George Takei's Allegiance - Charing Cross Theatre

[anita]

If anyone wants the DVD please note it is on sale at the theatre for £20 & will save yourself the ridiculous cost of postage from the website. [ I've paid more than double.]

[mkb]

I saw that and was really surprised. I understand the desire for a hard copy, as that's my preference too, but a DVD? Do people still buy those? Maybe with upscaling it might look ok, but it would surely be better to sell Blu-ray and UHD.

[interval99]

Yes people do still buy dvds, while not denying there can be better quality picture and sound via Blu-ray the difference it makes for most viewing is slight and most TVs and players upscale automatically and just doesn't warrant the 50% increase in cost.

As not tied to any steaming services at present I have to catch up some series via their hard copy release and it's been noticeable that there are a lot of films and TV shows only releasing dvd versions now.

[mkb]

I'll grant you the difference between Blu-ray and UHD is sometimes marginal, especially on tvs under 50", but DVD and Blu-ray are worlds apart.

[darreno]

Caught this on Saturday afternoon, really enjoyed it. As someone said above, if the stated aim is to tell a story and shine a light on the treatment of people during the war then it absolutely succeeds. I had very little knowledge of how they were treated and am now reading a little more into the subject. Objective achieved!

As a show, it does 'hang' on Takei, he's the reason bums are on seats. I usually avoid 'celebrity' driven shows but considering this is his baby, not just a celebrity tacked on to sell a show, then I was happy to make an exception. Unusual crowd at it I think, although as a general rule, anything that gets paying people into a theatre and paid actors a place to perform, is OK in my book!

Aynrand Ferrer does a LOT of the heavy lifting when it comes to the singing, she is absolutely the standout performer for me. A mention to Patrick Munday too, who was part of the Cheerleader cast which was the highlight of last year for me. He develops his role really nicely, especially in the second half. Overall I would recommend it, even if the pacing isn't to everyone's taste, the ending is very strong.

[sfsusan]

Interesting review: app.theneweuropean.co.uk/theatre-review-allegiance/content.html

[Someone in a tree]

Im quite suprised at how nuch liked this as 90's sounding musical theatre ballads is not my thing

The story is really moving and i was so impressed with Telly Leung who really has that star power. Aynrand Ferrer was also excellent but to be honest the whole company and unformaly fab.

Best show at CCT since Titanic.

[FrontroverPaul]

Don't know if this happens regularly but last night just before 7.30 the audience were invited to move forward if they wished to fill empty seats. Was around 60% full.

The front row A went from empty (it wasn't included in the offer when I booked my cheapo side seat) to full. I moved to dead centre which really enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

Thanks Charing Cross theatre !

[Someone in a tree]

24 hour sale on TodayTix - go get them seats!

[mhumphries]



Jan 31, 2023 16:57:02 GMT paul26 said:

Don't know if this happens regularly but last night just before 7.30 the audience were invited to move forward if they wished to fill empty seats. Was around 60% full.

The front row A went from empty (it wasn't included in the offer when I booked my cheapo side seat) to full. I moved to dead centre which really enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

Thanks Charing Cross theatre !

Yes, it was a nice surprise. Puzzling how they did not do it with the other side though, as the frist 5 or so rows were very empty, in fact I think the frist row was completely empty. Fantastic show.

[max]

Jan 31, 2023 18:10:34 GMT mhumphries said:



Jan 31, 2023 16:57:02 GMT paul26 said:

Don't know if this happens regularly but last night just before 7.30 the audience were invited to move forward if they wished to fill empty seats. Was around 60% full.

The front row A went from empty (it wasn't included in the offer when I booked my cheapo side seat) to full. I moved to dead centre which really enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

Thanks Charing Cross theatre !

Yes, it was a nice surprise. Puzzling how they did not do it with the other side though, as the frist 5 or so rows were very empty, in fact I think the frist row was completely empty. Fantastic show.

I think they've made mistake in making front rows Premium, and including a signed poster.  When they don't sell, it just creates a gulf between actors and audience which must be disheartening all round - hence moving forward.  It looks like Mr Takei is often (always?) out front to meet fans afterwards, so the value of the 'up front seating' is not very exclusive anyway.

[FrontroverPaul]

Jan 31, 2023 18:10:34 GMT mhumphries said:



Jan 31, 2023 16:57:02 GMT paul26 said:

Don't know if this happens regularly but last night just before 7.30 the audience were invited to move forward if they wished to fill empty seats. Was around 60% full.

The front row A went from empty (it wasn't included in the offer when I booked my cheapo side seat) to full. I moved to dead centre which really enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

Thanks Charing Cross theatre !

Yes, it was a nice surprise. Puzzling how they did not do it with the other side though, as the frist 5 or so rows were very empty, in fact I think the frist row was completely empty. Fantastic show.

