The Prince of Egypt The Musical - Thursday 2nd September 2021

 I have to start off this blog by saying, this is my first ever show at the West End. 

I've loved theatre all my life, whether it's outdoor acrobatic performances, drama productions, to Musicals and pantomimes, it's a way to escape reality for a couple hours. I've seen many different shows over the years, I'll make a blog on some recent shows I watched before the pandemic, but I was very excited to see how the production varied compared to a touring show at a local theatre. As we bought our tickets the night before, our seats were towards the back, and cost us approximately £25 each. We still had a good view of the stage. 

In regards to Covid safety, the majority wore face masks inside the venue, which was reassuring. The track and trace system was in place, but this wasn't checked by any members of staff. However, as we were fully vaccinated, we felt very safe. And my advice if anyone is anxious in seeing this show, it was probably the safest I've ever felt in a busy theatre, and the air conditioning really helped as well.

In regards to the story, I didn't see the film which this show is based on until a few days ago, but I had a brief idea on the story. Hence why I didn't understand a few characters. In my opinion, I'll probably appreciate the show more, now I've seen the animated film, but I still had a great time regardless. My recommendation to anyone watching this is maybe give the animated film a watch first, and you'll enjoy the show more.

Sound production + Songs

First off, this was probably the best sound production I've ever heard in any show. 

All of the cast, ensemble and the orchestra was so clear in every single song and general conversation. Although we were towards the back of the theatre, we could still hear everything clearly. The subwoofers also added to the experience in several scenes. They were so powerful, we could feel the bass from the floors. It could be scary for younger audiences, but it does add to the tension of the scene.

Songs:

Similar to the film, the musical featured the majority of songs, but it was incredible to hear the orchestra live. Hans Zimmer is one of my favourite composers of all time, I was very excited when I found out he composed some of the original songs. Some of my highlights are;

Deliver us - Similar to the film, When the musical opened up with this song, I had Goosebumps. It perfectly set up the scene of the slaves and how they were treated. The way the song transitions to River o river, and then back to the main slave chorus. This opened up the musical and story perfectly in under 7 minutes. The use of the whips as well really made you imagine yourself in the slaves position.

For the rest of my life - In my opinion, this was my favourite song from the whole musical. Moses coming into terms of the destruction that's been caused, and he's dreading of the thousands of innocent children who may die because of the final plague. This was sung with such emotion, and I had a tear running from my eye. The music in this song is just beautiful.

When you believe - When I saw the film after, I noticed the 'when you believe song' felt slightly awkward after all the devastation and pain that was caused. The musical really enhanced the emotions by adding 'for the rest of my life' and 'heartless' before the most known song from the animated film. Although when you believe isn't my favourite song, I could really feel the emotions from the cast, knowing there is hope and everything will work out in the end. This did get the loudest applause from the audience.

Projection Mapping and illusions

Probably what stands out in this show was the use of projection mapping and the LED screen. They weren't relied upon. but the mapping really set the scene of each location. 

The projection mapping were mainly around of the side of the stages and above, being projected onto lined fabric (that's the best way I can describe it). A few examples I can give without spoiling anything are Egyptian pharaoh statues inside the temple, hieroglyphic writing when Moses finds out his true identity, and the ocean moving towards the end of the performance.

As we were towards the back, we couldn't see the full perspective of the projection mapping, but we could see enough to see what the projections were illustrating. If you would like to get the best experience, my suggestion is probably towards the middle of the stalls, or the first few rows on the circle.

There was also a projected screen above to mainly outline the time of day, and an LED wall in the background which added to the atmosphere. 

Overall, I'm so glad this was the first every west end musical I've seen, and it has set the bar high for other shows. Please see this show if you can before it ends, and please keep supporting theatres as they received no funding whatsoever during the pandemic.