Steve Coogan at The Arena

[The Gardens]

I went to see Steve Coogan last night at the Arena. I am a big fan of his work, and the show featured his main characters; Paul/ Pauline Calf / Tommy Saxondale and the lesser know Duncan Thicket. The second half of the show featured Alan Partridge flogging his motivational package.

There were some genuinely funny moments, but the show lacked pace. The sections on stage whilst Coogan changed character were like amatuer dramatics, lacking any originality. Following the break Coogan emerged as the king of Chat Alan Partridge. Some good material with the use of a virtual Windows PC glove. Alan went on to describe how he planed to be a success in a play with his version of Thomas Moore's life (cue reference to Roger Moore). This is where the show fell down, the sketch was an anti climax. It was not help by a heckler shouting 'It's Sh1te Steve' half way through, which unerved Coogan and he failed to recover.

The finale was a song based around the 'C' word. A cheap laugh, and not the best way to send the audience home with a smile on their face.

Coogan needs to focus on the successes of his main characters, and use the spots where he changes outfits to better effect. He is back on the Arena tonight and it will be interesting to see if he adapts any of the show following last night's reaction. 7/10

[ItsaZappathing]

Sorry to hear it wasn't much fun Paul.
I don't like the fella

[lindylou]

Paul - my husband and son went to see the show last night.
They said much the same as you - disappointing in parts of the show - a bit boring at times, but there was some funny stuff.

They said the sound wasn't very good, where they were seated on the left lower tier, there was an echo bouncing off that side which was very distracting. No wonder they call it the 'Echo Arena!'

[Kev]

Review: Steve Coogan, ECHO Arena

Oct 13 2008 by Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo

THE title may as well have read ‘Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less funny characters’.

The star of I’m Partridge, Sunshine and creator of Paul and Pauline Calf, called in at the ECHO Arena for a show featuring the characters that have made him a Bafta and British Comedy Award-winning comedy legend.

And the results were somewhat disappointing.

For as lovely as it was to see old Alan back in his ill-fitting trousers for one more time, it was hard to ignore the wafer-thin material of the other ‘less successful’ characters.

From Pauline Calf’s painful opening song about Marriot hotels to Tommy Saxendale’s near-the-knuckle drug references, I was constantly trying to remind myself that Steve Coogan is a funny man.

Last night he didn’t seem like it. Despite his best efforts with Duncan Thicket and Paul Calf, the laughter just didn’t come.

And he was well aware of it.

After a wincingly bad sketch in which nurses ran around to the Benny Hill music he admitted: “That never gets a laugh. But I keep it in anyway. It’s my show, I’ll do what I like.”

The quality of the writing let everything down. Like a beaten man, he seemed to know what the problems were, but not how to fix them.

But he’s no newcomer to live performances. His last live show played 200 performances and was seen by 350,000 people.

But by far the worst elements were the interludes designed to fill the costume changes, performed by the supporting cast. The first, in between Pauline Calf and Tommy Saxondale, was a skit on arts funding and the worst thing I’ve seen in a long time. The second, an argument between God and the Devil, was equally painful. At times, it seemed entirely improvised, but without the excitement.

Thankfully, the second half focused on Alan Partridge, to better effect. But still the magic wasn’t there.

Reinvented as a motivational speaker, he’d written a play portraying the life of Sir Thomas Moore. Odd, maybe. And certainly not a patch on the Partridge TV series.

Tonight he plays another date at the ECHO Arena. Here’s hoping he’s spent the night re-writing. After this poor performance, the show certainly needs it.

RATING: 5/10 Coogan’s duff

[The Gardens]

I replayed some of the material to friends at work today, and there were some gems in there. I think it was the anti-climax to whole show that left a sour taste in the mouth, and wiped the memory of the good bits that went before.

It was a bit like watching 2 hours of Paul MCartney doing Beatle songs, and him coming back on in the encore with The Frog Chorus

[quincyg]

Originally Posted by The Gardens

It was a bit like watching 2 hours of Paul MCartney doing Beatle songs, and him coming back on in the encore with The Frog Chorus

like your description there, that made me laugh. maybe you should should write for him

can't say I'm a fan of Mr Coogan at all, but there's nowt worse than looking forward to seeing a live show then feeling it was a complete let down.

