546 posts
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Post by drmaplewood on Mar 16, 2024 7:49:58 GMT
Following the mass ticket sales post comic relief, they’re now selling standing “listening only” tickets for 15 quid. Christ. What! |
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Post by max on Mar 16, 2024 8:15:16 GMT
Following the mass ticket sales post comic relief, they’re now selling standing “listening only” tickets for 15 quid. Christ. What! The Old Vic has always had some seats that are so restricted they class them as suitable for listening only. - though maybe this production hadn't put them on sale til now? They might turn into 'singalong seats' unofficially.... Re. them adding the queueing system to get into the website last night - I tried it, and it wasn't the case at 10pm. There's only one ticket available for today's matinee, and a handful for the evening performance. So it's obviously selling very well for the final fortnight. Will be interesting to see if it comes off TodayTix (whatever size allocation they've had til now). |
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Post by shownut on Mar 16, 2024 8:49:56 GMT
A queue of 5000 and still it’s not sold the handful of tickets left in the run? Hmmmm Exactly. Not to bust anyone's bubble but a queue of 5,000 isn't an impressive number for a West End show ticket line. Those tickets sold would be roughly 4-5 performances for a regular sized West End theatre. Certainly not enough to ingite desire or excitement around a transfer. |
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Post by ceebee on Mar 16, 2024 9:18:53 GMT
A queue of 5000 and still it’s not sold the handful of tickets left in the run? Hmmmm Exactly. Not to bust anyone's bubble but a queue of 5,000 isn't an impressive number for a West End show ticket line. Those tickets sold would be roughly 4-5 performances for a regular sized West End theatre. Certainly not enough to ingite desire or excitement around a transfer. Clearly there's enough desire and excitement to give the producers the confidence to transfer it. 5000 people voluntarily choosing to check out the show after a ten minute TV appearance is good enough for me. They went with no carrot dangled for seat offers, new booking period etc. They went because they were interested. At 10pm on a Friday night. Clearly the producers have a good idea how well this will sell - it has outsold Groundhog Day measured over a similar timespan. Not bad for a new musical. |
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Post by theatrelover123 on Mar 16, 2024 9:24:36 GMT
I quite enjoyed the Comic Relief performance… always hard for musical theatre to come across well on TV, but the medley gave a good flavour of the show. I’m glad this’ll have a further life in the West End and will look forward to finding out where it’s going and when. Agree - looking forward to the transfer and the show reaching a wider audience. Shows rarely shine on TV and the social media haters will always drop their pearls of poison regardless. I'm pleased for all involved that it'll have a longer life. Why are they haters dropping pearls of poison because they don’t like the look of a show - or didn’t like the show after they saw it - just because you like it? Please respect other people’s opinions |
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Post by mrnutz on Mar 16, 2024 9:44:06 GMT
The Comic Relief performance made this look even worse than it does on stage. No mean feat 😂
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Post by danb on Mar 16, 2024 9:52:17 GMT
Anyone know what time the performance was on Comic Relief? I watched McFly, and a bit more, than glazed over. I can whizz through it on iplayer.
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Post by theatreismagic on Mar 16, 2024 10:45:42 GMT
Agree - looking forward to the transfer and the show reaching a wider audience. Shows rarely shine on TV and the social media haters will always drop their pearls of poison regardless. I'm pleased for all involved that it'll have a longer life. Why are they haters dropping pearls of poison because they don’t like the look of a show - or didn’t like the show after they saw it - just because you like it? Please respect other people’s opinions Exactly. Whilst Comic Relief is wonderful and I'm sure everyone participating was doing it with good intent, it is obviously promotion for the show - that's why they announced its transfer on there. People are free to express their opinions on that promotional performance. I didn't enjoy it but I can see it having a strong pull based on nostalgia alone. |
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Post by lou105 on Mar 16, 2024 11:11:29 GMT
Anyone know what time the performance was on Comic Relief? I watched McFly, and a bit more, than glazed over. I can whizz through it on iplayer. About 9.20 |
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Post by ceebee on Mar 16, 2024 11:16:52 GMT
Agree - looking forward to the transfer and the show reaching a wider audience. Shows rarely shine on TV and the social media haters will always drop their pearls of poison regardless. I'm pleased for all involved that it'll have a longer life. Why are they haters dropping pearls of poison because they don’t like the look of a show - or didn’t like the show after they saw it - just because you like it? Please respect other people’s opinions I didn't say I didn't respect their opinion. Anybody is entitled to a view on anything. Even when based on 10 minutes TV coverage in a charity fundraiser. However, I'm so much more interested in those who want to find out more, potentially buy tickets and pour money into this fantastic industry we all love so much, entertaining many whilst sustaining creative livelihoods. That's far more interesting than the view of Angry Andy from Andover, who's feeling bolshy on his socials after a couple of Stella's and probably hates all musical theatre anyway. |
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Post by BVM on Mar 16, 2024 12:47:02 GMT
Speaking of haters - the 12 one stars for this came early (like, most in the first week) and have not budged for ages.
