Local Hero at Chichester FEstival, October and November 2022

[goon525]

Just back from Chichester. A real pleasure to see the show in such an intimate environment (I saw it twice in Edinburgh). Not sure the changes make all that much difference, though it’s a while since I listened to the earlier version. Full house, mainly standing ovation at the end, great fun. If you’re dithering about whether to go and can get tickets, do it!

I’m not actually sure the cast is an improvement on Edinburgh, but the show feels a little tighter, though I don’t think running time has changed much. The band were really good, with a guitarist who has a way with Knopfleresque twiddles.

[skydiver]

Thank you so much for your report!

[Jules]

Back from a weekend in London and Chichester, time for a report.

First of all, THIS IS LIKE A NEW MUSICAL!

I mean, most of the songs are rewritten, most of them musically, some of them in their integrity. For example, the first one, "A Barrel of Oil" is totally different to "A Barrel of Crude", new music, with more Knopfler typical guitar bits on it than the previous version, new lyrics, I was totally blown away for this, as I was expecting to hear the same songs sung by other actors, I wasn't ready to witness new songs at all!!!!

I totally recommend to all of you that didn't want to go in order of not ruining your memories from Edinburgh, to try to get tickets for this one, is like attending a new thing, based on something you knew before, like when you attended the Edinburgh one knowing the film.

The trio of main actors are excepcional, specially the one who plays Mac, Gabriel Ebbert,  his role is in my opinion superior to Damian Humbley, as he was more cold, like with no feelings, and Gabriel plays a more human Mac, you really can empathise with him and he plays very well the transition from the bussinessman to the man who falls in love with Ferness, and Stella, this time that's more clear and evident, you can see it in his eyes!

The one who plays Gordon is also exceptional, pretty similar to the one from Edinburgh, no wonder why he's an actor present in so many British films and tv series. He is very good.

Stella, I wasn't sure the actress who play her would be as good as the one in Edinburgh, but she's excepctional too, I also would dare to say I like her even more!

The rest of the actors, you can say easily that this is a lower budget production. They are good, they fit well in their roles, but not as good than Edinburgh cast, specially Ben and Happer, but it doesn't affect the play at all as the main trio keep the level very high.

I was seated just behind, literally in the seat behind the director Daniel Evans and I can say he was very very happy with it, also Guy was at the theater, some rows before me a little bit at the left.

The big difference between Chichester and Edinburgh is on the second half, as there are some songs missing, the actors have more dialogue and in some moments you forget you are attending a musical, but as I said, the main trio keep a very high level, is something that is not so important at all.

Again, I totally recommend you if you can to try and get tickets for this, is totally worth to see all the updates, specially in musical terms, is more Knopfler guitar style than the Edinburgh one, lot of more!

[Robson]

"new music, with more Knopfler typical guitar bits on it than the previous version, new lyrics"

It sounds intriguing!

Thank you jbaent

ps. I dream of an album with this music performed by MK

[Jules]

ps. I dream of an album with this music performed by MK

Me too, but I wonder which music, the one they recorded for Edinburgh, the one they wrote for Chichester or, who knows if he rewrites it again if the musical manages to get to London!

Because Guy said that any released cd/LP of the musical will happen if it gets to London.

[Robson]

Hope to see a musical in London

[goon525]

For my taste, Jbaent slightly exaggerates the differences. I don’t think it’s like a ‘whole new musical’. Most of the numbers are much the same, although he is quite right that the opener, with a subtly changed name, is a radically new song, much rockier. The ones I come away humming are still ‘Filthy dirty rich’, maybe ‘Rocks and Water’, and of course the big tune we know so well, used so sparingly until the very end. He’s right that there are one or two patches in the second half where the speech goes on a bit too long without a song. But where he and I completely agree is that it’s well worth seeing! When do we get some reviews?

[Jules]

But the songs that are the same in term of lyrics are different in terms of music... I have a cd with the Edinburgh recording and listen to it from time to time when driving to work and I know it as good as any other DS or MK record!

[KnopfleRick]

ps. I dream of an album with this music performed by MK

Me too! From the first talk about this musical to this day, I've been dreaming of a CD by Mark with all the songs.

Thanks for your review, jbaent. Glad you had a good time.

[dmg]

Thanks for your review JBaent.  You must be enthusiastic about the musical because you wrote in capital letters!  Perhaps the more intimate setting has a lot to do with it too.  If only the guitar parts were played by Mark...

[Jules]

Thanks for your review JBaent.  You must be enthusiastic about the musical because you wrote in capital letters!  Perhaps the more intimate setting has a lot to do with it too.  If only the guitar parts were played by Mark...

Yes, I went expecting to see the same songs sung by different actors and I found new music and even new songs so, yes, I left very enthusiastic.

The theatre was small and the actors were literally in front of you, and I was on last row!

