Friday 16 August 2013

West End Musical "The Bodyguard" Review


 I won't be the first person to have bagged some discount tickets for a west end show. The expense of theatre nowadays is something closely looked at by critics and the public, and in my opinion is one of the main reasons why theatre is constantly decreasing in popularity. Nowadays, 60% of a theatre audience is filled with theatre practitioners themselves. However, the audience of the Adelphi Theatre did not reflect these facts. It was packed full with the biggest range of ages in a west end theatre I have seen in a long time.
When purchasing the tickets and being told that our view would be a little obstructed, I was surprised to have a very clear view of the stage. Starting with a bang - literally - the show began with an immediate silence  from the audience, not caused by the usual turning down of the house lights but by a gunshot. Even if there was still an urge to speak, the quality of what happened next would have rendered the whole audience speechless anyway.
The technical quality of this show was breath-taking, making the star of the show, for me, the technician. With the story-line being somewhat a simple - typical celebrity love story - and the incredible talent on stage being no less than what you would expect of the West End, the sheer control and relaxed persona of the technician at work kept catching my attention. Clearly seeing him from my seat in the audience, it almost looked like he choreographed all his own movements to the music coming from the stage. Throughout the show I could see no fault, in my eyes a major achievement, as what was going on on-stage was a jungle of technical brilliance. A clear influence of cinematography made it's mark all the way through the production with panels that reflected the movement and focus of a filming camera. Alongside rainbow lights, blaring mics and a number of haze machines - even though it is all done in sequences from his desk - I would still say the technician had his work cut out for him.

The whole cast of this show were equally incredible and by far one of the most talented of all West End shows currently standing. - See more at: http://the-void.co.uk/theatre/review-bodyguard-musical-433/#sthash.WKNiURZm.dpuf
The whole cast of this show were equally incredible and by far one of the most talented of all West End shows currently standing - See more at: http://the-void.co.uk/theatre/review-bodyguard-musical-433/#sthash.WKNiURZm.dpuf
 "The whole cast of this show were equally incredible, and by far one of the most talented West End shows currently standing." Louise Ault, The Void Online Magazine


The whole cast of this show were equally incredible and by far one of the most talented of all West End shows currently standing. - See more at: http://the-void.co.uk/theatre/review-bodyguard-musical-433/#sthash.WKNiURZm.dpuf
 Also with the well known musical tracks actually having been taken care of  to fit into the plot of the story, rather than having been forced in like some other musicals, it is very easy to see why this production is upcoming in Broadway in 2014.All theatre lovers, Whitney Houston lovers, or anyone who just needs a pick me up, I would encourage to go and see this brilliant production.

And - even though Theatre Students are encouraged to see plays that give us a message to take away rather than the fast food Theatre of the West End, I would say don't give this production a miss. Theatre is constantly struggling to find sustainability against the forever developing technology and media of our society, and this show for me provoked the question, is the technology in this show the answer? Having that degree of the cinema marking it. Obviously I don't have an answer for this yet, but I'm sure the Theatre Practitioners of the world and I will work until we find one. Theatre will never be dying in our eyes... only improving.**

**The cheesiest of endings but what can you do.