647 posts
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Post by ptwest on Mar 17, 2019 17:27:47 GMT
I don't think it was as bad as others have on here, to be fair, very little truly worked on the night - the Mamma Mia sketch was excruciatingly bad, any attempts at spontaneity fell flat and virtually the whole thing in my opinion was woefully unfunny. So although I totally applaud the charity and the funds raised, it would appear that the BBC had put together a show where it appeared very hard to be truly funny. I am reminded of when School Of Rock was on children in need, even though I loved the show, had I not seen it, that extract would have had me running for the hills rather than book. So overall, although I wasn't desperately impressed, I think that this has potential, particularly when Mischief Theatre has complete command of the space they are working in, and who is on stage. I'm still pleased I've booked to go.
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Post by talkingheads on Mar 17, 2019 18:52:02 GMT
I don't think it was as bad as others have on here, to be fair, very little truly worked on the night - the Mamma Mia sketch was excruciatingly bad, any attempts at spontaneity fell flat and virtually the whole thing in my opinion was woefully unfunny. So although I totally applaud the charity and the funds raised, it would appear that the BBC had put together a show where it appeared very hard to be truly funny. I am reminded of when School Of Rock was on children in need, even though I loved the show, had I not seen it, that extract would have had me running for the hills rather than book. So overall, although I wasn't desperately impressed, I think that this has potential, particularly when Mischief Theatre has complete command of the space they are working in, and who is on stage. I'm still pleased I've booked to go. That is very true, plus I will say I enjoyed that extract on the variety show a few months back a lot more so I'm sure the show will be good. I just think it's a shame that given the platform of a mainstream comedy show that the majority of the population are going to be watching, that is the extract they went for, I'd have thought they'd want to showcase their funniest bit.
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 17, 2019 19:17:16 GMT
That is very true, plus I will say I enjoyed that extract on the variety show a few months back a lot more so I'm sure the show will be good. I just think it's a shame that given the platform of a mainstream comedy show that the majority of the population are going to be watching, that is the extract they went for, I'd have thought they'd want to showcase their funniest bit. I wonder if the RVP scene maybe worked better because it was part of the material that they had tried out on the MMN tour last summer, whereas the scene on Comic Relief hadn't been done in public before so they had to pitch it "blind". I wish they'd done Henry Shields' doves act, which was my favourite part of the try out material, but I suppose they wanted something that involved several cast members.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2019 22:30:17 GMT
I must admit, I booked Groan Ups without a qualm but having seen that early skit of Magic Goes Wrong a few months back, I hesitated on this one and will wait for reviews/potential offers. I wasn’t that taken with it - found it very shouty and without the level of cleverness I’m used to seeing from Mischief. The Comic Relief segment was worse. Far too brash for a UK audience, and not even remotely funny, sadly.
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1,244 posts
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Post by londonmzfitz on Mar 18, 2019 16:21:08 GMT
I'm another "groaner" on the Comic Relief clip, we tuned in line to watch it and ah, well ....
Funnily, the change of costume for Nancy I've seen something very similar before done really quickly and it was impressive. It was part of (this is where everyone else groans) The Osmonds Andy Williams Christmas Show with Jimmy Cricket (Watford Colosseum) there were two dancers (they did a dance too) and then the guy did the hoop thing and the woman had a different outfit every time, not just the "downward" movement but the "up" to, quick-as-you-like and we in the audience "wooo-d" appropriately. Went on for ages. Cheesy as but was impressive.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jul 5, 2019 19:42:09 GMT
Has anyone else had a phone call from the Lowry today? I was called earlier to say that they're now removing rows A & B so the front row seat I booked months ago is no longer available. I was offered a choice between moving to a seat a number of rows further back or a refund. Given I was already dithering over whether I really wanted to go, having found that it'd take me a mimimum of 3 trains & over 4 hours each way, I opted for the refund. I was also offered compensatory tickets to PPGW but declined.