Meanwhile the three, four and five star ratings have surged ahead as the run has continued.
Is this a social phenomenon or has the show got much better?
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Post by ceebee on Mar 16, 2024 14:02:28 GMT
Speaking of haters - the 12 one stars for this came early (like, most in the first week) and have not budged for ages. Meanwhile the three, four and five star ratings have surged ahead as the run has continued. Is this a social phenomenon or has the show got much better? Probably a bit of both. My view (and I know others disagree and are perfectly free to do so!) is that the show has a definite audience appeal, perhaps to people who might see the occasional jukebox musical. Provided the cast can sing and dance, the band can play, and the lights and sound work, then most people are happy and feel entertained. The risk with "going early" in previews is that so much can change - in my eyes this is a very different show to the one I saw at the first preview, which was long, clunky, but still showed enough promise to make me believe in it. Others perhaps don't share this view, but the risk with being wedded to a view is that it becomes harder to manouver or change if things improve. Also, as a generalisation, some people have a more critical mindset that sometimes revels in failure or pointing out the inadequacies of shows, situations, people etc. Personally, I tend to be more generous in my scores whilst still keeping an open mind for what can be improved. So yes, as somebody who has seen this production many times, I would say it has definitely improved. The right cuts were made early on, and the attention to detail on music, light, sound etc is impressive - so many "micro changes" have happened that only a geek or frequent visitor would notice. Personally, I find it impressive that somebody as notoriously impatient and outspoken as Bob Geldof has sat through this show many times now. If nothing else, this demonstrates the love and commitment to the show, source material, artistic integrity and authenticity of what they have tried to deliver on stage. I'd also like to reiterate that I do respect the views and scores of others and certainly don't wish to be bombastic in my bias towards this show. Apologies if my enthusiasm for the show gets interpreted as disregarding the views of others - it certainly isn't my intention. I gave this show five stars... In my heart, is it on a par with Guys and Dolls? Sunset Boulevard? Of course it isn't. But there's plenty there for me to justify a generous score, knowing that it isn't highbrow or earth-shattering. It is slighty life affirming (if enough people want it to be) and surely everybody should cheer any show that attempts to be a commercial success as well as raise money for charity in the process. Even if they hate it.  |
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Post by bigredapple on Mar 16, 2024 14:32:29 GMT
Had no interest in this, but just caught up with the comic relief performance
Wouldn’t entice me to see it at all. The “Irish accent” for bob is questionable too.
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Post by punxsutawney on Mar 16, 2024 15:14:09 GMT
Personally, I find it impressive that somebody as notoriously impatient and outspoken as Bob Geldof has sat through this show many times now. If nothing else, this demonstrates the love and commitment to the show, source material, artistic integrity and authenticity of what they have tried to deliver on stage. Above being impatient and outspoken I'd argue Bob Geldof is notoriously a bit full of himself, so it checks out to me... |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2024 17:33:02 GMT
I wasn't entirely sold on this show before, and for me it is one of the worst charity performances I have seen - they make me feel like there is no real plot or character development - but it is hard to judge the show on that performance considering I enjoyed Mrs Doubtfire when I saw it in Manchester and London and the performance last year was dodgy and didn't sell the show well.
I would be interested in a cast recording, just to see if it sells the show to me.
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on Mar 16, 2024 23:34:16 GMT
do we know where this is transferring to?
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Post by punxsutawney on Mar 17, 2024 10:33:51 GMT
do we know where this is transferring to? My suspicion is that, considering nobody involved with the production has said anything after Davina's comment on Friday, they might still be looking for a theatre? |
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Post by theatrefan62 on Mar 17, 2024 10:40:02 GMT
If this is actually transferring and not just at the idealistic stage, then the Shaftesbury would make a lot of sense with the producers involved and the agreement with the shaftsbury owners. Plus Mrs Doubtfire is lining up a UK tour.
