Theatre 2022

I saw The Doctor at the weekend with Juliet Stevenson. I mean it’s got some great ideas and most of it is written well, but FAR too much is thrown at it for any of the themes to really take effect properly. It’s also far too long.
 
Ellie said:
Just seen Matilda for the first time. I managed to get a Theatre Club deal with a 50% off deal. Never bothered much before because the family shows barely ever discount.

I wonder if it’s a bit stale after 11 years, but it sells well regularly. Still, barely anyone in the audience seemed that enthusiastic and lots of toilet breaks from children and adults alike. It’s staged really well and I can’t fault the performances, but by god it drags and drags. I hope the film version chops it up a lot.
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I'm booking tickets to bring my great niece in Easter holidays next year, and it looks like Matilda is the likely option, thanks to Mary Poppins closing in January. And I'll be paying top dollar, due to wanting to get it all booked in advance, and ensure I get the best (or at least best for the price) tickets. This doesn't fill me with too much hope.

It seems to be between Matilda, The Lion King and The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe in terms of obvious contenders for an 8 year old, and she had little interest in the latter when it was here earlier this year.

Or perhaps I ought to consider Wicked as I personally quite fancy seeing that again, but it feels a little old for an 8 year old, perhaps.

I'm hoping Mary Poppins may tour again, just because I really am quite sad I can't take her to that.
 
lolly said:
I'm booking tickets to bring my great niece in Easter holidays next year, and it looks like Matilda is the likely option, thanks to Mary Poppins closing in January. And I'll be paying top dollar, due to wanting to get it all booked in advance, and ensure I get the best (or at least best for the price) tickets. This doesn't fill me with too much hope.

It seems to be between Matilda, The Lion King and The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe in terms of obvious contenders for an 8 year old, and she had little interest in the latter when it was here earlier this year.

Or perhaps I ought to consider Wicked as I personally quite fancy seeing that again, but it feels a little old for an 8 year old, perhaps.

I'm hoping Mary Poppins may tour again, just because I really am quite sad I can't take her to that.
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How about Frozen?

The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe really wasn’t all that.
 
Ellie said:
How about Frozen?

The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe really wasn’t all that.
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We saw Frozen earlier this year. The one I'm taking LOVED it, which is why I'm keen to encourage her love of theatre.

I'll put the choice of Matilda and Lion King to her and let her decide.
 
Went to see Daniel Sloss at the Palladium on Friday. I was a little bit worried that since he got engaged and had a baby, his comedy would have changed. It’s still in the same spirit and still very funny, and he did acknowledge the irony of it all, but the show was 90% about having a baby. The funniest parts were when he veered off from the subject for all of 2 minutes at a time.
 
lolly said:
We saw Frozen earlier this year. The one I'm taking LOVED it, which is why I'm keen to encourage her love of theatre.

I'll put the choice of Matilda and Lion King to her and let her decide.
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Now Grease would be perfect, but obviously it’s closing next week. I wonder what will fill the Dominion next Easter? I can’t see that bollocks production of Dirty Dancing lasting that long. It was practically half empty when we saw it and that was less than a year ago. Makes NO sense to bring it back.
 
Ellie said:
Ooh, how about Six?
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I assumed that was a little more adult? Not seen it myself yet, but want to. It was touring here in September, but was delayed twice due to COVID and by the time I got around to looking at it, it was single seats only.

Just from a cost perspective I'd prefer not to take her to see something which is touring, when I can save literally hundreds by seeing it here and not having to pay for a hotel and train tickets on top of more expensive tickets. Even if the production is bigger, I don't think she's of the age where she'd fully appreciate it.

So that rules out Lion King, thinking about it.
 
lolly said:
I assumed that was a little more adult? Not seen it myself yet, but want to. It was touring here in September, but was delayed twice due to COVID and by the time I got around to looking at it, it was single seats only.

Just from a cost perspective I'd prefer not to take her to see something which is touring, when I can save literally hundreds by seeing it here and not having to pay for a hotel and train tickets on top of more expensive tickets. Even if the production is bigger, I don't think she's of the age where she'd fully appreciate it.

So that rules out Lion King, thinking about it.
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Fair enough for the cost reason. I think anything that would go over a 8 year old’s head would be made up for by the fact that it’s just practically fabulous girl band concert and really very funny for all ages. If you’ve done the Tudors at school (I’d definitely been taught about them by that age), then they’d be absolutely fine.
 
Ellie said:
Fair enough for the cost reason. I think anything that would go over a 8 year old’s head would be made up for by the fact that it’s just practically fabulous girl band concert and really very funny for all ages. If you’ve done the Tudors at school (I’d definitely been taught about them by that age), then they’d be absolutely fine.
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Just looked, and it's on at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff next August, and that is an absolutely beautiful theatre. We'll get the benefit of a day out but not the expense of a London trip. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Grease is over as of tonight :( :( :(

That was the best production imaginable for this show and I’m going to miss it so much. Not since Hamilton have I found myself attached to a particular cast, so much that I think I’m going to follow all of their careers quite intensely whenever they do something I can get to see. Luckily I think 3 of them are joining Newsies next so will be seeing that in December.

Also new respect for Peter Andre. He really went for it tonight.

 
Just dumping this here for future reference. Any thoughts, @Ellie? I know you get a lot of bargains.


 
lolly said:
Just dumping this here for future reference. Any thoughts, @Ellie? I know you get a lot of bargains.


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I just got a £10 ticket code for Here and Southwark Playhouse - HERE10 valid on bookings until Monday.

