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Post by popcultureboy on Jul 2, 2016 7:14:35 GMT
It would seem they really ramped up after 1st preview. I went to see it this week. Zero line flubs, spot on performances from all 3. I loved it, was totally mesmerised by it. I wonder if there is an option for it to do a bit of an extension, as there is a long gap between the end of it and the start of the autumn season.
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Post by popcultureboy on Jun 25, 2016 23:31:44 GMT
What's the chances of this transferring? I wouldn't be surprised? Unlikely I'd say, the National rarely transfers their revivals unless they're smash hits and I suspect the cast especially Helen McCrory have other commitments Apparently, the cast have already been given the heads up that the NT would like to transfer it after the run ends there on September 21st. How much after and for how long is all still TBC. It needn't be immediate, and would be limited. So we'll see.
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Post by popcultureboy on Jun 18, 2016 8:28:50 GMT
I was so looking forward to this. Love Kinnear, Love Rosalie Craig and somehow managed to miss the fact that Hadyn Gwynne was in it until I picked up a cast list on the way in to the show. And I LOVE her too. So I thought I was in for a treat. Nope.
When people were singing, it was generally fine. But my GOD, the book scenes were absolute torture. TORTURE, I tells you. When Hadyn Gwynne came roaring on and then used a fire extinguisher as a vomit cannon, I was done with it. Every time someone sang, I would then think "ok, fine, it's good, they're good, maybe I can stay after all" but then they'd stop singing, start talking, and immediately I was all "nope, no way, where's my coat?"
So I left at the interval.
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Post by popcultureboy on Jun 18, 2016 8:04:17 GMT
Get that. Just thought people would be fighting for over themselves for prime theatre, in the middle of tourist season. Short notice. Faustus was meant to be a sell out smash hit and extend. Going into the West End with no time to pump out promo and prepare has slaughtered shows before, people don't want to make that mistake again. Faustus was never meant to extend. Kit Harington was only ever available until 25th June, and extending shows without their stars, well, we all know how well that goes.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 19, 2016 7:35:48 GMT
Surprised that the Mother hasn't transferred to the Wyndham, as it sold better at the Tricycle than the Father did, I found this a harder ticket to get. I be surprised if the Wyndham is dark until September, Delfont Mackintosh art adapt at getting in shows quickly, look how fast Good People came in, after The Full Monty tanked. It could even mean something like Let It Be comes in (did I really say that), as a stopgap. Gina McKee isn't available, as she's doing Faith Healer at the Donmar. The plan, I believe, is to transfer The Mother later in the year/early next year, when she is available. The Truth will be going into the Wyndhams, of that I'm pretty much certain.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 18, 2016 20:41:12 GMT
How's the running time coming along? The Branagh Theatre website says 2 hours, Nimax says 2 hours 45 minutes, it was 3 hours when I saw it on Friday night.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 14, 2016 22:57:52 GMT
It's fiction....
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Post by popcultureboy on May 14, 2016 22:57:01 GMT
He's by far the best thing in it, and Meera Syal is WAY outhamming him. Overall, it's exactly what you'd expect if you saw his Winter's Tale. Dripping with class and style, it looks a treat and it's chock full of lovely lovely performances and moments.
For those of us who thought Ken had gone awry casting Jacobi as Mercutio, well, that turned out great. Marisa Berenson as Juliet's mother though? Not so much. She's terrible, she forgot her lines on Friday night at one point and given that the text leads you to think she's in her early 30s at the latest (she references Juliet being 14 and how she'd had kids already by her age), casting someone who is knocking on 70 and looks every day of it, despite copious amounts of plastic surgery may not have been the most "on point" of decisions.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 22:00:00 GMT
Funny. I loved LOVED The Flick so much. Saw Ma Rainey yesterday matinee and hated it with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Considered leaving at the interval and then spent all of second half fervently wishing I had. Whereas I could happily sit through The Flick again. And I might just do that before it finishes.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 21:55:22 GMT
Rent was here in the late 90s, when we had the internet. Admittedly, not quite as much as we do now, but there were many fan sites and forums for the show. The argument of Americans buying tickets to see it here because they can't see it there is also one that was made about Rent. I also missed a show off my earlier list:
The Producers.
A run of a little over two years in London, with houses very far from full the second Nathan Lane left. And that's the show where Broadway demand was so high, it ushered in the hated premium priced seating.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 9:32:02 GMT
My money is on The Truth parachuting in for an 8 week run from the Menier.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 9:30:40 GMT
That is one HUGE generalisation on people's behaviour right there!