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3,070 posts
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Post by david on Jul 5, 2019 20:43:34 GMT
Has anyone else had a phone call from the Lowry today? I was called earlier to say that they're now removing rows A & B so the front row seat I booked months ago is no longer available. I was offered a choice between moving to a seat a number of rows further back or a refund. Given I was already dithering over whether I really wanted to go, having found that it'd take me a mimimum of 3 trains & over 4 hours each way, I opted for the refund. I was also offered compensatory tickets to PPGW but declined. Sorry to hear that you can’t get to see the show. I was really forward to meeting you as well. I hope you get to see the show in London.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jul 7, 2019 15:14:59 GMT
Sorry to hear that you can’t get to see the show. I was really forward to meeting you as well. I hope you get to see the show in London. Oh yes, I'll see it in London, which is one reason why 4+ hours each way for Salford seemed a bit much. Especially as magic shows really aren't my thing. If this wasn't Mischief I wouldn't be seeing it at all! As it is, I think it's highly unlikely I'll want to see it lots of times like I have the other shows.
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461 posts
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Post by djdan14 on Aug 6, 2019 16:13:44 GMT
First show tonight! Anyone going?
I am going on Sunday afternoon and have just had an email from the Lowry asking to keep the secrets of the show
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Post by david on Aug 6, 2019 16:20:31 GMT
First show tonight! Anyone going? I am going on Sunday afternoon and have just had an email from the Lowry asking to keep the secrets of the show I'm going Saturday afternoon. Really looking forward to it.
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Post by benny20 on Aug 7, 2019 21:22:26 GMT
Saw it Last night. First ever performance. Good show. Clever concept. Some parts better than others. Think it will get some pruning. Some very amusing bits. Had seen two mischief comedy shows but this was a bit different. Penn was sat in the audience. Good use of video. Hope it does well
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Post by Dawnstar on Aug 8, 2019 11:54:10 GMT
I realise too many spoilers are discouraged but are you able to say if the use of video relates to it being set in a telethon, which is what we were told they were planning during last summer's try-outs, or if the setting has been changed since then?
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196 posts
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Post by benny20 on Aug 8, 2019 12:54:09 GMT
Yep. They are trying to raise money
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Post by david on Aug 10, 2019 16:27:23 GMT
After watching today’s matinee, this gets a big thumbs up from me. An absolutely brilliant afternoon at the theatre watching a really slick production from MT. With a run time of 2hrs and 15mins including interval, Mischief Theatre kept me throughly entertained. Out of the cast Henry Lewis was the standout for me with an absolutely hilarious performance and great ad-libing from audience heckles.
There was a nice range of magic tricks performed and even though as scripted they went wrong, I was still trying to work out how they did them. The use of VT was cleverly used in the show to move it along nicely and didn’t feel out of place here.
When I originally booked, I went for a stalls row D seat, though due to changes in the staging, this now became a second row seat. Great uninterrupted central view, though at the end of Act 1, a lot of smoke is used which really was choking (though warning posters did highlight this at the auditorium doors).
Overall, the audience I was sat in really did enjoy this show and joined in fully. I hope those who have booked enjoy it as much as I did, and those who have yet to book, I’d certainly advise getting a ticket for the London run. You won’t be disappointed.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2019 18:09:45 GMT
Is the disappointing bit they did on ITV still part of the show?
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Post by david on Aug 10, 2019 18:13:43 GMT
Is the disappointing bit they did on ITV still part of the show? If your talking about the quick change bit, then that’s a yes but it’s been reworked since being on tv.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2019 22:25:52 GMT
Is the disappointing bit they did on ITV still part of the show? If your talking about the quick change bit, then that’s a yes but it’s been reworked since being on tv. Ah, good, thanks, hope it works better. It’s the first time I’ve been disappointed by Mischief and was putting me off booking. Maybe I will see it in London after all...
