259 posts
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Post by theatrenerd on Mar 13, 2024 13:29:15 GMT
I think the last RSC Shakespeare in London was The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican in late 2021 (which played the outdoor theatre in Stratford), however if I remember correctly it closed early either due to COVID cases or low ticket sales.
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Post by theoracle on Mar 19, 2024 12:33:58 GMT
Does anyone have any idea when the remaining shows will go on sale / dates announced? I’m aware the new season hasn’t even technically started but I’m considering going away towards the end of the year and don’t want to miss Edward II or Hamlet. Thanks.
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5,588 posts
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Post by lynette on Mar 20, 2024 14:41:11 GMT
Does anyone have any idea when the remaining shows will go on sale / dates announced? I’m aware the new season hasn’t even technically started but I’m considering going away towards the end of the year and don’t want to miss Edward II or Hamlet. Thanks. Good question. I haven’t heard anything yet.
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533 posts
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Post by jek on Apr 11, 2024 12:53:22 GMT
I have just received an email with the trailer for the Buddha of Suburbia. Really surprised to see that it is two and a half hours long without an interval. I know that is only the length of many films (and shorter, for example, than Oppenheimer) but it does feel like a long time without a break in a theatre. And I would have thought that the RSC would have wanted the interval bar takings.
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Post by solotheatregoer on Apr 13, 2024 12:43:48 GMT
Caught the first preview of Love’s Labour’s Lost on Thursday and was a little disappointed. I know it’s a comedy but this just felt like everyone was trying way too hard. Lots of cheap, cringeworthy, slapstick comedy that most people around me seemed to love but to me it just felt like a bad school production.
I know Thompson inevitably attracts a younger crowd but it just felt very forced with the inclusion of some modern references (the Backstreet Boys bit was particularly awkward).
I was looking forward to seeing Thompson again after A Little Life but this was not for me unfortunately.
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Post by cavocado on Apr 13, 2024 15:37:30 GMT
Caught the first preview of Love’s Labour’s Lost on Thursday and was a little disappointed. I know it’s a comedy but this just felt like everyone was trying way too hard. Lots of cheap, cringeworthy, slapstick comedy that most people around me seemed to love but to me it just felt like a bad school production. I know Thompson inevitably attracts a younger crowd but it just felt very forced with the inclusion of some modern references (the Backstreet Boys bit was particularly awkward). I was looking forward to seeing Thompson again after A Little Life but this was not for me unfortunately. That's a shame. I'd originally booked for this week, but had to change my ticket for later in the month. Hopefully they will make some changes during the previews.
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Post by Fleance on Apr 13, 2024 16:09:36 GMT
Caught the first preview of Love’s Labour’s Lost on Thursday and was a little disappointed. I know it’s a comedy but this just felt like everyone was trying way too hard. Lots of cheap, cringeworthy, slapstick comedy that most people around me seemed to love but to me it just felt like a bad school production. I know Thompson inevitably attracts a younger crowd but it just felt very forced with the inclusion of some modern references (the Backstreet Boys bit was particularly awkward). I was looking forward to seeing Thompson again after A Little Life but this was not for me unfortunately. Sorry to hear that, I was thinking of booking. I love LLL, having seen three RSC productions over the years. During lockdown, I watched three BBC versions, from 1965, 1975, and 1985. I much preferred the 1975 version, with Jeremy Brett, Martin Shaw, and Sinead Cusack.
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Post by Jan on Apr 13, 2024 16:27:53 GMT
Caught the first preview of Love’s Labour’s Lost on Thursday and was a little disappointed. I know it’s a comedy but this just felt like everyone was trying way too hard. Lots of cheap, cringeworthy, slapstick comedy that most people around me seemed to love but to me it just felt like a bad school production. I know Thompson inevitably attracts a younger crowd but it just felt very forced with the inclusion of some modern references (the Backstreet Boys bit was particularly awkward). I was looking forward to seeing Thompson again after A Little Life but this was not for me unfortunately. Sorry to hear that, I was thinking of booking. I love LLL, having seen three RSC productions over the years. During lockdown, I watched three BBC versions, from 1965, 1975, and 1985. I much preferred the 1975 version, with Jeremy Brett, Martin Shaw, and Sinead Cusack. I’ve seen lots of good productions of it, it is rarely done badly. I recall the 1993 RSC production with my personal favourite Daniel Massey splendid as Don Armado.
