1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on May 28, 2017 23:12:42 GMT
I fancy seeing this but have heard this theatre is unbearably hot? Is it that bad? Yes! Certainly on a warm summer evening! |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 24, 2017 14:56:55 GMT
Interval at this afternoon's poorly attended matinee.
Am sat next to a portable Aircon unit so not melting!
Have to say that I am mostly enjoying it. The original elements of the score stand out as being far stronger than the new compositions.
Rice's lyrics are still very witty and we'll placed. The new script is ok. Not great but not so bad that it takes you out of the show.
Design is decent with some fun shabby modern medievalisms. Lighting still needs to bed in but does a decent enough job.
There is no amplification for the voices which is fine for the concerted numbers and for the older male voices. But for the rest they do tend to get lost in the mix. I appreciate that cost is a key factor here but if you can't project over five musicians in a studio space then your training is lacking...
Will report more on the individual performances at the end.
It is a piece worth seeing but don't expect to be blown away.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 24, 2017 16:27:31 GMT
Just sitting down to a cold brew coffee after the show.
And my impression s from the first half were confirmed by the second.
We got more new material here and it wasn't strong.
Aim For The Heart is an ok song but not memorable enough to be a duet and then the finale encore.
The new song for the Duke of Austria is the weakest moment in the show. It adds nothing and seemingly comes at the expense of one of the best duets from the original score.
'I know we all have to meet Waterloos but
why is the wrong train the only one that runs on time?'
I can't remember the exact title but it is a duet for the Duke and the Assassin and it is sorely missed.
In terms of performances there are many positives. The quartet of monks hold the show together with some virtuosic close harmony work. Neil Moors has the best voice into the company and has great fun as King Richard.
James Thackeray as Prince John is clearly channeling a young Alan Cumming. Full of allure and sleaze. And if he were miked his voice would land more forcefully.
It is the central casting where the lack of vocal power is all too obvious. Connor Arnold is a very winning stage presence and every bit as pretty as his photos indicate. He has a pleasing voice but he can't fill the space with it. Again in a show with mics this wouldn't be an issue but here it was.
Jessie May as Fiona had similar troubles with projection but she also didn't seem quite comfortable with where the role sat in her voice. She acted well but I felt she was struggling to integrate her head and chest voices with some of the songs.
Direction is ok. Nothing startling original but clear storytelling in the main. Choreography was a bit repetitive in places but performed confidently by all.
All in all I would have preferred them to have kept more of the original score. But I was still entertained and the many felicities of what Oliver and Rice created is still very evident.
Incidentally it did reach 31C in there by the end of the show. That was with Aircon units running and only twenty in the audience on the coolest day of the week...
I can't give it more than 3 stars but it is a curiosity worth exploring.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 24, 2017 19:24:55 GMT
Thinking more about things on my way home, I think it would be fair to say that if you enjoyed Galavant when that was being shown on TV, you would probably enjoy Blondel. They have a similar spirit and Blondel has somewhat better lyrics.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 24, 2017 20:09:51 GMT
Have they spent more than £8.94 on production values?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 24, 2017 21:09:46 GMT
Well there is 5 in the band and a cast of about 15-16. Costumes are not expensive and the set/props fairly minimal - so it is clear that the money has gone on people rather than dressing. But it didn't feel overly cheap.
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1,347 posts
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Post by tmesis on Jun 24, 2017 21:36:09 GMT
Just left this evening's performance and it was still swelteringly hot! What is it with this place, it's really quite cool outside.
I knew nothing at all about this but really enjoyed it. In fact it's the only thing I've really enjoyed since they moved 'over the road.'
I found the script and lyrics very witty and the music was strong and inventive. The cast were uninformedly strong with no real weak links. Vocal projection was generally good (Blondel was a bit weak but not disaterously so) and much better than usual at this venue. The production was cheap (when has the Union ever done sumptuous?) but effective and it was very well directed by Reagan.
Respectable attendance - 3/4 full.
