Palace news

I shall be in London tomorrow for the world premiere of a new musical co-written by a friend and his daughter.

I first met Todd Buchholz in 1983 when I was invited to attend a Young Americas Foundation conference in Washington DC.

After studying law at Harvard and economics at Cambridge, Todd was a White House advisor under George Bush Sr.

His first book, New Ideas From Dead Economists, is perhaps his best known work (it’s been translated into 15 languages) but his most recent book, The Price of Prosperity: Why Rich Nations Fail and How to Renew Them, was nominated by the Washington Post as one of eight "must-reads" for the summer of 2016.

Todd was also one of the early backers of Jersey Boys, a global success story that began at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego where his wife is general manager.

Glory Ride is ‘based on the true story of a heroic conspiracy to rescue children from fascist Italy via bicycle’.

Like most musicals it’s been in development for years and as I understand it this ‘staged concert performance’ is merely the latest of many stages.

The three performances taking place this week are at The Other Palace in Palace Street, a short walk from Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace.

The Other Palace is at 12 Palace Street and directly across the road, at number 13, is Audley House, a smart Edwardian office block built in 1901, I think.

By coincidence Audley House was Forest’s home from 1998 to 2005 so I know the street very well although the immediate area has changed a lot since then.

The theatre is in a building that didn’t exist when Forest moved in to Audley House. Nor did Cardinal Place, the large office and retail complex that opened in 2005 shortly after we left.

Still there though, albeit dwarfed by the new buildings, is The Phoenix, a pub that stands directly opposite Audley House and next to The Other Palace.

In ‘our’ day The Phoenix was a bit shabby but once a week perhaps, usually on a Friday, we might pop in for lunch.

A few years after we left Audley House for Cambridge I was invited to speak to the Adam Smith Institute’s Next Generation group in an upstairs function room and the whole pub had undergone something of a transformation.

Following a refurbishment it appeared much lighter (and cleaner!), albeit in a slightly characterless way. I don’t remember much more about it but I intend to drop in for a drink before tomorrow night’s show.

The sight of Audley House across the road will bring back a lot of memories, good and bad, only some of which I have previously shared with you.

If you can bear it, watch this space!