660 posts
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Post by Oleanna on May 8, 2024 21:21:49 GMT
It's running until the end of its initial booking period but they had hoped it would extend, but sales have not been super. Such a shame, it’s a fantastic show, and so good to see something original rather than a movie-based or cheap jukebox musical cluttering up a west end house. A pedant might call this a jukebox musical, given that the songs are from the back catalogue of a pop artist… |
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Post by A.Ham on May 8, 2024 21:24:40 GMT
Such a shame, it’s a fantastic show, and so good to see something original rather than a movie-based or cheap jukebox musical cluttering up a west end house. A pedant might call this a jukebox musical, given that the songs are from the back catalogue of a pop artist… Perhaps yes, but my reference point for ‘jukebox musical’ was something based on the greatest hits of a global superstar (thinking Mamma Mia!, MJ the musical etc). |
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Post by jm25 on May 8, 2024 21:46:09 GMT
It's running until the end of its initial booking period but they had hoped it would extend, but sales have not been super. This is what I meant - sorry, should have phrased it better. As much as I hope sales pick up, if the discounts continue I'd possibly be tempted to see this one more time. |
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5,139 posts
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Post by Being Alive on May 8, 2024 21:50:27 GMT
Such a shame, it’s a fantastic show, and so good to see something original rather than a movie-based or cheap jukebox musical cluttering up a west end house. A pedant might call this a jukebox musical, given that the songs are from the back catalogue of a pop artist… That'd be like calling Girl From The North Country a jukebox musical (which I guess in a form it is, but I'd never call it one) |
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1,995 posts
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Post by distantcousin on May 17, 2024 22:45:01 GMT
This was a frustrating show. For me literally teetering on the edge of absolute greatness, but something was holding it back.
It rarely got out of third gear to truly thrill and there was simply not enough music. What was there was excellent - I wanted more.
Loved the characters but too much in the 21st century trend of "situational" musicals that lack plot.
Truly, its a 3.5 out of 5. Not quite at 4
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540 posts
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Post by drowseychap on May 18, 2024 22:42:12 GMT
Saw this tonight on rush ticket got great seat and would have been £84 I agree with distant cousin review
, loved the set , lighting , staging and some really strong moments but it never quite got into top gear ,
The music was nice felt like I was watching a movie at times the only song I came out humming was after the rain ☔️ which was originally recorded by Dame Shirley which I loved 🥰 would have liked a couple more songs like that
I really enjoyed it but didn’t love it enough to see it again maybe if it had been 20 mins shorter I may have
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 19, 2024 9:12:17 GMT
Saw this tonight on rush ticket got great seat and would have been £84 I agree with distant cousin review , loved the set , lighting , staging and some really strong moments but it never quite got into top gear , The music was nice felt like I was watching a movie at times the only song I came out humming was after the rain ☔️ which was originally recorded by Dame Shirley which I loved 🥰 would have liked a couple more songs like that I really enjoyed it but didn’t love it enough to see it again maybe if it had been 20 mins shorter I may have A couple more Bassey songs? |
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Post by theatremiss on May 19, 2024 9:58:01 GMT
I saw this at yesterday’s matinee and I liked it, but didn’t love it. I did loved the lighting and staging especially with the families living in the same apartment over different times. Laura Pitt-Pulford is glorious and worth going just for her performance. It is a little long especially if you have to get a train home in the evening. Would I go again? Yes probably if I have time.
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3,302 posts
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Post by david on May 19, 2024 18:22:10 GMT
My birthday weekend theatre trip came to end this afternoon with a wonderful visit to the GL to see this cracking show (my first time seeing this one). I don’t know how they do it but Sheffield are really doing something right with shows recently. Having got a £10 NT rush ticket for stalls R55, this was both excellent value and a great view to watch this one. Despite a 3 hr run time, I really didn’t notice the time which flew by.
