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Post by Jon on Jul 26, 2024 15:44:50 GMT
I'm racking my brains for all the not so big boy bands so I'll spit ball them. Let Loose? North and South? Phixx? V? One True Voice? Point Break? Upside Down/Orange Orange?
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jul 26, 2024 16:53:51 GMT
zahidf were you at the matinee?!
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Post by zahidf on Jul 26, 2024 20:22:52 GMT
zahidf were you at the matinee?! Nope evening in the week |
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Post by kathryn on Jul 26, 2024 21:15:20 GMT
Do you remember their name?? There’s a Smash Hits FB page that posts up archive issues, so there might be some evidence of their existence there. I'm not meaning to be a tease here, but the name was close to "A1", who were much more successful. I was thinking "The One" but that search brings up various other groups. I'd have met him in 1999, but the group had disbanded by then. I wish I'd paid more attention, but this was the era of Pop Idol, reality TV and the like. Hmm, closest that springs to mind would be Another Level, but they broke up in 2000. Sorry, can’t think of anything more obscure than that starting with an ‘A’! |
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Post by kathryn on Jul 26, 2024 21:16:30 GMT
I'm racking my brains for all the not so big boy bands so I'll spit ball them. Let Loose? North and South? Phixx? V? One True Voice? Point Break? Upside Down/Orange Orange? Bad Boys Inc? Upside Down/Orange Orange did a gig at my school. We thought they were rubbish!! |
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Post by Jon on Jul 26, 2024 21:43:23 GMT
I'm not meaning to be a tease here, but the name was close to "A1", who were much more successful. I was thinking "The One" but that search brings up various other groups. I'd have met him in 1999, but the group had disbanded by then. I wish I'd paid more attention, but this was the era of Pop Idol, reality TV and the like. Hmm, closest that springs to mind would be Another Level, but they broke up in 2000. Sorry, can’t think of anything more obscure than that starting with an ‘A’! Another Level broke up in 2000?! I was thought it was 2001 or 2002? I only remember one song of theirs which is Freak Me as well as the song Dane Bowers did with Victoria Beckham, Out of Your Mind, |
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Post by kathryn on Jul 27, 2024 6:50:56 GMT
That’s what wiki says. There was a ‘Greatest Hits’ put out in 2002 by the record company, but the band were already broken up by then.
Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham was in 2000.
Gosh, I’m old. And clearly the target audience for this musical.
I should probably book a ticket 😂
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Post by ladidah on Jul 27, 2024 9:48:27 GMT
Got a ticket for this tonight, couldn't resist as it sounds fun
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Post by ladidah on Jul 27, 2024 18:32:54 GMT
Christ, its hot in here.
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Post by ladidah on Jul 27, 2024 19:51:22 GMT
Really not loving this, but will give the 2nd act a go (as half the tube is down anyway!)
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Post by darreno on Jul 27, 2024 19:58:55 GMT
Saw the matinee today and absolutely LOVED it! I had forgotten Miracle and Gracie were in it as I had booked it ages ago. Both of them are PERFECT for their respective roles.
So strange seeing the split reactions here in the thread, how unusual. I'm firmly on the LOVING it side though.
Just enough pathos, although I'd like a little more emphasis on the Mum/daughter relationship as the moment they have together is beautiful. The #CutFor bit is really good too, it elevatrs the piece from a simple lampooning on fangirl culture into something that has considerably more to say for itself.
Great fun, killer performances, the choreo is outstanding! Would see again tomorrow!
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Post by ladidah on Jul 27, 2024 21:44:39 GMT
Not a show for me. I felt like it couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be, a cult shocking musical or a sympathetic look at the misogyny towards teen girls. Felt half Heathers, half Babies. Lots of the lyrics are super fast so i didnt catch a lot.
On the bright side, the lead is incredible
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Post by ploverlover on Jul 31, 2024 20:25:16 GMT
Went to the matinee today and wasn’t sure what we’d make of it after reading the mixed views on here. Safe to say we all absolutely LOVED it and have already booked to go again.
I wouldn’t recommend front row seats though, the stage is high so you really have to look up… but it was great to see the cast up so close. I was also surprised that it wasn’t particularly hot in there considering the temperature outside.
The cast are all excellent with a few absolute stand-outs. Jasmine Elcock is exceptional, Gracie McGonigal impressive and Mary Malone played the ‘nasty’ just right - got a lot of laughs from us. Special mention for Lena Pattie Jones and Debbie Kurrup too who were both great!
The show is bonkers from start to finish, loads of fun.
A full 5* from the 3 of us for sure (ages 56, 45 and 14).
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Post by Mark on Jul 31, 2024 22:02:16 GMT
Booked again on the £15 offer (todaytix). Good seats available.
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 1, 2024 12:55:55 GMT
I too just booked under this offer. I am going on the 14th August.
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Post by loathehydrangeas on Aug 1, 2024 13:38:40 GMT
I saw this last Friday and had a fantastic time, thought it was very funny, especially if you're interested in boybands or online fandoms (they were playing BTS on my way out ha). Lots of great performances and catchy songs too. The Concert Medley really cracked me up. It reminded me of Everybody's Talking About Jamie in its humour/sentimental moments.
Quite a rowdy crowd in the Circle — lots of talking and filming and noisy snacks — but a very fun night out!
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 1, 2024 14:08:55 GMT
Let's see if they're taking the p**s out of my accent?
