Eugenius! – REVIEW

Eugenius!

The Other Palace, London

 

Seen on January 31st, 2018

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★★

Eugenius has returned to London after a stellar run last year at the London Palladium. This time it has taken up residence in the much smaller venue, The Other Palace. Complete 80s pop culture over-load, Eugene (Liam Forde) is a teenager. More importantly a geek ridiculed by the world. His world. High school. His safety being the creation of comic book superheroes. From a small hobby, Eugene is shot straight to Hollywood as his idea takes off but reveals struggles along the way maintaining the art and true friendships. Sometimes the fictional world can be a lot realer than it seems.

It was such a fun show to watch! Everything about it had energy. It’s not the best thing that I have seen but I can understand why so many people love it. The majority of the music is incredibly catchy with a variety of different music styles from 80s pop to the standard love ballads to more comical numbers. I have to be completely honest and say that the closing number has been stuck in my head since I left the theatre. “GO EUGENIUS!! Go Eugene!” The whole soundtrack was very upbeat and enjoyable but I don’t feel it would be a soundtrack that I would be able to listen to fully outside of the show. The odd feel-good songs have now been added to my ‘morning motivation’ playlist. The rest would be enjoyed if I saw the show again.

I rather enjoyed the choreography although I found that it lost its full potential due to the stage size. This production would suit a larger stage. It all just felt a tad crowded but they made what they had work.

The script for certain characters was great, especially for Ferris (Daniel Buckley). I did not expect half the things he said which made it so much funnier. The rest of it was rather mediocre and I did find myself willing the next number to start. None of it was irrelevant, just a little slow.

I don’t like doing this part simply because the whole cast were great, we have a standout performer – Laura Baldwin (Janey) was fabulous. He voice is so petite yet so very powerful and she really got to demonstrate that. I spent so long trying to work out what I’d seen her in before. It turns out it was ‘Little Beasts‘! She presented such a caring glow about Janey which was lovely to watch.

It was wonderful seeing all the characters so drastically different! A camp Hollywood talent scout (Theo, Scott Paige). A guy who has to be at the top of the food chain with everybody  kissing his ass (Lex, Cameron Blackely). Somebody born to flaunt her ‘assets’ (Carrie, Melissa James). With the exception of a chameleon of ensemble members (Alison Arnopp, Jacob Fisher, Alex Tranter, Luke Dowling, Frances Dee, Chloe chambers and Rosie Heath)

Overall, I really enjoyed the evening however I can’t help but feel something was missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It was missing its wow factor. Despite this, Eugenius is definitely a show to bring back nostalgia for people who grew up in that decade with hilarious references! However people not of that generation will also understand the vast majority of the references too! It will be enjoyed by all (12+)

You can find Eugenius at The Other Palace until March 3rd. For more information on the show and tickets please visit https://www.theotherpalace.co.uk/whats-on/eugenius

#GOEUGENIUS

Getting the better seats without breaking the bank

The west end can be a wonderful and memorable night out however it can all add up becoming very expensive. A large amount of this cost will be the theatre tickets themselves. Many people do spend a lot of money on theatre seats and obviously that is how the west end thrives and continues. It is a business! However I believe everyone should be able to enjoy the theatre so this particular blog post will aim to arm you with the correct websites, apps and information for when you need to save the pennies but still want to see the arts.

I’m about to reveal my deepest secrets so pay attention!

Over my years of going to the theatre on a student budget I have become an awful lot savvier and very rarely spend over £40 on one seat unless it is something incredibly special. One of my main go-to apps is TodayTix. They do brilliant deals and never sell restricted seats. They have a fabulous selection of seats pretty much all of the time to suit every budget. Another great thing they do is daily lotteries for a few select shows and ‘rush’ tickets which range from £15-£25 in price.

Let’s start with the lotteries. Every day the lotteries are live from midnight. Currently the shows include Dreamgirls, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Young Frankenstein and Kinky Boots. Matinee lotteries close around 10:30am and lotteries for the evening shows close at 3:30pm. You enter for that day’s show and are notified 2 to 4 hours before the performance. This option is only great if you live in London or within an hour on the train but it is still a good way to get nice, affordable seats, normally front row!

The ‘rush’ tickets are a little different but still provide great seats at affordable prices. This ticket option gives you more notice as they become available to buy through the app at certain times of the day (typically 10am or 10:30am, depending on the show). It is a first come first serve system and seats vary depending on what is available on the day. There is a large variety of shows though which currently include: Mary Stuart, Girl From The North Country, The Birthday Party, 42nd Street, The Ferryman, Royal Shakespeare Company, Motown and The Woman in White.

Another great one in my arsenal of ticket sites is ATG. A bog standard site which is very helpful! The seat plans are fairly accurate and occasionally you find the odd last minute seat reduced in price. Also they have their theatre cards where payment for a years membership means that you get ticket discounts, early sales and much more. There are two types of theatre cards which both look great depending on your budget.