[skydiver]

A review from sussexexpress:
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/chichester-local-hero-offers-hauntingly-beautiful-tale-of-what-really-matters-in-life-3883458

Chichester: Local Hero offers hauntingly beautiful tale of what really matters in life
Local Hero, book by David Greig, music & lyrics by Mark Knopfler, based on the Bill Forsyth film, Minerva Theatre, Chichester, until November 19.
By Phil Hewitt

CFT artistic director Daniel Evans opened what has turned out to be his final Chichester season with his finest, most important Chichester production of all, Our Generation. But now, as if to underline what we are losing with his departure next spring, he brings his era to an end with a production which is at least its equal. It’s hugely different of course, less urgent and maybe less of the moment, but Local Hero comes with a warmth of heart and an awareness of just what exactly matters in life – qualities which make it utterly irresistible. You know from its opening moments you are going to love it.
The Local Hero title stirs memories of a film nearly 40 years ago which featured instrumental music from Mark Knopfler in his Dire Straits pomp. Now with songs by Knopfler, Local Hero returns as a fully-fledged musical, a story which, all these years later, now finds its true measure on the stage in a production with marries superb set and lighting with first class performances all round.
How on earth do you convey a beautiful Scottish bay which is threatened with annihilation under a massive US oil refinery? The answer, it seems, is that you go for simplicity, you light it beautifully and you let the actors do the rest. Designer Frankie Bradshaw and Paule Constable with Ryan Day (lighting design) have conjured the perfect platform for us to let our imaginations soar – helped by a terrific cast that vividly creates a sense of community and, just as importantly, all the individuals within it.
And it is into this community that hotshot Texan oil executive Mac MacIntyre wanders with a whopping great cheque book. Gabriel Ebert makes his UK stage debut as Mac, and it is a lovely performance. He’s absolutely not a bad guy, but he just hasn’t got a clue about the kind of wealth that can’t be measured in dollars. The play puts him right about that – and Ebert teases out the transformation beautifully.
Accelerating that change is Lillie Flynn, equally impressive as Stella, a woman who perhaps appreciates the Scottish idyll more for the fact that she is the outsider who has chosen to live there. Or maybe the place has chosen her.
MacIntyre inspires the locals to sing just how Filthy Dirty Rich they are going to get; Stella immediately counters with the hauntingly beautiful Rocks and Water. Also in the mix is the pragmatist Gordon (Paul Higgins), a realist aware just how economically unviable the community has become – again a fine performance. But maybe the performance of the night comes from Hilton McRae as Ben, the very picture of contentment, a man who’s got absolutely everything he could ever want as he sits on the beach in his armchair. What A Life is the perfect song for him in a musical where the music emerges appositely and effortlessly.
Our Generation seemed pretty unmatchable – until tonight. This is a splendid final production from Daniel Evans, a piece that will make you think but, far more importantly, make you smile. Beautifully, beautifully done from one and all.

[superval99]

So pleased to hear that you enjoyed the show, jbaent.  I was thinking of you on Saturday and would have loved to have been there.  It would be lovely to hear MK playing guitar on the songs.

Many thanks for the review, skydiver!   

[skydiver]

Jonathan Baz Review

https://www.jonathanbaz.com/2022/10/local-hero-review.html?m=1

Tuesday, 18 October 2022
Local Hero - Review
Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Music & Lyrics by Mark Knopfler
Book by David Greig
Based on the Bill Forsyth film

The twentieth century gave us few finer rock musicians than Mark Knopfler, whose talent both as a writer and guitarist place him as one of the UK's greats. In 1983 Knopfler wrote the score for Bill Forsyth’s BAFTA-winning film Local Hero and he has now now taken those themes penned some fourty years ago, weaving them into a musical based upon the movie.

Local Hero is a whimsical tale of humanity and the cosmos set amidst the Scottish Highlands. Offshore oil was big business for Scotland in the 70s and 80s and Forsyth’s story focussed on a Houston based oil corporation sending out a high-powered executive Mac to acquire the coastal village of Ferness together with its beach, for the purposes of constructing a refinery.  Mac arrives amongst the canny villagers who are quick to sense the fortune that may be coming their way, and in an era that long pre-dated the internet or even mobile phones, one of the story’s most cosily comforting images is the village's old red telephone box on the beach that proves Mac’s only way of privately communicating with his USA Head Office. Of course the plans do not proceed as anticipated – love, charm and a respect for nature and the stars combine to chart a course that leads to an unexpected, but decisively happy and inspiring ending.

Broadway's Tony-winner Gabriel Ebert makes  his UK debut in the role of Mac. His is a performance of charm and assured voice, completely believable as a Texan city-slicker who falls for the beauty of Ferness' remote idyll. Opposite Mac is Paul Higgins as Gordon, the village’s pub-landlord cum accountant cum lawyer, who is appointed to negotiate with the oilman and strike the best deal possible. The musical’s triangular love interest comes from Lillie Flynn’s Stella who forges an emotional connection with both men. Arguably stealing the show however is Hilton McRae’s beachcomber Ben, whose encyclopaedic knowledge of the stars in the Scottish skies serves to bring together the narrative’s various strands.

Daniel Evans directs a sensitive ensemble piece from his company that is only enhanced by Frankie Bradshaw’s set design that ingeniously transforms into a sandy, pebble-strewn beach. Ash J Woodward offers up video projections that strive to create the Aurora Borealis in deepest West Sussex – an effect that relies heavily upon the audience’s ability to imagine the Northern Lights. 

The production's star of course is unquestionably Mark Knopfler’s rich score. His original movie soundtrack offered up a raft of melodies, most of which have been fused into the stage show and it is a mark of the man’s talent that he has been able to create so many songs from these gaelic and celtic themes. The music is powerful, stirring and fresh, containing a heady mix of beautiful balladry and rousing numbers written for guitars and violin. That Richard John’s seven piece band contains no less than three guitarists speaks to Knopfler’s love affair with strings.

This is a show built around Knopfler’s love for Local Hero, itself one of the finest British movies. It makes for an evening of charming, gorgeous theatre.

[Jules]

Great reviews in my opinion.

Funny they remark on the actor who played Ben, he was good, but I wasn't that impressed by him, but by Gabriel Ebbert who played a magnificent Mac. If the play goes to London, I would try to have it for sure!