I loved the book from Chris Bush and the idea of using a single flat in the building over different time periods worked really well. As we meet the different residents of the flat and follow their story arcs, there were both tears and laughter in equal measure. I thought tonally, there was a nice balance between the emotional tug at the heart strings scenes and comedy moments. Pacing wise, the show never dragged and I was certainly emotionally invested in these characters and their lives.
With the techy stuff, a wonderful replication of the Park Hill estate from designer Ben Stones dominating the stage and a great lighting design from Mark Henderson. Having never heard any of Richard Hawley’s music prior to this afternoon, I really liked the score as a whole (a few more songs though I will admit would have been welcomed) and was brought to life by a terrific 8 piece band. The music I thought worked well is driving the plot forward.
Casting wise, with the majority of the main cast on, I wanted to catch a few folk - Sam Jordan, Rachael Wooding and Laura PP who thankfully were on all today. They didn’t disappoint and Rachael singing “After the rain” really a standout number and total heart breaking moment in the show. Sam singing “Midnight train” was another personal favourite from today.
I don’t usually buy that much merch, but alongside a programme, a bottle of Henderson’s relish was bought (hopefully it will survive the train journey home).
Rating - 5 ⭐️
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Post by fleshpuppet on May 19, 2024 19:37:50 GMT
I so wanted this to be everything I’d chosen to hear on Saturday night, and instead I find myself yukking so many yums. It was neither funny enough nor fun enough; I found it underwritten and overlong. The three hackneyed stories were so desperately uncompelling, and whilst the orchestrations occasionally offered true joy, those moments were so few and far between, littered amongst awkward pauses for applause that often coincided with the least affecting, least interesting or most unmemorable, weakly sung songs. The interpretative dance was more distracting than resonant, the characters one-dimensional and - in particular - sappy Poppy and needy Nikki required an entire fatal flaw rewrite.
I had eagerly taken my partner, staunchly proud of his council estate upbringing, who found it cliche and trite. As an FYI, the four Americans next to me bailed at the interval, and the two Italians to my left spent the relentless duration of the piece either ecstatic that they knew who Sean Bean was or exasperated that they had no idea what the Pennines were.
Until the next rework, it’s a great big number 2 from me.
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Post by theatremiss on May 20, 2024 11:40:13 GMT
Many years ago I went to see Billy Elliott and there were Spanish on one side of me and some Italians in the row in front. They had no clue of any of the references and they left at the interval. Doesn’t surprised me that people left, it’s a very British show in its understanding of it.
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1,995 posts
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Post by distantcousin on May 20, 2024 12:35:58 GMT
Been fascinating reading back the posts on this, now I've seen it.
The opinions on it are so vastly different, it's almost absurd!!
Never ceases to fascinate me how pieces of theatre/TV/films can utterly polarise people!
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g3
Auditioning
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Post by g3 on May 22, 2024 13:28:41 GMT
Saw this last night. Utterly stunning. Does it help if you like Rich Hawley? Probably, but it is a great peice of theatre anyway. Reminded me of This Happy Breed.
I did wonder why they used mics and stands, rather than the radio mics. Guessing it was to reflect the rock 'n roll heritage of the piece.
I'll definitely be back before the end of the run.
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1,995 posts
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Post by distantcousin on May 22, 2024 14:48:25 GMT
It would be interesting to round up what it is that commonly the people that LOVE it, love about the show
(and the elements that make people give it one or two stars!)
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4,778 posts
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Post by Mark on May 22, 2024 15:04:41 GMT
My third time last night at the Lynne (on top of twice at the NT). Was really on top top form last night. Very receptive audience.
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Post by westendgirls on May 26, 2024 20:00:29 GMT
Saw this today on a rush ticket as it’s been on my list for a while due to the “it’s the best British musical for decades” marketing
Came out thinking meh, glad I have ticked it off but wouldn’t rush back and wouldn’t recommend it
A lot of the inside British jokes were lost on the Americans next to me who kept asking each other if they got the joke
I thought the songs were good and I will likely listen to the original versions but the storyline was weak. Not sure if it was supposed to be a surprise that there were links between the characters but it was fairly obvious early on.
