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Post by jgblunners on Aug 6, 2021 14:52:41 GMT
I didn't realise this was a jukebox musical based on a book, not a bio-musical. Sounds much more interesting now! Plus it looks like a pretty solid cast with Bronte Barbe and Kelly Price.
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Post by jgblunners on Aug 5, 2021 8:56:32 GMT
I saw this last night - my first ever Carousel, although I had listened to a cast recording and read a synopsis before so I was familiar with the show to some extent. For the most part, I thought this production was brilliant. The new orchestrations are a total triumph, they are charming and atmospheric and the whole relocation to an English fishing town lends it a quaint and quintessentially British feel which really works well. All the performances are top notch and I personally found the choreography very effective too - it is still in McOnie’s modern style but not quite as outlandish as his work on JCS.
The changes to the material (which I think are mostly in the second half of Act Two) worked well for me, and I think it’s good that a creative team have had the confidence to make these changes to a classic show. However, they expose a fatal flaw in the material which is that without the original ending there is no resolution. Everything is left hanging and none of the interesting questions are answered. As a result the last 10-15 minutes of the show feel sort of anti-climactic.
In all other respects, though, this was another smash hit musical production from Regent’s Park.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 30, 2021 11:25:36 GMT
Has anyone managed to get the £20 tickets in the stalls/stage seating yet? I can only find them in the circle Most dates I looked at had a few £20 on the stage seating, but that was it for the stalls. I assume they all went in the presales and/or were allocated to 16-25, that's what usually happens.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 30, 2021 8:10:48 GMT
The 16-25 tickets are currently on sale btw. I just purchased what is probably my last under 25 ticket, how soon hath time, the subtle thief of youth etc etc I know how you feel, today’s public booking is the first set of shows that I can’t get 16-25 tickets for… the end of an era.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 27, 2021 20:33:42 GMT
It looks so different with the boxes in use and not blacked out!
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 26, 2021 16:57:49 GMT
The schedule for which performances Alex Young is doing has now been published under the ‘Cast & Creative’ section of the website: www.cft.org.uk/whats-on/event/south-pacific“Gina Beck, who is pregnant, plays Nellie Forbush from 5 July. From 5 - 22 August, she will share the role with Alex Young, who will perform at the following performances: 5, 6 August, 7 August matinee, 10 August evening, 14 August evening, 18 August evening, 21 August matinee. From 23 August, Alex Young will perform the role full-time for the remainder of the run.“
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 19, 2021 11:19:43 GMT
This perhaps suggests that the uncertainty over whether it would go ahead today was over whether the cover had had sufficient rehearsal time.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 15, 2021 10:24:30 GMT
The run at Southwark Playhouse has now been extended all the way through to September, with a press night added in August, which suggests to me that after the first two weeks of 'work in progress' performances (which have essentially now become previews) they must think that the show will be in its final version.
(also perhaps the thread title could now be changed to Southwark Playhouse intead of New Diorama?)
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 14, 2021 21:09:26 GMT
A small addendum after Act 2 - Ms Burke gives us sweet sweet belting right where we want it in Pharaoh Story, and Jason Donovan is much better than he was in 2019. I could actually make out the words he was singing this time!
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 14, 2021 19:34:10 GMT
At the interval and having a fun time. The show is in good shape and Alexandra Burke is giving it her all - she’s much much better here than her wooden turn in Chess a few years ago. Some of the keys have been lowered, but I assume this is identical to what they did for Sheridan. I have to say that while I wasn’t a massive fan of Sheridan’s antics in this show, it does feel like something’s lacking without her. The energy isn’t quite what it was 2 years ago, and while it may well pick up over the course of the run I suspect that it was built too much around Sheridan’s personality and without her it’s really hard to make it work as well as it did.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 8, 2021 11:54:35 GMT
I'm meant to be going on the evening of the 15th but still haven't heard anything... should I be worried?
