Acorn Antiques: The Musical

When this was on in the West End I was desperate to get tickets but never managed to. Thank goodness, what a waste of £ 65 that would have been. I'm still angry at paying £15 for the DVD, having not seen it before I bought it ( something I rarely do but felt I could not go wrong with this?) I have always been a fan of Victoria Wood,right from the beginning and acorn antiques was always my favourite sequence from her TV show so was intrigued and excited to see how she would translate a 5 minute sketch into a musical. I cannot fault the acting, although Neil Morrisey gets very annoying after a while - Julie Walters is fabulous as ever and Celia Imrie is wonderful but the problem is it just isn't that funny.Wood seems to think mentioning heamorriods all the time will get the laughs but it just got boring.There is one wonderful song a dance scene the tip top tap ( or something like that!)but the rest of the songs are dull and go on too long. And that is the major problem, the whole thing just goes on, and on ,and on. Wood should have just left Acorn Antiques for us to remember warmly in the 80s instead of making a total hash of a musical.Also on 'bingo nights' when Walters wasn't performing as Mrs Overall, we have DVD extras of scenes featuring Wood as Mrs O. This is embarrassing to the point I had to turn off. There is only one Mrs O !

What could I say to anyone who says they were disappointed by "Acorn Antiques: The Musical", I would say take some time out of your day and give it another go. Celia Imrie delightfully shocked us with her quite charming singing voice, and Duncan Preston always gives a superb performance with his dry wit and sense of humour with hilarious lines such as "I'll settle this, I have a scrotum" And ofcorse it would be a crime not to mention the national treasure that is Julie Walters, Julie never fails to deliver a top notch performance as her signature role Mrs Bodecia Overall. Neil Morrisey also gives an hilarious performance as "Tony, the Credit Crony" Great Jokes, Perfect Timing, Fabulous,famous Victoria Wood writing style and Funny Catchy show tunes, what more do you need????

If you don't get regional British humour you won't get this - which is a tragedy because this is British theatre at its' best! The dialogue is wonderful, smooth and expertly delivered - as are all the songs and dances. Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Sally Ann Triplett and Josie Lawrence show what true professionalism is and whilst the story is somewhat different to the TV series and lacks some of the familiar items, the new mixture of the TV series and 'Vaudeville/Music Hall' is inspirational, extremely funny and well delivered. Even though I dislike Neil Morrisey's previous work, I have to say he delivered the obnoxious/slimy role very well - good casting, The rest of the cast is tip top too - just like 'Tip Top Tap'!! Well done Victoria Wood et al - more please!!

Acorn Antiques The Musical is one of the most phenomenal and brilliantly entertaining things I've ever seen! It is outrageously funny with joke after joke and punchline after punchline thrown at you throughout the entire performance. It certainly keeps you on your toes and listening hard! It must have taken tremendous time and effort to pull everything together and the music and choreography are simply stunning. The storyline is very original but just as splendid as any other if not more so! I loved every minute of the performance and would see it a million times if I could. Each character has a spark of individuality that is amazing without the rest of the show backing it up. I found the whole thing thoroughly enjoyable and encourage others to see it!

It is very rare for me to laugh out loud when I watch something on my own (which is a very different experience from watching a comic drama with others), and despite being very tired last night I laughed out loud a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the DVD.

Julie Walters sparkles as always both as the hunchbacked crone Mrs Overall and as the pretentious, self-absorbed actress Bo Beaumont. Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston, both also cast member from the original Acorn Antique TV sketches were also excellent.

Josie Lawrence was a welcome addition I have only seen her perform on the improvisational comedy game show "Whose Line is it Anyway" but continue to be impressed by her as I was by Neil Morrissey – both as the pompous John and the slimy Tony.

However it is Victoria Woods writing which has to be the star of the show. It is so full of wit and irony and self-effacing sarcasm.

A wonderful show which I thoroughly enjoyed – I only wish I had seen it on stage in the West End!