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Post by jek on Dec 6, 2017 13:13:36 GMT
In her later years before her death my mum would go to this every year with my Aunt Lil who lived in Norfolk and so was pretty local to the proceedings. They would go with a coach load of other old people. They loved it, in much the same way as they loved trips to the West End to see something at the Palladium or White Christmas. It was always in the calendar months in advance. I'm guessing it knows its market very well and provides an enjoyable annual outing for lots of people.
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Post by jek on Dec 5, 2017 8:02:24 GMT
We were at the Planetarium concert at the Barbican too. It has taken so long to release the finished version that my eldest has gone from being a schoolkid to being in his second year at university in the time it has taken!
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Post by jek on Nov 24, 2017 9:43:01 GMT
A couple of years back my daughter would have been begging me for tickets to this. I spent a particularly unpleasant couple of hours in the basement of Waterstones Picadilly at the launch of Carrie Hope Fletcher's first (self help) book surrounded by screaming teens and a few other weary accompanying parents. Now, just like the One Direction mug, the signed book has been consigned to the charity shop. She was particularly shocked recently to look at the 'Hopeful Shop' and see that Ms Hope Fletcher was flogging tea at £5.98 for 63g which, back in the day, she would have proclaimed a bargain. I suppose what I'm saying is that while I and the rest of the family looked on with some despair at our girl's choice of role model at 14, these things do pass amazingly quickly. I'm sure that at some level Ms Hope Fletcher and the people around her recognise this too and will be planning to construct her a future with wider appeal. Just as some of us have been lamenting the death of David Cassidy this week I'm sure that in decades to come my daughter and her fellow once 'Hopefuls' will retain or regain a fondness for someone who they once poured so much emotion into.
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Post by jek on Nov 12, 2017 12:12:11 GMT
I am a woman in my mid 50s and I loved both Call Me By Your Name and God's Own Country (and reported as such on this board). I think what I loved about Call Me By Your Name was that it had a central teenage figure and parent's trying to do their best in bringing him up (my own children are 20,18 and 16) and of course the sheer beauty of the movie. In God's Own Country I was very taken with the hope at the centre of a bleak story. I also enjoyed seeing actors in the older roles whose careers I had followed (in the case of Ian Hart almost grown up with as we are virtually the same age). And I have family experience of just how hard it can be to eek out a living by farming.
I suppose what I am trying to say is that films appeal to different people for different reasons. My 16 year old daughter also enjoyed Call Me By Your Name because of Elio's intensity and love of music. Oh and both my teens who saw it are big Sufjan Stevens fans so the trailer appealed to them straight away.
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Post by jek on Nov 11, 2017 9:53:16 GMT
Really enjoyed seeing this last night. Lovely atmosphere in the theatre with the whole audience charmed - and involved - in what was going on onstage. Nice woman from Arizona sitting next to me who didn't know of the film and just delighted in the whole story.
Thanks for the tip about the interval.
Was in the back row of the lower gallery and so had a wall to rest against (I have learnt from previous trips to the Globe) but even so I (and more tellingly my 16 year old daughter) were both a bit stiff by the end.
Would be nice to see this staged at Wilton's Music Hall. There is a precedent in that the Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is playing there in January. Would be a lovely setting for it.
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Post by jek on Nov 7, 2017 10:19:39 GMT
Very happy that - at least for me - the system didn't collapse this morning. Hope this means that the National has got their IT problems sorted.
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Post by jek on Nov 6, 2017 14:55:50 GMT
We were in Gallery 1 and could see quite a few of the back few rows of the stalls were empty. It wasn't like the embarrassing sort of emptiness there is at St George and the Dragon at the moment but it seemed weird for a matinee and a shame when, in particular, I could see what a good fit it was for history/politics A Level students (in much the same way as The Death of Stalin is). Using a cooked breakfast to explain surplus value was very clever. Am recommending it to my daughter's sixth form teachers (we are a short tube journey from The Bridge) but I can see that they would struggle to with the prices - they might be able to encourage youngsters to go to the live screening though.
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Post by jek on Nov 5, 2017 19:13:56 GMT
We really enjoyed this this afternoon. My teens and I were discussing how it owed something to Horrible HIstories (which they are of an age to have grown up watching) and to the more recent Quacks (which also starred Rory Kinnear). Thought all the cast were excellent and good to see Nancy Carroll as something other than Fr Brown's sidekick (daytime TV viewer here!) Also thought the programme was very good - Francis Wheen's piece on how accurate the history is was fascinating. The free Madeleines weren't a patch on the ones that my daughter makes but we get to eat those super fresh. It's a shame there weren't more people in the theatre - I'm sure lots of people would enjoy it.
