Xanderl
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Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Sept 9, 2017 21:16:21 GMT
I was there too although didn't get an upgrade! Had already collected tickets last week though.
Enjoyed it - very reminiscent of "Democracy". Bit long and I'm still baffled by the tiny run at the Lyttleton followed by immediate transfer to the Pinter (the Pinter already has the Oslo display on the front!). Set seemed lost on the huge Lyttleton stage, lots of empty space with people pushing sofas off and on.
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Post by kathryn on Sept 9, 2017 21:34:13 GMT
My mate and I were talking about Democracy - and the fact that we can't remember a thing about it - beforehand. Hopefully this will prove more memorable!
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Post by Jon on Sept 9, 2017 21:50:52 GMT
I was there too although didn't get an upgrade! Had already collected tickets last week though. Enjoyed it - very reminiscent of "Democracy". Bit long and I'm still baffled by the tiny run at the Lyttleton followed by immediate transfer to the Pinter (the Pinter already has the Oslo display on the front!). Set seemed lost on the huge Lyttleton stage, lots of empty space with people pushing sofas off and on. I suspect the set has been created for the Pinter in mind rather than the Lyttleton.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Sept 9, 2017 22:39:47 GMT
Well, yes that's my point! So why is it on in the Lyttleton!
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3,471 posts
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Post by showgirl on Sept 10, 2017 4:01:12 GMT
Saw the matinee today - our back of circles rush seats were upgraded to central row J in the stalls! I'm impressed kathryn - never heard of anyone getting an upgrade in any of the NT's spaces!
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Post by kathryn on Sept 10, 2017 7:55:19 GMT
I was shocked too!
Me: 'Stalls? I'm sure I'd have remembered if the last 2 rush seats left had been in the stalls?! That can't be right?'
Friend: 'Shhhh!'
As it turns out we had 2 empty seats next to us, so it looks like they were filling out embarrassing gaps in the actors' eye line. I'm surprised it hasn't sold better but I guess word hasn't got out yet.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Sept 10, 2017 8:11:00 GMT
It was sold out online so I presume these were either unused house seats or returns they hadn't managed to resell. Saw someone asking about returning a ticket for that day for resale and they said they had quite a few already returned to sell first.
I got upgraded once at the NT - think it was for the Rory Kinnear Hamlet. We'd booked seats in the side block of the stalls which they'd realised were restricted view due to the set, and moved us to top price stalls which was nice! Presume they put those seats on sale as restricted view for the rest of the run.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Sept 10, 2017 16:22:35 GMT
The same thing happen to me last time I saw Perestroika. Got last minute Slip seats for £15 and when we got there we had been upgraded to J in Stalls! We were really surprised but then again every time I went to Angels in America there were empty seats. I always assumed that some people didn't turned up but maybe they were house seats released at the last minute that they didn't managed to sell
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Post by barelyathletic on Sept 11, 2017 11:59:35 GMT
I enjoyed this without thinking it was remarkable. Entertaining certainly, it's surprisingly funny, and engaging. The first half flys by but, the second is a bit flabby in places and the piece loses its momentum before picking up again, though it's never dull. The staging is elegant and simple and it's generally well acted across the board. There's no showboating performance that will worry anyone come awards time, but it's a good piece of ensemble work. If anyone steals it, it's Philip Arditti, as Uri Savir, who develops into one of the show's most entertaining characters, with the biggest laughs. It's a genuinely fascinating drama. A play about process rather than dramatic outcome, and one that works very well considering. Its greatest strength perhaps lies in its revelation (though of course not new or always surprising) about our shared common humanity. It's moving and uplifting to see, even if the final outcome of all this effort is disheartening. My other half felt it drew strong parallels with Mo Mowlam's work on the peace process in Northern Ireland, which shows perhaps that we can learn from history. A solid four stars from me and it's a play I'd definitely read having seen it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2017 13:25:45 GMT
There's no showboating performance that will worry anyone come awards time, but it's a good piece of ensemble work. If anyone steals it, it's Philip Arditti, as Uri Savir, who develops into one of the show's most entertaining characters, with the biggest laughs. Michael Aronov won the Tony this year as Featured Actor for playing that role in the Broadway production.
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Post by barelyathletic on Sept 11, 2017 13:56:58 GMT
There's no showboating performance that will worry anyone come awards time, but it's a good piece of ensemble work. If anyone steals it, it's Philip Arditti, as Uri Savir, who develops into one of the show's most entertaining characters, with the biggest laughs. Michael Aronov won the Tony this year as Featured Actor for playing that role in the Broadway production. Ah. That's interesting. Maybe there will be an acting award then. It is the standout performance, in probably the most memorable role I think, in an otherwise strong cast.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2017 15:07:08 GMT
Michael Aronov won the Tony this year as Featured Actor for playing that role in the Broadway production. Ah. That's interesting. Maybe there will be an acting award then. It is the standout performance, in probably the most memorable role I think, in an otherwise strong cast. And indeed here he is. All dressed up with somewhere to go.
