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Post by anthony40 on Jun 16, 2018 19:32:44 GMT
Where could it go if it moved though? The thing about both Leicester Square and now Trafalgar Square is that it's within walking distance of most shows to easily get to and enables the line up they get every year. Move it to somewhere like Hyde Park and then that becomes a bit of an issue and, to add to that, does't feel like being at the centre of the West End, which i feel like adds to it. No idea mate. It was merely a thought. All I know is that when I left the had to stop people coming in and it took me ages just to get out. My sister turned up with a friend and both too could not get in.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 16, 2018 19:39:17 GMT
Last time i went was a couple of years ago and i thought it was crazy, but not quite as crazy as it seems this year from the reports. Maybe they should make it a ticketed event?
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Post by stuartmcd on Jun 16, 2018 20:20:40 GMT
I’ve never attended a West End Live before but was in London as I was going to see Heathers in the afternoon so I thought I’d swing by to see what was going on. I never had any intention of staying long anyway as I had to get over to the Other Palace but I was amazed at how busy it was when I got there. I didn’t bother trying to actual get in and just stood round the corner listening to Les Mis perform. It’s great to see such a huge interest in London theatre.
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Post by firefingers on Jun 16, 2018 21:06:12 GMT
Perhaps it is time it moved to a larger space? Perhaps move it to Hyde Park? Use the second stage used for the British Summer Time festival maybe?
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Post by alece10 on Jun 16, 2018 21:26:09 GMT
I have been every year from the start in Leicester Square to its move to Trafalgar Square. Last time I was in the VIP area which was great as could sit all day but this us the first time I've not been as I know I just can't stand for that length of time anymore. I doubt it would move locations mainly due to the fact it's in the middle of the west end which is partly the point and logistically makrs sense as most of the casts can actually walk there. Victim of its own success.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2018 0:23:20 GMT
Maybe it could move to Horse Guards Parade? Pretty big literally around the corner.
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Post by bengal73 on Jun 17, 2018 8:29:48 GMT
Heading there today. Hoping it will be a bit less busy
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2018 9:50:50 GMT
Christ. Just going through a few videos on the OfficialLondonTheatre Youtube channel, the vast majority are startlingly out of tune. Six & Little Shop most noticeably.
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Post by poster J on Jun 17, 2018 10:03:28 GMT
Christ. Just going through a few videos on the OfficialLondonTheatre Youtube channel, the vast majority are startlingly out of tune. Six & Little Shop most noticeably. I agree - I was thinking about seeing Six at the Edinburgh Fringe this year but that performance put me right off, it was dreadful. Good to know I don't need to waste a slot on it though!
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Post by freckles on Jun 17, 2018 10:17:56 GMT
I enjoyed Saturday, although I was lucky to get in early via a kind contact I have, so was right on the front rail. It was extremely busy in terms of visitors, but there were noticeably less stalls and sponsors, which is a shame - as a free event that’s where they get their revenue. I thought it was a bit better organised in terms of the performances running pretty much to time and the presenters were slicker than in previous years, although it’s much better when they have someone who knows about theatre like Ruthie, rather than the Magic Radio presenters who have to keep resorting to “let’s do (another) West End Wave!” whenever they run out of something to say. The performances were good - loved Kinky Boots and Dreamgirls especially. The mics were not always mixed properly when there was more than one person singing, which resulted in the overall sound coming across a bit weird, which was a shame. But great input from most shows that I saw. There was a guy signing throughout who was amazing. I enjoyed watching him just as much as the actors! Spotted the theatre board flyers, but I’d taken so many pics by then that I had no battery left! I hope they were picked up by some lovely potential new board members.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 17, 2018 10:26:20 GMT
I think it's harsh to judge on those WEL performances. Both Six and LSOH haven't even started rehearsals yet and most of all WEL is really quite bad for sound and mixing.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 17, 2018 10:59:14 GMT
There should be some TheatreBoard flyers in the SOLT tent. If you happen to see them please do pick one or two up, not for yourself (you already know how fabulous it is here) but DO pass it to someone else in the crowd. Just any random person, maybe one who looks slightly obsessive, will be just fine. Help us spread the word. Thank you! (Don’t pick the whole lot up and start distributing them, as that’s probably not allowed) Don’t they look good? Thanks to anthony40 for the photo and our HereForTheatre who created them and made all the arrangements with SOLT. If there are any left today do help us to get them circulated around the crowd!
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Post by theatremadness on Jun 17, 2018 11:03:30 GMT
You're right Andy, WEL definitely always bad for sound so not the best to judge performances on, but I just watched Little Shop that was in a different league of bad. And I thought the same when they sang at the Magic Radio musicals concert at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago so I *really* hope they sort it out during rehearsals! Six I thought wasn't that bad!
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 17, 2018 11:37:51 GMT
You're right Andy, WEL definitely always bad for sound so not the best to judge performances on, but I just watched Little Shop that was in a different league of bad. And I thought the same when they sang at the Magic Radio musicals concert at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago so I *really* hope they sort it out during rehearsals! Six I thought wasn't that bad! I think they just need to work on blending a bit more, which i'm sure they will do during rehearsals. I know that in their own right they are all very good singers so i'm sure it will come.
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Post by theatre-turtle on Jun 17, 2018 13:09:33 GMT
The guy playing Charlie in Kinky Boots was horrendous
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Post by poster J on Jun 17, 2018 13:19:24 GMT
I think it's harsh to judge on those WEL performances. Both Six and LSOH haven't even started rehearsals yet and most of all WEL is really quite bad for sound and mixing. For me the Six performance made me realise that I would just likely hate the style of the show overall as well as being unimpressed by the vocals.
