349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 9, 2018 17:48:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2018 19:27:43 GMT
I'm seeing it on Monday. I love good theatre and I love shows so bad they're good so this should be fine for me!
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494 posts
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Post by ellie1981 on Jul 17, 2018 9:13:04 GMT
Saw this last night and found it quite bizarre. It was well staged (particularly one battle scene) but the plot was so thin, I had no investment into the characters whatsoever.
Some of the segues into the songs in the first act were very humourous, which actually added to my enjoyment, however the second act was light on the 80s and 90s hits and just ended up with a few “Hey Nonny Nonny” type ditties, which left it uneven.
Also, why on earth was Poison’s Every Rose Has It’s Thorn not used?
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Post by dontdreamit on Jul 18, 2018 18:34:22 GMT
This is now on TodayTix with discounts on stalls tickets.
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716 posts
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Post by indis on Jul 19, 2018 22:50:59 GMT
saw it today, liked the music and Oliver and Chris in their roles, and the crown prince has a great voice too, but the dialogues were soo cheesy, i think i heard the eyeroling from the people behind me 🤣
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151 posts
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Post by gra on Jul 20, 2018 22:10:57 GMT
Saw it tonight and found a lot to like.
The cast were uniformly great, with excellent singing from both principals and chorus.
Band were fine and the sound balance very good. (not always the case in this theatre)
Considering the limitations of the stage I thought the choreography 'worked' and the staging was well thought out.The battle scenes showed imagination.
Thought the choices of music were rather random at times.Mozart turning up as the two lovers were reconciled was a bit strange for example!
Ok,the plot is paper thin and the dialogue quite boring at times, but overall I found the evening a lot more enjoyable than I expected.
If you can get a deal, it's worth seeing!
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349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 25, 2018 21:42:07 GMT
One of the Arts Theatre FOH had to learn at short notice and go on as one of the main characters in the show for the evening performance.
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3,349 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 25, 2018 22:20:40 GMT
Cue big press release, BBC interviews and she will take over the lead role for a limited run shortly.
But seriously, well done!
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Jul 27, 2018 15:20:07 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2018 16:23:07 GMT
"West End" though, *honestly*.....
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2,452 posts
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Post by theatremadness on Jul 27, 2018 17:20:47 GMT
As tongue-in-cheek as that is, technically, they're not wrong! I guess it's something to do with paying for their SOLT membership?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2018 20:27:43 GMT
The National and The Old Vic are technically not West End. But they pay SOLT so they are considered West End and are therefore eligible for awards and such. The Arts is the same, hence Victoria Hamilton-Barritt getting nominated for Murder Ballad. So I suppose the venue is West End.
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2,452 posts
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Post by theatremadness on Jul 27, 2018 20:44:46 GMT
The National and The Old Vic are technically not West End. But they pay SOLT so they are considered West End and are therefore eligible for awards and such. The Arts is the same, hence Victoria Hamilton-Barritt getting nominated for Murder Ballad. So I suppose the venue is West End. I guess so! I know it's not the font of all wisdom, but there's a list of West End theatres on the West End theatre wikipedia page which lists the Arts Theatre but not the Old Vic or any theatre at the National. Then again I noticed it doesn't mention the London Coliseum but does list practically every other West End theatre so who knows! |
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Post by danb on Jul 27, 2018 23:12:20 GMT
It’s a street away from Leicester Square, of course it’s West End!!!
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1,133 posts
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Post by Stephen on Jul 28, 2018 0:39:50 GMT
It's an odd one isn't it...because of the location. I have to say I've seen a few productions at the Arts that I've enjoyed immensely with great casts. However, they have all been produced on a lower budget and echo more the kind of shows that you would see at the Menier.
Don't get me wrong I love the Menier, and I love the Arts, but I wouldn't say the Arts is a "West End" theatre.
Maybe if they fix the seats which are ready to fall apart!
Unfortunately this musical doesn't really appeal to my taste.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2018 14:16:16 GMT
The Donmar isn't even considered West End by alot of people. I read an interview with Alfred Molina for Red saying they went straight from the Donmar to Broadway, but never did the West End first time around, so this is full circle for them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2018 2:33:18 GMT
It’s so annoying this is like one of the prime location for a theatre or production but it’s so small and has a restaurant in it!
