Coram Boy - Chichester / Lowry

[barelyathletic]

I saw this three times at the National back in 2005 and have seen it done twice since by community theatres, once in Nottingham and once in North London where, though still enjoyable, without the choir and Melly Still's brilliant production the weaknesses of the script were more apparent. Booked though to see it next month in Chichester and will be interested to see if it can live up to the original. They are at least using a local choir and the CFT stage is big enough for the show. If anyone is seeing it soon I'd be interested to know what you think. 

[alicechallice]

May 23, 2024 9:45:33 GMT barelyathletic said:

I saw this three times at the National back in 2005 and have seen it done twice since by community theatres, once in Nottingham and once in North London where, though still enjoyable, without the choir and Melly Still's brilliant production the weaknesses of the script were more apparent. Booked though to see it next month in Chichester and will be interested to see if it can live up to the original. They are at least using a local choir and the CFT stage is big enough for the show. If anyone is seeing it soon I'd be interested to know what you think. 

I'm going to the Press Night next Thursday, which is actually a very good deal, they're selling all the remaining seats not put aside for press/VIPs in the lower price brackets (£18, £15, £10). 

Unfortunately, the run itself seems to have sold really poorly. Bar Press Night, for only one of the performances have they been able to open up the back half of the theatre for sales (they're doing a staggered system this year of only opening areas once a sufficient amount of seats have been sold in the others). 

It's a shame because I'm pretty sure this production would be right up the Chichester audience's street but maybe there isn't the name recognition, as such, because the novel isn't that well-known...? 

Hopefully it will get some very good reviews.  

[showgirl]

Coincidentally I've been considering this recently though I never had any interest in the original production or revivals as anything with/about children is a total turn-off. However, when CFT emailed a clip of some of the choral music, I loved that. So despite having missed out on the chance to book cheaper tix when booking opened and now having only 1 day in the run when I can go, as soon as the running time is announced (first preview tonight), I shall probably book. I see that previous productions have varied from 2 h 30 to 3 h so a long day if I do go.

[cartoonman]

I saw this at the NT. It is so good, do go and see it.

[greenandbrownandblue]

This is going to the Lowry after its Chichester run.

[showgirl]

Provisonal running time from the Box Office after the first preview on Friday (I asked them): 2 h 55, which could change slightly. Having checked previous productions, which had varied from 2 h 30 to 3 h, I was expecting up to 3 h but as it's sounding close to the letter, it'd be another long day and fairly late return even for a matinee only.

[richey]

May 25, 2024 6:44:37 GMT greenandbrownandblue said:

This is going to the Lowry after its Chichester run.

It's already showing up with discounts on multiple ticketing sites as it's not selling well.

[Sotongal]

May 26, 2024 19:18:19 GMT richey said:

May 25, 2024 6:44:37 GMT greenandbrownandblue said:

This is going to the Lowry after its Chichester run.

It's already showing up with discounts on multiple ticketing sites as it's not selling well.

We went to see it on Wednesday evening and only the front section of the Stalls was full. Elsewhere there were lots of empty seats. 

Felt there was an interesting story somewhere underneath which needed a better script and direction to come out. The first act is too long and takes too long to get to the main part of the story. The second act is better. Three hours including interval is too long for this story, it needs more impetus. Would only give it 3*.

(We saw The Other Boleyn Girl there, which is also three hours long and was excellent, however!) 

CFT send the ticket buyer a text after they’ve seen their show asking for a one word description of the show. We had to reply ‘disappointing’. 

[richey]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Lowry run is cancelled or has performances cancelled. I've not seen a show sell that badly there for ages

[emsworthian]

I saw this yesterday afternoon and enjoyed it, although it was far darker than I was expecting. Some people locally have complained that they found the plot confusing. I managed to follow it OK, although I did wonder for some time how the Cathedral choir plot and the baby farmer plot would dovetail but this was made clear about half way through the first half. The only thing that slightly threw me was when the actress played the housekeeper appeared as a member of staff at the Coram Ophanage in the second half. I thought at first that she had managed to wangle her way there for evil purposes but it was simply the actress doubling roles.

The singing was wonderful. I felt sorry for the many young people involved in this production that it wasn't better attended.

I assume that if the Lowry run goes ahead, they will use children from a local Cathedral choir rather than the Chichester Cathedral choir from this production.

Possibly the script and direction could have been a bit sharper but my response to the CFT text asking for a one word descrption of the show was "thought-provoking".

