4,177 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on Nov 4, 2016 11:05:24 GMT
Is this completely depressing? I'm booked for it tomorrow but after a terrible week i don't know i can cope with a completely sad and depressing show right now.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 12:53:26 GMT
Is this completely depressing? I'm booked for it tomorrow but after a terrible week i don't know i can cope with a completely sad and depressing show right now.
I'm seeing the show tonight, will report back! 
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Nov 4, 2016 14:06:43 GMT
Is this completely depressing? I'm booked for it tomorrow but after a terrible week i don't know i can cope with a completely sad and depressing show right now. It's sad, but I wouldn't say it's devastatingly so. |
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4,955 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Nov 4, 2016 14:44:33 GMT
What is devasting is the endless use of this ruddy boxes
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Post by JJShaw on Nov 4, 2016 18:10:37 GMT
What is devasting is the endless use of this ruddy boxes completely agree! sometimes they were used well and other times i thought "shall we give it a rest for a second!" i enjoyed the show and thought all the performances were good, didn't realise the opening number would be so... interactive! Lizard man writhing in my face was a little scary!! |
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Post by dazzerlump on Nov 4, 2016 18:38:44 GMT
I thoroughly enjoyed it.. Ive never seen it on stage and to be honest didn't love the song rewrites and yes Jake was a bit wooden, but hearing Louise and Laura sing Who will love me as I am and I will never leave you has made my year! :-)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 18:43:44 GMT
I am so excited! FIrst time at this theatre, have just arrived and it is lovely! Really excited for the performance now! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 20:55:49 GMT
Oh god damn, this is so, so frickin' good! LOuise and Laura are stunning, when they sang a snippit of I Will Never Leave You I had one of those rare "holy s**t this is happening in front of my face!" moments! The cast are fantastic fall round in my opinion, really liking the choreography and the design aspecta of the costume and the overall set. I really like the lighting for this too. Audience appear to be loving it too, very responsive, particularly when the girls ended Act I with the first of their two major duets. I do wonder how fast Laura and Louise must have to run backstage as for those who have seen it, they exit through the entrance of the theatre and the lights for the interval come up instantly so they must be sprinting through the front of house. THat being said, the whole cast must be! God I love it you guys, can't wait for Act II! |
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Post by andrew on Nov 5, 2016 0:28:09 GMT
Daniel we seem to have been in the same audience. I hope you weren't anywhere near me, the friend I brought is not a theatre regular and kept trying to talk to me, which I had to keep shutting down. Then she whipped a bag of Starburst out. Again had to be shut down. I had no idea it would all happen I swear...
Anyway I really liked this. I had been put down a bit by what people on here had said but despite the ending it's quite enjoyable. The lyrics in particular strike me as being a bit flat quite often, whilst they're not awful by any measure there are some very weak lines all over the place. Louise stole the show casting-wise.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 1:47:56 GMT
Daniel we seem to have been in the same audience. I hope you weren't anywhere near me, the friend I brought is not a theatre regular and kept trying to talk to me, which I had to keep shutting down. Then she whipped a bag of Starburst out. Again had to be shut down. I had no idea it would all happen I swear... Anyway I really liked this. I had been put down a bit by what people on here had said but despite the ending it's quite enjoyable. The lyrics in particular strike me as being a bit flat quite often, whilst they're not awful by any measure there are some very weak lines all over the place. Louise stole the show casting-wise. I was in D16 if that ia any help placing me! Terrific view btw for those who can't get central block. Its on the block by the entrance, very good legroom as no one is in front of you and end of the row so you can position yourself how you please! Anywho, I loved this, I thought it was pretty stellar a production anc the cast on the whole are fantastic! some of those freaks are really sexy too!  the girls are obviously the whole show and rightly so they were phenomenal! i was moved to tears in the scene leading up to I Will Never Leave You with the strong performances of emotion and anger from Louise and Laura! laura was a grand surprise for me, I have never seen her before and she was brilliant! I am obsessed with Liuise and knew she would be amazing so no surprises there but damn, her voice gives me chills everytime I hear it! I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show.  |
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4,177 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on Nov 5, 2016 6:54:18 GMT
Daniel we seem to have been in the same audience. I hope you weren't anywhere near me, the friend I brought is not a theatre regular and kept trying to talk to me, which I had to keep shutting down. Then she whipped a bag of Starburst out. Again had to be shut down. I had no idea it would all happen I swear... Anyway I really liked this. I had been put down a bit by what people on here had said but despite the ending it's quite enjoyable. The lyrics in particular strike me as being a bit flat quite often, whilst they're not awful by any measure there are some very weak lines all over the place. Louise stole the show casting-wise. I was in D16 if that ia any help placing me! Terrific view btw for those who can't get central block. Its on the block by the entrance, very good legroom as no one is in front of you and end of the row so you can position yourself how you please! Anywho, I loved this, I thought it was pretty stellar a production anc the cast on the whole are fantastic! some of those freaks are really sexy too! the girls are obviously the whole show and rightly so they were phenomenal! i was moved to tears in the scene leading up to I Will Never Leave You with the strong performances of emotion and anger from Louise and Laura! laura was a grand surprise for me, I have never seen her before and she was brilliant! I am obsessed with Liuise and knew she would be amazing so no surprises there but damn, her voice gives me chills everytime I hear it! I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show. Which is exactly my seat for this afternoon! Good to know it's a good seat, i picked it as i thought it would be the best option given no more central blck seats were available! So how is this on the depression scale? I seem to get the impression it's sad...i can deal with sad as long as it's not totally so. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 7:43:35 GMT
