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Post by sam22 on May 19, 2023 6:32:12 GMT
I remember loving this at Southwark and scary to think that was ten whole years' ago!!
We went last night in Nottingham. I loved it once again, as did my partner who had never seen it before or heard the music.
I do think a few parts drag slightly and could be condensed, but the songs are fantastic. The cast were uniformly excellent imo, although I agree with the comment about the stoker who was fantastic.
It was nice to see it on a bigger stage but then I actually think I was slightly less overwhelmed in the second half than at Southwark where the small space felt suffocating and added to the tension.
I was wondering if it wouldn't sell well in Nottingham but looked not far off a full house. Audience much better behaved than at Sister Act last week, albeit a few left halfway through the second half.
If anyone is hesitating, it's definitely worth a watch in my humble opinion!
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Post by sam22 on May 17, 2023 15:02:14 GMT
I thought Brannagh is doing King Lear not Macbeth? Yep. Macbeths are David Tennant and Ralph Fiennes
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 23:02:23 GMT
This might be more of a silly 'UK living' amnesty question, but I'm just curious, is getting around the UK by car a bit of a nightmare? I've noticed that discussion here about whether or not getting to a particular show is viable, is usually about the trains. Are roads just off the table as an option most of the time due to traffic or similar? (Of course, particular individuals might avoid driving for a range of reasons if they wish; but I just wondered if there was more to it.) I don't think the roads in the UK are bad generally. Driving into London is a bit of nightmare as it is so busy so I always avoid that and suspect often when people are talking about trains it is travelling from different places in the UK to London for a show. Otherwise I don't think driving is too bad generally. The cities are obviously busier and roads bad on days like Bank Holidays..but I generally drive everywhere else in the UK without much trouble!
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 22:51:04 GMT
I've not seen this since it first opened so thought I might go again. Just seen the prices...jeeeeez.
£288 for some stalls seats!
The nose bleed balcony seats that I paid £15 for are now £55. Guess I'll just keep it in my memory instead of seeing it again lol!
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 22:44:44 GMT
Which announced shows will be playing in late March 2024? I know A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY will be. Off the top of my head: Stranger Things My Neighbour Totoro Sister Act The Time Traveler's Wife Everybody's Talking About Jamie Oh and how did I forget Hadestown
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 22:38:30 GMT
Which announced shows will be playing in late March 2024? I know A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY will be. Off the top of my head: Stranger Things My Neighbour Totoro Sister Act The Time Traveler's Wife Everybody's Talking About Jamie
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 22:24:01 GMT
I'll have to check this list out.. all 4 of the shows I had in mind have Wednesday matinées (Dear England, Patriots, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and The Pillowman). Ah sod's law isn't it. If you're looking for a play, those with Thurs matinees in August include Brokeback Mountain, Crown Jewels, Witness for the Prosecution, Mousetrap, The Crucible and Bleak Expectations. If a musical A Strange Loop or Guys & Dolls would get my vote!
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 19:51:41 GMT
The current schedule on Theatremonkey shows 19 matinees on a Thursday and 21 on a Wednesday. www.theatremonkey.com/showtime-schedulesNot that much difference - a far cry from when matinees were just on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Yep. If you look on TodayTix for first week in June, 15 Wednesday matinees and 27 on Thursday!
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 19:48:15 GMT
I've found a good balance recently tbh. Theatremonkey suggests its currently 21 on a Wednesday and 19 on a Thursday. What I'd really like is more Tuesdays (currently only Mousetrap, Mincemeat and Southwark Playhouse) and Fridays (currently only Choir of Man and Mormon). And Mondays! Not a single show on the Monday I want to see a matinee (albeit can see why not as perhaps wouldn't be a popular day and especially now more shows doing Sundays)
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Post by sam22 on May 16, 2023 19:45:29 GMT
The OAT production of Evita looked so ridiculous I steered very clear. Really hope Sunset doesn’t end up like that shambles. If you didnt see it, how can you know it was a shambles? It was a huge hit for the OAT and it was only Covid that prevented it from coming back to the Barbican for a season. The producers of Sunset can only hope for that kind of 'shambles' I loved the OAT Evita!
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 10:19:39 GMT
It may be I cursed it, as I was telling my friends before the show started that I've had a run of so many shows where the audience have been impeccably behaved... I was at Sister Act in Nottingham last night in the stalls and the audience were DREADFUL. Sadly not just a handful of people either. I can't say that Nottingham is usually bad for it, so wasn't expecting it. About everything that could happen did - Phone alarm went off - Phone ringtone went off (and text noise on another phone) - Guy took pictures/ filmed part of it - The noisiest, lengthier rustling I think I've ever heard, from multiple people, including passing bags along row - Very loud talking (from so far away not possible to shush them!) - Lady on my row fell asleep and was snoring I was really trying to not let it ruin my enjoyment of the show, but it did. Sadly there weren't ushers to be seen anywhere in the stalls at all. Ironically, when it came to 'Spread the Love Around', the audience were deadly quiet. Despite the lyrics seeming to invite us to "Get up and join the crowd on the floor!" with barely anyone even clapping along! I'm going to Titanic later this week and optimistic that it will be a more respectful audience! Okay rant over. I live in Nottingham and proactively avoid any shows that are on where I possibly can. I have always found the crowds to be very disrespectful, frequently talking during shows, noisy eating and (one of my biggest bugbears), tapping their feet on the ground along to the music especially when the person is sat right behind you! Eurgh! I must have got lucky then. Hello from another Nottingham resident though 👋🏻
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 8:40:02 GMT
I don't know if comments are being deleted from their Facebook post as I didn't see anyone complaining, instead was surprised by the distinct lack of engagement. The post from 12 April with the producers photos only has 5 comments!
