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Post by stuart on May 14, 2024 11:53:53 GMT
I wouldn’t be comparing Lily Allen (Olivier nominee, BRIT Award winner, Ivor Novello recipient, Mercury Prize nominee) and Dr Ranj (Heat’s Weird Crush runner-up).
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Post by ladidah on May 14, 2024 11:55:06 GMT
It's a shame because the show is really good!
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Post by Being Alive on May 14, 2024 11:56:01 GMT
Olivier nominee in a year of very slim pickings, where even the absolutely awful play she was in was up for Best Play too...
But I take your point.
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Post by distantcousin on May 14, 2024 12:00:25 GMT
Also, he’s a qualified doctor with a successful medical career, he’s got several tv gigs and he’s a published author. How much more attention do these people need? Narcissists! I've always found him utterly ghastly. And yes, the narcissism shines through. |
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Post by Jonnyboy on May 14, 2024 12:23:57 GMT
Ugh. It’s a solid show this, and I didn’t want it to go down the cheap route  |
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on May 14, 2024 14:16:22 GMT
Christ on a Bike…
Disappointing. The original cast didn’t rely on ‘tv’ names to be a success - why now?
It’s a genuinely fab jukebox - saw it from workshops to West End.
I’m booked for the tour so will keep an open mind.
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Post by Seriously on May 14, 2024 14:34:34 GMT
Was Peter Andre busy?
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Post by danb on May 14, 2024 16:00:33 GMT
They’re not even the right age! 😂 I loves me a bit of targeted or even risky stunt casting, but he’s at least five years too young and totally lacking the smooth, Gomez Adams-esque charisma needed for this role. Thankfully Lance isn’t a massive part of this for me, and only really needs to have chemistry with the nurse character. |
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Post by marob on May 14, 2024 16:17:39 GMT
Dubious as this casting is, he only really has one proper song. Isn’t the rest just a stupid fake accent and a lot of preening?
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Post by osdtdg on May 14, 2024 16:35:11 GMT
Dubious as this casting is, he only really has one proper song. Isn’t the rest just a stupid fake accent and a lot of preening? Pretty much - but they do need a whole lotta charm and charisma to pull off some of the jokes and "emotional" (??) storybeats (or, rather the character arcs related to Francois) |
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Post by lotster on May 14, 2024 17:40:14 GMT
I was a big fan of this show and saw it many times. David Bedella as Lance was perfect for the role. The casting of Dr Ranj has just made me roll my eyes. He's very irritating and why do they have to cast a TV Doctor when so many properly trained actors out there would do a better job?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 14, 2024 18:07:35 GMT
Dubious as this casting is, he only really has one proper song. Isn’t the rest just a stupid fake accent and a lot of preening? When David Bedella deadpanned in a ridiculous French accent “I thought we weren’t doing zee accents” I LOL’d. I doubt that Dr Singh will have the same effect. |
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Post by ptwest on May 14, 2024 18:14:15 GMT
Dubious as this casting is, he only really has one proper song. Isn’t the rest just a stupid fake accent and a lot of preening? When David Bedella deadpanned in a ridiculous French accent “I thought we weren’t doing zee accents” I LOL’d. I doubt that Dr Singh will have the same effect. Agreed. Seeing others do the role showed how much class David Badella brought to it, and that simply delivering the lines was not enough. |
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Post by marob on May 14, 2024 20:22:42 GMT
I thought the joke was one of the others say they’re not doing accents and he says “ve AREN’T??!!”
But anyway, that is a really good point. It needs a good comedian in the role. Dennis Lawson in Anything Goes was a massive step down from Robert Lindsay.
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610 posts
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Post by Matt on May 14, 2024 20:24:25 GMT
Dubious as this casting is, he only really has one proper song. Isn’t the rest just a stupid fake accent and a lot of preening? Don’t you mean DeBois? |
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Post by Jonnyboy on May 14, 2024 22:35:07 GMT
The audience needs to be laughing at an actor delivering the lines in character. People will just be laughing (or not as the case may be) at Dr Ranj delivering the lines.
The more I think about it, the more ghastly it seems. I adored the original casts in Mcr and London. No gimmicks or cheap casting needed.
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Post by sph on May 15, 2024 0:19:46 GMT
Again we're in a situation where yes, I do understand that a show like & Juliet may need some star names to help shift tickets out in regional theatres, but surely, SURELY there are ACTORS who are also star names willing to take these roles?
I totally understand stunt casting, but I don't get why we now stunt cast people who are not performers?
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Post by theatrefan62 on May 15, 2024 5:15:56 GMT
I assume he will just camp up his lines for an easy cheap laugh, that's all he has done before
They already have Matt Cardle as a bit of a name, he is certainly someone you can wheel out for tv interviews. Plus all the famous songs. It seems, unnecessary.
I can't put my finger on why, but there's something about Dr Ranj that I've always found a bit creepy. Hopefully his understudy is on when I see it.
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Post by lotster on May 15, 2024 7:14:44 GMT
I wonder what his fellow cast mates make of this. I know theatre company's usually become close and end up like a family (especially when touring) but if he's not very good, and they know this, I wonder if they'll start to resent this casting, even if they don't resent him personally.
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Post by erik24601 on May 15, 2024 14:52:37 GMT
Again we're in a situation where yes, I do understand that a show like & Juliet may need some star names to help shift tickets out in regional theatres, but surely, SURELY there are ACTORS who are also star names willing to take these roles? I totally understand stunt casting, but I don't get why we now stunt cast people who are not performers? Once again the horrific state of touring conditions in the UK put off so many performers these days who would rather take a short TV gig and get paid for a small role as much as they do in 3 months on the road. |
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Post by longinthetooth on May 15, 2024 21:34:46 GMT
Well, I WAS quite looking forward to this .....
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Post by Always@thetheatre on May 16, 2024 5:13:29 GMT
Dr Ranj's instagram says he's doing the tour July - October, other social media makes it sound like he's doing all the tour 🤔. Maybe they will take on board what has been said when they cast Lance after October.
I don't have an issue with stunt casting and I do like Dr Ranj but I'm totally baffled by this decision.
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Post by theatrefan62 on May 16, 2024 6:38:12 GMT
Dr Ranj's instagram says he's doing the tour July - October, other social media makes it sound like he's doing all the tour 🤔. Maybe they will take on board what has been said when they cast Lance after October. I don't have an issue with stunt casting and I do like Dr Ranj but I'm totally baffled by this decision. Oh that's good, I hope that's true as I'm seeing it in November lol |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 16, 2024 7:14:42 GMT
I’m sure they’re working on someone just as bad, or worse, for the other dates
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Post by theatrefan62 on May 16, 2024 7:28:12 GMT
I’m sure they’re working on someone just as bad, or worse, for the other dates 🤣🤣🤣 |
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