The House of Bernarda Alba - Lyttleton (NT)

Let's hope it is as good as her other efforts and that it will be the first of many. Tricky to get right, Lorca, though, in English as we have said on this forum before.

I liked the production with Penny Wilton v much.

I note that this is co-produced by Playful, so assume it’s aiming for a future life?

I got a ticket but not sure how much I'd like it. I did not enjoy the previous NT's production, it was very boring and lacked punch. This appears to be a rewriting; having seen Yerma at Young Vic (I hated it) not sure what to expect.

You can expect more reworked Lorcas in the future since his work is in the public domain now. I wish they didn't mess with his plays.

My problem with Penelope Wilton - who I like - was that she just seemed too English in a play that plainly wasn’t. I’m not sure Harriet Walter will be any better - let’s hope she doesn’t attempt a Spanish accent, her effort at a Greek one for Cleopatra was not a success.

I see this is billed as by Alice Birch and is only “after” Lorca. That’s usually a bad sign. Why can’t playwrights just write their own plays ? Well we know, because attaching Lorca’s name to it makes it more commercial even if it bears little relation to the original.

Have booked to see this on my birthday in December, very much looking forward to it!

Probably because you'd need permission from an estate to use them in that way. I'm sure some probably do exist. 

"After" can also suggest an act of translation (as with Ibsen). 

Even Shakespeare adapted existing stories and embellished them with his own ideas and brought them into a local context. Of course I'm not saying any of these playwrights are necessarily on the same level as Shakespeare, but I also don't see a problem with radical adaptations of existing material since it's been part of the theatrical tradition since the start.

Wow this has sold amazingly well

The initial preview is still nearly 2 weeks ago

Yet the first three weeks are all sold out

It’s rare these days at the NT

I went tonight and it was quite good. Rebecca Frecknall does not rely extensively on her bag of tricks, and apart from a couple of slow-mos you'd barely say it's hers. It's a strong cast, the daughters are particularly good, especially Lizzie Annis as Martirio. It's a huge and lovely set, although most of the front stalls cannot quite see the final scene.

I wasn't fully sold on Harriet Walter. Her Bernarda Alba is fairly warm and humane: her struggle to control the household is also a struggle to control herself. It's an interesting portrayal and she's a very charismatic performer, although she can occasionally come across as almost frail, and sometimes you miss the monster (and the cane!). My biggest grip is that she seems more hysterical than tyrannical, and she's never really scary. The audience shouldn't laugh when they see Bernarda march off with a rifle or say things like "a daughter that disobeys is not a daughter but an enemy".

It's not a subtle production, but it's pretty good and I'm sure it will be a solid four stars by opening night.

Not much? Everybody swears way more than in Lorca but the only thing that really stood out was Angustias inheriting way more than her half-sisters after the death of Bernarda's second husband, implying that there was something creepy going on.

I think I left at 10 pm and yes there's an interval

So no movement sections?

Didn’t enjoy this tonight. Poncia was excellent and a standout, though. Adela felt extremely forced and not emotionally connected, like she was tryingggg to showww her wordsss were importantttt but felt fake.

I saw a lot of Frecknall in this for the worse. So slow. Boring adaptation. Many curse words thrown in. Stand-and-speak valued over genuine interactions for the most part. The beginning had unnecessary we-are-all-talking-over-each-other-this-is-artistic vibe. Then it got slower and slower.

A lot is lost having Pepe onstage. I prefer the secrets to be more secret. It’s like they made everything obvious and forced, and then gave us some bell gongs, clock ticks and a slow-as-molasses tempo to summon up tension.

Makes me glad I missed R&J.

Bernarda, as mentioned above, does not come off as powerful. It just didn’t make sense what the point of view on the play was in this production.

I really wonder how others will feel. This has sold so well at high prices. Good work under bad circumstances from some of the actors. But overall, for me, a dud.