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Post by theatre2023 on Nov 11, 2023 23:49:00 GMT
The illusion department lets the production down somewhat. As someone else commented - the show needs a real “gee whizz” spectacular moment - something jaw dropping to talk about … sadly it’s not there.
Even the change into mice isn’t particularly magical.
Missed opportunity unfortunately.
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Post by greatauntedna on Nov 12, 2023 1:00:28 GMT
I went this evening. {Spoiler - click to view}Was the phone in the audience part of the show or not? This happened tonight also… {Spoiler - click to view} I don’t know if I’m going mad, but I thought she called the person an arsehole or was it arse on Thursday night. She said like “we don’t need this, we’ve just been waiting ages” cos it was after the show stop. I thought it was a bit strong for a family show!
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Post by MusicalTalk on Nov 12, 2023 10:12:08 GMT
The line is “children are assholes”.
She then sings a very good song, defending her choice of words.
The thing is with family shows is it has to have something for the adults as well.
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Post by erik24601 on Nov 12, 2023 10:36:11 GMT
Can anybody give a full review of the special effects, with a spoiler tag please?
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Post by phantom1986 on Nov 12, 2023 11:16:22 GMT
Can't believe they have been workshopping this for years and this is the best they came up with. As a musicalisation it adds nothing - the score is dull and unmemorable and each song seems to go on forever while adding nothing to the plot. That soup number in Act 2...
It's clearly a cash grab for the NT and has been built to slot easily into the West End but I don't see it having much of a future life.
Shame as there's lots of talented people involved but I'd skip this one.
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Post by Fleance on Nov 13, 2023 23:52:45 GMT
I went this evening. {Spoiler - click to view}Was the phone in the audience part of the show or not? This happened tonight also… And tonight. It's part of the show.
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Post by greatauntedna on Nov 14, 2023 0:29:31 GMT
This happened tonight also… And tonight. It's part of the show. I think we’ve gathered that now but good to know 😝
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Post by Fleance on Nov 14, 2023 8:05:38 GMT
And tonight. It's part of the show. I think we’ve gathered that now but good to know 😝 There were few glitches/malfunctions which I assume are not part of the show but which were fun nevertheless.
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Post by JJShaw on Nov 14, 2023 11:13:15 GMT
Saw this last night, I'll put under a spoiler just in case as it is still previews and some might want to go in completely fresh. But if you are going I think you're going to have a good time! {Spoiler - click to view}Clearly they have put some money into the set and I thought it looked great! We have one extremely brief show stop where the revolve just hadn't revolved enough, it was really brief, maybe 2 minutes with the stage manager coming out being very nice and the audience were supportive. However after it was fixed I couldn't help but think why they didn't just switch the two set pieces so the revolve wouldn't have to do as much, but anyway..!
We also had another mishap which took me ages to notice but I think everyone else clocked on earlier, Bruno's mouse didn't appear for the end of act 2 where his parents take him home but his pre recorded lines still came out so his ghostly voice was expertly turned into a voice from the heavens from Gran.
Speaking of, Gran was fantastic, as was the rest of the cast, and her chemistry with Luke was very sweet, actually at it sweetest during the bows when they were able to have fun and be silly, shame some more of that wasnt incorporated into the show!! The kids were very sweet and I'll give them passes as its previews with what looks like lots going on plus they're kids, but it was a lot of 'stand centre and look up to the circle and deliver your lines' so perhaps a resident director could work with them while the rest of the creatives work on the show. But Bruno's number was very fun and silly. Melody (Melanie?!) the grand high witches assistant was fun, as were most of the ensemble women who all got their moments to shine. Didn't quite connect with the hotel manager who has lots of material but just didn't seem to shine, but again its previews and maybe as lots of his scenes it stitching other together perhaps he's had lots of material changes.
Can Katherine Kingsley please have her Hannah Waddingham moment? I've seen her in so much and every time she is the best thing about a show. So funny, so gorgeous, elevated the material even when it wasnt great.
