Hex - NT

When I saw this last year I thought it was awful but when an opportunity for a cheap ticket came up I couldn't resist.
I should have.

The show seems slicker than last year but that's the only improvement. It's still a mess. Who is their audience? The show itself makes no sense, has no wit or consistency of style and the score is truly awful - miserable unwieldy melodies matched only by pathetic lyrics. They've spent money on the design elements but that doesn't mean its good. The return of this catastrophe should be Rufus's undoing - a waste of money and talent on something that has always been reeking of nepotism. Shame on them all.

Show stop 10 mins into act 2 to fix the revolve was fun.

What an absolute state this is.
Proper embarrassment to be in the Olivier of all places - half full and lots of us were in on papering.
I laughed for 3 hours, and not in a good way.

This was rough - the cast are trying but the entire thing is just...diabolical.

I mean VHB is just recycling her Stepmother in this and like...good for her.

I have been strong to defend the National at every point when people criticise it, but last night was the first time I was like...maybe people have a point

Bad Hex suggests there was a good Hex!!

They can't really sack Rufus Norris because of Hex as bad as it is. My guess is that he'll move on in 2024/2025.

Didn't it get reasonable reviews? I'm not sure it's enough of a flop to prompt any changes.

each of her solos and the anticipation of her next one, gave me strength to sit through the whole thing (and watching her was fun- liked her wig and costume- I was amused at how much she was onstage even for scenes that didn't directly involve her)

I suppose what I was asking is whether anyone been sacked? Or do people just “move on” ? 

And she was rewarded with a huge ACE grant of £2 million ...

And it also lead to the demise of Kneehigh

So we perhaps don't want a similar outcome

Norris has been bad for the NT. I don't want to see his failures rewarded with a payoff

The board won't do that because it will reflect badly on themselves for renewing his contract in the first place. 

After years of being a devoted NT attendee, I have finally given up. HEX was final nail in the coffin for me.

I finally have some time off and went to see this tonight - my only thought coming out of the theatre was...what the hell was that?

I knew nothing about the show going in and only wanted to see it because I'm a big fan of VHB, but honestly this is the one of the worst shows I've ever seen in my life.

The plot is just nonsensical and so bad it's funny throughout, with music that is so utterly forgettable. I came out of the show just over an hour ago and couldn't tell you a single melody or lyric of one of the songs. I was also genuinely shocked when I realised that the main plot revolved around Queenie eating her grandchildren - who green-lit this?

There was also an awkward show stop just before the interval as the table on the stage malfunctioned. The stage manager talked over the cast as they were delivering a line and said they were having to clear the stage, then updating us every minute or so with exactly what they were doing until it restarted. I hate to say this, but it all felt very amateur hour.

I have to give kudos to the cast though who are all clearly very talented and did the best they could with what was given to them.

VHB was the clear highlight for me, but Lisa Lambe also did brilliantly! She has a wonderful voice and clearly is a great actress, but it's just a shame that her character was really unlikeable and felt like a waste of her talent. Also shoutout to Rosie Graham, it's always great to see Glasgow trained talent and not the usual London stage school alumni.

I wouldn't say I'm usually a very harsh critic and I generally like to give everything a chance, but this was just a bit much for me to be honest. There's something very strange going on at the NT if this is brought back next year...unless it's selling really well and I just have no taste.