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Post by ceebee on Jan 30, 2024 20:51:28 GMT
Did you read the person's post who ceebee was replying to? Yes. They saw & strongly disliked the show. That's why I don't understand why they were then told to give the show a fair chance & why that is supposed to be amusing. Read their post again. Read the sentence I paraphrased. Join the dots.
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Post by theatrefan62 on Jan 30, 2024 20:51:35 GMT
Did you read the person's post who ceebee was replying to? Yes. They saw & strongly disliked the show. That's why I don't understand why they were then told to give the show a fair chance & why that is supposed to be amusing. They used the same phrase in their review, ceebee was just repeating their wording in a sarcastic way
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Post by Dawnstar on Jan 30, 2024 20:58:13 GMT
They used the same phrase in their review, ceebee was just repeating their wording in a sarcastic way Thank you for explaining that it was intended to be sarcastic. I did not understand that, hence I could not make sense of it.
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Post by luvvie23 on Jan 30, 2024 23:08:54 GMT
She sings quite a bit. And is so great in the show. As is the actor (who was in Company) she plays opposite. They sing dancing in the streets. Apart from the fact he can't hit any of the top notes in Dancing In The Street but I get your point 😂 The actor has Laryngitis. Cover not ready to go on. Be kind.
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Post by Being Alive on Jan 30, 2024 23:17:58 GMT
Apart from the fact he can't hit any of the top notes in Dancing In The Street but I get your point 😂 The actor has Laryngitis. Cover not ready to go on. Be kind. I don't really understand why that's my problem? He couldnt hit the notes, which was what happened - I was just stating what happened? And I've been more than kind about this show 😂
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Post by luvvie23 on Jan 30, 2024 23:20:42 GMT
The actor has Laryngitis. Cover not ready to go on. Be kind. I don't really understand why that's my problem? He couldnt hit the notes, which was what happened - I was just stating what happened? And I've been more than kind about this show 😂 he hit the notes when I was in. Performers are human. It was the laughing face that I thought was unkind. Not your comment 😘
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Post by luvvie23 on Jan 30, 2024 23:20:55 GMT
The actor has Laryngitis. Cover not ready to go on. Be kind. I don't really understand why that's my problem? He couldnt hit the notes, which was what happened - I was just stating what happened? And I've been more than kind about this show 😂 he hit the notes when I was in. Performers are human. It was the laughing face that I thought was unkind. Not your comment 😘
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2,765 posts
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Post by ceebee on Jan 31, 2024 0:40:50 GMT
The early critics might want to pay this show another visit once previews are finished... Ten minutes shorter this evening, much better continuity between scenes with several cuts (shorter intro, moving quicker into the story of the christmas single then the concert plan). Visually stunning - seemed to be more use of video tonight with front projection as well as camera relays on the side video walls.
The "how to die" line was perfect tonight with some clever sound trickery to mimic the moment at Wembley using crowd noise.
All notes were perfectly hit in "Dancing In The Streets" and some really nice chemistry going on in that scene.
Sorry to disappoint the haters but from my vantage point in the front row of dress circle tonight, the majority of people were having a great time. The comedy moments got big laughs, you could hear a pin drop in Bob's speech with the lights out, "Blowing In The Wind" was very moving, and "My Generation" took the roof off.
The story flows much better now; it is less clunky and the cast are getting used to having an audience. It was much funnier tonight,the pace was quicker and the cast are nicely gelling.
An excellent show with some bold decisions already taken to tighten it up. The makeover it seems to have had since Friday is very impressive.
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Post by corblimey on Jan 31, 2024 16:59:01 GMT
Saw the show last night and just loved it and just booked to go back,they have reduced a few singles to £44 Live Aid was such a special day for me and last night brought back so many happy memories of the day and just dug out my Live Aid programme even though I just saw it on TV I was totally invested in watching and sent off for the programme after it! Thought all the cast were terrific and never thought I’d ever see the wonderful Julie Atherton as Mrs T! Can’t wait to see it again this time from the front Stalls. I was Row Y in the Dress Circle last night ,not the best view or comfort but didn’t spoil my enjoyment and did have more room and view when others next to me left at the interval! But I was more than happy with my £10 experience.