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Post by Fleance on Apr 13, 2024 16:49:48 GMT
Sorry to hear that, I was thinking of booking. I love LLL, having seen three RSC productions over the years. During lockdown, I watched three BBC versions, from 1965, 1975, and 1985. I much preferred the 1975 version, with Jeremy Brett, Martin Shaw, and Sinead Cusack. I’ve seen lots of good productions of it, it is rarely done badly. I recall the 1993 RSC production with my personal favourite Daniel Massey splendid as Don Armado. I saw that production at the Barbican. Richard O'Callaghan had taken over the role of Don Armado. I also saw an earlier production (RSC/Aldwych) with Michael Pennington, Richard Griffiths, Ian Charleson, Jane Lapotaire, David Suchet, Oliver Ford Davies, and Ruby Wax. Daniel Massey was a great actor, able to enliven even the movie Star!, in which he played his own godfather. I first saw him on stage in the The Gay Lord Quex, with Judi Dench and Sian Phillips.
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Post by Jan on Apr 13, 2024 20:08:20 GMT
I’ve seen lots of good productions of it, it is rarely done badly. I recall the 1993 RSC production with my personal favourite Daniel Massey splendid as Don Armado. I saw that production at the Barbican. Richard O'Callaghan had taken over the role of Don Armado. I also saw an earlier production (RSC/Aldwych) with Michael Pennington, Richard Griffiths, Ian Charleson, Jane Lapotaire, David Suchet, Oliver Ford Davies, and Ruby Wax. Daniel Massey was a great actor, able to enliven even the movie Star!, in which he played his own godfather. I first saw him on stage in the The Gay Lord Quex, with Judi Dench and Sian Phillips. Around the time he was at the RSC in 1993 I was told he was living at the Savoy hotel. I’m not sure if that’s true but nothing in his manner suggested it wasn’t.
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Post by Fleance on Apr 13, 2024 20:16:51 GMT
I saw that production at the Barbican. Richard O'Callaghan had taken over the role of Don Armado. I also saw an earlier production (RSC/Aldwych) with Michael Pennington, Richard Griffiths, Ian Charleson, Jane Lapotaire, David Suchet, Oliver Ford Davies, and Ruby Wax. Daniel Massey was a great actor, able to enliven even the movie Star!, in which he played his own godfather. I first saw him on stage in the The Gay Lord Quex, with Judi Dench and Sian Phillips. Around the time he was at the RSC in 1993 I was told he was living at the Savoy hotel. I’m not sure if that’s true but nothing in his manner suggested it wasn’t. I erred. The first time I saw Daniel Massey on stage was in Peter Luke's Bloomsbury, in which he played Lytton Strachey brilliantly. That was a year before The Gay Lord Quex.
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Post by tartantraveller on Apr 14, 2024 10:38:14 GMT
I saw Love's labour's lost last night and as someone who finds Shakespeare can be inaccessible at times, I think it did a good job of keeping the audience entertained and following the story. I think the more slapstick moments are designed to keep audiences who are not Shakespeare fans engaged. If it's aim is to do a play that gets non Shakespeare fans to start enjoying Shakespeare and want to see more of his plays, I think it will do that. Certainly the audience enjoyed it by the laughter round the theatre. It's a fairly young cast and at points that shows but you can tell Luke Thompson is a pro with Shakespeare as he rattles off the speeches without a second thought. How he didn't trip over his words at points I have no idea. In all I enjoyed it and came away feeling mostly positive about the play.
The bit I didn't like was they had one of the ladies openly vaping on stage. Personally there was no need for it, it didn't add to the story and shouldn't be glamorised on stage, that needs cutting.
