What did you think of the show?
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theatreguys 
Mrs Warrens profession.
Appreciative of the performances of the two main characters, but I couldn’t help feeling something was lacking. Maybe because I have since learned that the play has been cut down so much. I’m still slightly disappointed not to feel that important “oomph” on a subject so meaty. Maybe because it was written at so different a time, maybe I expected more from Bernard Shaw. Maybe there would have been more impact with more volume. Nevertheless, thank you to Mike and Fredo and our coach driver. Another educational evening. Many thanks. Jan.
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The play was originally a four Act play. Different productions often cut it to reduce running time but this one Act version streamlines it more than usual. It was likely to have had two intervals which would possibly take the performance up to three hours approximately.
“That Bernadette Shaw – such a chatterbox” said a character in that sublime farce ‘Privates on Parade’ (1977) by Peter Nichols. He knew a thing or two about GBS, and now new directors are finding out too.
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Mrs Warren’s Profession
I had never seen this play before, though felt I knew what it was about. I thought the first scenes were a bit thin, with the comic vicar and other characters only briefly and hurriedly introduced, and Mrs Warren presented as a formidable Lady Bracknell type figure. But Viv was immediately focussed; by the end I felt that Viv’s was actually the most important role, and think she had a larger amount of stage time than her mother. Bessie Carter was new to me and I was enthralled by her performance; the jolly but hard-won confidence in her own abilities and her own moral values were made clear, carried right through to the end. The two crucial confrontation scenes with Mrs Warren were gripping, and the revelation of the source of her wealth and the poverty from which she was able to escape were moving. Imelda Staunton, of course, was superb, giving us gradually revealed layers of her character, ending in the sort of tragedy she thought she was saving up to avoid. Shaw makes many points about the lack of opportunities for women to better themselves, and it’s ironic that Viv has been able to do this on the back of her mother’s wealth. The presence of women who were exploited, drifting around to help with the scene changes, was a welcome piece of theatricality to an otherwise severe production.
I was, actually, surprised by the final scene, but the weight of the past upon the present was unavoidable. Both Staunton and Carter were worthy of the huge applause. After the show Mike told me that the play was heavily cut and that the original text would have taken more like 3 hours to perform. It would be interesting to see whether the full version fleshed out the supporting characters more effectively. Absolutely super seats, Fredo. Thanks so much.
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The Great Gatsby
Terrific show
Amazing fabulous staging – huge sets, excellent lighting and I would suggest the word magnificent would not go amiss.
Powerful singers, especially the men and particularly Nick (played by Corbin Bleu)
Sadly the women were somewhat disappointing as everyone was miked up and their voices sometimes were so loud you could barely make out the diction.
The dancing was remarkable, especially the tap dancing routines, I didn’t expect this.
The show was fast paced and highly enjoyable
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Monica
The Great Gatsby.
Not having read the reviews I thought I’d have a quick look and have to agree with a lot they had to say.
Thought it a lavish performance with slick set changes which were impressive. Choreography and costumes good and yes, very loud so diction not clear. i did know the story which helped.
Despite all I was very pleased to see it and how they could make a musical out of as one would say, a classic which is a thoroughly enjoyable read and it’s short!
Enjoyed the ride though Limehouse.
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The Great Gatsby:
“I didn’t not enjoy the show – it just didn’t live up to my expectations! The singing and dancing were excellent and I absolutely loved the costumes. However, I had absolutely no idea what was going on!! Hearing aids are very good and I could follow the spoken dialogue, but diction and storyline was completely lost with the singing, which was often far too loud and overwhelming. However, London theatre rarely totally disappoints – it’s always yet another experience.
Please thank our driver, Sid, for negotiating the back streets of Barking to avoid heavy traffic. It was like a mystery tour!” JEAN
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The Great Gatsby
The lavish costumes were certainly designed to ‘ravish the sensuous mind’.
Exceptional and changing extravagant sets awesome. It was a treat to hear strong singing from the men whose diction was clear. Sadly too many of the female songs relied heavily on hanging in the high registers which also made it difficult to hear the words –a bit irritating. The characters didn’t always convey a strength of connection to help us believe in them. But a glamorous spectacle it certainly was.
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The Great Gatsby
So let’s start at the very beginning…. although we loved the set and all the Glitz on stage, the costumes the dancing , we weren’t so keen on the music it has to be said, very loud and we felt off note. The second act proved to be more acceptable, maybe our ears had got used to the noise by then . The story unfolded very slowly but to go from the lighthearted singing and dancing scenes to such a tragic end was always going to be difficult. So a show of two halves !
