Love Never Dies - A Review

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies was cruelly dubbed Paint Never Dries by hard-to-please fans of the original when the show opened in March of last year after much anticipation. Just months later, the press reported that tickets were selling for as little as £3 and the show was heading for disaster. No surprise then that the good Lord saw the need for a re-think, controversially closing the show for a few days over the Christmas period for some readjustments.

Noting the teething problems, I approached my visit to the Adelphi with mixed feelings; concern that this allegedly distinctly underwhelming follow-up would sent me running back to Her Majesty’s Theatre where the majestic original is still packing in the tourists, but on the other hand, I believed that Lloyd Webber was not foolish enough to put on a production to an original that is renowned worldwide if it was not up to scratch.

The rearranged show now begins with one of the big songs, ‘Til I Hear You Sing. There is no lead up, no introduction, just bam, there it was before you even had time to get comfortable in your seat. At first I found this confusing, it was like going to see The Sound of Music and starting with the Nazis rather than ending with them. Despite this conscious decision, I believe it worked, the orchestra effortlessly fill the theatre with a genuinely haunting feeling as we first see the Phantom, now ten years on, the hairs on the arms began to stand up ... and as the show continued, it transpired there was far more emotive blackmail to come.

Many have asked where Love Never Dies is an accessible watch to the Phantom virgin and the answer is unquestionably yes, although the only difference to someone who has never met these characters before is that the content of the sequel will inevitably mean less. The plot is touching, rather than taxing for the brain: We meet Christine and Raul ten years on; they now have a son of the same age named Gustav. The family are captured on arrival in New York by the Phantasma Freaks (go with it ....) and are taken to Coney Island, a down at heel land of sleaze and mystery. The Phantom reappears to haunt Christine and demands he sings for her for one last time, whereas Raul insists he will leave Christine if she does. In addition, there is the added intrigue of the subplot consisting of Meg Giry, now a washed –up dancer for the Phantasma troupe, and her mother, still bitter ten years on that the Phantom fails to notice Meg’s talent.




Reading that back it is easy to see where all the criticism has come from with such a thin seeming plot that would seem to lack the depth of the original, and to an extent it does, but I would argue that it is the music that saves the show, unquestionable Lloyd Webber’s greatest achievement since the Phantom of 1986.
The set as well, is a delight with big projections, effortless acrobatics and impressive costumes creating a sense of life at Coney – these scenes are a feast for the eyes if nothing else. The moments in the first act, shared by Christine and Gustav are endearing, containing some heart warming moments, most notably, Look with Your Heart, just as she and the Phantom share some thrilling romantic arias.

In a peculiar role reversal, Love Never Dies encourages us to side with the Phantom as we see Raul’s character take on a darkness of the former Phantom in his dejected, drunken state. As the show draws to a climax, never have I seen so much tension injected to a title song, but Sierra Boggess’ talent makes it more than worth the wait. If the goose bumps haven’t come yet they will now.

In essence, I loved it, there’s no denying. It is obvious to see Love Never Dies is a show that has had a lot of money thrown as it to make it work but I believe after a nervy start this is a wonderful and genuinely spooky show that can run the course. It is a show with heart, intent and meaning, and after all, if the insipid tackiness of shows such as Dirty Dancing can still pack in the punters, why can’t this one?

Rating: 4/5

From 21/01/11

Why I love Miranda ...

As she's flavour of the month, I appreciate my love for this woman is hardly surprising although I like to consider myself a fan of hers before she hit the big time. Here's my article of why I think she's so wonderful which is also in the next issue of The Founder.

Miranda-Mania

Why do we all suddenly love Miranda Hart?

Slapstick comic Miranda Hart swept the board at Channel 4’s annual British Comedy Awards. Her unique brand of humour, self depreciation and physical comedy proving to be a rare but astoundingly popular success for the Devon born comedienne as well as showing women can be funny.

So, who is this woman who, I think it is safe to say, two years ago no one had heard of in mainstream comedy? Miranda is unashamedly honest about her middle class upbringing, attending public school Downe House, where Claire Balding was a contemporary of hers, and despite studying politics at the University of West of the England she had always wanted to be a comedienne, crediting Morecambe and Wise as being her main inspirations. She is a fabulous example of someone who has battled for their career and persevered despite multiple knockbacks before rising to the top. She originally pitched a comedy to the BBC as early as 2002 and has been on the sidelines ever since, until 2008 where she recorded the pilot episode of the self-titled Miranda; she is quick to claim however that the main character is not a direct portrayal of herself.

