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Post by tonyloco on Apr 9, 2018 11:01:49 GMT
I thought she was moderate as in average - there was a lot about how she wasn't quite good enough to be an opera star. This is probably true overall, but people can make their own judgement about her ability purely as a singer by listening to the famous HMV Glyndebourne recordings from the 1930s of 'Le nozze di Figaro', 'Don Giovanni' and 'The Beggars Opera' in which Audrey Mildmay sings Susanna, Zerlina and Polly Peachum respectively. |
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Post by loureviews on Apr 9, 2018 12:36:02 GMT
My thoughts, ported over from my blog: The soprano of the title (not moderate as in average, but as in gentle of voice) is John’s wife, Audrey, played by Nancy Carroll, and we meet both of them in the first scene after the Second World War, when their enterprise is to be taken under the control of a Trust, ‘for the people’. ---- I thought she was moderate as in average - there was a lot about how she wasn't quite good enough to be an opera star. Quote directly from the play! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 12:48:53 GMT
(Has it occurred to you that maybe you're both right, and possibly that's part of the reason why it's the title?  ) |
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Post by loureviews on Apr 9, 2018 13:01:05 GMT
(Has it occurred to you that maybe you're both right, and possibly that's part of the reason why it's the title? ) Absolutely! |
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Post by dani on Apr 13, 2018 7:40:21 GMT
Ann Treneman in today's Times makes the obvious joke and says it is "a moderate success".
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 13, 2018 23:06:01 GMT
Got a front row seat for £15. These are day seats, but ones not sold at the theatre go online. Today this was most of them and they went online before 10.30.
The stage is high and built out a bit further than some productions, so it was a bit of a neck ache!
The play is enjoyable enough, but I felt it never really dug into anything particularly deep either on the individual characters or the nature of opera.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2018 13:21:15 GMT
Well. First of all, I'd like to take a moment to thank Costume Designer Bob Crowley for putting Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in that tight blue short sleeved shirt. You are officially on my Christmas card list.  As for the rest, it's all a bit cosy Sunday tea time with some nice performances and a few giggles. Gentle ones, not huge guffaws. And I don't think any of the audience was under 75 so that made me feel terrific. I left with a spring in my step. And for those Roger Allam fans who'd love to see his huge organ you are in for a real treat. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2018 16:04:08 GMT
Well. First of all, I'd like to take a moment to thank Costume Designer Bob Crowley for putting Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in that tight blue short sleeved shirt. You are officially on my Christmas card list. As for the rest, it's all a bit cosy Sunday tea time with some nice performances and a few giggles. Gentle ones, not huge guffaws. And I don't think any of the audience was under 75 so that made me feel terrific. I left with a spring in my step. And for those Roger Allam fans who'd love to see his huge organ you are in for a real treat. oof I saw something on the construction of his organ, and behind the scenes. Its a sight to see. Also I still want words with whoever is responsible for the bald cap. |
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 9, 2018 9:35:00 GMT
Well I'd planned to get a ticket to Pressure from the TKTS booth but there was no discount offered, so went for a half price to this. I can't say I'm an opera lover, but then I'm not an art lover and I thought The Habit of Art was brilliant. Plus I've long wanted to see Roger Allam onstage and David Hare just seals the deal. Looking forward to it!
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 9, 2018 14:30:07 GMT
Well end of part one and my feelings are mixed. I can't say it's the best or most memorable piece, but the main thing is watching Roger Allam, he's as good as I thought he'd be if not better.
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 9, 2018 16:11:40 GMT
Second half was much better than the first. It didn't much help me apperciate opera but it did help me to appreciate those who do. But again, Allam stole it. He brought the house down with a well timed turn of the head and Hare's dialogue was peppered with some nice comic touches.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2018 18:04:47 GMT
I’m taking my A-level English teacher (from over 20 years ago!) to see this. I don’t know if it’s my usually thing but based on the comments, I am hopeful. She didn’t fancy “Pressure” and I wasn’t sure what else could have worked.
