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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 31, 2018 12:17:59 GMT
The country’s favourite painting as voted by the country ‘The Last Temeraire’ by Joseph Turner, which hangs in the National Gallery, shows the sad sight of the Last Temeraire being towed up the Thames to Rotherhithe to be broken up. Shades of this painting run through Sting’s brilliant musical The Last Ship.
A kind of depressing musical that showed the decline of shipbuilding on the Tyne, where they used to be worldbeaters at building the biggest and fastest ships in the world to today where they cannot even make a passport!!! So really this is a tale of Billy Elliot light without the pilorrettes, mining or indeed Billy. This musicals speaks of a time of the Industrial Age, where the man came home and put his wages on the kitchen table on a Friday, after usual deductions have been made, for a few pints of light and bitter and a ounce of rolling tobacco.
But the real champion here is Sting, who has written one gorgeous and accomplished score, even though hearing this in Newcastle last night felt different from the brilliant OBR, there is no song list in the programme, to compare. One song (When We Dance) reminds me of Fallen Angels by Robbie Williams, I could listen to that all day. It’s Not The Same Moon is another superb track. I get the feeling this score is more heartfelt than many other musical scores and can only be written by a lad originally from Wallsend.
The production felt more sitting in an IMAX cinema than a theatre, another production where the set design went too mad with projections and dominated from beginning to end. Even though projections have moved on significantly in the last 10-15 years, I feel that projections should be used sparingly to enhance the physical production and therefore shouldn’t be subtle.
I also feel this musical would have done significantly better if it begun life in the West End and instead of being fast tracked to Broadway.
The tour is avoiding going anywhere near London, so hopefully this can better The Last Temeraire and get further than Rotherhithe and dock somewhere closer to the West End.
4 Stars
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 31, 2018 22:11:52 GMT
Whoops
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Post by sf on Apr 5, 2018 23:05:09 GMT
Saw it this afternoon. I won't say everything in it works, but the good stuff is very good indeed. And while the show as a whole would benefit - a lot - from losing twenty minutes, the last five minutes are phenomenal.
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Post by shady23 on Apr 7, 2018 18:44:53 GMT
My fourth visit today, sadly this sails away tonight. Next stop Liverpool!
I cannot praise this production enough.
The cast, songs, set and projections are stunning. I cried lots.
Also went to St Mary's Cathedral to see the stained glass window that proved the inspiration for the shows publicity. It really is a beautiful sight and such a work of art!
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Post by david on Apr 9, 2018 23:12:48 GMT
Saw this tonight at the Liverpool Playhouse. All I can really do here is echo other people’s sentiments about this production. Both the set (and the absolutely fantastic use of projections to set the different scenes) as well as Sting’s great musical score for me combined really well to make for a great evening. The standing ovation at the end in my opinion was throughly deserved.
All the cast had great voices, but I was most surprised at Charlie Hardwick. It was only during the interval when I read the cast notes in the programme that it was Val Pollard from Emmerdale. I didn’t realise that she could sing that well!
I am convinced that the actress playing the Governmnent minister was channelling Maggie T in both her look and speech. I’m not sure if that was deliberate, but it was a good take on the former PM.
I wish they had put a list of the songs in the programme, but the standout number for me was When We Dance. The only downside for me was at times the band drowned out the vocals so you occasionally missed some of the lyrics.
It was nice to see Sting make a stage appearance at the end. The audience certainly appreciated it.
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Post by shady23 on Apr 10, 2018 0:19:01 GMT
I am convinced that the actress playing the Governmnent minister was channelling Maggie T in both her look and speech. I’m not sure if that was deliberate, but it was a good take on the former PM. I think that is pretty deliberate, Maggie is not exactly the North East's favourite person... The projection on the screens at the interval was Maggie on walkabout in an industrial area when this tour started, but has now changed to a more abstract image. |
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Post by Rukaya on Apr 17, 2018 1:37:42 GMT
Looks like the Grand Circle has been closed for all performances this week at the New Alexandra, kicking myself for not buying one of the cheaper tickets up there sooner!