I assumed that people on both sides could have moved but none chose to do so. If I'd been over there I would certainly have still moved to the front. I did think "our" A+ side got slightly more of the best view too.

[anita]

Jan 31, 2023 16:57:02 GMT FrontroverPaul said:

Don't know if this happens regularly but last night just before 7.30 the audience were invited to move forward if they wished to fill empty seats. Was around 60% full.

The front row A went from empty (it wasn't included in the offer when I booked my cheapo side seat) to full. I moved to dead centre which really enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

Thanks Charing Cross theatre !

Yes they did this when I was there too.

[drowseychap]

Sorry if this has been asked before is there a better side to sit on ? Looking at the offer £35 tickets ?

[appoul]

Feb 1, 2023 22:37:31 GMT drowseychap said:

Sorry if this has been asked before is there a better side to sit on ? Looking at the offer £35 tickets ?

If you want to sit closer to George Takei, choose rows A to H. That's the side he's sitting closer to most of the time. Otherwise both sides are fine but make sure you get seats in the middle of the rows.

[drowseychap]

Feb 2, 2023 14:49:51 GMT appoul said:

Feb 1, 2023 22:37:31 GMT drowseychap said:

Sorry if this has been asked before is there a better side to sit on ? Looking at the offer £35 tickets ?

If you want to sit closer to George Takei, choose rows A to H. That's the side he's sitting closer to most of the time. Otherwise both sides are fine but make sure you get seats in the middle of the rows.

Thanks for the info I saw an offer on. OLT website today for sale tickets 🎟️ phew 😥 I bought correct ones then I managed to get row E middle for £30 for Saturday 👍🎭

[Matt]

Saw this today, there’s a tag line on the poster that says it’s “uplifting” but it’s literally the opposite. I thought the performances were great, but the whole thing was a bit dull and boring. In shows you usually get happy bits, then sad bits, then happy bits, but this just seemed to go sad, sadder, even sadder, saddest. I just came out of it feeling a bit deflated tbh, especially after arsenals loss to Everton just before.

[drowseychap]

Thanks for the advice all row E middle was perfect and yes George spends most of his time that side too . Really enjoyed the production found it very moving at times very strong cast , 3.5 ⭐️ for me maybe a 4 with George in it knowing he and his family lived that life does resonate . Clever use of a small space never felt like I missed anything .

[stevemar]

I am glad I went to this and the cast sang well, with great ensemble work and did the most they could with the material. Whilst the songs fair moved along, the lyrics were at best serviceable and I felt that there could have been more to the storyline in terms of exploration of the after effects of the war and the effects on the Japanese community. It just wasn’t very subtle and a lot brushed over. My friend was a lot more emotional than me though.

Staging in traverse was a mistake. It hampered the cast (so only half could perform to each side at any one time) and most of the time they were performing to the orchestra side ways to the audience. Good on the decision to ask the audience to move forward (the first rows would have been empty otherwise). A decent 3 stars for me.

I probably learned more from the article I read which had initially piqued my interest (not the headline which focuses on William Shatner!).

www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/28/star-trek-george-takei-on-william-shatner-love-and-life-as-an-enemy-alien

[Mark]

Thought this was a wonderful show and told a side of the WWII story I wasn’t familiar with. Good music, strong performances and an important story to be told. I took my mum who can be a pretty harsh critic but she loved this. Glad for George Takei that he was able to bring the show to London.
4 stars from me.

[joem]

I enjoyed this tonight. It's an easy story to understand with good singing and the score is pleasant enough even if there are few stand-out songs.

Great to see George Takei, what a legend together with his Star Trek chums and unchum. Been watching it since I was five or six and still in love with the series and most of its sequels.

Note to Charing Cross Theatre: it's a really bad idea, maybe even on safety grounds, to have a stall selling stuff just in front of the only exit from the auditorium.

[notmymuse]

I really enjoyed this today. It's been a while since I saw a proper musical and I forgot how lovely good singing can be. I thought Aynrand Ferrer especially just sang beautifully and will definitely keep an eye out for her.

[Scswp]

Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’?
Thanks for any help.

[sfsusan]

Feb 19, 2023 16:59:53 GMT Scswp said:

Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’?

Sort of... in a more-or-less rectangular space, the majority of seats are at the short ends with the 'stage' in between them. There are some balcony seats above both of the long edges (I don't think these seats would be good, because some of the action takes place right below them).

[notmymuse]

Feb 19, 2023 16:59:53 GMT Scswp said:

Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’?
Thanks for any help.

It's traverse seating, so two banks of tiered seating rising up with the stage between them at the bottom. There's a very small balcony too, either side of the stage, but only about 4 seats on each side with a terrible view so avoid them.