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 !

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!

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.

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!

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!!