Sad news that after nine years the West End must say goodbye to the popular musical, JERSEY BOYS.
I was first aware of it in NYC and when it opened and it was impossible to get a ticket. In New York the title has a powerful resonance as everyone is aware of their near neighbour, New Jersey, the setting for much of the story. When it opened in the West End I thought the title might mystify people as when we think of Jersey we think of the pleasant isle just off our coast that’s a favourite, if genteel, holiday destination!
The idea of using a murder ballad as the basis of a musical is an unusual concept and I was interested in how this was going to to work on stage within the musical theatre format. My preconception was that although murder ballads make great 4-minute songs, how is this going to work as a 90 minute musical? I need not have worried, we are clearly told at the beginning that the story will simply follow the format of these obsessive songs, and ‘in all great murder ballads, when songs of love-gone-wrong are sung, blood must be spilled, but by who?’ So as the love story begins, I know how it must end.
Stephen Jeffrey’s play about famed hell-raiser, conversationalist and filthy poet John Wilmot (Dominic Cooper) is set during the reign of King Charles II and investigates Wilmot’s short-lived, adult life. It marks the long-awaited return of Dominic Cooper to the West End Stage after he shot to theatrical stardom as Dakin in Alan Bennett’s 2004 award-winning National Theatre production, The History Boys.
Torn Apart is the story of three relationships, in three generations, in three beds. All of which have the sword of Damocles hanging overhead. We are invited to observe as these couples move from happy, sometimes orgasmic, bliss to much darker places. Along the way we discover the couples connections, which are not just situational. Sex is used as a visual representation of the dynamic of each relationship and this is incredibly effective.
The Last Tango is a fun, dynamic and delightful show that moves swiftly through the evening portraying a love story through life.