Which leads me on to the book which was fairly solid however we would get the really out of place 2020 references to tik-tok, selfies, and the baby shark song (EYE ROLL!!!) which were completely at odds with the set and costume design of the grand-budapest-hotel vintage kitsch (which I loved it all looked beautiful!) you could - and should - take out those few references and you'd be left with a nice solid non-specific-time book which was serviceable and did actually have a few of its own very funny jokes. (Particularly when Bruno asks Luke what his dad does for a job, Luke says his dad is dead and Bruno deadpan goes 'oh mine isn't.')
Music wise, I'm not a huge fan of Dave Malloy but the first few numbers were really fun and had great ideas, it sort of trickled out after a while but very reminiscent of Matilda meets Beetlejuice (with hints of Urinetown), but it was good none the less.
End of act one, while the accapella singing is impressive, really really failed to land a punch and if you're going to focus on moments THIS is one you need to nail and they absolutely did not. The act 2 11 o'clock number sung by the little girl as gnome was really sweet (and impressive the pipes on this girl!) but the sentiment of the song was a little clunky.
If it stays like this come opening night, it's fine and enjoyable, if they are looking to make some final tweaks and refinement, it could be really really good. But either way well worth your time to go see, always exciting for London to get actual premieres of new musicals, and this one felt like the kind of musical that would pad out a Broadway season (weather it would close before the Tony's I don't know but we rarely get new productions like this on this scale so that's nice!)
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Post by Fleance on Nov 14, 2023 11:27:46 GMT
Saw this last night, I'll put under a spoiler just in case as it is still previews and some might want to go in completely fresh. But if you are going I think you're going to have a good time! {Spoiler - click to view}Clearly they have put some money into the set and I thought it looked great! We have one extremely brief show stop where the revolve just hadn't revolved enough, it was really brief, maybe 2 minutes with the stage manager coming out being very nice and the audience were supportive. However after it was fixed I couldn't help but think why they didn't just switch the two set pieces so the revolve wouldn't have to do as much, but anyway..!
We also had another mishap which took me ages to notice but I think everyone else clocked on earlier, Bruno's mouse didn't appear for the end of act 2 where his parents take him home but his pre recorded lines still came out so his ghostly voice was expertly turned into a voice from the heavens from Gran.
Speaking of, Gran was fantastic, as was the rest of the cast, and her chemistry with Luke was very sweet, actually at it sweetest during the bows when they were able to have fun and be silly, shame some more of that wasnt incorporated into the show!! The kids were very sweet and I'll give them passes as its previews with what looks like lots going on plus they're kids, but it was a lot of 'stand centre and look up to the circle and deliver your lines' so perhaps a resident director could work with them while the rest of the creatives work on the show. But Bruno's number was very fun and silly. Melody (Melanie?!) the grand high witches assistant was fun, as were most of the ensemble women who all got their moments to shine. Didn't quite connect with the hotel manager who has lots of material but just didn't seem to shine, but again its previews and maybe as lots of his scenes it stitching other together perhaps he's had lots of material changes.
Can Katherine Kingsley please have her Hannah Waddingham moment? I've seen her in so much and every time she is the best thing about a show. So funny, so gorgeous, elevated the material even when it wasnt great.
Which leads me on to the book which was fairly solid however we would get the really out of place 2020 references to tik-tok, selfies, and the baby shark song (EYE ROLL!!!) which were completely at odds with the set and costume design of the grand-budapest-hotel vintage kitsch (which I loved it all looked beautiful!) you could - and should - take out those few references and you'd be left with a nice solid non-specific-time book which was serviceable and did actually have a few of its own very funny jokes. (Particularly when Bruno asks Luke what his dad does for a job, Luke says his dad is dead and Bruno deadpan goes 'oh mine isn't.')
Music wise, I'm not a huge fan of Dave Malloy but the first few numbers were really fun and had great ideas, it sort of trickled out after a while but very reminiscent of Matilda meets Beetlejuice (with hints of Urinetown), but it was good none the less.