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 17, 2019 19:08:33 GMT
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Post by Phantom of London on Sept 17, 2019 21:55:37 GMT
Surprised at the lack of traffic on this thread, considering it has been playing over a month. Sure I haven’t seen any reviews for this yet?
Any gunshots?
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Post by Phantom of London on Sept 17, 2019 22:00:26 GMT
Edit: erynconfused thought this doesn’t begin until before Christmas?
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Post by djdan14 on Sept 18, 2019 16:45:16 GMT
Surprised at the lack of traffic on this thread, considering it has been playing over a month. Sure I haven’t seen any reviews for this yet? Any gunshots? No gunshots but various pyrotechnics including a cannon but not particularly loud
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Post by tw on Sept 19, 2019 13:05:40 GMT
Extended to 31st May 2020.
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 19, 2019 18:19:37 GMT
That's interesting. I wonder why? While it looks like it's sold well over Christmas there's plenty of availability for the rest of the run so I find it hard to belive it's due to overwhelming demand. It makes me wonder whether something has happened to delay the third show, whatever that is going to be.
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Post by danielwhit on Dec 14, 2019 19:13:41 GMT
Outside theatre at the moment for first WE performance.
House not yet open at 7.13pm. According to Front of House, the dress rehearsal went well and they're currently putting "finishing touches to the set". We've had several waves of FoH staff reassuring people that they won't start the show until everyone is inside (obviously..).
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Post by danielwhit on Dec 14, 2019 22:54:25 GMT
And I'm out.
That was the first time I've stepped out of a Mischief show or recording feeling flat.
There are some good moments in this, the Mind Mangler stuff is all solid (partially as a direct result of Henry Lewis) but otherwise it's ropey and too obvious.
Half of Act 1 I spent not knowing whether something was meant to have gone wrong, whether we were meant to see something or not and other considerations - which led to a confused narrative and lack of clarity about what show we should be seeing.
Act 2 improved in parts, it opened well and had a solid final two "acts" but the middle was weak.
I don't think there's anything funny about the concept of seeing someone "drown" on stage with a member of the audience involved in the "trick" which went wrong which "led to it", especially as another audience member is on stage counting up each 30 seconds on a stopwatch. Even though on one level the audience know the actor is fine, there's limits which farce/comedy should be and this does not match the point the company have been working with until now.
Theres a warning in the foyer for something akin to "there are scenes which may be triggering for some people" - not a warning you should see when you walk into a comedy.
Horrendous misfire.
Which is a tragedy considering the heights this ensemble have been at before. Its even less forgivable considering the amount of workshopping/try outs this show has had before its West End opening.
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Post by Dawnstar on Dec 14, 2019 23:46:19 GMT
Theres a warning in the foyer for something akin to "there are scenes which may be triggering for some people" - not a warning you should see when you walk into a comedy. The scene I had a real problem with was the lady-sawn-in-half trick going wrong, which made me feel sick. Yes, obviously I know it's not real, but I don't want to see fake entrails on stage either. I'm not sure I want to see the show again because of that scene. If I do then I'll have my eyes shut for that. As someone with pretty much a lifelong dislike of magic shows I'm not really a good person to comment on the rest of it. Some of it I reasonably liked - my favourite scene from the try-outs 18 months ago has survived mostly unchanged & is still my favourite scene, Henry Shields' doves act - & other parts I wasn't so keen on. For anyone who's seen the TV bits, the Mind Mangler is still in but there is mercifully no sign of the deeply annoying character Nancy appeared as. For anyone who saw the try-outs as part of the MMN tour: the first trick that was done by Bryony & Jonathan is now done by Henry S & Dave; Bryony's other tricks are gone & she now plays a totally different character; the Mind Mangler has had changes but most of the tricks are similar; as already said, the doves act is pretty similar. As I didn't see it at the Lowry I don't know how much has changed from that. A certain amount of back-story has been added which does have an emotional pay-off at the end, which I think is an improvement, but I didn't find myself caring about the characters & wanting them to suceed in the way I do with the Cornley characters in the previous Goes Wrong shows. I suppose I feel that whereas the previous 4 shows broadly form an ascent of trying to increase characterisation & emotion, this one doesn't follow the same trend. I'm sure it will be very successful with the public but it's not really for me.
