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Post by theatrescribe on Feb 19, 2019 18:46:53 GMT
Anyone seen it - if so, is it worth booking?
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 19, 2019 19:16:58 GMT
I'm going tomorrow and I'm quite excited as I've never seen it before! Weirdly enough the theatre's website dosnt't include nudity among the warnings, maybe they are making the final scene of the first act in a different way?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 19:27:20 GMT
I’ve always wanted to see this play, thanks for starting a thread, I hadn’t realised it was on.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Feb 19, 2019 19:39:12 GMT
Seeing it on Saturday, first visit was only last year, the venue does appear to have a particularly low profile especially when you consider its history, the two plays I have seen there have been particularly good especially The Village which I saw last September.
It was the the news Lenny Henry is appearing in King Hadley II in the summer that made me investigate further.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 20:21:13 GMT
I saw this a while ago when it was touring in Spain. I loved it!
IIRC the nudity happens near the end of act two. Not sure now. Actually I don't remember an interval in that particular production now that I think about it.
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 20, 2019 9:08:51 GMT
After Stratford, the production then tours to Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Salford, Newcastle and Guildford.
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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 Feb 20, 2019 9:14:24 GMT
IIRC the nudity happens near the end of act two. Not sure now. Actually I don't remember an interval in that particular production now that I think about it. You recall correctly. There’s also a scene at the end of act 1 where Alan talks about (and acts out) riding a horse naked but this is normally done without nudity Reports on twitter all very positive about the production
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 20, 2019 9:16:43 GMT
IIRC the nudity happens near the end of act two. Not sure now. Actually I don't remember an interval in that particular production now that I think about it. You recall correctly. There’s also a scene at the end of act 1 where Alan talks about (and acts out) riding a horse naked but this is normally done without nudity Reports on twitter all very positive about the production Sorry my bad, I read it a long while ago!
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Post by andrew on Feb 20, 2019 17:02:14 GMT
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 20, 2019 18:04:31 GMT
Ooh in the email I received there were warning only about strobe lights and loud noises
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Post by mrbluesky on Feb 20, 2019 18:23:45 GMT
Seeing this on Friday. Am looking forward to it, as a huge fan of the play having read it repeatedly, it’ll be my first time seeing it live
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 19:47:04 GMT
Oh thank the gay Gods, I thought I was going to have to return my ticket.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 20:01:37 GMT
Who's playing Alan by the way?
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Post by mrbluesky on Feb 20, 2019 20:24:23 GMT
Who's playing Alan by the way? Ethan Kai, who it must be said, is rather delightful looking
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 20:27:29 GMT
Hmmmm me likey! Sad I'll miss this.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 20, 2019 22:27:27 GMT
Like a modern day Marco Polo I left the safety of my home and travelled to the Far East to catch this play. So let me assure you, it's a solid, very physical and fast-paced production. Ned Bennett's direction is not always coherent, some times you feel like you're watching two different productions put together into one, but this does not really detract from the ultimate experience. I really liked the new movements of the horses, they got the permission from the Shaffer Estate not to use the original concept and it works quite well for most of the time, mainly because of Ira Mandela Siobhan's impressive physicality as Nugget.
Ethan Kai is excellent as Alan, he portrays him as tormented without being whiny and unconsciously willing to cooperate to his own recovery. I was less convinced by Zubin Varla as the psychiatrist, he was fine but he played his role as a total trainwreck from moment one, with such an impressive collection of quirks and tics that it's a miracle that he hadn't been locked up. Act one finale was already deeply sensual and lost a bit of the religious/ritualistic aspects, and the lighting design was intense and interesting, but at times overdone. On the whole a good production, I'm glad I saw it.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 21, 2019 10:52:11 GMT
And I suppose the question everyone wants to know the answer to...is there any nudity?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 10:58:36 GMT
As per the text and the trigger warning, I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 21, 2019 11:05:13 GMT
Yes yes, there's nudity as scripted.
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Post by theatrescribe on Feb 21, 2019 11:11:15 GMT
Where would one sit if one wanted to get a good view of said nudity? *ahem*
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 21, 2019 12:53:15 GMT
It's a long scene and they do nothing to hide the nudity, you'll be fine from everywhere in the theatre
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Post by Rory on Feb 22, 2019 9:59:07 GMT
I love this play anyway but this review really makes me want to see this production
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Post by nash16 on Feb 22, 2019 15:18:19 GMT
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Post by mrbluesky on Feb 22, 2019 20:53:46 GMT
Currently sat in the interval. It’s a stunning production, if Act I is anything to go by. Ethan Kai is a revelation as Alan. Proper review coming later.
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Post by lonlad on Feb 22, 2019 23:28:36 GMT
Saw it tonight and it's a revelation, and I say this as someone who recalls the John Dexter production very well. Ethan Kai is absolutely remarkable, and Ned Bennett has found his own, wholly theatrical way into the material that can stand alongside Dexter's -- which is no mean feat. Much more to say but it's late so will save it for another time. Meanwhile, do NOT miss it. Billington was there this evening so we shall see what he says in due course.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Feb 23, 2019 18:34:29 GMT
Absolutely stunning, highly recommended, knew very little before seeing today, only it’s standing as a modern classic, will likely see again.
A play that is renowned for its nudity which takes away from what is an exceptional piece of writing. The minimal staging and excellent lighting enhance the atmosphere and the horse riding immediately before the interval is especially well done with Alan’s passion and communion with his God fully realised.
As Alan is freed from his deitistic passion to live the normal banal life expected to become a functioning member of society, the price as reflected in the psychiatrists and parents lives of a shallow Beckettian existence.
The perennial fundamentalist paradigm realised in an especially clever way.
Only half full for the matinee today which is a great shame as it will be difficult to find a better revival this year.
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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 Feb 24, 2019 10:17:42 GMT
I was also there yesterday and agree it is excellent. Felt much more intense than the Radcliffe version (possibly due to the smaller theatre) and also I got much more of a sense of Dysart being damaged too than I did with Richard Griffith's performance. Hadn't registered previously how dubious his methods are! eg hypnosis without warning, lying about drugs, etc One interesting change to the staging of the final scenes - Alan is naked but Jill isn't. Which actually doesn't make much sense given what's supposed to be happening at that point, although I guess the whole thing is being re-enacted by Alan and she's not really there.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 24, 2019 11:41:27 GMT
I got much more of a sense of Dysart being damaged too than I did with Richard Griffith's performance. Hadn't registered previously how dubious his methods are! eg hypnosis without warning, lying about drugs, etc Haha that's so true! I couldn't stop thinking that he should be thrown out of the profession.
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Post by Fleance on Mar 2, 2019 22:35:40 GMT
The two productions I've seen (both on Broadway, more than thirty years apart) had conspicuous nudity. In the first, Alan was played by Peter Firth; in the second, by Daniel Radcliffe. The nudity is fairly integral, as it enhances the pagan nature of the scene. I knew Peter Shaffer -- I think he would be shocked by what this prudish age may be doing to his fine play.
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Xanderl
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Post by Xanderl on Mar 3, 2019 8:49:08 GMT
Why would he? As you will find if you read the thread the nudity is there and actually more exposing than in the Radcliffe version
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