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Post by Fleance on Apr 14, 2024 12:36:13 GMT
I saw Love's labour's lost last night and as someone who finds Shakespeare can be inaccessible at times, I think it did a good job of keeping the audience entertained and following the story. I think the more slapstick moments are designed to keep audiences who are not Shakespeare fans engaged. If it's aim is to do a play that gets non Shakespeare fans to start enjoying Shakespeare and want to see more of his plays, I think it will do that. Certainly the audience enjoyed it by the laughter round the theatre. It's a fairly young cast and at points that shows but you can tell Luke Thompson is a pro with Shakespeare as he rattles off the speeches without a second thought. How he didn't trip over his words at points I have no idea. In all I enjoyed it and came away feeling mostly positive about the play. The bit I didn't like was they had one of the ladies openly vaping on stage. Personally there was no need for it, it didn't add to the story and shouldn't be glamorised on stage, that needs cutting. The ending -- with the song -- can be quite magical. Was that handled well?
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Post by Jan on Apr 14, 2024 15:26:26 GMT
I saw Love's labour's lost last night and as someone who finds Shakespeare can be inaccessible at times, I think it did a good job of keeping the audience entertained and following the story. I think the more slapstick moments are designed to keep audiences who are not Shakespeare fans engaged. If its aim is to do a play that gets non Shakespeare fans to start enjoying Shakespeare and want to see more of his plays, I think it will do that. Certainly the audience enjoyed it by the laughter round the theatre. It's a fairly young cast and at points that shows but you can tell Luke Thompson is a pro with Shakespeare as he rattles off the speeches without a second thought. How he didn't trip over his words at points I have no idea. In all I enjoyed it and came away feeling mostly positive about the play. The bit I didn't like was they had one of the ladies openly vaping on stage. Personally there was no need for it, it didn't add to the story and shouldn't be glamorised on stage, that needs cutting. The ending -- with the song -- can be quite magical. Was that handled well? Did Nicholas Selby ever play the messenger Marcade in that final scene ? Perfect for him I would have thought.
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Post by richardh on Apr 15, 2024 15:33:33 GMT
I have just received an email with the trailer for the Buddha of Suburbia. Really surprised to see that it is two and a half hours long without an interval. I know that is only the length of many films (and shorter, for example, than Oppenheimer) but it does feel like a long time without a break in a theatre. And I would have thought that the RSC would have wanted the interval bar takings. I see that Buddha of Suburbia has now acquired a 20-minute interval according to the RSC website. Which I'm sure will be most welcome (not least for bar takings).
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Post by Fleance on Apr 16, 2024 2:47:19 GMT
The ending -- with the song -- can be quite magical. Was that handled well? Did Nicholas Selby ever play the messenger Marcade in that final scene ? Perfect for him I would have thought. To my knowledge he never played Mercade. I believe his last Shakespearean roles were the regal roles of Duncan and Alonso, both at the RSC/Barbican. I saw both of those productions.
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Post by richardh on Apr 16, 2024 8:08:02 GMT
Sorry to hear that, I was thinking of booking. I love LLL, having seen three RSC productions over the years. During lockdown, I watched three BBC versions, from 1965, 1975, and 1985. I much preferred the 1975 version, with Jeremy Brett, Martin Shaw, and Sinead Cusack. I’ve seen lots of good productions of it, it is rarely done badly. I recall the 1993 RSC production with my personal favourite Daniel Massey splendid as Don Armado. My first ever RSC production was of Love's Labour's Lost in 1991. Terry Hands' production with Simon Russell Beale, Ralph Fiennes, Paterson Joseph, Alex Kingston. What a cast in hindsight. I'll be interested to see how the new 2024 production makes what can be quite a demanding play with a lot of wordy in-jokes and references more accessible to a contemporary audience without dumbing-down.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 16, 2024 9:43:43 GMT
Am reviewing on Thursday so will share my thoughts!
The Masque of the Worthies is going to have to be radically rethought to fit a contemporary setting I would imagine.
Also I can't see a Sir Nathaniel in the cast list.
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1,006 posts
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Post by David J on Apr 16, 2024 10:15:51 GMT
Am reviewing on Thursday so will share my thoughts! The Masque of the Worthies is going to have to be radically rethought to fit a contemporary setting I would imagine. Also I can't see a Sir Nathaniel in the cast list. Wondering about getting rush tickets on Friday midday so love to hear your thoughts
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Post by kate8 on Apr 17, 2024 9:28:42 GMT
Just seen the cast announcement for School for Scandal which confirms it will be sharing most of the cast, and the RST, with Merry Wives. I hope this means they are looking at ways of being more of a company again, even if on a smaller scale.