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Post by zahidf on Sept 11, 2017 15:13:03 GMT
I thought this was great. Fast paced, funny and interesting. Like first season West Wing!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2017 15:43:50 GMT
Ah. That's interesting. Maybe there will be an acting award then. It is the standout performance, in probably the most memorable role I think, in an otherwise strong cast. Both Jefferson Mays and Dame Jennifer Ehle were also Tony nominated as Lead Actor and Lead Actress for playing Terje and Mona (the Toby Stephens and Lydia Leonard roles) too. I'd hazard a guess the play will pull in several nominations come awards time. There's Norway it won't get a mention.
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Post by Jon on Sept 12, 2017 0:43:05 GMT
I saw this and really liked it, considering it's 3 hours long it was always engaging and thrilling with a sprinkling of humour. There isn't really a standout performance as everyone in the cast was uniformly great.
It's interesting how different the theatres spaces Oslo has played have been. The Mitzi Newhouse is more akin to the Hampstead or Dorfman while the Vivian Beaumount is more like the Olivier and I could imagine that Oslo could have ended up at the Olivier had they not opted for the Lyttelton and Harold Pinter.
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Post by greenswan on Sept 12, 2017 20:54:51 GMT
Saw this last night, which is probably less than ideal due to the length. I do think it could be cut - some of it is repetitive. This reminded me of Ink in the sense that I find it entertaining but it's not a play that occupies my thoughts much beyond the show.
It's good - not great for me, there's more humor than you would expect and the actors are solid and engaging. Not sure about the rather strange Scandinavian (?) accents which are wildly inconsistent from scene to scene.
In my opionion - see it but don't expect innovation or surprises. It's solid National Theatre fare. Which I realise sounds overall more negative than I intended. I'm sure other people will like this a lot more.
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Post by lonlad on Sept 12, 2017 23:28:42 GMT
Dame Jennifer Ehle? Um, not quite, though her mother should have been so honoured YEARS ago - a genuine Broadway/London great.
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Post by Jon on Sept 12, 2017 23:39:04 GMT
It's a shame Jennifer Ehle didn't reprise the role of Mona as it would have a Camomile Lawn reunion with her and Toby Stephens.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 8:13:23 GMT
Dame Jennifer Ehle? Um, not quite, though her mother should have been so honoured YEARS ago - a genuine Broadway/London great. Well she jolly well should be. She's a Dame in my eyes anyway.
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Post by n1david on Sept 16, 2017 14:05:04 GMT
I saw it last night. I really liked it and the three hours just flew by. And Toby Stephens stepped on my feet at the end of the play which in my mind is as far as I will ever get to someone in Maggie Smith’s family. Now I have to write a review of the play for work. I can beat that as Toby's mum was just a couple of seats away from me last night. One of the few times I've felt genuinely star-struck, I would have loved to say something to here but couldn't think of something that wasn't trite. Anyway, the play, well I didn't hate it and didn't love it, I thought it was a competent run through an interesting period of history, but I didn't really get a sense of risk (possibly because we knew the ending). Nicely acted but somehow just not very theatrical. I'd probably have enjoyed it more on TV. Also a bit unbalanced, running last night at 3h05 but with the interval at nearly an hour in which makes the second act quite a drag (and this is from someone that barely noticed the running time of Follies). Can't help thinking that this might struggle a bit in the West End. Incidentally, bags being checked again and high-vis security at the entrance to the auditorium. Not sure if this was because of the subject matter or yesterday's events in Parsons Green.
