Anglo the musical

INCONFIDENCE

Following on the hype and the expectations and the legal advice and even allowing for the fact I like Ross O Carroll Kelly "Anglo the Musical" can be reviewed in just one word "Torture".

It also started 15mins late .

It meandered along and lifted just before the break. The break broke the continuity and it never recovered.

The Enda Kenny puppet was direeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and the Brian Cowen portrayal was stupid and disgusting. Bertie deserved it all .

machalla

It was truly awful, barely a genuine laugh in the whole show. The sound was terrible and the songs were as dull as dishwater. I wish I'd waited for the reviews but had a friend up who wanted to see it.

Shame, it could have been a good laugh.

Hackysack

I didn't enjoy it.

I saw Avenue Q (let's face it, it's a poor mans Avenue Q) and perhaps I was a bit spoilt by it but there were so many things I noticed that really put me off.

The following is what stuck out in my mind:

- The sound quality was atrocious. Whenever there was a group number you couldn't hear a word that was said.
- The puppetry was pretty poor. In particular the Fusia puppet. On so many occasions I noticed that the actress was talking and the puppet's mouth wasn't moving - a very small and minor thing, but it bugged me (Avenue Q had it to a T - where you were sucked in & hooked by the puppet)
- The casting wasn't the best... don't get me wrong, the Colagen actress had a good voice, but trying to pass someone who has a thick southern country accent as the sister of an affluent South Sider? It really didn't work.
- The songs were only okay. Some of them just tended to repeat the chorus again and again for no reason - The Bacon and Cabbage song in particular. It was funny once, little bit funny twice, by the 5th time it was boring and lacked inspiration & direction (that said, I liked the Aisling actress' voice).
- The cast's singing at times was very weak. Particularly during the "We all partied song". They REALLY sounded bad.
- The pace of the 2nd act moved way too quickly. We went from Cowen to Enda in the space of 5 mins?
- I felt that Cowen was underused and the joke they had with him wasn't funny.
- Agree with the poster above, Bertie stole the show. The actor had the voice down to a T.
- I liked the Jimmy character & actor. His voice fit the part and was quite decent and believable as one of the 'goys'

I spoke to other people who saw it and they genuinely seemed to enjoy it but I really couldn't get into it all that much and I'm prettysure that Avenue Q just raised my expectations far too high for this.

Winnie21

Went to see this last night. The sound quality was so bad I couldn't hear a word that was said. Left at the interval. Can't comment on the musical itself as I didn't acutally get to hear any of it.

oceanfroggie

Hmmm, we went to it tonight and quite enjoyed it. It took the sound desk about 10 mins to catch up at the beginning. The Bertie actor was brill as was Richie (ie you know who). I guess being the 2nd night maybe they sorted out the glitches from the 1st night. My wife really enjoyed it. Thought the video graphics above the stage were fun. It was a grand auld skit.

micromary

Wow! Thinking of going on Saturday but looking at some of these comments I might rethink!

lawred2

Saw it on Saturday with wifey... mixed bag really. Enjoyed myself in the sense it's nice to be out and about on a Saturday not getting w@nkered in the pub but I'd have to concur with some of the reviews above

Sound was poor for the group sings... a lot of time I couldn't make head nor tail of what was being sung
Some decent individual performances - Aisling, Jimmy and Bertie
Brian Cowen was an after thought and stuck in for a cheap gag
No Brian Lenihan anywhere
Not one mention of NAMA???????
Not one mention of IMF??????
Second act seemed to rush towards the end like the writer got bored... ending up with some ridiculous voice over narration like something out of a Rich Boy Barrett pamphlet

Probably would have been a bit happier were the tickets €25 and not twice that

Robert Johnson

I saw Avenue Q earlier in the year and thought Anglo was far better- funny, controversial, didn't give me what I wanted at the end etc.

The songs have been in my head all week and it gets better with hindsight. There are a few dips but if you stick with it the funny bits are amazing. The 'I hate to say I told you so' song nearly burst my lungs

Supercron

It still needs a good polish, but I think it can be a great little show, The ticket prices shouldnt be that high aswell. Some great songs 'Property Porn', 'Bacon & Cabbage' and the gingers 'I hate to say I told you so' songs were very good and most of the songs are really catchy. I enjoyed it for most parts.

micromary

I honestly thought from previous reviews and reports that this was not up to much. It must be that they have got their act together! (excuse the pun) I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Everything was clear, the acting was very good, everyone laughed a lot especially at Bertie (fully deserved for the gob****e) who was great as Seanie Fitz's assistant. It was very well produced and directed and was well laid out. I thoughly enjoyed it and if anyone reading this was thinking of whether to go today to the 5:30 viewing I recommand this. Only disappointment was not seeing more of BIFFO as the incoherant, drunkard that he is. The one where BIFFO was taking over from Bertie raised the biggest laugh and Bertie was telling a drunk BIFFO what sub-prime was. Priceless!

Knockout_91

I'm quite shocked with how poor the reviews are here. I thought it was excellent.

Whoever said there wasn't a genuine laugh in the place, well I don't know where you were sitting but where I was there were laughs every second.

The sound quality was very poor, I completely agree there. When they sang in a group you couldn't comprehend any of the lyrics.

I went to see Four Angry Men last night, very poor turnout. Empty seats everywhere. It was an absolute disgrace. One man stood up and addressed Fintan O'Toole, Nick Webb, David McWilliams and Shane Ross. He basically said "we've all paid €25 to you guys tonight and for what? You're all going to walk out of here, each a couple of grand richer, and what difference will this have made to the actually economy? What about getting every single person in here to sign a petition on their way out? What action are you taking here?" To which they ignored his question and moved onto someone else and at the very end they actually had the cheek to announce they'd be signing autographs at their book stands.