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1,016 posts
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Post by andrew on Apr 17, 2024 20:08:09 GMT
I quite like Loved Labours Lost. I can see what solotheatregoer means, it's quite broadly played, but I think like tartantraveller says it serves to make it a bit more appealing to those of us that aren't ardent fans of the bard. It goes too far at points (totally agree about the Backstreet Boys bit, some elements of the play within a play also come to mind) but the additions to the script generally felt earned and funny.
Luke Thompson is excellent, he's really proving himself to be a force in the theatre, and I'm looking forward to seeing something that really tests him and let's him really give something his all emotionally, Willem in A Little Life and this don't really quite let him go there. His funny bones are there. I don't think the crowd I was with were particularly his crowd, it felt more like a normal theatre group to me than an especially young set.
I also quite liked unexpectedly seeing Nathan Foad as Costard, he kind of steals every scene he's in. As I say I'm no Shakespeare expert so I can't be sure but I'd imagine this won't go down as an all time great production, but it feels very competent, I found it pretty funny, and the young vibrant cast were on fine form.
The song at the end was handled well. I'm glad I went.
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Post by laurenh on Apr 18, 2024 7:13:05 GMT
I have just received an email with the trailer for the Buddha of Suburbia. Really surprised to see that it is two and a half hours long without an interval. I know that is only the length of many films (and shorter, for example, than Oppenheimer) but it does feel like a long time without a break in a theatre. And I would have thought that the RSC would have wanted the interval bar takings. I see that Buddha of Suburbia has now acquired a 20-minute interval according to the RSC website. Which I'm sure will be most welcome (not least for bar takings). That's great. Thinking of going for it. Waiting on some reviews first.
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Post by Jan on Apr 18, 2024 7:39:48 GMT
... the Backstreet Boys bit The usual RSC approach of trying to appeal to a present day youth audience by including a song from 25 years ago when the creatives themselves were young ?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 18, 2024 23:10:38 GMT
Just home from press night.
It isn't perfect. Some of the stagecraft shows a serious lack of experience in handling a thrust stage.
But the performances are all solid or better.
The updatings/interpolations work very well in context. Yes, even the Back Street Boys section!
Excellent physical comedy throughout. Costard and Moth were particularly well characterized. Excellent Boyet.
The tonal shift after a very well handled Worthies scene was well judged. Final song very haunting.
Overall an entertaining and fun production of a play that can be tricky to tackle.
I would happily see it again.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 18, 2024 23:16:03 GMT
Me no likely the new RSC programmes.
Now cut down to A5. To save trees apparently. But it is thicker so not many!
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Post by Fleance on Apr 19, 2024 0:36:29 GMT
Me no likely the new RSC programmes. Now cut down to A5. To save trees apparently. But it is thicker so not many! Glad to hear it (the new size, not that you don't like it.) That's about the size the RSC used in their Aldwych days. Easier on the bookshelves.
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Post by Fleance on Apr 19, 2024 0:36:43 GMT
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180 posts
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Post by sweets7 on Apr 20, 2024 19:05:49 GMT
Saw this today. Love Labours Lost. Really liked it. Fizzy fun. I will say though that Luke Thompson and Nathan F seemed significantly more able than the rest of the cast. Perhaps just experience. Loved the backstreet boys. It was funny. The ending: the end of salad days was good but I saw the one around 10 years ago which packed more of a punch with boys off to war. Also Thompson was very good. Made it all seem easy, but he was more a suave, laid back, cynical Berowne and Ed Bennett was definitely more expressive and slapstick.
Overall a nice afternoon at the theatre.
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Post by frauleinsallybowles on Apr 20, 2024 21:42:29 GMT
Has anyone whose been tell me how the sides of the stalls seating is? I've never seen a performance at the RST and wondering if the sightlines are particularly obstructed
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 20, 2024 22:25:17 GMT
On this occasion, side stalls might be better than front on.
The blocking is a bit clunky so the diagonals are not very well used.
I was sat in D25 and frequently couldn't see key moments
But sitting round to the side would probably have avoided the worst of this.
Of course each production is different so what is true for LLL may not be true for Merry Wives
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