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Post by alessia on May 13, 2023 11:27:44 GMT
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Post by theatregoer22 on May 13, 2023 14:52:08 GMT
Says page not found when you click on the link.
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Post by cavocado on May 13, 2023 15:42:18 GMT
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82 posts
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Post by G on May 14, 2023 12:47:23 GMT
The link is working for me! I booked yesterday for the whole thing broken up on two separate days, the Sunday and Friday. I was able to book for the meal on the Friday, before the second part. So it may be that some spots for the meal remain on the Friday. Thank god that the prices at the Barbican (at least for this) are not completely insane. Looking forward.
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559 posts
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Post by alessia on May 14, 2023 15:59:09 GMT
Ah, let me know how the meal was! we wanted to do the whole thing on the Sunday which I guess is when most people would also have wanted the food.
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1,184 posts
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Post by joem on Oct 6, 2023 21:49:41 GMT
I was eagerly anticipating this and expecting it to be a major event, one of those theatre experiences you remember forever but the first part, which I saw today, certainly wasn't.
The set and staging looks promising and the musicians and singers playing as you walk into the auditorium sets the scene nicely but then the problems start. Show don't tell is always good advice, unless you're a storyteller. The problem with this is it's tell, tell and tell again. And after that a bit more tell. Good as the narrator is (sorry can't tell you her name as the Barbican is not selling programmes anymore) there's simply too much of her.
Second problem, and this really is a biggie, the language is pretty basic, prosaic. The story is complicated enough with multitudes of characters being constantly named, and the characterisation is pretty sketchy, so when the text is not that descriptive or evocative it falls rather flat. Sort of like an average GCSE drama group trying to dramatise a classic myth. "Aided" by a dearth of costumes and unsympathetic gender and age-blind casting, the whole spectacle ends up as a confused mish-mash of legends and stories which fails to grip the attention. Which is a shame because this should have been a generational moment of total theatre.
And I still have the second half to watch...
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82 posts
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Post by G on Oct 6, 2023 22:48:57 GMT
The second part (back from it now) is amazing. I have never had, and may never have again, as powerful an experience in theatre as the Bhagavad Gita opera in the second part. Of course, these things are quite personal and others may find it banal. I found it sublime. We also did the meal and storytelling experience just before the second part today, which was very good. I was eagerly anticipating this and expecting it to be a major event, one of those theatre experiences you remember forever but the first part, which I saw today, certainly wasn't. The set and staging looks promising and the musicians and singers playing as you walk into the auditorium sets the scene nicely but then the problems start. Show don't tell is always good advice, unless you're a storyteller. The problem with this is it's tell, tell and tell again. And after that a bit more tell. Good as the narrator is (sorry can't tell you her name as the Barbican is not selling programmes anymore) there's simply too much of her. Second problem, and this really is a biggie, the language is pretty basic, prosaic. The story is complicated enough with multitudes of characters being constantly named, and the characterisation is pretty sketchy, so when the text is not that descriptive or evocative it falls rather flat. Sort of like an average GCSE drama group trying to dramatise a classic myth. "Aided" by a dearth of costumes and unsympathetic gender and age-blind casting, the whole spectacle ends up as a confused mish-mash of legends and stories which fails to grip the attention. Which is a shame because this should have been a generational moment of total theatre. And I still have the second half to watch... |
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1,184 posts
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Post by joem on Oct 11, 2023 19:15:49 GMT
The second part was a slight improvement - mainly due to the musicians and the excellent soprano who sang beautifully. The story was also less compressed which allowed for a bit more development but my comments on the first half hold and the overall experience, and I was very excited about this, was very disappointing.
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2,353 posts
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Post by zahidf on Oct 11, 2023 19:32:43 GMT
I enjoyed the plays a lot. Found the food bland and meh
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