I bought tickets to see this show for my husband as we had bought tickets to see MJ at the O2 before he died - I really wish I hadn't spent the money!
The singers were good (as in they had good voices) but aside from that....awful!
Horrific fake American accents were put on by most of the 'actors' (I say 'actors' because there is actually no story to act to) Where at some points their clear cockney accents came through? I don't understand the costumes at all, they neither related to the words of the songs nor the era they were produced in it was all very confusing and a bit pointless.
My husband is an ultimate Michael Jackson fan, I was putting on a brave face for him but at the interval he asked me if we could leave so it's not just because I'm not a fan myself it was just a miserable experience for quite frankly a lot of money.
The staging was awful and again, made absolutely no sense to either Michael Jackson, his songs or the era but to be fair it did cause a welcome distraction to look at that rather than watching and listening to the bad American accents, confusing costumes and weird dancing.
All in all, if you live near London and it doesn't cost too much to get there and you can get a show ticket for less than a fiver then by all means go, if you need to spend more than £20 each getting there and seeing the show - don't bother - Rachel
22 Oct 12
How DARE you say "Thriller Live comes with an almost repulsive set of recommendations in the programme from its own producers – “ a wonderful man who has inspired me,” that sort of horse manure." He has MORE than inspired MILLIONS of people in the world. He has saved people's lives, children who were sick who Michael got liver donors for etc, so how dare YOU Michael Coveney, come along and say that about another Michael who will be remembered for hundreds of years (unlike you), when this man has done NOTHING to you. You just don't get it. - Audrey
08 Feb 12
They were not good singers
They were not good dancers
The sound system was not good
A complete disapointment... - Steffen Fabrin
26 Oct 11
Took my 15 year old daughter for her birthday to see this show,bearing in mind she is in a dance crew who has done the Thriller routine on stage with full make up and dress, Oh my god what a dissapointment ,starting with a few bum notes and dancers out of sinc my daughter wispered to me please dont let them spoil this song when they began singing,this should be called Michael Jackson tribute ,but obvoiusly it dosnt quite have the ring to it as Thriller,the finale was dire ,after seeing oliver Billie Elliot twice and Mary poppins in NYC this is a joke yes the dancers worked hard all i can say is they tried and sorry for the dissapointment to my daughter,we had excellent seats and paid £58,What a waste of money dont go, see a proper show the leading Michael Jackson was a woman it was like watching Alexandra Burke in The x factor Sorry Thriller London you didnt quite make boot camp - lisa Taylor
09 Sep 11
Just went to see the thriller show last night - London and I have to say was very disappointed being a massive MJ fan I had high expections of this show but they didn't do him justice. I don't understand how they can get a chubby bald bloke playing him or a snoop dog look alike. In all their was 4 people impersonating him one of which a women which is totally stupid. The other two impersonaters where very good smooth criminal and billie jean was performed the best along with dirty diana. The jackson five where good the little boy who played MJ put the adult MJ's to shame he was brill. As for thriller was also bad didn't come out in the thriller costumes only MJ was in his red leather jacket. At one stage they just had hip hop dancers dancing to his music this is not what you want to see at a show dedicated to MJ. If you are a true fan pls do not waste your time and go u will be very disappointed - Natalie M
11 Mar 11
Went with my hubby and 7 year old to watch at Theatre Royal Notts last nite - the singing, dancing, lighting, whole production was mind blowing.Came home with sore throat from screaming, itchy hands from clapping along and with one big high.
The cast were lovely to meet and took time to sign my sons program and have photos taken.
Would go tonight and every nite if we could. This show is a must see for all ages.
Loooooooooooooooooooved it :) - A Awan
19 Oct 10
This was very disappointing. The stage was not big enough for what is supposed to be a ‘lavish tribute show’, whilst the ticket price suggested it should have delivered so much more.
Some of the performances were very poor, ‘She’s out of my life’ being the only exception. It was a shame the audience couldn’t shut up long enough to appreciate it though.
In general the show seemed tasteless and crass. I appreciate the production started before Jackson’s untimely death, but now – for me – it just doesn’t work. Combine this with no story line, some poor renditions of classic songs, and a rude and annoying audience who talked, text, drank and giggled through out –well, I couldn’t stomach the second half, so my wife and I left at the first interval.
I have never left a show early before, and it shocked me that my wife felt the same as I did, but everything about the show just felt so wrong. For a show to have such mixed reviews must mean we are not alone with our views.