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 11, 2018 11:24:46 GMT
£15 tickets from Today Tix for the rest of the run if booked today. I have just booked front stalls for the last week.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 13:59:09 GMT
£15 tickets from Today Tix for the rest of the run if booked today. I have just booked front stalls for the last week. I am gnashing about this. I booked front row stalls two days ago and was pleased to get £30 off. Now this... |
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Post by Rory on Jun 16, 2018 18:27:51 GMT
Thanks for this @theatremonkey. I won't get to see this unfortunately but I would have liked to. It may be slightly traditional in style but I think there is definitely still a place for a well crafted old school play.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2018 18:33:28 GMT
Rather enjoyed this today. Reminds me of the sort of new plays I saw when I first started theatregoing in the 1980s. No bad language and aiming for light intellectual discussion. Nicely performed, staged and directed, and I learned a good deal about a subject I know nothing about. Easy 4 stars. Will burble more on my site next week. Further proof that theatre is equally valuable when it falls into the 'I had a nice interesting afternoon out' than as when it 'changes the face of x or y'. Both have their place. Wish I could have seen it. Even if Rog's bald cap is a TRAVESTY that I cannot forgive. |
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Post by learfan on Jun 16, 2018 19:22:03 GMT
Rather enjoyed this today. Reminds me of the sort of new plays I saw when I first started theatregoing in the 1980s. No bad language and aiming for light intellectual discussion. Nicely performed, staged and directed, and I learned a good deal about a subject I know nothing about. Easy 4 stars. Will burble more on my site next week. Further proof that theatre is equally valuable when it falls into the 'I had a nice interesting afternoon out' than as when it 'changes the face of x or y'. Both have their place. Wish I could have seen it. Even if Rog's bald cap is a TRAVESTY that I cannot forgive. Exactly! Not every experience has to be "life changing". |
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Post by andrew on Jun 17, 2018 11:36:17 GMT
I was having a bit of a forum hiatus when I saw this a month ago so I'll pop my threadbare thoughts on here now. It is rather refreshing to see something a bit old-fashioned and comfortable, actors in armchairs or sipping lemonade in the manicured gardens, rather than POST APOCALYPTIC RAVE THEN PEOPLE CLIMB INTO DISHWASHERS, THE SET IS MADE OF WET MUD, THE CAST ARE ALL NON-DIAGETICALLY NAKED, TWO PEOPLE STARE AT EACH OTHER WHILST THROWING PASTA INTO THE AUDIENCE FOR THREE HOURS, PROSTITUTES WALKING IN CIRCLES ALL EVENING, OH DEAR GOD NO THEYRE DOING AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION, OOPS THE RUNNING TIME IS 9 HOURS HOPE YOU BROUGHT A SANDWICH, MARTI PELLOW, PEOPLE ARE CLIMBING GARBAGE PALM TREES, THE MAIDS or other mildly alarming genres of theatre. I was gently wooed from my discounted seat into a splendid little world of opera, and I enjoyed it all very much.
I've been telling my friends and colleagues that indeed it sounds and looks boring, and it's not anything more than it's advertised as being, it's just that it's quite good all the same. I've been trying to get people to go, but nobody ends up fancying it. This is why I don't work in marketing one presumes, but also I don't look very good in a suit. I didn't realise until now this had been expanded since Hampstead, having given it a miss there. Whatever they've done, it works very well.
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Post by dlevi on Jun 18, 2018 9:47:51 GMT
So does he actually travel by public transport? I did wonder... He does! I saw him standing looking befuddled at the Highbury and Islington Station last year. He didn't appear approachable but I was tempted to walk over and ask if he was lost. |
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Post by orchidman on Jun 23, 2018 1:45:37 GMT
Incredibly mediocre, how this made it to the West End is the biggest question it provokes.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 7:12:44 GMT
I was pretty nonplussed by this, and I left thinking that it wasn't really for me. It’s very traditional, but I feel like I can’t really criticise it for not being the sort of theatre that I like. My teacher (70) enjoyed it far more than me, she was really affected by their relationship.
I did think it was mean to make the female lead appear dressed as little bo peep for the final scene and encore. Especially as we had the treat of a practice theatre evacuation at the end of the matinee, and so she ended up waiting across the road, chatting to fans dressed like that.
Also, if there had been a fire, those of us in the front stalls would have been burnt to a crisp.
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Post by lynette on Jun 23, 2018 11:45:23 GMT
Incredibly mediocre, how this made it to the West End is the biggest question it provokes. Exactly what I thought. I saw it at Hampstead. Love Allam. But def on auto pilot here. |
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Post by TallPaul on Jun 23, 2018 12:54:37 GMT
But def on auto pilot here. He starts filming the next series of Endeavour once this closes, so perhaps he's already dreaming of spires! |
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Post by vegas on Jun 23, 2018 14:08:42 GMT
I would watch Roger Allam read the phone book. This was slightly more interesting, so I can't complain.
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