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Post by fluxcapacitor on Sept 9, 2021 12:22:44 GMT
Did I miss a workshop performance in London or something?! I've been patiently waiting for it to come nearer so I could see it. HA I 100% posted this in the wrong thread! 😂 I was reading this and Bat Out Of Hell at the same time and posted the wrong one Phew! I honestly would have been livid with myself if I’d missed something like that 😅
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Sept 9, 2021 14:53:40 GMT
It was about 2hrs 45 in London from memory. Did I miss a workshop performance in London or something?! I've been patiently waiting for it to come nearer so I could see it. It was at The Marlowe Canterbury a couple of weeks ago and will be The Orchard Dartford in November
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Post by fluxcapacitor on Sept 9, 2021 15:41:27 GMT
Did I miss a workshop performance in London or something?! I've been patiently waiting for it to come nearer so I could see it. It was at The Marlowe Canterbury a couple of weeks ago and will be The Orchard Dartford in November Thanks. I'm booked in for Milton Keynes already, I was just worried I'd somehow missed an early London-based reading or something somewhere down the line despite following the development of the show quite closely!
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Post by robertb213 on Sept 17, 2021 12:49:30 GMT
I saw this in MK last night (thanks to a £13 ATG Club bargain), and really loved it.
As others have said, the creative have really thought about how to make a piece of theatre. This isn't just the film plonked on stage. Scenes are staged cleverly and dynamically, the puppetry is brilliantly done and the whole thing has a wonderful old-school feel to it, reminiscent of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The effects are mostly brilliant (a couple do still need to be slicker), and the new songs blend well with the original material. Dianne Pilkington is great, as are the kids.
Initially I was thrown by the ending, but as I drove home thinking about it, it did make sense and I think it works.
If the show doesn't get a decent sit-down London run after the tour it will be a real shame, it completely deserves it. It's a magical show that will make children fall in love with theatre.
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Post by Dr Tom on Sept 22, 2021 9:21:13 GMT
Attended this in Woking yesterday. Front row, but you are a long way back from the stage due to the wide orchestra pit (possibly intentionally too due to how they stage the magical effects).
I was impressed. I'm sure I must have seen the film, but I really can't remember it.
It is really a series of scenes, each visually impressive. Lots of magic tricks. The flying is done well within all the limitations of a touring set (I could see the mechanism with the broomstick, but not with the bed although I assume it's the same). They used some depth perception techniques to disguise how everything worked.
Loved the use of puppets as well.
Great to see Conor O’Hara in the lead role, having seen him during his Mountview days. He was an excellent Charlie. Dianne Pilkington and Charles Brunton are perfect for their roles too. And we had two perfectly cast younger children, who were on the stage for almost the entire show.
I would certainly see this again, but I think this would struggle a bit in the West End. Despite the special effects, it is still quite a small show. You really want to sit close to see a lot of the puppets and the small scale magic. And it isn't anywhere near as known for young children as Mary Poppins (as attested by the child sat behind me who kept loudly asking his father questions). But it could work in a smaller theatre which still has space for the set.
If you do want to see this, the theatre in Woking is very pleasant and this is an easy railway journey from London (the theatre is near the station, services run until late and the evening return to London is about £14 without a railcard).
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Post by Mark on Sept 22, 2021 9:35:13 GMT
If you do want to see this, the theatre in Woking is very pleasant and this is an easy railway journey from London (the theatre is near the station, services run until late and the evening return to London is about £14 without a railcard). Glad you enjoyed Dr Tom and to hear that the theatre is nice! Making my first trip to Woking on Thursday, in what along with Wimbledon are now probably my closest two big touring theatres (Made the move to West London, near Heathrow last year).
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Post by Mark on Sept 23, 2021 22:03:15 GMT
What fun this was! Absolutely loved it, particularly Dianne Pilkington giving a wonderful leading performance. I’ll agree that I was a bit taken aback by the ending but I get where they’re going with it. The first big number for Miss Price was just brilliant! And Portobello Road a great production number. Hope this makes it into town - definitely needs a small to mid sized theatre though like the Lyric, Wyndhams or maybe at a push the Savoy.