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Post by theatremiss on Jan 31, 2024 18:22:52 GMT
What / how much is Danielle Steers singing in the show? She sings quite a bit. And is so great in the show. As is the actor (who was in Company) she plays opposite. They sing dancing in the streets. Ashley Alexander-Campbell?
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Post by westendgirls on Feb 1, 2024 9:33:42 GMT
The early critics might want to pay this show another visit once previews are finished... Ten minutes shorter this evening, much better continuity between scenes with several cuts (shorter intro, moving quicker into the story of the christmas single then the concert plan). Visually stunning - seemed to be more use of video tonight with front projection as well as camera relays on the side video walls. The "how to die" line was perfect tonight with some clever sound trickery to mimic the moment at Wembley using crowd noise. All notes were perfectly hit in "Dancing In The Streets" and some really nice chemistry going on in that scene. Sorry to disappoint the haters but from my vantage point in the front row of dress circle tonight, the majority of people were having a great time. The comedy moments got big laughs, you could hear a pin drop in Bob's speech with the lights out, "Blowing In The Wind" was very moving, and "My Generation" took the roof off. The story flows much better now; it is less clunky and the cast are getting used to having an audience. It was much funnier tonight,the pace was quicker and the cast are nicely gelling. An excellent show with some bold decisions already taken to tighten it up. The makeover it seems to have had since Friday is very impressive. I am glad the “how to die” line landed well as when I was in on Saturday it was like tumbleweed. I think I was the only person that clapped. You could even tell they put in a pause expecting a reaction and there was none. “Bob” even looked a bit surprised
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Post by ceebee on Feb 1, 2024 10:09:23 GMT
The early critics might want to pay this show another visit once previews are finished... I am glad the “how to die” line landed well as when I was in on Saturday it was like tumbleweed. I think I was the only person that clapped. You could even tell they put in a pause expecting a reaction and there was none. “Bob” even looked a bit surprised Yes, that happened on Friday too. Seems to have been fixed now though, as it definitely got a reaction on Tuesday. They seem to be experimenting with ambient background sound and it worked on Tuesday when they filtered in some crowd "noise".
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 1, 2024 13:04:19 GMT
They're doing a lot of work on this in previews which can only be a good thing. Act 2 changes going in from this evening I believe and over the next few days.
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Post by shownut on Feb 1, 2024 14:09:20 GMT
They're doing a lot of work on this in previews which can only be a good thing. Act 2 changes going in from this evening I believe and over the next few days. I am there tonight. Going with an open mind and all that goes with that (despite how I feel about the recent crop of British musicals which have put me in a sour mood as a theatregoer). We shall see. I hope for the best. Will report back tomorrow.
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Post by mrnutz on Feb 1, 2024 14:11:07 GMT
I am in tonight too!
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Feb 1, 2024 17:14:28 GMT
I enjoyed the songs, the performances and having the band visible on stage, but I thought the book was weak. It was a fun night overall, but I probably would have enjoyed it just as well if they had just done a concert of Live Aid songs.
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Post by A.Ham on Feb 1, 2024 18:23:56 GMT
Also there tonight! I’ve ducked out of this thread for the past few days so as to avoid spoilers/not be put off, but interesting that tonight’ll be the first show with changes made. I won’t know what they are of course, but… 😂
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Post by shownut on Feb 1, 2024 21:15:36 GMT
My review of tonight’s visit will almost be as short as how long I stayed to watch it. Left after the first act and now on the District Line home.
It just wasn’t for me. A musical infomercial that gives away its core point within the first 5 minutes and then repeats it to the point of tedium? Not for me.
Slickly done but with amateurish writing that preaches and informs yet has all of the emotional heft of a cruise ship review.
Sigh.
