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Post by alece10 on Apr 18, 2019 4:55:35 GMT
The Times have given it 2 stars and said it needs decluttering.
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Post by Rory on Apr 18, 2019 5:47:19 GMT
Bring back The York Realist, I say.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 18, 2019 6:11:19 GMT
If this gets one single good review I will give up all faith in everything.
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8,103 posts
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Post by alece10 on Apr 18, 2019 7:25:54 GMT
Well Time Out like it and gave it 4 *
The more I read about people not liking it the more I know I will love it. I love going against the grain. A good few weeks to go though until I see it.
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Post by winonaforever on Apr 18, 2019 8:51:10 GMT
Well Time Out like it and gave it 4 * The more I read about people not liking it the more I know I will love it. I love going against the grain. A good few weeks to go though until I see it. I also frequently find I'm in the minority with my opinions😄 Even if I'm not impressed overall, there are 3 people in the show I'm looking forward to seeing (plus Adrian Lester who I rather like) so I'll get SOMETHING out of it!🤷🏼♀️ |
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Post by theatrefan77 on Apr 18, 2019 9:09:53 GMT
Same here. I'm going today. Looking forward to it
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2019 9:17:38 GMT
Four stars from the Evening Standard
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Post by nash16 on Apr 18, 2019 9:57:29 GMT
With the reviews for any artistic director's final show at their venue, if the venue has been a success, you'll need to take at LEAST one star off the star rating. 3* will become 4* etc.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Apr 18, 2019 12:34:33 GMT
Saw it last night and really didn’t think it was that bad. Though I’m ignorant about musicals generally.
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Post by sparky5000 on Apr 18, 2019 13:46:43 GMT
If this gets one single good review I will give up all faith in everything. Faith gone! 😩 Michael Billington in The Guardian has given it 4* as well. I’m seeing it next week so am going in with an open mind 🙌 😄 - one of my friends who has Donmar membership saw it last night and said she really enjoyed it even though she thought, in her her words “it was a bit mad” 😆 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2019 13:54:44 GMT
Mr B can keep his faith, I've seen at least three positive reviews at this point, it was only if there was "one single good review" that he was going to despair.  Out of interest, who seems to be enjoying it more, people who are already Charity fans or people who are going in with no expectations? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2019 15:41:23 GMT
The Times have given it 2 stars and said it needs decluttering.I shall be going tonight so we shall see. I shall be using the Marie Kondo method so if the cast do not spark joy into my life, I shall get rid of them. |
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Post by andrew on Apr 18, 2019 22:33:26 GMT
Who knew there were multiple TB members there? Must be why it was so hot in the Donmar this April evening.
I’ve never seen Sweet Charity before. The Donmar could’ve put anything in front of me and I’d have just accepted it. They could’ve put 10 dancing Andy Warhol’s up there. Thrown on Adrian Lester in sequins. They could have decorated the set from a B&Q closing down sale. And they did.
I ended up quite enjoying the story, and the songs. It's got a real "men are all dicks" theme to it, which is very 2019 for a musical from the 60s. It's just a shame this production is all over the place, both in terms of design and direction. The thing I can most liken it to is going to a very well-performed end of year show from your local drama school. Some scenes were done by the Marianne Elliot's of the future and were brilliant whilst others were just completely odd and bewildering (those brillo-pad cardboard boxes anyone?)
And I love her, oh sweet AMD, I love her to bits, she’s one of the great stage actresses of our time, no she is. I love her dearly, but Ms Duff is just not a musical theatre actress. You can’t have a leading lady being vocally outstripped by the ensemble. She acts the pants off the part, and is vulnerable and lovable and sweet, but every time the music started I got a bit nervous for her, which just isn’t necessary in a town where you can’t spit without it landing on a triple threat.
My work colleague who came with me had a great time and was impressed throughout, so maybe I'm being a bit of a grump about it, but I kept imagining what this show must be like when done better. I bet it's really good. This one, not so much.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2019 22:34:00 GMT
Natasha needs to get out more. I thought he was dressed like Cilla Black on a shoestring budget episode of Blind Date. |
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Post by Rory on Apr 18, 2019 22:35:31 GMT
🤣🤣🤣
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Post by sparky5000 on Apr 18, 2019 22:52:46 GMT
Natasha needs to get out more. I thought he was dressed like Cilla Black on a shoestring budget episode of Blind Date. 😆 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2019 6:50:46 GMT
Well. If you have an aversion to tin foil, I would avoid this show like the plague. It's everywhere and manages to make the set look like you've accidentally stepped into a boiler room and they're expecting you to lag the pipes. As for the show, it's like they wanted to do an Emma Rice version of 'Sweet Charity' but ran out of ideas about 20 minutes in. It's really not very good but strangely I rather liked it by the end. The cast do their best and try to give it the zip and pep the whole thing really needs but it's a constant battle for them when nothing really seems to land properly and it all just seems a bit . . . . leaden. I liked Arthur Darvill as Oscar (although the character's about face has always really annoyed me as it seemingly comes from nowhere) and Lizzie Connolly and Debbie Kurup steal the show as Nickie and Helene. But what about Anne-Marie Duff I hear you cry from the back? Well:
She's a bit too old for the role ☑️ She can't really sing that well ☑️ She can't really dance that well ☑️ She acts the socks off the part ☑️
I veered between thinking she was absolutely and awfully out of her depth and thinking that she was really rather marvellous. Today I'm thinking marvellous. Tomorrow, who knows?
