294 posts
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Post by dani on Dec 5, 2018 9:31:10 GMT
I was just going to drop in here to comment on the weird reviews, some of which say it's terribly acted and tourist catnip, but some of which say it's a high-voltage production, as Steve does on this thread. It's 1* from WOS, 2* from Daily Mail and The Upcoming, 3* from Guardian, Times, Telegraph, and 4* from ES, Stage, Radio Times.
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2,974 posts
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Post by crowblack on Dec 5, 2018 11:59:12 GMT
Didn't miss any action though as that was almost all up front. I've got one of the £15 restricted view front row side upper circle seats for much later in the run, so I'm hoping this means they won't disappear out of sight. I heard the play on the radio a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.
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61 posts
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Post by demonbarber on Dec 5, 2018 12:06:08 GMT
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2,974 posts
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Post by crowblack on Dec 5, 2018 13:32:29 GMT
they will be in view all the time Thanks. I was front row at the Pinter and it was OK but they did disappear when they got towards the back (I'm not tall).
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2,974 posts
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Post by crowblack on Dec 5, 2018 16:42:56 GMT
I was on the end of row A, which is the third row Are there aa, aaa and aaa then? They're not showing on the Nimax plan. Oh, I see - front is AY!
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1,465 posts
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Post by foxa on Dec 5, 2018 23:05:16 GMT
Wow that is a huge range of stars. The scene at the Sam Shepard event they did looked good. However, if the reviews are mixed maybe I'll have a fair chance of getting a deal on tickets for my son when he's in town mid December/early Jan....
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1,203 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Dec 6, 2018 11:17:29 GMT
Yes! I got row A for £40 with GILT
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1,465 posts
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Post by foxa on Dec 6, 2018 14:10:40 GMT
Thanks TM will check out!
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Post by missthelma on Dec 7, 2018 11:05:33 GMT
Managed to snag a lottery ticket for this yesterday afternoon. (Thanks due to Jordan at Today Tix for helping with a very fraught process trying to actually claim the blasted ticket)
So, firstly I have to get over my conflicting feelings about Sam Shepard, I've been watching his plays since Fool For Love at the NT in the 80's and they always leave me slightly confused, a bit cold and dissatisfied and yet I persevere as I loved him as an actor and as some kind of iconic American archetype.
Arguably True West is his best known work and is the kind of play that has actors of a certain age stampeding towards to prove their mettle. It's about two brothers..... Or is it? Is it in fact a meditation on the fractured male psyche, and the divide between the physical and the intellectual? Or even, do the brothers represent the changing face of America as was and the move away from the Pioneer spirit? And would you like ice and a slice with that? Obviously it doesn't have to have a deeper meaning and you can just watch two people go hammer and tongs at each other for two hours with occasional interruptions. You pays your money....
Anyway it's a brisk two hours with a 20 minute interval. The set is exceptionally well designed and from my seat played with perspective in an intriguing way. Johnny Flynn dominates pre interval and is a bracing presence across the stage, Kit Harrington dominates post the interval and breaks out from his quieter demeanor in first half. i saw Flynn in Hangmen and he has a real flair on stage, Harrington was off when I saw the insufferable Doctor Faustus and I've never seen GOT but he acquits himself well without making me think he's the second coming. Madeline Potter, who I thought had the world at her feet when she debuted in The Bostonians years ago (what happened??) wanders in at some point, possibly on her way to the nearby Sainsbury's Local for a meal deal, and then wanders off again without any appreciable impact. Don't know if that was the part, the performance or the direction. It's definitely worth seeing but not at stupid prices, it was fairly full for a Thursday matinee, but enough space to ensure there will be deals.
And now we come to the audience, there was the man who I thought was going to actually explode behind me as his fake laughter at points was so overpowering. The man to my left who elbowed me repeatedly until he decided to fashion a pillow from his clothing and slump down in his seat for a little snooze, accompanied by much huffing. And the woman to my right who about 30 minutes in announced 'Oh My God, this is so terrible'. I have no idea if she meant the play, the production, the theatre , her wine or possibly even Brexit as she scarpered at the interval
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Post by jojo on Dec 9, 2018 11:52:39 GMT
My friends who saw this during previews all loved it, as did those I follow on social media with the exception of one who liked it, but was meh about the ending and scene changes. Granted, I tend to surround myself with positive people, but they aren't idiots and collectively they see a lot of theatre, so I was surprised by the negativity of the WOS review and the difference between that and some of the more enthusiastic professional reviews, or even the carefully considered three star ones.
I very much accept that everyone has different expectations and tastes, and sometimes reviewers will see things very differently, but I do think that if a professional reviewer writing for a wider audience (as opposed to blogger writing for their friends and their own records) gives a one star review, then it means that they don't expect anyone to like it. Now, I admire reviewers who don't copy the homework of others, but surely they do pay attention to the reaction of others in the theatre? I got to talking about this yesterday with my friend who attended, and she felt that her audience were obviously appreciative, and that it compared favourably with the Tricycle production she'd also enjoyed. She could see that some would favour the previous production(s), and articulating as much in a review is fair game, but her blunt view was that the WOS review was unfair and the reviewer must have let personal feelings/expectations get in the way of her objectivity. I'd have thought that could impact any show, and we thought that often the most interesting shows are the ones that result in the greater variety of response, and we wondered if the presence of actors known for TV might be an additional factor. I've often felt that certain reviewers are more likely to give a benefit of the doubt for acting/directing choices to less well known actors that isn't extended to "thingy off the telly" who has idiot fans who want to see them anyway. Of course, this works both ways, and some professionals will get a bit of a thrill at seeing that person off the posters in the flesh which adds to their enjoyment of the experience, with bonus points for playing against the well known image.
