2,242 posts
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Post by richey on Jun 24, 2023 19:43:06 GMT
Tonight's performance at Wimbledon was cancelled
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2,242 posts
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Post by richey on Jun 25, 2023 12:21:48 GMT
This afternoon's performance also cancelled, due to the heat!
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19,657 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 25, 2023 12:31:49 GMT
Must be worried about the choccy melting.
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3,325 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jun 28, 2023 9:35:19 GMT
Yesterday evening's performance did go ahead and I saw this from the end of the front row. The theatre was still rather warm. It was an awkward seat, no issues with the view, but there's an extended orchestra pit and railing which restricts one leg, but not the other. Plus, a massive crowd of people trying to look at the orchestra during the interval with no conception of personal space (I did stand aside). In fairness, there were plenty of seats I could have moved to (at least people who missed shows may be able to get tickets), but I liked the view.
This is a rather curious show. The original book was one of my favourites as a child. I didn't really take to the West End version of this. I know this was heavily reworked for Broadway, then heavily reworked again for the UK tour. Now, there's a very strange mismatch of new and old ideas, plus songs from the film and the previous stage production, but also with so many things seeming like they're just in the wrong place.
The first half drags a bit, but this comes alive in the second half (in the chocolate factory). The set is a bit limited, but there's clever use of projections and some nice props. I was worried Christopher Howell wouldn't have much to do, but like many of the cast he double up on roles, and as he's a nut factory owner, they've managed to work in enough gags to keep the adults happy. The boy who played Charlie was very good also. I also have no problem with the adults playing children, I barely noticed, or the way the Oompa Loompas have been restyled in a Cyberman inspired manner.
I've no desire to see this again for a few years, but happy I made the effort.
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Post by 141920grm on Jul 2, 2023 14:02:21 GMT
What are the chances of this transferring to London after the tour ends? Caught the final Wimbledon shows and I was surprised how much I loved it! I basically know the OLC numbers by heart so yes like some have said the mash-up of music was initially strange but I thoroughly enjoyed the amped up bits which Gareth and the cast pulled off brilliantly (the high-energy 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet', uber dramatic Oompa Loompa intro); the projection-heavy chocolate room made me despair a little (come on, at least have *something* onstage) but other smaller set pieces were charming as were the magic tricks sprinkled throughout... Thought the additions outweighed the cut parts (justice for 'Simply Second Nature' though!! bring it back!!!) and made for a very enjoyable and worthy show overall.
Special shout out to Haydn Court whose Charlie was just pitch perfect and so charismatic!
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460 posts
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Post by pianowithsam on Jul 2, 2023 14:54:04 GMT
What are the chances of this transferring to London after the tour ends? Caught the final Wimbledon shows and I was surprised how much I loved it! I basically know the OLC numbers by heart so yes like some have said the mash-up of music was initially strange but I thoroughly enjoyed the amped up bits which Gareth and the cast pulled off brilliantly (the high-energy 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet', uber dramatic Oompa Loompa intro); the projection-heavy chocolate room made me despair a little (come on, at least have *something* onstage) but other smaller set pieces were charming as were the magic tricks sprinkled throughout... Thought the additions outweighed the cut parts (justice for 'Simply Second Nature' though!! bring it back!!!) and made for a very enjoyable and worthy show overall. Special shout out to Haydn Court whose Charlie was just pitch perfect and so charismatic! Has Simply Second Nature been cut from the tour?
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Post by 141920grm on Jul 2, 2023 20:46:22 GMT
Has Simply Second Nature been cut from the tour? yep, sadly. They still do 'The Chocolate Room' track {Spoiler - click to view} right up to Mr Salt's 'Then why on earth does it need to exist at all?' before being interrupted by Augustus dipping into the chocolate waterfall so immediately segues into Augustus' Downfall... had my hopes up then- heart broken! lol
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Post by andyb2008 on Jul 18, 2023 17:21:34 GMT
It's quite a poor musical anyway - I remember seeing it and just being really disappointed with the direction they'd taken it in. Unless the supporting cast has also got some great theatre names in, I won't be making a return visit. They did have Julie Mullins, who was known to Neighbours fans like myself (hence the reason I got a ticket for Sunderland Empire), but they seem to have replaced her with Emily Winter. Was the director feeling her role in a soap opera like Neighbours damaged the credibility of the show? Bit of snobbery there. With Mullins gone, it's removed probably the only recognisable name in the cast. Marisha Morgan and Leonie Spilsbury probably have a following with Top Boy and Heartstopper, but those shows don't have the following Neighbours has, not to mention the fact a Neighbours star was in it (given the publicity around the soap) may have got the likes of Gareth Snook on BBC Breakfast rather than Blue Peter.
