A few confessions

Since it's Sunday, there are a few things I should probably get off my chest. Firstly, I'm not a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera - I only saw it for the first time and it left me a little cold. Not that I would say I disliked it, but it simply didn't move me in any way.

I also wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Don't get me wrong, I think some of his work is ok. I quite like Joseph and Evita and have a real soft spot for Gethsemane from Jesus Christ, but when you factor in the trauma of Cats, let's just say he and I have a few issues.

So perhaps understandably, I wasn't in any particular rush to see Love Never Dies. Then at the beginning of February, I decided to use a pre-planned trip to visit a friend in London to go and see the original cast before they all move on.

And quite frankly, I was shocked. Shocked that my pre-conceptions were so completely wrong. I loved it. The score was beautiful, surprising in places, the staging stunning, and the performances sublime. Yes, maybe if I had gone to see it before the December re-writes I wouldn't have been so impressed, but there are still a few elements that don't quite work and yet the overall effect is magnificent. Now if they could just tackle the overuse of projections to move the story along (and of the motif sung by Gustave throughout), and maybe develop Meg Giry's character a little more so her actions at the end don't feel like they've come out of the blue, then the whole thing would be pretty much perfect.

Even with these small flaws, this is a very very good piece of musical theatre that, to my mind at least, demands repeat viewing. At least that's my excuse for yesterday, which brings me to my final confession.....

As soon as I got back from my weekend in the big smoke, I decided I really had to see Love Never Dies again with the original cast. Being short on holidays (not to mention cash), the only option was a day trip. Hence I found myself spending most of yesterday on a train just to spend 2.5 hours in a theatre. And it was worth every minute.