Annual visit to see the panto @ The Palladium on Sunday. Robin Hood this year (though the actual title is rather irrelevant tbh) with the same excellent cast was very funny again provided you’ve got a sense of humour. Fair play to the rather naff Jane McDonald whose voice was excellent. Lots of digs at her being a northerner. Very adult humour that would go over the heads of most kids. Highly recommended. 10/10
We usually go every xmas eve but gave it a miss, as wasn’t over excited about the cast this year. Sounds like I should have gone.
We’re going to Mrs Doubtfire instead this Saturday.
Went to see it last night after switching the date of our original tickets due to illness.
i honestly wasn’t expecting much and whilst it took a while to get going, it was a fantastic show. The guy playing Daniel was very talented.
Got cheap tickets in the Friday Forty lottery thing for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, took my eldest.
Storyline isn't the best, but the special effects and illusions are incredible - so many different effects too, not just the same tricks repeating. Apparently they have a team of magicians/illusionists, lighting and sound guys etc setting it all up and teaching the actors slight of hand.
We were in the second row and couldn't see wires, trap doors, stage hands at all, so it's so smooth. There was one 'shockwave' type thing they did a few times that i thought was so cool.
Do you have to know anything about the Harry Potter stories to see this show or does it stand up on its own merit of theatre?
It's tricky as I have read them etc so I'm not 100% sure, but I'd say yes, i think you do, as there's a lot of bits where they travel back to the original book events etc and it's all weaved around the original story and the original characters a few years on. It's definitely not a standalone.
5 hours or whatever it is is a long time to be pretty lost about what the hell is going on, even with really good effects etc.
I personally have never felt engaged with the Harry Potter thing but am aware of its huge appeal. I did try reading the first book but got bored and irritated very quickly.
I personally have never felt engaged with the Harry Potter thing but am aware of its huge appeal. I did try reading the first book but got bored and irritated very quickly.
I love the books, but then I was a 12/13 year old I think when I started reading them rather than an adult so I think that helps.
Do you have to know anything about the Harry Potter stories to see this show or does it stand up on its own merit of theatre?
Both, but it is a two parter (so feels more like a film than theatre).
Never seen it but heard good things. It is pretty much Harry Potter but after Harry Potter (so no commitment to see the film it is like a sequel to the film franchise).
Just on my way back from Stage Fright now. Absolutely loved it. Fantastic homage to the TV show. Laugh out loud funny and genuinely creepy at times. No spoilers, but any fans going to see it will not be disappointed.
Yeah, Stage Fright was cracking. Really enjoyable and we could only get seats right up in the gods but still a great view and they were super cheap. Only disappointment was our celebrity and that wouldn’t have been a disappointment if I didn’t know it was different every night, or if I was maybe 25-years younger but the rest of it was great 👍🏻
Looking forward to the matinee at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre next Thursday to see Three Sisters. I wonder when our @Weegie Addick is going, because I want to make sure any comments I have are after her visit to avoid any unintentional spoilers. I know it is classic Drama, but each production can have a different style and focus.
Took the missus to see Wicked last night, very good it was to. Also got some added entertainment when a drunk Brummie got "sshhhh-ed" by people around him and he started swearing and threatening a Scottish family. On his way to being escorted out he continued swearing at random people before throwing his remaining glass of wine over various people near the exit! Complete pr**k. Hope he got nicked,but doubt it.
Complete piss take out of Andrew Lloyd-Weber with the only character in the show being the man himself.
Absolutely hilarious, helps that I am a fan of Flo and Joan anyway, but regardless this was fantastic.
Richard Fouracre who plays the lead role is amazing. Its so far from a Lloyd-Weber show (they reckon the budget was £50 and Tim Rice is played by a bag of rice!).
New theatre for me as well. Underbelly Boulevard just off Wardour Street. Really nice venue. It's on till 2nd March. If you like a parody I can't recommend this enough.
Looking forward to the matinee at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre next Thursday to see Three Sisters. I wonder when our @Weegie Addick is going, because I want to make sure any comments I have are after her visit to avoid any unintentional spoilers. I know it is classic Drama, but each production can have a different style and focus.
