Spring Awakening - Hope Mill Manchester

Its only a matter of time before the decide to do The Last Five Years I recon.

Around 2 hours 15 minutes including an interval.

Third visit to Hope Mill this afternoon. With previous visits being to see Pippin and The Toyboy Diaries and this was my favourite piece yet.
Average age of the audience I'd say was early twenties, which is really inspiring - I'm guessing the cast had graduate peers in.

The cast were very strong and they were all vocally impressive. We'll definitely be seeing more of these in years to come, I feel.

Absolutely loved the colour palette of the show perfectly uniting the set, costume and lighting. The sound of the show was absolutely on point too. So glad they've binned off the Yamaha keyboard from previous productions and gone for something a bit more full bodied. The orchestration of the piece was great. I don't know if that and the vocal arrangements came with the piece or were production specific but they really were both great a - some lovely vocal cluster chords throughout - which I'm a massive fan of.

Only a couple of technical hitches, both in 'Totally F£&$ed'; 1) the mic flying off the cable (this could have been prevented with a couple of wraps of black LX between the mic and XLR - a slight oversight there) causing Melchior to break character momentarily and corpse, everyone else held it together well. 2) The on-stage guitar being muted whilst played a few times and cues missed. But these are little niggles. Glad to see they've addressed the previous issue of moving lights randomly resetting mid-show this time round I'd mentioned.

Only a slight reservation with the piece being the German names but Yorkshire accents. That threw me off slightly. Which as a result meant that it took a while to digest the show and it's message. Whilst not immediately obvious to me, it really is quite poignant at this period in time, that we really should do more to guide the younger generations, and others in our society. Don't just leave them to figure it out for themselves. Let's be a bit more inclusive and auspicious. What use it knowledge if we keep it to ourselves.

This is a solid production though, another strike from HMT, well worth a visit! Hyped for Aspect of Love next.

At the moment online, not sure if the UK has picked it up yet, it's like a darker, more serious Glee but the songs are all on stage and not MT style, enjoying it so far (it's based on a book and true story)

Made a trip up to Manchester to see this and it didn't disappoint. I'd never seen a production of Spring Awakening before but had several friends rave about it, and really glad I have finally caught it. Great cast with some excellent choreo and lighting, and a great set which all felt far more upmarket than the... er... run down surroundings of the area around theatre. Totally f***ed was a stand out moment for me. Would slip perfectly into Southwark Playhouse if the rights are available for London.

Perfect, thank you!

Wow just wow, slightly lost for words, what a performance, pitch perfect, high energy and so emotional, everything I wanted it to be and more! The acting, lighting, staging were top notch and the angry jarring choreography a sight to behold, can't recommend this enough. Also agree with BurlyBear the Song of Purple Summer was the best version I've heard.

I was there too! Were you front row face on? I have a feeling I saw you!

I wish I’d booked for an earlier performance so I would have time to go back again. Sadly, once will have to suffice.

The staging, lighting and cast are phenomenal. I found the first half more compelling, dealing with the build-up. For some reason, the second half left me a little cold, maybe because so much happened so fast that I couldn’t emotionally connect. But that’s the fault of the musical and not the Hope Mill. 

Another huge hit, nevertheless. I love the soundtrack too, having never heard it beforehand. Currently listening to the German version on Spotify. Is there no English version available on Spotify? I might have to buy the CD instead...

Oh and I took advantage of the programme and mug deal

I would have thought so!

Hope Mill is one of the best things that’s happened to Manchester in years!

Closing tonight. I'd definitely like to see this come down.

That really got into my brain after the first preview and I said I’d go back so thought I’d do closing night. Sat way up at the back this time. Some really gorgeous songs in this and the harmonies in Song Of Purple Summer were fantastic. Loved it. Totally deserves a transfer.