The Famous Five

 

Gorgeous Dave and I have a sort of pact together. We not only book theatre for productions that we know we may like but we have agreed we would try things off our own radar so to speak.
It was the World premier of The Famous Five - a new musical by Elinor Cook at Theatr Clwyd and although I scarcely thought that Enid Blyton was our cup of tea, we went.
It’s not a great musical 
Apart from just one song, where Aunt Fanny( Laura Denning) bemoans being an overlooked housewife , the songs are a bit bland and at times very shouty. 
A sense of 1930s whimsy is almost lost in present day ideals  of saving the planet and modern language and the cast of characters as written by Blyton, just don’t have the light and shade and depth the characters in a musical need to have in order to make it interesting, even when Cook brings in the potentially difficult elements of bad parenting , unhappy marriages and sibling rivalry 
Which was a shame.
The puppetry of Timmy was a highlight of the musical


21 comments:

  1. Enid Blyton not reflecting current social mores and issues? Why, 'The Enchanted Wood' has a lot to say about climate change. Mr Saucepan Man is the epitome of recycling. And don't get me started on animal rights and 'The Famous Five'. ;)

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    1. Lol ….I m guessing your comment is tongue in cheek or am I completely wrong lol

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  2. I think I read all the Famous Five books when I was a kid. Can't imagine this musical will spark an Enid Blyton renaissance. She's pretty out of favour these days for many valid reasons.

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    1. Yes I’ve just been reading up on her

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  3. I applaud your open-mindedness when purchasing theatre tickets - giving productions a chance.

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  4. Maybe based on the reaction, they can improve? Still it gets you out of the house for an evening with a friend,

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  6. The last theatre musical I went to was Salad Days (We're looking for a Pee-arn-o, etc). Loved it.

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  7. At least that puppet is cool-looking.

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  8. I think it's really good to try new things with an open mind. Bound to be some disappointments on the way though I guess.
    I can't quite imagine the Famous Five as a musical. Even though the author is out of favour I enjoyed the books very much when I was young.

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  9. What a shame it was disappointing. Still, if you don't try, you don't know. I wonder if the cast were as disappointed in the production as you? xx

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  10. I like Timmy - I'm sure he is a real dog really - My rommie tich aka timmy too x🐺

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  11. Anonymous7:41 am

    I once met Enid Blyton's daughter Gillian. Lovely lady.

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  12. Loved the famous five when I was young.

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  13. I'd never even heard of Enid Blyton until I moved to England. We have her books in our school library but they don't get used much. She's pretty passé these days. Kudos to you for checking out the musical -- a shame you didn't like it more.

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  14. Enid Blyton books evoke the epitomy of a 1950's/1960's English childhood.
    Where all the characters were either awfully nice or frightfully beastly.
    Not quite real life, especially if one was not quite a ' home counties ' type!
    I would have loved to see this musical version put together by the much missed Victoria Wood. Bet it would be a long run box office hit then.
    Sorry the production you saw didn't quite cut it, 'specially complete with ghastly songs dahling! Tess x

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    1. Anonymous12:56 pm

      Funny you should say that because Victoria Wood had one of the very few flops of her career with the musical version of Acorn Antiques. No matter how many times they tried rewrites, it never quite worked.

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    2. Yes some things just DONT translate

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  15. Barbara Anne1:30 pm

    Even though the show was disappointing, you and Gorgeous Dave had an enoyable outing, no doubt. Nothing ventured, nothin gained!

    Hugs!

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