Aspects of Love - Hope Mill MCR / Southwark Playhouse

Me three!

Gawd. Unfortunately with it being a Fringe production, they don't have understudies. I'm going on Saturday

I don't suppose anyone has any updates about tonight's show? Haven't seen anything announced on Twitter yet but I may give them a quick call if I have the chance.

I'm never sure how late they leave these things when they have to cancel.

Thanks!

It was a good few years ago that I saw Aspects at the Menier so I had forgotten what an oddity this is.
I know a lot of people love the score but for me its a bit of a one hit pony with the only memorable song being Love Changes Everything which is actually the opening number. Seeing is believing is also half decent but the rest of the, almost sung through, musical is kind of bits of songs that don't seem to go anywhere.
As the first preview on Monday was cancelled, this performance was therefore the first preview. It started about 20 minutes late but for a first preview went well with no stops and nothing went wrong that I could see. There were just a couple of mic hiccups.
Sound always seems to be an issue at Southwark but in this case it wasn't too bad at all. Mostly because the band is very small. I would guess piano, double bass and drums (but don't hold me to that). Therefore the band did not over power the singing which often happens.
The cast were all pretty good with the lead, Alex, having a lovely voice. I did find the woman who paid the Italian lover (sorry don't know actors names) was very difficult to understand in the Wine and Dice number.
Set was simple but well designed and good lighting. Props were moved on and off stage by the cast. Boy did this lot drink... I don't think there was a single scene without someone making a drink, drinking something or clearing up glasses.
The main characters without exception are all dreadful people and I didn't care for any of them. At one point I even thought that the daughter was the daughter of Alex and the fact that no one ages throughout the show makes it difficult to gauge time.
It was a nice evening, not one of the best shows by far I have seen at Southwark and a musical I can now add to my list of shows I don't need to see again.

Taking into account the late start I would say the show will normally run at 2.5 hours with an interval.

On another note I am so pleased that Southwark now have reserved seating as I hated the days of the scrum when the doors opened, but for every show I have booked an aisle seat from the seating plan (I always book as soon as the show is announced) and every time when I have got there I find the seat is no longer an aisle. Fortunately leg room is not an issue there but I do wish they would get the seating plan right before they publish it and put seats on sale. Other theatres with flexible seating seem to manage it.

And bananas!!!

I’m just worried about folk with nut allergies

I usually like Lloyd Webber’s stuff, but this didn’t really do it for me, and there were aspects of the storyline I felt uncomfortable about.

I was on the table seats too, and they really weren’t great at all, other than being able to put my interval drink on the table for the second act! I don’t know if anyone else had the same problem, but despite being at the front I did struggle at times to hear Alex sing, I I wonder if they’ve still got some sound issues to work out.

I’m glad we went as it’s one to tick off, but I can’t see myself seeing it again any time soon.

Overall i liked it a lot, but then i love the show and it was nice to see it again.
BUT....

Alex was too young and his voice too thin. And had zero personality or appeal. And if he tugs at his polo shirt one more time...
Jerome Pradon - what was going on with his diction? some words sounded horrible, and he's been amazing in other productions.
A male member of the ensemble changed the furniture like he was Nureyev, twirling with aplomb! It was unintentionally funny.
Over the course of the evening George's ex wife was called Cecilia, Celia and Delia.

The women fared much better and i thought Rose and Giulietta were great.

I liked how they handled the Alex Jenny relationship too.

Overall i liked it better than the Menier production, but nowhere near as good as it could have been.

Got me some tickets. Am looking forward to this probably for the sole reason of the 11 O'Clock number Anything but lonely

There is no band? That’s me out.....

Well. Having never seen 'Aspects of Love' before I really rather liked it. It works very well in such a small space as you can see Felix Mosse's sterling eyebrow work up close. Luckily you could be outside Elephant & Castle station and still be able to catch Jerome Pradon's facial expressions. No gesture is too big for Jerome. I think someone forgot to tell him that there isn't a balcony at the Southwark Playhouse so there's not really a need to sell it to the person at the back. On the plus side, the show has got a lovely score, Madalena Alberto puts in another performance that makes you wonder why she isn't one of the bigger names in London's glitzy West End (and giving us a delightful tribute to Lionel Richie's 'Hello' video at one point too), Kelly Price (where have I seen her before?) coping manfully with all manner of costume changes, an ensemble that changes the set with a flourish with a capital FLOURISH that should be the norm at the theatre and more opening and closing of doors than at a Ray Cooney farce.

With all the criticism of Felix Mosse on here, I was expecting him to be awful but I thought he was just smashing as the young Alex and while Kelly Price (where have I seen her before?) backs out of the big finish for 'Anything But Lonely' she'd been pretty smashing all the way through the show so I forgave her. 'The First Man You Remember' is still one of the ikkiest songs around and the Alex/Jenny relationship can still make one feel a bit queasy, especially after a heavy dinner, but it's not enough to put you off the show. Although the dance routine at the funeral might.