Five stars from the Evening Standard at the top… But what's that behind the hat on the right? Looks like another five stars from a newspaper called the Standard, with the first half of the name hidden. Am I just being overly cynical? Or is that a very carefully placed hat?

Never mind the fact the paper isn't called the Evening Standard anymore.

by IcingChigurh

32 comments

  1. Yep, that is definitely the same stars shown twice!

    I would also be amazed if the actual quote was “I would be lying if I called it the funniest show in London” or “The Funniest Show in London, Ontario, during September 2019.”

  2. If the Daily Heil likes it that seriously puts me off.

  3. Hahaha – I remember years ago, a west end show had the poster proudly state “I was amazed…” when the full quote was “I was amazed that drivel such as this still made its way to the West End”

  4. I remember about 20 odd years ago. The theatre right by Leicester Square tube station. Had a snippet of a review saying “Don’t miss it”.

    The full review said that if you had a choice of staying till the end of the show or getting the last train home, don’t miss the train.

  5. Was it Legend that hid a 2 star rating by including it and implying there were more stars behind the actors heads on the poster?

  6. My favourite sneaky review boost is when a 2* and 3* review are just a bit too close to eachother 

  8. Tangential point I know but this really was one of the best shows I’ve seen for years in London! Absolutely hilarious plus amazing production quality. Thoroughly, thoroughly recommend!! (Not getting paid by them I swear!)

  9. Saw it before it transferred to the West End. It really is a hilarious production.

  11. Given the plot of The Producers: I think a dishonest representation of a musical is completely on brand with the show itself

  12. I have seen this show. One of the best shows I have seen! The story is even better on stage than on screen, just go watch it.

  13. I remember seeing this when it opened in London, and Richard Dreyfuss (who was billed as Bialystock) was unavailable, Nathan Lane stepped in. Lee Evans was Leopold Bloom. That was an absolutely amazing night!

  14. I’ve never believed the stars on the posters anyway but this just looks like the marketing team having a bit of fun so I’ve got no problems!

  15. It’s a roller coasting romperstomper of a flim – Jon Ronson

    Edit name

  17. The only posters I pay attention to are the Molly Mae ones on the northern line.

  18. The comedian Jason Wood once got a one star review in Edinburgh and put “A Star – The Scotsman” on his posters.

  20. To be fair, it is a 5 star show. Def worth seeing.

  22. Metropolitan Police to Banksy representatives;

    “There’s no way we’re giving you a quote for the back of your book”

    Source: back of Banksy’s book…..

  23. The play is just phenomenal! I saw the movie (made in ‘68 I think) for the first time only 4 years ago and I love that such a dark topic could be tackled with such humour.

  24. What blows my mind is that films/shows pay for the privilege of having the stars/reviews on there – such a racket

  25. My favourite David Merrick story is that following a not great round of reviews for Subways are for Sleeping, he rounded up people with the same names as New York critics, gave them a free night out at the theatre and then placed a full-page ad in New York newspapers that proclaimed, “seven out of seven are ecstatically unanimous about Subways are for Sleeping”; the ad included lots of convenient stellar pull quotes: “No doubt about it. ‘Subways are for Sleeping’ is the best musical of the century.” The stunt was uncovered as Merrick had printed the photographs of his “critics”, who were obviously not the real ones.

    The ensuing controversy generated publicity and box-office sales, the show continued to run and post a profit and Phylis Newman even won a Tony (over Barbra Streisand, there’s a story about that, but I’ll leave it).

  26. This kinda reminds me of the poster for Legend, which stuck the Guardian’s 2-star review between the heads of the characters.

  27. The Evening Standard still exists – I’ve just finished their Friday super cryptic crossword – but it’s only online now, the hard copy having been discontinued several months ago.

  28. There was a reddit post a few years back where someone put a quote on a poster for a movie before the movie was even released, indicating that nobody said it, and it was fiction by the marketing team that was apparently never fixed.

  29. Good to see the Panorama editor has found new work so quick.

  31. I don’t know, but I saw in late September and it was FANTASTIC!

  32. Stewart Lee posters include the quote “Stewart Lee is not funny and has nothing interesting to say – Daily Express”. It works for cackling sycophants like me.

Comments are closed.