Free Theatre/Concert Tickets Discussion Thread

[LondonCityNights]

Don't know if anyone here has tried the Pizza Express 'Free Theatre Ticket voucher yet, but what a rip off!

Turns out to use it you have to b*y a full price ticket to whatever show you want to see. Nothing about that on the voucher or the website until you get to the booking screen. Not impressed.

[canadian_turtle]

Saw Bodyguard the Musical last night thanks to a competition win, which sadly was a bit of a letdown. I really didn't enjoy the majority of the first half which was boring and I felt very disengaged to the characters. The last 15 minutes or so were enjoyable though and there was a lot more to like in the second half (both in terms of solid musical numbers, comic scenes and some much needed tension).

However, overall the show really lacked character development (the big romance the audience is supposed to go crazy for is non-existent) and the music is not catchy or theatrical enough for a musical setting. It certainly doesn't deserve to be likened to Ghost the musical (a fellow film adaptation), which manages to properly depict the epic love story.

Also taking away from the enjoyment was the person in front of me leaving over the whole gorram time (and we were in the back row of the dress circle so the view wasn't ideal anyway. Not bad actually, but having gotten so used to getting top price seats at most shows I've seen this year it was an adjustment) and people going in and out of their seats (this includes a slew of latecomers) all throughout the show. Very disruptive.

Not sure on rating. Want to give it a 6 but it was slightly better than other shows I've seen this year that I gave a similar rating (Thriller Live, Soul Sister), might have to downgrade all the ratings now...

Having said that, if you've seen the movie, so can fill in the missing blanks that lead to the romance and/or love Whitney Houston music you'll likely enjoy it more than I have!

[aruif]

oh it sounds rubbish c_t! just as i suspected to be honest. cant people leave things alone?

as for the main character, her voice really irks me so i'd never go and see it, based on that alone

[canadian_turtle]

I actually cannot fault her voice, particularly when she did the more spectacular songs she really shone. However, I wasn't fond of the choice to make the songs sound so different from Whitney Houston's interpretations (this was more to do with the direction of the show than a personal preference of the actress, I think) which made many sound unrecognisable.

[funthing29]

Well it's not the best musical I've ever seen and is unlikely to be in memorable but I have seen far far worse. I would give it 7/10. It was a fairly decent adaptation of the film, with good vocals and impressive staging, and it did poke fun of itself on occasion; my only issues were wooden acting, limited characterisation and an underdeveloped romance.

[canadian_turtle]

You just reminded me of "Frank comes everywhere..." lol what?

Agree the staging was impressive, but it couldn't make up for the lack of romance (in a romantic show!) or catchy songs (in a musical!) for me.

[Timbo]

It's going to be interesting to see the reviews for the Spice Girls musical, Viva Forever. Reports from the preview performances have generally been awful.

[nathankw]

Apologies if this has been posted somewhere already, but this website has an "advent calendar" with lots of theatre offers:
http://onestoparts.com/advent-calendar

Wednesdays was tickets for Arabian Nights at the excellent Tricycle Theatre for £10.
I think they're still available:
"The Tricycle Theatre are offer a limited number of £10 tickets for performances from today, 5 December, until 15 December by quoting AdventTreat when booking. Advanced booking only. Limited offer. Subject to availability."

I got a ticket for next week.

[dovetail]

Booking is now open for Get into London Theatre.

"These fantastic shows are all offering amazing deals for performances from 1 January - 15 February. Tickets are priced at just £10, £15, £25 and £35. Plus, to save you even more money, there are no booking or postage fees!"

http://gilt.seetickets.com/content/gilt-home

[Spinner]

Looks like the Wishbone Ash tickets are in partnership with The Audience Club. For Audience Club tickets, don't you need to be a member and show your membership card to gain entrance?