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 6, 2021 12:48:50 GMT
Just confirmed by Javid that from the 16th of August you will no longer have to self-isolate if you are identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 if you have had your second dose of the vaccine at least two weeks previously or if you are under 18. If you test positive yourself then the isolation rules still apply. So you can't pass it on if you've had two doses, if that what he's confirming? Not quite - I think the suggestion here is that if you've had two doses you are either:
1) less likely to contract the virus if exposed to someone who is positive
and/or
2) less likely to become infectious if you do contract the virus
As I said above, if you are infectious enough to test positive for the virus yourself then you still have to self-isolate, so presumably that means you still have a reasonable chance of passing it on.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 6, 2021 11:46:15 GMT
Just confirmed by Javid that from the 16th of August you will no longer have to self-isolate if you are identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 if you have had your second dose of the vaccine at least two weeks previously or if you are under 18. If you test positive yourself then the isolation rules still apply.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 6, 2021 10:07:41 GMT
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 6, 2021 9:02:34 GMT
Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious here, but surely if you’ve tested positive for the virus you could be infectious regardless of whether or not you’re vaccinated? I’m not aware of a mechanism by which vaccination prevents transmission, my understanding is that it just helps your body to fight the viral material in your system. If that’s the case then the announcement above doesn’t make sense to me. I hope it will be clarified in the address later today. EDIT: I should google first! Apparently studies have suggested that the COVID vaccine may well reduce the chance of transmission by reducing the amount of the virus in the nose of vaccinated people who become infected. So perhaps there is precedent for this. Also to clarify, this is meant for people who have been in contact with someone that has tested positive. If you test positive yourself, you have to isolate, vaccine or no vaccine. This is to prevent businesses and schools and shows having to close down for ten days because one person tested positive, so everyone else will (presumably) have to test daily and only have to isolate if they test positive themselves. At least that is my understanding. Ahh I see, thank you! That makes much more sense.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 6, 2021 8:26:31 GMT
It is expected that people who have had two doses of vaccine will no longer be required to self-isolate for ten days. Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious here, but surely if you’ve tested positive for the virus you could be infectious regardless of whether or not you’re vaccinated? I’m not aware of a mechanism by which vaccination prevents transmission, my understanding is that it just helps your body to fight the viral material in your system. If that’s the case then the announcement above doesn’t make sense to me. I hope it will be clarified in the address later today. EDIT: I should google first! Apparently studies have suggested that the COVID vaccine may well reduce the chance of transmission by reducing the amount of the virus in the nose of vaccinated people who become infected. So perhaps there is precedent for this.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 5, 2021 21:20:57 GMT
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced they will cut the whole 1st act of the time turner saga - when they first go back in time, it results in Ron and Hermione not getting married. Instead they could just interfere with time the once and end act one with Voldemort Day. I’m sure I saw someone on Twitter speculate that they would be cutting a lot of the flashback/past scenes and focus more on the Albus/Scorpius story.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 5, 2021 14:58:29 GMT
This quite rightly got 4 stars in The Times today. I saw it on Saturday and had a fantastic time. Dearman really did give a star performance. I hope that Alex Parker and his production company do more of these short runs of lesser-seen shows.
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 4, 2021 19:12:45 GMT
Saw this yesterday and had a fair few criticisms. The rest of the audience seemed to love it though, applause was rapturous and the standing ovation was almost immediate at the curtain call.
There are some gems in the cast - for me, Jon Robyns, Jamie Muscato, Gerard Carey and Josefina Gabrielle were all top notch and as good as the best I've seen before in those roles. Jenna Innes (2nd cover on for Eponine) was also sensational. Lucie Jones and Harry Apps are good but are victims of the direction of this production - in the hands of a great creative team I think they have fantastic performances in them but here they don't quite come to fruition. Everyone else is fairly mediocre in my opinion - the girl playing Cosette is the blandest I'd ever seen and Bradley Jaden's Javert verges on the ridiculous.
Having said that, the entire cast have to contend with the sometimes baffling choices that have been made by the creative team, not least of which is that I am sure this is more 'staged' then the original version at the Gielgud. I know it must be cheaper to run this production than a fully staged one, but there were entire sections of the show where the standing microphones seemed entirely superfluous, since all the principles were mic'd up anyway and spent a lot of time interacting properly. In some sections it feels like the cast have been told to shout instead of sing (not helped by the fact that where I was sitting, the vocals were notably louder than the band) and of course the Thenardiers have those awful new lines added in.
