David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's musical Here Lies Love has its official Opening Night at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in London tonight. The reviews are in from last night's press night, bringing five stars in Time Out and the Daily Mail, which calls it "revolutionary," and four stars in the Independent, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, and the Times. Channel 4 News calls it "extraordinary" and spoke with Byrne in an interview you can watch here.
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's musical Here Lies Love has its official Opening Night at the National Theatre's newly opened Dorfman Theatre in London tonight, following previews and last night's press night. The reviews are in and, as with the original New York City production at the Public Theater, effusive, bringing five stars in Time Out, whose reviewer, Andrzej Lukowski, calls it "as much fun as I've had in a theatre all year," and in the Daily Mail, which calls it a "revolutionary" work that "takes musicals into fresh territory," and four stars in the Independent, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, and the Times.
Channel 4 News calls it "extraordinary" and spoke with Byrne about the play and some revolutionary ideas in an interview you can watch here:
The Independent's Paul Taylor says it’s a "dramatic song-cycle presented in a brilliantly immersive son et lumiere production by Alex Timbers that shows off the National's newly refurbished studio-sized auditorium (now renamed the Dorfman) to spectacular effect with its sheer spatial bravura." Taylor notes Natalie Mendoza in the lead role, finding her "in full-blooded voice is stunning at every stage of Imelda's development." It's "an auspicious opening for the Dorfman."
The Daily Telegraph calls the music "instantly catchy" and cites Natalie Mendoza in the lead role as "sensationally good as this self-styled queen of hearts, beginning on a note of serene purity and transforming ... into a more snarling specimen."
"The music soon works its magic," writes the Evening Standard's Henry Hitching in his four-star review. "It ranges from slinky seductiveness via booty-shaking funk to thunderously big beats, before rounding off with a folky guitar number." He concludes: "Here Lies Love is an intoxicating and technically inventive experience."
For tickets to the London production, running through January 8, 2015, click here. For tickets to the ongoing New York production, click here.
Nonesuch Records released the original cast album earlier this year and an all-star album of songs from Here Lies Love in 2010. To pick up copies of both, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.
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