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213 posts
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Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Aug 13, 2023 17:48:46 GMT
I'd hoped to see this in Leeds but wasn't able to get there due to train line works. I thought I wouldn't be able to get to Sunderland as I was away last week, but my plans for this weekend fell through, so I ended up being able to go yesterday. I got a great deal on a ticket - a centre front stalls seat at a great price. I only booked it a few days ago, I think they'd reduced the single seats that were left in order to sell them, so I was really pleased with that.
I wasn't sure whether I'd like this. I love the book almost as much as Matilda (and I'm not a huge of that musical) and I love the Johnny Depp film. So I was a bit dubious as to what they'd do with it on stage. But I really enjoyed it.
The first half is the Charlie show - I thought the actor playing him was excellent, especially as he seemed to be on stage all the time. And I loved his rainbow cardigan. I thought it was a nice feel-good show.
The second half is quite different and is the Willy Wonka show, with him only appearing on stage just before the end of the first half. I liked him, he's more like the Wonka from the original film than Johnny Depp, which I personally preferred rather than him trying to play it like Johnny Depp. The screens were used for a lot of the big moments inside the factory, which I thought worked well as otherwise they would have been limited as to how much they could show on stage.
I knew three of the songs, which I believe are from the original film. And I liked the rest of the songs too.
Overall I enjoyed it more than I expected to, and would probably go again at some point if I got chance.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Aug 19, 2023 21:55:31 GMT
Just got out of seeing it tonight at the Mayflower in Southampton. I had seen some video of the West End and Broadway versions, and I have listened to the cast albums a lot so I already knew I would probably enjoy the show going in - and I had a really nice time.
The first act does drag if you don’t know Wonka doesn’t appear until the final song, and I did see some people leaving at the interval which is a shame because Act 2 definitely picks up. I loved the sets, especially after seeing photos and video of the bizarre choice made on Broadway to have minimalist sets. I do like some of the changes they kept from Broadway, although after the brutality of Veruca’s comeuppance on Broadway this version felt very tame!
We had a girl playing Charlie, and she was very talented (even showing up some of the adult cast in terms of singing), and along with Gareth as Wonka they really carried a lot of the show.
My criticisms: - Major issues with sound/annunciation. You often couldn’t understand what the cast were saying during songs, the only reason I kept up was because I already knew them from listening to the cast album. I don’t know if that’s an issue with the diction of the cast or a sound mixing thing though. - The complete lack of staging for the song addressing Wonka’s backstory. It was just the grandparents singing in their bed, with zero staging around it so I found my attention drifting a bit. You don’t need to show Wonka until the final song, but maybe have some of the ensemble do some dancing or miming to help the narration. - The change to Believed To Be Seen. I love the original version, it felt so grand and a great reveal of Wonka and his factory. This version felt… idk, just Less Good. The floating hat magic effect was fun, but I missed the fake-old-man-act. - The lack of I’ve Got A Golden Ticket. I don’t think that song has ever been in the show (maybe a rights issue?) but you could feel the audience disappointment that there was a different song instead.
Overall I had a fun evening, it was nice to see the show live - I just hope that they fix whatever sound issue made them hard to understand.
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Post by justfran on Aug 23, 2023 19:44:26 GMT
I saw this in Sunderland and overall found it a bit odd, so I wasn't sure how much I really enjoyed it or not! I did see this once in the West End a few years ago but can't remember it in specific detail.