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Post by jek on Nov 4, 2017 8:47:56 GMT
We were there too and really enjoyed this. It certainly zipped along and I agree there was really no need for an interval - although my middle aged back was telling me something different! Francesca Chejina was magnificent - and displayed a really engaging personality at the curtain call. Would have been nice to see more younger people in the audience - I do hope that in the remaining performances there will be less grey hair (and I speak as a grey haired person). Every time I go to Wiltons I am struck - in the walk from Aldgate East station - by how much the night time economy around Leman Street has grown up in recent years. There are so many bars and, of course, the new Curzon cinema. I was born in Wapping and remember it being very different in the 70s!
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Post by jek on Oct 31, 2017 7:38:50 GMT
Maybe I wasn't clear enough. It's only this Sunday that they are offering free madeleines.
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Post by jek on Oct 30, 2017 22:12:05 GMT
We've booked for this Sunday's matinee. Have just had a Facebook post from the Bridge Theatre to say that because it is their first Sunday matinee they are serving free madeleines. My teenage daughter makes a beautiful version of these (each containing a raspberry and an injection of lemon curd) but I'm sure that she (and the rest of us) won't turn down a St John's one. From the post it appears that you don't have to be attending the matinee to get hold of a freebie.........
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Post by jek on Oct 28, 2017 21:28:15 GMT
Saw a free preview of this last weekend and thought it was very beautiful. My only concern was that, as the parent of teenagers, it set a very high bar for parental wisdom. I wish I could be as warm, tolerant and wise with my kids. However the two of my children (aged 18 and 16) who came to the screening with me did point out that the parents weren't real people and that I shouldn't be comparing myself! Michael Stuhlberg is magnificent as the dad.
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Post by jek on Oct 22, 2017 13:23:58 GMT
Have to admit that we did what we very rarely do the other night and left this at the interval. I quite enjoyed John Heffernan doing a kind of Disney Knight - that kind of pantomime arrogance - but not enough to stick around for the second half. The first half felt like a very long hour and a half and I couldn't muster up any interest in the fate of any of the characters. It says something that I haven't given any thought since Friday night to what might have happened to anyone in the play after the interval. Such a shame - had booked this when priority booking opened with some sense of expectation.
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Post by jek on Oct 11, 2017 12:14:23 GMT
I didn't get any notification of this either and I am a member. This morning's mailout seemed to be full of things about Christmas workshops. Will certainly be booking for this this afternoon. Loved the book and the film and listened to the audiobook (read by Dawn French) on cassette tape (!) on many long car journeys when our three kids were small. Hoping that, since it is Turnage, it will have some good brass parts to satisfy my brass playing kids. Thanks for the heads up jadnoop.
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Post by jek on Oct 9, 2017 10:57:26 GMT
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Post by jek on Oct 8, 2017 17:19:20 GMT
I expected this to be a visual delight - which is was (as someone with an interest in textiles it was very special). But I was unprepared for just how moving it would be. I really felt that I had to hold back tears at various points. Loved the curtain call - especially at the very end when Masachika Ichimura broke in to an enormous grin and started punching the air. Also loved the profiles of the actors in the programme - I assume there is no equivalent to appearing in The Bill in Japan but love that one actor has won the Photogenic Award at the Junon Superboy Contest and another earns a living dubbing the likes of Iron Man. As we entered the Barbican we saw one of the Warriors having a quick cigarette before the performance began.
Obviously lots of Japanese people in the audience and - unless I am very much mistaken - Joan Plowright looking terrific in red.
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Post by jek on Sept 26, 2017 15:07:42 GMT
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Post by jek on Sept 26, 2017 15:03:52 GMT
I remember him coming over very well in Comic Relief does Fame Academy which Wikipedia tells me was in 2003!
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Post by jek on Sept 16, 2017 18:30:39 GMT
Hope this gets a young audience. Young lads sitting next to me this afternoon were born after the events depicted (1993) and were really enjoying it. I'm certainly recommending it to the A Level politics teacher at my daughter's sixth form. It's a very well paced and humorous introduction to some of the ideas about difficult negotiations which were expounded on at some length by Jonathan Powell in reflecting on his role in the negotiations between the British government and Sinn Fein. And you certainly don't need to have read about the subject in order to enjoy the play - events are very well set out. Didn't feel like three hours.
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Post by jek on Sept 14, 2017 7:08:40 GMT
Went to see Woyzeck in Winter last night at the Barbican. Really enjoyed it and would like to see it again. Was surprised at how funny some of it was and also how much at times it felt like an Irish play. It certainly wasn't full (we were in the front row of the circle and so had a good view). Can't imagine what the economics of touring something like this are - especially considering the complexity of the set. Certainly felt it justified the very good reviews it has had.
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Post by jek on Sept 11, 2017 15:26:41 GMT
I thought this was terrific. Especially loved seeing Gemma Jones (remembered from my youth as The Duchess of Duke Street) and Ian Hart in fine grumpy form. My partner's uncle is a struggling hill farmer in Wales and the bleakness really rung true. Of course it was impossible not to wonder if success could be achieved with selling artisan sheep's cheese!