End of act one, while the accapella singing is impressive, really really failed to land a punch and if you're going to focus on moments THIS is one you need to nail and they absolutely did not. The act 2 11 o'clock number sung by the little girl as gnome was really sweet (and impressive the pipes on this girl!) but the sentiment of the song was a little clunky.
If it stays like this come opening night, it's fine and enjoyable, if they are looking to make some final tweaks and refinement, it could be really really good. But either way well worth your time to go see, always exciting for London to get actual premieres of new musicals, and this one felt like the kind of musical that would pad out a Broadway season (weather it would close before the Tony's I don't know but we rarely get new productions like this on this scale so that's nice!)
Which kid leads did we see last night? I think it was Keita and Cutts, but I'm not sure. They were great.
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Post by JJShaw on Nov 14, 2023 12:18:38 GMT
Saw this last night, I'll put under a spoiler just in case as it is still previews and some might want to go in completely fresh. But if you are going I think you're going to have a good time! {Spoiler - click to view}Clearly they have put some money into the set and I thought it looked great! We have one extremely brief show stop where the revolve just hadn't revolved enough, it was really brief, maybe 2 minutes with the stage manager coming out being very nice and the audience were supportive. However after it was fixed I couldn't help but think why they didn't just switch the two set pieces so the revolve wouldn't have to do as much, but anyway..!
We also had another mishap which took me ages to notice but I think everyone else clocked on earlier, Bruno's mouse didn't appear for the end of act 2 where his parents take him home but his pre recorded lines still came out so his ghostly voice was expertly turned into a voice from the heavens from Gran.
Speaking of, Gran was fantastic, as was the rest of the cast, and her chemistry with Luke was very sweet, actually at it sweetest during the bows when they were able to have fun and be silly, shame some more of that wasnt incorporated into the show!! The kids were very sweet and I'll give them passes as its previews with what looks like lots going on plus they're kids, but it was a lot of 'stand centre and look up to the circle and deliver your lines' so perhaps a resident director could work with them while the rest of the creatives work on the show. But Bruno's number was very fun and silly. Melody (Melanie?!) the grand high witches assistant was fun, as were most of the ensemble women who all got their moments to shine. Didn't quite connect with the hotel manager who has lots of material but just didn't seem to shine, but again its previews and maybe as lots of his scenes it stitching other together perhaps he's had lots of material changes.
Can Katherine Kingsley please have her Hannah Waddingham moment? I've seen her in so much and every time she is the best thing about a show. So funny, so gorgeous, elevated the material even when it wasnt great.
Which leads me on to the book which was fairly solid however we would get the really out of place 2020 references to tik-tok, selfies, and the baby shark song (EYE ROLL!!!) which were completely at odds with the set and costume design of the grand-budapest-hotel vintage kitsch (which I loved it all looked beautiful!) you could - and should - take out those few references and you'd be left with a nice solid non-specific-time book which was serviceable and did actually have a few of its own very funny jokes. (Particularly when Bruno asks Luke what his dad does for a job, Luke says his dad is dead and Bruno deadpan goes 'oh mine isn't.')
Music wise, I'm not a huge fan of Dave Malloy but the first few numbers were really fun and had great ideas, it sort of trickled out after a while but very reminiscent of Matilda meets Beetlejuice (with hints of Urinetown), but it was good none the less.
End of act one, while the accapella singing is impressive, really really failed to land a punch and if you're going to focus on moments THIS is one you need to nail and they absolutely did not. The act 2 11 o'clock number sung by the little girl as gnome was really sweet (and impressive the pipes on this girl!) but the sentiment of the song was a little clunky.
If it stays like this come opening night, it's fine and enjoyable, if they are looking to make some final tweaks and refinement, it could be really really good. But either way well worth your time to go see, always exciting for London to get actual premieres of new musicals, and this one felt like the kind of musical that would pad out a Broadway season (weather it would close before the Tony's I don't know but we rarely get new productions like this on this scale so that's nice!)
Which kid leads did we see last night? I think it was Keita and Cutts, but I'm not sure. They were great. I think you're right? Very sweet and lovely singing voices
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Post by Boob on Nov 15, 2023 7:13:52 GMT
Another shout out for Sally Ann Triplett who, for me, is giving one of her best ever performances in this. Really nails the character, the comedy and the pathos of Grandma. Loved her Act 2 solo, which finally brought some much needed emotion to the show.
