Acorn Antiques: The Musical

My best advice with Acorn Antiques the musical is to skip ahead to the second half of the musical (e.g chapter 7 onwards). This is because the first half is ....well....extremely extremely odd. The second half however is the musical you are expecting and you will not be disappointed - great songs and in-jokes.

I hear as the show travelled they did indeed cut out a lot of the first half and God only knows why it made it onto the DVD.

The songs in the second half are superb and you will find yourself singing them for days afterwards. There are also a lot of laugh out loud moments and in-jokes for fans of the original series.

Acorn Antiques became an iconic part of British comedy history when it debuted as part of Victoria Wood's 'As seen on TV' show.

This musical version came along in 2006, and was a lukewarm critical hit, but again was loved by the public. And really that was who Victoria Wood wrote for.

I didn't like the first half. I thought it was all a bit self-indulgent and wasn't the Acorn Antiques show we hoped to see.

The second half was much better, and much more in the style of the original sketches.

Your enjoyment of this musical will really depend on whether you can sit through the first half.

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????

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!