Fri 28th June - 7:30 Performance
Phoenix Theatre - £25 Ticket, £6 Programme
It is difficult to decide where to start with this show other than to say, I absolutely loved ALL of it! I very, very, very strongly recommend seeing it if you are able at any point. It is quite a unique feeling musical and the sub-line: A New Musical hints towards this. This show still feels fresh, young and vibrant, as if it was fresh from a fringe festival. It has a raw energy which runs rampant and toys with the audience's emotions.
The set for Once is a stationary Irish Bar, with an eclectic mix of differently shaped mirrors and bare light globes lining the walls. The actors mostly remained on stage at all times as they were also the band and provided support to those in the scene. This was done from seats down the sides of the stage behind which their instruments were stored. The scene changes were choreographed over music and stuck quite well with the overall feeling of the show.
The show begins 15 minutes before show time with the West End's only on-stage bar which the audience is encouraged to give their patronage. I of course took the opportunity to get up on stage but didn't buy anything as it was quite expensive and after a quick look around went and sat down. At show time, the Actor-Musicians come onto the stage with the audience and start playing, this creates an instant closeness between actor and audience not available to most shows. After several Irish Jig-like songs, the audience are asked to leave the stage and the story begins. I very much regret leaving the stage before the actors entered and we were asked to, as I feel that this experience is one I really shouldn't have missed.
The bar was re-opened at interval and I decided to buy a drink purely for the souvenir cup as I was loving the show that much! The feeling which came over me standing up on that stage in front of an audience (not that they were paying any attention) is extremely difficult to describe. It was an extreme feeling of RIGHT, it made me hot and cold at the same time and I guess kinda like this. It is a feeling which I think only other theatre people (and I suppose other performance people) could comprehend and the only thing further I will say is get me the hell back up on-stage already!!!
I went into the theatre fully expecting Once to be nothing but a cheesy love story because of the tag line "The only thing his music was missing was...her" however it turned out to be anything but. Once is the tale of a heartbroken Irish man who is about to give up on music when he meets an equally heartbroken though more resilient Czech woman. She, after hearing him play and recognising the soul and talent behind the music encourages him to keep playing music, some other stuff happens and I will say no more because *Spoilers*. Needless to say the story is quite unique and it doesn't end as expected.
The music is amazing if you love a little bit of Irish Jig/flair, which I do :) There are also some lovely slower and ballad-y ones thrown in and is all around an awesome score.
Overall an extremely lovely and powerful show which I very strongly recommend seeing if you want something a little bit different to your more standard West End Musical fare. Tickets are currently booking until 31st May 2014 though if you walk in on the day like we did you can pick up some pretty awesome half price day seats. And as cheesy as it sounds it will not be a show I will only see Once.
Phoenix Theatre - £25 Ticket, £6 Programme
It is difficult to decide where to start with this show other than to say, I absolutely loved ALL of it! I very, very, very strongly recommend seeing it if you are able at any point. It is quite a unique feeling musical and the sub-line: A New Musical hints towards this. This show still feels fresh, young and vibrant, as if it was fresh from a fringe festival. It has a raw energy which runs rampant and toys with the audience's emotions.
The set for Once is a stationary Irish Bar, with an eclectic mix of differently shaped mirrors and bare light globes lining the walls. The actors mostly remained on stage at all times as they were also the band and provided support to those in the scene. This was done from seats down the sides of the stage behind which their instruments were stored. The scene changes were choreographed over music and stuck quite well with the overall feeling of the show.
The show begins 15 minutes before show time with the West End's only on-stage bar which the audience is encouraged to give their patronage. I of course took the opportunity to get up on stage but didn't buy anything as it was quite expensive and after a quick look around went and sat down. At show time, the Actor-Musicians come onto the stage with the audience and start playing, this creates an instant closeness between actor and audience not available to most shows. After several Irish Jig-like songs, the audience are asked to leave the stage and the story begins. I very much regret leaving the stage before the actors entered and we were asked to, as I feel that this experience is one I really shouldn't have missed.
The bar was re-opened at interval and I decided to buy a drink purely for the souvenir cup as I was loving the show that much! The feeling which came over me standing up on that stage in front of an audience (not that they were paying any attention) is extremely difficult to describe. It was an extreme feeling of RIGHT, it made me hot and cold at the same time and I guess kinda like this. It is a feeling which I think only other theatre people (and I suppose other performance people) could comprehend and the only thing further I will say is get me the hell back up on-stage already!!!
I went into the theatre fully expecting Once to be nothing but a cheesy love story because of the tag line "The only thing his music was missing was...her" however it turned out to be anything but. Once is the tale of a heartbroken Irish man who is about to give up on music when he meets an equally heartbroken though more resilient Czech woman. She, after hearing him play and recognising the soul and talent behind the music encourages him to keep playing music, some other stuff happens and I will say no more because *Spoilers*. Needless to say the story is quite unique and it doesn't end as expected.
The music is amazing if you love a little bit of Irish Jig/flair, which I do :) There are also some lovely slower and ballad-y ones thrown in and is all around an awesome score.
Overall an extremely lovely and powerful show which I very strongly recommend seeing if you want something a little bit different to your more standard West End Musical fare. Tickets are currently booking until 31st May 2014 though if you walk in on the day like we did you can pick up some pretty awesome half price day seats. And as cheesy as it sounds it will not be a show I will only see Once.
I see what you did at the end there.
ReplyDeleteOkay, yes, I think this is a thing I should see when I am over there. It sounds awesome.
(also, I have no idea if I have done the follow thing correctly, since I didn't get any email about this post, but just keep posting the links on FB and I will be fine. Blogger confuzzles me so!).