As for the musical and the production… it’s just not ready.
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Post by dan on Nov 15, 2023 7:48:17 GMT
Still selling a £20 ticket (or decent offer) for this for 30 December (see notice board).
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 15, 2023 10:55:04 GMT
I am there tonight
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Post by jb656637 on Nov 15, 2023 19:07:50 GMT
A vile show.
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5,319 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 15, 2023 21:25:09 GMT
Your first post. Hmmmm. Disgruntled actor who wasn’t cast in it?
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Post by lilgirlbigcity on Nov 15, 2023 21:53:39 GMT
For those interested in timings, tonight's show ran 1h12m for act 1 and 1hr9m for act 2 (the backstage tannoy has just very handily announced it)
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5,319 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 15, 2023 22:02:50 GMT
For those interested in timings, tonight's show ran 1h12m for act 1 and 1hr9m for act 2 (the backstage tannoy has just very handily announced it) Haha that must be a mistake, stage management announcement meant for backstage broadcast FOH
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Post by lilgirlbigcity on Nov 15, 2023 22:09:57 GMT
For those interested in timings, tonight's show ran 1h12m for act 1 and 1hr9m for act 2 (the backstage tannoy has just very handily announced it) Haha that must be a mistake, stage management announcement meant for backstage broadcast FOH I was backstage 😉
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Post by sophia on Nov 16, 2023 9:54:20 GMT
I saw this last night and would probably give it 3 stars in its current state.
Positives: - Lucy Kirkwood’s book is very funny. I laughed a lot throughout the show. - The cast are excellent, including the children. Standouts were Daniel Rigby as Mr Stringer, Sally Ann Triplett as Gran and whoever was playing Bruno last night.
Negatives: - I thought the music was pretty bland. I didn’t love many of the songs while they were happening and now that it’s the next day I can’t remember any of them. It’s hard not to compare it to Matilda. - At nearly three hours last night, the whole thing felt too long. Both acts need trimming but particularly act 2 where quite a few people around me (not just children) were getting restless towards the end. - There weren’t any impressive effects or moments that made me think ‘wow, how did they do that?’ I don’t want this from every show I see, but with something like The Witches I expected a bit more.
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18,902 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 16, 2023 10:28:17 GMT
Welcome to the forum. We love a strong opinion here but a little context maybe?
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Post by ladidah on Nov 16, 2023 15:24:41 GMT
3hrs! wow!
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Post by alece10 on Nov 16, 2023 17:03:29 GMT
And with the 7pm start I was hoping to be away by 9.30pm but sounds like it's going to be nearer to 10pm now. Aren't the kids going to be very restless having to sit for 3 hours.
