Theatre 2024

My first show of the year was a disappointment. The Sex Lives of Puppets at Southwark Playhouse. Got the Pioneer’s Preview £10 tickets as it sounded like it could be funny. It wasn’t at all.

I should have stayed at home. This year whenever any random cheap things come up for next January, unless it’s something I really want to see then I’ll hopefully be wiser and give it a miss.
 
We saw The Enfield Haunting last night with Catherine Tate. It was really rather silly.

It says something about a play when the most positive thing you can say is that it was only 75 minutes with no interval, so it was nice to get out before 9pm when it wasn’t too busy on the tube!
 
More positively, I saw Sunset Blvd again in the week after Christmas and it was even better than the first time. I want to see it in New York now.
 
First big flop of the year :o

It was FINE. I’ve certainly seen worse, but it was very ambitious and didn’t quite get the drama right. Doesn’t help that all the songs are ballads

 
There's nothing showing there, but a google of my first guess (Time Traveller's Wife: The Musical) proved to be correct :D

Honestly I could have told them it had no chance. The film flopped, the TV series flopped... quite why anyone thought a musical with no famous people and songs by JOSS STONE would buck that trend is anyone's guess.

Has anyone seen Stranger Things? I went this week and was mostly bored and underwhelmed. Overall I can take or leave the TV show but the sheer volume of breathless 5 star rave reviews convinced me this was going to be QUITE SOMETHING... but the effects were never quite as good as they could have been, and the story was utterly inessential and plodding. The cast were excellent though.

Definitely go if you're basic and/or love the show and/or don't get out much. The interval was full of people with regional accents saying how it was the best thing they've ever seen, and I was happy for them
 
Finn said:
Definitely go if you're basic and/or love the show and/or don't get out much. The interval was full of people with regional accents saying how it was the best thing they've ever seen
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:D!
 
Finn said:
There's nothing showing there, but a google of my first guess (Time Traveller's Wife: The Musical) proved to be correct :D

Honestly I could have told them it had no chance. The film flopped, the TV series flopped... quite why anyone thought a musical with no famous people and songs by JOSS STONE would buck that trend is anyone's guess.
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Yes, the tweet from London Theatre Direct got deleted about Time Traveller’s Wife being cut short. Strangely they’re now masking it as having always been said to be a limited run, which isn’t true!
 
Stranger Things is ridiculously expensive. I’ve only really half watched the show (saw S1 and seen most of last series but barely anything in between). I take it this is a prequel?

Either way a bit like Harry Potter play, this clearly isn’t for me and I’d rather waste £££ on a 10th and 11th BTTF showing than spend silly money on Stranger Things.
 
Ellie said:
Yes, the tweet from London Theatre Direct got deleted about Time Traveller’s Wife being cut short. Strangely they’re now masking it as having always been said to be a limited run, which isn’t true!
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It had a limited booking run, but doesn't EVERYTHING? :D

And even then, they are still closing it before the end of the booking run, so who do they think they are kidding?
 
I've been looking at What's On in the West End both for a trip up with my great niece for her birthday, and a trip up myself, and it all seems a little uninspiring at the moment. Think I'll look more into the Fringe.
 
lolly said:
I've been looking at What's On in the West End both for a trip up with my great niece for her birthday, and a trip up myself, and it all seems a little uninspiring at the moment. Think I'll look more into the Fringe.
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When for? Sister Act opens in March. Mrs Doubtfire is pretty fun for her age group (although songs not great). Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is also on from Feb-March at the Peacock.
 
Ellie said:
When for? Sister Act opens in March. Mrs Doubtfire is pretty fun for her age group (although songs not great). Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is also on from Feb-March at the Peacock.
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Probably April. Mrs Doubtfire is the one I was looking at. I probably wouldn't consider Sister Act or Jamie as they are both touring or have toured here, and it doesn't seem so special if I'm bringing her up to see something we could see locally anyway.
 
Oh wow, I did NOT expect that. They’ve been discounting a lot lately and I keep forwarding them on to my mates with kids. But the sales are never enough on convenient days for families.

I honestly expected that to run and run like The Lion King or at least Matilda. That’s quite a long way away to announce it now though, so it must be making way in the theatre for something big.
 
Theatre Royal Drury Lane must be a LOT bigger than the Cambridge though. Not sire where The Lion King is playing, or how big it is.

