crystal daze wrote:whom
Eric's, the Musical
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by Scouser » Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:44 am
I didnt really know what to expect, I took my seat with some trepidation I must admit. It was either going to be brilliant or terrible. The fact that the theatre was sold out gave me some hope.
The theatre was packed and it was good to see some younger people amongst all the 40somethings. The stage backdrop is an approximation of Erics (how accurate I cant say as I was about 12 when Erics was going) complete with the famously disgusting mens toilets.
The play is about a guy (called Joe) who is diagnosed with leukemia and is facing premature death - most of the action weaves in and out of flashback as he remembers how overhearing Jayne Casey and Pete Burns in a pub led him to Erics to see The Clash on the famous night The Crucial Three was born.
From then on its quite hard to describe as past and present merge in a dreamlike state...Joes battle against his illness draws on the post punk "anything can happen" spirit of Erics. It sounds quite downbeat but its not...far from it.
The way the songs are woven into the action is superb. There is a load of Bunnymen songs - Pride, Rescue, The Disease, The Cutter, The Killing Moon etc as well as Bunnymen lyrics used as dialogue. There are also a few Wah and Teardrops tunes / lyrics used the same way as well as The Wild Swans, Big In Japan, Those Naughty Lumps etc. The bands that played Erics (Pistols, Clash, Elvis Costello) also feature.
The night The Crucial Three meet is fantastically done. A young, skinny Mac - part punk - is a chain smoking, scowling ball of derision dripping sarcastic one liners and surveying the goings on from the corner. Wylie and Cope are deliciously over the top and Julian gets all the funny lines. Wylie is portrayed as the glue trying desperately to draw all these disparate people together and actually form a band (as opposed to just talking about it). He is frustrated by his failure (there is a great moment where he is begging Mac to come and rehearse at his Mum's house - Mac replies totally deadpan "nah, I cant be arsed").
Later the play moves to the fateful night that EATB support the Teardrops and this is used as the backdrop to a significant moment in the story. The leads playing Mac, Wylie and Cope may not look too much like the 17 year olds they are portraying - but they have the voices spot on. As does the guy who plays Pete Burns.
The most spine tingling moment is when Joe, high on morphine for the pain, meets his younger self face to face (there are two actors playing Joe - younger and older) and they sing The Great Dominions by the Teardrops. Typing that out I know it sounds naff but its actually really moving and the lyrics really fit the moment ("suddenly I came to my senses..."). The other great moment is when Joe is really struggling with his illness - "my lifes the disease"...it is sung with great emotion.
One of the running gags throughout the whole play is how despite Wylie's enthusiasm and drive its Mac and Cope who steal the limelight early on and Wylie is left looking through the window onto a scene he was trying to drive. He vows he will write a song that will eclipse everything else that came out of Erics...and it is his song that concludes the play and is its big anthemic moment.
I wont spoil the ending for you as I'm sure the play will be back or possibly go on tour (there was a 10 min standing ovation, its obviously really struck a nerve with people). Needless to say the ending is fantastic and completley unexpected.
Its a shame its not had much publicity (if it was Hacienda - The Musical it would have been a different story). I would strongly urge any Bunnymen fans (the real Bunnymen, not this current orchestra hawking nostalgia outfit) to see it as the energy and vitality of Erics is tangible. Plus to see the dynamic between The Crucial Three is really interesting. The guy who plays Mac I think got it spot on - a skinny, 17 year old punk who is already starting to forge his own identity and will only answer to "Duke" (and only then with an acerbic putdown). It really reminds you why Mac was such a big star and why over half the music used is EATB.
I know it sounds a crap idea but it really isnt...if you love the Bunnymen you cant help but love this. If you live within 200 miles of the Everyman give it a go...you wont regret it.
The theatre was packed and it was good to see some younger people amongst all the 40somethings. The stage backdrop is an approximation of Erics (how accurate I cant say as I was about 12 when Erics was going) complete with the famously disgusting mens toilets.
The play is about a guy (called Joe) who is diagnosed with leukemia and is facing premature death - most of the action weaves in and out of flashback as he remembers how overhearing Jayne Casey and Pete Burns in a pub led him to Erics to see The Clash on the famous night The Crucial Three was born.
From then on its quite hard to describe as past and present merge in a dreamlike state...Joes battle against his illness draws on the post punk "anything can happen" spirit of Erics. It sounds quite downbeat but its not...far from it.
The way the songs are woven into the action is superb. There is a load of Bunnymen songs - Pride, Rescue, The Disease, The Cutter, The Killing Moon etc as well as Bunnymen lyrics used as dialogue. There are also a few Wah and Teardrops tunes / lyrics used the same way as well as The Wild Swans, Big In Japan, Those Naughty Lumps etc. The bands that played Erics (Pistols, Clash, Elvis Costello) also feature.
The night The Crucial Three meet is fantastically done. A young, skinny Mac - part punk - is a chain smoking, scowling ball of derision dripping sarcastic one liners and surveying the goings on from the corner. Wylie and Cope are deliciously over the top and Julian gets all the funny lines. Wylie is portrayed as the glue trying desperately to draw all these disparate people together and actually form a band (as opposed to just talking about it). He is frustrated by his failure (there is a great moment where he is begging Mac to come and rehearse at his Mum's house - Mac replies totally deadpan "nah, I cant be arsed").
Later the play moves to the fateful night that EATB support the Teardrops and this is used as the backdrop to a significant moment in the story. The leads playing Mac, Wylie and Cope may not look too much like the 17 year olds they are portraying - but they have the voices spot on. As does the guy who plays Pete Burns.
The most spine tingling moment is when Joe, high on morphine for the pain, meets his younger self face to face (there are two actors playing Joe - younger and older) and they sing The Great Dominions by the Teardrops. Typing that out I know it sounds naff but its actually really moving and the lyrics really fit the moment ("suddenly I came to my senses..."). The other great moment is when Joe is really struggling with his illness - "my lifes the disease"...it is sung with great emotion.
One of the running gags throughout the whole play is how despite Wylie's enthusiasm and drive its Mac and Cope who steal the limelight early on and Wylie is left looking through the window onto a scene he was trying to drive. He vows he will write a song that will eclipse everything else that came out of Erics...and it is his song that concludes the play and is its big anthemic moment.
I wont spoil the ending for you as I'm sure the play will be back or possibly go on tour (there was a 10 min standing ovation, its obviously really struck a nerve with people). Needless to say the ending is fantastic and completley unexpected.
Its a shame its not had much publicity (if it was Hacienda - The Musical it would have been a different story). I would strongly urge any Bunnymen fans (the real Bunnymen, not this current orchestra hawking nostalgia outfit) to see it as the energy and vitality of Erics is tangible. Plus to see the dynamic between The Crucial Three is really interesting. The guy who plays Mac I think got it spot on - a skinny, 17 year old punk who is already starting to forge his own identity and will only answer to "Duke" (and only then with an acerbic putdown). It really reminds you why Mac was such a big star and why over half the music used is EATB.
I know it sounds a crap idea but it really isnt...if you love the Bunnymen you cant help but love this. If you live within 200 miles of the Everyman give it a go...you wont regret it.
Mr. Brian, I find that offensive.
Scouser's inability to se others' point of view is rather grating.
Scouser's inability to se others' point of view is rather grating.
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Scouser - Über Fan
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by blinkilite » Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:54 am
yeah, i agree with moondance... fantastic review, and sounds like a great play. i wish i could fly over and see it.
not just another drop in the ocean
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blinkilite - Senior Member
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