375 posts
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Post by Theatre Fan on Jul 22, 2021 9:07:56 GMT
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jul 22, 2021 13:00:25 GMT
One observation...Isn't Little Voice meant to be younger? Or are they completely changing it up age wise? (no, not being ageist - just the casting seems a bit odd) I am sure they will excel in those roles!
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2,417 posts
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Post by robertb213 on Jul 22, 2021 22:00:07 GMT
Christina will be excellent in this. Shame about the venue selection though, there's nothing near me 😩
Age-wise Christina is about 5 years older than Jane Horrocks was in the film. Jane was 28 at the time of the stage version.
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Post by stevej678 on Jul 22, 2021 22:26:12 GMT
Christina will be excellent in this. Shame about the venue selection though, there's nothing near me 😩 Age-wise Christina is about 5 years older than Jane Horrocks was in the film. Jane was 28 at the time of the stage version. Eleven years older, Christina is 39. Agree she will be fabulous though! |
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Post by distantcousin on Jul 22, 2021 22:39:45 GMT
Frankly bizarre casting, even though I'm a big fan of both women individually.
It's performing nowhere near where I live (Midlands very neglected on this schedule) so I doubt I'll catch it anyway
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1,997 posts
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Post by distantcousin on Jul 22, 2021 22:40:28 GMT
Christina will be excellent in this. Shame about the venue selection though, there's nothing near me 😩 Age-wise Christina is about 5 years older than Jane Horrocks was in the film. Jane was 28 at the time of the stage version. Eleven years older, Christina is 39. Agree she will be fabulous though! And LV is supposed to be, what, 25 max?! |
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Post by sph on Jul 22, 2021 23:06:04 GMT
I mean it's a stage version and Christina Bianco is perfect casting in terms of the skillset she's best known for.
If she's a little old, it's a UK tour bringing a talented performer out into the country where other audiences can see her, it's still a good thing.
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3,334 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 23, 2021 8:56:58 GMT
Christina Bianco was brilliant in Funny Girl and she should fit in perfectly here. It’s not a play I would have had any desire to see again, but I’m sold with that casting.
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19,676 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 23, 2021 13:24:30 GMT
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539 posts
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Post by WireHangers on Jul 27, 2021 13:09:20 GMT
Love CB! Always wanted to see her perform but this is a strange choice. Shobna doesn’t read old enough to have a child beyond their teenage years let alone someone of LV’s age. She always seems to be the best-friend-character and never the lead so it’s great to see her being given a chance to flex her acting chops.
Still, I love this show so I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it.
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1,256 posts
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Post by theatrelover123 on Jul 27, 2021 14:29:51 GMT
Shobna is 54 and Christina is 39. Quite likely that Mari had her at 15. Makes it somewhat more poignant that LV is still at home and with few friends in her 30s imo.
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19,676 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 17, 2021 14:53:07 GMT
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19,676 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 31, 2022 16:20:58 GMT
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541 posts
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Post by drowseychap on Apr 3, 2022 1:59:31 GMT
I’m really surprised to see this touring again seems so soon since the last bev calllard uk tour production and then vickie entwhistle Birmingham rep production Hold on now Shobna. ….  ? Who next Rita sulllivan ….or sally metcalfe ?? 😊🤔 I just checked the rep production was 7 years ago !!!! Time flies I loved that production great set and fab casting I did see this is coming to Malvern and not sold well at all offering £15 seats … so maybe 🤔 it is a bit soon after all |
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Post by showgirl on Apr 3, 2022 3:56:29 GMT
Actually I saw yesterday's matinee in Horsham, which was well-attended; I think there must have been last-minute bookings, maybe word-of-mouth though I kept checking for offers and found none. I'd seen the original stage production and the film but no other version and hadn't realised there had been revivals, but was reflecting that casting the lead must be difficult and therefore limit the options.
Anyway, the whole thing was very well done and some of the audience members (I was one) gave it a standing ovation at the end. It's a shame the characters are all so cartoonish meaning that as I've said of other shows, this is almost like a panto out of season, and Christina Bianco is old enough to play LV's mother, not LV herself, but it's not that obvious and of course she nails all the songs; the concert scene in Act 2 was pin-drop stuff.
It was a shock to find the tickets so expensive (and no senior discounts, not even for the midweek matinee); double what I usually pay in London or at other regional venues and more than I paid for a couple of big shows (The Osmonds and Waitress) in Woking recently, even with the steep ATG fees for those, but it was such a refreshing change to go to somewhere other than London for the theatre and Horsham is a very attractive town in its own right. Unfortunately most of the stage shows are lesser tours and one-nighters so despite living in the area for 40+ years, I don't think I'd ever been to the theatre part of the complex.
