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Post by comporhys on Jul 15, 2023 21:51:25 GMT
I was sat next to him at Crazy For You recently and he went through exactly the same rucksack routine. Bizarre that someone in his position doesn’t realise how distracting it is to everyone else
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Post by comporhys on Oct 3, 2022 8:28:37 GMT
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Post by comporhys on Nov 17, 2021 17:13:58 GMT
For those who haven't booked their tickets for this year's Palladium Panto, there's currently a glitch with the LW Theatres website that means you can get the best seats in the house for £25.33.
Just select the seat and it comes up with two options - full price and a new discount. It seems to work for most performances.
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Post by comporhys on Dec 31, 2019 22:07:07 GMT
Pleased to report that Gary’s musical song was back by tonight’s 5pm performance. The whole cast have settled nicely into their roles and the show was really on fire - a lively (but well behaved) audience with great performers leading the way. A tremendous way to end 2019 and begin 2020! Happy new year to you all
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Post by comporhys on May 21, 2019 19:47:18 GMT
I understand the economics mean that it probably made sense to try and give the show a boost with casting a celebrity, but it does feel such a shame for Laura to be treated like this; she was terrific in the show. The communications around it (leaking in the press etc.) has made it seem particularly harsh.
West End Producer mentioned that a cast member has quit in protest, given David seems fairly accepting of the decision on Twitter, I wonder who it was...
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Post by comporhys on Jan 11, 2019 8:16:02 GMT
Oooooh you know what I've just realised! 9 to 5, Dreamgirls, Funny Girl... The Savoy has just been churning out the messy shows behind the scenes over the past three years! Don't forget to add Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to the list - I was reminded of it following this tweet from Rufus Hound earlier in the week...
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Post by comporhys on Dec 16, 2018 12:22:48 GMT
Went to see the final Berwick Kaler panto last night in York - a fitting send-off to his 40 years as Dame, with a “storyline” about his inability to complete a script on time and the cast trying to work out what the story is. Great fun! Will certainly miss Berwick and his company of actors next year.
An added bonus was being sat next to the legends Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter for the show - just about managed to resist embarrassing myself in front of them...
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Post by comporhys on Sept 10, 2018 12:23:31 GMT
If anyone is free tonight, you can get £15 front row stalls seats courtesy of dynamic pricing on the main website
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Post by comporhys on Mar 17, 2018 17:26:27 GMT
I'm also in tonight - decided last minute I could miss seeing this great cast together one last time, so grabbed a £15 day seat in row E stalls. Looking forward to it!
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Post by comporhys on Dec 13, 2017 8:29:03 GMT
I too saw this last night and, after really enjoying Cinderella in 2016, I was hoping for more of the same. But it was really rather disappointing.
Julian Clary and Nigel Havers were great value, but the rest of it just came across as soulless.
I felt sorry for Gary Wilmot who was given such a small role as Dame (as were Dick and Alice) that it seemed hardly worth the effort. As the Dame is often the linchpin of a panto, this felt like a missed opportunity. Diversity seemed to be in a completely different show and I found Paul Zerdin's act repetition to be shameless. When I read earlier about it being the same act, I hadn't realised it meant nearly all the jokes were identical. Given they made a point of referring to last year's show (such as Nigel having a small part), it was simply wrong to charge £100+ a ticket and have him get away with doing it all over again; if it were a different venue etc., then fine. But this wasn't.
The sets and special effects were of the usual high standard for Qdos and the band sounded great, but they really ought to work on injecting some more heart into it.
Give me Berwick Kaler's 'rubbish' in York over this any day.
3/5
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Post by comporhys on Nov 18, 2017 15:29:23 GMT
Went to see A Woman of No Importance last night (thanks to those who alerted us to the £15 TodayTix offer!) and really quite enjoyed it.
It was a bit 'Wilde-by-numbers', but the relish with which most of the actors played their parts made it a nice evening out. The contrast with the initial frivolous witty lines scenes and the storyline once Eve Best turns up, jarred a little - not too much though. The final pay-off line was definitely worth it!
Overall the cast were terrific, especially Eve Best and Anne Reid (her comic interlude songs were a real highlight). Although there was one hilarious Play That Goes Wrong moment where Reid in the first scene sat down on a chair and it collapsed; leaving her flat on the stage. Bless them, they tried to mask it as part of the action (full marks especially to Eleanor Bron who improvised wonderfully about needing to 'send the chair to the menders'), but given the obvious shock on their faces it was clearly not supposed to happen.
The only weak link was Sam Cox as John Pontefract - he just had the most bizarrely distracting robotic style; he was clearly awaiting someone to say a line before he did his next move - even down to background action, he would stop, wait for a line, move to pick up an object, stop, wait for another line, then do his next movement. Very very odd.
It's a production well worth seeing, but perhaps not at full price!
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Post by comporhys on Aug 22, 2017 22:28:34 GMT
My thoughts on tonight's show are in spoilers below - to avoid ruining any surprises! {Spoiler - click to view} It's hard to really sum up Follies without simply repeating my previous comment - wow. This is a truly monumental production, in terms of scale, ambition and achievement.
The cast are uniformly excellent. Imelda Staunton was as phenomenal as you'd expect. I overheard someone say as we were leaving that it was "Mama Rose does Sally", which I thought vastly underestimated her performance. It had the kind of complexity and depth you don't necessarily expect in the first public performance.
Janie Dee was fabulous. I remember some comments about Tracie Bennett's ability to sing the score prior to opening, but she performed her solo number with excellent ease. Geraldine Fitzgerald as Solange also stood out during her scenes.
