Aspects of Love - Hope Mill MCR / Southwark Playhouse

I’m a big fan of Aspects: for me it is one of my favourite ALW musicals score-wise and I loved the original London run. And I enjoyed seeing the many changes it underwent..... turning “There is More to love” from lovely solo to a magnificent duet was by far my favourite change. Ravishing. But I get why future incarnations reverted it to a solo.

I look forward to seeing this on the final night of this run.

A week after seeing it, I'm still trying to decide if Alex or Rose is more at fault in their affair. Is it worse for a boy to proposition a woman he barely knows or for a woman to have an affair with a minor?

Finally getting round to posting my review - I agree with @theatremonkey.com on all his points!

The underage storyline is on the edge, and it just reflects how social mores and acceptable behaviours change from decade to decade!

The following are rather scattergun reflections:
LOVED Madalena - such a class act, but could barely make out a word of "Hand Me The Wine and The Dice".
Her There Is More To Love was magnificent though.

Would have nice to have had a backdrop of the mountains beyond those doors for certain scenes, just to give us a sense of place a bit more.

The piroutting scene changers - LOL - if so many scene changes are required, may as well do it with panache!

I get that Love Changes Everything is Alex's motif and (even used a little by Jenny and (?) Rose) but it's just too much! It gets a bit laughable after a while, especially with the 30 year hindsight of it being SUCH a recognisable song/standard.

Jerome's gestures were indeed rather "big" but I generally liked his acting, even if he was a bit young for the role.

I thought the woman playing Jenny did it wel, especially as a 14 year old. Would have looked even more convincing if she'd initially hadn't worn make up.

I didn't think the characters were dreadful - I admired their joie de vivre. I think some of their continental excesses are still a bit "tut tutty" for the average middle class Brit.

Musically, I would have tinkered around the edges with it as much as the licence allows. Too much clunky recitative.

Just having pianos as musical accompaniment got tiresome after a while. It was too much of a monotonous soundscape for a full show.

I think some of the more murky aspects are even harder to palate for the "woke" generation. I quite liked it, because I enjoy feeling uncomfortable at times during theatre - being challenged - it's more interesting than just a lovely night out. So I was interested to see how far they would take it.

Having seen the David Essex UK tour, I realised how much I'd forgotten.

Don't think Felix Mosse was a great actor - he conveyed a youthful naiveity in the beginning but unfortately that remained for his 30-something self - which was less believable.
The polo shirt tugging! Yes, did our heads in!!

Kelly Price was perfect for the role, although she could have played it a little less "English Rose" and a bit more French!

Perhaps the director hasn't managed to convey to everyone in the cast to fully understand the story and its scenarios - at least beyond a surface level - I think some life experience is required for the passionate attitudes to relationships in this piece!

The "big ending" of Anything But Lonely I have only heard by Sarah Brightman - it isn't even on the Original London Cast Recording. Kelly P made a good fist of it, even if she didn't hold a note for long, she hit em!

A great show and production that has certainly stayed with me since I saw it.

The original productions had a younger and an older Jenny - and although the time period is only a couple of years - the younger Jenny tended to be played by someone in their very early teens (Scarlett Strallen was only about 9 when she played it mid run) and the slightly older Jenny by someone in their late teens/early 20s (Diana Morrison did the entire three year west end run). In the original Broadway cast Jenny at 12 and Jenny at 14 were played by sisters.

Hey everyone... just catching up on the London run of Aspects here. I was excited when I first read somewhere that "Aspects of Love returning to London for it's 30th Anniversary" and thought about flying from NY just to see it, since it was the first musical I ever saw and still is one of my favorite scores.

When it sounded like an even smaller production (or at least orchestra) than The Woman in White I decided against that type of expense.

I get it, the original production was much maligned as too opulent. The fact that it ran 3 years in London is probably more about ALW's name on it at the time and just the general state of things in theatre back then. The fact that it was a flop in NY probably underlined the difficulties with the story and the audience being unable to really connect or care with the characters. Something that I would tend to believe is even more the case now than in 1990.

That being said, the score remains a favorite. Was upset to hear There is More to Love was reverted back to a solo. The duet, as someone mentioned, was ravishing (fortunately on broadway, I saw it with the two originals and the cast recording pales in comparison to the bootleg of it)


Curious about two things 1 - Did ALW attend the premiere or comment about this production anywhere? and 2 - 5 years ago some Opera company in UK said they were doing the "new definitive version" that ALW himself revised of Aspects that supposedly incorporated extensive changes... is that what this is?

Space at Hope Mill and finances to make this work as a fringe production, I expect.

It’s not a matter of space at the HM. It can be configured in several ways to accommodate a band. 

Agreed. Hadn't heard of her before this but she is sensational. Anything But Lonely one of the most thrilling musical moments anywhere in London currently!

Seeing this Sat mat mainly for Jerome. PLEASE tell me he gives his usual understated and subtle performance? He’s one of my favourite performers. 100% theatrical entertainment in everything.

Brilliant!!!! Can’t wait!!!! Tell me more?