Attended the Elektra launch night yesterday. We thought it was excellent, though the avant garde staging won’t be for everyone. It is very much about the spoken (or sung) word so requires concentration throughout - a skill many lack these days!
Brie Larson dominates with a really powerful performance - amazing for her West End debut.
Off to Three Sisters this afternoon. Sam Wanamaker at the Globe, new theatre for me.
Been ourselves now. Thoughts?
I liked it enormously. There was a classic Chekovian feel to it all with the set, props and costumes, and the Theatre suited the intimacy of the production where the candlelight enhanced rather than distracted. As usual the play was a company piece and there was no star vehicle nor weak performances on show, but an effort to present the work as true to itself. The only acting choices I would have disputed was the approach with Solyony who was verging on a maniacal type. I have seen the play a lot, including at the Greenwich Theatre with a stunning performance by Joanne (Singing Detective, and recently Wolf Hall) as Masha, and in the West End with a fantastic Vanessa Redgrave as Olga, both memorable. So it was rather a classic Checkov, in a classic production that suited me fine annd was well received, and I would give it an 8 on the Setheatreometer. I hope you liked it H.
Comments
i honestly wasn’t expecting much and whilst it took a while to get going, it was a fantastic show. The guy playing Daniel was very talented.
It was (for me) surprisingly excellent.
Storyline isn't the best, but the special effects and illusions are incredible - so many different effects too, not just the same tricks repeating. Apparently they have a team of magicians/illusionists, lighting and sound guys etc setting it all up and teaching the actors slight of hand.
We were in the second row and couldn't see wires, trap doors, stage hands at all, so it's so smooth. There was one 'shockwave' type thing they did a few times that i thought was so cool.
Both really enjoyed it.
5 hours or whatever it is is a long time to be pretty lost about what the hell is going on, even with really good effects etc.
I did try reading the first book but got bored and irritated very quickly.
Apart from that, to each their own.
Never seen it but heard good things. It is pretty much Harry Potter but after Harry Potter (so no commitment to see the film it is like a sequel to the film franchise).
i won’t spoil it for anyone but it wasn’t what I was expecting either.
Is it true they have a different celebrity guest each night?
in short one turned up last night in an hilarious bit where he obviously hadn’t rehearsed or know what was going on.
Only disappointment was our celebrity and that wouldn’t have been a disappointment if I didn’t know it was different every night, or if I was maybe 25-years younger but the rest of it was great 👍🏻
I know it is classic Drama, but each production can have a different style and focus.
Complete piss take out of Andrew Lloyd-Weber with the only character in the show being the man himself.
Absolutely hilarious, helps that I am a fan of Flo and Joan anyway, but regardless this was fantastic.
Richard Fouracre who plays the lead role is amazing. Its so far from a Lloyd-Weber show (they reckon the budget was £50 and Tim Rice is played by a bag of rice!).
New theatre for me as well. Underbelly Boulevard just off Wardour Street. Really nice venue. It's on till 2nd March. If you like a parody I can't recommend this enough.
Off to see stage fright tomorrow
Brie Larson dominates with a really powerful performance - amazing for her West End debut.
Sam Wanamaker at the Globe, new theatre for me.
There was a classic Chekovian feel to it all with the set, props and costumes, and the Theatre suited the intimacy of the production where the candlelight enhanced rather than distracted.
As usual the play was a company piece and there was no star vehicle nor weak performances on show, but an effort to present the work as true to itself. The only acting choices I would have disputed was the approach with Solyony who was verging on a maniacal type.
I have seen the play a lot, including at the Greenwich Theatre with a stunning performance by Joanne (Singing Detective, and recently Wolf Hall) as Masha, and in the West End with a fantastic Vanessa Redgrave as Olga, both memorable.
So it was rather a classic Checkov, in a classic production that suited me fine annd was well received, and I would give it an 8 on the Setheatreometer.
I hope you liked it H.