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Post by sophia on Nov 16, 2023 18:05:43 GMT
And with the 7pm start I was hoping to be away by 9.30pm but sounds like it's going to be nearer to 10pm now. Aren't the kids going to be very restless having to sit for 3 hours. 7pm start and last night we were leaving the theatre around 9.45/9.50…
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Post by Steve on Nov 16, 2023 18:06:22 GMT
I saw it last Saturday night, and I LOVED it. Some spoilers follow. . . On the downside, the special effects really could benefit from an OMG moment, which doesn't happen. However, on the plus side, Daniel Rigby's performance as the Concierge is comedy gold, possessed of puffed up manic helium, repeatedly punctured and maniacally reinflating. From his first prancing appearance in the "Hotel Magnificent" song to the last, he remains a camp laugh riot that completely reinvents the character from the borefest that Rowan Atkinson and Stanley Tucci were condemned to perform in the films. Also on the plus side, the self-involved showman character, Bruno, is hilarious! We had Cian Eagle-Service on Saturday (the narrator character, opposite him, called Luke in this, was played with dynamic aplomb by Bertie Caplan), and Eagle-Service completely fulfilled the promise he showed in the "Love never Dies" concert, where his uber-curious mini-Phantom was somehow one of the most memorable elements of the show lol. Here he is on major comic form, making snobbish pronouncements like a character out of Oscar Wilde, a comedy coward with a gluttonous weakness for chocolate. He got to perform the showstopping "Bruno" song, which is no simple song, as it possesses, like "Bohemian Rhapsody," comic and dazzling twists and turns, the most major of which occurs when he gets a "sugar rush" from a bite of a chocolate bar. For a moment, I thought I was watching 42nd Street lol! Along with the comic masterpiece "Bruno" song, I also really enjoyed Katherine Kingsley's two big numbers as the Grand High Witch (Kingsley gives great villain, as always), one of which is a call-to-action song ("One Day is Now," or something like that) and the other of which is a more character-based I-hate-children song ("Wouldn't it be nice?" or something like that). Of the two, the second song is the one destined to be penetrate popular culture, as it doubles as a song that parents can use to tease their children and each other about how "nice" it would be if parenting didn't eat up your entire life lol. The thing I would observe about a song like the latter, and about Daniel Rigby's ecstatic comic performance, and about the show-stopping Bruno song, is how much fun there is for adults who go to this show. In that sense, it is a true family show, having something to entertain the kids and something to entertain the grown-ups. I can't imagine that this wouldn't be a massive hit over the Christmas period. Another observation I would make is that while this is more faithful to the Dahl book plot than either of the two films, it's much less dark, and much more comic, than the two film versions, particularly the 1990 one that Dahl so hated, for being too scary and for changing the ending. This means that if it's darkness you want first and foremost, you will be disappointed. By and large, I loved the comedy too much to miss the darkness (the warning states it's for "brave 8 year olds" and above), although the cardboard cutout costumes for the big "Get Up" rendition probably swung a little too much away from darkness towards a U-rating lol. Sally Ann Triplet is a terrific Granny. She drives the plot with urgency, alongside the Luke character, and the storytelling is coherent I thought. She also had one of the few songs that felt somewhat nuanced and lyrically complex. All in all, I loved this enough to vote 4 stars in the poll, and I would definitely see it again after press night.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 16, 2023 18:31:55 GMT
And with the 7pm start I was hoping to be away by 9.30pm but sounds like it's going to be nearer to 10pm now. Aren't the kids going to be very restless having to sit for 3 hours. 7pm start and last night we were leaving the theatre around 9.45/9.50… Oh wow. That’s too long for a family Show. Let’s hope they are cutting like mad.
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Post by Jon on Nov 16, 2023 21:06:18 GMT
2 hour 45/50 minutes while long isn't unusual for family musicals, Wicked is 2 hour 50 minutes as was Mary Poppins.
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Post by Being Alive on Nov 16, 2023 21:18:05 GMT
Same with Totoro (which I still argue could have an hour cut out of it and it would be a much better show but what do I know...!)
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Post by anthony40 on Nov 16, 2023 21:32:30 GMT
Caught this last night.
I haven’t read the book but have seen the Angelica Huston film, only once, many years ago.
It was a full house with audience members of all ages, young and old. I was in Row C at the front, on the aisle. For £20, I wasn’t complaining! The compromise was limited leg space; not so much a problem for me in an aisle seat.
I had a very enthusiastic American couple with their 5 year-old son between them. They had bought The Witches T-shirts that they were wearing proudly.
I am trying to not give away too many spoilers.
The set is very ‘Into The Woods’. However there is a large revolve that is used more in the second act, than the first. When at the Bournemouth hotel, the whole set are varying shades of crimsons, magenta, maroon and pink.
Except for the leads, every adult on stage played multiple roles.
(In truth) I’m not a huge fan of kids on stage but for this kind of show, it really unavoidable.
This is a very family friendly show. Lots of colour, action and comical characters for the kids but also enough adult humour.
The timings quoted in the previous post were pretty accurate.
There are two big dance numbers, with tap dancing and ‘jazz hands’.
There are quite a few costume changes for all and multiple wigs for nearly everyone on stage.
Every Witch removed her hair and had purple fingers and toes.