[emsworthian]

Just read my programme and they used recorded music from Chichester Cathedral choir than have choristers on stage, which I originally thought.

[barelyathletic]

Generally I thought this was a good elegantly staged production that lacked serious dramatic and emotional involvement. It was generally well performed and great to have the live choral work, but the music just didn't seem to be used to the same effect, or made to be as integral to the plot. I missed the wow factor that the NT created, where we had much more of Handel's Messiah. And, where that finished on a rousing burst of the Hallelujah Chorus, this just petered out. Similarly, the darker more dramatic elements of the plot failed to hit home as hard and the melodrama of the second half seemed far more obvious as they raced towards the conclusion with a series of Boys Own adventure plot twists. It was good to see it again but it perhaps proved that no production is likely to have the same impact as Melly Still's glorious original.

[stevej678]

May 31, 2024 23:36:44 GMT richey said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the Lowry run is cancelled or has performances cancelled. I've not seen a show sell that badly there for ages

I'd like to see this at The Lowry but the ticket sales are so dire it feels like it would be a pretty soul destroying experience. Never seen anything sell so poorly there.

[richey]

Jun 3, 2024 13:40:53 GMT stevej678 said:

May 31, 2024 23:36:44 GMT richey said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the Lowry run is cancelled or has performances cancelled. I've not seen a show sell that badly there for ages

I'd like to see this at The Lowry but the ticket sales are so dire it feels like it would be a pretty soul destroying experience. Never seen anything sell so poorly there.

I agree. I've got a few offers for £15 tickets which I'd pay for, but not in an auditorium thats less than a third full

[ohughes01]

Jun 3, 2024 16:51:15 GMT richey said:

Jun 3, 2024 13:40:53 GMT stevej678 said:

I'd like to see this at The Lowry but the ticket sales are so dire it feels like it would be a pretty soul destroying experience. Never seen anything sell so poorly there.

I agree. I've got a few offers for £15 tickets which I'd pay for, but not in an auditorium thats less than a third full

I would save yourself the money. Saw this tonight and is probably in the bottom 3 of things I've ever seen at Chichester. Poorly directed, plotting and blocking throughout with some very wooden and clichéd performances. They really could have benefited from ditching at least 20-30 minutes of the script, it really was simply dreary. The chorestal scenes were well done but the music was simply a throw away. Lacklustre it was!

[crabtree]

Has anyone else seen this at the Lowry this week. A curious piece with great production values, a good period band, some joyous singing, a big cast and choir, but maybe though a tiny audience, and you don't tease an audience by talking about handel writing his new piece, and then in the final minutes everyone lines ready to sing it - except blackout. Cheated out of the Messiah. Chekhov's gun came to mind. It;s a long play and there's much rushing about and dancing and skullduggery. But it felt so flat. The Lowry is a difficult space for drama perhaps. shame really. I don't know where this show came from or where it's going.

[alicechallice]

There's a thread here about it...

theatreboard.co.uk/thread/11976/coram-boy-chichester-lowry

It's a co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre

[TallPaul]

Threads merged.

[crabtree]

Still some elements of this production have lingered with me, but I still feel cheated by them all lining up to sing The Messiah, then black out. Nothing. Not one Halleluiah.

[Someone in a tree]

I think at the NT we got the Hallelujah chorus sung at curtain call. My memory is hazy though perhaps somone else can confirm

[crabtree]

and I remember the NT having a scene under the frozen Thames?

[david]

A few thoughts from today’s matinee viewing at the Lowry. Firstly, this is the first time I have seen the Lyric theatre so empty, despite the offer of £15 tickets (which I took up), this even didn’t put that many bums on seats this afternoon causing a really flat atmosphere in the auditorium. Anyway, with this show I’ll be filing this one under “ok” and a 3⭐️ rating. With the two plot threads of “Messiah” being written and the baby farmer one, it’s the latter one that was most interesting for me. The “Messiah” plot was a complete waste of time and Director Anna Ledwich, who was a very naughty lady in teasing the audience throughout the show then not giving the audience a real musical treat with letting us hear that fantastic music sung by a really wonderful cast of singers and backed by a lovely 3 piece band. 

Act 1 was a slog to get through though (the slow pacing didn’t help) and I was glad when the interval turned up so I could stretch my legs. Thankfully Act 2 had much better pacing and was far more engaging. Despite the writing being a very mixed bag (the more harrowing scenes such as burying the babies in Act 1 really should of really had a lot of emotional punch but sadly failed to land for me), the music / singing along with the period costumes were the positives I took away from this show.