2,347 posts
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Post by zahidf on Jul 7, 2023 9:43:40 GMT
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Post by raiseitup on Sept 7, 2023 13:55:03 GMT
I totally forgot I'd booked the first preview of this tomorrow evening (thanks for the email reminder Southwark Playhouse)! And I'm double booked. If anyone fancies a pair of tickets, let me know. They were only £7.50 each, happy to take a tenner for both or any other offer to take them off my hands.
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59 posts
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Post by thenightowl on Sept 7, 2023 16:03:12 GMT
I caught this at the Fringe this year and it was my favourite show of the festival. So much fun, quite silly but smart at the same time. Music by Ben Adams (ex A1 for those who remember and Eugenius).
I've read that they've added some new songs for the Southwark run (running time has been extended by approx. 15 minutes what what I can see) so it'll be interesting to see what's different.
Will definitely try and catch this again if I can get down to London soon.
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3,075 posts
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Post by david on Sept 26, 2023 23:48:23 GMT
Day 2 of my trip and my first double show day of the week saw a trip to the Southwark Playhouse for the Tuesday matinee. Having recently bought a PAYG subscription, I thought I’d give this one a go using one of the tickets. Not knowing anything about this show prior to the viewing, I had a really fun time watching this one. The show has run time of just shy of 2hrs (Act 1 = 50 mins, 20 min interval and Act 2 = 45mins). No issues with pacing for me today. It zipped along nicely and I was throughly entertained.
I got a front row seat A17 and I will say straight off that there is plenty of audience interaction with this show, so avoid the front row if you don’t like that sort of thing. Thankfully, I got off pretty lightly with only a few prop cigs being thrown at me, though one guy got fully involved in the show in Act 2 with some on stage dancing!
Based on 1980’s US cop shows / movies, it tells the story of a guy who becomes a cop and it follows his adventures over the 2hrs. It is a pretty daft show in its humour - think Book of Mormon meets Police Squad / Naked Gun. There is plenty of physical humour on show as well as some really witty one liners that are delivered brilliantly by the cast of 5. I can’t fault them. There is plenty of energy being brought to the stage with the physical humour and choreography.
As for the score, a nice mix of rock and pop songs from Zach Hunt, Nathan Parkinson and Tom Roe with the music from Ben Adams. There are some really catchy numbers with some witty lyrics that are performed brilliantly by the cast. The score is brought to life by a band of 3 (keys, guitar and drums). The only issue I had was at times, the band overpowered the cast, meaning that some of the vocals were lost for me. With no programme available, I can’t provide a song list.
There really isn’t much to the set from designer Andrew Exter. Functional at best is how I would sum it up. A nice lighting design from Andrew though.
Having a read of the reviews of the show during its Fringe run, it was getting positive feedback from the critics with 4-5⭐️ being given then. Based on my viewing I would give it 4⭐️.
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Post by capybara on Sept 29, 2023 1:04:55 GMT
This might just be one of the funniest pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen. What a phenomenally talented group of performers. Evoking comparisons with Spitlip’s Operation Mincemeat (multirolling, props and group dynamic) as well as obvious parallels with the styles of Book of Mormon or even the cult improv TV comedy Murder in Successville, Police Cops is a hit in the making.
Madcap and irreverent in its relentless humour, I can only quote Stewart Lee who reportedly said of the show “it takes brains to create something this stupid”.
And big up Southwark Playhouse for taking a chance on yet another new British musical, hot on the heels of Benjamin Button and Ride. It feels like every ‘new’ musical going into the West End these days is an adaptation of existing IP. Police Cops is yet more proof that the talent and creativity is out there; theatres and producers just need to take a chance and commit.
Ben Adams has done a tremendous job to re-score (is that a word?) this following previous attempts. It pushes the show along and gives boundless energy and comedy - but it isn’t at the level of Operation Mincemeat or even Book of Mormon.
I’m not sure it ever will be (or needs to be, even). It is catchy, as Adams managed with Eugenius! also, but not especially memorable. That being said, Police Cops shouldn’t revert to being a play. The score is still pretty good and serves it’s purpose here. And when a show is this funny, it doesn’t really matter - but as I’m rating it as a musical, that’s why it falls just short of the big 5*.
Anyone who enjoys big, bold, brash parodies will love this, as will anyone with a taste for surrealist humour. Four big stars.
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Post by capybara on Oct 3, 2023 22:24:52 GMT
Back again tonight and loved it even more.
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4,562 posts
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Post by Mark on Oct 3, 2023 22:32:40 GMT
It's so much fun! I went to the matinee and laughed along for two hours. Great show.
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Oct 4, 2023 9:51:22 GMT
It's so much fun! I went to the matinee and laughed along for two hours. Great show. I was there too. Avoided my usual front row seat because I'd heard about the audience interaction (Ollie was great !) so row B but fortunately two empty seats in front of me so a perfect view. The last time I enjoyed a Southwark show this much was Operation Mincemeat. I don't think I've ever laughed so much at the theatre and I'd give Police Cops five stars as a comedy play so the decent songs are a bonus. The cast of five work their socks off, it's totally bonkers and the general silliness won't appeal to everyone - the man next to me barely laughed or clapped and left at the interval - but I loved it. (As an aside I saw Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder at Bristol Old Vic last week and that's a similar style of comedy musical and almost as funny and IMHO would be a good fit at Southwark) |
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Post by curiouskc on Oct 4, 2023 14:39:29 GMT
I've seen several Police Cops shows at Edinburgh fringe - Badass Be Thy Name, Police Cops in Space and Police Cops the Musical. They've been terrific and hilarious every time. I'm hoping they will tour after this London run as I'd love to see the extended two act version of the musical show (the Fringe shows were always one act).