I'm so excited to see the show but do wonder if it is going to find an audience here, especially in such a bit theatre.
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 8:20:36 GMT
I saw this week for the first time too, went in completely blind. Positives for me - performances were pretty universally brilliant - the leads are obviously fantastic and both have their outstanding moments, but for me, Jodie Steele as Blanche really stole the show. Staging, set, sound and light design were all good too, although yes a whole car would have been nice! But otherwise I did come away with quite a few criticisms and felt a bit short changed given the richness and potential of the subject matter. The book plays HUGELY fast and loose with true events which is very irksome. I feel like a lot of things were referenced without being properly explained or explored - their fame/public reaction, the historical context of the Great Depression, the legally grey actions of law enforcement. I felt like we spent far too much time focusing on the sexy/romantic angle of their infatuation with each other. And even that felt repetitive and cliché, and again probably did not reflect the true situation that accurately. And yes the ending is terribly abrupt. I don’t mind the start-with-the-ending framing device, I quite like that. But we never quite got back to where we started! And just a little bit of epilogue, immediate aftermath of their deaths, addressing their legacy, would have been good. The score has some really good moments but is otherwise is a bit samey and not hugely memorable to me. 3* for me. An excellent production of a disappointing musical. I definitely want to see Jodie Steele and Frances Mayli McCann in whatever they do next though! Totally forgot about the ending, it did seem to end very abruptly didn't it. Agree with you about Jodie Steele and Frances Mayli McCann.
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 7:50:14 GMT
I listened to the cast recording on repeat yesterday, it is brilliant and reminded me just how much I loved the show. I've been raving about it to everyone. I really want to go back and see it, but I can only go on Saturdays so with the current prices I can't justify it at the moment given only saw it recently.
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 7:47:18 GMT
It may be I cursed it, as I was telling my friends before the show started that I've had a run of so many shows where the audience have been impeccably behaved...
I was at Sister Act in Nottingham last night in the stalls and the audience were DREADFUL. Sadly not just a handful of people either. I can't say that Nottingham is usually bad for it, so wasn't expecting it.
About everything that could happen did - Phone alarm went off - Phone ringtone went off (and text noise on another phone) - Guy took pictures/ filmed part of it - The noisiest, lengthier rustling I think I've ever heard, from multiple people, including passing bags along row - Very loud talking (from so far away not possible to shush them!) - Lady on my row fell asleep and was snoring
I was really trying to not let it ruin my enjoyment of the show, but it did. Sadly there weren't ushers to be seen anywhere in the stalls at all.
Ironically, when it came to 'Spread the Love Around', the audience were deadly quiet. Despite the lyrics seeming to invite us to "Get up and join the crowd on the floor!" with barely anyone even clapping along!
I'm going to Titanic later this week and optimistic that it will be a more respectful audience!
Okay rant over.
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Post by sam22 on May 14, 2023 7:39:04 GMT
I saw this last night in Nottingham. Whilst it was a long time ago, I do remember really enjoying it at the Palladium. Like many others have said, I didn't rate the last tour nor Alexandra Burke and was disappointed.
I really wanted to love it, but I think it's three stars from me. I do still love some of the songs. I like Sandra Martin, she was good but she didn't blow me away. I don't know if her voice is tired but there were quite a few notes missed. Lesley Josephs was fine. Lizzie Bea stole the show for me and whilst initially I thought Clive Rowe was an odd choice, thought he was excellent.
Overall I just thought the whole thing lacked something. Even the big numbers with all the nuns lacked a bit of energy, though I did think excellent and individual characterisations for each nun. Not sure if any were off, there were 9 nuns (in addition to Deloris and Mother Superior) whereas I think 12 in the photo in the programme from the Manchester run. I am still not over "How I Got the Calling" being replaced by a much poorer number!
It may be they've always been there, but I thought some of the jokes were a bit pantomimey.
The audience seemed to love it however so perhaps it just wasn't for me. It was also one of the worst behaved audiences I've seen for a long time (which I'll add to the bad behaviour thread).
After seeing Beverley Knight blow the roof off at Sylvia I was tempted to book for the Dominion run, but I don't think I will now.