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Post by toomasj on Feb 1, 2024 22:31:57 GMT
My review of tonight’s visit will almost be as short as how long I stayed to watch it. Left after the first act and now on the District Line home. It just wasn’t for me. A musical infomercial that gives away its core point within the first 5 minutes and then repeats it to the point of tedium? Not for me. Slickly done but with amateurish writing that preaches and informs yet has all of the emotional heft of a cruise ship review. Sigh. I did warn you Jokes aside I agree - this show was offensively bad. Well done for leaving early - I wish I had.
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Post by ceebee on Feb 1, 2024 22:40:00 GMT
My review of tonight’s visit will almost be as short as how long I stayed to watch it. Left after the first act and now on the District Line home. It just wasn’t for me. A musical infomercial that gives away its core point within the first 5 minutes and then repeats it to the point of tedium? Not for me. Slickly done but with amateurish writing that preaches and informs yet has all of the emotional heft of a cruise ship review. Sigh. I did warn you Jokes aside I agree - this show was offensively bad. Well done for leaving early - I wish I had. I don't think you got this. Just give it a fair chance. :-)
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 1, 2024 22:43:59 GMT
Someone described the book to me as being like a class assembly project earlier on and honestly, it's true 😂
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Post by shownut on Feb 1, 2024 22:52:14 GMT
Someone described the book to me as being like a class assembly project earlier on and honestly, it's true 😂 That is a fairly good description. It reminded me of the earnest but hollow corporate industrial shows from the 80's and 90's in corporate America. Overly worthy and preachy but with not a single ounce of honest or believable emotion. And the Mr G/Mrs T number? God, that was embarrassing. Just plain awful. What a shame that an otherwise interesting subject matter and the cause that created it (which deserved/deserves attention) has been reduced to such an unfathomable mess....or at least the half that I saw.
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Post by Steve on Feb 1, 2024 23:31:52 GMT
Saw this tonight and I think the comments in this thread give a fair view of just how marmite this project is. Overall, I liked it a lot. Some spoilers follow. . . On the one hand, I loved Julie Atherton's comedic bit as Mrs. T, I loved the ensemble singing, especially when they were all really going for it together, I loved James Hameed's absolutely pure unforced expression of emotion through song, I loved the nostalgic buzz of hearing all these old classics from my youth (I watched the original broadcast on the telly), I loved the sullen and angry nature of Craig El's portrayal of Bob Geldof, I loved Hope Kenna's portrayal of being youthful, I loved Jack Shalloo as Midge Ure, I loved Joel Montague's Phil Collins song, I loved Abiola Omonua's Bob Dylan song, I loved Jackie Clune's wistful look back at her younger self, and I loved Freddie Love's Freddy's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which the whole cast just ploughed themselves into, completely lost in a rhapsody of music. But, oh my, I don't like being talked down to like a twelve year old, with every dot joined to every dot, I don't like being told what to think, I don't like po-faced humourlessness, I don't like know-it-alls, I don't like characters who are merely ciphers to tell us what attitudes of the past are past their sell-by-date (I can work it out for myself, thank you), I don't like overtly serious didacticism. And all the things I didn't like had such an easy cure: the book should have been VERBATIM theatre - warts and all, word by word accounts, told by those who were there, rather than scripted. This would have gutted the patronising tone, it would have fortified the verisimilitude of every scene and word, it would have made it less like a lecture, and besides, as the book correctly states, the power is in the music, and so, if the book just gets out of the music's way by being more truthful, this would all hit so much harder. Personally, I LOVED the Atherton (Thatcher) - Els (Geldof) original rap in the first half. It undercuts the general humourlessness, it allows devilish camp to cut through the sanctimony, and it allows Atherton free reign to be the brilliant tongue-in-cheek comedienne she is. I know others didn't like this, but I thought it a magnificent comedic bit lol! All in all, I felt the pluses far outweigh the minuses, and would give this show 3 and a half stars.
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Post by westendcub on Feb 1, 2024 23:55:25 GMT
Mixed bag this show (I was there tonight!)
