5,278 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 28, 2023 15:29:38 GMT
Well this sounds as terrible as it looks- judging by the reviews I’ve read so far
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3,071 posts
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Post by Rory on Jul 28, 2023 19:13:12 GMT
Some of the worst I've read in a long time. Eek!
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Post by Jan on Jul 28, 2023 20:32:52 GMT
Some of the worst I've read in a long time. Eek! They should have involved the critics in the audience participation, that would have surely converted some of those outlier 2* reviews into 1* with all the rest. I fondly remember a Guardian review Billington wrote once of a promenade fringe production where they had thrown a bucket of water over him.
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3,071 posts
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Post by Rory on Jul 28, 2023 20:58:07 GMT
Simon Friend might have been better off transferring his production of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in this slot.
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Post by ladidah on Aug 2, 2023 7:24:10 GMT
Surely the tour dates will be cancelled?
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Post by marob on Aug 2, 2023 8:23:39 GMT
Why? Doesn’t look like it’s sold too badly at the Lowry, with over a month to go until it opens there.
Rough Crossing toured there and that sold terribly. Was also a terrible play, where the only saving grace was Charlie Stemp doing a comedy turn as a waiter. If that went ahead I don’t see why this wouldn’t.
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269 posts
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Post by ilovewemusicals on Aug 5, 2023 18:49:34 GMT
Kieran Brown is on tonight but not as the footman or his other cover roles as King Charles II or Colonel Blood. If anyone is there, please let me know which role he plays as he’s keeping it under wraps.
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521 posts
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Post by danielwhit on Aug 9, 2023 21:11:14 GMT
Good grief.
I've come out of it this evening and am borderline speechless about how bad it is. However I'll put that speechlessness aside and cobble together some thoughts.
Firstly - audience. It's not your traditional West End audience. That is to the production's credit, it's just a shame some of them would have been put off by the quality of what was on stage.
In a bizarre way I'm pleased to see this, for at least now I have confidence that bad theatre is truly still alive. It's been a while since I've seen something that rose to these levels.
I'm amazed to hear this show was running long and, according to comments above, trying desperately to get down to 2hrs running time, mainly because there are so many dead moments on stage that you feel they're trying to pad the thing out! For examples there's a full 30 seconds of Al Murray grunting his way off stage with Mel doing a bizarre finger tapping gesture each time he steps/grunts. I could name several other moments which could only have been saved by literal tumbleweed.
I genuinely felt sorry for the cast. One person has to do a bizarre faked orgasm for no obvious reason except for a slim attempt at comedy. And of course there's the "three blokes in a prison cell, let's have one of them comically urinating into a bucket and turning sideways occasionally" cheapest of all cheap gags.
Audience interaction is the same as described above, although I did see warnings of this either on the ticket or somewhere else prevalent, so it looks like feedback has been taken on board here.
French and Dutch jokes are still in. Al Murray even has been scripted to make half the front row individually say they "hate the Dutch".
Ironically (or at least, I hope) there's a catchphrase for Charles II calling things "so funny". That's probably the best joke in the whole thing, at least it shows a slither of self awareness...
Avoid like the plague (there's a "joke" about that too).
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Post by ladidah on Aug 19, 2023 18:24:00 GMT
Was in London today and was offered free tickets for this!
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18,811 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Aug 19, 2023 19:03:34 GMT
Sounds horrific.
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Post by starlight92 on Aug 19, 2023 21:09:35 GMT
Was in London today and was offered free tickets for this! I'd still pass 😂
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Post by ladidah on Aug 20, 2023 8:57:35 GMT
I did! Not my thing at all
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4,564 posts
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Post by Mark on Aug 20, 2023 9:34:57 GMT
I actually found this very enjoyable. Certainly a lot of laughs. Much better than Bleak Expectations had been.
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Post by d'James on Aug 31, 2023 22:21:15 GMT
I saw this tonight. The first half is better than the second - which was a bit of a mess.
I love Mel and she was funny, but I thought she’d do more improv with the audience; there didn’t seem to be any.
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