I'd recommended it, if you can stand the heat.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 24, 2017 22:25:36 GMT
Just left this evening's performance and it was still swelteringly hot! What is it with this place, it's really quite cool outside. I knew nothing at all about this but really enjoyed it. In fact it's the only thing I've really enjoyed since they moved 'over the road.' I found the script and lyrics very witty and the music was strong and inventive. The cast were uninformedly strong with no real weak links. Vocal projection was generally good (Blondel was a bit weak but not disaterously so) and much better than usual at this venue. The production was cheap (when has the Union ever done sumptuous?) but effective and it was very well directed by Reagan. Respectable attendance - 3/4 full. I'd recommended it, if you can stand the heat. I am very glad that you enjoyed it. I guess I knew the original version so well (from my twin cassette set - not from ever having seen it) that it coloured my view of the reworking. I do think they missed a trick with giving Blondel a base t-shirt layered with his string vest-thing. Ditch the t-shirt and show some flesh! He looks built enough for it! |
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Post by showbizkid on Jul 10, 2017 22:36:56 GMT
I stopped going to the Union. Same prices as Southwark and the 6 shows I saw I hated all of them. Southwark shows I all adore. I also hate the Union staircase to stage left and thought the previous theatre space was better. I've seen better amateur work. Come on Union get it together! Nothing has been great here yet.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jul 10, 2017 22:56:22 GMT
I thought it was just me...but I hate that staircase - it throws everything off centre. I too have seen much better amateur work. Plus of course the heat. God alone knows what it has been like these last few weeks. Cannot face Blondel at all.
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3,577 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jul 11, 2017 3:36:02 GMT
Really wanted to see this (having seen and recalled liking, though no detail of) the Old Vic production years ago. But too many cons: heat, short run, early matinees for a longish show, prices & unreserved seating. It's certainly true that the Union compares unfavourably to nearby Southwark Playhouse on price and their neither-one-thing-nor-another seating system means having to get there even earlier. Maybe this will be revived or tour, though, as it has sold well and they've certainly flogged a few other productions (in which I had no interest from the start) to death, e.g. what they call "AMHMS" to death around the UK.
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1,497 posts
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Post by Steve on Jul 11, 2017 13:03:24 GMT
I saw this last week, but had nothing much to add to Oxford Simon's excellent account, with which I completely agreed. Looking back, here are some things that strike me: (1) Thank goodness the endless tiresome references to other shows have been largely excised. Those were so unfunny that the low strike rate of the humour became overly annoying in the show's original iteration; (2) The 4 monks choir is terrific, and if one of them is the theatreboard member I believe him to be, congratulations! (3) Neil Moors does indeed have such a full deep rousing throaty voice that he's every inch the jaunty King Richard; and (4) James Thackeray as Prince John is EVERYTHING. Oxford Simon saw Alan Cumming in him, and I agree, he has all the charismatic, prancing jollity of Mateo Oxley in "Shock Treatment," or to quote a reference more people will be familiar with, all the snide, camp fun of a young Alan Rickman. I fully enjoyed the show, despite it's low grade humour, but there's not enough King John, not enough at all. If he could have been in every scene, and also lent a bit of his spunk to the Assassin, things would have been more fun. As there is simply not enough King John, 3 and a half stars.  |
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Post by westendwendy on Jul 11, 2017 14:10:23 GMT
I also stopped going to the Union. Temperature issues, bad shows and yes that awful staircase stage left. Makes the whole space sooooo awkward to use. Such a shame...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2017 10:16:33 GMT
Well. I think we can all agree that we'd like to fondle Blondel. Goodness. Connor Arnold is built like a particular kind of brick house. The voice isn't quite as big as his delightful chest but he's a very winning hero.
It's got a great cast, the four monks are a particular highlight as well as Prince John (James Thackeray, slightly overegging the camp evil) and King Richard (Neil Moors, excellent) but I think my favourite was Michael Burgen as The Assassin. His scenes with Blondel were great fun.
The score is a bit hit and miss and some of the more complex lyrics were lost a bit but there's some great pop tunes in amongst them and some fun production numbers.
But oh, those arms.
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