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Post by Paulw on Mar 17, 2024 17:56:37 GMT
If this is actually transferring and not just at the idealistic stage, then the Shaftesbury would make a lot of sense with the producers involved and the agreement with the shaftsbury owners. Plus Mrs Doubtfire is lining up a UK tour. I thought that had extended, my thoughts were possibly the Aldwych, I think Tina will close at the end of the summer and that could open the door to it in late September early October! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2024 18:35:33 GMT
If this is actually transferring and not just at the idealistic stage, then the Shaftesbury would make a lot of sense with the producers involved and the agreement with the shaftsbury owners. Plus Mrs Doubtfire is lining up a UK tour. I thought that had extended, my thoughts were possibly the Aldwych, I think Tina will close at the end of the summer and that could open the door to it in late September early October! It has, Mrs Doubtfire is booking into 2025 now |
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Mar 17, 2024 18:55:05 GMT
do we know where this is transferring to? My suspicion is that, considering nobody involved with the production has said anything after Davina's comment on Friday, they might still be looking for a theatre? Or they have a theatre lined up but have to wait for a closing announcement (speculation, I don't know) |
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Post by sophia on Mar 18, 2024 22:12:32 GMT
On the latest episode of John O’Farrell’s podcast, We Are History, he says that Just For One Day is “probably transferring to the West End in the autumn.”
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Post by david on Mar 19, 2024 0:00:02 GMT
My London theatre week kicked off with a trip to the OV for tonight’s performance. Having originally booked on the basis that Luke Sheppard was directing and I haven’t been disappointed by any of his shows so far, I booked the fantastic stalls Q35 seat for the bargain price of £22 and based on tonight’s viewing it was worth every penny. With the full cast on tonight, for fun, a fantastic lighting/vide/sound design along with a brilliant cast and the 6 piece band providing the music this was a 5⭐️ night out that got the Old Vic audience rocking it out for 2hrs 35 minutes. The show was big, loud and bright so in that respect, Luke Sheppard and his team nailed it for me.
As someone who as a 6 year old at the time that Live Aid was on, I certainly had a vague memory of seeing it on TV and those harrowing BBC reports from Ethiopia, the show provided a nice look back to the history of the concert and what it was trying to achieve. I don’t think the book by John O’Farrell was particularly great in all honesty and lacked the emotional depth that the subject matter required. I did think the lack of using the original BBC news footage within the show was a big miss to really send over the message of what BG was wanting to do with Live Aid. There was plenty of telling but not much showing to give that emotional punch. Overall, I just wasn’t invested enough emotionally in the book. Though I will say there was some nice bits of comedy in the writing. In the end like a lot of jukebox shows I just decided not to think too hard about the book and sit back and enjoy the music and performances which more than made up it.
As for the cast, all were total stars for me. Craig Els as Bob was superb. He came across brilliantly as Geldof and the voice and mannerisms were spot on. Julie Atherton as Maggie was just a joy to watch and her scenes with Craig were just pure fun. It was great that all the cast got a chance to be front and centre with their individual numbers.
A great mix of songs in the show and thankfully no issues with sing alongs tonight with a very respectful audience. Despite the issues with book, I certainly didn’t hear any complaints about the show from people either during the interval or at the end so the show must be hitting the mark for people watching it judging by their really positive response at cast bows.
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Post by stuart on Mar 19, 2024 10:32:51 GMT
I really think they should just change the name to Live Aid for the West End transfer.
When I think of Live Aid, Heroes wouldn’t even come up in the top 10 songs I’d first go to that were performed that day. Even ‘Rockin All Over the World’ would be a more descriptive title, especially since the story also covers Band Aid and therefore, not just one day.
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Post by Dr Tom on Mar 19, 2024 11:03:00 GMT
Having not seen this since previews, I made a return visit last night. An excellent front row view through the Rush tickets. I always enjoy everything more from the front, but this came across as so much tighter than during previews. You are very close to the stage, so much that you can see the performers scanning who is in the audience. Lots of eye contact too.
There was also a helpful lady behind who wanted to make sure that everyone knew the words to the songs, although unfortunately she didn't know as many as I did. She also helped keep us amused during the boring bits (like when they were talking about the famine) by having a chat with her friend. I do know it was her birthday treat.
Without that, this would have been a perfect performance. I'll certainly see this in the inevitable transfer.
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