I thought they could have done much more in the second half to have the characters who were linked interact more e.g. and SPOILERS ahead (don’t know how to do spoiler tags sorry) but for me it would have been good to have adult Connie and Rose have an interaction and also Grace too as the grandmother/adopted grandmother. Maybe I missed that they had passed away. Also would have liked it if Connie and Poppy ended up together as I really didn’t like the Nikki character at all
Overall I thought it was a good concept but could have been executed a bit better
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307 posts
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Post by jm25 on May 26, 2024 21:01:00 GMT
A lot of the inside British jokes were lost on the Americans next to me who kept asking each other if they got the joke This is interesting. At my last visit there were Americans next to me and behind me and I really wasn't sure the show would work for them since, as you say, there are so many 'British' jokes and references which I assumed they wouldn't get. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! They were laughing and crying in all the right places, and were even discussing some of the finer political points during the interval. And if there were any gaps in their understanding then it seems like they were still able to join the dots. One of them went to get a copy of the playtext during the interval, though I half wish she'd gone for a bottle of Hendo's relish as well! |
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Post by Stephen on May 27, 2024 14:16:02 GMT
This was an afternoon of two halves for me...a long, heavy eyed first half followed by a much better second. I felt as though writers were swapped during the interval!
Left me feeling very emotional and as a result of the far superior second half would give four stars overall.
It is worth saying I wish I'd seen this in its original form. The vocals yesterday weren't nearly as strong as those on the recording and wish I'd taken the chance to see the original cast in this. Performances overall were good in the book scenes but it did lack in the singing!
It was lovely to have the band (mostly) in sight and the live strings sounded beautiful from our side seats (also a bargain for this show with a terrific view for the price - it's not really played out front of the most part and you feel close and immersed on the sides!
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Post by Being Alive on May 27, 2024 14:27:48 GMT
Also was in the audience for the matinee yesterday, having seen it twice at the NT.
It's in great shape, and fits beautifully in the Gillian Lynne.
Rachael Wooding is still so wonderful in this, and still steals the show with After The Rain, and I really enjoyed Lauryn Redding as Nikki (even if I cannot stand the character!)
Was sad not to see Laura P-P as Poppy, and I didn't think her cover was totally right for the role, so will have to go back but as the show is so good, I'm more than happy to do so
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Post by mattnyc on May 27, 2024 16:51:05 GMT
A lot of the inside British jokes were lost on the Americans next to me who kept asking each other if they got the joke This is interesting. At my last visit there were Americans next to me and behind me and I really wasn't sure the show would work for them since, as you say, there are so many 'British' jokes and references which I assumed they wouldn't get. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! They were laughing and crying in all the right places, and were even discussing some of the finer political points during the interval. And if there were any gaps in their understanding then it seems like they were still able to join the dots. One of them went to get a copy of the playtext during the interval, though I half wish she'd gone for a bottle of Hendo's relish as well! As an American who has seen this 5 times over the last couple years, there’s only ever been a few lines/jokes that went over my head. One joke I still don’t understand is the cardo (sp?) lines. I tried googling but maybe I’m spelling it wrong or just couldn’t find what I was looking for. But nothing else really was confusing for me at all. |
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Post by Being Alive on May 27, 2024 16:54:40 GMT
Ocado - it's a posh supermarket delivery service!
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Post by mattnyc on May 27, 2024 16:56:18 GMT
Well there you go! Didnt even hear the word correctly! LOL Thank you! Mystery solved.  |
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Post by mattnyc on May 30, 2024 4:10:41 GMT
Does anyone know if they’re still selling posters at the theatre?
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Post by lizabella on Jun 3, 2024 18:25:12 GMT
Fantastic, original musical. Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. I'm really getting bored of re hashes of musicals, great for those that didn't see them first time round but not so good for seasoned theatre goers. Really love the Gillian Lynne theatre. Modern with great views from virtually every seat.
Go and see this before it’s too late you won't be disappointed , closes middle of July.
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Post by 141920grm on Jun 3, 2024 18:48:06 GMT
doesn’t it close 3rd august?
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