I was in D16 if that ia any help placing me! Terrific view btw for those who can't get central block. Its on the block by the entrance, very good legroom as no one is in front of you and end of the row so you can position yourself how you please! Anywho, I loved this, I thought it was pretty stellar a production anc the cast on the whole are fantastic! some of those freaks are really sexy too! the girls are obviously the whole show and rightly so they were phenomenal! i was moved to tears in the scene leading up to I Will Never Leave You with the strong performances of emotion and anger from Louise and Laura! laura was a grand surprise for me, I have never seen her before and she was brilliant! I am obsessed with Liuise and knew she would be amazing so no surprises there but damn, her voice gives me chills everytime I hear it! I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show. Which is exactly my seat for this afternoon! Good to know it's a good seat, i picked it as i thought it would be the best option given no more central blck seats were available! So how is this on the depression scale? I seem to get the impression it's sad...i can deal with sad as long as it's not totally so. Its really not as depressing as I thought it would be. There is quite a bit of comedy and light-heartedness. I personally found the last few scenes emotional because of the performances and the story but generally, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as dark and depressing as I expected! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 8:00:09 GMT
I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show. In that case in case you're not aware of it, quick plug for the Southwark Pay as You Go scheme - 5 tickets for £60 which never expire so you can use them whenever you want. Sometimes they restrict use for the last couple of weeks of popular shows but they've not announced any restriction for Side Show. southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/your-visit/payg/ |
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Post by notmymuse on Nov 5, 2016 9:30:28 GMT
I was in D16 if that ia any help placing me! Terrific view btw for those who can't get central block. Its on the block by the entrance, very good legroom as no one is in front of you and end of the row so you can position yourself how you please! Anywho, I loved this, I thought it was pretty stellar a production anc the cast on the whole are fantastic! some of those freaks are really sexy too! the girls are obviously the whole show and rightly so they were phenomenal! i was moved to tears in the scene leading up to I Will Never Leave You with the strong performances of emotion and anger from Louise and Laura! laura was a grand surprise for me, I have never seen her before and she was brilliant! I am obsessed with Liuise and knew she would be amazing so no surprises there but damn, her voice gives me chills everytime I hear it! I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show. Which is exactly my seat for this afternoon! Good to know it's a good seat, i picked it as i thought it would be the best option given no more central blck seats were available! So how is this on the depression scale? I seem to get the impression it's sad...i can deal with sad as long as it's not totally so. I walked out uplifted rather than sad. It's a satisfying end in some ways. Definitely not depressing. Daniel, so glad you've discovered Laura. She's great in nearly everything she does (and almost always does shows that only run a short while so there's usually loads of chances to see her in different things!). Although she's on tour in Nell Gwynne for a while next having just said that... |
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Post by schuttep on Nov 5, 2016 10:39:06 GMT
I will definately head back to this before we say Goodbye to The Side Show. In that case in case you're not aware of it, quick plug for the Southwark Pay as You Go scheme - 5 tickets for £60 which never expire so you can use them whenever you want. Sometimes they restrict use for the last couple of weeks of popular shows but they've not announced any restriction for Side Show. southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/your-visit/payg/I agree the PAYG membership is a steal. Just bought another package and booked for The Life. |
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Post by Michael on Nov 5, 2016 18:14:41 GMT
Saw today's Matinee and really enjoyed this. Stand-out performances were Louise and Laura. I was surprised how many of the cast I've seen before. One minor point of criticism: they could have needed a few more costumes for the ensemble. After the bows, Laura and Louise asked two alleged super fans on stage to give them a present. There was, however, no present and the guy proposed to his girlfriend. He was so emotional and overwhelmed that he lost all words, so he just went down on one knee and gave her the ring, and she said yes. What a happy end and great ending to this show |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Nov 5, 2016 18:44:34 GMT
Well Michael you could have told me....I was there too! I'm pretty sure we missed each other at a legally blonde performance too as well once. Did you notice our bit of representation in the bar?  Enjoyed the show.....Louise and Laura of course the stand outs. Their voices are just brilliant. Great leading ladies. I thought it got a bit too speak singy in the second act which I didn't like and thought was a bit cringe. But other than that, great! |
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Post by Michael on Nov 5, 2016 18:49:22 GMT
Guess whom I've just seen at the New London - our two fiancées. I thought they were out festivating...
