July 20, 2019

Hamilton

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to the theatre experience: I like to be able to choose the date I see a show; I like the fun of choosing my own seats by looking at all the ticket websites and comparing them with the theatremonkey seating plans (if you don’t use this website, you really should - it’s seating opinions help me buy all my theatre tickets) in order to get the best deal on the best seats; I like arriving at the theatre early and going in and having a drink in the bar whilst the rest of my party arrives.

July 20, 2019

Glengarry Glen Ross

There was undoubtedly talent on stage, but this play really wasn’t my cup of tea and left me stone cold. If shows had colours this would be ochre and rust. It was desolate and depressing, just like the interstates into American cities and the rust belt. The dialogue is impressively fast-paced and furious, but it’s not clever or witty - just endless swearing - and the storyline is pretty flimsy. For a show where very little happens and there is very little movement or use of the space, the set is incredibly detailed.

July 20, 2019

An American in Paris

Everything I said about this last time still holds true, even though some of the cast have now changed. I was sitting in a different part of the theatre though, and realised that this show is played very flat and out to the stalls, rather than out to the whole theatre. This can, at times, mean that the energy levels feel a little low. It was still wonderful though, and the harmonies in ‘S’Wondeful’ are by far the best that I have heard for a long time - they gave me goosebumps.

July 20, 2019

Barnum

Roll up, roll up, for the greatest show in town. Well, maybe not quite the greatest, but pretty darn good. The in the round staging at the Menier is perfect, and means that you are so close to the action that you can literally feel the heat of the fire breathers’ fire on your face. I didn’t find the music memorable at all but, other than one number where the marching band were slightly too loud and drowned out the singing, I could hear and understand every single lyric - hurrah!

July 20, 2019

Tiger Bay

The audience are greeted with an epic, huge, clunky set consisting of a steel ship and concrete blocks, and that pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the evening. This new musical is epic at 3 hours long, and clunky as it jarringly jumps between so many different strands that aren’t drawn together until the last 20 minutes of so. Several numbers could, and should, be cut to make this show a more mangeable length.

July 20, 2019

Venus in Fur

I went to this not truly knowing what to expect, and hoping I would love it as I have a soft spot for both Natalie Dormer and David Oakes, who are simply incredible. The first lines, and indeed the first few scenes, filled me with a sense of dread though, as I couldn’t stand the American accents. Both Oakes and Dormer are absolutely brilliant as Vanda Jordan and Thomas Novachek, Dormer bringing real grit and edginess to Jordan with her Bronx drawl, but the accents felt so unnatural and forced that I found it slightly painful.

July 20, 2019

A Woman of No Importance

The reviews of this left me wondering whether I would find the first 45 minutes tediously slow; however, the critics were wrong. Although the action in the first 45 minutes is lazy and relaxed - as you would expect on a summer afternoon in the country, one might argue - the dialogue is anything but. The lines are quick and witty, with the most funny and insightful ones coming from Eleanor Bron’s Lady Caroline Pontefract.

July 20, 2019

The Lie

I saw The Truth last year and so was really interested to see what I thought would be the start of the story and the events that unravel so cleverly in The Truth. Although The Lie definitely focussed on the events, it wasn’t the start of the story that I was hoping for and expecting; however, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of it. It’s perhaps not as clever, witty, fast paced or surprising as The Truth, but Alexander Hanson, a late addition to the cast as James Dreyfus had to pull out for medical reasons, drives the action forward and is the star of the show.

July 20, 2019

South Pacific

This concert version was a sensational production and, with only one performance, it was a real gem and a wonderful Sunday night treat. The male and female ensembles only consisted of five people, but they sounded like twenty-five. The male harmonies in particular soared and rang out throughout the concert hall giving me goosebumps. However the stars of the show were Rosalie Craig as Nellie Forbush and John Owen-Jones as Emile De Becque who, as always, were simply sublime.

July 20, 2019

42nd Street

T’was the night for understudies, but I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t looked up the cast list on my way home. There were a few notes that made me pause and wonder if the understudies were on, but you never would have guessed from the dancing as it was absolutely phenomenal. And that is what this show is about: the dancing. The plot is pretty flimsy and there are only a couple of well known show tunes - We’re In the Money, Lullaby of Broadway and 42nd Street being the only ones I knew.