Her comedy strikes a chord with women of all ages, socially awkward teenagers to those older who recognise the personal hang-ups and social traumas Miranda finds herself in. Everyone has experienced an aspect of the life she mocks in her sitcom and I believe that to be at the heart of the show’s success. Miranda plays a clumsy but intensely loveable thirtysomething, useless with men, intelligent but yet she has somehow wound up running a joke shop with her best friend – the irony presumably intentional. In addition she is consistently undermined by her ambitious mother played by the wonderful Patricia Hodge, the deliverer of one of the show’s best known catchphrases, “Such fun!” Refreshingly, Miranda does not for one moment take her success for granted, “This is what I’ve been working towards all of my life.” She enthuses in a recent interview.

I was lucky enough to attend two recordings of this award winning sitcom in December and was shocked by the almost cult-like following it seems to have amassed in such a short space of time. In the queue outside the BBC studios I met what were, in essence a selection of mini Miranda’s and mini me’s, some fans even going so far as to make their own Heather Small heads on sticks. (If you don’t watch, you won’t understand, don’t worry ...) It appears everyone can see a little bit of themselves in Miranda no matter how cool we all try to be.

Miranda’s victory at the Comedy Awards, winning the People’s Choice Award, Best New TV Comedy and Best Comedy Actress signals a significant change in the direction of British comedy. In the past years, the industry has seen it all from Frankie Boyle pushing the boundaries beyond belief to Miranda’s inoffensive yet still laugh out loud funny, slapstick. It may perhaps be worth noting then, that the former was not so much as even nominated for an award. Miranda’s victories are at the same time a triumph for female comedy, maybe soon, we can look forward to when women outnumber men on panel shows instead of being asked on as a somewhat token effort.

What’s next for the new Queen of BBC comedy, then? A move to BBC1 primetime has been rumoured and doubtless series three will have a lot to live up to. I only hope that Miranda continues to write to the best of her ability and enjoys her success. She is a genuinely lovely person who, most probably out of pity, high-fived me at a recording of her show because I was so thrilled to see her. She appeared to be equally thrilled by my excitement. If she continues to stay this grounded, she will be unstoppable and a role model for many who aspire to her honestly gained success.

Flashdance the Musical

Think Flashdance and you think leotards, perms and “What a Feeling?”, right? On the surface, this show new to the West End is the epitome of the working class hero in an elitist industry cliché. Alex is a welder by day and dancer by night but is motivated to do a stage school audition at dying her mother’s request, she falls in love along the way and we all go home very satisfied. All this may be true but the production I saw on a snowy December afternoon has been directed in such a way that it wants you to see more than just a predictable chick flick bought to the stage.

Based on the 1983 Adrian Lyne movie, the character of Alex is played by rising star, Victoria Hamilton Barritt who is in her first leading role and she has more than deserves it, her Alex is feisty but not unlikable and her rise to the top symbolises female empowerment and the realising of her dreams. The audience want her to succeed. Flashdance is no walk in the park for the lead female. There are complex dance numbers to master, music, vocals and an accent to master. She holds it together well and although young, the audience feel in very safe hands with her at the helm. The choreography is the show’s bread and butter, it brims with physical energy from start to finish and I pitied the actors whose job it was to rouse this miserable and severely depleted audience with an enthusiastic rendition of I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll at the beginning of the second act. Okay, there is the occasional stage-school-kids-try-to-do-street cringe moment but this aside, the numbers put together by Strictly’s Arlene Phillips are near flawless and in the case of the dream sequence at the show’s climax, moving.

It is not only Victoria who is impressive in the lead but Matt Willis who plays her love interest Nick is also worthy of a mention as are the rest of the supporting cast members, experienced West Enders Hannah Levane and Charlotte Harwood.
Of course there will be many who have come to view the show as avid fans of the 1980s film (a little before my time, I’m afraid) and I’m sure they will not be disappointed. The film was not renowned for its music other than the big song so inevitably with a musical adaption come numbers designed to pad out what was undeniably a paper thin plot. The writers have done this successfully; I shamelessly wanted to belt out the lyrics to In Touch with the Beat, Totally Different People and Don’t Stop as I made my way back to the underground. I admit there were a few forgettable and unnecessary fillers but the cast work so hard this is easily forgivable.

Make no mistake, if you’re after a high brow evening of enlightening theatre this will not be the show for you, but if you’re in need of a little light relief, a camp night out, a feel good love story that doesn’t require too much thought and some impressive dance numbers that definitely do include leg warmers, head to the Shaftesbury theatre pronto.

From performance on 3/12/10