Imagine This (2008 West end show on DVD)

A small, unknown West End musical. Cancelled after just one months worth of performances. Was that justified or should it be brought back?

'The music, the laughter, the sweet ever after was ours on the last days of summer.
I kissed you my one rose, you smiled and the sun rose. That day, It was the last days of summer'



OK, I'm cheating. This isn't actually a film, but it was a great stage show that was once on at London's West End. It is about Jews in the Warsaw slums under Nazi oppression. It is based on a difficult topic to talk about even now, but there is a good mix of emotions to go with the whole thing.

There are a few problems I shall explain through out, but I feel that they handled the whole topic with tact and care. The story follows the lives of a Jewish acting troupe and seems to take place over a few days. It starts with them practising the play for the opening night when a resistance fighter, quickly followed by the Nazis, run into the building. The actors take a huge risk by hiding him as one of them and manage to get away with it. The troupe stage a play about the siege and mass suicide of the Jews at the fortress at Masada around 70 CE. The story keeps switching between the Masada story line and the Warsaw one and at one point the Nazi's come back to tell the Jews they are going to board a train for a better land. The resistance fighter knows the train will actually lead to Treblinka (A Nazi death camp). It is then up to the troupe to choose their own personal next moves which determine the fates of themselves and many other Jews.

The play does what so many other story lines have tried to do in the past, and have one set of people doing something which parallels what is happening in their real, everyday life. Although there are much better examples of this out there in many films, Image This does so better than others for just how similar it is. Yes it can be considered cheesy and predictable that the Masada storyline often comes with similar (if not identical) issues which are to be resolved in the exact same way, but sometimes it does it with a much more subtle tone.

The actors are very good in their roles and pull them off amazingly, better than many Hollywood actors these days. They look the part, they act it well and they all have the singing talent needed for the show. The props used throughout this show are often really good. My problem is that this acting troupe seem to have a lot of money for props as their Masada costumes and props seem to look too nice for what the Nazi's would have allowed them.

The Warsaw costumes look really good, and combined with the acting skills and script it gives a really good idea of how much oppression their was. 

When explaining this play to many people, it is hard to explain the use of comedy. The main actor has the funny role. The humour is odd and he is often laughing. Does that sound right? At first thought, no. It doesn't. But if you place it into the context of what else has says, and what the other characters say to him about it, it becomes clear that it has a place in this show. The character doesn't just make random jokes to try and make it funny, he makes these jokes because he feels that if he stops laughing then the Nazi's have won and there is little to live for is you can't laugh. There are also times when he uses it to please the Nazi's. But they don't work out so well. Instead of getting a laugh, they get the audience cringing, mostly.

The songs they sing are mostly good, some are thought provoking, and their is even a funny one in the Masada story line about a Jew and a Christian locked up together praying for each others safety, to the same god, but also how they view them as different gods. It doesn't sound very funny when explained, but it is one of those things you need to hear to find it funny.

The biggest problem I had was the DVD itself. It is a friend's DVD and she pointed out the times that parts of the play were cut out. This included character introductions and points where characters in the Masada story travel between two cities so it looks like they are still in the same place. This causes too much confusion and detracts from the story as you try to figure out who is who and what you have missed.

Something else that I found confusing were the changed between the Warsaw and Masada story lines the transition is not always clear and it can take a short while to realise which one storyline we are now following. This may be partially down to the DVD cuts again, but it may also be the fault of the script.

Overall this was a good and enjoyable to play to watch. It was a little confusing and causes the audience to cringe at times with the humour, but most of it is all in good spirits and with the right intentions. Most of the story is done well, even if the Masada story and the Warsaw story are too similar at times and the music is really good to listen to, with a good music score and actors/actresses who can sing well. The props are often used well, even if they do look a little fancy for the Masada play.

This, I think, should be brought back at some point. Maybe give it a few more years before attempting it again, and re-work the script a little to make things clearer and to take out a few of the jokes. It is a shame that I missed the production as I would have really enjoyed going to see it on stage, and I am sure many other people would have, despite the negative backlash it got from the UK media.

Rating; 7.8/10