91 posts
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Post by paddy72 on May 20, 2021 23:22:53 GMT
My first play out the blocks in the West End. Tonight. Great to be back. Cruise is temporarily being given a home at The Duchess and deserves an honourable mention here at the very least. It covers the same ground as It’s a sin - AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Telegraph has just given it 5 stars and whilst I wouldn’t be quite so generous it is a poignant piece of work. Certainly for me it resonated as a better memory of that time simple because it’s references and depiction of gay life were so much more accurate. It doesn’t get distracted by the prejudices of the time but remains centred on the story of what it was to have AIDS, be in a relationship and know that you probably would not survive. It’s really a love story. As you’d expect there is a sadness at its conclusion but again more accurately there is also redemption. No blame. No preaching. If you’re after a tragedy of homophobia this won’t be for you. Just recognition that life goes on even with loss. Straight through running 90 mins it’s great to back to be seeing a new play in a real theatre. FOH staff deserve a special call out for being so friendly and positive in keeping us safe.
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Post by frosty on May 21, 2021 10:10:46 GMT
Great review - I'm seeing this next week, it is great to have theatre back again.
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Post by CG on the loose on May 30, 2021 10:49:18 GMT
I can't add much to paddy72's great review above. As a piece of story-telling, history-telling rather, it could not have been more different than Flight, which started my day back at the theatre, but the throbbing period-evoking soundtrack (performed live by John Elliott) and Jack Holden's extraordinary performance created an experience as immersive as the booth and the headphones had done for Flight. But this time it was shared... shouts of recognition, lots of laughter, moments of breath-holding stillness, applause of course and a well-deserved ovation. Oh how I've missed all of that. |
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Post by frosty on Jun 1, 2021 13:45:40 GMT
I echo all of the above, loved it, and what a talent Jack Holden is. Definitely one to watch.
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Post by Mark on Jun 1, 2021 22:10:06 GMT
Very enjoyable night at the theatre and very worthy of its West End run.
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4,564 posts
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Post by Mark on May 25, 2022 9:02:36 GMT
Back in the West End 13 August - 4 September. Apollo Theatre
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Post by Forrest on May 25, 2022 9:06:36 GMT
Mark Oh, wow, that is unexpected but amazing, really. I saw this during its pandemic run, and really liked it. Absolutely can recommend. Jack Holden is one talented young man!
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Post by n1david on May 25, 2022 9:14:10 GMT
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Post by jamb0r on May 25, 2022 10:56:26 GMT
So glad this is coming back! Wasn't quite ready to go back to the theatre when this was first on and was gutted I missed it!
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Post by helso1 on Aug 16, 2022 9:16:51 GMT
Hi!
Does anyone know if there is any discounts available for this at all?
Many thanks :-)
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1,265 posts
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Post by mkb on Aug 16, 2022 9:23:14 GMT
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Post by n1david on Aug 18, 2022 22:31:51 GMT
Saw this again tonight. Remain absolutely astonished by both the play and the performance. An absolute tour de force.
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Post by jamb0r on Aug 20, 2022 8:27:30 GMT
Took a gaggle of gays to see this last night. Absolutely jaw droppingly good. This is definitely one of the best thing I’ve seen for a LONG time. I thought it was expertly written and Jack’s performance was outstanding. We were all gripped from start to finish and my whole group (of big, hairy, bearded guys who were sobbing throughout!) couldn’t stop gushing afterwards.
Definitely going back to see this at least once more.
Ran straight to the merch stand afterwards to buy the play text but they haven’t been delivered yet. Looks like they aren’t available on Amazon for a couple of weeks yet too. If anyone has seen it for sale anywhere else yet please let me know!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2022 14:55:31 GMT
Took a gaggle of gays to see this last night. Absolutely jaw droppingly good. This is definitely one of the best thing I’ve seen for a LONG time. I thought it was expertly written and Jack’s performance was outstanding. We were all gripped from start to finish and my whole group (of big, hairy, bearded guys who were sobbing throughout!) couldn’t stop gushing afterwards. Definitely going back to see this at least once more. Ran straight to the merch stand afterwards to buy the play text but they haven’t been delivered yet. Looks like they aren’t available on Amazon for a couple of weeks yet too. If anyone has seen it for sale anywhere else yet please let me know! You should be able to order directly from Methuen's site (Bloomsbury): www.bloomsbury.com/us/cruise-9781350270718/. But I also got mine at the National.  |
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335 posts
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Post by interval99 on Aug 21, 2022 10:26:34 GMT
Slightly surprised that this play has a merchandise stall to go to, after a program and when it arrives the play text what items have they come up with to sell?
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Post by n1david on Aug 21, 2022 12:57:23 GMT
They have a T-shirt on sale as well. Can't remember anything else.
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Post by A.Ham on Aug 21, 2022 15:26:58 GMT
Just booked to see this next weekend based on the rave reviews… and there’s a good offer on TodayTix at the moment too for anyone looking for a deal. £20 rush tickets also available.
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Post by showgirl on Aug 22, 2022 3:09:03 GMT
I wanted to book but when I checked the performance times, they were really weird: evenings far too late a start (except Suns, when there's usually rail engineering work); matinees weekends only and also weirdly late at 4 pm.