- Christopher Mowll
15 Dec 09
Went to see Thriller last night...expecting it to be good as I love most of Michael's songs. I sat through the first half wondering just exactly what the show was about! the singers couldn't sing-the dancers looked a load of mish-mash on the stage-didn't know who I was supposed to be looking at! At half time I asked my friend what she thought...same as me! We paid more for the tickets for this show than the Michael Jackson concert at O2!!!! Now for the positive...about half way through the 2nd half the dancers seemed much more in sync and did some impressive moves as a whole rather than all over the place.The strength of Michael Jackson's later career showed through and thankfully we felt that we wanted to get up and clap/dance with the rest of the audience. Great finale. I still didn't think that it was worth £52 though. - Edwina
16 Nov 09
i was expecting this show very much!
the start was acually good with the jacksons 5 and young michael jackson.
after 2 great song,the show became boaring and i was waititing to go out.
this is not a show! not a musical!
this is a 4 pepole who sing michaek jackson song and not very good way!
big,no huge disapointment! - jeffry
15 Oct 09
1st half was jackson five, very upbeat and lively, only knew about 3 of the songs though. Then 2nd was more for me because it was his more recent material and all my favourite songs. Also, Maria from X-Factor put in a good performance. People in front of us did stand up and dance, obstructing our view a bit, but everyone was dancing and having a good time, it didn't ruin the show. It's a great show, but not as good as what all our friends made it out to be. - Howard
28 Aug 09
Really enjoyed the show, especiall the second half. only thing we werent sure about was one of the singers, Ben, whose voice didnt seem right. Beat It, one of my favourite MJ songs was a let down due to him. Loved the dancing, fantastic show overall - MJ fan shamon
01 Aug 09
I saw this last night, absolutely fantastic & highly recommended! Vocals top notch, breathtaking dancing and great atmosphere.
People that have made negative comments regards audience participation need to loosen up a little- its meant to be FEEL GOOD show!!! I certainly left in a very good mood, and so did everyone else I saw!! - ELLIE
04 Mar 09
Toally excellent entertainment from start to finish,enjoyed the audience participation and would recommend it to anyone for feelgood satisfaction..... - claire and joe
15 Feb 09
Two words... Absolutely Awesome!!!!! - James
01 Feb 09
dreadful
another crass un thought out cheap production that will clog up another playhouse, brill waht the west end needs! - johnny
22 Jan 09
I thought this was a fantastic show.. its light hearted fun entertainment! We were completely entertained from beginning to end! .We danced and partied! This is a fantastic show to be in the west end. The performers on stage were amazing. We were blown away with Denise Pearson and Ben Foster. If you are a MJ fan ( Which we are!!) you cant fail to be impressed and happy with the show! I'll be going back and would recommend anyone who wants a good night out to see the show! - june
22 Jan 09
Show was Amazing, value for Money!
- D
22 Jan 09
I saw this show last night (Tue 13 Jan) on preview. Some fantastic individual performances, but the show was let down by a pretty ropey audience. People who chat, mobile phones going off, watches beeping every half-hour, drink slurping, sweet wrapper rustling, and people who turn up late. I know this degenerate behaviour isn't exclusive to young people, but the audience were notably young and ignorant.
On the whole the show itself was average. Top marks for the performers, but the production was a touch dumbed down to appeal to the lowest social stratum.
Also, one thing I absolutely hate is when a cast tell me to stand up/clap my hands/spin on my head (and there was plenty of that). No no no! I pay good money to come see YOU perform. This isn't Butlins, this should be a World class quality West End production and I detest solicited attempts to get the audience up and dancing.
Also the programmes were £6! Welcome to the West End the seller said. What a cheek. We see practically all there is to see in the West End but we've never paid £6 for a basic programme.
To sum up, this gets low scores because it sets out to appeal to people with a holiday camp mentality as opposed to a serious London theatre crowd. On that basis it wont last long which is a shame. - James H
14 Jan 09
Fantastic show spoiled by stupid, selfish people who decided to stand up and dance, thus hindering our view. People need to realise this is a theatre and people are putting on a show - the concept of which is you sit and watch. It's not a nightclub and I don't pay good money to have to look at some slack woman's backside jiggling. This all caused unnecessary confrontation and spoiled an otherwise good night. The promoters are encouraging it, though. They seem to be highlighting the fact that people 'dance in the isles' as if it's a selling point. If I'd have seen that before I went I wouldn't have bothered. - Mark