The costumes were excellent, especially for the Grand High Witch- at one point in the second act during one big solo number I couldn’t help but think drag queens would go crazy!
The stage trickery was excellent, especially for that of the Grand High Witch.
All of the cast are working extremely hard, especially all of the females, making each Witch her own character. There are (at least) 15 Witches!
However, for me there were three stand out performances.
Sally Ann Tripett as the Norwegian Gran- cigar smoking, feisty, tough as nails, yet also very vulnerable.
Daniel Rigby as Mr Stringer, running a hotel in Bournemouth suddenly overrun with mice. He plays it for laughs, and it works!
Katherine Kingsley as the Grand High Witch. Her costumes were great and to my ear, her accent which she maintained throughout, sounded like a fusion of Russian and Swedish!
In the second act, there is an elaborate kitchen sequence; very amusing! The only thing that ruined it for me was when the set was revolving, from the dining area where the Witches were eating to the kitchen, you could clearly see the backstage staff ‘sandwiched’ between the two sets.
I noted the ending was different from the film. Not having read the book, I don’t know which ending- the ending in this show, or the movie was more true to the book.
4 stars from me
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2023 21:50:24 GMT
So, lots to say about this show (and would love to say more after they've opened, only fair to give it a chance to bed-in a bit more).
As others have said, some lovely bits, and some great performances (Gran, oh yes. Stringer, yes please. Bruno, one to watch), but overall surprisingly underwhelming. Especially given how long it's been in the making (the un-special effects compared to say Cursed Child are just, well, where did the budget and ingenuity go?!).
And not just on the production side: some very, erm, questionable story/script/character choices that just seem tortuous (and painfully overly-directed).
But all that's for another time. And they are still in Previews after all, and have had to contend with show-stops and set malfunctions and three casts of kids, which must pose its rehearsal challenges.
So fair play and all that and wish them well and have already booked to see the show two more times at least.
But what I will say (and yes, having been an avid "guest" on this forum to soak up all the lovely wisdom and inisghts over the years, I have finally joined specifically to make this post, so forgive the alarming virgin outburst)... for the LOVE OF LARRY can someone reading this post from insde the production please just do this ONE THING?!
Lots to work on, but this ONE THING is just an absolute car-crash (and, spoiler alert, there's an actual one of those and it's done brilliantly) - CAPS LOCK TIME...
YOU CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT HAVE THE GRAND HIGH WITCH CALL A CHILD IN THE AUDIENCE (however obviiously a [spolier] plant) an "ASSHOLE" (and certainly shouldn't entertain the notion of the child misbehaving out of "boredom", a state many geniune audience members were edging towards as the show wended its way thorugh a quite heavy almost 3 hours, but that's another matter). And the whole mobile phone thing is done somewhat clinkily in any case, but again that's for another time.
Yes the show is 8+, but deploying actual swear-words was utterly inept and crass. And totally unnecessary. And I personally love swearing. It didnt make us detest the GHW, but rather made us cringe as if watching a stand-up lose the crowd. (And to have children repeat this aterwards ad nauseum on the way home is, well, not my point, just an added sh*te-cherry on top of the w*nk-cake). Plus it's an Americanism (there were a few of those peppered thoughout, quite jarring, but no doubt eyes on Broadway transfer one day). If you're gonna go there, in Blightly it's "Children are little Sh*ts sometimes".
But just NO. All that is just wrong. Take a leaf out of Miss Trunchbull's book and deploy "Maggots" or similar. There are so many Dahl-esque concoctions to use. "Squiggle-munchers" or "Piggle-pogglers" or similar. Or use the Norwegian for "A**hole". Or use an insult that kids would find funny: "Butt-Munch" "Bogey-Breath", whatever. Something, ANYTHING.
If anyone is out there who would kindly like to pass this onto the Creatives before it is needlessly folded into the Press Reviews next week then I shall die happy. Or at least shall not cringe-cruch into my seat when I next see the show as the dreaded moment approaches.
More to follow in the days to come. Thanks void for allowing me to scream into you. xxx
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