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Post by sam22 on May 10, 2023 15:54:36 GMT
I can't remember sorry - it felt very long. It was the 2018 one with Leslie Manville. Maybe 3 hours? Hopefully it will still be shorter than A Little Life, lol!
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Post by sam22 on May 10, 2023 15:13:25 GMT
I've booked in the £85 stalls seats. I'm so conditioned given recent prices that they seemed like a bargain lol!
The booking email is quite annoying, don't know if it has changed recently, but just says thanks for your booking and the booking number, not the actual date and time booked. I know the etickets get sent out at a later date but just seems weird not to have the show details on the confirmation email?
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Post by sam22 on May 10, 2023 15:06:51 GMT
Had a quick look and decided I'm going to wait for offers - also I feel that I've seen this play recently and it is soooo looong - literal title lol. Not sure I want to see it again in a rush. How long 😱😱
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Post by sam22 on May 3, 2023 19:41:00 GMT
Showing my ignorance but until recently the New Diorama has totally passed me by. Now after Operation Mincemeat and For Black Boys I've started following it and thought this sounded good but won't get to it. Hopefully it has a life elsewhere!
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Post by sam22 on May 3, 2023 19:38:08 GMT
I went to this on Saturday. Was really excited as have liked quite a few songs since the Broadway album came out and missed this at the Arts.
It exceeded my expectations and I think it is (just) four stars from me taking account of the performances overall.
I thought Frances Mayli McCann was fantastic. Jodie Steele was also excellent, couldn't keep my eyes off her in the chorus numbers. Jordan Luke Gage also very good but the female leads stole the show for me.
The set was better than I'd expected to, albeit I thought they could stretch to a whole car!!
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Post by sam22 on May 3, 2023 19:32:25 GMT
Finally saw this on Saturday. Really enjoyed it but, for me, I preferred the Young Vic version in 2014 with Gillian Anderson. I thought Paul Mescal was good but not brilliant.
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Post by sam22 on May 3, 2023 18:40:59 GMT
I saw this on Sunday without really knowing what to expect and thought it was fantastic! Very different to a usual play but I there were some funny moments and some extremely moving parts. It definitely has something to say and does so skillfully. Theatre looked full so the news about it has obviously spread!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 26, 2023 9:32:55 GMT
My friend and I are excited by the £25 seats in the stalls. Having sat here before I feel they offer fairly good value! Question for those in the know and have seen this before. Was it played with a big orchestra in Chichester? To my knowledge (I could be way off) but the Gillian Lynne doesn’t seem to have much ‘space’ for this. The ‘band’ for School of Rock and Cinderella were up in the little boxes beside the stage. I imagine the orchestra for Cats back in the day was a bit bigger. Where will they go? Is it likely to be reduced? Is there room below the stage and the crazy revolve!? Hoping it will sound great! Sorry I don't know the answer. Can't believe yours is the first post for nearly 5 months. Not too much excitement on the board yet for this one! I'm on the fence about seeing it atm. Not that bothered about the show but would like to see Charlie Stemp
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Post by sam22 on Apr 25, 2023 20:49:50 GMT
Looking forward to seeing this on Saturday, really like some of the songs so interested to see what it's like on stage!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 25, 2023 20:48:55 GMT
Is there a possibility that this will extend or is it strictly limited? Limited as Peter Pan Goes Wrong is going into the Lyric after it. Oh snap, think we replied at the same time!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 25, 2023 20:48:36 GMT
Is there a possibility that this will extend or is it strictly limited? If so think it would have to move theatres as it finishes on 11 November and Peter Pan Goes Wrong is booked in from 23 November to 14 Jan!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 25, 2023 12:22:37 GMT
This doesn't seem to be selling significantly. Still "good availability" for most performances. Do we think people are waiting for the performance schedule to see when Peters and Salonga are on? Or just waiting for ticket offers?! It is expensive isn't it. Premium £150 and nearly all the stalls £125!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 24, 2023 20:43:09 GMT
"We are really excited about welcoming you to Phoenix Theatre, where we want everyone to enjoy the show. With that in mind, we politely ask that you show consideration to your fellow audience members, who have come to enjoy the performances on stage. We all have a part to play in making sure the theatre is a fantastic experience for everyone – you can help by ensuring the professionals on stage are the only people entertaining us with their performances, and by being kind to our dedicated staff who are here to make sure everybody is safe. Anti-social behaviour towards our staff or other customers will not be tolerated" Just had this email from ATG ahead of seeing Streetcar on Saturday. Is this a new thing following the recent issues? Don't recall having an email in those terms before. Strange. I'm going on Thursday and I haven't had an email from them. I got a second one this afternoon!
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Post by sam22 on Apr 24, 2023 9:53:41 GMT
Just had this email from ATG ahead of seeing Streetcar on Saturday. Is this a new thing following the recent issues? Don't recall having an email in those terms before I've had that email from ATG before A Little Life, Operation Mincemeat and the first one was before Mother Goose back in December. Ah thanks, I must have skim read them previously. Don't worry, I was still a model audience member 😉
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