You can’t deny it’s a thrill to hear these songs with amazing vocals, good arrangements.
This has some ingredients (it definitely is influenced by ‘Come From Away’) but they need to take a sledgehammer to the book, step away from the preaching & message crap (we are not 2 year olds watching) - it works best when it’s telling the story of what happened, the record store scenes are redundant & the modern day girl is annoying.
I have to say the 2nd act was pretty solid (bar a few things) & was enjoyable so I would say do not leave after act 1! Loved Maggie rapping!
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Post by mkb on Feb 2, 2024 0:22:14 GMT
Whatever the changes tonight, they appear to have added 14 minutes, playout music ending at precisely 22:14 with no technical stops or delays.
If only I could say it was all worth it. Even on a £10 ticket in a prime central seat (but not the front row that was indicated at the time of booking), I feel short-changed. This is dire. Imagine a history lesson told in factoids through the prism of Radio 1 Newsbeat (i.e. dumbed down to a target audience of 12-year-old airheads) with musical snippets reimagined by the cast from Glee. No scrub that. It's far worse than that conjures up.
I was entranced as I watched Live Aid on telly in 1985, but let's be honest, people -- overwhelmingly white middle class -- were there because they didn't want to miss a cracking gig, not because they suddenly wanted to solve the famines and gross inequalities in the world. A few may have been spurred to activism and action, but not the many. And most of the performers were there because, once there was a momentum, to be the one not there, would have been reputation detrimental.
But let's not allow any of that stop the show's creators from imbuing the history with schmaltz and a nauseatingly faux feel-good vibe, all turned up to the max -- just like the echo on the vocals -- and delivered by a most improbably diverse set of 1980s characters.
The final insult for me was the portrayal of Thatcher as a loveable, rapping rogue. Although we're meant to laugh *at* this character, it's done with such a light touch -- where Thatcher is almost in on the joke -- that there's an implied revisionism that she was not so bad really. Yes she bloody well was! I found these scenes pretty offensive.
Act 1 is in solid one-star territory, but Act 2 improves slightly, and there's no faulting the effort on display from the cast.
Two stars.
Act 1: 19:33-20:40 Act 2: 21:01-22:14
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Post by rumbledoll on Feb 2, 2024 7:53:23 GMT
Wow. You never know which show could turn out to be as marmite as this. I personally loved it rather unconditionally (just as a couple of friends I went with) but in all honestly I enormously enjoy reading the opposite opinion, it's so enriching in a way.
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Post by shownut on Feb 2, 2024 7:56:57 GMT
Whatever the changes tonight, they appear to have added 14 minutes, playout music ending at precisely 22:14 with no technical stops or delays. If only I could say it was all worth it. Even on a £10 ticket in a prime central seat (but not the front row that was indicated at the time of booking), I feel short-changed. This is dire. Imagine a history lesson told in factoids through the prism of Radio 1 Newsbeat (i.e. dumbed down to a target audience of 12-year-old airheads) with musical snippets reimagined by the cast from Glee. No scrub that. It's far worse than that conjures up. I was entranced as I watched Live Aid on telly in 1985, but let's be honest, people -- overwhelmingly white middle class -- were there because they didn't want to miss a cracking gig, not because they suddenly wanted to solve the famines and gross inequalities in the world. A few may have been spurred to activism and action, but not the many. And most of the performers were there because, once there was a momentum, to be the one not there, would have been reputation detrimental. But let's not allow any of that stop the show's creators from imbuing the history with schmaltz and a nauseatingly faux feel-good vibe, all turned up to the max -- just like the echo on the vocals -- and delivered by a most improbably diverse set of 1980s characters. The final insult for me was the portrayal of Thatcher as a loveable, rapping rogue. Although we're meant to laugh *at* this character, it's done with such a light touch -- where Thatcher is almost in on the joke -- that there's an implied revisionism that she was not so bad really. Yes she bloody well was! I found these scenes pretty offensive. Act 1 is in solid one-star territory, but Act 2 improves slightly, and there's no faulting the effort on display from the cast. Two stars. Act 1: 19:33-20:40 Act 2: 21:01-22:14 You put it all far better than I could have and I agree (at least about the elements in act one which had us scrambling for the exit). I wasn't so much offended by the characterisation of Thatcher as I was by the insipid writing. Cringeworthy. And yes, I saw MANDELA and yes, it was that bad. What I didn't mention was the appalling crowd behaviour which also tested our nerves and didn't help an already gowdawful experience. A phone going off a couple of times, a couple next to me who seemed more interested in fiddling with their wine than paying attention to the actors (can hardly blame them) and 2 people near to us, though not together who sang along and pounded their knees/legs to the rhythm. I just can't.....
