Buttoned-Up Brilliance;The Melancholy Magic of Benjamin Button

Date - 17th May 2025

Theatre - Ambassador Theatre

Seat- Stalls D3

Stars- 4 stars

Benjamin (Benedict) doesn't age like everyone else. While we all move forward, gaining life experience and ageing physically, travelling closer to death, he goes on the journey backwards. This story is a metaphor for how time is relentless. He wants to live an everyday life, ageing with the love of his life and having a family, but he runs and starts discovering the truths about himself.

The costumes are all set in the 1800s, and the ages also affect fashion choices. When he is born, he wears a suit and bowler hat with a stick to represent his age. Then, as time goes on, he wears younger-looking outfits. The scenery is set out like a harbour or a ship; it gave me the idea that time is like the tide—it comes and goes within seconds.

The cast was incredible, and their performance was captivating; telling the story with their acting and instruments was magical. The storytelling was mesmerizing. They worked together to hold each other up and bring the story an extra element of realism, even if it was very far from reality. A standout role is challenging to tell within such an extraordinary cast, but Clare Foster's Sheep really took the show to an extra level.Of course, each of the cast's incredible musical skills was what really carried the show.

The show was very well-paced. It may have been a story of time travelling and ageing in all different ways, finding the line between linear life and a life that may be strange but is another person's normal. The music helped keep each scene's pace and dramatics, setting it before it had begun.

The show is a bittersweet reflection of ageing and how growing up can be shown physically and emotionally. This aligns with the idea of life lessons that are important to learn no matter what age. With the concept of ageing backwards, you follow Benjamin's emotional journey of loss and acceptance through life with a twist. Along with how the story is told, the idea of a love story is very unconventional, and yet it's still.Beautiful, even with the tragic way their lives are pulled together and apart again.

As the last paragraph states, the idea of music helping with the passage of life, the way each supporting role really helps develop the main storyline and adds humour, such as a girl growing a boyfriend and a sheep, and the idea of village life repeating the same journey.

I loved this show, even though I was sceptical when I first booked it. However, it lived up to the reviews I had read. Yes, it's not perfect, but what will live theatre be like? Whatever show you watch, if you watch the right person at the wrong time, you will catch it. I feel that a few minor changes to the set and a slowdown in some of the storylines would make the show perfect on stage. Seeing the actors play on stage will be the best part, and you can grab a beer.

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Welcome Mat Rating - 3

The nearest tube station is Leicester Square, but the station is not step-free; there is no lift, only stairs and escalators. Green Park, which is quite a walk, is the closest step-free station.

The theatre has level access, the path outside is unobstructed, and there is a platform lift inside, but I would email them beforehand to confirm as there is a size limit. Accessible toilets are located in the stall bar, stalls.Assistance dogs are welcome. Touch tours are available at specific performances, allowing the visually impaired to explore the stage. These are offered as a tactile introduction. The theatre has audio-described shows.

I emailed the theatre just after I booked to get information about the content warning and trigger warnings, and they sent me a document providing content guidance containing general information with effects and the cues, when latecomers come in, and when delicate themes are mentioned.

My issue with this theatre was that, on paper, it seemed great, but the welcome wasn't too good. The toilets I went into, which weren't classified as accessible, were a struggle and not at all easy to move around in. It was a very cramped toilet space. The staff felt dismissive when I was trying to sort things out since we were struggling to load the tickets, and they just brushed us aside. But other than that, the show was great.

The seat view was incredible for the price; the only issue was if someone very tall was in front. The price for this seat and my companion's was great. We both enjoyed the seats we got and the show as a whole.