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A Trip to the Theatre

Nemesis Inferno

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Book of Mormon

Absolutely unbelievably amazing, literally did not expect it to be how it was...

Why must it be sold out for ages now? :'(

10/10
 

gavin

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^^ No idea. Maybe because it's still only in previews and has been hyped and advertised for over a year.

I do really want to see it though. It seems like the sort of show that would tour well though - that doesn't really rely on large-scale staging for the "full" experience - so I'm happy to wait a while.
 

peep

CF Legend
^Yeah, pretty much everything in the London version is from the US tour version.

I concur Benin's thoughts on the show. It was just hilarious right from the beginning right till the very end. You never truly knew what to expect next, it was just fantastic. The songs were all brilliant too. Considering it was still previews I wouldn't have known if I wasn't informed and just saw it. The cast are brilliant too. Gah, really need to see it again <3
 

Thekingin64

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Saw Phantom of the Opera in Liverpool the other night.

It was Amazing! I went knowing hardly anything of the story or what went on but I loved it. Probably the best part of it was the guy who was meant to play the Phantom was ill so they got the original guy from London to do it!
 

gavin

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I saw The Lion King yesterday. The costumes and lighting were absolutely stunning, and the opening scene really is spectacular, but other than that I really didn't rate it much at all.

It probably doesn't help that I'm not a massive fan of the original film, but I was quite disappointed on the whole.

Incredibly overrated.
 

Youngster Joey

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Book of Mormon 9.99/10

The show is absolutely fantastic, plenty of laughs all the way through and a few nerdy references really add that extra bit of flair you'd expect from Parker and Stone. Even with all the high expectations i had going in I was pleasantly surprised it lived up to them.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a good show or a laugh. Though be warned, it can be just as crude as south park.
 

peep

CF Legend
Glad you enjoyed it just as much as us. It really is a brilliant show. As crude as South Park? I would say it goes even further at times lol.
 

peep

CF Legend
Jeez, has it really been this long?

Had a proper theatre weekend and saw 3 shows. On Friday night we saw Charlie and the Chocolate factory: the musical. It was a bit awful. The music wasn't great (so not a very good start), the whole show didn't flow that well and the character of Willy Wonka just felt a little meh. The animatronic squirrels and the TV set bits were awesome though. Oh and we laughed when the elevator scene happened, the sound of the hydraulics was ridiculous, we could clearly hear it and we were up in the heavens.


Jersey Boys. Been meaning to see this for years and finally popped in to catch the matinee. Brilliant show, the pace of it is lightning quick and the set feels really kinetic and exciting but in a way that doesn't distract you in the slightest from the music and the story. Also, spinning drum kit <3 Obviously it helps if you already like The four seasons and I have done for years. Oh and we had Jon from S Club 7 playing Frankie Valli which meant the audience went even more nuts than they normally would.


The last show we saw was Blithe Spirit. It's a Noel Coward comedy which has really stood the test of time. It's thoroughly enjoyable and hysterical. My only minor gripe with it was some of the audience and their over the top laugh that went on for too long and the long gaps in the show with random title cards between scenes (like in old films). The cast were absolutely phenomenal and the main star of the show was none other than DAME ANGELA LANSBURY! Yep, Mrs Potts/Jessica Fletcher (in the flesh) was there, on stage being awesome. The crowd after the show at the stage door was the biggest I've ever seen (not helped by the crowd growing due to Saturday night Soho crowds gaining interest as a result of the already established crowd). I managed to get a photo amongst the madness of the amazing actress...

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peep

CF Legend
Saw a few more shows recently. Went to see Neville's Island on Monday night. It stars Ade Edmondson (Bottom, Young ones etc), Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly, Bob the Builder), Miles Jupp (The thick of it, stand up) and Robert Webb (That Mitchell and Webb look, Peep show etc). So yeah, pretty epic cast. The set was incredible, the story centers around 4 middle managers getting stranded on a little island in a river during a company team bonding weekend. So the set was mainly made up of real trees, a stoney shore (complete with actual water front) and heavy rain. The front row all got free ponchos and it was clear from the off why, they were getting wet from the fake rain and then all four of them enter by 'swimming' up on to shore, creating lots of splashes. It was something I hadn't seen in a theatre before and that really excited me. The script was amusing at times and also quite dark. All four of the funny men were excellent though and I'm very glad I got to see it during it's short run on the West End.