Still, that they are closing rather than moving to a smaller theatre must say a lot, I suppose.
 
Lion King is at the ginormous Lyceum. I’m always astonished at how well that does. Must be coming up to 25 years. I’ve still never seen it because they never discount.
 
RATHER ENJOYED I Should Be So Lucky yesterday. Had hugely lowered expectations due to some whiney reviews I’d read.

Some reviewers were people in their 30s admitting not having any nostalgia for those songs so I think that makes all the difference. I mean Mamma Mia as a show is surely acknowledged as terrible(?), only being good for fans of the music, so this was very much the same.

Anyway, good fun with an audience who knew when to sing and sway at all the right moments. Found some silver confetti in my cleavage when I got home!
 
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London people, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! is coming to the West End after appearing here and a few other places last year.

It sold out completely here and was really well reviewed. I didn't get to see it due to other commitments (thanks, mother), and was quite pissed off about it.

 
Last night:

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Where's the SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for the opening of act two? :disco:
 
Just a few tidbits:

Cruel Intentions - really quite fun. I didn’t even see the film until the day before and thought it was dated tosh. The jukebox musical put some more humour to it and picked the songs just right.

Just For One Day - had NO idea what this would really be since it’s not recreating Live Aid. I only went with a cheap ticket due to Danielle Steers being in the cast. Strangely got the tone just right in nostalgia, celebration and recognition that celebrities singing songs clearly didn't solve world hunger. Quite a feat to do!

Bronco Billy The Musical - Had some fairly average reviews, but this was RIGHT up my street. SO funny. Sort of in the same spirit as Ruthless! which played art the Arts theatre a few years ago. I want to go again just for Sinclair St. Clair.
 
Ellie said:
RATHER ENJOYED I Should Be So Lucky yesterday. Had hugely lowered expectations due to some whiney reviews I’d read.

Some reviewers were people in their 30s admitting not having any nostalgia for those songs so I think that makes all the difference. I mean Mamma Mia as a show is surely acknowledged as terrible(?), only being good for fans of the music, so this was very much the same.

Anyway, good fun with an audience who knew when to sing and sway at all the right moments. Found some silver confetti in my cleavage when I got home!
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I saw this last night, my first visit to the theatre since the pandemic. It was lots of fun. The book was a bit rubbish, who goes to jukebox musicals for the story really, they go for the songs. I did roll my eyes a few times at how convenient the songs fitted in to the storyline.

I was agog to see Better Off Without You and Tell Tale Signs performed, but I think for me the highlight was You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You, which was a ballad version but worked really well.

Overall it was just camp lighthearted fun, and felt a bit like a decent episode of Benidorm.

The audience reaction was really positive, and I think while it’s not a massive blockbuster success, I think it will have done decent enough to warrant another UK tour at some point.

It’s ignited my interest in theatre again and I’m gonna try to get to more shows this year.
 
lolly said:
London people, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! is coming to the West End after appearing here and a few other places last year.

It sold out completely here and was really well reviewed. I didn't get to see it due to other commitments (thanks, mother), and was quite pissed off about it.

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It’s another London Theatre Week so I’ve just booked this. Looks quite fun.

Also booked Standing At The Sky’s Edge - managed to get a premium seat usually priced at £120 which had been reduced to £75, and I still had £40 left on a Black Friday voucher deal thing from last year. Result!
 
VoR said:
Hello! :disco:

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They did a teaser yesterday which was bits of this just with arms/hands and legs. And it backfired because most people thought it was Hannah Waddingham, who would be way more of a bankable star thesedays
 
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We did Mrs Doubtfire last night, mostly because when I went last May we were in the discounted front row, where the stage is about 6ft high and it was deeply uncomfortable with a poor view. I got a half price ticket in the New Year sale and thought my mum would like it.

I think I liked it even less the second time despite having a good seat. Theatre is horribly uncomfortable wherever you sit, and it was awfully warm so I was struggling to stay awake. Plus there’s really only one memorable song.

Mum just kept saying that while it was enjoyable, Bronco Billy was 10x better. It’s always nice when a smaller, cheaper show gives you a really great surprise when you go in with lowered expectations.

@lolly I really would recommend Back To The Future over this for your niece. It’s much more fun and far more impressive.
 
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Has anyone seen Vanya with Andrew Scott? It's being broadcast in cinemas over the next few weeks and looks pretty good.
 
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