The two main men (Philip Quast and Peter Forbes) enriched their roles remarkably - as I knew nothing of the plot, I was particularly swept away by the presentation of their characters' journeys.
The set was -as you have now seen- huge and beautiful, with excellent use of the revolve.
It was particularly special to listen to the score in the presence of the composer, who was then acknowledged with a celebratory Three Cheers, let by Imelda.
There were a few moments of forgotten lines, a technical halt and a dropped piece of jewellery that caught several dancers out before being picked up. But all really minor things.
Basically beg, borrow or steal a ticket. Even I stopped worrying about the lavatory situation after ten minutes.
Oh, and if that wasn't enough, they use the resolve during the tap number. What more could you ask for
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Post by comporhys on Aug 22, 2017 21:16:41 GMT
Wow. Well that was an incredible experience.
I had no idea really what to expect, but it was a wonderful production. I'll write up my thoughts properly when I get home. There were quite a few first night mess-ups - though all easily solvable.
It was difficult to tell how long it ran as there was a show stop for technical issues - I'd guess the two hour 20 minute mark was about right. However long it was, it totally flew by!
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Follies
Aug 22, 2017 17:56:02 GMT
via mobile
Post by comporhys on Aug 22, 2017 17:56:02 GMT
Just arrived and there's a notice on the door saying the running time is approximately 2hrs 20mins...
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Post by comporhys on Aug 22, 2017 9:17:54 GMT
Some last minute tickets for tonight have just gone on-sale. Grabbed a £15 front row seat - never been to the National, so the view could be horrendous, but very much looking forward to it now!
I'll make sure to not drink for hours beforehand...
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Post by comporhys on Mar 20, 2017 21:01:51 GMT
I'll update with a proper review afterwards. But for those interested about seating, I'm AA20 and I can't imagine a better view. There is nothing at all in front, the stage is low and you can see every tap.
The show itself is incredible, but the £15 seat is the bargain of the year. Thank you to whoever first noticed them and posted on here!
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Post by comporhys on Nov 24, 2016 16:54:18 GMT
I see it's now been extended until the end of April...
For what it's worth, I loved it. A really cheery, heart-warming and entertaining production that deserves to do well (if only the ticket prices weren't from another planet). I especially enjoyed Pick Out a Simple Tune, which was -for me- as good as musical theatre gets.
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Post by comporhys on Sept 12, 2016 16:10:28 GMT
After seeing the production at the Sunderland Empire last week, I can only echo the negative comments made about earlier in the tour.
I am aware that my negative feelings towards this production may have been influenced by my love of the previous UK tour - it was the first musical I "loved" and wanted to return to with as many friends as I could drag along. In part because of this, it just seemed like a weak imitation of the Stage Entertainment UK version. The set, acting and production values all seemed so much weaker than the previous version (in a similar way to Leicester's recent Hairspray tour).
It was obvious from much of the audience reaction that many people were there to see Alexandra Burke and given it sold so well, she obviously did the trick for the producers. However, her performance was so weak. The moments where Deloris 'belts' a number were fine, but the softer musical moments and acting parts were the stuff of am-dram: just cringeworthy.
The rest of the cast were all fine - and I am in awe of their ability to sing, dance, act AND remember to play a musical instrument, yet the whole production failed to match the class of SEUK's version; having nuns on stage for Lady in the Long Black Dresss turned what was previously a hilarious moment into simply awkwardness. The stuff about looking up their habits etc was just too literal for the audience's liking...in fact the lack of laughter throughout suggested that either the audience didn't get it or the cast played it wrong; probably a mixture of both.
Anyway, I think I'd mark this down as a "3* - missed opportunity" - if you've never seen it before, you should definately go, but don't bother if you have been to the "original" production or tour.
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Post by comporhys on Aug 2, 2016 7:25:24 GMT
Was a particularly white audience too, which unfortunately is the case much of the time anyway. Now who is the one being racist...?
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Post by comporhys on May 1, 2016 10:00:54 GMT
I know. I'm not saying I'm right, just putting alternatives out there. I do think an audience would be even more annoyed if the star they came to see pulled out mid performance, rather than knowing from the start they'd have someone else. In my experience audiences often love it when someone has to take over mid-show. There's the disappointment of breaking the suspension of disbelief by being unexpectedly dropped into reality for a while, but there's also the appreciation that it's not easy to switch roles with no notice and there's the whole the-show-must-go-on feeling of being there for something special that other audiences won't have experienced. People are there for live theatre, and it doesn't get more live than something going wrong and someone stepping in to fix it. In contrast, having the show cancelled a short way in means the audience is left with a wasted journey and an empty evening. I doubt anyone's going to be hanging around twiddling their thumbs and saying "Well, this may be boring as hell but at least we're not watching a show where someone in the cast had to be replaced part way through. That would be the worst." I completely agree with that; last year, we went to see the opening night of Guys & Dolls in Manchester.. David Haig did the first scene, then ran off stage. Cue a 45 minute gap and an announcement that his understudy (who had never rehearsed the role yet) would be taking over. The atmosphere was electric throughout and the roar of the audience for his curtain call was one of those magic theatrical "the show must go on" moments.
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Post by comporhys on Apr 7, 2016 12:06:33 GMT
The West End run was subsidized for many months by one of the leads who did not wish to have his/ her (well, his) reputation tarnished by appearing in a short-running flop. I wonder who that could be... For what it's worth, I really liked DRS. Went to see it a few times at the Savoy then in Manchester when it went on tour. But it didn't sell well. I thought the cast for the tour were all just as good as the West End, except the star. Without Robert Lindsay it seemed to lose the 'magic' that it used to have. However, I seem to remember quite a few people on the old board hated Lindsay, so I may be in the minority with that view
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