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The Fifth Step
A belated posting with little to add to others on the excellence of the work and the superb delivery by Jack and Martin. A great treat to see it from the front row, with inspired blocking and direction drawing in the whole audience. The playwright, David Ireland, has had a comparatively modest career albeit his Cypress Avenue seen at the Royal Court is a powerful and, at times, disturbing work. Hopefully the critical and commercial success of this production will create further opportunities to see more of his work.
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The Fifth Step
A paired down stage; 2 chairs, a table and some paper cups awaited us, but as soon as Jack Lowden, all twitchy with nervouse tics appeared, and along with Martin Freeman looking smooth and confodent in his sponsor role, you just knew that we were in for something special. The dialogue was snappy, with a real feel for how people actually speak to each other. Their journey over the coffee and biscuits about AA and what it meant to each of them was very funny in places, but you could feel the simmering tension starting to build as each had their own demons to work through and at one time, it coming to blows between them. That was an explosive moment but it soon calmed down as final truths bubbled up and out.
Both performances were outstanding. Neither of them better than the other, but rather each complimenting each other. The immediacy of the staging made you really see each twitch and eye brow raise. When Jack Lowdens character danced around the edge of the stage, you could really feel his euphoria.
I loved it.
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The Fifth Step
We’ve both agree this absorbing play is amongst the top we’ve had the privilege to see with Theatreguys
Two recovering alcoholics Luca the younger and on the fourth step of recovery and his sponsor James recovering for 25 years . The spellbinding and funny dialogue
persisted throughout although showing the loneliness of Luca and his struggles to relate to others. There was a heart stopping incident near the end of the play and then the tide turned .Unmissable .
Thank you Fredo and Mike for your hard work obtaining tickets
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The Fifth Step is a dark, gripping two-hander that dives into the raw heart of the AA process — specifically Step Five: admitting the truth to another. Performed in the round with minimal props, it’s a tense, unrelenting exchange between a recovering alcoholic (Lowden) and his sponsor (Freeman), both slowly exposing uncomfortable truths.
What starts as sharp, darkly comic dialogue shifts into something far more confronting. Humour gives way to confessions involving sex, faith, and trauma, with strong language and themes that proved too much for a few early leavers.
Lowden is electric, Freeman quietly devastating. Together, they hold the space with staggering intensity. The spiritual undertone — initially mocked — lands with surprising weight in the final moment, symbolised by the haunting drop of a paper cup.
Unflinching, uncomfortable, and unforgettable.
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The fifth step.
What an excellent portrayal of these two characters. Their body language, I Thought absolutely enhanced the script. I was enchanted by the whole play and thoroughly enjoyed the natural dialogue take on the spirituality discussions.
Both actors were equally excellent in my view ( it was good to see Martin Freeman) and we enjoyed the lovely new theatre’s design.
An excellent visit, so thank you once again Fredo and Mike.
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Fiddler on the Roof,
It was a delightful production.
The singing & solos were good.
Especially thought the men dancing while balancing bottles on their heads was daring.
A pleasant evening.
Thank you, Fredo & Mike.
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As best as I can remember, every musical show ends in a dramatic or musical flourish. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is the exception. It triumphs in every way as its story progresses, as its characters learn from life, and its musical numbers reflect their feelings. Great stuff. But the ending is sad and literally a soft goodbye for the characters and for us as we leave the theatre. The problem, one which every production has to surmount, is to bring the drama to a satisfying end without the help of a musical number. No megamix!
Sondheim gives his song ‘Sunday’ to the reflective ending of ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ and our tears flow in huge satisfaction! The first comment I heard from our group as we left Fiddler was “I liked it but not as much as the last version at the Menier”. I agree. This current production was a huge hit in the leafy and atmospheric surroundings of the Regents Park Open Air Theatre last year (which I didn’t see) and it looks elegant on the vastness of the Barbican stage, but intimacy it inevitably lacks.
At the tiny Menier that necessary intimacy was inescapable; we were within touching distance. For me, here in the Barbican, I was far more excited, more involved, and more satisfied at the Interval than I was at the end. I had laughed and cried, as we should, at how the new generation were fighting the restrictions of Tradition, coping with their love lives, and certainly entertaining us with their songs and energetic dancing. But as they quietly filed offstage to a new and very different future at the finale, my emotion and concern had ebbed away along with the drama. Compare with the Act 1 finale when the people we had grown to love were threatened and attacked in their village – wow, adrenalin, drama, elation and the memory of those brilliant musical numbers. But at the finish, the daughters had found partners, the suffocating Tradition had been neutralised, and everyone was…well, being moved on to new horizons. All the drama had subsided. The show should not rely on our knowledge of history, or indeed today’s world problems, to make its point. At the Menier the results of the drama were still reverberating and we took the emotions home with us. Here at the Barbican my initial five star rating dropped down to four…and our attention turned to wondering how to find our way out of the place.