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Post by Michael on Nov 5, 2016 18:55:02 GMT
Well Michael you could have told me....I was there too! I'm pretty sure we missed each other at a legally blonde performance too as well once. Didn't see any badges, but lots of poppies. I was in D34. Great legroom but the seats were a bit too tight. |
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Post by schuttep on Nov 6, 2016 11:57:22 GMT
I saw this yesterday afternoon and loved it.
Can't say how this would work as a big, blousy, Broadway show but this production in the Southwark Large space was perfectly pitched.
The staging was excellent (I understand others' views about the boxes but they were used to clever effect at the end when the mirrors on the underside of the lids were positioned to face the audience for us to take a good look at ourselves).
The piece was acted and sung beautifully and, quite honestly was a highlight of the year for me. I hope the Southwark continues to bring in these Broadway shows that never transferred at the time.
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Post by distantcousin on Nov 6, 2016 22:12:54 GMT
Absolutely loved the show - went with next to no prior knowledge about it. Worked beautifully. Great score, stellar performances from the leads and I thought it a thought provoking show too.
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Post by boybooshka on Nov 7, 2016 11:07:38 GMT
Saw today's Matinee and really enjoyed this. Stand-out performances were Louise and Laura. I was surprised how many of the cast I've seen before. One minor point of criticism: they could have needed a few more costumes for the ensemble. After the bows, Laura and Louise asked two alleged super fans on stage to give them a present. There was, however, no present and the guy proposed to his girlfriend. He was so emotional and overwhelmed that he lost all words, so he just went down on one knee and gave her the ring, and she said yes. What a happy end and great ending to this show I was there at that performance too, the proposal brought the tears which the show didn't quite manage to. I really liked it though, decent production of a decent show. Liked the cast, already loved Louise and Laura and this didn't change my mind though i wouldn't call either of the performances mind blowing. I thought the staging worked really well, though i echo previous comments about the use of ropes in the Texas scenes. We were sat on the centre aisle of one of the side blocks and although i would have preferred the centre block i didn't feel my experience was majorly effected by that. Ultimately though I don't think the show is a particularly imaginative or powerful telling of the twins stories. There is just so much in the story that could be made to resonate much deeper and wider than this incarnation does. I can't help but wonder how good it could have been in other hands, Kander and Ebb for example. |
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Post by JJShaw on Nov 7, 2016 11:48:39 GMT
I can't help but wonder how good it could have been in other hands, Kander and Ebb for example. As much as I did enjoy most of the score the thought of a Kander and Ebb Side Show would have been thrilling! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 16:11:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 23:47:53 GMT
A bit of a mixed bag for me.
I didn't find it particularly well directed and the staging was often ineffective. The boxes were only necessary at the end. Some of the choreography was thrilling and some of it pedestrian. Same as everyone else, didn't like the rope stuff. I would have really preferred for the ensemble to change out of their freaks outfits before playing other characters, especially as they would have had the time to do so, no stupidly quick changes. Speaking of the ensemble, excellent dancers and singers, but the acting from them was mediocre, particularly the fortune teller I thought. Also two mishaps with a hat and cane in the tap number but hey mistakes happen. The other actors that weren't the two leads were passable, sometimes being OTT. Actor playing Buddy probably fared the best out of those.
Onto the positives. I liked the set a lot. Really enjoyed the score with quite a few standout songs, my favourite being Private Conversation. Laura and Louise are outstanding, can't be faulted and goodness, Louise's voice is gorgeous.
I got slightly emotional at the end but I think judging from the subject matter it could have been more emotionally affecting than it was. Think most of the emotion came from the strength of the music and the performances from the girls. Think this really could have worked in such an intimate space with stronger direction and staging. Having said that, I was never bored. It's definitely worth seeing.
3.5*
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the girls are obviously the whole show and rightly so they were phenomenal! i was moved to tears in the scene leading up to I Will Never Leave You with the strong performances of emotion and anger from Louise and Laura! laura was a grand surprise for me, I have never seen her before and she was brilliant! I am obsessed with Liuise and knew she would be amazing so no surprises there but damn, her voice gives me chills everytime I hear it!