If I remember correctly (and there's no guarantee that I do!), in the Gielgud incarnation of this production, Alfonso Casado was remarkably restrained as MD and paced the show quite well. He is still listed as MD for this version, but was definitely not conducting yesterday. Under the new conductor's baton, the tempi are fast. Sometimes it felt like we were rushing through the show, but then moments of rubato/pauses were milked for all they were worth and it sounded a bit ridiculous in contrast with the otherwise lightning pace. The fast tempi also don't help with diction, which was poor for several cast members.
There also seems to be a tendency among the cast to bend the rhythms. I'm sure this is also in part due to the speed at which they have to go through some sections of music, but the rhythms were written that way for a reason and in my opinion it really hurt the music when they were messed with. I'm usually a fan of a good riff but when every other bar of music is altered (it felt that way sometimes!) it's quite detrimental.
And then there's the buttons. The buttons! Lots of transition music is cut, and instead of flowing smoothly from scene to scene, some numbers now end on a painfully extended note and a big fanfare chord that triggers the audience's applause. I don't recall whether this was the case at the Gielgud, but it felt really cheap yesterday.
In a nutshell, it feels like every last drop of nuance has been drained from this show. I can't see into the minds of Trevor Nunn, John Caird, et al but I'm fairly sure they'd be dismayed by this version of Les Mis. As I said though, rapturous applause all round, so clearly they're still doing something right. Or maybe Les Mis is just bulletproof and is so beloved that it will survive in any incarnation, no matter the quality.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 30, 2021 18:41:52 GMT
soundcloud.com/user-487955219/tom-deering-on-carousel-orchestrationFinally had a chance to listen to the Open Air Theatre podcast episode. Musical Supervisor + Orchestrator has excluded strings from the score of this piece and there will be changes to the key too to the songs. Theres a sample of how If I Loved You too. Not sure how I feel about this as I was hoping for a full orchestra but will wait to see it in person before I give a full opinion. Ooh that's really interesting!
For those like me who don't want to listen to the whole thing, you can hear snippets of If I Loved You at timestamps 10:25 and 13:00. Deering says he's using guitars and a glass harmonium to create the 'shimmer' of the strings - you can particularly hear that in the clip at 13:00.
It's certainly not traditional but I think that's quite exciting - theatre would be boring if every production of a show was the same!
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 28, 2021 8:41:21 GMT
I wasn’t going to book for this but I just realised I’ve got a whole bunch of credit vouchers for the Southbank Centre from cancelled events, so I’ve managed to get a ticket for half price! I’m sure it’ll be great to hear those scores with such a big orchestra.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 24, 2021 17:41:05 GMT
Looks like the run is now starting on Tuesday 20 July and Linzi’s first show is the matinee on Wednesday 18 August - these are the latest dates on LW Theatres website at least. Still closing on 5 September with extra matinees added throughout. Gosh, that new schedule has them doing 10 shows a week. I know it’s not a particularly long show but that’s still going to be exhausting for the cast members. Plus there are 4 weeks between the opening and Linzi’s first scheduled show - I wonder if Alexandra Burke is going to do all of those performances (I doubt it) or if they’re re-organising which shows Linzi will do in those weeks and just haven’t updated the website yet.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 21, 2021 18:29:59 GMT
The only one from the list that I haven’t visited is the Lyric, but now that Thriller has moved out I’m much more likely to make a trip there!
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 20, 2021 19:45:50 GMT
Could somebody who has seen the show let me know what the framing device is please? With spoiler tags. Thanks. The opening scene is set in a care home for the elderly. The village is then brought to life from the memories of one resident who is particularly afflicted by dementia - the other residents and staff of the care home populate his memories and play the roles of the various townspeople.
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Post by jgblunners on Jun 20, 2021 19:34:12 GMT
I had a totally different experience to the post above when I attended on Saturday evening. Our seats were front stalls so our arrival time was 7:10-7:20 and we got there around 7:15. No queue outside, we got straight through all of the arrival stations very smoothly and I was very impressed by how proactive and knowledgeable the staff were about the whole process.
As for the play itself, I agree with some other people who have said that the framing device didn’t really add much (and the transition from the new scene into the actual Dylan Thomas was painfully obvious), but otherwise I very much enjoyed it. I found both the language very atmospheric and lyrical and didn’t mind the lack of plot - in fact I think the strength of the piece is that it sweeps you into the lives of the people in this village and all you have to do is sit back and let it wash over you.
And how wonderful it was to be back in the NT once again!
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