Wasted Southwark playhouse

BBC News item on the WYP production: www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37473528

Another handheld microphone musical.

Admin of a Theatreboard being catty about the announcement a new show. How supportive of the industry.

We moan about the lack of new shows and then people come up with comments like this the minute a new one gets announced? No wonder the industry is awash with revivals and jukebox deadwood. 

When I saw the title of this thread I was hoping for a musical adaptation of the Kate Tempest play. Oh well.

I suppose it's too much to hope that it'll include a song based on Victoria Wood's Bronte Burgers monologue?

Anyone planning to get Wasted at Southwark Playhouse now that this has started previews?

Tempted to book because of the rather fabulous cast but holding off doing so until the first reports are in!

A friend went last night and said it was way too long.

Mixed feelings on this one!

Friend and I rocked up on Saturday afternoon & got us a preview price ticket an hour before curtain up (I would say only 50% full).

Now the performers are all solid, the on stage band are great along with a simple but clever stage & props & I learnt many things about the Bronte family.

There’s some great songs in the mix but also some very middle of road ones and most aren’t memorable- however I did love the Act 1 closer ‘5 years time’ & there’s a fantastic recurring one about them all being in the same room (I was so disappointed they didn’t reprise it at the end for the finale as would have been rousing and logical) actually the final song ‘Wasted’ just didn’t work & hope this changes prior to opening.

It’s too long & whilst it has good elements and moments as described it’s one of those I would find hard to recommend to others.

Were the lives of the Brontes really interesting then? I thought it was a case of born, moved t’Parsonage in t’Howarth, wrote a book, got consumption, died.
The End.

Do you remember that scene in the Rita, Sue and Bob Too film where they go on a school trip to Haworth and they girlsend up having a fight in the street 😆

Saw this tonight and quite enjoyed it. It's messy and clearly needs cutting ( especially the second act which could've ended at any point ) but Natasha Barnes is terrific as is the band and the overall production. I hope it finds an audience during its brief run. But with Sylvia and Six also playing it seems like audiences have too many choices for proto-feminist rock musicals all of which owe a considerable debt ( creatively and commercially) to Hamilton.

Also there this afternoon (rearranged from the previous cancellation).

The 10 minute stop was about 20 minutes in. I notice two people left at that point and didn’t return. More left at the interval. Slightly under one third full, but the whole concept of an unknown concept rock musical must be a hard sell. Still finished in the announced 2 hours 40, so not sure where it was cut (the interval didn’t seem particularly short).

The sound was terrible and it was hard to make out a lot of the words. I did piece the story together. Thankfully the Brontes didn’t have that exciting a life to try and follow (or if they did, it didn’t come across).

Credit to the hard working cast of four (and the band who also joined in some of the singing). This is bare stage, held microphones with cables, modern items used as props they looked nothing like.

I am glad I stayed until the second half as things picked up then. I think there’s a decent one act musical in there somewhere.

You are not alone. I thought the same up to a few days ago.