A filmed record of the 2008 Albert Hall live concert performance of Tim Rice's cold-war musical, written in collaboration with Abba's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. With its Fischer-Spassky-inspired storyline, Chess never managed to inspire the popularity or affection of Rice's earlier efforts with Andrew Lloyd Webber (nor some of Lloyd Webber's subsequent efforts) - even though it contains a pair of bona fide hit songs, in the shape of One Night in Bangkok and I Know Him So Well. Whether that makes this an overlooked masterpiece or fans-only experience is thus the question: all I can say is that it's an expensively mounted show, with pleasingly enthusiastic singing from all concerned. But at two hours plus, it's a real stretch.
Chess in Concert
An expensively mounted show, with pleasingly enthusiastic singing from all concerned, says Andrew Pulver