6,382 posts
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Post by Jon on May 11, 2024 23:35:47 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage.
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132 posts
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Post by blobble84 on May 12, 2024 8:30:15 GMT
I thought this was a lot of fun, and the Basil voice and mannerisms were perfect. But the show needs far much more pace. It’s farce and I think scenes and reactions need to be played quicker so they land better. For example, The classic scene where Basil is trying to mime Dragonfly to Polly just felt laboured. I’m sure it will bed in and improve in time, but probably not before press night next week. A solid 3* from me.
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Post by bigredapple on May 12, 2024 17:48:17 GMT
What’s the run time for this ? Is it straight through or with an interval?
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3,080 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on May 12, 2024 18:05:21 GMT
There is an interval. About 2 hours.
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Post by scarletmood on May 12, 2024 23:34:48 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage. There were other ones which could have been done such as Gourmet Night but how the car being attacked would work on stage might have been an issue and Basil the Rat would have been another one I would have liked to have seen done.
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Post by Jan on May 13, 2024 5:46:49 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage. There were other ones which could have been done such as Gourmet Night but how the car being attacked would work on stage might have been an issue and Basil the Rat would have been another one I would have liked to have seen done. I remember watching the first run of the first series in 1975 and the second in 1979. A Touch of Class was the first ever episode screened and I thought it was by far the weakest (in relative terms) of them all. I vote for Gourmet Night as the best, it is up there with Feydeau.
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39 posts
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Post by avfan on May 15, 2024 21:09:00 GMT
Hands down the worst thing I’ve seen this year out of 24 shows. The cast are great with what they’re given, which is a pedestrian script and poor direction. The pacing is terrible and some of the jokes fall flat because of it. I knew it was essentially 3 episodes on stage but that is it. Little or nothing has been done to turn it into a theatrical vehicle. ⭐️ from me.
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6,382 posts
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Post by Jon on May 16, 2024 11:55:46 GMT
The reviews are okay and a lot of pull quotes they can use.
I think if sales remain strong, they'll extend.
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Post by mrekko on May 17, 2024 9:06:06 GMT
They might literally have 1 rush ticket available for this. I did the fastest finger possible at 10am for a single ticket and it said that all tickets were being held.
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1,005 posts
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Post by nash16 on May 17, 2024 9:10:22 GMT
They might literally have 1 rush ticket available for this. I did the fastest finger possible at 10am for a single ticket and it said that all tickets were being held. Don’t forget: Today Tix Rush prioritises pairs of seats being sold, over singles.
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18,916 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 17, 2024 9:17:22 GMT
Poll added
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Post by scarletmood on May 17, 2024 14:09:28 GMT
They interviewed Adam Jackson-Smith on BBC Breakfast yesterday before 9AM and he was in his dressing room and he said they had a matinee show. So I wonder if he had slept/stays overnight in his dressing room. It would be very early to get to the theatre just to do the interview which you'd think could have been done from where he is staying/lives?
There have been stories of some performers staying in their dressing rooms over night at all sorts of venues. Some theatres do have flats/bedsits in their complex. This would have to be arranged as for Fire Safety it would need to be known who is in the building.
I can see this extending and then touring next year.
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6,382 posts
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Post by Jon on May 17, 2024 14:16:32 GMT
They interviewed Adam Jackson-Smith on BBC Breakfast yesterday before 9AM and he was in his dressing room and he said they had a matinee show. So I wonder if he had slept/stays overnight in his dressing room. It would be very early to get to the theatre just to do the interview which you'd think could have been done from where he is staying/lives? There have been stories of some performers staying in their dressing rooms over night at all sorts of venues. Some theatres do have flats/bedsits in their complex. This would have to be arranged as for Fire Safety it would need to be known who is in the building. I can see this extending and then touring next year. I imagine he was asked to go to the theatre for the interview with transport arrangement by the producers. You wouldn't be able to sleep in the theatre overnight for security reasons.
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939 posts
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Post by max on May 17, 2024 15:38:13 GMT
Hands down the worst thing I’ve seen this year out of 24 shows. The cast are great with what they’re given, which is a pedestrian script and poor direction. The pacing is terrible and some of the jokes fall flat because of it. I knew it was essentially 3 episodes on stage but that is it. Little or nothing has been done to turn it into a theatrical vehicle. ⭐️ from me. When I first heard about it, I thought Cleese had crafted 3 episodes to interleave and have some sort of rising arc across the piece - tricky and could mess with people's memories of the discrete episodes, but a more exciting idea, and a reason for the curious to see if it worked. It would up the manic energy for Basil, spinning even more plates than in the TV series - and audiences love to see actors sweat ('Operation Mincemeat' etc). One review said that one actor/plot overlaps from episode 2 to 3, but that's it. Seeing three TV episodes largely end-to-end doesn't hold much interest for me.
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Post by talkingheads on May 17, 2024 18:49:20 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage. A gin and orange, a lemon squash and a scotch and water PLEASE".
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3,111 posts
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Post by david on May 17, 2024 22:08:11 GMT
Well, I absolutely loved this tonight. Bagging a £25 seat in the stalls (C5), this one was worth every penny. I’m definitely happier that I held out to get such a great seat for a bargain price, considering what the seats were going for when they first went on sale. Being so close wasn’t an issue when there were brief moments of action on the second level of the set. I certainly didn’t get any neck ache from looking up.
Combing the 3 tv episodes into one plot worked well for me and I’ll admit you are getting nothing new with the writing, but everybody in the audience tonight like me seemed to have a great night at the Apollo watching a brilliant cast bringing these iconic episodes to the stage for 2hrs. These episodes might be 50 years old, but the writing of Cleese and Booth still hits the mark and it’s easy to see why FT still rates highly in the rankings of UK comedy shows.
Pacing wise, I can’t really complain here. It flowed well, and all the jokes landed and the actors portraying these iconic characters got the mannerisms spot on from the tv cast. From talking to folk both in the interval and after the show, nobody had any complaints from seeing the show and I was certainly on my feet applauding this cast at the end.
Overall, a great way to end my birthday. Rating 4⭐️
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6,382 posts
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Post by Jon on May 17, 2024 22:11:16 GMT
Have to admit, I am looking forward to seeing this next week, it's not going to be life changing but sometimes all you need is a good laugh.
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Post by mrekko on May 18, 2024 17:39:24 GMT
Second time lucky with Rush at todays matinee (and a solid seat at the Stalls for £25 which felt like a steal).
I quite enjoyed the play, it’s a good production and performances. Adam Jackson-Smith is charismatic and does a great job. I’ve watched the tv show a few years ago and this brought back the memories as it’s more or less lifted verbatim.
As others have said, it’s mostly for the nostalgia; it wouldn’t have much of an appeal as a standalone show and/or to someone who hasn’t seen the tv series.
A pleasant and enjoyable experience and 3.5 starts overall, which I’ve rounded up to 4 cos I’m feeling generous.
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