Theatre 2017: Review Twenty-Seven - Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester. August 2017

This was what has become our annual treat with Mr Norfolkbookworm's aunt, but I think that in this case I was the only one in the audience who didn't know the entire plot of the show.

For some reason I've never seen this before, either on stage or the film version which is strange as I know that it is one of my dad's favourites.  I know the famous song of course (If I Were a Rich Man) and I think I'd heard Matchmaker, Matchmaker and Sun Rise, Sun Set before but that was it.

During the first act I wasn't convinced, Tevye and Golde spoke with Russian/Yiddish accents but their equally rural children all spoke with almost RP accents and for a while this stopped me being drawn in to the story.  I also found it a little over long in the first part - I don't know what could have been shaved but at the interval I was definitely pleased that act two was going to be a lot shorter.

And here's the lesson why you should never leave at the interval because all of the build up in that long first act paid off and I was utterly immersed in the story by the end and truly sad that it came to and end.  I want to know what happened to all of the characters after they were forced out of their village - such an open and potentially sad ending was a real surprise.

Another real surprise was just how good Omid Djalili was - I'd seen him on stage in What the Butler Saw a few years ago and I really disliked his acting, but here he was Tevye and the lynch pin of the production.

I am not sure if this really counts as a musical - I feel that a play with some songs is a more accurate description for the songs don't really move the plot on at any point, they just emphasise what is said/shown but I am glad that we saw it.  I might not have been keen at the interval but by the end I was won over and now I can't stop thinking about is which means that it was obviously a good outing!

Under the weather

Spring of 2016 has not been great for me in some ways as I've not been too well a couple of time, and this has meant that I've actually had to miss going to the theatre a few times.  Prior to this I've actually only missed one performance out of all I've had booked due to being poorly (and that transfered to Norwich so I got to see it anyhow).

Friends who saw one of plays I missed said I'd dodged a bullet but I am sad that I've missed a double-bill in Chichester. Now I've got to cross my fingers that these two do have 'legs' and transfer to other venues.  I can see that I will be ordering the scripts from these two plays and at least reading them.

Theatre 2015: Review Twenty-Three

Mack and Mabel, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester. August 2015.

Regular blog readers will remember that a couple of years ago we went to see Barnum in the temporary tent theatre at Chichester with Mr Norfolkbookworm's aunt.  The renovations to the main theatre have now been finished and Mack and Mabel caught the same aunt's eye and so we made a return trip.

Way back in the early spring when I booked this trip I had mixed experiences with the staff at the theatre.  We needed seats that had little or no steps to gain access to them and the staff couldn't have been more helpful in recommending where to sit.  However when booking opened it became a nightmare trying to book on-line, on behalf of someone else and I ended up sitting on hold for a very long time before getting the seats we needed.  It was thus with mixed feelings we went to see this show.

Once more I knew nothing about the show, and the reviews I'd read were not entirely positive but again I trusted our companion's choice.

On the whole I really enjoyed the show, I thought the mixing of acting and footage from the actual films was done brilliantly, and the choreography was fantastic.  I enjoyed all of the actors and thought that their singing, especially the main draw - Michael Ball, was top notch.  Mabel didn't convince me quite as much but then as part of the plot line is that she is only a comic actress and not that great at anything else I chose to see this as a casting/directing decision.

The first act whizzed by and was highly enjoyable, custard pies and all. The second act felt a little padded to me. There was a great tap number but I'm not convinced that it was needed. The ending was a little like a punch in the stomach and very well done, what could have been horribly sentimental wasn't and did leave me with a slight lump in the throat. I do wonder if this would have been better as an edited, shorter, one act musical?

I didn't come out humming any of the tunes, and after the ending not particularly uplifted but I do have the urge to find and watch movies from the 1920s and before such as the Keystone Cops as the use of them on stage was great.

After my mixed experiences with the staff before our trip I'm pleased to report that they were all fantastic during our visit, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.

I was left feeling a little perturbed by some of the audience/Michael Ball fans however.  There is so much in the press currently about the 'bad behaviour' of Cumberbatch fans at Hamlet (which seems to all be rumour and nothing concrete) yet there were some in the CFT who could have been accused of the same behaviour and yet we hear nothing of that in the press. Oh well I shall report back as my next trip is to see the afore mentioned Hamlet...

Theatrical Interlude 24

Barnum, Theatre in the Park, Chichester. August 2013.

Mr Norfolkbookworm and I had a new companion for our outing to Chichester this past weekend as we went with his aunt - who had also kindly treated us to the tickets as well.

I think that it is fair to say that this wasn't a musical that we'd probably have chosen to go to of our own choice, and that after reading some of the reviews and blog posts we were actually quite nervous about. It really seemed to be pushing us both out of our comfort zone, however our companion was very keen and waxed lyrical about the show so we went with open minds.

And very quickly had those minds blown.

Barnum isn't the strongest musical out there - the 'plot' is wafer thin and the songs not that memorable but thanks to the energy that the cast brought to the performance and sheer talent that the cast showed it was a delight from the metaphorical curtain up.

The musical is a version of P T Barnum's life as a showman, manager, politician and then showman again and as Mr Norfolkbookworm said afterwards it was like they'd actually trained a circus cast to act a little in support of the main roles for the rope work, juggling, tumbling and choreography was faultless and breath taking.

Circuses with animals and freak shows are pretty frowned upon now but the clever staging meant that no one was mocked and we were treated to theatrical humbug of the highest order! Who'd have thought that you really could get a elephant into the temporary tent theatre at Chichester so convincingly!

I can see that this may not be to everyone's taste - lets be honest I didn't think I'd enjoy it a fraction as much as I did but this is no turkey of a performance. As the theatre was full on the Saturday afternoon with people of all ages - all of whom had a smile on their faces as it ended - I'm pleased that people trust the CFT and aren't listening too much to the reviewers!

Chichester is a long way from Norwich so I don't know how often I'll make it back but from flicking through their brochure for the rest of the season there's already 2 things I am hoping will transfer or tour.

The theatre tent in the distance across the lovely park