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Post by viserys on Feb 2, 2024 8:09:19 GMT
My take from reading the reviews so far is - if you go in simply to enjoy the music (especially if you're the right age), you will enjoy this massively and if you pay attention to the book/story/dialogue, you end up hating this?
Are the songs sung in full or just snippets?
Sorry I'm asking so many questions - I'll be in London in two weeks and am still undecided whether to see this or not. I have a ticket for the Ralph Fiennes Macbeth in the Docklands which I am not sure I want to be using and might ditch for this. It WAS my time and there are people in the cast I like a lot, but I'm just not sure if it's worth the effort to change my plans at short notice.
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Post by rumbledoll on Feb 2, 2024 8:26:51 GMT
My take from reading the reviews so far is - if you go in simply to enjoy the music (especially if you're the right age), you will enjoy this massively and if you pay attention to the book/story/dialogue, you end up hating this? Are the songs sung in full or just snippets? Sorry I'm asking so many questions - I'll be in London in two weeks and am still undecided whether to see this or not. I have a ticket for the Ralph Fiennes Macbeth in the Docklands which I am not sure I want to be using and might ditch for this. It WAS my time and there are people in the cast I like a lot, but I'm just not sure if it's worth the effort to change my plans at short notice. I do mostly listen to this kind of music and I am certainly not the right age I enjoyed the book as well and did not find it patronysing or offending. And it does mention that the crowd was there for the artists and not to collect for charity, and the artists were there partly because if they refused it might put a shade on their reputation (it's even joked about). Most of the time it looks like Abiola Omonua's character and Bob himself are the one ones who actually care about the dying children. But does it matter as long as the hungry get help? Does it matter how many of those 80 000 viewers grew up to be activists for change as long as at least some did? This event gave them something, if it only inspired them for a second to call and spent their pub money on this instead - that is enough. Sometimes it takes just one person to turn things round - this is exactly what it's about - you need just one person to step forward and fight for the cause enough so everyone would join - for their own reasons. I actually liked this approach - they don't say this event changed the world, but just for one day it united so many people that the hope for that change could live again. I was also curious about each individual story - sometimes the event is so big and the spotlight is given to just a few, but behind that there is hard work of many. Based on what I saw and heard to pull this whole thing off the way they did is a bit of a miracle. Maybe it's just me generally in love with the stories like this? A lot of songs are sung in full (not the Bohemian Rhapsody though).
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Post by max on Feb 2, 2024 8:29:08 GMT
The most excruciating dialogue I’ve heard in anything - ever. ‘Young Whippersnapper Of Today’ says to Bob Geldof at the start of the show: “But what happened, when, and why? - I want to know…..I wasn’t born then, help me understand” Not perfect quotations there, but very close indeed. So it carries on, and would have been more credible if they’d gone that extra step and had her researching her GCSE or Uni history project, and bumping into Bob in a Cafe; because that’s how hackneyed it feels. I had to close my eyes at times, which didn’t stop me hearing it, but helped me pretend I was somewhere else to ward off the cringe.