So if you've never seen this, or not recently, it's great for entertaining, undemanding escapism.
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Post by drowseychap on Apr 14, 2022 21:31:08 GMT
Just out of Malvern tonight an extremely small size audience but then tickets are £27-34 luckily they were doing half price tickets this week so nabbed a couple . I’ve seen 2 other productions before uk tour and Birmingham rep Rep being superior in every way imo from set to effects to a fab cast and magical end scene . Shobna is great and works so hard … my half price ticket was worth the price just to see Christina biancos mr boo night club scene ! So not all bad I questioned some of the directing choices especially the last couple of scenes . Ian Kelsey didn’t quite embodie ray say his it’s over scene such an anticlimax wasted opportunity . Which brings me to the house burning scene …. One orange light and lots of smoke , Surely they could of at least had a few more lights or projections even ?? Got to be the weakest I’ve ever seen ….. then after couldn’t really see the difference ? A melted tv and grey fleeces thrown over furniture. The end light scene which at Rep was so magical and moving bought me and my party to tears …., was a single mirror ball … didn’t really have the same impact ….. I enjoyed moments wasn’t all bad pace dragged in places but overall 2.5/5 for Shobna and Christina singing Got to say though the new Malvern seats are the shortest seat pitch and most uncomfortable I’ve ever sat in ouch 😣 |
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Post by marob on Apr 14, 2022 22:25:54 GMT
Not sure if this is really a spoiler but {Spoiler - click to view}
does it end with The Man That Got Away or that Mark Owen song? |
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Post by david on May 21, 2022 17:26:53 GMT
I had a watch of this at today’s matinee at the Liverpool Playhouse. I am in total agreement with both drowseychap and showgirl with the Mr Boo’s cabaret club scene in Act 2 being the standout moment in this production and was worth the ticket price alone in this otherwise ok production. Hearing Christina Bianco do those medley of songs in those different voices was a joy to listen and quite honestly if she ever toured as herself doing the same thing I would snap up a ticket. Having never previously seen any other staged version of LV to compare this tour too, this tour was a mixed bag. I loved Shobna Gulati as Mari. A very over the top performance but a really good comedy actress (loved her in Dinnerladies and on tour in Mamma Mia! ) who kept us in stitches with her performance. Ian Kelsey for me as ok but I wasn’t entirely convinced until the more darker scenes at the end. The set of the house was ok but nothing spectacular though my biggest issue similar to drowseychap was the house fire scene. It was for me a really lame attempt to show a house fire with a bit of smoke and one light. Surely the set and lighting design folk could of come up with something better than what was used here? Despite the issues highlighted, watching CB was the highlight of the show and got a full auditorium on their feet for a SO at the end. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 21, 2022 18:28:06 GMT
I’m going when it arrives at the Lowry. Last time I saw this play was at the Royal Exchange almost 20 years ago with Corrie’s Denise Welsh as the mother and Roy Barraclough as Mr Boo. I don’t remember who was LV but I do remember liking it. I think it might have been just before I relocated from Sheffield to Manchester so I might have come over specifically for it. On a train.
Anyway I know CB is a bit old for it but I hear Cilla has been incorporated so looking forward to see how she pulls that one off!
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362 posts
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 9, 2022 17:20:39 GMT
Has anyone seen any offers for this for Richmond? It's there at the end of the month.
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4,789 posts
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Post by Mark on Jun 9, 2022 17:50:05 GMT
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362 posts
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Post by JJShaw on Jun 9, 2022 19:40:43 GMT
Wow amazing deal thank you so much!!
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4,789 posts
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Post by Mark on Jun 29, 2022 21:49:05 GMT
I went tonight.
It was good, especially Christina and Shobna, but as a play it is feeling extremely dated
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632 posts
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Post by ncbears on Jun 30, 2022 7:02:40 GMT
I was at the Wednesday matinee. Very senior audience (plus one school group(. Audience was barely engaged in Act I.
I knew nothing of the show or film. Bianco was the draw (and a 15£ ticket)
Mari might be the biggest monster of a mother I have ever seen on stage.
Why is this billed as a comedy (or comedy-drama)? Maybe in a Russian sense - but this was a straight drama. Yes, characters are over the top and there are a few funny bits or lines, but not enough to make it a comedy.
Agree that the set for the fire scene and aftermath were weak
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? Who next Rita sulllivan ….or sally metcalfe ?? 😊🤔
