3,577 posts
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Post by showgirl on Nov 16, 2017 8:38:20 GMT
Couldn't find a thread for this, which is currently in Cardiff, apparently in association with Cape Town Opera. Anyone going or know whether it might transfer or tour, please? I can't fit in a trip to Cardiff or I'd consider it. www.tigerbaythemusical.com/ |
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Post by daniel on Nov 16, 2017 8:44:58 GMT
Couldn't find a thread for this, which is currently in Cardiff, apparently in association with Cape Town Opera. Anyone going or know whether it might transfer or tour, please? I can't fit in a trip to Cardiff or I'd consider it. www.tigerbaythemusical.com/I’ll let @emicardiff tell you herself what she thought of it...  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 8:46:31 GMT
There were no plans for any tour beyond this run originally- I think they were banking on it being a runaway hit and being snapped up elsewhere. However considering ticket sales have been dire and the show itself is...well dire I wouldn't hold your breath (and think yourself lucky of the escape)
Can you tell I didn't like it much? I'll post my proper review later, but for once Mark Shenton and I are in agreement- it dies by it's over-ambition. It's a mess in that it wants to be the 'Welsh Les Mis' but then it wants to be 'Welsh Billy Elliot' but then it just goes full 'Welsh Annie' in the second act. It's 3 hours long which is at least 45 minutes of unnecessary material. It tries to do a Les Mis and have multiple stories at once but none of them really gets fleshed out and at least 2 of them are either dull or ridiculous.
It's a criminal waste of John Owen Jones and his voice- he barely gets one proper number. The cast do work incredibly hard, and there's some talent there but it looks like one hell of a slog on their part.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 8:47:39 GMT
Couldn't find a thread for this, which is currently in Cardiff, apparently in association with Cape Town Opera. Anyone going or know whether it might transfer or tour, please? I can't fit in a trip to Cardiff or I'd consider it. www.tigerbaythemusical.com/I’ll let @emicardiff tell you herself what she thought of it... hahaha I was typing my thoughts as you did. Jeysus, 10.53 I got back to my car last night. To quote my Mum "Just when you thought it was over it wasn't. Over and over" |
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Nov 16, 2017 9:13:46 GMT
Jeysus, 10.53 I got back to my car last night. To quote my Mum "Just when you thought it was over it wasn't. Over and over" Argh, that's one of the worst forms of torture - shows (and movies) that just don't know when to end. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 9:16:54 GMT
Jeysus, 10.53 I got back to my car last night. To quote my Mum "Just when you thought it was over it wasn't. Over and over" Argh, that's one of the worst forms of torture - shows (and movies) that just don't know when to end. Yup- and it wasn't even an issue of length at that point, more that we'd had 3 endings already, but nope another number, oh another plot point hang on lets get one more in...argh! |
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Nov 16, 2017 9:22:08 GMT
I would "like" your post, except that I feel "dislike" would be more appropriate here. Meh.
At least my kitties knew when to end and sod off after Grizabella flew to heaven yesterday.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 9:24:29 GMT
hahaha the first rule of musical theatre 'know when to die (and stay dead please)'
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Post by danb on Nov 16, 2017 9:42:10 GMT
Thank you for saving me the £100 I’d spend on tickets, petrol, the bridge & dinner Emi! I wanted to go and support Dom Hartley Harris who had been such a standout in 🦇🔥, but nothing is worth enduring a lengthy new score that sucks.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 10:01:49 GMT
Thank you for saving me the £100 I’d spend on tickets, petrol, the bridge & dinner Emi! I wanted to go and support Dom Hartley Harris who had been such a standout in 🦇🔥, but nothing is worth enduring a lengthy new score that sucks. You're welcome! I like to save people from bad musicals! I feel for the cast- they work really hard, and do a good job with what they have (mostly) but it's just a mess. Again I feel bad because it has so much potential, but it never gets there. Shout out to Noel-Hearsay-Sullivan and his beard which looks like he drew it on with a sharpie and John Owen Jones' beard which seems to have engulfed his entire face... ETA in under the wire but I have found the prize for my worse lyric of the year "You are the Harbour Master of my heart" |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 10:10:00 GMT
Wow! As lyrics go, that's up there with Too Close To The Sun's "I don't trust that pirate girl"!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 10:21:37 GMT
Wow! As lyrics go, that's up there with Too Close To The Sun's "I don't trust that pirate girl"! haha oh god I'd forgotten that one! This was the name of the song. So they sang it over and over. Also if I'd played a drinking game of 'drink every time they say the show title' I'd be in A&E now with alcohol poisoning. I'm usually very well behaved but I did lean over and whisper to Mum at one point "What's this show called again?" Ok for karmic balance, I must say Melly Still does excellent work with a mess of a show. The direction is excellent, and makes full use of the WMC's big stage- and it 'fills' the auditorium well. But dear oh dear she is not working with a lot. |
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Post by harrie on Nov 16, 2017 10:21:41 GMT
To give another perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed this last night. No it’s not perfect, yes it needs some editing and some of the dialogue was jarring (Ianto saying ‘Tidy’ in the early 1900s?!) but for me these were minor quibbles. I thought the score was beautiful and there were no weak links in the cast. It is long but I didn’t feel it dragged at all. I do agree that John Owen Jones deserves some bigger numbers to sing though!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 10:27:50 GMT
To give another perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed this last night. No it’s not perfect, yes it needs some editing and some of the dialogue was jarring (Ianto saying ‘Tidy’ in the early 1900s?!) but for me these were minor quibbles. I thought the score was beautiful and there were no weak links in the cast. It is long but I didn’t feel it dragged at all. I do agree that John Owen Jones deserves some bigger number to sign though! Totally fair harrie! I agree that the cast did an excellent job (I personally don't care for Suzanne Packer's singing style but she's very talented) and everyone was doing a really good job. You've hit on my other pet peeve- the awful cringe-worthy 'Welsh Jokes' every five minutes. I wanted to die of second hand embarrassment. But you're quite right that none of the colloquialisms they put in were remotely appropriate to the time period! |
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53 posts
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Post by harrie on Nov 16, 2017 11:24:20 GMT
Ah I didn’t mind the jokes but yes the colloquialisms did grate on me a little!