But what really stuck me to my seat during the almost total standing ovation, was the way People of Colour were ‘used’ as characters (and therefore also as performers). I can’t stand the use of ‘Black’ as cheap shorthand for ‘here’s the grit and integrity of our show' - particularly when it’s ultimately so cynical. (Ditto ‘look how modern we are - here are some non binary people, so we dare/shame you to say our show isn’t politically sophisticated'). There are three female characters in Bob’s life who bring some voices of measured logic, a healthy scepticism about Bob’s messianic demeanour (or others projecting that onto him), and citing but never expanding upon a more complex view of ‘Africa’. All are played by Women of Colour. So what happens to them? They all get won over. So their bit of grit serves only to shine more golden light on Bob when their reality checks are overcome.
In the worst of these moments, Bob is in Africa feeling either a fraud, or naive to believe he could solve this thing. But it’s interspersed with ‘poor me’ (aka ‘great me’) lyrics culled from Message In A Bottle by The Police. Sort of like this: (“Just a castaway an island lost at sea, oh”) ‘I’m a fool to think I could change this’ (“Another lonely day, noone here but me, oh”) I’ve let everyone down, the money isn’t getting through’ (“More loneliness than any man could bear Rescue me before I fall into despair, oh”)
Aid worker who’s previously told us that she was the one at the cliff face doing the toughest most horrendous work, wordlessly puts a comforting hand on Bob’s shoulder. Equivalence after all.
When the Aid Worker sings ‘Blowing In The Wind’ it’s musically beautiful, but what is that music? We’re told by Young Whippersnapper Of Today that Africa is a land mass of many countries - you can’t just say ‘Africa’ as if it’s just one thing. Yet in the ‘Africa’ scenes we get exactly that most cliched ‘just one thing’: the typical burnt ochre and red back projection, and the typical deep drone music that’s shorthand for ‘Africa’ when alongside those scattered open chords on piano (that has no place in traditional African music as far as I’m aware). This is ‘Africa’ via movie or natural history musical shorthand. Then the British Aid Worker sings in that clipped ‘more perfect English than the English’ accent that some African people have. Why? She doesn’t speak that way. Has she discovered her inner deeper African-ness? Another miracle emanating from proximity to Saint Bob I guess.
The show constantly names the pitfalls it could fall into, as if identifying a problem innoculates you against blundering on into every pitfall anyway, without making any change to meet the problem you just named.
Earlier in the thread someone mentioned ‘Come From Away’ and I thought this show was going to be lots of atomised stories of what people were doing ‘Just For One Day’ in 1985. Instead it’s a pretty straight-line hagiography of Bob Geldof. Though the dialogue is terrible, the direction makes it worse. Some of Bob’s declarations and objections to protocols would have played better seethed under his breath in realistic pressure situations, not declaimed in broad theatrical brush strokes played out front.
What Bob Geldof did was amazing, hugely laudable, I admired him at the time. This show is an invitation for the audience to pat itself on the back for being part of it - that’s okay, it’s valuable to celebrate a moment when people came together for something bigger; but it over balances into smug self congratulation all round. Geldof’s closeness to this production is a big problem it seems. It takes a flawed maverick to do something as brilliant as he did with Band Aid and Live Aid, but this show is now cleaning him up and burnishing his sainthood - all the while with ‘Nowadays Bob’ cracking on that ‘Young Whippersnapper’ is really annoying for making him tell this story, as he just wants to stop being associated with it. Don’t do a musical then! It would have been a stronger statement and a stronger show to take him out of the picture altogether, and let the achievement of Live Aid speak for itself in more innovative ways that come at the story at a tangent, and spread the light around.
P.S ‘Rat Trap’ was not the first Punk Rock song to chart at number 1 as the script incorrectly states, because The Boomtown Rats weren’t even a punk band. The BBC now says ‘God Save The Queen’ by The Sex Pistols got to number 1 in 1977, though the BBC denied it at the time. The Boomtown Rats first single was released 6 months later. It’s not that this show is badly researched, instead it’s intentionally biased to see the world a certain way to skew everything in favour of Bob.
I don’t remember Margaret Thatcher being a Northern woman, but Thursday night's audience loved her, so that’s all fine I guess.
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