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404 posts
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Post by dlevi on Oct 7, 2023 20:33:29 GMT
A great show from start to finish. Smart, funny, wonderfully constructed fabulously choreographed and a delightful quartet of performers . This show deserves a long and happy life.
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2,347 posts
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Post by zahidf on Oct 30, 2023 11:55:21 GMT
Looks like this will be back soon
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Post by capybara on Nov 1, 2023 11:41:48 GMT
Fascinated to see what sort of space this goes into next.
Maybe a return to Southwark? It picked up real momentum in the last weeks of its run.
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2,347 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 1, 2023 11:43:07 GMT
Fascinated to see what sort of space this goes into next. Maybe a return to Southwark? It picked up real momentum in the last weeks of its run. Maybe in the Elephant and Castle space? |
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2,347 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 14, 2023 12:09:30 GMT
Announcement tomorrow on further life for this
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Post by capybara on Nov 14, 2023 12:32:37 GMT
Also posted by Southwark Playhouse. Hoping a return is on the cards as it worked so well in that venue.
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Post by curiouskc on Nov 14, 2023 17:19:17 GMT
Announcement tomorrow on further life for this I'm hoping for a tour! |
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2,347 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 15, 2023 10:35:45 GMT
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Post by dip on Nov 16, 2023 15:21:01 GMT
Got my tickets, very excited to see this for the first time
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3,059 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 16, 2023 20:59:36 GMT
Good luck to them. I missed this first time around, but I’m rather surprised there’s the appetite for a return. Every time I considered going before, I had almost every seat in the building available to choose from.
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Post by matty on Mar 5, 2024 23:10:47 GMT
Caught this tonight and loved it; reminded me a lot of The Toxic Avenger. The cast worked si hard to pull it off and it worked. The audience interaction was hilarious.
Definitely worth a watch
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Post by mrmarmelstein on Mar 7, 2024 11:57:57 GMT
Caught this tonight and loved it; reminded me a lot of The Toxic Avenger. The cast worked si hard to pull it off and it worked. The audience interaction was hilarious. Definitely worth a watch How was the sound quality? Had my first visit for Unfortunate recently and much of the dialogue and lyrics were impossible to hear due to shoddy sound, which has definitely put me off the venue. |
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4,562 posts
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Post by Mark on Mar 9, 2024 22:56:21 GMT
Enjoyed it as much as last time - super funny show and the cast really put everything into it. If you didn’t catch it last time and want a really fun night out do not miss this! And you can see it for as little as £15 with the PAYG scheme.
Really hope they make a cast recording because there’s some banging songs.
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Post by capybara on Mar 11, 2024 22:23:36 GMT
Echo the comment above. Just as funny, if not funnier, as before. Genuinely the funniest thing I’ve ever seen on stage.
I’ll be back again I’m sure.
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Post by fishstain on Mar 18, 2024 18:45:29 GMT
Saw this on Friday and absolutely loved it. It has a similar feel to Operation Mincemeat with a small cast playing lots of different parts but possibly even funnier. Seeing it in a small theatre adds to the experience as well. There are some brilliant lines in it and the cast are tremendous. Highly recommend!
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523 posts
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Post by vabbian on Mar 30, 2024 15:29:39 GMT
5 stars
The best thing I've seen this year so far
V funny. The cast is incredibly talented
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Post by andypandy on Mar 30, 2024 15:51:31 GMT
I also saw this last week - the group i took SCREAMED laughing. One of the funniest shows I've seen in years. 5 stars from me too.
Sadly there was a show stop due to an injury and we missed the last 12 minutes of the show. It was cancelled.
Still we didn't care and loved the catchy songs, story, witty/rude/silly humour and we all adored it.
What a talented and very very funny bunch. You must ALL see this! Go go go.
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Post by happysooz2 on Mar 30, 2024 16:17:10 GMT
The positive reviews on here have activated my FOMO and I’m tempted to book this for half-term. I’ve also never been to the Southwark Playhouse so it’s a chance to tick that one off.
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Post by capybara on Apr 3, 2024 21:46:13 GMT
Saw it again tonight and still hilarious. Got me thinking, with a few weeks remaining of the run, what next?
Definitely seems to be more of a buzz from the Elephant run. Much busier than the midweeks at Borough.
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4,593 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Apr 4, 2024 16:49:54 GMT
I enjoyd this, great fun and the cast really give it 100%. Although it is relentless in tone and some pathos / emotion would be of been welcome. Great show but just not for me.
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382 posts
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Post by stevemar on Apr 4, 2024 22:07:23 GMT
Very enjoyable - the cast and writers work so hard and are quite acrobatic. They throw in so many jokes - some land, some don’t. The comparison to Operation Mincemeat which was tonally more varied, witty and had pathos isn’t quite favourable though. Much of the audience had a great time.
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