Day seats are also another great last minute option. They do take a fair bit of planning if you are determined to see a show that day! Only certain shows offer day seats and again this is down to availability. Some shows have a designated number which they have available everyday whereas other shows vary theirs depending on how well that show has sold for that day. From my experience, I recommend getting to the box office around 8:30am on a normal show day. If it is a special performance such as a cast change the hard core fans will get there super early, some will even camp out over night to get their hand on a ticket! Day seats are never guaranteed. There have been many a time where the person in front of me has got the last one and I’ve had to go back to the drawing board. A lot of these options mentioned in this blog are great for last minute deals so they always become by back-up plan if day seating isn’t a success. To see whether a certain show offers day seats just head to their official website and it will provide all of the details you need.

A website I use before I make any ticket transactions is SeatPlan. This is a fabulous website especially if you are not familiar with the theatre or seating plan. SeatPlan offers an interactive seat map for the majority of the big theatres in the west end and a handful nationwide. They rely on their members to upload seat reviews and many of them include photos of the view of the stage from that particular seat. These are completely honest reviews which are monitored. So far it has never failed me. They also provide an incentive for their members to review seats with credit which can add up to theatre tokens. Another great way to save money! Currently, you will receive 40p for each photo you upload once your review has been approved. You can start doing this now if you haven’t already! Just head to their website and sign up for free. They also offer great ticket deals through their website so that is also worth checking out.

The website Get Into London Theatre only comes around once a year and is always a good one to know about. I have to be completely honest and say their 2018 selection of shows wasn’t too great this year and I only purchased tickets for one show when normally I go crazy! Each December the website goes live with deals for a range of different shows with tickets for £10, £20, £30 and £40 (great for all budgets) The location of the seats are also normally really good and it tells you just how much you saved. Normally the £69 tickets are the ones reduced to £40, £49-£39 reduced to £30 and so on. Previous years I have been able to get ticket to big shows such as Phantom of the Opera in row D in the stalls for £40. Like I said before, this year wasn’t great but hopefully come December the 2019 selection will be a lot better.

That is about it when it comes to the best sites to use when looking for theatre tickets. I always recommend you stick to the main websites such at ATG, Love Theatre and  TodayTix as you won’t have to pay any commissions fees. Many of the other tickets sites sell legit tickets that comply with the ‘STAR’ standards however they do add an additional fee for using their service. Just be aware of that. Always look around on different websites as the prices will change dependant on the website.

I really hope this has helped you gain a further understanding on how to still see theatre on a limited budget. All of this works for me which is why I was able to see over 70 shows in 2017!

Disclaimer – things mentioned in this blog aren’t always guaranteed and are subject to change at the various company’s discretion. As of the time this blog was published, 16th January 2018, all show information was correct.

Evita – REVIEW

Evita

Phoenix Theatre, London

 

Seen October 4th, 2017

Reviewed by Jade Prince

★★★

Those who have read my recent reviews will know that I have seen the shows at the later stages of their runs and this one is no different. Evita only has another week left in the West End but that does not mean you should forget about seeing it!

The iconic story of the rise of Eva Peron and how she became Argentina. From a middle class family, she worked her way up the ranks by winning the hearts of the people of Argentina. A touching true story told with music by the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.

It was nice to be able to see the show again as the last time I had seen it was back in 2014 on its UK tour. I personally did not notice any drastic changes to the set or staging but then again, why change something if it is working well? They have managed to condense the set down in order to work with the smaller size of the Phoenix theatre however it is most certainly better suited on a larger stage. This helps to add to the grandeur in a handful of numbers.

The show itself was very enjoyable however really lacked the “wow” factor. I am not too sure whether this is because I have seen the show before (a very long time ago) or what it was but the spark was not there. The cast were very strong together however there were a few little things that I could not help but notice. The first being the lack of accents. Or should I say the amount of different accents they attempted to include. There was no set accent and at one point between Eva and Che in act one I thought it was about to move into Sweeney Todd! It is set in Argentina!

Another point which disappointed me was the fact that the child actor was, very noticeably, miming during “Santa Evita”. I found this a shame as there are some many talented kids in the west end. She was incredibly cute though and melted hearts so in a way that compensated.

Despite these two little down falls there were two things that stood out. Che (Gian Marco Schiaretti) was sensational. I could not take my eyes off of him for the whole show and vocally he was outstanding.

The other stand out moment happened where I least expected it – “Another Suitcase in Another Hall”. This is by far my favourite song of the whole show so ultimately I have high expectations and in my opinion the best performance was by Samantha Barks on ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber – 40 musical years’. Well, I was slightly wrong! Sarah O’Connor (Mistress) smashed it. Her vocals and acting were on point throughout and I was captivated. This was probably my favourite moment of the whole show.

Evita is a beautiful show which is well established. Each time you see it you know exactly what to expect and this version is no exception. It only has another week left at the Phoenix Theatre so be sure to get a ticket. Must end October 14^th. Tickets and more information: http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/evita/phoenix-theatre/