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Post by shady23 on Sept 30, 2016 22:01:13 GMT
Yes the stage is high.
I was there for the first preview tonight. Slight delay due to a technical issue and they said some parts of the set wouldn't be working later on but they didn't want to cancel the show. I asked someone later and it was just some of the lighting and was fine without.
The four leads are word and note perfect.
The real star for me is a Victoria Hamilton-Barritt. Such a powerful performance.A bit like the Blood Brothers narrator with sarcasm and snarls but she holds this whole story together so beautifully
It took five minutes for Ramin's shirt to come off and it remained off a lot. I made a mental note to applaud the director.
At the start it seemed a bit like a modern day Rent. Then it changed to something else. Not sure exactly what. Kind of hard to explain.
Songs were sung well but I couldn't sing one back to you now.
There is a BRILLIANT fight scene.
The "rude bits" were a bit cringey.
Kerry plays it like she did for Mimi in Rent. She sounds divine.
The other male lead, Norman Bowman, is outstanding.
Ramin fans make Kerry fans look tame. He was legging it out the doors in leathers towards his bike like a modern day Michael Carrington and one middle aged woman charged after him barging everyone out of the way in the crowded bar as she went.
I had a £25 seat in the back of circle but we were allowed to move forward as empty seats. £25 was about right. It was over so quick. I certainly couldn't justify paying fifty quid for this.
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Post by David J on Oct 1, 2016 18:59:38 GMT
Okay I was aware that that front row was restricted because of the high stage. I am tall so I thought I would manage
What the website should have said was 'high stage with a high floor added'
Do not even consider a front row seat
Apparently the arts theatre sent out messages to those who long ago booked those seats before it was established how high the new stage was going to be. They offered them a seat elsewhere Since I bought a ticket yesterday I didn't get the message
But why the hell would they resell what I assume was a returned ticket? I may have been the only numpty to have sit in that row?
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Oct 1, 2016 19:07:42 GMT
What did you think of the show?
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Post by Steffi on Oct 1, 2016 19:16:55 GMT
Okay I was aware that that front row was restricted because of the high stage. I am tall so I thought I would manage What the website should have said was 'high stage with a high floor added' Do not even consider a front row seat Apparently the arts theatre sent out messages to those who long ago booked those seats before it was established how high the new stage was going to be. They offered them a seat elsewhere Since I bought a ticket yesterday I didn't get the message But why the hell would they resell what I assume was a returned ticket? I may have been the only numpty to have sit in that row? From what I have been told front row is now priced at £20 to reflect the very restricted view. Those who booked in advance have paid £50 something which is why the theatre is contacting them offering different seats or a partial refund. I hope they only charged you £20 for your ticket. |
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Post by David J on Oct 1, 2016 20:30:54 GMT
£20 yes but the only £20 ticket in the front row
Okay so the rest were £50 ones that were initially bought, taken back and not sold again because no one else was sitting in that row
Perhaps they were bought but since tonight's show wasn't sold out the box office swapped their tickets tonight except me somehow
So why was THAT one random seat sold yesterday evening. Not far off from the centre, and yet the rest were not sold again
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1,053 posts
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Post by David J on Oct 1, 2016 20:39:25 GMT
Just to add I was moved to the circle slips without paying more so alls fine
But where's the logic here? Why was the only person who even went near that row and no one else
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Post by theinvisiblegirl on Oct 1, 2016 20:53:07 GMT
If you're the man who was sat in front of me until you moved (I was in A9) there were 4 other people sat in that row before you arrived and they asked to be moved.
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Post by David J on Oct 1, 2016 21:06:43 GMT
It only took someone in your row to mention that the £50 people were given different seats, so I went back to the box office. They reminded me that the site said extremely high stage (that doesn't equate to high stage with extra stage on top) but gave me the slip seat
So by the time I arrived the theatre was aware that there would be seats available to move front rowees elsewhere, and yet the box office or ushers at the doors didn't stop me
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2016 22:57:01 GMT
So there's comments on seating and performances but how actually is the show? Worth seeing?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 8:12:04 GMT
£50 for ANY show at the Arts is atrocious.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 11:45:19 GMT
@eldermillan asked about this. I was invited to attend a rehearsal of Murder Ballad a few weeks ago, and we were allowed to film one song.
