral is another great sight to behold and the nearby East End is an interesting area to explore whether for the renowned curries of Brick Lane or the legacy of Jack the Ripper.

If you fancy making the most of your time then you could take a guided tour by foot, bus or river. Furthermore, a day in one of London’s many parks offer a welcome solace from the hustle and bustle of the city streets.

So, London theatre breaks not only offer a chance to catch some high quality shows but also to sample some of the other top attractions London has to offer.

Setting aside an entire room to devote to nothing more than watching television or movies can seem frivolous, but for those who really love entertainment this can be one of the most exciting rooms in a house to set up. Carefully chosen equipment, themes and even movies can combine to make a family’s theatre room the most trafficked place in a house, but if the home theatre furniture doesn’t fit the bill, the opposite might happen.

Choosing home theatre furniture is a very big deal and a proceeding that should be handled with care. The fact is furniture for a home theatre can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a few key considerations that should come into play before any furniture is purchased. These include:

Money: Putting together a great home theatre can be a costly venture. By the time the screen and projector and sound system are purchased, there might be very little left for buying home theatre furniture. While it’s more than acceptable to phase in purchases over time, breaking a budget is not. When planning for this room’s creation, try to put furniture into the mix. Set a solid budget for buys and make sure the other considerations are met to make a room truly spectacular. If money’s tight, use the furniture you have and add on later.

Space: While many people might want to have three rows of specially designed movie theatre seating in their home theatre, this might not be feasible. Take a good look at space before making any purchases. One of the top concerns for furniture is placement not only for viewing, but also listening pleasure. If furniture is too big and bulky for a small room, the actual enjoyment of movies might be compromised.

Style: There are all kinds of options when it comes to style of furniture for home theatres. From basic living room sets to special theatre recliners, there’s no real rule of the road to follow here. Pick a theme and have fun with it. If the furniture needs to be purchased later, have the theme in mind and build up around it as money allows.

Comfort: Don’t discount this as an important factor. Even if an old sofa is used to provide the seating at the start, it should be comfortable to make all night movie marathons more enjoyable.

Functionality: This is perhaps the biggest concern in home theatre furniture. From the tables and chairs down to the storage cabinets, the furniture within a theatre should support the room’s overall function. Remember, there will likely be eating and drinking going on in the room, so plenty of drink holders or flat surfaces are absolutely in order. A good place to store equipment and even video library items will also likely be necessary. The functionality is often found in the design of specifically made home theatre furniture items, but it can also be created in a makeshift set up, too.

It doesn’t matter if a home theatre furniture ensembles matches from the start, or if it’s put together piecemeal. What does matter, however, is that furniture is comfortable and functional. The looks can come later if necessary, but don’t compromise on functionality.

The ETC offers a fantastic view from every seat (about 200 or so by my guestimations), and also has surprisingly good acoustics for that space. What makes the venue even better is the building itself…it is a gem and has all sorts of architectural details for you to enjoy (if you’re in to that sort of thing).

As for the show we saw ‘Rabbit Hole’ which is the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Best New Play and a Tony Award-winning drama. The show was great and the seats were full…at the end the audience gave a standing ovation for the great performance. The ETC is a great theatre that has a strong history and is nationally known.

I highly recommend a visit to the ETC. It is a good alternative to the movies and the show lets out with plenty of time to go out drinking afterwards. The ETC offers student discounts, as well as, senior discounts. You can now also buy tickets online…and if you want to see ‘Rabbit Hole’ then you better hurry because its time runs up this Sunday.