Free Theatre/Concert Tickets Discussion Thread

[jcolombi]

I saw this afternoon and thought it was dire!

I had a good seat in Level 4 so can't complain about that, and the acting and singing was good.

Although I didn't think this carrier very well in an arena setting, I think they should of used the 2 screens to the rear of the stage. I also thought it was to loud, so you missed some of what the characters were saying, I also thought that they left quite a lot out of the story, I wouldn't recommend this to someone, however if this was to play a theatre in west end I would more likely to recommend it to someone.

4/10

[jojojoanne]

I saw this afternoon and thought it was dire!

I had a good seat in Level 4 so can't complain about that, and the acting and singing was good.

Although I didn't think this carrier very well in an arena setting, I think they should of used the 2 screens to the rear of the stage. I also thought it was to loud, so you missed some of what the characters were saying, I also thought that they left quite a lot out of the story, I wouldn't recommend this to someone, however if this was to play a theatre in west end I would more likely to recommend it to someone.

4/10

You travelled all the way from Portsmouth, only to be let down

[jcolombi]

Yes, shame, I had high hopes!

[cinefila1]

In the end we decided to go along this evening to see JCS. I thought we were quite lucky with the seat allocation; even though we were in Level 4 row J, our seats were straight in front of the stage so we had a great view. True that the overhang of the lighting sometimes got in the way of the singers' faces when projected onto the screen, but still.

Never having seen JCS before, I enjoyed the second part better, also because it had some songs I recognised and liked. I was surprised to see how packed it was tonight, even if there were some empty seats scattered around. But, as others have said, the venue is just too big for this type of show.

[asamaic]

We had great seats in Level 4. The show wasn't as loud as I had anticipated (maybe they took on board feedback from yesterday?) so I didn't need the earplugs.

Thought Tim Minchin and Mel C were fantastic, shame about Ben Forster, he was really outshone by, well, everyone else.

I did enjoy this, but I think I would have preferred seeing it as a theatre performance, even with the dialogue still cut. It just felt like the venue was too big.

PS What's the O2 Blueroom like? Worth going to? None of us have Sky (so no backstage passes), but one of our group is on O2 and I saw an advertisement after the show saying O2 customers could take 3 guests into the Blueroom bar. Wondered if that was something to bear in mind for next time - he had no idea that being an O2 customer got him any perks.

[funthing29]

PS What's the O2 Blueroom like? Worth going to? None of us have Sky (so no backstage passes), but one of our group is on O2 and I saw an advertisement after the show saying O2 customers could take 3 guests into the Blueroom bar. Wondered if that was something to bear in mind for next time - he had no idea that being an O2 customer got him any perks.

It's quite small so can get crowded.

IMO, the Sky backstage area is nicer.

[Timbo]

The beauty of shows/films etc are that they appeal in different ways to different people. This production of JCS is a fine example - some people have really enjoyed it and others clearly have not liked it at all.
I have seen the film, theatre productions, and last nights performance at The O2. I hate the film, have enjoyed it in the theatre, and actually found last nights production to be stunning. For me, I found that it worked really well in the big arena. The cast are strong and the musicians brilliant. I didn't find it too loud, though I am also guessing that maybe they turned down the volume after feedback from Friday's show.
Tim Minchin gave a brilliant performance, Mel C was good but was typical Mel C, Chris Moyles was surprisingly very good, and I also thought Ben Forster was good. His rendition of Gethsemene was excellent.
I would p*y to see it so to get it as a freebie was amazing. As I said at the beginning, shows appeal in different ways. Just because I enjoyed it so much does not mean that I expect everyone else to also do so, but for those going tonight, I hope you enjoy it and keep an open mind.

[claire]

we went to see this last night with few family memebers that are over to visit.
we got seats up on level four and as other people say the speakers seems to cut off some of the peoples heads on the screen with was a bit annoying at first but towards the end didnt seem to bother us.
we had a fantastic night the kids got a little bored in first half but second half was much much better

Tim Michin for me was the real star. he was fantastic i never knew he could sing like that.

loved chris moyles and king herold too. so funny.

at beggining i felt the show was a little confusing (i have never seen play or film) and was a little hard to follow so just enjoyed the songs. but after the judges scene it was much easier to follow.

our family on holiday absolutley loved it said it was best show they have seen ever!!
i wouldnt go that far, i did enjoy it , but could see how some people would really love it and others hate it

[asamaic]

I had a look online out of interest and Level 4 seats were around £52. For the same money, you could get premium seats in the West End with a much better view. I don't think it's a criticism of JSC per se, rather I've learnt that arena shows just don't hold the same appeal for me as theatre.

Apparently today's show was added due to the demand, but as we know, there have been free tickets for this one too. Given they will have three apparent "sell out" London shows, plus a few good 4* reviews, I wonder how the rest of the tour will fare? Maybe they won't have to give away any more tickets.

Having slept on it, I'm still very impressed with Tim Minchin. Whilst he wasn't as faultless as Mel C, he had much more challenging songs to work with. My guests were massive fans, so they enjoyed JSC purely for the chance to see him performing.

[canadian_turtle]

I am very torn about Jesus Christ Superstar. I enjoyed the TV show but didn't book any tickets as I assumed it wouldn't be an intimate theatre show in such a huge arena as there is no space for an emotional connection with the audience or much acting to begin with. I was certainly right about that and the lack of dialogue only made it worse. This was not theatre, it was a very loud concert.

I absolutely hated how incredibly loud it started (slightly better in the second half, but not by much), which seems to have been partially rectified from the second show onwards. It was much better when I stuck my fingers in my ears, the singing even sounded heaps better as the screeching / shrill sounds were taken away this way and I do think that most if not all issues with the singing were due to the sound technicans and choices, not the performers.

I was also not a huge fan of the modernisation of the story, partiacularly the "Twitter" scene now called "Whot's the Buzz" (with an o instead of an a) bugged me. However, another very modern scene, the one with King Herod (who reminded me of Perez Hilton), worked exceptionally well. It was ridiculous and over the top but it had me in stitches and as a scene was definitely my favourite.

I was really pleasantly surprised by Tim Minchin's singing abilities (I was worried about this as he's not a rock singer per se, but I loved him), same goes for Mel C. Ben was fine too. Not exceptional, but he managed.

Because of the lack of dialogue (and because of this any coherent story), lack of emotion and sound issues I would normally not be able to give this show more than a 5 out of 10. However, this doesn't do justice to the main performers who imho were all good up until excellent, they easily warrant an 8. So I guess, a 6.5 is my final judgement (for now), though I may have to downgrade some of of my other theatre ratings this year as a result as they were poorer than JCS.

* * * * *

I saw Thriller Live this week (a competition win) which is not justified as a musical. It's a tribute act and not a fantastic one at that. However, it was sligthly better than I had expected and the dancers were superb. 6.5/10.

* * * * *

I also went to Shrek last week (another competition win) which sadly wasn't as good as I had hoped it to be from the reviews. The main actors did not have exceptional voices, the original songs weren't very catchy and the story didn't do much for me (just like the film). However, Lord Farquaad was beyond excellent (easily the highlight of the show - and I very much admire the actor performing on his knees for the most part) and the encore brought a smile on my face, the best song in the show. 6.5/10