362 posts
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Post by JJShaw on Mar 4, 2018 12:06:02 GMT
Bradley Judge is always shirtless. Boom. Booked! its worth it!  |
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494 posts
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Post by ellie1981 on Mar 5, 2018 22:01:34 GMT
Just finished tonight and on my bus home. I’ll go by the phrase that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s all.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2018 22:36:34 GMT
Just finished tonight and on my bus home. I’ll go by the phrase that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s all. You can't leave it at that! Please do share your thoughts on the show. I wasn't keen on it either and seem to be in the minority on this one. Some company would be nice  |
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494 posts
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Post by ellie1981 on Mar 5, 2018 23:55:41 GMT
Just finished tonight and on my bus home. I’ll go by the phrase that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s all. You can't leave it at that! Please do share your thoughts on the show. I wasn't keen on it either and seem to be in the minority on this one. Some company would be nice I'm not hugely succinct with these things, but neither is the plot of Pippin I suppose. I was fully prepared for that and going in I was only expecting to enjoy the score. I knew the Original Broadway Cast album and especially the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson recordings of Corner of the Sky and Morning Glow respectively, but I'd never actually seen the show. What an absolute mess. A lot of our enjoyment was also thwarted by the group of people sat directly behind, who seemed to find the whole thing utterly hilarious, and could not stop whooping and cheering throughout the entire thing. Apparently I missed the part where Pippin murdering his father at the end of Act 1 was supposed to be hysterically funny  I felt the cast were really talented, but a lot of them seemed very young. I ended up playing a game of 'spot the Health & Safety hazard' to keep myself interested, of which there were loads including the King running off stage and stumbling, hitting a floor light into our row - the interval was spent with a stagehand using an electric drill by our feet trying to fix it! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 6, 2018 8:27:56 GMT
You can't leave it at that! Please do share your thoughts on the show. I wasn't keen on it either and seem to be in the minority on this one. Some company would be nice What an absolute mess. A lot of our enjoyment was also thwarted by the group of people sat directly behind, who seemed to find the whole thing utterly hilarious, and could not stop whooping and cheering throughout the entire thing. Friends of cast. You can bet your life. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2018 10:04:52 GMT
What an absolute mess. A lot of our enjoyment was also thwarted by the group of people sat directly behind, who seemed to find the whole thing utterly hilarious, and could not stop whooping and cheering throughout the entire thing. Friends of cast. You can bet your life. Burly, your new profile picture is incredible! |
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494 posts
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Post by ellie1981 on Mar 6, 2018 10:30:06 GMT
What an absolute mess. A lot of our enjoyment was also thwarted by the group of people sat directly behind, who seemed to find the whole thing utterly hilarious, and could not stop whooping and cheering throughout the entire thing. Friends of cast. You can bet your life. Oh absolutely. I usually only expect that with smaller Fringe productions where they clearly struggle to put bums on seats. |
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Post by theatre-turtle on Mar 8, 2018 22:41:10 GMT
Breathtaking. Brought me to tears.
It’s a superb production of a musical I didn’t know much about at all but now wondering why it’s not more famous.
For me it’s up there with my all time favourites
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 9, 2018 13:17:59 GMT
There is an amateur production of this at the Bridewell in a few weeks.
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Post by biscuitrich on Mar 9, 2018 13:53:16 GMT
I saw this at the excellent Hope Mill in Manchester twice. The first time was a final preview and I though it was pretty good, the second time was the penultimate performance and it totally blew me away- it was almost like a different production, and you could see the cast had really developed the piece. Having also seen the Menier production, it wasn't until this third viewing that I fully got the mental health angle of the piece. I really hope it gets a good response in London, because places like the Hope Mill are vital in bringing non-mainstream, or rarely performed, pieces like Yank! and the (fabulous) Little Women to UK audiences.
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3,349 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 10, 2018 0:15:53 GMT
Report from Wednesday evening, which also had a Q&A.
Way better than Manchester. Completely reworked (confirmed in the Q&A). Played much more for laughs and very much inspired by Spamalot.
The smaller stage works better too.
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement.
A malfunction during the magic trick (chop a man into thirds). The cabinet rather displaying its age and faults, making it obvious how the trick was done if you didn’t know already.
An enthusiast cast, mostly recent graduates. Not the most masculine group of men as the Q&A reminded.
I think Pippin is one of those shows everyone interprets differently. It works with the large circus theme, but also on the small, cheap(er) and intimate scale, as this production shows.
