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Post by alessia on Feb 10, 2020 10:51:05 GMT
First time poster here-hello! Just came to the board to leave a recommendation for Albion. I saw this on saturday afternoon and loved it. Everything about it was great from the performances (lead in particular) to the stage design, the music. Even though it is long, I did not notice and for me it could have been even longer. Sometimes plays drag a bit if they are over three hours but not this one. Without spoiling it, there are three scenes which moved me to tears. Highly recommend
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Post by bordeaux on Feb 10, 2020 12:22:55 GMT
First time poster here-hello! Just came to the board to leave a recommendation for Albion. I saw this on saturday afternoon and loved it. Everything about it was great from the performances (lead in particular) to the stage design, the music. Even though it is long, I did not notice and for me it could have been even longer. Sometimes plays drag a bit if they are over three hours but not this one. Without spoiling it, there are three scenes which moved me to tears. Highly recommend Welcome to the board and thanks for the recommendation - nice to read positive remarks about something I'm seeing a week today!
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503 posts
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Post by jampot on Feb 10, 2020 12:54:05 GMT
First time poster here-hello! Just came to the board to leave a recommendation for Albion. I saw this on saturday afternoon and loved it. Everything about it was great from the performances (lead in particular) to the stage design, the music. Even though it is long, I did not notice and for me it could have been even longer. Sometimes plays drag a bit if they are over three hours but not this one. Without spoiling it, there are three scenes which moved me to tears. Highly recommend Welcome to the board and thanks for the recommendation - nice to read positive remarks about something I'm seeing a week today! I was also there on sat and thought this was wonderful...I'd see it again if I had the chance..A real quality production..
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Post by alessia on Feb 10, 2020 14:17:03 GMT
Welcome to the board and thanks for the recommendation - nice to read positive remarks about something I'm seeing a week today! I was also there on sat and thought this was wonderful...I'd see it again if I had the chance..A real quality production.. Thank you, Bordeaux. You are in for a treat :-) Jampot, ditto!
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Post by andrew on Feb 11, 2020 13:12:08 GMT
Another voice just pointing out how insanely easy the Almeida Rush is. I seem to remember being in a queue for Summer and Smoke and missing out. No queue for this, I even just clicked on a date a few minutes before 1pm and saw that the seats had gone up and just bought one then and there. There's one more release next Tuesday so if you want to get in, that's your chance.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Feb 11, 2020 13:14:55 GMT
Another voice just pointing out how insanely easy the Almeida Rush is. I seem to remember being in a queue for Summer and Smoke and missing out. No queue for this, I even just clicked on a date a few minutes before 1pm and saw that the seats had gone up and just bought one then and there. There's one more release next Tuesday so if you want to get in, that's your chance. Same process for me. Got in a minute before 13:00 and there was no queue whatsoever. Similar experience with The Doctor last year as well. It's surprising considering how well both shows have sold. Managed to get 2 £10 tickets in the circle on Sat 22nd matinee. Hopefully the view isn't too restricted, it's been okay for other shows I've seen from back there.
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Post by Forrest on Feb 11, 2020 18:26:18 GMT
juicy_but_terribly_drab I wouldn't worry about the view at the Ameida: I've never had a really lousy seat there, and £10 tickets are my go-to for most of their plays. I seem to be the only disgruntled board member, but - as much as I wanted to - I failed to really love this. The design is stunning, the cast is excellent, the music was lovely... But the characters and the plot struck me as uninteresting and two-dimensional, their stories and 'tragedies' somehow lacking depth, and I found myself absolutely unable to relate to them. I thought it was alright, but nothing more. A friend who was with me thought the same. Perhaps we just didn't click with Bartlett's idea.
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Post by joem on Feb 15, 2020 23:29:19 GMT
It's an interesting play because it has so such narrative to keep you busy but there's a fair amount wrong with this play which means it doesn't go beyond ok to watch.
Confused ideas, barely credible sub-plots and difficult to like "good" characters chip away at the epic nature of the intent and ultimately defeat it. Are all country folk bumpkins? Do they stop being bumpkins when they dislike the people we think should be disliked? Is nostalgia bad? Is it good when it's the kind of nostalgia we think should be good? Is saying Poland is pretty good? Is saying Britain is pretty bad? And so on and so forth.
On the bright side a tremendous performance by Victoria Hamilton and brilliant comic timing by Nicholas Rowe in the much smaller role as her husband and a very attractive garden set which has some harking back to Jez Butterworth's "Jerusalem" except that "Senator, I saw Jerusalem... Senator this is no Jerusalem."
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Post by Theatre Fan on Feb 17, 2020 15:03:56 GMT
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Post by orchidman on Feb 20, 2020 1:34:55 GMT
First third - very very promising, middle third - okay, final third - not great, Bob!
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 21, 2020 8:24:32 GMT
Late to the party but I did rather enjoy this last night, long but the time goes by quickly thanks to some engaging performances. Bartlett lays on the brexit metaphors thick and fast but it's quite fun working out who or what each character represents.
There's also quite a nice shirtless gardener moment for those interested in that sort of thing.
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Post by asfound on Feb 21, 2020 9:16:13 GMT
There's also quite a nice shirtless gardener moment for those interested in that sort of thing. I don't think I will ever not find it amusing when the character that is supposed to be the typically bookish shy and awkward and gangly one has to take of his top and reveal the standard actor's washboard 8-pack abs.
