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Post by ceebee on Jul 14, 2024 6:21:41 GMT
Ooft, I’m getting flashbacks to the ‘Les Mis Concert at the Gielgud’ thread. I don’t think you afforded the same courtesy to Alfie Boe (or Michael Ball) when praising John Owen Jones (and Earl Carpenter). 😬 critically assessing someone's attendance/performance is completely different to wishing they become indisposed though, hope you know the difference  Hmmm. Reads to me like the same thing and you're just nitpicking. |
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Post by andypandy on Jul 14, 2024 7:21:59 GMT
I saw this last night in the hell hole of the Cliffs Theatre in Southend
The narrow stage in Southend is very wide and thin (like a letter box) not a traditional pros arch. It’s very ugly and flat to look at.
The cliffs is also not a proper theatre but almost a conference centre with wooden floors and no rake in the auditorium until the very back of the stalls. (Expensive seats too!)
The show? I’ve seen JCS many times over the past 3 decades. The choreography in this productions is amateur and just plain weird, I hated the hoody type costumes, the sound was low, lacking power (and mostly bad). I missed 70 per cent of the lyrics, the acting was very insular with mostly dead pan faces - but what SENSATIONAL voices!
Also in 2024 I wonder if this show would gain the same social support? You basically see a man tortured to death and whipped with glitter and everyone claps with thunderous applause. Plus the casting of so many shows today preach that they needs to be authentic - while in JCS we all accept that white and African heritage and mixed race performers play these roles clearly historically set in the Middle East supposedly 2000 year ago. Plus don’t get me started on stunt casting Julian Clary as Herod.
Still with all the issues, hatred for the Cliffs Theatre and problems the voices were stunning.
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Post by 141920grm on Jul 14, 2024 9:17:21 GMT
critically assessing someone's attendance/performance is completely different to wishing they become indisposed though, hope you know the difference Hmmm. Reads to me like the same thing and you're just nitpicking. BIG yikes that you think that, but you do you |
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Post by blamerobots on Jul 14, 2024 11:18:26 GMT
I saw this last night in the hell hole of the Cliffs Theatre in Southend The narrow stage in Southend is very wide and thin (like a letter box) not a traditional pros arch. It’s very ugly and flat to look at. The cliffs is also not a proper theatre but almost a conference centre with wooden floors and no rake in the auditorium until the very back of the stalls. (Expensive seats too!) The ol' Cliffs is definitely a victim of the 1960's  Many shows find themselves absolutely struggling to fit inside the space, because as said previously there is NO backstage to speak of. You have the wings, and that is it. It needs help desperately but unfortunately its one of those theatres limping along to get by. I'm surprised not many touring shows go for the Palace Theatre in Southend instead, a traditional proscenium arch stage. It is smaller, though. That aside, the sound at the Cliffs does utterly SUCK. Shame you couldn't hear much. |
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3,426 posts
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Post by ceebee on Jul 14, 2024 12:30:24 GMT
Admittedly I was near the front at the Cliffs and for me the sound was excellent - it's funny because my experience at Bromley was terrible and the sound and quality there influenced my thinking about having alt Jesus yesterday, but I've still got goosebumps at Charlie's Gethsemane, which made my earlier complaints look vaguely stupid as he belted his way through the high notes.
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3,426 posts
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Post by ceebee on Jul 14, 2024 12:35:37 GMT
I saw this last night in the hell hole of the Cliffs Theatre in Southend The narrow stage in Southend is very wide and thin (like a letter box) not a traditional pros arch. It’s very ugly and flat to look at. The cliffs is also not a proper theatre but almost a conference centre with wooden floors and no rake in the auditorium until the very back of the stalls. (Expensive seats too!) The show? I’ve seen JCS many times over the past 3 decades. The choreography in this productions is amateur and just plain weird, I hated the hoody type costumes, the sound was low, lacking power (and mostly bad). I missed 70 per cent of the lyrics, the acting was very insular with mostly dead pan faces - but what SENSATIONAL voices! Also in 2024 I wonder if this show would gain the same social support? You basically see a man tortured to death and whipped with glitter and everyone claps with thunderous applause. Plus the casting of so many shows today preach that they needs to be authentic - while in JCS we all accept that white and African heritage and mixed race performers play these roles clearly historically set in the Middle East supposedly 2000 year ago. Plus don’t get me started on stunt casting Julian Clary as Herod. Still with all the issues, hatred for the Cliffs Theatre and problems the voices were stunning. Julian Clary was, quite simply, awful. Despise the stunt casting (malapropism?) for this - I also despise the fact that despite working their backsides off all night, the rest of the cast seemingly have to turn and applaud Clary at the curtain call whilst remaining static for everybody else. They don't love him THAT much, surely... I loved seeing Matt Bateman (Annas) get a loud cheer at the bows. I love his particularly obsessive psychotic Annas who becomes more obsessed and unhinged as the show goes on, right down to the way he smashes his mic stand down on the metal cruficifix. I also love his bit with the cymbals: "Judas thank you for the victim, stay a while and you'll see him bleed." He has made the most of the part and like Luke Street is an actor I'll be keeping an eye out for in future. As for Hannah Richardson (Mary), my request would be to please get on and record/release a solo album! |
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Post by dontdreamit on Jul 14, 2024 13:09:54 GMT
Probability and chance are a funny thing. I had to go to the Covid OAT version 9 times before I saw Riccardo and the young Latin (forgot his name sorry) Jesus. Had 8 Declan and Tyrone shows before…. I was the other way around, I saw about 6/7 shows until I got to see Declan Bennett. Deff saw Pepe more as Jesus despite trying and failing to work out what the Declan shows would be lol |
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Jul 14, 2024 17:48:26 GMT
Saw Julian Clary for the first time in Southend (had Timo the previous 2 times I went) and I wish I hadn't. I've never seen the song performed so underwhelmingly with such little energy. He didn't sing a single word and his 'adlibs' were just not funny?
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Post by littlefan on Aug 7, 2024 18:02:41 GMT
Tonight's performance in Cheltenham is cancelled. The theatre posted 15 minutes ago that it was due to circumstances outside their control.
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1,349 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Aug 7, 2024 22:25:41 GMT
Tonight's performance in Cheltenham is cancelled. The theatre posted 15 minutes ago that it was due to circumstances outside their control. Local businesses were warned about a far-right protest reportedly planned in Cheltenham tonight - I imagine that was behind the cancellation. |
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Post by littlefan on Aug 10, 2024 12:55:46 GMT
The Everyman in Cheltenham is currently without power. If they can't get it back on by 3pm the matinee will not go ahead. After one cancelled performance already this week, this isn't quite the end to the tour that I'm sure the cast and crew were hoping for today!
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