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Fiddler on the Roof
I was a Fiddler newby when I saw the wonderful production at the Menier Chocolate Factory a few years ago, never even having seen the film . I was deeply impressed by that production, directed by Trevor Nunn. This new production is equally impressive but in different ways. The principal difference is scale. The Barbican stage is vast as was the entire scene at RP Open air, but still one was able to appreciate the family closeness within their small community. All the performers were superb, especially Adam Dannheisser as Tevye, and Lara Pulver certainly is his equal in her role. The dance routines were thrilling and the band wonderful. I have always rather liked Beverly Klein so was happy to see her again. I see that there are two understudies for Adam Dannheisser so as he presumably will not be doing the upcoming tour, they will share the role on the road. My family will see it at Norwich so I will find out who they got. In the end I slightly preferred the Menier production. The final departures of the family is deeply moving, but somehow even more so at the Menier, where the people were wrapped up in winter clothing, trudging along in the dark, with the snow falling. Excellent seats, so thanks again, Fredo for doing so well.
John R
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Fiddler on the Roof.
As ever, the show was wonderful. I’ve seen it soo many times and been in four different productions of it and have never seen it done badly. That said, much as I enjoyed it, I preferred the Menier Chocolate Factory production.
For the show to work well, Tevye MUST engage with the audience and good as he was, I didn’t feel he did.
I loved some of the changes in the orchestration. The music is so completely fabulous it is hard spoil it.
Golda had a great voice. I never understood how that woman got the part in the film, with her harsh, gravelly voice.
I did wonder why we had a Scottish Russian and a Welsh innkeeper. I’m a bit of a traditionalist and I like my whites white, my blacks black, my men men and Russians to sound Russian.
The choreography and dancing was really good.
Interesting to have Chava playing the clarinet in two scenes, most notably the final scene which is usually played out by the Fiddler. Was she demonstrating that her heart was still Jewish despite marrying a Russian, maybe?
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed. I can’t imagine ever not. It really is a wonderful show.
Oh x a quick shout out to the fires burning after the pograms. Very convincing.
How poignant was this now that such awful things are happening in Ukraine?
4 stars.
Thanks Fredo and Mike for this and all the many, many trips over the years.
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Fiddler on the Roof
Having only been familiar with the music, but never having seen either the film or the stage show I was very interested to see how everything fitted together. From my limited experience I can only say that I could not have imagined how it could have been performed better. This production was spectacular.
The singing and harmonising were amongst the best I have heard, and the choreography was so sharp and original. Although I believe I have seen the “bottle dance” performed before at a rugby club dinner, but without the same degree of precision!!
Tevye, played by yet another brilliant actor of whom I have never heard, was the pivotal role. A compassionate man who loved his family, of a wife and five daughters. He also loved and deeply believed in the “tradition” of his faith. Amongst his grumblings about being poor, and working too hard, he found that he was being challenged by his daughters over the traditional issue of arranged marriage. Did he value his daughters’ future happiness over the teachings of his faith? His wife, Golda, gave the impression that faith and tradition took precedence over everything, but did she mean it? In a touching duet between the two of them, “Do you love me?” It is clear that she understands and sympathises with his dilemma.
This scenario is carried out against a backdrop of amusing interference from the other members of their community. However, there is a more sinister element. The village, Anatevka, in which the community live was then part of Tsarist Russia, ironically now part of Ukraine. After a series of relatively minor anti-Jewish demonstrations, all of the inhabitants of Anatevka are given three days to leave.
The final scene shows the community bidding each other optimistic farewells, not really knowing how the future will pan out for them.
This is without doubt one of the finest musicals I have seen. The best accolade than comes to mind is that I never once thought of Topol!!
Again many thanks Fredo & Mike
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Fiddler on the roof.
Lovely production. I enjoyed the cultural language and movement. Was good to follow the story right to the end, as haven’t before. Excellent voices and dancing. Found the theatre a bit of a problem to navigate, but a great night out. Thanks again for it all Fredo and Mike.
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Monica and Robin.
Fiddler On The Roof.
We were enthralled with tonight’s performance, Couldn’t fault it. Everything was very clear, singing and speaking. Loved the costumes and the violinist amused me with his socks rolled down to his shoes. The bottle on their hats? Did they ever fall off? The orchestra was very effective being in the background, nice touch.
Love the Barbican theatre but it is a nightmare finding your way around!
Thank you Fredo and Mike for another splendid evening.
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