To quote myself from earlier in the thread, I hope she goes back, doesn't miss another one and smashes it out of the park every performance. And makes a statement as to why she missed the performances she did. People might then applaud her work ethic and her classy response to a situation she has so far acquitted herself very badly in.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 9:25:26 GMT
Possibly. Hamilton has crossed over into the mainstream more than any other musical in the history of ever, so it may well become a runaway megasmash here. Like I say, I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer or bash the show, but I am not convinced it will repeat its US success outside of the US when it is so very uniquely American, pop culture status or no.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 9:13:33 GMT
Maybe I'm being idealistic but I don't see there being any need for stunt casting with Hamilton. It's appearance will generate enough box office sales to sell well past the end of a contract you'd get with any big name, so why bother? It'd be a much better thing to do down the line if ticket sales start drying up. I don't think that's a certainty at all. Yes, it's a colossal hit on Broadway, but that's meaningless to anyone who's not a big theatre fan/follower. Anything that has played on Broadway is advertised as "the Broadway smash hit/direct from Broadway", so that sort of advertising won't help it any more than any other show, and it doesn't have a popular movie/book behind it to help the advertising either (the book it's based on is more relevant to the US than here). Plus Lin-Manuel Miranda is not a big name to the general UK public. Yes, it will probably be a hit the same way Mormon was, but I don't think an instant advance sell-out for months is at all guaranteed. Mormon had a lot of other factors going for it, besides being a runaway megasmash on Broadway. Not least of those is the South Park factor, which is something recognised outside of the USA. And that is where Hamilton will, I think, struggle. I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer, but there are many MANY Broadway and off-Broadway juggernauts which have paraded into London on a huge wave of hype and glory only to implode under so-so reviews and awful ticket sales in a matter of weeks or months because they are just too American for British audiences to connect with. Rent Hair (the recent revival) The Fantasticks I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change City of Angels Fosse And many many more. The list of shows to come in and succeed is, sadly, much shorter. And Hamilton is the very model of a modern American musical, so I am really not so sure its success and longevity is a guaranteed thing in the West End at all. Especially if there isn't any name recognition for a wider audience to connect with. And especially if it goes into a theatre which seats 300-400 more than its Broadway home and is off the beaten West End track. I know Victoria is a mega busy station, but it's somewhere people pass through rather than go to. I'm not saying the show is bad, by any means. But Broadway is a VERY different place to the West End.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 8:25:58 GMT
PPT won't extend, I don't think. The Truth is looking to come in for a limited run from the Menier, around the time that Lady Day would have been playing so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's announced by the end of the week.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 10, 2016 23:42:20 GMT
"sorry we can't install more toilets because that would require plumbing" I mean, really? Yes, really. The complete overhaul of the plumbing works inside a centuries old listed building is really no small task.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 10, 2016 9:37:42 GMT
For umpty billion reasons, The C Word was clearly a very personal project for Sheridan Smith, so looking disappointed for the show going home empty handed is totally fine. The media have, of course, blown it out of all proportion. The best way to stick two fingers up at the haters? Delete your social media presence, stop looking at your press coverage, turn up to the Savoy 8 times a week and blow the roof off every time.
Missing the show the night after the BAFTA ceremony before taking to Twitter to tell haters to eff off and stop hiding behind their pussy? Oh honey. No.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 10, 2016 9:25:24 GMT
Most performers in shows tend to schedule their concerts for the dark nights of their show. I get that Headley presumably had the concerts booked in before she signed on for the role of Shug, so fair play. It doesn't change the fact that while she might be wonderful, she does have a reputation for her spotty attendance.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 10, 2016 9:16:09 GMT
And yet much space is given over to the bar, which is used for a tiny proportion of the evening, and the sweet/merchandise stands which a tiny proportion of the audience use. I imagine most people would rather have a comfortable seat for that escapist 2.5 hours and the ability to have a wee in the interval, than buy outrageously priced "refreshments". I know I would. Its perfectly possible to preseve the character and beauty of these places but redesign them so that they meet the needs of modern audiences. Cameron Mackintosh has done it. The reason others don't is underinvestment and greed. And the fact that people keep putting up with it. As I don't pay a lot of attention to disabled facilities in theatres, may I just ask which theatres you feel have over sized bars that could be easily accessable toilet facilities? None could be done that easily. As pointed out earlier in the thread, the majority of west end theatres are Grade II listed buildings. And very old. Cameron Mackintosh is praised on here for refurbishing his venues to a high standard. That's wholly different to completely renovating the space to redirect all the plumbing and put in loads of toilets. Also, one of his venues, the Wyndhams, is unable to accommodate large electric wheelchairs if the customer is unable to transfer to a regular theatre seat. They are prevented from making the necessary venue changes rectify that problem by their listed status. Being a listed building trumps everything, including disabled facilities.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 10, 2016 8:56:00 GMT
It's only her first performance tonight. How has she already got scheduled absences from the show??
