The Go-Between

I'm really sorry this has failed to find an audience as it is a lovely musical and Crawford is wonderful.

Sadly flashier and noisier musicals are pulling in the punters.

I saw the matinee of this show yesterday (10th September). I booked for this when it was first announced, purely on Michael Crawford's name alone, as I have always wanted to see him live on stage. I have never read the book that the musical is based on, or seen any of the film/TV adaptations, so did not know the story. I have to be honest, as the months have passed, I have looked forward to this less and less. Part of me was hoping that it would close (awful I know), so that I could book for GROUNDHOG DAY instead.

However...

What an absolutely beautiful show! It is a simple story, simply told and seemed so fresh compared to what is currently running in the West End. The music had moments of ravishing beauty. The piano accompaniment seemed full, and I did not miss a traditional band.. The world of this show was created from just this single instrument. I had shivers down my spine more than once, and found myself welling up at points. Gemma Sutton's "Grow and Change" nearly had me full-out sobbing.

I was engrossed with the show right from the start, and was with it nearly right until the very end. However, this is my one criticism. I did not understand the ending. I thought that one thing had happened, when actually something else had happened entirely (though I'm still not entirely sure what). If someone could enlighten me, then that would be great. A slight flaw in storytelling, in an otherwise engagingly told story (unless I'm just being thick!)

The cast was superb, and it was nice to hear a musical so well-sung. It was an utter joy to finally see Michael Crawford finally perform on stage in a thoroughly committed performance. To say he is in his seventies, he sounded unbelievably fresh.

I would urge anyone to go and see it, even if you have reservations. Like others have said, it wasn't very full yesterday, and it is a real shame that this musical has not found an audience. It certainly deserves to!

4 stars.

Thanks for the clarification. I actually initially thought that she had committed suicide. This of course didn't make sense as Leo met her again in the end scene, where she was very much alive. The ending very much makes sense now.

Do you think it is too much to hope for a cast recording for this show? It would be a real shame if the music was't preserved in some way or other.

I'm going to try and watch the BBC adaptation soon.

I wish Nimax let you choose your own seats, purely just to see how busy this was on a day-to-day basis.

Saw the matinee today, full cast.

I'm not sure why I waited so long to pull the trigger on "The Go-Between". Perhaps it was the somewhat underwhelming hype and low-key press surrounding Michael Crawford's latest West End musical venture. Perhaps, with time and finances at a premium, such a small-scale production can feel like something of an risk.

The Go-Between was an unknown quantity for me; unfamiliar with the narrative, I really wasn't sure what to expect. Sitting four rows back in the stalls (£25 day seat, theatre box office, half an hour before show) in the barely one-third full Apollo Theatre stalls, it is fair to say I wasn't expecting much in terms of spectacle.

And I was right, in that the show certainly isn't an action-fest. It is however a gentle and warm little affair which is hard to feel very much of anything about.

The play introduces an elderly Leo (Michael Crawford) reminiscing with a diary from his childhood. Crawford is on-stage for almost the entire running time, confronting the traumatic memories of one fateful summer.

The plot is decidedly thin and developments slow, but just about well-enough paced to prevent boredom, as the 12 year old incarnation (imagination?) of Leo (Luka Green) is roped into acting as a courier of secret love-letters between vaguely aristocratic Marian (Gemma Sutton) and fiery local farmer Ted (Stuart Ward). Anyone who remembers "The Fast Show" will be disappointed that Ralph does not make an appearance.

We are given lots of the usual aristocratic clichés, including a game of cricket (the highlight is that young Leo catches a ball), an arranged marriage and, of course, lots of words like "oik". Leo's childhood best friend, Marcus (Samuel Menhinick, sporting a very 21st century set of dental braces), is well played with nauseating arrogance; think about the brattiest little sh*t and multiply.

The music is pretty, if unmemorable. Richard Taylor's score, performed by the sole musician Nigel Lilley on-stage at a baby Grand piano, consists mainly of layers of pretty harmonies for the talented and experienced cast to savour. Not one tune, however, do I remember - it really isn't that kind of show.

The set (Michael Pavelka) is disappointing up-close. Featuring one static set, augmented by a clumsy "magic box" trapdoor centre stage, it fits nicely in the stage space but looks cheap. The trucks for each join of the wall don't align perfectly either, leaving big cracks where they don't sit flush. Small oversights bothered me too - like a cricket ball with no seam which was bright orange(!), a poor oversight from the stage management team. The costumes are attractive, however and the lighting is minimal. It really is a very simple show with no special effects of note aside from a few sound effects.

The cast are where this production stands out. Crawford is fine as the lead (and the reason the show was greenlit I have to assume) but it is the cast surrounding him which caught my eye. Gemma Sutton is outstanding as Marian, really bailing her second act dramatic moments. She is also absolutely beautiful to boot. Stuart Ward is equally as excellent as Farmer Ted ("your potato wife's turnip dead") his tricky Norfolk accent sounds spot on too, without sounding like a bumpkin. The kids are both great - they're stage school kids, they're little robots, after all.

There are some dodgy moments (hilarious swimming dives into the wing) and some laughably over the top acting from the family matriarch (Issy Van Randwyck) in the finale which felt cartoonish and out of place.

Worth seeing as a new musical -new to me at least - and it all washed over me without feeling bored once. But I wouldn't bother seeing it again. Except to see Ms. Sutton, eh eh, wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean?

Love theatre are selling Ten pound tickets from 10am tomorrow. Bargain.

www.lovetheatre.com/tickets/4727/The-GoBetween?sid=FB

Just booked my £10 seat - thanks shady23

It's a great offer but flipping heck, what a struggle to get an aisle seat! Finally managed to get something in Row T - bit annoying when I knew aisle Row B was available on the same date, but could only be generated when buying two tickets!

Never mind - I know from previous trips that it's a decent enough view from back there and certainly a bargain at £10.

To be honest, everything's a bargain at £10! :-)