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Post by capybara on Aug 1, 2024 14:09:51 GMT
This is actually really good. I had no idea what to expect when I booked my ticket (£15 third row, well done to the Lyric for keeping theatre affordable!) but soon found myself captivated by this bonkers, borderline psychotic, Australian musical.
Yves Blake has seemingly done a brilliant job at capturing what it is to be a ‘fangirl’. From intense conversations with fellow fans about minute details, fan fiction dumps and the feeling that life won’t be worth living if you don’t handover your life savings to queue for hours and be there in the front row.
The book is really, really sharp. It’s stuffed full of humour and nods to the fangirl scene, as well as more generally what it is like to be a teenager. Jasmine Elcock is great as lead character Edna, while Mary Malone and Miracle Chance complete the friendship group, all bringing a suitable dash of eccentricity and comedy to the dynamic.
The show features a strong, young cast and it was great to see Gracie McGonigal back on stage after impressing so much with her vocals in The Little Big Things. I hadn’t quite expected her fangirl turn to be quite so psychotic but it really was quite something.
Also shout out Debbie Kurup, who played Edna’s mum. She made that mother daughter relationship really believable and heartfelt. Thomas Grant also hit the mark as pop icon Harry, really capturing the banality of the platitudes pop stars shower upon their adoring fans.
The score isn’t exactly conventional. There’s not really any big, memorable numbers in the traditional sense. It serves to power the narrative forward. The concert scene opening Act Two is impressive though, especially with the somewhat unexpected audience participation.
I didn’t expect much from Fangirls but ended up pleasantly surprised by its humour, relevance and heartfelt love letter to fan culture. It rightly highlights how female fandom is so often undermined in comparison to how the sports fandom of men is portrayed.
Four stars.
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Post by Dave B on Aug 2, 2024 12:08:43 GMT
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Post by Mark on Aug 3, 2024 21:23:49 GMT
Still no poll for this one?
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Post by Musical_Manda on Aug 4, 2024 14:40:54 GMT
I saw this one last week. I enjoyed it for what it was but felt that it skimmed over some of the issues which could have been dealt with better. The performances were fantastic though, vocally strong and had some really funny parts too. Here is my review if you're interested. musicalmanda.site/2024/07/28/fangirls-review/ |
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Post by freddyf on Aug 4, 2024 23:00:26 GMT
Eek, this was a painful show to sit through…
Besides the cast giving it there all, and some pretty cool floor/screen staging and choreography, I don’t really have much positive feedback to give. This is long, but hear me out…
The score: Largely forgettable and throwaway; I highly doubt i’ll be sticking on the cast recording anytime soon.
The book: Oh blimey. Act One and Act Two are essentially two separate shows.
Without spoiling anything to those who haven’t seen it, let’s just say I enjoyed the chaos of Act Two way more than the first, but that’s not necessarily a compliment! Act One felt like watching an episode of ‘The Sleepover Club’, whereas Act Two takes a curveball and attempts to ‘Heathers’ it up. It just did not gel at all. And the ending - oh the ending. It was the classic case of "gosh we have 5 minutes left, how are we gonna wrap this up?!" with the old-age solution of "ah, don’t worry about it - we’ll make every problem go away in an instant!". I was bewildered.
The set: As mentioned, some cool floor screens which I’ve personally not seen in a show before. I actually really liked this. However, the less can be said for the three oblong screens that descend from the rafters and are used for most of the show. From the Circle, the angle of the screens were completely off which resulted in some very wonky faces and unintentional audience laughter. In the more ‘serious’ scenes, it was hard to take the drama on stage seriously when this happened. I’d love to know if anyone from production watched the show from the Circle or above…Lord knows what the view from the Grand Circle was like!
The performances: Across the board, the cast were great with the material given to them. However, the Australian accents…well the less said about those the better.
However, my BIGGEST grievance has to be about representation and the messages/feelings I at least took away from it.
It was fabulous to have a POC lead and trans representation in the cast. More of this diversity please! However, I felt the material demonises the few diverse actors taking on these roles. For example, trans characters are primarily portrayed as bitchy, unlikeable and cruel. Maybe I’m taking this is a little too literally, but it just made me feel a little uncomfortable seeing as that was their ENTIRE character and not a lot more.
I also didn’t get the message the show was ultimately trying to convey - Fangirls aren’t crazy, but actually, they are…!? Well this is what it seemed like they were saying in Act Two.
The Circle was relatively empty on a Saturday matinee (even with heavily discounted tickets), which is always a shame to see, but can I see this having a life beyond Hammersmith? I don’t think so.
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Post by althea on Aug 5, 2024 0:51:28 GMT
Why do we think Sonia took this on? It sounds super divisive and a bit weird in tone. I'm seeing it on Friday and going in with low expectations. Does anyone think it can have a life beyond Hammersmith anywhere? Seems odd for SF to put money into something that isn't going to do anything...?
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Post by andrew on Aug 5, 2024 7:55:56 GMT
Why do we think Sonia took this on? It sounds super divisive and a bit weird in tone. I'm seeing it on Friday and going in with low expectations. Does anyone think it can have a life beyond Hammersmith anywhere? Seems odd for SF to put money into something that isn't going to do anything...? I assume she thought she had found the next Six, but I really can't (and don't want to) see it having a further life anywhere... |
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Post by ladidah on Aug 5, 2024 9:46:58 GMT
As I said earlier, for me, it needs to either go for full-on shocking or a tamer lesson on underestimating fangirls.
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