Yet another production sends tabloids into a frenzy
The year is 2017 – Hamilton is about to open the refurbished Victoria Palace Theatre, excitement levels are at fever pitch.
Then, with a heavy heart, the show’s first preview is delayed by three weeks due to building work. Three weeks of waiting, tickets to be reallocated and a new opening night to be found. But, seven years on, no one really remembers the incident – the incredible box office team at the theatre reallocated seats promptly, Hamilton continues to thrive and the venue looks pristine.
It’s a story that sprang to mind over the weekend as the tabloids went into a frenzy about Jamie Lloyd’s production of Romeo and Juliet cancelling its first preview. After weeks of snapping shots of Sheridan Smith at the stage door of the ill-fated Opening Night, the paps relocated to St Martin’s Lane for another mountain/molehill media moment. Pictures of Tom Holland looking glum in London were a sign that the show was going badly (nothing to do with being hounded by photographers, of course).
Cancelled previews are certainly awful for ticket holders, but it’s sadly a risk that many know they have to take. Swathes of shows have cancelled their first performance(s) (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Next to Normal, Groundhog Day and others spring to mind) – in order to fine-tune technical aspects of the show, or because elements of the production that worked in rehearsals are more tricky during the get-in. As any creative will tell you (and from personal experience), the transition between abstract rehearsal room and performance space is perhaps the most fraught and tricky. Compromises are made, scenes are re-blocked and long days await all involved...
That’s all before previews begin, and some of the most adventurous and exciting shows in West End history have had turbulent preview periods: entire scenes axed, characters renamed or sets built. Lines have to be learned on hastily printed bits of paper handed to cast members. It’s an age-old practice, but in the age of social media and instant gratification, shows can be judged from the moment they are put in front of pundits..
Romeo and Juliet will be no different. Already the chatter of an outdoor experience and major video design plans have been rumbling – all but confirmed to us at WOS at the Olivier Awards last month. If Lloyd’s production of Sunset Boulevard is anything to go by, there will be some audacious plans.
The Romeo and Juliet producers have also confirmed that the show’s first preview tonight will be going ahead as per usual – with Holland seen waving to fans as he exited rehearsals.
The preview period is, ultimately, of vital importance to any show. Not that a tabloid would give you that impression.
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