The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Southwark/Ambassadors

Well I was as in awe of this show yesterday as I was in 2019.

For me, it was perfect then, but it's now a different kind of perfect, every note, harmony, movement, word & gesture combining in the most exquisite storytelling.

Two 'newbies' I took with me were spellbound, one (my daughter who'd missed it first time round) was skeptical of how much the rest of us had hyped it up, but said I was actually right 😉. The two audience members sat next to me were also mesmerised and ecstatic at having taken a chance on it, only having found out about it and booked tickets last week.

I'm really hoping for a third run somewhere and a cast recording. In my opinion this deserves a longer life and more exposure.

Just as good as it was in 2019. Music beefed up, very moving by the end

after the strength of sales of the preview run i'm not sure it's a done deal... 

Spoke to someone in the show who said West End run being worked out right now. Not sure exact start dates but 6-8 months from now and it IS happening.

This wasn’t at all what I expected it to be, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the final performance last night. i had read the story after I saw the film in 2008 but had forgotten much of it. I didn’t know if it would be based on the story or the film and was surprised when it was really based on neither, outside the main plot point of a man aging backwards. Maybe I should have read this thread or other conversations but I really wanted to go into this (like most things) blind.

If I had any say, I would have incorporated a few things from the film that I felt really added to the characters and the story but for this being what it was, it was very special. Hopefully for a proper West End run, they will really work to expand the staging and incorporate water more. And I don’t even mean real water but just the idea of it, if that even makes any sense. I still obviously have lots of jumbled thoughts on what was a very special production.

Side note, they were sold out of programs and again I hadn’t read anything about this and somehow missed it was Jamie Parker as Benjamin so when he stepped out I was like “THATS HARRY POTTER!” He’s such an exceptional actor, really.

Jamie Parker is an absolute phenomenon in this, as he always is in musicals.
His Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls is one of the best leading male performances I've seen in years, and he was also superb in High Society and Assassins (and a rather dashing Count in the 40th Anniversary concert of A Little Night Music)

Very fair that he's well known for playing Harry Potter, but he really is one of our most versatile actors who can do both play and musicals

It seems this could be making a return perhaps?

I've just had a Culture Insights survey about marketing materials for this show which would suggest it is transferring.

Oh wow I hope it is! Fingers crossed!

Just completed the same survey and thought that it definitely felt like they are bringing it to the west end. I voted for the hour glass poster.

That's exciting, looks great!

Let's hope for an announcement soon. They're probably waiting for Jamie to finish Next to Normal.