Diana

Once my dog ate a large section of cooked turkey giblets string included and when he did a poo the string ran through the middle of it holding section of poo together in one long line. That's what this is like in terms of its musical strength. It's one bit of poo strung together by very poor string-like dialogue.

This doesn't know what it is or what it's trying to be is the take-home feeling I had. The cast aren't bad as in their vocals and performances (characters aside) are pretty sharp and don't miss but they're lost in the tack. I feel bad for the cast to be honest they must have known this was a big chance to take and it was gonna be loved or loathed. Maybe it will do well or at least better as a live stage show complete with audience but I can recall and sing at least one line from every song having just watched it the once so that's how mediocre and run of the mill generic, predictable and generally naff and unremarkable the songs are.

Stage, costumes, lighting etc - really well done. Just not enough to carry the rest unfortunately.

I am surprised this was done by the creative team behind the musical Memphis. I enjoyed that show. Diana has some of the worst lyrics I have ever heard. I laughed a lot at the choreography. This is the ideal show to watch if you are a fan of train wrecks.

Just about every review for this trashed it before I had a chance to watch it, so I went in with low expectations.

Is it cliche? Yep.

Is it cheesy? Yep.

Haven't we heard it all before? Yep.

Still, I enjoyed it.

Sure, it's no Phantom or Rogers & Hammerstein spectacular, but it's a boppy, kitschy, ninety-minute sing-fest through the royal family. And, really, there's only so much you can cram into a musical that covers 30+ years of someone's life, so don't go in expecting anything too deep and meaningful.

But it is a decent way to spend an afternoon, the sets are well designed, as are the costumes.

It's a musical train wreck. 2 hours of teeth gritting,cringe worthy, eye rolling baaaad. I wonder what the pitch was when this was in the planning stage. "Let's dig up Diana's corpse and dance it across the stage to bad music." We were all in front row seats as the dumpster fire that was Charles and Diana's marriage imploded. Why would they think it was a grand idea to replay it on stage, and to music yet. The actors did their best with the material they were given. They seemed enthusiastic but you can't make a silk purse out of this sow's ear. There's no fairy tale ending here, just as it was with the real Diana.

A lyrically bankrupt torture scene lasting two hours cleverly edited to feel like four.

The only saving grace is the use of the word "sod" five times (an underrated insult) and Barbara Cartland's introduction of James Hewitt, the majesty of which is a sight to behold.