My friend also noted that the London Tricycle production was in a smaller theatre, which may better suit the material, and of course that where you sit can influence your experience. She was rear stalls, seating plan fans.
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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 Dec 19, 2018 11:57:32 GMT
Noticed yesterday that TodayTix has switched from doing a lottery to doing rush tickets for this - £25 for stalls seats around row N.
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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 Dec 19, 2018 12:57:54 GMT
No, it was lottery till this week - see missthelma's post above for instance.
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549 posts
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Post by andrew on Dec 20, 2018 14:17:29 GMT
Yes it was lottery before, it changed to rush on Monday. I think it's better this way. I wanted to see the seat options and I got a row B for Tuesday's matinee.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2018 14:55:48 GMT
This ridiculous making people queue outside
In a line for “bag checks”
Is pathetic
And needs to stop
If they are so bothered invest in some metal detectors and sniffer dogs
Not poking through people’s bags
How many people are likely to carry a something incriminating in a hand held bag anyway
The biggest joke that is this show
“Star” casting aside
Is barely half sold out
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2018 15:02:23 GMT
Dress circle not even half full
I do wonder what “famous” actors
Think when they see such awful box office sales
Particularly if the reviews have been good
Along with this
The Inheritance And Company
Have plenty of unsold tickets left
Some Performances of Company haven’t even sold 1/3 of the available tickets
Inheritance seems to have picked up a bit But given it is almost at the end of its run
It was hardly the hottest ticket it was touted as
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3,105 posts
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Post by Rory on Dec 20, 2018 20:51:30 GMT
Solutions?
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888 posts
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Post by lonlad on Dec 21, 2018 0:12:21 GMT
One solution might be to not write every post as a preposterous haiku
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3,100 posts
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Post by david on Dec 30, 2018 22:52:05 GMT
Having watched this at today’s matinee (thanks to being able to get a discounted ticket and some great Xmas performance scheduling), a good overall play and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Performance wise, I couldn’t fault KH or JF as the leads, and as others have said and which I totally agree with JF owns Act 1, while KH owns Act 2. I would liked to have seen more of Madeleine Potter on stage though. In the brief time she was on I really didn’t feel the character offered much to the plot going forward. I would liked to have seen a deeper exploration of the dynamic between the two brothers and the mother as the brothers are such contrasting characters.
The highlight of the whole play for me was in Act 2 with KH playing drunk and the toaster scene. It was just some great comedy and KH really did have some great comic timing here. It was certainly welcomed as a bit of light relief against the more darker elements of the play.
I thought the staging was great, though the additional stage reveal at the end I felt really wasn’t needed and overhearing a couple of people around me at the end of the show tried to work out what it’s purpose was. It certainly looked weird as an addition to the main set at the end.
The audience I was sat with certainly enjoyed the play (with a few standing ovations). It’s definitely worth a punt with the various ticket deals currently available. Overall not a bad way to end the 2018 theatre going year.
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Post by jojo on Jan 7, 2019 19:59:36 GMT
With the professional press, quite often it is a sub-editor who adds the stars after reading the review - so it isn't the reviewer at all. If a reviewer uses stars, it should be based on her / his measuring the particular production they have seen against previous versions and similar material. Adding in audience reaction really isn't a factor unless they have actually rioted, of course. I didn't know that about the stars thing. I sometimes think the star rating doesn't match the vibe of the piece, so perhaps that isn't always the case, or perhaps the sub-editor has their own feelings?! I wouldn't have expected an experienced reviewer to be especially swayed by the audience as such, but I still feel that if you are writing a professional review that is supposed to help a general audience decide if they might like to see a show, then you have to consider your audience and not just your personal taste and bug-bears. If not, then it suggests you think the rest of the audience are idiots, in which case, what about your readers? I'd caveat and say that if you are writing for the Mormon Times and you know your audience is exclusively devout Mormons who don't like jokes about Mormans, then you are entitled to steer your audience away from Book of Mormon, and if you are writing for a lads' mag*, whose audience likes to see semi-naked women, then by all means, give extra stars for anything that includes pretty-girls without many clothes. *I'm not aware of any lads' mags with a theatre review section, but I'd guess they have their own rating system.
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Post by firstwetakemanhattan on Jan 24, 2019 15:20:20 GMT
Found this hard work. Quite dull and a really rather odd and weird last 15 minutes or so. The character of the mother seemed woefully out of place too, tacked on right at the end, and what was with her accent in contrast to the two leads? Just bizarre way to end the play. Tough going. Theatre looked to be about half empty as well. A rare instance where I wish I had seen something else instead
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Post by perfectspy on Jan 26, 2019 15:51:53 GMT
I saw this play on Jan 14th. I got my tickets through time out. It is struggling to sell out despite a strong cast with Harrington in that Thrones tv show. Maybe all the fans are out off with the prices.
I thought the production was ok, quite odd that the mother showed up at the end which killed the play for me. I too really liked the radio adaptation a few years back and wish I saw this play at the Tricycle instead.
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53 posts
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Post by harrie on Jan 27, 2019 9:48:59 GMT
I saw this last night in a full house. I thought Johnny and Kit’s performances were great and the chemistry between them was fantastic. I agree that maybe the desert reveal was unnecessary but overall I really enjoyed it and I would definitely recommend.
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