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Post by foxa on Apr 14, 2017 9:41:27 GMT
Agree with zsazsa's and michalnowicki's comments above - we were at last night's show in the cheap side stalls seats (fine, a bargain for £25) I saw Audra's previous show and while most of the songs were the same, the chat was quite different (naturally, she always talks about Covenant House, the charity she works with, so that was there.) Any budding professionals/creatives I think would have enjoyed her stories about auditions, Julliard, etc. Seth is genuinely funny and he and Audra work really well together. And Will Svenson was engaging, especially on 'Pirate King.' As Michal noted, they seem to be playing baby-tag so Audra and he were never on stage together. Zsazsa's list of favourite songs pretty much matches mine. And I had a few tears during 'I will be here.' 'Summertime' was sung without a mic, a lovely way to send the audience out.
Also Pault's comments about the queue outside the theatre. Yes! What is it with that? On Thursday night, there was a long queue, they didn't begin letting people in until the time when the show was meant to have started, then the show started very late. I've seen some comedians at that theatre and the front of house/box office/starting times are always shambolic, but given that some people had paid quite a lot for the privilege and some were older folk, it seemed a bit shabby.
Funny exchange: A tough looking man in the Prince Charles cinema, shouting out to the queue: What are you all waiting for? Audra queue man: Audra MacDonald. Tough man: Who? Audra queue man: Audra Macdonald. (pause) She sings. Tough man: Oh - thought maybe it was Frankie Boyle - he's playing here later in May.
So will be interesting to see if there is a big Audra/Frankie demographic overlap.
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Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2017 12:26:32 GMT
My memory of Brook's Carmen was that there was sand and fire. Yes, a circle, a young cast....
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Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2017 12:00:39 GMT
Yes!!!
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Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2017 11:41:59 GMT
Yes, similar, Kathryn - I was in the queue, then thrown out, so we're quite far over to the side in the circle, but heck, it's a good price and NOT A BENCH.
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Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2017 11:33:31 GMT
Done - dress circle on the Thursday (am afraid to go on Theatre Monkey's site to see how bad they are....but at least it's not a bench seat which is all I was offered for another date I tried.)
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Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2017 11:14:38 GMT
258 here.
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Post by foxa on Apr 9, 2017 22:43:50 GMT
Audra on Thursday Limehouse on Friday
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Post by foxa on Apr 9, 2017 17:42:27 GMT
I agree, Winter's Tale was fabulous. I'm most excited about:
The Illustrated 'Farewell' NEW / The Wind NEW / Untouchable 2x WORLD PREMIERES 6–17 November 2017
Choreography: Twyla Tharp / Arthur Pita / Hofesh Shechter Music: Joseph Haydn / Frank Moon and Christopher Austin / Hofesh Shechter and Nell Catchpole Cast TBC
Twyla Tharp and Arthur Pita create new works for The Royal Ballet, in a programme that includes the first revival of Hofesh Shechter’s 2015 work for the Company.
AND
NEW Wayne McGregor / The Age of Anxiety / NEW Christopher Wheeldon 2x WORLD PREMIERES 15 March—13 April 2018
Choreography: Wayne McGregor / Liam Scarlett / Christopher Wheeldon Music: Leonard Bernstein Cast TBC
The Royal Ballet celebrates the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with an all-Bernstein programme from the Company’s three associate choreographers, Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett and Christopher Wheeldon.
I think with the Bernstein music could make this a very special evening. I'm less of an opera person, but the Peter Brook adaptation of Carmen (being performed by young opera singers at Wilton's) could be interesting (I saw a version he did many, many years ago in Glasgow, that was very simple and very beautiful.) And the Salome designed by Es Devlin and directed my David McVicar....maybe?
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Post by foxa on Apr 8, 2017 17:30:18 GMT
No, no idea why there are so many (there are three producers and four co-producers) - perhaps a sign of hoping that it has a future life? Some are very experienced (Catherine Schrieber brought Scottsboro Boys to London. That first played in a small venue and then the West End, so possibly thinking the same for this?)
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Post by foxa on Apr 8, 2017 10:37:42 GMT
This was a really well cast and staged show, full of interesting touches (the moment when the sex workers are looking at the wallet one got from a client and come upon an unexpected photograph, for example.) The band sounded great and the singing was fantastic. Other positives: Standouts were Sharon D. Clarke (of course) and Cornell S. John (who was new to me, but was so ominous - at one point when he entered one of my friends and I both gasped.) Another character makes a surprising switch and I truly was surprised - I had thought the narrative was going one way, but then it went an entirely different way, which I liked. The characters, even the smallest roles, are well-individualised and there were some great costumes. Negatives: About 2/3's of the way through the first act, there was a technical glitch and they had to bring the show to a halt. Everyone was ushered to the bar for an additional interval. Then about 20 minutes later there was a shortened real interval which did add to what, as others have mentioned, is already a pretty long evening. I wasn't bored for a second, but I know one of friends fell asleep on the train home, so perhaps it was a bit long. Given the grimness of the subject matter, sometimes the jaunty music and occasionally clunky lyrics jarred - at one point the audience was clapping right after something awful has happened which felt odd. The dancing was so energetic it looked like a woman in the front row almost got kicked in the face, she was flustered and laughing for a bit afterwards. Two performers have to do a dance in bathrobes. No one should be asked to do that. Ever.