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Post by Stephen on Jun 17, 2018 15:39:34 GMT
I had a great time today. I was lucky enough that my friend had a press pass so I didn't need to queue and got right to the front. Probably wouldn't have been an issue as it seemed less busy today.
I was concerned from videos online of previous years that sound would be an issue but was happily surprised for the most part.
Spoonful of Sherman stood out for me. Great British fun! It would be lovely to have it transfer to town even for a limited run in a smaller venue.
As my first time there I enjoyed it and look forward to future years!
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Post by bengal73 on Jun 17, 2018 16:17:20 GMT
Spoonful of Sherman was my highlight too
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Post by justfran on Jun 17, 2018 20:24:07 GMT
Just catching up on some of the videos now. Great to see such a big crowd and the guy signing is fab. Barricade Boys is one of my favourites so far, lovely to see Killian Donnelly with them. I know they did a few dates earlier this year but I hope they do a bigger tour next year.
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Post by theatremadness on Jun 17, 2018 20:45:54 GMT
Just catching up on some of the videos now. Great to see such a big crowd and the guy signing is fab. Barricade Boys is one of my favourites so far, lovely to see Killian Donnelly with them. I know they did a few dates earlier this year but I hope they do a bigger tour next year. Your wish etc etc.....!
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Post by justfran on Jun 17, 2018 20:59:38 GMT
Just catching up on some of the videos now. Great to see such a big crowd and the guy signing is fab. Barricade Boys is one of my favourites so far, lovely to see Killian Donnelly with them. I know they did a few dates earlier this year but I hope they do a bigger tour next year. Your wish etc etc.....! Ooh that’s great news! Thanks for posting 😁
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Post by Stephen on Jun 17, 2018 21:39:26 GMT
I was just thinking...perhaps the reason the sound isn't great on the videos has to do with the hover cam? It didn't look like it had any special apparatus to pick up the sound?
I don't know anything about cameras and filming but perhaps that's why?
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Post by daisy24601 on Jun 17, 2018 23:45:25 GMT
I was just thinking...perhaps the reason the sound isn't great on the videos has to do with the hover cam? It didn't look like it had any special apparatus to pick up the sound? I don't know anything about cameras and filming but perhaps that's why? That is probably exactly why! I wemt for the majority of today and had a great time! You don't need to be near the front to have a decent view. Suzie Mathers was a highlight.
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Post by david on Jun 18, 2018 6:39:04 GMT
Having just watched the Mamma Mia! you tube clip, for a brief second I thought it was sue pollard playing Rosie!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2018 7:04:58 GMT
I was just thinking...perhaps the reason the sound isn't great on the videos has to do with the hover cam? It didn't look like it had any special apparatus to pick up the sound? I don't know anything about cameras and filming but perhaps that's why? That is probably exactly why! I wemt for the majority of today and had a great time! You don't need to be near the front to have a decent view. Suzie Mathers was a highlight. No. Completely nothing to do with it. This 'hover cam' you refer to is called a crane. Its purpose is to get big, moving shots from various positions and has nothing to do with sound. Your right in thinking it doesn't have any obvious 'apparatus' for sound. The sound for the videos comes from a split of the signals at source, that go three directions, one to the person mixing sound for all the crowd to hear (front of house), one for the person mixing monitors (so the people on stage can hear) and one to the people mixing video content, usually in a truck or a portakabin backstage to stream online. As is usually the case with events like this, the video crew don't get as much rehearsal as the sound crew - if any! - they usually just come in on the day and busk it. With no rehearsal time, they get their levels from the cast off-stage in a "line-check" and then are left to mercy of the gods to get it right as quickly as they can once they get on stage. And then of course theres the next act who will sound different, require different gain, have a completely different channel count, etc. All creating wide variations for the person mixing to respond to. Ultimately, how experienced the person mixing sound for the online streams is has a huge effect on how it sounds and how they cope with the changes throughout the day. Hope that helps. Note: At least thats how it works when they do it properly, they could just take a feed out the desk at FOH and it could all be down to that persons mixing ability. Either way, the sound for the online content is clean and direct, so not part of any microphone or apparatus attached to a particular camera.
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Post by theatremadness on Jun 18, 2018 13:22:00 GMT
Interesting (playing fast and loose with that word I think) looking at the views on the Official London Theatre YouTube account for the videos of the shows over the weekend, seeing what the public are watching. Big shows on 10k-30k views are Jamie, Aladdin, Wicked, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Bat out of Hell, Phantom, Les Mis, Strictly Ballroom, Dreamgirls, Chicago, Mamma Mia. Most of the other shows are below 10k down to 1k views, some of the other non-show performances are below 1k but it's probably no surprise but quite interesting (there I go again) that Heathers is currently out there on 93k views. Though many could be repeats, but still.
Anyway, that's all I got!
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Post by indis on Jun 18, 2018 16:06:25 GMT
liked the SIX-performance - instantly looked when it was on in London, sadly not when i am there
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 18, 2018 21:29:38 GMT
(Maybe it's mentioned earlier in the thread but) does anybody know why Young Frankenstein didn't perform on the day?
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Post by shady23 on Jun 18, 2018 22:31:06 GMT
I suppose as it's closing soon there is little point!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2018 0:19:10 GMT
Watching videos on YT the sound this year seems diabolical on some performances. Certainly not what you would expect in the West End. Such a shame as WEL is a showcase for the West End for people all over the world.
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