From Here To Eternity last night was a seat filler £4 booking fee only at the last minute through a little secret mailing list thing for Londoners… was great apart from being sat behind an elderly man who wet himself during the show and stank up the place :zombie:

Anyway TodayTix really does have some brilliant deals at times. 24hr specials on certain shows all the time. That’s how we got “Cock” for £20 last year despite going for hundreds elsewhere.

The Old Vic have some great £10 schemes if you book previews for their upcoming shows when they’re first announced. That’s how we did Eureka Day recently. Also got Charlie Russell’s (an absolute Queen from Mischief Theatre) one woman show in Feb for £10.

Generally the trick is to be flexible and most importantly don’t stall or faff around umming and erring when given an offer.
 
Do you think I'll be able to get cheap tickets on the day for a matinee performance of Wicked next year? It will be a Wednesday, but in the school holidays.

I'm paying £££ for Matilda the night before so don't really want to spend a lot on another show, particularly one I've seen before on a number of occasions.
 
lolly said:
Do you think I'll be able to get cheap tickets on the day for a matinee performance of Wicked next year? It will be a Wednesday, but in the school holidays.

I'm paying £££ for Matilda the night before so don't really want to spend a lot on another show, particularly one I've seen before on a number of occasions.
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Wicked Wednesday matinees actually come up for free on the seat filling services quite often, but I hate to say, not during school holidays. TodayTix actually had a pretty good discount deal for Wicked the other week, but they just come and go as and when. You can’t plan ahead for these things unfortunately.

One thing I was shocked by was going to Grease on a Thursday matinee when I had a spare afternoon during the LFF, and it was practically sold out, way busier than a weekday evening for some reason and full of school groups. You really can’t tell :(
 
Ellie said:
Wicked Wednesday matinees actually come up for free on the seat filling services quite often, but I hate to say, not during school holidays. TodayTix actually had a pretty good discount deal for Wicked the other week, but they just come and go as and when. You just can’t plan ahead for these things unfortunately.

One thing I was shocked by was going to Grease on a Thursday matinee when I had a spare afternoon during the LFF, and it was practically sold out, way busier than a weekday evening for some reason and full of school groups. You really can’t tell :(
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Thanks. I'm not pinning my hopes on it anyway. We're up one day and back the next, so it may be that two theatre shows are too much for an 8 year old. I'll be staying at Westminster Bridge, so perhaps I'll just stick with the London Eye (again) and Shrek Experience ( :( )
 
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Just booked my £7.50 tickets to BERLUSCONI THE MUSICAL

southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

Berlusconi - Southwark Playhouse

"I am the Jesus Christ of politics." It’s time to set the record straight. Please welcome to the stage the former cruise ship crooner turned multi billionaire and Italian Prime Minister… the much maligned, misunderstood, humble man of the people Silvio Berlusconi! A hilarious, naughty, noisy...
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
 
Rula Lenska said:
I have been dying to see it live for AGES.

It got an extension and moved to a new venue, but it closes one day before we get to New York. Absolutely gutted.

I watched the streamed performance, but it isn't the same.
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I don’t know how I’d never heard of it before. Sorry you’ll end up just missing it 😢
 
So….. finally watched Prima Facie. To start off with a positive - the acting was amazing. Jodie Comer is a Queen of the stage for our ages. I was a bit unsure at the beginning as there were a few wonky accents here and there, but it became clear. The show is also really gunfire delivery for most of the first part and I found it a bit of a slog in places to keep up (god knows how she must have felt!)

As for the not so good - the story! The premise was fine but it all felt a bit like using a mallet where a small hammer would have sufficed. The point it is trying to get across is a very valid one, but there was no NUANCE to it. It felt a bit ‘After School Special’-ish with how heavy handed it all was.

Acting 9.5

Script 6
 
Newsies really is quite spectacular. The story itself is quite dull so it is let down by not being all that gripping, but the dancing is out of this world!

The set design at the huge Wembley Park Theatre is something else, and it’s fully immersive with the cast coming through the audience all around.

Shame about the audience coughing and spluttering all over the place and many arriving late :angry:

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Jingle BEllies said:
Newsies really is quite spectacular. The story itself is quite dull so it is let down by not being all that gripping, but the dancing is out of this world!

The set design at the huge Wembley Park Theatre is something else, and it’s fully immersive with the cast coming through the audience all around.

Shame about the audience coughing and spluttering all over the place and many arriving late :angry:

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Oh good, me and Iguana are being roped into this next week and I had absolutely no inclination! :D
 
Grease is back in the Dominion next summer, everyone start placing bets on how many times @Jingle BEllies will attend

I'm due to see Newsies next week. I'm not that impressed or taken in by dancing so hope I find enough to enjoy from it.
 
Jacques said:
Grease is back in the Dominion next summer, everyone start placing bets on how many times @Jingle BEllies will attend

I'm due to see Newsies next week. I'm not that impressed or taken in by dancing so hope I find enough to enjoy from it.
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It depends on if they still have their lovely Kenickie. I suspect he won’t be back… still, front row already booked for first Monday just to see :disco: and The Wizard of Oz booked at the Palladium too in case he reprises his role on that one too :horny: Regardless, if any single member of that cast reprises then I’m all in!

The price hikes they do for Fri-Sat performances are ridiculous… Christ, this will make Grease tied with Wicked and Hamilton for my most seen show.

I do hope you enjoy Newsies. It’s more of an experience rather than the actual show being great.
 
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