Roald Dahl's The Witches - NT Olivier

Well, I would urge people to go and see and make up their own minds. Even if the "Get Up" song hadn't been trailed so heavily online and on EP on Sunday, I possibly might have remembered the chorus tune and the words "get up".  However, the lyrics simply aren't memorable - I couldn't tell you any of the rest. But then I am pretty poor at lyrical recall.  But music?  I literally have a photographic memory for music - play it once, it sticks, and I can play it back half-decently on a piano.  None of the tunes in this have tthe "stickiness" you look for - the most obvious example is "Matilda" - there are several memorable tunes in that show. 

What I DID like about The Witches is that the comedy writing was pretty good - soem genuinely fresh laugh out loud lines and moments; a couple fell flat, and a couple of jokes were cliched variations of old jokes which I think might get cut as previews go on, as they didn't raise the obvious laughs you might expect.

My biggest issue though is that the set before the show starts promises so much - visually you think you are about to enter something like "Wonderland", with creepy tree branches, and a few traps and tricks built in to the floor, but I found the show to be visually underwhelming and far too reliant on the revolve to move things along.

In fairness to the cast, it wasn't the best first preview and this is what previews are for.  I see the makings of a potentially good show, and some of the acting talent - well, wow - some of them are fantastic.  But at times I was watching thinking: "Why are they on stage? What are they doing? What is the point?  Who are these characters?"  I didn't feel invested in any of them except for Bruno bizarrely, but I think that is because the child who played him was outstanding, and he outshone pretty much everybody.  

I'm going back in a couple of weeks where I feel more comfortable reviewing something that is closer to what they want it to be. However, what can't be changed is the stickiness of the songs (and the orchestrations).  Some of it sounds too Minchinesque to be considered original, with one second half song strongly echoing the "Discipline" patter section from Matilda's "Smell of Rebellion".  I guess the genius of Roald Dahl's writing lends itself to this kind of treatment.

The Witches is certainly one of my favourite Roald Dahl stories and I've watched the Angelica Houston film many times.

I'm not expecting this musical to be like the film. If it's not as cringy as the 2020 film then that's a plus. But Roald Dahl was not afraid to write stories that were appealing to children but also scary and didn't talk down to them. The Witches themselves need to be threatening and have that stranger-danger vibe. So I take them seriously and feel helpless for the Boy when he's trapped in the conference.

Tim Minchin at least understood that with Matilda and Miss Trunchball. And the songs were memorable to top it off.

That video of 'Get up' hasn't given me confidence. Some bland, 'empowering', b-version of When I've Grown Up. Where does that even fit in the story if someone can explain? They should have gone with a creepy song to set up the Witches.

Does the Grandma tell the girl trapped in the painting story in this musical? How's Katherine Kingsley as the Grand High Witch. Does she quickly put on a mask in the reveal?

Does the musical use the book ending then? I mean the Boy accepting his fate is touching that he's making that choice if sad, but does that and 'Get up' give mixed messages?

I mean the 2020 film touched on the ending but then goes "oh well lets have some fun" and show a lot of other child turned mice preparing to fight witches.

I'd go just to see conference scene and the transformations, but I'd wait to hear others' thoughts

I just don’t get the pre-requisite for music in musicals to be “memorable”. Don’t get me wrong, I want good music, I want the songs to enlighten character and move the story along or do something interesting - but I don’t go to see musicals to come out humming the tunes, even if sometimes it’s lovely when I do.

Cautiously looking forward to seeing this on Monday.

Omg that girl in the painting scared me more than any other part of the film. Seeing the father’s reaction to seeing her daughter there freaked me out, much more so than the peeling of the skin or the wigs being ripped off. Even the snake in the handbag didn’t traumatise me as much but thinking back to it, this was a DARK children’s film.

Random bit of info.
The hotel in the film is the same hotel my niece had her wedding reception. Its in Newquay, Cornwall.

Of course you need memorable music. Whether it’s ‘Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat’ or ‘Brahms Piano Concerto no2’, they have memorable musical themes/melodies running throughout that create a satisfying effect. Without that you just have noise!

why did Tim Minchin not do it? so confused

I imagine it's a high angle and fairly tight seating. But let us know. Enjoy!

This is clearly selling well, so I'm not surprised that the National Theatre are looking for ways to squeeze in a few extra people.

Me too. I was lucky enough to see Natasha etc a couple of times, once in the tent (superb) and on Broadway (great but not as enjoyable). Distinctive composer with an ability to write different genres..and some great tunes. So I've been a little surprised that some people who've seen the show have commented on a lack of memorable songs.

We're going on my birthday in January,so fingers crossed!    

The new front row bench seating looks terrible. Going to get a seriously stiff neck. Unless these are significantly discounted - would be well advised to book further back