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Post by sph on Sept 24, 2021 0:12:46 GMT
I saw it earlier in the week and it was quite magical. The staging is very clever and, at times, quite witty. It's like the creatives went in KNOWING that this is a "big-but-not-as-big-as-Mary-Poppins" childhood film so decided to have some real fun with it.
Yes, the ending is quite divisive. I didn't love it necessarily, but they sort of made up for it in the last few minutes.
The use of puppets was great, the flying effects were genuinely surprising along with most of the stage magic, and the show is very fast-paced considering its length.
Performances were really good. You don't get the same nuance as you do in the film of course, and perhaps character direction has been lost a little in favour of all the movement and trickery. I still enjoyed everyone in it though.
All in all, a very clever show. It does sort of tease you all the way through. Sort of a "yes you know what's coming but we're going to do it THIS way," which was fun. Definitely worth seeing.
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Post by properjob on Oct 8, 2021 22:03:39 GMT
Just caught this. As others have said it is absolutely beautifully staged and the effects are impressive.
It has the common problem of film musical adaptions of the new songs being less good than the ones from the film that we know and love. I also didn't really warm to the male lead but maybe nobody can compete with David Tomlinson. A couple of moinor quibbles are that I felt they could have done even more with Portobello road and made it a proper show stopper and the automatic follow spots are not as good as human operators and jarred.
Having said that it is an amazing piece of really innovative theatre magic and well worth seeing.
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Post by Mark on Oct 15, 2021 19:15:46 GMT
A little look at the show.
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 15, 2021 19:44:04 GMT
I am heading up tomorrow to Manchester tomorrow for the first time and will cath this show on Wednesday night.
Will meet up with BurlyBear as well.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 15, 2021 20:41:43 GMT
I am heading up tomorrow to Manchester tomorrow for the first time and will cath this show on Wednesday night. Will meet up with BurlyBear as well. Don’t be feeding me TimTams and Violet Crumbles I’m on a diet! 😀
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Post by danb on Oct 16, 2021 4:55:07 GMT
We shall have to put the riot police on standby 😂 Behave yourself lads!
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 16, 2021 8:27:01 GMT
I am heading up tomorrow to Manchester tomorrow for the first time and will cath this show on Wednesday night. Will meet up with BurlyBear as well. Don’t be feeding me TimTams and Violet Crumbles I’m on a diet! 😀 Hadn't really considered it but now that you mention it, by chance, I just happened to have a spare packet of Tim Tams in the drawer. Already packed; I don't care about diets. No Violet Crumbles
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Post by richey on Oct 16, 2021 12:03:32 GMT
I am heading up tomorrow to Manchester tomorrow for the first time and will cath this show on Wednesday night. Will meet up with BurlyBear as well. Aww I'm going on Tuesday night, shame it wasn't a day later or we could have had a mini board meetup
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Post by richey on Oct 19, 2021 21:05:38 GMT
Currently sat in a show stop on opening night in Manchester. A few minutes before the end, stage manager ushered everyone off stage and announcement there is a technical problem
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 19, 2021 21:57:02 GMT
Currently sat in a show stop on opening night in Manchester. A few minutes before the end, stage manager ushered everyone off stage and announcement there is a technical problem What happened? Are you still there? (It’s 11pm 😀)
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Post by richey on Oct 19, 2021 22:05:10 GMT
Currently sat in a show stop on opening night in Manchester. A few minutes before the end, stage manager ushered everyone off stage and announcement there is a technical problem What happened? Are you still there? (It’s 11pm 😀) Show restarted after about 10 mins. It was almost at the end- where Charlie shouts at the enemy. I think the stop had something to do with the girl playing Carrie. Everyone was saying it was a different girl when it was restarted (we were too high up in the circle to tell)
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Post by benny20 on Oct 19, 2021 22:35:46 GMT
Yeah..a few minutes before the stop I wondered where Carrie had gone ...then the show stopped..and a new Carrie appeared for the last ten minutes. Very enjoyable show. Terrific ensemble who run the show and scenery...Good tricks and flying...Good Central performances. Nice to see a show with some different ideas
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 20, 2021 21:46:00 GMT
I really enjoyed it but had a few niggles. The number of people on stage continually pushing the set around or working the effects was very distracting. The songs were pleasant but forgettable and in the ensemble pieces, especially Portobello Road the whole thing looked unnecessarily squashed on the stage of the Palace with the cast almost bumping into eachother. It’s obviously designed for much smaller stages. Also the little boy lost his energy in the second act. More positively it’s a charming mixture of traditional and modern stage magic. The puppets are good and the actress working that gull/cormorant/bird thingy was acting the actual f*** out of it. Also, how that bed flies with 5 people on it I have no idea, it was not on wires and there was no arm coming from the back. And at one point… {Spoiler - click to view}She flies on the broom through an open window. Eat THAT Wicked!
it’s very Poppin-esque in many respects but without the sophistication or pizazz. Kids (not too young) would love it I think. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5.