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Post by showgirl on Apr 17, 2018 3:14:36 GMT
Still seem to be quite a few tickets left for some performances in Leeds, too. I am tempted but will have to try to find out whether they do day seats or something to mitigate those prices.
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Post by thenightowl on Apr 17, 2018 6:26:58 GMT
If anyone has an ATG card there's a Travelzoo offer showing for the New Alexandra Theatre tonight, tomorrow (matinee and evening) and Wednesday's performances. The majority of stalls tickets are reduced to £23.60 from £39.40 (inc. fee).
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Post by shady23 on Apr 17, 2018 7:38:47 GMT
Very lucky that the tour started at northern stage. Yes, there were lots of £60 tickets but lots of cheaper ones too and not at the back either.
I managed to book four visits for £53 and all in the first five rows.
It's a lovely venue with cheap drinks and well worth a visit.
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Post by LaLuPone on Apr 17, 2018 7:42:22 GMT
I’ve got a ticket for £18 for the Millennium Centre at the back of the circle and off to the side which seems pretty good value to me considering the circle only goes up to Row G. I don’t think the upper circle’s even being sold though so maybe that’s why the circle’s cheaper.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 17, 2018 18:26:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2018 18:32:38 GMT
Tempted by the midweek matinee if I can work it out |
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 17, 2018 18:33:44 GMT
Tempted by the midweek matinee if I can work it out Do it, do it, do it.... |
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Post by showgirl on Apr 18, 2018 3:46:43 GMT
I've never used Travelzoo or anything similar but it might be worth me looking if there's any hope of a similar deal for the Leeds week of the tour. I checked with the Leeds Grand Box Office but they said they didn't do day seats or standbys, and the booking fee is £3 even if you buy a single, cheaper ticket, so on that basis it's still looking too expensive. Of course there may be deals for NHS staff, students, etc, of which I would be unaware and for which I'd also be ineligible anyway but if anyone does hear of anything, I'd be grateful to know.
Especially as The Public Reviews have just given this 4.5 stars in Birmingham!
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Post by talkstageytome on Apr 18, 2018 6:44:50 GMT
Ooh I've got tickets in the Grand for the Alex on Saturday. May have to ring up and see what's happening to them.
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Post by notmymuse on Apr 20, 2018 23:11:48 GMT
Ooh I've got tickets in the Grand for the Alex on Saturday. May have to ring up and see what's happening to them. I had grand circle seats booked tonight and was upgraded to row C dress circle in the middle, so hopefully you'll have similar! The set is amazing for this, considering it's a touring show. The projections are also lovely. But apart from the set, I didn't love it. 2.5 stars. It was pretty dreary for me, and my family are (were) Tyneside ship builders and I still wasn't very moved. The score has some nice moments, but generally I found it a bit mundane. The cast were fine but I couldn't understand most of what the drunk guy said/shouted and the sound levels weren't great, especially near the start. I'm glad to report though that I send to be the minority. Half standing ovation in the dress circle. |
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Post by talkstageytome on Apr 21, 2018 8:44:36 GMT
Ooh that's a great upgrade, glad to hear it. I called ATG to check but they didn't know anything about whether we might be moved or not. To be honest though if the Grand is offsale the last thing I want is to be stranded up there surrounded by loads of empty seats (happened when I went to see The Wedding Singer there last year. Bit of an atmosphere killer).
Still, I'm a fan of the cast album so definitely looking forward to this!
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Post by chrismis on Apr 21, 2018 8:57:06 GMT
Ooh I've got tickets in the Grand for the Alex on Saturday. May have to ring up and see what's happening to them. I had grand circle seats booked tonight and was upgraded to row C dress circle in the middle, so hopefully you'll have similar! The set is amazing for this, considering it's a touring show. The projections are also lovely. But apart from the set, I didn't love it. 2.5 stars. It was pretty dreary for me, and my family are (were) Tyneside ship builders and I still wasn't very moved. The score has some nice moments, but generally I found it a bit mundane. The cast were fine but I couldn't understand most of what the drunk guy said/shouted and the sound levels weren't great, especially near the start. I'm glad to report though that I send to be the minority. Half standing ovation in the dress circle. I agree with absolutely everything you've said! I thought it was just me!! Saw it in Liverpool last week and was getting quite bored towards the end. |
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 28, 2018 17:40:49 GMT
I enjoyed this earlier this week. While not the most exciting musical ever (which to be fair, it doesn't try to be), the music was lovely, and the set and staging were really strong, especially the projections. I originally took slight issue with the baby-faced 28-year-old Richard Fleeshman fathering a child 17 years ago (nothing like starting young, eh!), but he ended up being the standout performance for me, I thought he was great and his voice particularly swoonsome 😁
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Post by theatreian on Apr 28, 2018 21:21:40 GMT
Yes Richard is lovely. Met him once after Urinetown and he has a great voice and not bad to look at either!