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Post by Steve on Oct 2, 2016 12:29:24 GMT
Saw this Saturday night, and liked it alot. Could have loved it, if it were more wild! It's a deliberately lurid story that needs to be unhinged in it's telling, especially as the narrator's presence alerts us to the fact that it is also ABOUT the process of telling lurid stories, how the audience revels in the story's exploitational elements, the sex and the violence. From the first number, "Murder Ballad," we are told it's a love triangle, and someone is going to die. I didn't know who dies, or how they die, going in, but I was primed for a coy there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-go-I rollercoaster ride of attraction and anihilation, and to a great degree, I got it, from a well-told yet predictable story, which has a surprisingly terrific payoff. I absolutely got it from Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, who is the undoubted star of this show. Hamilton-Barritt has a coiled unhinged huskiness, that suggests she's holding back bullets, even as she subtly and tenderly circles dark and dangerous emotions in her singing. She is like a gun that ever-threatens to go off, and that is what the whole production needs to be. My highlight of the evening was Hamilton-Barritt's explosive rendition of "Clubs and Diamonds," towards the end. That this production just misses the headiest heights that the show is capable of, at Saturday night's preview anyway, is mostly down to Kerry Ellis' inability to fully connect with her inner bad girl. Her singing is exquisite in it's nightingale fullness (noone sings a better "Born Free") and has a Mary Poppins preciseness, a tad too precise in fact to threaten the night of insanity this musical calls for. Her casting, of course, is the only reason we have this production at all, as Soundcheck Productions was formed to find projects for Kerry Ellis, and this role is undoubtedly an attempt to stretch her acting chops, an attempt which she somewhat succeeds at, though she never comes close to conveying the aura of danger that surrounds the delivery of Victoria Hamilton-Barritt. Ramin Karimloo looks dangerous, as the bad boy in the threesome, and has an endearingly tender core, revealed by his rangy delivery of the love ballad "Sara," which was another highlight. He just needs to add a soupcon of unpredictable craziness, and he'll be where he needs to be. Norman Bowman is pitch perfect as the good boy, Michael, fully inhabiting ever aspect of the character's civility and tenderness, but also blazing in his worm-turned searing jealousy, when he finds himself with a love rival. He rocks with hard hate in the hardest rock song of the night, the reprise of "You Belong to Me," which in fact features excellent on-point hard rock angst from all 4 performers, in one of the most rousing songs of the night. This is a good show, but is shy of being great, as it needs to simmer twenty degrees hotter! When it ended, I immediately wanted to hear it again, but if I go again, I will venture to see if Natalie McQueen raises the temperature on the part of Sara at the Friday Matinee, and hope that the whole show comes to a boil harder and faster. Everything about this show should take it's cue from the scorching magnificence of Victoria Hamilton-Barritt! 4 stars  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 13:00:37 GMT
@eldermillan asked about this. I was invited to attend a rehearsal of Murder Ballad a few weeks ago, and we were allowed to film one song. Thank you for sharing! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 13:02:31 GMT
@eldermillan asked about this. I was invited to attend a rehearsal of Murder Ballad a few weeks ago, and we were allowed to film one song. Thank you for sharing! You're welcome. It was a great experience, so I want to show other people that this is a wonderful cast that's worth seeing. |
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Post by Scswp on Oct 2, 2016 13:33:46 GMT
Can anyone give advice on where to get reduced price tickets for this for next Saturday eve or am I likely to not find any? Last night (was that the first preview?) £50.00 tickets were showing for £25.00) ; now they seem to be showing at a slightly increased price to the actual face value for tomorrow's performance.
I would love to see this but can't really afford full price right now!!!! Any advice? Thanks
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Post by PalelyLaura on Oct 3, 2016 10:47:21 GMT
They have tickets on TodayTix so if you can find a £10 discount code that might help?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 10:48:46 GMT
I would quite like to see a photo of Ramin fully clothed these days. It's been so long, I've forgotten what that looks like. ;-) *gasp* Wash your mouth out jeanhunt!!! |
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Post by PalelyLaura on Oct 4, 2016 8:33:04 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 8:39:15 GMT
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Post by bengal73 on Oct 4, 2016 10:07:15 GMT
Great offer thanks for posting
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Post by theatregeek on Oct 4, 2016 11:18:38 GMT
I had lunch with Ramin once - just saying! True story. Blush.
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Post by madsonmelo on Oct 4, 2016 15:57:27 GMT
damn, I lost the £12 tickets!
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Post by CG on the loose on Oct 4, 2016 16:14:24 GMT
Can anyone use a single ticket to Murder Ballad tonight - trains buggered, can't get there. Free to good home - collect at Box Office.
(Edited: Given the time, I won't bother with Noticeboard!)
DM me if interested.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 16:37:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 16:39:25 GMT
I think that jacket had better not stay on for the whole show! |
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