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Post by dontdreamit on Jul 30, 2018 8:20:56 GMT
TodayTix have a flash sale- all seats for this show for £15 for the next 24 hours. I’ve just booked myself a stalls ticket for this Friday.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2018 8:20:04 GMT
Well. If the thought of 'Bat Out of Hell' meeting 'Spamalot' gets you all a-quiver then you will LOVE this. It's H.I.Larious! I can't remember the last time I laughed at a show so much. That it's all played straight makes it even better.
The cast are fantastic, one, because they are genuinely vocally fantastic and two, because they fully commit to it. No matter what they have to do. Never has the statement that "the cast rose (see what I did there?) above the material" been more appropriate. If you've ever seen the Mel Brooks film, 'Robin Hood: Men In Tights' then you've seen the choreography for this show. Just with added sword play.
The script is peppered with lots of 'thee' and 'thouest' with the odd rhyming couplet like they were hosting the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest and liberal theft from all of the greats; Shakespeare, Chaucer, Enid Blyton . . . BUT, oh the segue ways. The lead in to 'Holding Out For A Hero', 'Don't Speak' and (especially) 'Hero' are really quite inspired. I couldn't hear the first few lines of the song for laughing so much. And when 'Everybody Hurts' starts I didn't think my toes could curl anymore but my little tootsies didn't let me down. Where else in London's glitzy West End do you get a show that includes everything from Muse to The Byrds? Stephen Who? Andrew Lloyd What?
On the plus side, you get a LOT of hair, some leftovers bits (literally) from a 'War Horse' sale, a set that wobbles like it's straight out of 'Acorn Antiques' and a routine which appears to have been inspired by 'Friday The 13th', accompanied by Chris Cowley and his lovely perm giving it a bit of wellie on an electric guitar. There's also the best "I'm so distraught and I'm crying while I'm belting" acting I've seen for a long time while Rebekah Lowings has a bash at 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and a bit of unexpected rock falsetto from Oliver Savile that comes from nowhere and lightens up proceedings a bit more. And at the end of all this hilarity you get a jig that even the choreographer at The Globe would have dismissed as too complicated.
I do wonder what the cast did with the extra sleeves from all of the outfits that they didn't use though. I do hope they used them to tie up the writer in a darkened room somewhere as punishment?
I had a ball. I do hope the cast did too.
And that they manage to work again after this.
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1,127 posts
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 31, 2018 16:15:31 GMT
Is there some kind of curse on this production, why do the cast keep dropping like flies? It might be a bad show but it's a steady paycheque. The night I went the lead actress had obviously not rehearsed some of the dance routines, she spent the entire time looking at the other actors' feet! If you did that at a primary school talent show you'd get yelled at by your teacher.
Good fun though. I can't decide what I enjoyed more, the over-literal choreography ("strong" make muscle, "flight" mime running, "fight" fake sword fight); the inexplicable rainbow lighting that turned an otherwise impressive battle scene into a Pride video; or the ghost/zombie (why the blue makeup??) of a dead man appearing to serenade his lost love to "Turn Around, Bright Eyes."
To be fair the actor playing Horatio is fantastic and the French song properly, intentionally funny.
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Jul 31, 2018 17:07:31 GMT
I am genuinely amazed it is still awful. I don't think it is cast illness at all but various people not caring whether they perform in this tonight or never again. They must be counting down the days. Are people still laughing at the show audibly rather than with it?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2018 17:15:02 GMT
I am genuinely amazed it is still awful. I don't think it is cast illness at all but various people not caring whether they perform in this tonight or never again. They must be counting down the days. Are people still laughing at the show audibly rather than with it? Oh yes! When Jimmy Savile started speaking the lines from 'Hero' before launching into the number the audience were tittering rather loudly. It was marvellous. It could have done with a wind machine though. On stage, not in the audience. That was cold enough as it was thank you very much. It was like living in downtown Trondheim for the first half. |
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Jul 31, 2018 17:40:07 GMT
It needed more fire as well, that awful battle camp scene gave us a glimpse into the glorious pyrotechnics we should have got, soundtracked to Rock You Like a Hurricane or something
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1,483 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Aug 1, 2018 22:30:34 GMT
How does a show like this happen? How does it get as far as a “West End” stage without someone saying WTF?!?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2018 7:32:05 GMT
How does a show like this happen? How does it get as far as a “West End” stage without someone saying WTF?!? No idea but long may it continue! London's glitzy West End needs clunkers like this every now and again. I still fondly remember Darius struggling to master walking and talking at the same time during 'Gone With The Wind'. Gone too soon. |
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