Saturday, February 11, 2017

Review: CATS The Musical at Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre, Kuwait


A wonderful performance such a treat for us here in Kuwait. The JACC is a stunning venue.
We had bought four tickets online prior to the day and then I needed to buy a fifth ticket a few hours before the show but had difficulty using the app and selecting a seat. The JACC website was saying there was a problem with my card. We took a chance as there were a few seats showing availability on the app/website and I luckily managed to purchase the fifth ticket at JACC very easily.
A little confusion over door opening times as tickets stated 2pm but we were not permitted into the main theatre until 2.30pm. Even so things went quite smoothly although my friend got directed to the ground level KD 100 seats but couldn't find me and realised she was on the wrong level. She managed to get up to level 2 just in time for curtain up. If they had done that to me I would have stayed down there.
B-level 2 was way up in the Gods and the stage looked very small. We felt that the seats were overpriced and that they should reassess prices if they are to fill the house for every show. And how about a discount outlet for last minute purchases like they do in New York?
The show was fabulous but the sound could have been a bit louder. I'm not sure I would ever pay KD 40 for those seats again and can't see me paying KD60/80/100 for better seats so I really hope they reconsider their prices.
At the interval the queue for the cafe was really, really long and by the time we got our drinks we had to hurry back to our seats. Only to find the doors closed and we had to wait for an appropriate time to enter which I entirely agree with but was a bit miffed that we had missed a part of the show. So I hope JACC can either open another cafe or increase service speed of current one. Also the ladies bathroom queue was pretty crazy too. Not sure if there are alternative loos available nearby but if there are perhaps they are not clearly marked and/or maybe the ushers could inform those waiting on line of their whereabouts.
We decided to have dinner at the Dancing Fountains but could not see it signposted anywhere and when we asked how to get there we were directed by two different security personnel to walk outside along the road for ten minutes to get to the restaurant area. Very inconvenient, we were all wearing heels and the cobbled pavements plus the pebbled areas were torturous. Isn't there a shortcut? 


6 comments:

  1. Hello. We had the same experience. I was the lady who was
    Screaming at the security guy who told us to
    Walk all the way to the fountains..

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    Replies
    1. Oh dear. I've been hearing this from several different people now. Hope they address it ASAP.

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  2. Getting to the main venue from the main entrance was a little confusing.

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    1. Needs clear sign posts and more car entrances/exits open.

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  3. Even my girlfriends and I faced the same problem. We ended up removing our shoes and walking bare feet for 10 mins asking every security guard for directions as there were no signs ANYWHERE from the theater to the road then the underground parking all the way to the fountain.We were really surprised because we thought all the buildings would be interlinked like avenues.
    I also felt they need more signs so we can find our entrance door easily.This way the burden on the ushers would decrease as they were understaffed and trying to solve multiple problems at once.
    But finding seats INSIDE the theater was really easy and ALL staff members were very polite and helpful. Once the show began we forgot everything around us.It was truly once in a lifetime!


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    Replies
    1. Agree the JACC staff were super helpful. Yes much more signage needed outside and the JACC, open the gates on performance days to let us take the shortcut to the restaurants, open all the entrances and exits for cars, reduce prices of seats so more people can enjoy it and address cafe and loo lines.

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Always great to hear from you :O)