A few thoughts:
- It was nice to see this with an almost full auditorium of mostly well behaved families. - We had Harmony Raine Riley on as Charlie, who was brilliant. Especially as she was on stage so much. - Leonie Spilsbury as Mrs Bucket signing was a lovely touch and I tried to follow along, though she didn't seem to sign all the time which was a shame. She also had a lovely singing voice. - Lighting and projections were good, though I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more of a set/props. - Gareth Snook as Wonka - some parts of his performance I enjoyed and other parts seemed to me bizarrely like he was in a panto and playing to the audience. - The Oompa Loompas - who made this choice?! Not a fan.
I'd probably give this 3 stars, it was decent but I'm not in a rush to see it again.
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4,171 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 24, 2023 14:34:41 GMT
I remember seeing this in the West End. What a curious beast this was.
We didn't even get to see inside the factory till the beginning of the second act. And when they went into the Chocolate Room it was like 'is that it?' I don't even remember Augustus Gloop being sucked up from the chocolate river up the pipe.
The only thing I remember about the Ommpa Loompa's was when they were dressed as squirrels as Verruca Salt fell down the bad nut shoot.
I have a vague memory of the little black girl playing Violet's costume puffing up with air and being rolled off stage.
Overall, disappointing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2023 16:12:21 GMT
- Leonie Spilsbury as Mrs Bucket signing was a lovely touch and I tried to follow along, though she didn't seem to sign all the time which was a shame. She also had a lovely singing voice. The signing distracted me, not that I have an issue with signing, it was because I couldn't understand why it was included. As you said, she didn't sign all the time (nor did Charlie when they where communicating), so it didn't feel like it was for the benefit of either Mrs Bucket or Charlie, and then Leonie didn't sign when she was playing her other role - so it didn't seem for the benefit of Leonie (although she is deaf). For me, it would have felt less distracting if Mrs Bucket signed all her lines (and Charlie when communicating with her).
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3,426 posts
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Post by ceebee on Aug 24, 2023 21:14:33 GMT
- Leonie Spilsbury as Mrs Bucket signing was a lovely touch and I tried to follow along, though she didn't seem to sign all the time which was a shame. She also had a lovely singing voice. The signing distracted me, not that I have an issue with signing, it was because I couldn't understand why it was included. As you said, she didn't sign all the time (nor did Charlie when they where communicating), so it didn't feel like it was for the benefit of either Mrs Bucket or Charlie, and then Leonie didn't sign when she was playing her other role - so it didn't seem for the benefit of Leonie (although she is deaf). For me, it would have felt less distracting if Mrs Bucket signed all her lines (and Charlie when communicating with her). Agree. I thought the signing was a load of inconsistent nonsense and a distraction.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Aug 25, 2023 6:38:47 GMT
I can sign a bit so I got frustrated that it was impossible to work out what she was signing as she kept moving about the stage. Although the poor quality BSl is not one of the worst things things of the show and production ...
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Post by eggemann on Oct 3, 2023 11:58:35 GMT
So, I live in Bristol. Seen this show advertised on the side of buses, on bus stops, taking up the largest banner at the theatre. I went to see what seats were available 3 hours before the performance last night. I’m guessing this tour is gonna prove a big loss.
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3,302 posts
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Post by david on Nov 19, 2023 19:03:57 GMT
As the show has a 2-week stay in Liverpool, I popped down for a visit a few days ago. Overall, I enjoyed it but didn't come away loving it enough to book for a revisit. Gareth Snook as WW was great fun as was young Isaac Sugden as Charlie.
I did think that in the absence of much set for Act 2, the use of the video screen and projections in the Chocolate factory scenes did a great job as a replacement. I wasn't much of a fan of the decision to redesign the Oompa Loompas as something from a 1950/1960's sci fi movie.
The sound mixing was up and down on my viewing. Some of the singing was clear from my seat in the front stalls whilst at times the 10-piece orchestra did overpower the vocals. I thought maybe it was me, but listening to other folk on their way out, they had similar issues with the sound quality.
My show was a BSL one so it was interesting to see both the BSL interpreter at the side of the stage along with cast member Leonie Spilsbury both signing. I don't think Leonie signing as Mrs Bucket added much to the story.
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Post by theatrenerd on Jan 18, 2024 11:28:10 GMT
Not sure if this will need a new thread now, but it looks like this is being opened up for amateur companies to do as it has been announced that BMOS will be doing it at the Alexandra, Birmingham this June (and have launched an open call for kids to play Charlie).
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