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Post by A.Ham on Aug 22, 2022 7:06:50 GMT
I wanted to book but when I checked the performance times, they were really weird: evenings far too late a start (except Suns, when there's usually rail engineering work); matinees weekends only and also weirdly late at 4 pm. Bear in mind the performance is 90 mins and it’s straight through with no interval. So although the evening performance doesn’t start until 8pm you’ll still be out by 9.30pm, so an earlier finish than most shows. Hopefully that’ll help with your train home! |
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Post by jamb0r on Aug 22, 2022 9:17:24 GMT
Slightly surprised that this play has a merchandise stall to go to, after a program and when it arrives the play text what items have they come up with to sell? There is a ‘black logo tshirt’ for £25 and a ‘universal tumbler’ for £10 |
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3,475 posts
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Post by showgirl on Aug 22, 2022 12:51:28 GMT
I wanted to book but when I checked the performance times, they were really weird: evenings far too late a start (except Suns, when there's usually rail engineering work); matinees weekends only and also weirdly late at 4 pm. Bear in mind the performance is 90 mins and it’s straight through with no interval. So although the evening performance doesn’t start until 8pm you’ll still be out by 9.30pm, so an earlier finish than most shows. Hopefully that’ll help with your train home! TY A.Ham but while trains are indeed a consideration, the main issue is staying awake until 8 pm, never mind for the next 90 mins. For that reason I've switched to an early evening film to follow a matinee as less hanging about in between and most cinemas have performances starting around 6 pm. |
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Post by A.Ham on Aug 23, 2022 12:00:30 GMT
For those asking, the play text is back in stock online, and Jack replied to my tweet asking if they’d be available at the Apollo to say they should be yes.
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Post by starlight92 on Aug 23, 2022 21:53:39 GMT
I just got back from seeing this, and I don't even know where to begin explaining how good it was. And Jack Holden did all that (including some singing and dancing) without ever having a drink or even really pausing for very long! Going to be thinking about this one for a long time.
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Post by richey on Aug 24, 2022 10:04:21 GMT
Looking forward to seeing this next week. Just had an email to say my 8pm Friday performance time had now been changed to 8.30pm though.
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Post by Jon on Aug 24, 2022 10:29:48 GMT
Looking forward to seeing this next week. Just had an email to say my 8pm Friday performance time had now been changed to 8.30pm though. I suspect it's due to the 5.30pm matinee they added. |
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Post by alessia on Aug 24, 2022 10:54:58 GMT
Looking forward to seeing this next week. Just had an email to say my 8pm Friday performance time had now been changed to 8.30pm though. I suspect it's due to the 5.30pm matinee they added. Where is the extra show on Friday? Doesn't come up online... |
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Post by A.Ham on Aug 24, 2022 11:33:19 GMT
It’s on Friday 3rd Sept. Onsale on the Nimax site.
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Post by alessia on Aug 24, 2022 12:18:28 GMT
It’s on Friday 3rd Sept. Onsale on the Nimax site. Thank you. Maybe because I was only checking the offers, this one wasn't showing. |
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Post by jm25 on Aug 24, 2022 23:11:25 GMT
Saw this tonight and utterly adored it. I wasn't familiar with either the play or Jack Holden going in. I remembered seeing him in the English version of Call My Agent and thinking he was very good in it, but that was only a very small role and not every supporting actor can make the transition to a leading role, not least in a one-man show! But he was absolutely brilliant. Was hugely impressed with how he handled the physicality of the performance and the switching between the characters, and his singing voice is quite possibly one of the most beautiful voices I've heard live. I'd love to see him in a musical! I'm never sure how careful to be with spoilers so I'll tag the following just in case: {Spoiler - click to view}In terms of the writing, it took a little while to fall into the 'play within the play' structure and at first I couldn't figure out why he'd chosen this as a framing device. I just wasn't sure what it added. But I totally understood by the end and it all clicked with his speech about how lucky a thing it is to be able to grow old.
The obvious point of comparison for this is It's A Sin, but Cruise is absolutely its own entity with its own story to tell. It's A Sin felt like a story being told by someone who lived through it, primarily for people who lived through it. However, what the plot structure of Cruise adds is the kind of clarity you only really get with the passage of time. I'm similar in age to Jack and think that the insight Cruise offers is actually probably most beneficial to people of our age, who weren't there and didn't live through it.
All you can really ask of live theatre is for it to reach out and touch you - and that's what this did. There were so many moments which felt true and profound. At times it just soared. Normally the walk to the Tube station after a show is a bit of a slog as I just want to get home, but after this I really felt like I needed that time to decompress and digest everything I'd seen. Plugged my Airpods in and listened to one of the songs he sings during the show, and I swear I was almost getting teary! Anyway, all in all I would recommend this to absolutely everyone. Please see this if you can. It's wonderful. And get your merch before it starts! Play texts were in stock this evening but there was a big rush for the merch at the end, whereas the stand was quite quiet before the show. |
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Post by alessia on Aug 25, 2022 10:19:01 GMT
I've got a rush ticket for tonight, can't wait after all the positive reviews! It'll be a bit strange to be back at the Apollo, front row, after sitting there twice for Jerusalem
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