REVIEW
BENIDORM LIVE
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
7th - 12th January 2019
BENIDORM LIVE
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
7th - 12th January 2019
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
Hang onto your sun hats everybody!! After 10 series and 74 episodes, ITV's hit comedy, Benidorm, has finally burst out of the small screen and onto the stage of the Cliffs Pavilion as part of a huge National Tour! Benidorm Live is exactly what you expect it to be. It is a full-on, fabulous, two hours of hilarious comedy, song and dance with many of the much loved characters from the series appearing.
No expense has been spared in bringing Benidorm Live to the stage - production values are high. On entering the auditorium we are greeted by the dazzling set, an excellent re-creation of the Solana reception full of amazing detail, bedrooms towering up high, which later transform into the poolside and finally the Neptune Bar, with the help of the biggest revolving stage I have ever seen at the Cliffs. The show is a technical triumph. One can only imagine how hard the stage crew have to work to re-build the set each Monday at every theatre Benidorm Live visits.
We have a decent amount of plot to carry us along. There is a posh couple who have been booked into the wrong hotel along with a hotel inspector lurking under cover too. The staff are only too well aware that the Solana's reputation is, to say the least, terrible and a last ditch attempt is made to save the hotel, and their jobs....but who IS the undercover mole, or moles? Naturally, mayhem ensues, with mistaken identities and red herrings and it is not until the end that all is revealed.
No expense has been spared in bringing Benidorm Live to the stage - production values are high. On entering the auditorium we are greeted by the dazzling set, an excellent re-creation of the Solana reception full of amazing detail, bedrooms towering up high, which later transform into the poolside and finally the Neptune Bar, with the help of the biggest revolving stage I have ever seen at the Cliffs. The show is a technical triumph. One can only imagine how hard the stage crew have to work to re-build the set each Monday at every theatre Benidorm Live visits.
We have a decent amount of plot to carry us along. There is a posh couple who have been booked into the wrong hotel along with a hotel inspector lurking under cover too. The staff are only too well aware that the Solana's reputation is, to say the least, terrible and a last ditch attempt is made to save the hotel, and their jobs....but who IS the undercover mole, or moles? Naturally, mayhem ensues, with mistaken identities and red herrings and it is not until the end that all is revealed.
Naturally it is the wonderful cast of familiar faces that the audience has come to see and you will not leave disappointed. One by one, Sherrie Hewson, Janine Duvitski, Jake Canuso, Adam Gillen, Tony Maudsley and Shelley Longworth all appear to huge cheers and they work like trojans to give us our money's worth. There are songs and a fabulous flamenco sequence for Mateo (Jake Canuso) joined by Kenneth in drag (Tony Maudsley) and a rousing Y Viva España at the end.
Of course, a full two hour show requires stamina from the actors and the audience too! There are long scenes and a lot of lines!! Innuendo cascades forth from the word go. The script is extremely bawdy and if this is not your thing, then do not go. However, I suspect, if like me, you loved the tv series, then you will love every filthy minute of it. It is huge fun and heartily recommended. Grab your tickets now if you can. This mega-hit is virtually sold out for it's whole week at the Cliffs already!
Review: Andrew Walters
Of course, a full two hour show requires stamina from the actors and the audience too! There are long scenes and a lot of lines!! Innuendo cascades forth from the word go. The script is extremely bawdy and if this is not your thing, then do not go. However, I suspect, if like me, you loved the tv series, then you will love every filthy minute of it. It is huge fun and heartily recommended. Grab your tickets now if you can. This mega-hit is virtually sold out for it's whole week at the Cliffs already!
Review: Andrew Walters
For tickets go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Ask the Audience
Roger Powell, Southend on Sea
I’ve watched Benidorm on TV since series one, and rewatched it all on dvd. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but with many of the original tv actors in the cast I expected a high standard production. I was not disappointed. The show hit the ground running with a fast pace from the outset, which continued all the way through. Even the very quick scene changes with a partly revolving stage were accompanied with a little song and dance to maintain a busy stage at all times. There was a great deal of rather rude double entendres, which the whole (quite mixed) audience all seemed to enjoy (and expect). There was a good deal of song and dance which was not part of the tv series (except the karaoke at Neptune’s) but it all fitted together very well. The plot would not have been out of place in the television version, there were many references to the other characters of the tv series and the new characters in this show were believable and given equal importance.
The whole cast obviously enjoyed what they were doing, a little too much on a few occasions with some corpsing here and there, but it didn’t matter and the audience were happy to join in with them. Well worth going to see if you are a fan of the tv series, or even an occasional watcher. I’ve already looked at the tour dates to see if I can go to see this production again later in its run, not something I often do.
I’ve watched Benidorm on TV since series one, and rewatched it all on dvd. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but with many of the original tv actors in the cast I expected a high standard production. I was not disappointed. The show hit the ground running with a fast pace from the outset, which continued all the way through. Even the very quick scene changes with a partly revolving stage were accompanied with a little song and dance to maintain a busy stage at all times. There was a great deal of rather rude double entendres, which the whole (quite mixed) audience all seemed to enjoy (and expect). There was a good deal of song and dance which was not part of the tv series (except the karaoke at Neptune’s) but it all fitted together very well. The plot would not have been out of place in the television version, there were many references to the other characters of the tv series and the new characters in this show were believable and given equal importance.
The whole cast obviously enjoyed what they were doing, a little too much on a few occasions with some corpsing here and there, but it didn’t matter and the audience were happy to join in with them. Well worth going to see if you are a fan of the tv series, or even an occasional watcher. I’ve already looked at the tour dates to see if I can go to see this production again later in its run, not something I often do.