Review – Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre

It’s not just us that’s reminded of Kellogg’s Special K cereal every time we see the Kinky Boots logo is it?

This is the show that caused the big upset at the 2013 Tony Awards, beating Matilda for Best Musical and winning 5 others including Best Score for Cyndi Lauper. So no expectations then.

The Adelphi Theatre seems to be the home of British film-to-stage musical adaptations concerning problems in manufacturing industries. It may be damning with faint praise to say it’s streets ahead of Made in Dagenham but it is.

Review – The Bodyguard, Adelphi Theatre

Despite it having been 1992’s second-highest-grossing film* neither of the Whingers ever quite got round to seeing The Bodyguard. On the other hand no wild horses would have been required to get them to the sadly urrealised sequel starring Princess Diana as the romantic lead. We can only dream. In the meantime…

More Bleedin’ Hot Pies!

Some might call it poor taste. Some might call it an act of expedience before the latest VAT comes in.

We’d call it a deliciously canny and waggish merchandising ploy.

The Whingers love to fill a few minutes taking in the finest in the shops at theatres. Themed products always amuse us. Singin’ in the Rain is offering a range of branded umbrellas, Phantom of the Opera markets a magic mug which when filled with a hot drink sees the Phantom’s white mask magically appear and most musicals have the usual CDs, T-shirts and key rings you’d expect, though at least in Sweeney Todd a key is crucial to the plot.

Occasionally this is taken just that little bit further. The Menier’s Abigail’s Party is serving pre-show 70s meals including chicken Kiev and fondue (as different courses we presume). And of course the Whingers were seduced into parting with their cash last year when at Frankenstein a smoking green cocktail called The Experiment went on sale in the National’s bar.

But the Sweeney Todd people have probably come up with the best one yet. In keeping with show’s grisly cannabalistic plot the bars at the Adelphi theatre are selling “Mrs Lovett’s Bleedin’ Hot Pies”. And they do indeed bleed. Quite literally.

Review – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Adelphi Theatre

The last time we went to the Adelphi Theatre was to see Love Never Dies. Nice to see it again, this time for a check-up of the transferred Sweeney Todd which we saw in Chichester when a transfer seemed inevitable and well-deserved.

And pretty much everything is in place just as it should be although sadly there was no sign of Andrew Lloyd Webber in the little boy’s room on this occasion.

Really Old, Like Moira Stuart

Just what is the similarity between the Whingers and National Treasure in-the-making Moira Stuart? Tough one isn’t it?

Well, it’s been a funny old 24 hours what with one thing and another. The West End Whingers’ call centre in India has been working overtime to handle all the media enquiries that have been zinging their way to them from everywhere from Australia to Ireland (well, actually only from Australia and Ireland) thanks to (let’s be honest) merely having come up with a mildly amusing gag: “Paint Never Dries”.

Review – Love Never Dies, Adelphi Theatre

The Whingers could think of many reasons not to see Love Never Dies, the long-awaited (although by whom is unclear) sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

Phil was impressed with the spectacle of the original when he saw its first preview a zillion years ago but when he when revisited it with Phantom virgin* Andrew years later he was shocked by how, well, tedious it actually is.

On the plus side if you really must do a follow-up then a storyline set in Coney Island sounds just up the Whingers’ alleys. Just think of the visual possibilities! The Whingers’ inner juries were definitely going to examine all the evidence before deciding whether or not another crime against musical theatre had been committed. Phil even admitted to being quite excited about going.

But word-of-mouth from die-hard Phantom wasn’t encouraging: there are 53 pages (and still counting) of largely negative comment on the WhatsOnStage forum, largely from Phantom fans. If they didn’t like it what chance would the Whingers have?

Still, there obviously IS a demand from the press at least because the nice people at Peter Thompson Associates who are handling PR for the show wrote a very nice email back to the Whingers to say that “due to the extremely high demand and a strictly limited ticket allocation we will not be able to provide you with press tickets for this show”.

How cruelly dashed on the rocks of pecking orders were our dreams of endless first nights, unlimited free drink and casual hob-nobbing with celebrities at after-show parties. Bet Biggins got an invite.

So anyway, it was down to the Whingers to fork out their own money like the ordinary theatre-goers they once were, and are apparently again, for £37.50 EACH in the UPPER (oh, the shame of it) Circle of the Adelphi.

So let us examine the case for and against Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s latest opus.

Review – Derren Brown’s Enigma, Adelphi Theatre

The Whingers have been very quiet indeed since last Tuesday. For the last seven days the only sounds you might have heard from them would have been the whirring and clunking of their addled brains as they puzzled and worried and plotted to explain the tricks behind Derren Brown’s quite extraordinary Enigma now showing at the Adelphi Theatre.

It may not surprise you to learn that their combined intellectual and analytical efforts has resulted in nothing. Nada. Not a sausage. We are as mystified today as we were when we emerged blinking into The Strand a week ago. It is, indeed, an enigma.