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Post by timetraveller on May 13, 2018 14:59:57 GMT
Having seen this on broadway i was interested to see if it had improved. The singing, acting by the leads, staging of the show were strong. The projections certainly enhanced the story. The book is better but quite cliched and predictable and very british. However I do wish they had kept in some of the broadway aspects such as the father son relationship of Gideon and his dad. In particular on broadway there was a final scene with gideon at his dads grave giving an emotional speech and then singing ghost story. This was the best scene in the show and hugely emotional. This production does seem to trivialise this relationship. The broadway production was far more emotional, passionate with better choreography. I think Michael Esper as gideon was also far better acting wise. Fleeshmans gideon seems quite weak in comparison although he is a better singer. When we danced and talkin to a sailor were better staged on broadway.
Main differences in the story are it is more british, political, focus is on the shipyard, community and economy. There is no priest or a partner for meg. There is a narrator every now and again. Meg has a daughter not a son. The love story is also a secondary story rather than central. It is told from a female perspective with the women being the stronger characters. This was the opposite on broadway. All the songs are there apart from ghost story . Sting seems to have gone back to his original album of the show as some of the lyrics have been changed or added and the the inclusion of a new song Haddaway from the album. I do think this is an improvement on broadway show but not massively. It is very tailored to a british audience which is why Sting saying he wants this version to back to broadway is unrealistic. They are currently looking for a west end theatre. I still think the show needs work. Going to london is quite ambitious from what I can see. It is struggling to sell in the larger remaining theatres left on the tour despite constant promotion. I would also drop the political speech at the end which seemed to emphasise the left wing story of the show. I just didnt think it was necessary. It does seem to be getting good reviews and word of mouth seems mostly positive from what ive seen. If this was to go to west end I would put it in a smaller theatre for limited run.
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Post by TallPaul on May 14, 2018 14:52:32 GMT
It has been really interesting to read your post timetraveller. So some of the changes are quite major? I saw The Last Ship myself on Friday, in Nottingham. Okay, it's (still) not perfect and, despite being from good working-class stock, I found it was a bit too preachy, but this a musical with a big heart. Both acts start informally, which I rather liked. There's also a bit of pantomime, and some audience participation. Thankfully, even though I was sitting on row A, I wasn't picked on! To hear the titular song performed by the full company is, in my opinion, worth the price of a ticket alone, so to hear it three times was a real treat. And Frances McNamee is a revelation. I know she was in Big Fish, but from reading her bio it looks like, thus far, she's been mainly cast in plays. Hopefully, that will now change. Regarding ticket sales, I know the Nottingham Playhouse is at the smaller end of the scale, but, after a slow start, it sold so well, prices were dynamically increased to £50 for almost every seat in the house. I'm so pleased that, on this occasion, I booked six months early. Finally, BurlyBeaR, magnets, if there are any left by Salford, are £6. (Or, get this, just over twice the price they were charging in a trendy deli for a bottle of Henderson's. I nearly dropped it when I read the price. £2.99 the cheeky so-and-sos were charging!) |
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Post by dan on May 14, 2018 16:38:41 GMT
There's also a bit of pantomime, and some audience participation. Thankfully, even though I was sitting on row A, I wasn't picked on! ) Alas,visiting alone on Saturday afternoon in Nottingham, I was picked out on row A! 🤦♂️😳 |
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Post by shady23 on May 14, 2018 16:54:34 GMT
My favourite was when "the poet" asked the guy by me if he was looking forward to the show and he replied he was really looking forward to seeing Jimmy Nail.
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