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Post by danielwhit on Dec 15, 2019 0:59:07 GMT
Yes, agreed that the dove act was very well executed. However the missing doves pre-show really was "have you seen Winston?" all over again. And Henry Lewis' door problems was also a Play rip off in many ways.
Agree that the saw in half thing went too far, although the idea that she actually was going to be cut in half was so clearly signposted that it was virtually pointless.
The emotional arc at the end smacked of "guys, let's put some character stuff in now!" and it wasn't done well enough for me to care at all. The very convenient "she was my mum" thing was daft. The father/son plot made a lot of sense in terms of explaining why Shields' character was the way he was.
The problem with Mischief's emotional stuff is they set it up in the same way as they set up jokes, whereas it needs to be seeded in a totally different way. I get this is clearly where they want to start going creatively - Groan Ups is the best evidence if this - however they definitely are not there yet in this regard.
On a separate note, where's Charlie Russell?
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Post by Dawnstar on Dec 15, 2019 13:56:52 GMT
Agree that the saw in half thing went too far, although the idea that she actually was going to be cut in half was so clearly signposted that it was virtually pointless. I knew it was going to happen because one of the producers, who knows I'm very squeamish, warned me beforehand. That still didn't stop me feeling sick actually watching it though. On a separate note, where's Charlie Russell? I spotted her in the audience last night. I don't know why she's not in the show though. She did have a small role in the try-outs 18 months ago so I was surprised when the announced the cast that she wasn't in it. Running time warning for anyone seeing it soon, the programme gives the running time as 2h15 but last night we didn't get out until nearly 10.15pm. Admittedly some of that was due to a late start & the interval over-running a bit but Act 1 ran about an hour & Act 2 nearly 1h10 so allowing for a 20 mins interval it's nearer 2h30 to 2h15 at the moment. It'll be interesting to hear if they do manage to get it down to 2h15 later in the run.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 15, 2019 14:12:38 GMT
And I'm out. That was the first time I've stepped out of a Mischief show or recording feeling flat. There are some good moments in this, the Mind Mangler stuff is all solid (partially as a direct result of Henry Lewis) but otherwise it's ropey and too obvious. Half of Act 1 I spent not knowing whether something was meant to have gone wrong, whether we were meant to see something or not and other considerations - which led to a confused narrative and lack of clarity about what show we should be seeing. Act 2 improved in parts, it opened well and had a solid final two "acts" but the middle was weak. I don't think there's anything funny about the concept of seeing someone "drown" on stage with a member of the audience involved in the "trick" which went wrong which "led to it", especially as another audience member is on stage counting up each 30 seconds on a stopwatch. Even though on one level the audience know the actor is fine, there's limits which farce/comedy should be and this does not match the point the company have been working with until now. Theres a warning in the foyer for something akin to "there are scenes which may be triggering for some people" - not a warning you should see when you walk into a comedy. Horrendous misfire. Which is a tragedy considering the heights this ensemble have been at before. Its even less forgivable considering the amount of workshopping/try outs this show has had before its West End opening. This does not sound good. The drowning scene?!... The response after they did a bit on BBC a year ago was so terrible you'd think they'd have pulled their socks up. How is this going to run into the extension period they've just announced? Do we think they'll bin it and Nimax will put a different show in, or are Mischief responsible for what goes tin there for the entirety of their residency? (Or even, and I'm loathed to say it, being back Groan Ups?)
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Post by MrBraithwaite on Dec 15, 2019 15:19:19 GMT
Wow, that doesn't sound too good. And I was happy they had extended, so I could book for this in March. Will wait for more reviews I think.
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