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Post by dave72 on Feb 21, 2020 13:05:57 GMT
There's also quite a nice shirtless gardener moment for those interested in that sort of thing. I don't think I will ever not find it amusing when the character that is supposed to be the typically bookish shy and awkward and gangly one has to take of his top and reveal the standard actor's washboard 8-pack abs. Point taken, but this is actually specified in the stage direction: "GABRIEL enters. He's got his top off. Six months of work in the garden has had an effect. He's fit, and muscular..."
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Post by londonpostie on Feb 25, 2020 23:51:09 GMT
Reverting to a 'son of the soil' I thought ... (after a fanciful dalliance with aspiration) After a few false starts finally got to see this. I thought it was fair and balanced, and that Bartlett covered the important bases. It's difficult becasue different people are obv. at different places on different aspects - sometimes it will seem trowelled on, other times it might pass you by.
Some bold choices, I thought. No ducking.
I admire Mike Bartlett for taking this approach - 4 main parts were female, and all emotionally rounded. Ouf.
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Post by Dave B on Feb 26, 2020 11:54:37 GMT
Saw it lat night, enjoyed it. Great cast.
Wish I'd read through this thread in detail before booking my seats. We have 'our' seats at Almedia, they are suppose to be restricted view as there's a pillar in the way but they have never been an issue.
*sigh*
This stage configuration lined up two pillars basically blocking the centre of the stage, so it was for a change a very restricted view.
Oh well, live and learn. Do think I might keep an eye on Rush tickets for anything there. People seem to be doing well out of them.
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Post by fossil on Feb 26, 2020 17:40:59 GMT
Saw it lat night, enjoyed it. Great cast. Wish I'd read through this thread in detail before booking my seats. We have 'our' seats at Almedia, they are suppose to be restricted view as there's a pillar in the way but they have never been an issue. *sigh* This stage configuration lined up two pillars basically blocking the centre of the stage, so it was for a change a very restricted view. Oh well, live and learn. Do think I might keep an eye on Rush tickets for anything there. People seem to be doing well out of them. You had bad luck there. I had a £10 restricted view seat D11 which was about midway at the side of the stage. Although I had a pillar in front of me (slightly stage side) thanks to the way the play is staged I found it hardly bothered me at all and I had a mostly excellent view. Most of the time I had a good view of all the actors and with nobody behind me could easily move my head slightly when an actor was in line with the pillar. Full marks to the FOH staff who offered to seat the two standees near me as a few people had not returned after the interval.
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Post by digne on Feb 27, 2020 12:05:05 GMT
I saw the matinee yesterday and quite enjoyed this - I didn't actually notice time passing which surprised me when I came out of the theatre and saw how late it was.
I had a cheap seat since they filmed this performance and every now and then a cameraman blocked my view, but on the upside before it started Rupert Goold came on stage and told us that it will be shown on the BBC in spring.
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Post by londonpostie on Feb 27, 2020 12:19:55 GMT
I do have some thoughts on it, but does anyone want to say anymore about the metaphor / relationship of the friend and daughter (perhaps in spoiler code)?
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 27, 2020 19:55:31 GMT
I do have some thoughts on it, but does anyone want to say anymore about the metaphor / relationship of the friend and daughter (perhaps in spoiler code)? {I understood it to mean...} the mother forcing the breakup of the daughter and the 'exotic', creative, quietly successful older woman, who had always been a quiet and supportive friend, to be a metaphor for the older generation of the UK essentially making a choice on behalf of the young people of the UK to be separated from Europe and all the potential opportunities it presents for them (i.e the writer was going to help the daughter find success with her work).
Maybe?
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Post by londonpostie on Feb 27, 2020 22:14:52 GMT
Thanks. yes, I think so. The daughter was truly in love, her mother forced a separation, then the daughter had a difficult emotional time in public - throwing coffee over her lover - and declaring her life had been ruined. Emotionslly led, she was of course swapping one aged hierarchy/institution for another ... Allegedly.
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Post by n1david on Aug 5, 2020 15:58:13 GMT
TV broadcast confirmed for Sunday August 16th, BBC4, 2210 - 0100.
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Post by Forrest on Aug 5, 2020 18:51:45 GMT
I really didn't enjoy this much at the Almeida. Curious to see if a long time without theatre has made me "softer" (i.e. if I'll enjoy it more).
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Post by n1david on Aug 14, 2020 12:38:58 GMT
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Post by londonpostie on Aug 14, 2020 21:53:21 GMT
I remember at times thinking this is blunt or this is bland but then, on several occasions,thinking there are perceptions and insights here that no other work has manifested. If nothing else it's an entertaining - and pretty fairly balanced IMO - primer on the subject who's name shall not be spoken ..
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Post by crowblack on Sept 13, 2020 9:05:54 GMT
Just got back from this. What a mess. It seemed like it was being pulled in all directions, with no logic at all. The characters were wildly inconsistent and the plot was totally incoherent. It's a shame because the central performance by Victoria Hamilton was outstanding, and there were some very good moments. All in all, if completely re-written it's possible something could be salvaged. Expecting the critics to tear this apart. Well I've finally caught up with this on iplayer and I have to agree! I'm amazed by the glowing reviews: the performances were strong, but the play was all over the place, distractingly derivative and the characterisation was thin bordering on ludicrous.
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