Last Thursday 3rd July, Misfits went to see How to Win Against History at Bristol Old Vic.
How To Win Against History is a “fierce and tragi-gorgeous comedy musical”, and a true story about Henry Cyril Paget, “one of the world’s wealthiest men, until he lost it all by being too damn fabulous.”
Reviews from our group were mixed – some members loved it, saying:
Claire: ‘I really enjoyed watching How to Win Against History. It was interesting to see how the main character spent all his money on shows and poodles. The costumes were flamboyant.’
Paul: “I loved it… the singing was damn good!”
Bill: ‘It was interesting to learn how the main character lived his life. It was very funny in some bits. The band were really good and I liked the costume. It was clever how the main character quickly changed in and out of his costume.’
Penny: ‘The costumes were glitzy, and I liked the band, particularly the way the drummer was beating. It reminded me of Charlie Watts in the Rolling Stones. There were some tragic moments in the show when the main character was ill. It was a rags to riches story.’
However, our two reporters Beth and David criticised the show for being too confusing and not very accessible, hear more below:
Beth said ‘I loved the glittery costumes. There was a band on stage, but it was too loud to hear all of the words they said. I thought about their song “What do people want, what do they want” – I don’t want complicated, confusing, fast plays! If the band was quieter and didn’t play throughout then I might have heard the words better, and if it was less confusing I would have liked it. I did enjoy dressing up for the pictures outside at the end, and I liked the set.’
David said ‘It was good but not the best musical I’ve ever seen. There were bits that I didn’t understand, it was hard to follow the story and the songs weren’t super catchy. I thought the actors were amazing!’
At the end of the day, our members enjoyed going to see a new musical, with David adding ‘It was cool to see something different, I’ve never seen that kind of thing before’
How To Win Against History is on until this Saturday 12th July – go see it and let us know what you thought!
