These Trees Are Made Of Blood - Arcola Theatre

Finally managed to get to see this last night. Still as powerful as ever and with a slightly different production layout to Southwark Playhouse it worked better with the band adjacent to stage area.

It seems to have divided critics this time round. 2 years ago it was sold out at Southwark and had a mix of 5 and 4 star reviews. This time it has attracted likes of Guardian and Times reviewers, but reviews range from 2 stars to 5 stars (West End Wilma). The difficulty with this show is that it is not for the light hearted. It's sad that a number of reviewers were critical because of the content - they appear to have failed to do their homework and discover that this is a very blunt, hard hitting political musical that deals with a very sensitive and emotional subject matter. This is not Mary Poppins. This is a real shame as they are playing to half empty houses each night when the place should be packed as it is a real powerhouse show with a very strong story line. Musically it is also very strong. Songs are very lyrical, reflecting the fact that it theoretically takes place within the Coup Coup Club run by the military, and is in cabaret format. The song lyrics at time, especially those from the General will shock - especially as they are sung in such an upbeat way. Its 2 years since I last saw the show but I remembered immediately every song when sung.

There has been some re-working for the new production although I was unsure exactly what. I didn't recall the church scene in first half but that just could be my memory failing. Cast appeared to be same as original production. Rob Castell as the General is outstanding. His calm approach in the first half as he interacts with the audience whilst singing some very dubious lyrics is worth the price of the ticket on its own. Rest of the cast are equally strong and you get to enjoy Alexander Luttley's fan dance! As with the original production the 4 musicians double up as members of the cast. Anne-Marie Piazza shows what an impressive and powerful singing voice she has, as well as being an accomplished multi instrumentalist.

And even though I knew the story, and the closing scene, it still hit me emotionally with a tear in the eye.

Still 5 stars from me.

Running time was exactly 2 hours 30 minutes. Looks like they have trimmed it back a bit from earlier performances.

First time at Arcola Theatre. Travelling from South London was brilliant as overground train went door to door. Theatre is about 2 minutes walk from Dalston Junction station so really easy to get to if on that line.

The ginger guy in this is dreamy