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2,761 posts
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Post by n1david on Nov 16, 2017 16:20:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 16:58:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 18:25:40 GMT
I don't know much about this show, but it's sad to see one of the few original British shows get bad reviews.
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Post by danb on Nov 17, 2017 1:16:50 GMT
Sounds a bit like when I saw ‘Martin Guerre’ in previews. I wanted to take my own life it went on so much, but they did get there eventually. I loved it by the end of it’s London run and don’t feel it needed further tinkering. Are there not even any lush repeated melodies that you enjoy over and over?
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3,577 posts
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Post by showgirl on Nov 17, 2017 5:21:20 GMT
Wow, I'm amazed to go from never having heard of a show to reading so much about it - mostly adverse - within hours! Obviously others would soon have started a thread had I not done so. Haven't yet had time to read all the reviews but have definitely noted that some were positive, as were the tweets which alerted me to it initially - so I hope it's a work in progress.
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Post by welsh_tenor on Nov 17, 2017 7:14:17 GMT
This seems to be getting consistently great reviews and comments from local bloggers and newspapers!
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Post by Oleanna on Nov 17, 2017 8:18:22 GMT
This seems to be getting consistently great reviews and comments from local bloggers and newspapers! Local press and bloggers are probably just celebrating the fact that it’s happening on their doorstep, regardless of the quality of the actual content. |
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Post by n1david on Nov 17, 2017 8:46:07 GMT
Well, I can’t say I thought this was dire but it was disappointing. Three big issues for me. 1. Urchins. I’m allergic to urchins. And there are a LOT of them in this show. Not singing very well. And not acting very well. 2. Relentless activity. No confidence in letting the music talk. There were some good tunes in this - particular stand out was “Who I Am” performed by Vicki Bebb - but it was notable for ending up on a bare stage with just her singing. Most songs overchereographed, ensemble members on stage dancing, moving bits of scenery around (at one point I just wanted to scream “leave them alone”). So the songs themselves get lost in the frenetic activity. 3. The plot. The labour dispute at the heart of the show is never resolved. The resolution is “The Marquis will sort it out”. But the resolution is offstage and later. Which is a huge cop out. The resolution is that the Marquis - the richest man in Britain - realises that some bad stuff is happening. And promises to fix it. Now my knowledge of Welsh labour history isn’t that strong, but I don’t think that all the problems about poor wages and living conditions, stresses about immigrant workers and strike breakers were suddenly “fixed” in one go because a rich man got woke. Oh, and the reaction to Ianto’s death was hugely over the top. But then I don’t like urchins. There was potential in this -some decent songs and the mostly great cast working their socks off. But ultimately it failed for me. About 70% standing ovation at the end and relentless retweeting of praise by the show’s Twitter account show I was in a minority in the audience. But that’s how it is. |
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Post by viserys on Nov 17, 2017 8:55:51 GMT
Have a like for the line "being allergic to urchins" alone. I haven't seen this show, but twee cute urchins from Annie via Oliver to Newsies also make my toenails curl.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2017 9:05:30 GMT
Re: Local bloggers. a) a lot of them are sucking up the WMC and/or work there in some capacity. (I saw one 'review' shared that was by a member of the PR company!!) b) the Welsh tend to get fairly sycophantic about ANYTHING that mentions Wales.
I too am allergic to urchins! and I agree with @n1david and your feelings on the plot- also that it never gets chance to 'breathe' as a piece, no sooner have we started one thing it's whipping onto the next.
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