Last Friday Tina and I went to see the local production of Phantom of the Opera, which opened recently at South Bank. I hadn't seen it on stage for a whopping 18 years since I was in London, so I was really looking forward to it.

And it pretty much lived up to my expectations. They portrayed the Phantom as more mad than in either the London performance that I saw or the recent movie version. While this was quite obviously different, I think that it is completely justified from both a reading of the script, and from the original novel by Gaston Leroux.

The singing was all very good. I particularly enjoyed the performance by the actor playing Raoul, who seemed to capture the character of a love-struck aristocrat very well.

The scenario I think was superb. From the initial auction scene where they managed a great transition back to the height of the Opera Populaire, to the moving walkways while travelling to the Phantom's lair, to the fireballs thrown by the Phantom during the graveyard scene, it is simply brilliant.

Definitely recommended viewing. Of course, I booked my tickets about 4 months ago, and still only got near the back of the stalls, so I doubt that there are many left.

Posted by Dave Bryant at 5:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)