Posts with the label When The Curtain Falls
Showing posts with label When The Curtain Falls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label When The Curtain Falls. Show all posts
Monday, 4 June 2018
When The Curtain Falls (Book), Carrie Hope Fletcher | Review
When the Curtain Falls by Carrie Hope Fletcher
Published: 12th July 2018 by Little Brown Books
★★★★★
The latest edition in Carrie Hope Fletcher's book empire, When The Curtain Falls (the same title as her debut album) is all about theatre and romance, aka, my dream. The book follows two young lovers, Oscar Bright and Olive Green as they meet backstage whilst performing in a revival of a show in which tragedy struck 50 years earlier. Through a series of flashbacks and memories, we discover what happened to the original lovers, Fawn Burrows and Walter Brown, and whether tragedy is set to strike again. With heartache, tragedy, theatre and a little bit of magic, When The Curtain Falls is the perfect read to wrap you up and transport you to the glittering lights of the West End.
Carrie's writing is lyrical but easy to read. Reading her books feel as though you're listening to a friend talk; When The Curtain Falls especially, has a relaxed feel about it.
In a previous review of All That She Can See I wrote that Carrie's writing has a theatrical feel, this is obviously even more evident in this story which is all about the stage, performing and backstage antics. There are a whole host of stagey references which any avid theatre fan will love spotting. I especially loved the fact that the first musical Olive saw was Beauty and the Beast, which was my first too and that she lives in Turnham Green- West London represent!
The section at the start where Olive is talking about being in the 'theatre world' and the 'real world' is just one very interesting and relatable moment. When you go to shows a lot and are part of the theatre scene it feels like it's the only thing that exists and that everyone knows everyone, but once you go back to the 'real world' very few people have the same connections. It’s the same with theatre stars, at their theatre they are famous, signing autographs and standing for photos but once they turn the corner they blend into the crowd and normal people wouldn't bat an eyelid seeing them. This ramble has very little relevance to this review, other than saying that it's very clever how Carrie has worked tidbits of the musical theatre world into the story without making it overbearing or factual. The entire story flows with the ease of watching a really good show.
The romance between the lead couple is extremely sweet, if at times cringey. You can almost see the way the pair look at one another and at times it feels like we're invading a private moment whilst we read. The mirrors between the 1952 relationship and the current one are well written and interesting to see. All the characters are well developed and I couldn't help but wonder if anyone, especially Tamara, is based on anyone Carrie has come across in her career! With Moulin Rouge vibes, I can so see this story as a swooping romance film.
When The Curtain Falls is a theatre fans dream. With stagy references, a beautiful romance and some unexpected plot twists, there's not much more you could ask for in a book. This is certainly my favourite of Carrie's novels and I hope she continues to include theatre in her work. I also hope that the magic of this book will welcome new people to the theatre so they can experience whatbthe stars of the story do (perhaps with less drama though!)
It's clear how much passion and love Carrie has for the stage and it really comes across in her heartfelt writing. I urge you to pick up When The Curtain Falls and to escape into a beautiful world for a few hours.
Review by Editor, Olivia Mitchell
{AD PR Product- book gifted in exchange for honest review}
Saturday, 31 March 2018
In Conversation With... Carrie Hope Fletcher | When The Curtain Falls (Album) | Interview
Carrie Hope Fletcher must be one of the busiest people in the West End. During the last few years she's managed to write 4 books (and a novella), perform in various shows and concerts, continually upload YouTube videos and blog posts AND record and release an album. Her work ethic, bubbly personality and sincerity makes her a role model for many people and her debut album When The Curtain Falls is just another branch of motivational vibes for people to cling on to. I sat down with Carrie at her album launch to ask her a few questions about it...
What do you think will surprise people most about this album?
Well my dad's playing on it for a start, bless him. There's a song on the album, Summertime, which was the first song I ever learnt, my dad taught it to me so it only felt right to put my dad in the album. We've sort of rearranged some of the songs from how you'd usually hear them. Tom Barnes is the orchestrator on the album and he's done an incredible job of making the songs still sound like the songs we all know and love but just given them a sort of musical makeover.
What was the hardest thing about narrowing it down to just 12 songs?
Oh it was so hard to pick 12 tracks cause, how in the history of musical theatre do you pick 12 songs to fill 12 slots on an album? It was near impossible but every song has got a sentimental reason behind it for me personally and some of them remind me of pivotal moments in my life. It might have been a soundtrack that I was listening to at the time of something big going on in my life. So I feel like when you listen to the album from start to finish, for me especially, it feels like a good representation of my musical theatre soul.
If you could pick anyone, dead or alive to be on your next album, who would you choose?
I would pick the Sherman Brothers- I knew both of them. Bob Sherman who passed away a few years ago was a really dear friend of mine because he wrote the music to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins, both of which I was in as a child, so our families sort of became friends and he moved to London and stayed in London for about 10 years. He sort of became my adopted grandfather; we used to go over and visit him and make him earl grey tea and it'd be lovely to sing with him again.
How would you sum up the album in five words?
Oh 5 words! Normally I get 3, this is nice! Splashing out... maybe that's too many! Okay: magical, warm I'd say cause every song has got such warmth and love and passion behind it. Empowering, I hope! There's lots of songs on there that have been sung by amazing women and have been written by powerful women so I've sort of given my best shot at those. Childlike, I feel like there's an element of childlike wonder cause I remember how I felt as a kid, watching musical theatre and how it made me feel and that's kind of like why I do it now and I hope that when young kids come to the theatre and watch me on stage I can kind of in-still that in them as well. And enchanting is my final word. Only because when people ask how you'd like to be described as they walk away (not necessarily how they will describe me as they walk away!) But what I'd like them to, is enchanting.
Thank you so much to Carrie for having me at her press launch and taking the time on the night to answer some questions. Carrie's beautiful album, When The Curtain Falls is out now so go buy it! Enter my giveaway to win a signed copy of the album here.
Interview by Editor, Olivia Mitchell
Watch my vlog of the launch and interview with Carrie here
photo credit: Darren Bell
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