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 21, 2021 7:31:41 GMT
So this was an unexpected, pleasant surprise that, in truth, exceeded my expectations.
There were quick, almost seamless transition and scene changes and an extremely hard working cast- especially the ensemble.
This is a cleverly, well thought out show and the opening sequence of the bombing of London and the children being sent on a train to the countryside is extremely well done.
The ensemble play multiple characters however (at times) them moving set pieces about can be somewhat distracting.
The whole show- including the old songs and the new ones- are well sung and performed.
As referenced above by BurlyBeaR, the Portobello Road scene did look somewhat cramped with the ensemble dancing and around market stall carts.
There is a lot going on in this show, with a lot of stage trickery and magic skills being put to use.
Both BurlyBeaR and I were questioning in the intermission as to how they made that bed fly. And how the female lead could ride a broomstick?
The puppets were put to good use.
The whole fish sequence in the second half at the bottom of the blimey sea was well performed. Watch out for quick costume changes and Rob Madge who is in the ensemble but really shines as the main fish.
Personally, I loved the Secretary Bird who appears a little later on.
Lots of kids in the audience who were relatively well behaved.
A thoroughly enjoyable show, well up to West End standards
It was also nice to see and catch up with BurlyBeaR.
If the show comes close to where you are, go and see it.
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Post by TallPaul on Oct 21, 2021 12:33:33 GMT
What we all want to know, anthony40, is did you and BB have an ice cream during the intermission and, more importantly, who paid? 🙂
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 21, 2021 12:39:23 GMT
What we all want to know, anthony40, is did you and BB have an ice cream during the intermission and, more importantly, who paid? 🙂 Lol! No we did not. Circumstances meant that we couldn’t catch up before the show so I gave him my seat location and he waved at me as he passed my row and then we caught up at intermission. There was no ice cream. Sorry to disappoint. If ever the opportunity arises to do so, BurleyBeaR is softly spoken very friendly man. A really nice guy.
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Post by jaqs on Oct 23, 2021 10:27:08 GMT
For those that have been, do you have to adhere to the entry time on your booking? have a very early one for today.
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Post by Mark on Oct 23, 2021 10:30:15 GMT
For those that have been, do you have to adhere to the entry time on your booking? have a very early one for today. Guidance only.
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Post by jaqs on Oct 23, 2021 10:31:25 GMT
Thanks
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Post by interval99 on Oct 23, 2021 10:41:05 GMT
For those that have been, do you have to adhere to the entry time on your booking? have a very early one for today. Did first time and just got to wait for twenty minutes in a crowded foyer as the auditorium was not opened so won't be doing any earlier than 30 minutes before from now on. Worth giving extra time for queue if covid passes being checked.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 23, 2021 14:25:43 GMT
For those that have been, do you have to adhere to the entry time on your booking? have a very early one for today. Covid vaccination document checks are being done at the doors of The Palace. And yes they’re actually looking at your phone/paperwork.
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Post by crabtree on Oct 23, 2021 18:12:23 GMT
and temperature checks. But what a great show, so slick and that ensemble working their butts off, as well as the stage management. Some gorgeous imagery, and the illusions are wonderful - thank heavens for black velvet and precise lighting. The plot is a bit tortured. I did like the different ending, even if a little overstated. But hurrah!
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 23, 2021 18:17:43 GMT
and temperature checks. But what a great show, so slick and that ensemble working their butts off, as well as the stage management. Some gorgeous imagery, and the illusions are wonderful - thank heavens for black velvet and precise lighting. The plot is a bit tortured. I did like the different ending, even if a little overstated. But hurrah! Worked out how they made that bed fly yet?
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