91 posts
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Post by katykate on Dec 30, 2018 9:48:09 GMT
Pretty sure it was Craig we saw yesterday as am sure it was the same trunchbull we saw in London.
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344 posts
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Post by sophizoey on Dec 30, 2018 10:44:23 GMT
How does this (and London of course!) work with the Matilda’s?! If there are 5/6 children playing the lead do they each have a show each week or is there a ‘lead’ Matilda and her understudies/Standbys?! 4 children for Matilda, and they all get 2 shows a week. It's not published for child protection purposes and must change from week to week, or atleast monthly because I went two consecutive Thursday in Sunderland and it was two different Matildas. I believe the other children have 2 or 3 actor each depending on the size of the part. |
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701 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Dec 30, 2018 13:10:45 GMT
In London there's 4 Matilda's (with 5 occasionally when the cast changes overlap), 4 Bruce's and there's 3 groups of the other kids.
The tour is similar apart from some of the children can play more than one role such as Amanda/Lavender, Eric/Nigel etc, I think this is to help cover any illnesses as they can't just call in another child on the day if someone phones in sick. Although there is a female adult swing who can cover all the child roles other than Matilda.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2019 1:06:36 GMT
Today marked Craige Els' final performances as Miss Trunchbull. Elliot Harper takes over from the next venue onward.
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314 posts
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Post by macksennett on Jan 13, 2019 8:50:59 GMT
Today marked Craige Els' final performances as Miss Trunchbull. Elliot Harper takes over from the next venue onward. I was there at Craige’s last performance - he had a big hug from Rebecca Thornhill at the end and various cast members were applauding him too. He gave the audience a thumbs up as he left the stage, having apparently done 1262 shows in the role! |
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460 posts
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Post by pianowithsam on Jan 13, 2019 10:35:40 GMT
Today marked Craige Els' final performances as Miss Trunchbull. Elliot Harper takes over from the next venue onward. I was there at Craige’s last performance - he had a big hug from Rebecca Thornhill at the end and various cast members were applauding him too. He gave the audience a thumbs up as he left the stage, having apparently done 1262 shows in the role! Crikey. That's a fair few. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2019 11:04:15 GMT
I was there last night too. I assume also at least one of the kids (if not several) were leaving, because one of them promptly burst into tears at the end of the curtain call! He was a most excellent Trunchbull and my favourite performer in it (closely followed by the guy playing Mr Wormwood)
So I'd never seen Matilda. And overall my review would be 'it was fine' there was nothing I actively disliked about it, but there was nothing I LOVED either. I did very much appreciate Minchin's lyrics/music as ever, and I'm glad I saw it post- Groundhog as that really tuned me into his style (having not followed his solo career) and I loved the music.
There are some lovely moments- the alphabet song, and 'When I Grow Up' charmed even my cynical old heart.
But honestly it dragged a bit? the book I don't think holds up to Minchin's songs. And I think it lacks the darkness of the book-book. That said I might just have grown up to have a general problem with Dahl (you know anti semitism aside and just focusing on his writing) because for some reason on revisiting, I felt for Matilda's parents, in that the whole story around them seemed geared to making fun of 'stupid people' rather than the fact they were unkind to her. Also is it me or does the musical take far longer to get to Matilda's 'powers' than the book? or did I just miss something...?
Anyway it was enjoyable enough. Child performers usually set my teeth on edge and this didn't so that's a win as well. I'm glad I ticked it off my list, but I probably won't ever need to re-visit.
Also the pianist has a newt sat on his piano, as a view from Balcony B allows you to watch the pit quite close up!
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314 posts
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Post by macksennett on Jan 13, 2019 14:22:36 GMT
Ha, I didn’t see any of the kids’ tears but was probably watching Craige at the time! I know what you mean...I enjoyed it but have no great desire to see it again. The swing scene was done fabulously.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 18:43:06 GMT
And overall my review would be 'it was fine' there was nothing I actively disliked about it, but there was nothing I LOVED either. Have you got the CD @emicardiff ? Oddly, I enjoyed that far more than the actual show. From your opinion here, I think it may be because the CD doesn't drag like the show tends to. Weirdly, every time I heard songs prior to seeing it it was like fingernails on a blackboard to me (I've skipped ahead EP on Sunday a number of times) BUT that said, having now heard the songs in context I will give the recording a listen. (glad I'm not alone- your good self and a few others have said the show does drag a bit). Something I mentioned to friends in discussing this is of course the curse of seeing a show years later having heard just HOW GOOD it is for so long that even if you go in with mediocre expectations like I did (well reservations) you'll still be left going 'oh was that it?' say 80% of the time. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 20:30:54 GMT
And overall my review would be 'it was fine' there was nothing I actively disliked about it, but there was nothing I LOVED either. Have you got the CD @emicardiff ? Oddly, I enjoyed that far more than the actual show. From your opinion here, I think it may be because the CD doesn't drag like the show tends to. +1 on this. Quite enjoy the soundtrack, as you don't have to sit through Matilda barking her way through the book at you. Plus it sounds alot better. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 20:34:44 GMT
Have you got the CD @emicardiff ? Oddly, I enjoyed that far more than the actual show. From your opinion here, I think it may be because the CD doesn't drag like the show tends to. +1 on this. Quite enjoy the soundtrack, as you don't have to sit through Matilda barking her way through the book at you. Plus it sounds alot better. hahaha that did make me laugh...and yes, the sound quality wasn't there live- I found it difficult to understand lyrics at times. And did she really have to spend SO long telling that story to the librarian?! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 23:40:15 GMT
I'm hoping that the sound issues will be ironed out for Edinburgh. It is a huge theatre, and anyone that is in the Balcony will not hear a word due to both the height and the size of the building. Keep in mind people are paying up to £50 for the balcony, more than any other show that has toured to the Playhouse (well, except maybe Shen Yun). Heck, even Wicked was cheaper!
