Closer to Heaven - Turbine Theatre

I enjoyed the first preview Friday and met several Pethead friends. The vocals were mixed too quietly for me. J Harvey has written a few extra lines and the final song is now For every moment. There was great energy from the cast, Frances Ruffelle has Billie pretty much nailed, Glenn Adamson is well cast as Dave too and the other leads and tbe principals will warm up and settle into their roles as the run progresses. As we were sitting at a cafe table I thought there would be much more close up interaction, but it was minimal!

That's exactly how I feel bobbievanhusen  - I enjoyed it, but it wasn't great.

I've realised most of the issues I have are with the work itself, and not this production. It's the book for me, the dialogue can feel forced at times, perhaps even reductive if I'm using that word correctly. There's very little subtlety, I don't think it trusts the audience enough to understand what's going on, I'm sure we can understand Dave's confusion and struggles accepting his sexuality without the constant "I'm straight" / "You're gay" / "Am I gay?" back-and-forth in the dialogue. Let the actor show their feelings, or as Russell T Davies often says with writing, "Show, don't tell". Similarly with the "I love drugs" / "Drugs are bad" stuff which can feel at times like a Legz Akimbo production! But like I say, that's not the fault of this current production.

Most of the cast here are excellent, Frances Ruffelle is superb - even though the character of Billie Trix can get very annoying by the end, Frances’s performance is always entertaining and surprisingly physical.

Courtney Bowman is a real talent as Shell, her voice is very powerful - this is particularly helpful given the sound issues that seem to have hounded these previews so far.

I’m less enamoured by Glenn Adamson, I didn’t feel his Dave had sufficient chemistry with either Shell or Lee.

Kurt Kansley played Vic well, his interpretation of Vampires is a surprisingly dark highlight.

David Muscat is hilarious as Bob, relishing in how hideously filthy the character is.

I was most impressed with the dancers (Billie’s Babes - Beth Curnock, Cian Hughes, and Jamie Tait). With a relatively small performance space and a lot going on, it could have felt crowded and messy, but they are really well choreographed and work very well together.

The lighting and staging are both good – as sandrasue88 said, the audience interaction is minimal (which I presume we were supposed to read as m.i.n.i.m.a.l. 😉 ), although I think the cast might adapt to how responsive you’re being (in addition to the green/play and red/stop cards) as near the end one woman had a dancer thrusting his pelvis into her face! Perhaps they knew each other. They certainly do now!

Not seen this yet but the Stephen Hawking line has always been in there right back to the original production!

My bad.

Maybe it stuck out more in this production because of the way she said I can smell your count...try.

Every review I've read of this production says how bad the book is, and alot of them aren't fans of the songs either. I wish JH would let someone else have a go at the book. I'm sure there is a much better musical in there somewhere.

What a great venue for this production - and credit to the staff for making it so welcoming. I really enjoyed the staging, and try as I might - with my table seat and green card turned up - the most attention I got was a Babe stumbling over my foot.

The book is still clunky, the plot contrivances big enough to hang the impassioned ballads and belters on. If you’re not going to buy into Straight Dave and Shell’s relationship, you might as well have these two. With the fitting coiffure of Armand and the couture of B*witched, Adamson’s voice is at least a good match for Bowman even on the still-icky Nine Out Of Ten.

Ruffelle leads the ensemble with aplomb, easily a match for Frances Barber, which serves to be much more palatable given recent controversies. Kansley’s Vampires is fangtastic and Carson is the best Mile End Lee by a long mile. The finale now suffers from Positive Role Model>Vocal>For Every Moment syndrome (mourners can pay their respects here: .

On Saturday evening, the mics and mixing were still wobbly, but it all adds to the fringey, frothy fun - and for my money, this is the best London version since the original. And how do I rate? An eight? Will nine out of ten do?

I really wish there was. Loved the OLC of this for years but now find it really hard to listen to her without being reminded of all the awful things she's said about trans people. 

I also now have this problem with the Norris Cabaret CD which features James Dreyfus (that does of course have loads of other recordings thankfully!)

Extended for another month. Almost doubling the length of the run!

I went to see this for the Sunday matinee, and realised afterwards I'd been sat behind Frances Ruffelle's dad!

I saw it tonight and absolutely couldn't stand him. Felt he was totally miscast, unconvincing, unlikeable and zero vulnerability.