On the plus side, for those who are fond of a hairy chest you will love little Will Haswell in the ensemble, there's a revolve (hurrah!), a couple of clever bits with a ball pool and a ferris wheel and some jolly japes with a school projector. No expense has been spent on this production.
I have been singing 'I'm A Brass Band' all morning though so they must have done something right. Now where did I put that baton?
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Post by jek on Apr 19, 2019 7:36:26 GMT
We were there too last night and 17 year old daughter and I had plenty to dissect on the tube journey home. We did have a genuinely enjoyable night (and a useful break from A Level revision for her) but there were lots of flaws. First of all it is too long and it's not as if there weren't bits that could have been cut without any loss to the story. As daughter said why on earth was that brillo pad scene there. (Entertainingly I had to explain to daughter what a brillo pad is, which may say something about levels of domestic hygiene in this house.) And it doesn't seem to be able to make up it's mind what it is - I thought parts were a bit Kneehigh-like while others had a completely different tone.
I loved Adrian Lester. But then I have form having seen him in Company a couple of decades back. He just seemed to be having the best of times. And, if you are of my generation then the Sammy Davis Jr version stays with you not just from the film but also from his appearances on the Parkinson show when I was a kid.
Daughter is a big Arthur Darvill fan and was thrilled to see him on stage. I enjoyed the fact that Anne-Marie Duff was properly ravaged by time and experience.
The band were great and the brass player with me was very excited about that.
Daughter is now requesting helium balloons tied to her arms for her eighteenth birthday next month!
And, I echo the point made above that the Donmar was unbearably hot last night. All that light reflecting off the tin foil?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2019 8:12:15 GMT
Yes, it was rather toasty in there last night. Naturally I just assumed it was hot because I was in the house.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2019 8:49:47 GMT
No expense has been spent on this production. Love this line - I am going to steal it at some point! |
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 19, 2019 8:54:14 GMT
Not seen this and no plans to. I have seen Sweet Charity a fair few times over the years and never seen a truly great production. I have come to the conclusion it's a difficult show to pull off. Great score, very iffy book and the whole show doesn't really hang together - for example "The Rhythm of Life" which is a great number really doesn't belong in the show at all and is ridiculously shoehorned in! The role of Charity too (like Sally Bowles) is a difficult one.
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Post by Stasia on Apr 19, 2019 9:04:12 GMT
Has anyone been sitting in Circle A5-6 for this production already? I am really worried about the sightlines. Never been in the Donmar's Circle
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2019 9:31:31 GMT
Not seen this and no plans to. I have seen Sweet Charity a fair few times over the years and never seen a truly great production. I have come to the conclusion it's a difficult show to pull off. Great score, very iffy book and the whole show doesn't really hang together - for example "The Rhythm of Life" which is a great number really doesn't belong in the show at all and is ridiculously shoehorned in! The role of Charity too (like Sally Bowles) is a difficult one. Well yes, if you're not a fan of the show in general I don't think this will be the production that will convince you otherwise. Although it does have a certain grubbiness about it which is probably more in line with the book than a glitzy tits 'n' teeth version. |
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 19, 2019 10:32:43 GMT
Oh wonderful @ryan - I’m really looking forward to tonight now!
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Post by theatrefan77 on Apr 19, 2019 12:25:06 GMT
Well, this was a complete and utter mess. The set and costumes were am-dram at its worst, truly awful. What where they thinking? The choreography was also terrible, like a bad copy of Bob Fosse's original.
The cast did a good job in general. Anne Marie Duff acted the part very well and was quite moving in the dramatic bits, but she struggled a lot with the singing and dancing. Adrian Lester was excellent in his number.
Overall, it was nice to listen to the score. The music sounded good, the cast did a good job but the production looked awful, really cheap.
Just my two cents of course, but I would only give it 3 stars.
Disappointed that this is Rourke's final show at the Donmar. I would have expected her to with a bang. She should have revived her production of City of Angels instead.
Glad I just went for a £10 seat in Circle row C.
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