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Post by alece10 on Sept 16, 2017 14:45:38 GMT
I saw it last night. I really liked it and the three hours just flew by. And Toby Stephens stepped on my feet at the end of the play which in my mind is as far as I will ever get to someone in Maggie Smith’s family. Now I have to write a review of the play for work. I can beat that as Toby's mum was just a couple of seats away from me last night. One of the few times I've felt genuinely star-struck, I would have loved to say something to here but couldn't think of something that wasn't trite. Anyway, the play, well I didn't hate it and didn't love it, I thought it was a competent run through an interesting period of history, but I didn't really get a sense of risk (possibly because we knew the ending). Nicely acted but somehow just not very theatrical. I'd probably have enjoyed it more on TV. Also a bit unbalanced, running last night at 3h05 but with the interval at nearly an hour in which makes the second act quite a drag (and this is from someone that barely noticed the running time of Follies). Can't help thinking that this might struggle a bit in the West End. Incidentally, bags being checked again and high-vis security at the entrance to the auditorium. Not sure if this was because of the subject matter or yesterday's events in Parsons Green. Bag security been in place for a while. Certainly when I went to Follies a few weeks ago and even at platform performances I went to this week. Good thing is cloak room is free and very speedy
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Post by n1david on Sept 16, 2017 15:32:05 GMT
Bag security been in place for a while. Certainly when I went to Follies a few weeks ago and even at platform performances I went to this week. Good thing is cloak room is free and very speedy I've seen it at the NT entrance but not with bag searches at the entrance to the auditorium and a rope to keep a queue in line rather than the usual ad-hoc gathering around the auditorium entrances - didn't happen at Follies on Thursday. (Didn't see it at the Follies or Oslo platforms either, maybe if you were at one of them there were different policies at different doors)
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Post by alece10 on Sept 16, 2017 16:28:45 GMT
Bag security been in place for a while. Certainly when I went to Follies a few weeks ago and even at platform performances I went to this week. Good thing is cloak room is free and very speedy I've seen it at the NT entrance but not with bag searches at the entrance to the auditorium and a rope to keep a queue in line rather than the usual ad-hoc gathering around the auditorium entrances - didn't happen at Follies on Thursday. (Didn't see it at the Follies or Oslo platforms either, maybe if you were at one of them there were different policies at different doors) Ah see what you mean. I was just thinking of the checking in of bags which was new to me. No there wasn't any physical searches or cordons when I was there but even though my bag was a smallish "man bag" thing they made me put it in the cloak room both times. Maybe as last night was one of the "4" press nights there could have been some politically sensitive people there.
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Post by martin1965 on Sept 16, 2017 17:43:32 GMT
Saw this today, really enjoyed it, proper play for grown ups. Stephens very good as was whole cast. Leonard new to me but she was v good. Shmerdy shmerd accents bit funny but ok. Full house and prolonged applause. Four stars
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Post by jek on Sept 16, 2017 18:30:39 GMT
Hope this gets a young audience. Young lads sitting next to me this afternoon were born after the events depicted (1993) and were really enjoying it. I'm certainly recommending it to the A Level politics teacher at my daughter's sixth form. It's a very well paced and humorous introduction to some of the ideas about difficult negotiations which were expounded on at some length by Jonathan Powell in reflecting on his role in the negotiations between the British government and Sinn Fein. And you certainly don't need to have read about the subject in order to enjoy the play - events are very well set out. Didn't feel like three hours.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 16, 2017 22:40:16 GMT
I thought the first act dragged but act 2 was much better. It's way too long, though, coming in tonight at over 3 hours. Some excellent performances, particularly Peter Polycarpou and Philip Arditti who play a lot of their scenes together and these, for me, were the best bits. Arditti, in particular, gives a very charismatic and quite sexy performance.
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Post by lynette on Sept 16, 2017 23:09:07 GMT
A proper play. I agree tmesis, the scenes between PP and PA were v good, especially the quiet scene which was very much earned by them in the previous scenes. I didn't think it was too long but the ending was 'American' in that it didn't know where to end. Didn't need the last bit from the Terje character. To be honest I wanted to cry most of the way through. Where are our Qurie and our Savir in any of our current conflicts now when we need them?
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Post by tmesis on Sept 17, 2017 7:36:36 GMT
A proper play. I agree tmesis, the scenes between PP and PA were v good, especially the quiet scene which was very much earned by them in the previous scenes. I didn't think it was too long but the ending was 'American' in that it didn't know where to end. Didn't need the last bit from the Terje character. To be honest I wanted to cry most of the way through. Where are our Qurie and our Savir in any of our current conflicts now when we need them? Yes I found the ending quite annoying with too much clunky 'tying up of loose ends.' Incidentally I was sitting in the middle of the front row stalls, which is normally excellent, and indeed it was in terms of sight lines/involvement, but they seem to have built the front of the stage forward, resulting in zero leg-room (and I'm quite short) - distinctly uncomfortable.
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Post by zak97 on Sept 17, 2017 9:57:56 GMT
Went to this last night on the back of thoughts of its New York run, and sadly it wasn't for me. Great acting and I can see exactly why people would enjoy it, but I think a lack of political or general interest failed to properly engage me.
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Post by rosscoe on Sept 17, 2017 19:08:51 GMT
What's the chance of this extending, sadly not in London till the 1st Jan?
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