Theatre Thread

[gmoney]

No but my mate was in one. Not sure what company it was, but he was one of the jurors and his job was to keep things moving and make sure the "real" jurors kept talking etc. He's a pretty charming guy and one night one of the other jurors mistook his asking questions and enthusiasm for something a bit more and asked for his number. 

[Frankie Crisp]

We went to watch a one-man adaptation of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists last night and it was unreal.

The book is my favourite and the most important political piece I’ve read, so I was curious as to how the bloke would manage to deliver it given the importance of each different character.

Bloody hell, he absolutely nailed it. No costume changes other than switching hats, so it was his mannerisms, facial expressions and change of body shape which made you instantly know which character he was is.

Not only did he captivate the audience with his performance, he also took the tickets, managed the house lights and sorted the post-show exits.

It’s a very low budget, high quality show that’s done a few spots around the country but the lack of investment means they don’t have a marketing budget. One to keep an eye out for and at £15 a ticket, you’d get the bargain of the century if you get to see it.

We came out wanting to shoot capitalists, so it had the same impact as each time I’ve read the book.

Edited May 7 by Frankie Crisp

[Onyx2]

This might go in the theatre thread, the movie one, or the gig one, but I saw the David Bowie You're Never Alone at Lightroom this evening. It's sort of a collage of performances, interviews, artwork and photos of ol' Dave. But it takes place in the Lightroom venue outside King's Cross. It's a massive fucking barn of a place, with the film projected across all 4 walls, floor etc. 

Actually lives up to the superlative 'immersive'. You are in the performance with his incredible songs. When Space Oddity plays it cuts forward between gigs through the decades seamlessly and as the music grew I welled up. His music is just so powerful. Great stuff. 

[BomberPat]

I was up in the Lake District last week, and went to the recently renamed Victoria Wood Theatre, for Fourteen Again - it's a musical by Tom MacRae, using the songs of Victoria Wood. The plot is a bit Freaky Friday, and when you already know the songbook the way it gets into some of the songs is incredibly mechanical, so I'm not sure it always works, but just as a celebration of Victoria Wood's work it holds together well and enough and was a lot of fun. I can see it moving to bigger venues, and probably being tightened up a fair bit by the time it gets there, so one worth looking out for.

[WalshDog]

Watched Karate Kid the musical this afternoon and was quite decent. Did miss having the original soundtrack songs like You're the best and didn't hear "put him in a body bag" at the end. Guess there's copyright issues and cost a lot to use the songs 🤣

Good cast with Mr Miyagi played well and fighting parts were done well. Not bad for £15 and watched 2nd half right at the front, as a few empty seats there.

Edited May 17 by WalshDog

[WyattSheepMask]

1 hour ago, WalshDog said:

Watched Karate Kid the musical this afternoon and was quite decent. Did miss having the original soundtrack songs like You're the best and didn't hear "put him in a body bag" at the end. Guess there's copyright issues and cost a lot to use the songs 🤣

Good cast with Mr Miyagi played well and fighting parts were done well. Not bad for £15 and watched 2nd half right at the front, as a few empty seats there.

Nice to see that Les Alanos finally got it off the ground

 

[WalshDog]

6 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Nice to see that Les Alanos finally got it off the ground

 

Meant to also say, I was gutted Spencer wasn't in it, saying LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE.🤣

[Gus Mears]

Had to go watch Moulin Rouge with my partner's family who are here to visit. Fucking awful.

All the songs wankers like but in a musical and sung by a troop of arseholes. Despite the setting, about as titillating as your grandad on a hot day with his vest on. I hated this.

Edited May 20 by Gus Mears

[Carbomb]

Well, if you will insist on going to musicals...

[Carbomb]

At The Globe again, for Berthold Brecht's Mother Courage. Looking forward to this; it's had a lot of good reviews.

 

EDIT: This was stunning. Michelle Terry smashes it again, and the rest of the cast more than hold up their side. Terry's comedy beats and improv are always amazing, and they tee you up to have your heart ripped in two as Mother Courage tries to navigate a brutal war with her children, selling all manner of supplies and entertainment to both sides, and gradually loses everything. It hurts, like anything about war is supposed to. This was the closing night, but I'm glad I got to see it before it finished. The Globe very rarely disappoints.

Edited June 27 by Carbomb
Darren Huckerby

[WyattSheepMask]

My Neighbor Totoro is set to end its run in the West End at the end of January next year. Rumour is that it is heading to Japan

[Carbomb]

It really is bloody brilliant, that production. Anyone who's not been and who loved the film, go. You really won't regret it.

[Jazzy G]

On 6/27/2026 at 7:32 PM, Carbomb said:

At The Globe again, for Berthold Brecht's Mother Courage. Looking forward to this; it's had a lot of good reviews.

 

EDIT: This was stunning. Michelle Terry smashes it again, and the rest of the cast more than hold up their side. Terry's comedy beats and improv are always amazing, and they tee you up to have your heart ripped in two as Mother Courage tries to navigate a brutal war with her children, selling all manner of supplies and entertainment to both sides, and gradually loses everything. It hurts, like anything about war is supposed to. This was the closing night, but I'm glad I got to see it before it finished. The Globe very rarely disappoints.

When I studied music the performing arts lot did a production of Caucasian Chalk Circle and we did the music for it. It went really well. 

[Carbomb]

The Globe again. This time for As You Like It.

Set's a bit odd. I'm guessing it'll be moved about a bit.

 

Anyone else know why picture links have been recently refusing to embed?

 

EDIT: They did do more with it. Currently half-time, so can take a pic. The right-hand, left-hand, and centre panels slide sideways for the entrances, and during certain sections, artists drew on the blank faces. Very slick.

 

Edited August 14 by Carbomb
Roger Milla

[Carbomb]

At the risk of sounding repetitive and uncritical, this was another corker. It was opening night, so there were some things that needed ironing out, but for the overwhelming majority of it, it was excellent. Some of the actors need to project a bit better, as a bit of the dialogue was getting lost, but otherwise it was bang on, with the Shakespearean verse being rendered smoothly with modern intonation, like most Globe productions nowadays, to hit all the comedy beats and get laughs from the audience.

I don't want to labour the point too much, because I want to praise it than detract from it, but the Globe crew is very diverse in its casting these days, and the lead of Orlando was played by a trans man - I'm glad to see it. They were very good, though were one of the actors who needed to project a bit more; this will obviously come with time as they get further into the run.

Anyway, this was the kind of comedy I've come to expect from the Globe now: excellently produced and realised, funny as hell, and a ton of fun.