Urinetown: the musical. An American musical from 2001 that has only recently opened on the West End which is odd. It's an odd one, at times it's genuinely hilarious and some times it's funny because it's so stupid that you can't help but laugh at the oddness of what just happened (I still don't know why at one point the entire cast break out in to 2 minutes of Michael Jackson impressions). The songs are absolutely brilliant though and the cast were phenomenal, their performances helped sell the songs to me with their outstanding vocal talent. I'd love them to do a cast recording. The set was interesting if a little limited, I did adore their circular rotating track though, they used that really well. Would I recommend it? Yes, if for the songs alone.
 

Jordanovichy

Credit Whore 2016
COMPLETELY unrelated in absolutely every way but I served Neil Morrissey fish and chips when I worked at fish 'n' chick'n :p
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Went to NYC this past weekend, saw a couple shows on Broadway…

On the Town

I didn't find it particularly amazing but in general I thought it was fun. There were a few random things (in a good way) that I didn't expect to happen at all (like announcing an anniversary of a couple in the audience at the beginning of the second act). There're a few songs that were excellent, and there's quite a few jokes hidden in the songs as well (though I felt some of the jokes were overused). But there were a couple parts that felt were dragged along with nothing too interesting going on. We had an added bonus as we personally know someone who is in the ensemble, so afterward we got to meet her and check out backstage and even step onto the stage.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Amazing. Everything about was great. The choreography and stage direction is superb, making it more interesting/entertaining than a musical. The actor who plays Christopher is fantastic. He's on the stage the entire time carrying the show on his back with his constant facial expressions and actions. There's plenty of witty humor, with a catchy soundtrack (which can be very loud at some times), and it's also quite moving as well (my mother was in the tears by the end!). I felt that you kind of needed to read the book to fully understand what was going on; the different scenes go by pretty quick and the way it's narrated may confuse some. Overall I loved it, I can't recommend this play high enough.
 

peep

CF Legend
I have been debating about whether I should see the curious incident... I'm hearing lots of good things but your mention of reading the book before worries me. Hmm, maybe I'll go and see it in the new year.
 

gavin

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^Or you could just read the book to be on the safe side? It's only a kids' book, so you should be able to manage it. It's really good as well.

I finally saw Avenue Q for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It's one of those shows I'd been meaning to see for ages, and just never got around to it.

I really liked it, but it wasn't quite as "shocking" as I'd heard it to be. I guess that's all down to the individual. Excellent show though.
 

peep

CF Legend
^ A kids book? Hmm ok, from the style of it all I assumed it would be an adult novel.

Really glad you enjoyed Avenue Q, the songs are just brilliant and that humour is obviously up your street.
 

gavin

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^ Well, not a book aimed specifically at kids, but it's been popping up on school syllabuses for a while now.
 

peep

CF Legend
Went to see The play that goes wrong

It was utter brilliance from start to finish. The audience was a right mix of the young and old and absolutely everyone was laughing throughout. It's very clever, the slapstick and stunts are shocking and amusing and the whole thing is just genius. There was a moment where we weren't sure if it was improvised or if additional ridiculousness occurred, the line was blurred so much that until I see it again I won't know! If you can get to a performance of this I highly recommend it.
 

peep

CF Legend
The Nether

A very interesting play about a future where people can spend a lot of their time within a virtual world on the internet. It focus' solely on a detective's story trying to find out more about a 'realm' for paedophiles. It's fascinating and really brings up an important question towards the end. The play was quite short at a measly 80 minutes but it was more than enough time to propel you into this interesting future.

The staging and video projection was a huge highlight for me. When the 'realm' is first revealed there was a pretty audible gasp from the audience, it's a truly magical moment. I loved how it was all rather minimal but effective. The London based team that produced this staging of the play totally nailed it.
 

peep

CF Legend
Hay Fever

A Noel Coward play. It stars Felicity Kendall and it was really good fun. The cast were fantastic and the way the story builds was brilliant.


Gypsy

Didn't really know much about this musical but I'm so glad we went to see it, it's absolutely phenomenal, the performances by the cast were brilliant. The finale was just incredible, highly recommend if you can get tickets.


The play that goes wrong

Yep, second time already. It's still utter genius and had me laughing almost constantly throughout the entire duration. It's by far the funniest show in the West End at the moment and Book of Mormon is on! (talking of that, seeing it again on Friday :p )
 
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