Debord

The answer is that they do it by making any necessary changes to the show (particularly any big setpiece moments that require complex staging) and adapting sets so they're easily assembled. Shows like Wicked *do* have changes for their touring versions but they're nothing you'd notice unless you were really looking out for them. Shows like Hadestown and Mary Poppins which have elaborate staging most definitely were changed for their touring versions. I mean, if a local theatre doesn't have e.g. a trapdoor, they don't build a whole other stage on top to create a trapdoor, they just alter the entrance/exit so it's not needed.

Ah yes, I know the feeling well cos the cancellations were happening by the time i saw her, I had no idea if it would actually happen until about 10 mins before!

Ah did you not see it live? I don't think the film really conveys it well cos you just take it as another concert film, but in reality we were all in a pretty intimate space (made even more intimate by the no phones thing). The Frozen/Rescue Me section in particular was just utterly breathtaking, the video projection seemed to fill the whole theatre.

It wasn't just wheels though was it? There was quite intricate staging that could be assembled in different ways, plus the mapped video projections, the screens plus all the dancers and musicians. I certainly can't think of a show like it before in theatres - the company that did the staging had previously mostly done megaconcerts (including the MDNA tour) but for theatres had done some musicals and Cirque du Soleil.

I find this comment really bizarre tbf. I've seen quite a few concerts at the Palladium, where she did the London shows, and hers was by far the most impressive in its staging. I didn't come away thinking it had a low budget whatsoever!

I thought the MX look was cool but they should have committed to it and had the videos all be different personas etc. Instead it just looked to casuals that she'd lost her mind.

She clearly did do it before though? She was talking about them being friends again years ago.

Well indeed, liking it or not is just personal opinion at the end of the day. That praising it on here is framed as the wacky view of irrational fans is very tiresome.

I also judged it for myself. As for positive reviews: The Guardian - 4/5 "a return to form" Slant - "a sultry midtempo track driven by a decidedly unhurried tropical rhythm and Madonna’s catchy refrain of “one-two cha-cha-cha" Variety - "a sultry and promising introduction to Madonna’s latest era" NME - "The track is everything we want from a Madonna comeback: it’s fresh, (arguably her best work in years)" Pitchfork - "Madonna has struggled at times in her late career to find a balance between campy bangers and more mature balladry; Medellín is something of a sexy, stylish middle ground" Vulture - "Medellin” is her best lead single since that era’s ABBA-referencing “Hung Up.” Unless Madonna loons took over the media, it might be that many folk just genuinely liked the song.

I think writing about the loss of someone close to you lends itself to far more direct writing than the theme of ageing. I think she'll address it in her work.

I think ageing as a theme though is universal and lends itself to more philosophical lyrics. A "direct" song about it would be quite clunky.

I wrote about it at the time, here's an excerpt: The album is littered with obvious references to Madonna's past - the Vogue sample on Holy Water, the Justify My Love lyrics on Best Night, the cavalcade of song titles which make up Veni Vidi Vici; the title track's moving reflection on her life; it's also packed with allusions to Madonna's status as an ageing pop icon. On electro-folk tour de force Devil Prey she sings "Holding on, but I’m getting weaker/watch me disappear." Ghosttown, a Ryan Tedder-esque anthem which is probably the album's best chance of a hit, depicts a barren post-apocalyptic world and finds Madonna musing that "Everything's bound to break sooner or later." In the gorgeous Joan of Arc she sings "Even when the world turns its back on me/There could be a war, but I'm not going down." Album closer (standard version) Wash All Over Me is an elegiac ballad which seems self-explanatory given what I've written above: In a world that's changing I'm a stranger in a strange land There's a contradiction And I'm stuck here in between Life is like a desert An oasis to confuse me So I walk this razor's edge Will I stand or will I fall? ...If this is the end then let it come Let it come Let it rain ...Gonna watch the sun going down I'm not gonna run from all this sadness Even Living For Love is clearly about her place in the world now. The most direct song is Queen which she apparently pulled at the last minute, perhaps because it was a bit too direct in acknowledging she wasn't on top of the heap anymore.

Rebel Heart and Madame X are full of lyrics about ageing and her place in the world though.

Maybe you don't like a song and for some reason feel the need to discount the positives around it rather than just...not liking the song? I haven't made any "excuses" for its failure.

No, I'm talking about the critics' reviews. No need to be silly.