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1,347 posts
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Post by tmesis on Mar 10, 2018 18:55:39 GMT
I thought this a good performance of a pretty poor musical. I enjoyed act 1 but as others have said act 2 is a mess. The score is musically undistinguished with a few bland ballads mixed with forgettable up-tempo numbers. A collaboration of Sondheim/Lapine could possibly have made this concept work; the songs would have had considerably more point and focus then and they could have possibly brought off the downbeat ending. Judged by the highest standards Schwartz is not that great a composer.
I liked the staging and thought it the best use yet, for a musical, of the available space at Southwark.
The sound balance, though, was up to Southwark's low standard - the band was way too loud.
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 10, 2018 20:20:40 GMT
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement. Intrigued to know which parts? |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 10, 2018 21:11:24 GMT
Didn’t realise that some of the choreography is compulsory and part of the licence agreement. Intrigued to know which parts? The Manson Trio in Glory |
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4,987 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 17, 2018 8:53:48 GMT
I really enjoyed this. Great cast, fun production and a narrative and finale that I could follow and understand.
It’s a wee bit loud and act two went on a bit too much. But heaps better than the MCF production.
This production had a such a raw energy that I just adored and is often missing from big shinny west end productions
Last night performance was sold out and it got a very healthy standing ovation. Get a ticket as it’s great to see Southwark back on form 😄
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Post by nick on Mar 17, 2018 10:08:07 GMT
But heaps better than the MCF production. Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 17, 2018 12:02:52 GMT
But heaps better than the MCF production. Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production. Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up |
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Post by nick on Mar 18, 2018 14:00:40 GMT
Want to come outside and say that? Seriously I'm a big fan of the MCF production. Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know? |
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Post by partytentdown on Mar 18, 2018 16:42:26 GMT
Meet you round the back of the theatre cafe ....! MCF great concept and I loved the characters coming out of the walls but I’m afraid it didn’t add up I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know? Would love to see clips of that production. |
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Post by nick on Mar 18, 2018 20:14:31 GMT
I'm aware it wasn't a well regarded production but I loved it. What do I know? Would love to see clips of that production. shows the staging |
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Post by viewfromthewing on Mar 23, 2018 9:55:38 GMT
I heard a rumour last week that this might transfer, with Grinning Man closure now confirmed for May 5th...I wonder...
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Post by musicalmarge on Mar 23, 2018 10:33:35 GMT
I heard a rumour last week that this might transfer, with Grinning Man closure now confirmed for May 5th...I wonder... Wow well if true I’m please for them but I can think of another 7 shows I wish would have transferred from Southwark! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2018 22:31:23 GMT
I was there this afternoon too. It’s a bit of an oddity really, isn’t it? A quirky story placed in an alien setting, but with something worthwhile to say nonetheless. This production owed much to the original production of Godspell, and at times the company’s childlike sense of fun didn’t quite work as comedy. But it was well meaning, cleverly staged and beautifully sung by a talented troupe who dazzled in more ways than one! (I’m talking thighs, chests, bosoms and bottoms!) Stephen Schwartz baffles me- here we have some of the most wonderful melodies (Corner of the Sky, With You, In No Time At All) and then some real padders you can’t wait to hear the end of. Glad I saw it.
I loved the Menier version too by the way...
Incidentally, the superb food market almost opposite looks a great place to eat before a matinee. (Unfortunately we’d already eaten, fearing all we’d get was the Weatherspoons at the other end of the road.)
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 24, 2018 23:05:46 GMT
Caught up with this, this afternoon. Note for those who have programmes, they sold out by 2.30pm today - I got one of the last 30 at 2pm... collector's item... Hooray can’t wait for my magnet that you said you’d get me.....! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2018 10:37:53 GMT
Well. I saw this earlier this week and even though the score is a bit samey, the book is a bit of a problem and the band were way too loud, I wasn't too fosse as I found it rather entertaining. I thank you.
The cast were terrific, Bradley Judge spending most of the time with no shirt on which was most welcomed, Jonathan Carlton was delightfully lovely as Pippin and Genevieve Nicole splendid and giving us her best young Kiki Dee impression. I would have liked her to have given us a verse and chorus of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' but alas she chose not to. I actually rather liked Mairi Barclay as the grandmother, yes she was way too young but it fitted in with the whole idea of the show and ensemble playing it as a theatre troupe. And she was delightfully funny.
On the plus side, it made that awful Menier production a distant memory. Go see it. Oh no, you can't.
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I felt the cast were really talented, but a lot of them seemed very young.