[Ged]

I first saw him on tv and liked him when he had a little segment on the Lucy Meacock, Anthony H. Wilson studio chat programme that used to be on ages ago around 10.30pm. I never got into him when he became famous with his alter egos.

[matt]

I loved Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge but not much of his other stuff. He makes me laugh and Sunshine is great.

My sister went last night and was really disappointed. Some things are best left for telly and their creators accept that they won't transfer to the live arena.

[Kev]

Oct 16 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

REPRESENTATIVES of comedian Steve Coogan last night spoke of the “time and effort” that had gone into his two-night arena show in Liverpool after it left everyone talking – for all the wrong reasons.

The comedy blog on the Daily Post website has had an unparalleled and overwhelming response following the Alan Partridge star’s appearance at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, on Sunday and Monday nights.

Reviews of the shows were critical, with the Daily Post describing it as “woeful” and our sister paper the Echo lamenting a “poor performance”.

Coogan seemed underprepared and disinterested, and audience members voted with their feet, as unusually high numbers walked out.

The comments on our website came thick and fast as disappointed fans made their feelings known.

One fan said he would “rather jump on plug sockets with angry wasps in my mouth than listen to that dross again.”

“The whole thing was a shambles, fluffed lines, under rehearsed and, of course, if all else fails, to hide weak material, fall back on the use of foul language for a cheap laugh,” said Geoff Owen.

Shaun Mullet wrote: “He was so absolutely awful that we decided to cut our losses and leave before the interval. We have never walked out, before the end of any performance of anything anywhere, including watching Liverpool lose at home to Grimsby a few years back – at least they were still trying!”

Many fans complained about the expense of the tickets – nearly £70 for two – including Jay, who wrote: “This was my birthday present to my wife. At least it was her who chose what to go and see. If this had been my choice, I’d still be making it up to her this time next year.”

A small minority tried to see the good in the performance, including John Lally who wrote: “It wasn't brilliant, but it was more entertaining than any other show I've been to this year. Maybe Alan's positive motivational seminar had a big effect on me.”

Last night, Coogan’s representatives at Freud Communications said: “A great deal of time and effort has gone in to the preparation and production of the live tour. We are sorry to hear that some people did not enjoy the performances.”

Coogan had admitted to nerves before returning to the live arena for the first time in more than ten years.

In an interview last week he admitted that he had had to take a break in rehearsals to film A Night in the Museum 2 with Owen Wilson in the States.

Ahead of the show, he fatalistically said: “I always get the best response in Liverpool and Manchester; vociferous is probably the best word. If they like what you’re doing they’ll tell you. If not, they’ll tell you that too. I like that. You know where you’re up to.”

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk

[quincyg]

from the First Post online


Steve Coogan booed in Liverpool

Steve Coogan, the creator of Alan Partridge, appears to have lost his comic touch. Big time. This, at least, was the view of the audience who came to see him at the 10,000-seat Liverpool Echo Arena on Wednesday night, many of whom showed their disappointment with the Mancunian comedian's performance by booing and heckling and then walking out halfway through the show.

Some who attended Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters later aired their feelings on the Liverpool Post's website. One wrote: "Just left the Echo Arena and feel that we've been fleeced. One of the UK's most successful character comedians giving a performance that smacked of a hungover improv not worthy of back street Edinboro' fringe." Another said: "Still totally gutted! Steve Coogan thought he could come to Liverpool and practise on us. Insulting." One remarked simply: "Bag-o'-****e."

A spokesman for Coogan defended the comic and his £35-a-ticket show: "A great deal of time and effort has gone into the preparation and production of the live tour. We are sorry to hear that some people did not enjoy the performances."

However, it seems Coogan, who has not performed live stand-up at this level in ten years, prefering to take roles in Hollywood movies and on television, had sensed there might be trouble. Speaking ahead of the show, he admitted that Liverpool audiences and those in his native Manchester could be among the most unforgiving. "Vociferous is probably the best word. If they like what you're doing they'll tell you. If not, they'll tell you that too. I like that," he said. But maybe not as much as he thought.

Local media have been equally scathing. The Liverpool Post critic described Wednesday’s show as the "most offensively half-arsed evening of comedy theatre I have ever seen in my life", while the opening night in Stoke was described by one reviewer as a "mediocre shambles".