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701 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Jan 14, 2019 23:44:37 GMT
I'm hoping that the sound issues will be ironed out for Edinburgh. It is a huge theatre, and anyone that is in the Balcony will not hear a word due to both the height and the size of the building. Keep in mind people are paying up to £50 for the balcony, more than any other show that has toured to the Playhouse (well, except maybe Shen Yun). Heck, even Wicked was cheaper! I agree with you about how the sound may be an issue in the barn that is the Playhouse. I've yet to see the tour, I've only ever seen it in London and I can't imagine the show being an enjoyable experience from somewhere like the back row of the balcony in the Playhouse! There's intimate parts like 'Quiet' and the scene in Miss Honey's shed, a lot of this will be lost by being so far away. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 23:49:21 GMT
I generally don't go any higher than the back row of the front section of the Circle. Beyond that, you miss facial expressions and details on costumes and sets, and you end up feeling a bit disconnected from the show.
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701 posts
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Post by cheesy116 on Jan 14, 2019 23:57:40 GMT
I generally don't go any higher than the back row of the front section of the Circle. Beyond that, you miss facial expressions and details on costumes and sets, and you end up feeling a bit disconnected from the show. I sat the front row of the balcony for Billy Elliot a couple of years ago and even that felt like I was a long long way from the stage. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 0:00:36 GMT
Yeah, I was at the front of the balcony for Shrek last year and I struggled to make out faces. I couldn’t find the cast board (supposedly in the foyer, but I wasn’t looking hard enough) so I just had to guess which cast members were performing.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 7:45:46 GMT
I'm hoping that the sound issues will be ironed out for Edinburgh. It is a huge theatre, and anyone that is in the Balcony will not hear a word due to both the height and the size of the building. Keep in mind people are paying up to £50 for the balcony, more than any other show that has toured to the Playhouse (well, except maybe Shen Yun). Heck, even Wicked was cheaper! General opinion in this thread is that the sound on this run of the show is a marked improvement on that of the West End production, which itself received a re-design and has reportedly improved. Any issues now are likely to be venue specific rather than production specific. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 9:23:53 GMT
In fairness to my own sound issues- I was in a side balcony, practically over the orchestra, so I wasn't getting the 'ideal' sound mix. But that and not being best placed angles wise to lip read either meant I missed a LOT in the songs. Which fine- I chose restricted view after all.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 23:35:56 GMT
The show seems to be in a state of disrepair in Edinburgh. I was in tonight and we had two show stops due to technical difficulties, with the second of which lasting for about 20 minutes. We didn’t get out of the theatre until about 22:45.
It wasn’t just tonight - the matinee also got held up, as have several other performances in Edinburgh according to the ushers.
Overall, I did enjoy it - cast were brilliant, particularly Elliot as Trunchbull - but I feel like it really shows that it’s been out on the road for over a year.
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114 posts
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Post by theatregod on Apr 14, 2019 10:15:15 GMT
I saw the show on press night in Edinburgh...it was amazing and hardly in disrepair! (Neglect)
...live theatre love, deal with it.....
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 11:27:52 GMT
Yes, I get that, it was the fact that it had supposedly happened over several performances up here that made me say that...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 12:04:50 GMT
What exactly caused the show stop?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 12:29:07 GMT
We weren’t told. I think it may have been sound (I struggled to make out the words of Matilda and the parents at points, but it did improve as the show went on), but the ushers were telling people that it was automation playing up.
It first got stopped right in the middle of Miracle, and again after School Song. I’m glad they were able to rectify the problems to give us a performance, but it did kind of disturb the flow.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 12:38:02 GMT
Sound is deliberately quiet for Miracle, allowing it to grow through the show. School Song is quite hard to follow if you don't know the lyrics because of the complexity of the vocabulary used, so I'd be tempted to say it was an automation issue. Probably more likely its an automation/mechanical issue than sound.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 12:46:57 GMT
An interesting discussion.Made me wonder at what point can you legally get up and ask/demand a full refund on the basis that your enjoyment of the show has been totally compromised?
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