Absolute joke.

micromary

To be honest, I think that was always going to be a money-making racket. Those guys seem to me only to be interested to be there for that and anyway they ain't going to solve anything. It sounds like a rant event and hense the very poor turnout because the vast majority of people have better things to do.

Fiyero

I cannot believe that this is going to be in the Olympia from January.

It was so bad beyond belief in the Grand Canal Theatre, so so bad.

Possibly the worst muscial I've ever seen.

If I was there on my own I'd have left at the interval.

If I could actually hear what they were saying it might have been ok but the chorus numbers were just noise and neither me nor anyone around me had any idea what they were singing.

Seriously thought about complaining at the interval.

Woeful.

micromary

I have to be honest and say that it is pretty sad that you wrote that on Christmas day

As for Anglo well everyone has their version of the show but on the last Saturday evening that the show was on everybody laughed and everyone seemed to have a good time. It was one of the funniest and best musicals that I have seen.

As for it coming well that is simply due to the amount of people who want it back or as they say back by public demand!

JonathanAnon

I have to be honest and say that it is pretty sad that you wrote that on Christmas day

I think that's an extremely unfair remark.. And not particularly relevant..

Caroline home for 'Anglo' role

Caroline Morahan is now in it. Not sure what happened the other actress (below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wfOwUmQpTA

Havent seen it, but I thought the bit on the Late Late and the bits on youtube were extremely juvenile and LCD.... Lot of bad reviews here and on other forums, yet nothing but positivity in the media?? Seems nobody wants to criticize their friend Paul Howard. Ironically it seems the show is benefiting from the same sort of reporting that helped cause the economic problems in the first place.

HabeasCorpus

Walked out of this dreadful show just before end of first half. It was a disgusting, up in your face nasty show. A LOT of profanity, which any Christian would find unacceptable, and total vulgarity, and I am no prude. It was such a waste of money. I heard people laughing when some very unfunny 'jokes' were made, such as saying a woman's breasts were like 2 disprin on an ironing board. Just moranic stupidity, unintelligent slap stick and crass dirty filth. There was a song filled with porn, a woman pushing her breasts into a man's face and sitting astride him. Gratuitous sexual intonations, where the puppet was pretty clearly giving a man oral sex. I was absolutely disgusted at the tone and lack of class and intelligence. Given the amount of satirical wit at their disposal, there was no need for this crude vulgarity. Humour could have been supplied in a more subtle intellectual way at the financial crisis and those at the top, with their squandering and disregard for people's future. Real social comments could have been subtly made.

Some of the comments about the lives of the islanders were cheap stereo typical slurs. These were crudely done, to the extent of being racist. I've only ever visited those islands once, but I cannot imagine how people from there would feel seeing it and its people portrayed as they were in this show. They were referred to as alcoholics, also smelly, generally backwards, total racism. I've been to pantos, with less in your face obviousness which were a thousand times more enjoyable than this. I just felt like I was listening to a foul mouth bore in a pub who had cornered me, I couldn't even wait for the interval, I HAD to leave that place. Horrible.

I also think this show should have an 18 rating, there is NO indication that there is adult only content in it. Along with with the level of profanity, the song about Property gives you a horn, property porn, the breasts in the face, the puppet giving oral sex, ALL unsuitable for a younger audience. I am glad I didn't bring my teenage daughters, 13 and 14 to this filth, which I had originally intended, believing it could help with their education. What a joke.

naasrd

Left at interval last night. Boring, corney and embarrassing.

HabeasCorpus

naasrd wrote: »

Left at interval last night. Boring, corney and embarrassing.

Well said. That sounds exactly like the one I went to.

For a while there I was confused when I read the other reviews; Hilarious, great musical etc. I wondered was I at the right musical at all. Why were people in audience laughing? Alcohol?? It really was not funny.

JonathanAnon

I was looking for your review HabeasCorpus in the video below, but I couldnt find you anywhere.. :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtO3kCftWiQ

Another video also uploaded with the lovely Carline Morahan..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFF3-CvP-4

What happened the old "Collagen".. The last victim of the Celtic Tiger perhaps?

iamthe43

It looks like the biggest pile of ****€

HabeasCorpus

I feel sorry for Irish people if they think that cheesey dirt passes for entertainment. Ya thanks for the second vid, I hadn't stuck around that long, obviously the tone hadn't risen. Are people watching so much porn they are desensitised to how unacceptable scenes like that are. Is the thinking now; base it on sex and the rest can be talentless stupidity.

Trevorj

JonathanAnon wrote: »

I think that's an extremely unfair remark.. And not particularly relevant..

Havent seen it, but I thought the bit on the Late Late and the bits on youtube were extremely juvenile and LCD.... Lot of bad reviews here and on other forums, yet nothing but positivity in the media?? Seems nobody wants to criticize their friend Paul Howard. Ironically it seems the show is benefiting from the same sort of reporting that helped cause the economic problems in the first place.

Agree completely with you........

This is a massive miscalcualtion and is perpetuating the worst aspects of (Dublin?) Irish society.......

Do they want to turn the financial crisis into a cash cow? that's how it looks.....how can this subject be funny? Paul Howard is funny, Avenue Q was funny........this subject is not.....on any level, at all!!!!

Why take this project on? Let it finish and end those Newstalk adverts as well