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Post by popcultureboy on May 6, 2016 22:12:28 GMT
Also, the last couple of bookings I've made the fees have only been about £3.50. Which didn't seem bad to me at all. It's about 3 quid usually I think, but that's per ticket not per booking. So if you're a party of four that's £12 for finding your own seats, booking them on line and potentially printing your own tickets. Ok there might be an argument that ATG have to administer and run the booking system but I don't think that sort of charge is justified. Anyway... Off topic! It's not per ticket. They charge £3.50 per booking, as a general rule. If there are additional per ticket charges, they will be related to the producers of that particular show, which won't be anything to do with ATG, though they'll still get the blame for it, since we all love to shoot the messenger. Also, ATG doesn't offer print at home yet. So are you sure you're talking about them and not another ticket agent?
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Post by popcultureboy on May 6, 2016 22:06:23 GMT
They're gone and DMT really are the worst for dynamic pricing as the front row on stage seating started out at £15.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 22, 2016 7:39:40 GMT
A ceiling Tile falls into the movie house auditorium. This wasn't a ceiling tile, it was a light. It smashed right at the front of the stage during the first scene, several scenes before the ceiling tile is mentioned.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 9, 2016 8:46:39 GMT
As Baemax says, the £15 Mondays are a Jamie Lloyd thing not a Trafalgar thing so won't apply to this. Kunal Nayyar is confirmed although he is not appearing from 1-13 August. Impression is the rest of the cast will be new. And that is messaging that the Jamie Lloyd company should make clearer, I think. I would imagine there will be a lot of people who now think the Trafalgar do this on all their shows, because Lloyd was resident there for so long and had so many high profile shows there. I would imagine they will, at the very least, offer day seats for this one.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 9, 2016 8:38:09 GMT
Well, they haven't yet, and neither has any other West End venue, regardless of ownership. Boycotting them over a relatively small admin fee and something that they might possibly do in the future seems like you're really reaching for your reasons.
Anyway, it's the first preview tonight. Who is going?
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 9, 2016 8:31:37 GMT
You only have to look on the Delfont Mackintosh website to see that there is a lot of availability for both shows today and all of next week. But only in the expensive seats. The balcony seems to be full at every show. Can't think why. DMT are the absolute worst for dynamic pricing shows in their venues, regardless of which producer's show it is. And no producer will say no to higher ticket prices, as they'll just see more ££, and won't stop to think about what happens if nobody buys them. And this time it really shows a fundamental failure to understand the main demographic this show is aimed at.
And that is a proper shame, because it's a bloody good play and Denise Gough is giving a performance that really truly should not be missed.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 4, 2016 22:11:13 GMT
Or they could get rid of the - according to several people I trust who have already seen this - entirely superfluous second interval, there's 20 minutes saved *and* the running time will come in at under 3 hours! It's not superfluous. It's always staged this way. And the intervals are only 15 minutes.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 2, 2016 22:22:47 GMT
I think I'll decline these £15 tickets. Not prepared to pay the extortionate £3.50 booking fee. A £3.50 transaction fee as opposed to the up to 25% of the face value per ticket booking fee charged by most other west end agents? This is a prime example of cutting your nose off to spite your face, I feel.
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1984
Apr 2, 2016 8:16:08 GMT
Post by popcultureboy on Apr 2, 2016 8:16:08 GMT
Is 1984 returning because there is such huge demand for this, or because it is the worst theatre in the West End that has the least footfall going past it and no producer wants their show to go here? I thought King Charles III done reasonable well in the West End, now with the Olivier and Tony under its belt would be even more popular. Lots of shows coming back to the West End to additional runs, The Father and Bad Jews spring instantly to mind. Actually, the Playhouse gets more footfall than you would think, given its proximity to Embankment tube, South Bank and all the tourists pouring through Whitehall Gardens. The New London and the Shaftesbury are far worse off for footfall.
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Post by popcultureboy on Apr 2, 2016 7:51:24 GMT
There are always two intervals with The Caretaker, so let's all calm down and stop blaming the Old Vic for adding intervals to maximise their bar sales. It's possible the running time is extended here because of the decision to have Mays deliver all his dialogue so slowly? His performance broke my heart, don't get me wrong, but the slow slow slow rhythm he delivers all his lines with is what I'm holding responsible for the running time.
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