Here in East London tickets for our local Picturehouse for members are £5.50. We also go to the Barbican quite a bit where there are good membership deals. Even the new and very swish Curzon Aldgate does off peak for around about a tenner. I prefer to see things in the cinema not just because of the atmosphere although that does often add something to the experience but also because at home I always feel the need to combine watching with doing the ironing or the like. It's good to have no distractions.
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Post by jek on Sept 2, 2017 21:40:36 GMT
I really enjoyed this - much more than I was expecting to. I suspect that I am the perfect demographic for this - a woman in her mid 50s with fond memories of the glamour of the 70s (for some reason I found myself thinking of guests on the Parkinson show) and of course the sort of life experiences that anyone lucky enough to make a half century has. Too Many Mornings was certainly the high point for me - I only know the Mandy Patinkin version. And I just loved watching Josephine Barstow.
Both when I collected my tickets and on showing them to the usher the lack of an interval was stressed. In fact one of the ushers was loudly telling people to go to the toilet before going in. I'm used to being told that at the Unicorn where they are catering for the younger audience and (admirably) employ ushers who have special needs and are clearly drilled to tell audiences this. But certainly a new experience at the National! I didn't find it dragged but my 16 yr old daughter (who enjoyed the show too) told me the woman sitting next to her kept checking her watch.
My daughter, who plays the trumpet, was absolutely thrilled by the orchestra. A real treat.
We were in the centre front of the circle and it felt like a good place to be for this. We're back to the cheap seats for Oslo and Jane Eyre - and I'm sure my ageing bones will feel the difference!
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Post by jek on Jul 25, 2017 7:27:11 GMT
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Post by jek on Jul 18, 2017 21:10:57 GMT
Fell free to skip this but I'm looking at the NT brochure which has just arrived ( post office wouldn't deliver cos no postage, wanted £2 and I didn't know what it was and I wouldn't have paid two quid if I had, but postman knows us, so he brought it today - what are they playing at the NT when they can't put a stamp on? different topic..) I received my membership stuff from the NT without a stamp on it. Unfortunately I don't know my postie and so had a bus trip to the local depot to pay and collect.
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Post by jek on Jul 4, 2017 16:54:55 GMT
Thanks for the heads up about this. Wilton's is quite local to us and having missed out on last year's ROH offering there I have booked for this.
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Post by jek on Jul 1, 2017 18:54:38 GMT
Saw this this afternoon with my partner and teens and really loved it. And, as a fan of the movie, I was frightened that I wouldn't. Would certainly recommend booking - it only has one week to run.
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Post by jek on Jun 30, 2017 11:12:50 GMT
I was one of the many in the position yesterday where I had tickets in my basket but then the system would not allow me to pay for them - the system would freeze at various points in the checkout procedure. At one point it did tell me that my payment had been processed but that was clearly wrong as it was showing a total of £0. I sent a screen shot of my basket to the National via DM on twitter and a couple of hours later got a very helpful call from a box office person who, while he couldn't book me exactly the same tickets as before (and in the case of George and the Dragon I had to change date), did much to turn a bad experience round. I have to say that I have only been a member for a few months but it isn't proving to be something I'm likely to renew. It started badly when they forgot to put any stamps on the welcome pack they sent out and so I had to trek to the local sorting office to pick up the letter and pay for the privilege of collecting it.
The time when booking opens isn't such an issue for me - I just want it to work! Last week I booked Nils Frahm and Vakhtangov theatre tickets from the Barbican (a membership I have had for several years and which easily pays for itself). The queuing system was very orderly but maybe the Barbican has many less members.
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Post by jek on Jun 15, 2017 12:33:07 GMT
Those of us who have children of a particular age, that is old enough to have watched the Teletubbies (on repeat) when they were small, are very excited about the casting of Tamzin Griffin in this. I must have spent the equivalent of months of my life watching her as the funny lady.
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Post by jek on Jun 7, 2017 16:55:35 GMT
Just back from the matinee and my overwhelming feeling is of sorrow for something that could have been good but somehow misses the mark. The period of history (on which the programme is excellent) and themes are fascinating and just occasionally you get a glimpse of what the play might have been. But, as so many others have said, it just doesn't hold together. There is definitely something about the flow of the language that makes it difficult to follow at all times. But there are some visual treats - Anne-Marie Duff is particularly wonderful when dancing in the party scene.
Was it worth £34 of my money? Probably not. But I'm glad something this ambitious was attempted.
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Jun 6, 2017 17:24:10 GMT
Steve likes this
Post by jek on Jun 6, 2017 17:24:10 GMT
Went to this on Sunday and enjoyed it. Certainly a charismatic man and some interesting material. I have to admit knowing nothing of him apart from his appearance in one of my favourite movies 'Jesus of Montreal'. Both my partner and I emerged from this saying that it needed a bit of editing - could lose a bit of the scene in the kitchen for example. But I was glad that I saw it - the doll's house and technical delivery of the show was hugely enjoyable. And I am a 50 something who can remember my first phone number but not my current mobile one - so that resonated!
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