Post by marion on Mar 21, 2024 9:14:29 GMT
To Richmond to see this new play by Torben Betts which I think may be the last stop. It had mixed reviews from previous stops and a friend who saw it in Guildford thought it was dreadful! So not a lot of encouragement. The house was pretty full.
This stars Tom Chambers (crowd favourite) as a washed up pop star travelling with his estranged family and girlfriend back to London from his mother’s funeral. Drunk, he crashes the car and they have to stay the night in a cottage owned by a peculiar/comic farmer played by Susie Blake. Ghostly happenings then follow.
When I booked this with inadequate research, I thought it was a murder mystery so it took an unexpected turn for me. Ghostly effects don’t always work well on the live stage (The Woman in Black for example, one of the worst nights in the West End theatre I have ever had), and although there was some build up of tension I was never actually jumping in my seat. Mind you, I did see my third hanging female body and I’m getting sick of seeing these, but it still wasn’t terrifying. I do think horror films mean you expect more than a stage show can deliver though.
i didn’t know the rest of the cast. I didn’t think Tom was all that great, a bit whiney as the singer but maybe that was the role. Susie Blake was quiet but funny. The ensemble all acted their roles well. This is a very short play, under two hours including an interval.
On the whole I would say it was average, nothing special, but it did get warm applause. I think the last thing I saw at Richmond was 12 Angry Men which was heaps better.
This stars Tom Chambers (crowd favourite) as a washed up pop star travelling with his estranged family and girlfriend back to London from his mother’s funeral. Drunk, he crashes the car and they have to stay the night in a cottage owned by a peculiar/comic farmer played by Susie Blake. Ghostly happenings then follow.
When I booked this with inadequate research, I thought it was a murder mystery so it took an unexpected turn for me. Ghostly effects don’t always work well on the live stage (The Woman in Black for example, one of the worst nights in the West End theatre I have ever had), and although there was some build up of tension I was never actually jumping in my seat. Mind you, I did see my third hanging female body and I’m getting sick of seeing these, but it still wasn’t terrifying. I do think horror films mean you expect more than a stage show can deliver though.
i didn’t know the rest of the cast. I didn’t think Tom was all that great, a bit whiney as the singer but maybe that was the role. Susie Blake was quiet but funny. The ensemble all acted their roles well. This is a very short play, under two hours including an interval.
On the whole I would say it was average, nothing special, but it did get warm applause. I think the last thing I saw at Richmond was 12 Angry Men which was heaps better.
Anymore to come?
