Ellen’s Bucket List

I first drew this up in May 2023, as the world was emerging from the long shadow of lockdowns. I realised how easy it is to take experiences for granted, and I didn’t want to keep putting things off “for another time.”

So, I began a bucket list - part wish list, part reminder - and since then I’ve been adding to it and crossing things off as I go. It’s a mix of theatre, film, concerts, museums, places and the occasional wild card. Some items are big dreams, others are more “mustn’t forget to go.” If something’s ticked ✔ that means I've done it. If there's a hyperlink that means I've written a blog post about it!

Based on the things I’ve listed, if you’ve got any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.

THEATRE

• The Lion King (2 June 2024) ✔

• The Book of Mormon (18 July 2025) ✔

• Moulin Rouge (7 December 2024) ✔

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (9 September 2025) ✔

• Dracula (starring Cynthia Erivo), Noel Coward Theatre, London (Booked April 2026)

• Our Town (starring Michael Sheen), Rose Kingston (Booked March 2026)

• American Psycho musical, Almedia Theatre (opening 2026)

• The unseen Stephen Sondheim musicals (throughout 2025) ✔

• Giffords Circus (4 August 2023) ✔

• Beetlejuice, the musical (Booked July 2026)

  
  

BALLET & DANCE

• Edward Scissorhands – Matthew Bourne (14 January 2024) ✔

• Romeo & Juliet – Matthew Bourne

• The Red Shoes – Matthew Bourne (Booked March 2026)

• Sleeping Beauty – Matthew Bourne

• Dorian Gray – Matthew Bourne

• Lord of the Flies – Matthew Bourne

• The Car Man - Matthew Bourne (on tour in the UK in 2026)

• The Midnight Bell – Matthew Bourne (31 July 2025) ✔
  

CONCERTS

• Willie Nelson

• Mandy Patinkin (18 November 2023) ✔

• Pet Shop Boys (26 July 2024) ✔

• Rufus Wainwright
  

FILM/LITERATURE FESTIVALS/EVENTS – UK

• Agatha Christie Festival, Torquay

• Daphne du Maurier Festival, Fowey

• Film Noir Festival, Weston-super-Mare

• Widescreen Weekend, Bradford

• GrindFest, Christchurch (19 - 21 September 2025) ✔

• Wareham Silent Film Weekend

• Forbidden Worlds, Bristol

• Cary Grant Festival, Bristol (19 - 20 November 2022 and 30 Nov - 1 Dec 2024) ✔✔

• Cinema Rediscovered, Bristol (22 - 24 July 2022) ✔

• Slapstick Festival, Bristol (28 - 31 January 2022) ✔

• Seeing a film in 4DX (21 August 2025) ✔

• All night movie marathon

• Solve Along A Murder She Wrote

• A Murder Mystery event at somewhere special
  

UK PLACES

• Blackpool incl. Showtown

• Barry Island

• Oakley Court Hotel, Berkshire

• Whitstable/Broadstairs/Margate

• Mary Shelley in Marlow locations inc Mary Does Marlow walking tour

• Mary Shelley in Bournemouth locations

• Mary Shelley in Bath locations (March 2025) ✔

• Grayson Perry's A House for Essex (Booked)

• Jane Austen’s Bath Apartment (March 2025) ✔

• Tour of other Picturedrome Cinemas (a work in progress)

• Tour of Cinema Organs (a work in progress)

• Tour of highly rated cinemas (a work in progress)

• Independent cinemas of Sussex (a work in progress)

• Hot Fuzz locations, Wells (June 2023) ✔
  

MUSEUMS – UK

• Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, Dungeness (26 September 2025) ✔

• Novelty Automation, Holborn

• Eltham Palace

• V&A East Storehouse

• Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields

• House of Dreams Museum, East Dulwich

• Keats House, Hampstead

• God’s Own Junkyard, Walthamstow

• William Morris Museum, Walthamstow

• Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street

• The Magic Circle, Euston

• Lee Miller, Farleys House, East Sussex

• Kipling’s Bateman’s, East Sussex

• Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s House, East Sussex

• National Science and Media Museum, Bradford

• Brontë Parsonage, Haworth

• Kent MOMI, Deal

• Sistine Chapel (recreation), Goring-by-Sea (5 September 2024) ✔

• Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein, Bath (27 March 2025) ✔

