Hair - Hope Mill MCR / National Tour

Not at all. I simply missed it first time round because I couldn’t fit it in. Always prefer Hope Mill if poss.

And yes, the sound was not good at times. Not being able to hear lyrics in a show without much visual plot is not ideal!

I think anyone who’s ever been stoned, dropped pills or tripped on lsd watching this would probably be just as isolated as a straight edge audience member, if not more so.

Do you know what, I think I enjoyed the second half a bit more than the first. With the majority of the second half being a trip/hallucination you could forgive the jolted transitions between songs more so.
I think first and foremost the issue is with the haphazard book, which forgets to let characters develop in any substantial way. The poor direction over exposes this though. Why does Burger seem like the principal in the first act for Claude to take the spot in the second? Why did it rain upwards? So many other questions.
Is this version of the show really relevant or necessary? Black Boys/White Boys felt incredibly dated and the two black ladies sat in front of me physically recoiled at the use of the N-word.
Credit where its due, the ensemble were very vocally strong, especially in the finale acapella, but that's really the only positive I could find. There were snapshots of potential but these were marred by sloppy positioning and a misunderstanding of the text. The blocking was so messy it was distracting. The Umbrella scenes could have worked but just executed badly and looked slapdash. 

Worth seeing to tick off the list. Cheaper than at the Hope Mill too.

I was here on the same night. Went in knowing virtually nothing about the show. Very unimpressed with the sound design, struggled to make out quite a lot from front-ish in the stalls. Some of the quieter moments were pleasant. The ending was strong, most of the cast were quite good. I've been listening to the London cast album and I feel I might enjoy it more on a second viewing having the songs already baked into my brain. Overall I'd give this a miss if you're not familiar with the show already. Was disappointed given how the Hope Mill reviews went.

I'm planning on doing the same. Selling poorly so I think there's a good chance. Post back here if you hear anything!

[This is @nolion who posted above, I had managed to register two accounts and have deleted the second one]

Caught the first night at the Alexandra in Birmingham yesterday.

Excellent as always and this came across as an intimate venue. I only ended up on the second row despite booking well in advance. Had a good chat with people around and some got the discounted front row at the last minute. I need to learn to play the dynamic pricing at the Alex a lot better, where they now tend to start off the front row at premium prices (and ineligible for discounts). The view is still good from the second row and you're less likely to be involved in the audience interaction.

Only the Stalls and Dress Circle were open, although the Stalls seemed fairly full from what I could see.

Tom Bales was away, so David Heywood covered a lot of his track, with Bradley Judge taking the role of Margaret Mead (as well as his usual Woof). He was very funny as Margaret, although the elderly gentlemen he picked to play Hubert seemed completely mortified. To be fair to Bradley, it would have been difficult to find anyone else suitable who wasn't also of pensionable age.

Still lots of availability for the rest of the week, including some bargain seats if you have a TheatreCard and book in pairs.

£15 quote FLOWER

Took a trip(!) to the Alex in Brum and paid £13 in the front stalls slips and had one of the best nights in the theatre for a long time.Seen HAIR many,many times over the years but this is the definitive version in my humble opinion.Flawless from start to finish and I even got on the stage at the end for a boogie with Jake and co.The cast were amazing and obviously loving every minute.Loved the set with the multi-coloured streamers everywhere and the bamboo houses for the band.Real sense of Eastern(Tibetan?) mysticism in the design.Loved the references to Trump at the beginning and in a world full of anger and hatred thought the message of peace,love and understanding in the show shone really bright.The plot is paper-thin but the soundtrack has a good dozen bangers at least.An easy 5 stars.

Does every tour have a press night at every stop off, or is it just Hair milking it?

^Really sad about the situation in Sunderland.As posted a few days ago this was a fabulous version of the show imo and deserves a big audience.

That is really sad. It just has not sold.

I'm going tomorrow but I have barely seen any advertising or buzz for the tour.

It's a real lull time of the year for Sunderland Empire. This, Hormonal Housewives, an Elvis tribute night, a Spice Girls tribute night and then, when you are really wanting something in next to boost sales... Club Tropicana. Save us all.

When up the road in Newcastle in the last few weeks they've had Annie, Joseph and Swan Lake.

People don't have endless money and they have to make choices.