• Heath Robinson Museum, Pinner
  

PARIS/FRANCE

• Umbrellas of Cherbourg film locations (October 2024) ✔

• Hotel Splendor-Elysees, Paris

• Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione, Paris

• Musée Méliès, Paris

• Cinémathèque Française, Paris

• Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris

• Le Grand Rex – art deco cinema palace, Paris

• Cinéma au Clair de Lune, Paris

• Le Louxor Palais du Cinéma, Paris

• Studio 28, Montmartre, Paris

• Cité du Cinéma (St Denis)

• La Pagode (when reopened), Paris

• Cinéma Eden-Théâtre, La Ciotat

• Institut Lumière, Lyon

• La Piscine Museum, Roubaix
  

AUSTRIA

• Bregenz Opera Festival, Lake Constance

• Sound of Music, Salzburg
  

GERMANY (RUHR REGION)

• Starlight Express, Bochum

• Lichtburg Essen
  

SLOVAKIA

• Orava Castle & Village

SWITZERLAND

• Chaplin’s World, Corsier-sur-Vevey
  

ITALY

• Verona – open-air opera in ancient arena

• Pordenone Silent Film Festival
  

SPAIN

• Malaga – to visit friends

• Barcelona – Gaudi architecture

• Sitges Film Festival

• Phenomena Experience, Barcelona

• Salvador Dali Museum
  

CZECH REPUBLIC

• Noir Film Festival – Šternberk Castle

• Lucerna Palace Cinema, Prague

• Barrandov Studios Tour, Prague

• Karel Zeman Museum, Prague
  

HUNGARY

• Budapest – thermal baths

• Columbo statue

• Uránia National Film Theatre, Budapest

• Budapest Classic Film Marathon

• Matthias Church Cinema Concerts
  

NETHERLANDS

• Museum Speelklok, Utrecht

• Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam

• Imagine Film Festival, Amsterdam

• Tuschinski Theatre, Amsterdam

• FilmHallen, Amsterdam

• Electric Ladyland, Amsterdam

• Various rides at Efteling (18 - 22 August 2025) ✔
  

BELGIUM

• Cinematek, Brussels

• Horta Museum, Brussels

• Train World, Brussels

• Jeanne Dielman Mural, Brussels

• Audrey Hepburn Gardens & Plaque, Brussels
  

MALTA

• Popeye Village
  

SWEDEN

• Göteborg Film Festival

• Bergmancenter, Fårö
  

AMERICA (USA)

• New York

• San Francisco

• The Ellen Theatre, Bozeman, Montana

• Somewhere in Time Weekend, Mackinac Island

• Drive-In Movie Theatres – Route 66, Midwest, or California

• Twin Peaks locations

• Field of Dreams, Iowa

• Sleepy Hollow Film Fest

• San Francisco Silent Film Festival

• Nitrate Film Festival – George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY

• Borscht Belt Film Festival – Ellenville, NY

• To Save and Project Film Festival – New York, MoMA

• Museum of the Moving Image, Queens

• Coney Island

• Radio City Music Hall

WILD CARDS Alongside the main bucket list, I’ve set myself a mini challenge: to choose four Wild Cards between October 2025 and 2026. These are spontaneous, slightly unexpected experiences - things I wouldn’t normally plan or might even hesitate over - chosen simply to keep life curious and unpredictable.

1. Something planned for October 2025: Not my usual frequency. A moment to be still, to listen and maybe to tune in to something unexpected. Can you guess what it is? It was a Sound Bath, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. (12 October 2025)

2. ?

3. ?

4. Something planned for October 2026: It involves heights, heartbeats and maybe a deep breath or two. The view may be breathtaking… if I dare to look.  Can you guess what it is?

Last updated 5 November 2025