My husband liked it but he had two concerns: 'Where is it's moral centre?' and 'Would it have been better if it hadn't been about sex workers?' (Hmmm....so really, it would just be a totally different piece.) The two of us in the group who had lived in NYC for a while liked it better than the two who hadn't - we both thought one of the male dancers was exactly like guys we'd see downtown (Matthew Caputo who wore red a lot - also a really good and committed dancer.)
So I would recommend, it's a good 4* from me.
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Post by foxa on Apr 7, 2017 22:57:27 GMT
Thank you to the Theatre Board! I won the prize last month of two tickets for this show. I also bought two tickets so a group of four of us went to see this tonight (two of whom had never been to the Southwark before, so I feel I'm spreading the news.) I really enjoyed it. There was a technical hitch which gave us an extra interval, but it wasn't a problem. This was a fantastically sung show. Will write more about it tomorrow!
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Post by foxa on Mar 27, 2017 9:03:28 GMT
And further tweet:Tickets go on sale at 12 NOON TODAY. Our website will be really busy so be quick and please bring your patience. Tickets start at £12.
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Post by foxa on Mar 27, 2017 9:02:08 GMT
Perhaps someone else has already posted this but....on Twitter they have just announced an extra week of performances of R&G 1st - 6th May, so if you want to see it get in quick.
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Post by foxa on Mar 23, 2017 16:56:26 GMT
Finally got there! Caught the matinee of this today - so thanks for the recommendations. I'd partly wanted to see this as I know this is a script that is used a lot for monologues (and seeing it is an obvious choice for that) so while I was familiar with a couple of the speeches, I didn't know how it all fit together. Agree with Mallardo - onstage plumbing is very satisfying and agree with both Mallardo and Showgirl about the excellent actresses. I don't go to the Orange Tree very often, but it does almost always reward a visit.
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Post by foxa on Mar 21, 2017 22:19:50 GMT
You're always nice, Matthew. ;-)
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Post by foxa on Mar 21, 2017 22:14:21 GMT
Oops sorry - didn't see it. Perhaps a nice admin will join the threads?
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Post by foxa on Mar 21, 2017 21:41:17 GMT
For Sondheim fans, the documentary 'Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened' about the original production of 'Merrily We Roll Along' has hit Netflix. It's very moving and they have some amazing footage off Sondheim, Hal Prince and the young cast. The New York Times picked it as one of their top ten films of 2016. www.bestworstthingmovie.com/
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Post by foxa on Mar 21, 2017 17:22:22 GMT
Hercules, I don't think you need to know a lot beforehand. I went with my daughter and she had seen 'The Godfather' and 'Love Story' but none of the other films. She still enjoyed it. (Her favourite section was the Chinatown bit, which isn't a film she knows.) There is a lot of stuff on the internet about him so you could read up a bit, but I don't think it's entirely necessary. Sorry to miss you, Parsley, but I was up in the Circle, so not the culprit who made you reach for your (imaginary) nose gay. (Thank goodness!)
Technically, even with the errors (and they were quite a few: the screen just went out a couple of times, you could see the teleprompter reflected in the screen sometimes), it was an amazing achievement. There were segments where they were mixing archive film footage, with live footage and overlaying with photographs which being filmed as they were being placed on surfaces. They also used films/photos as backdrops for the actors to achieve some great effects. And as I think Steve mentioned above, I don't know how they would have done this without Christian Camargo - he played the mid-career Evans impressively - even carried off Evans' trademark turtleneck. Though some of it/even much of it was mesmerising, there is no escaping that some sections were actors reading off teleprompters into microphones. If you are thinking of buying tickets, I would recommend the Circle - I feel sure some of the larger projections would look best from there and the acting wasn't of the sort you really need to see up close. The ending is haunting.
4*
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Post by foxa on Mar 20, 2017 14:00:53 GMT
Yes, unfortunately most are during the week and early. I was going to try to do a clever screenshot for you, but don't know how to upload that. Of the current 9 or so on sale (which covers two booking periods Spring and Summer), two are early weekday evenings (5 pm and 6.30) and two are Saturday mornings (11 a.m.) The rest are during the week Monday - Friday. When I was working Monday - Friday, I found there was usually at least one rehearsal per booking season I could do, so probably about 4 across a year.
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Post by foxa on Mar 20, 2017 13:39:02 GMT
There is a huge variation in prices. We were sat in Row B of the side stalls circle for £21. These are padded bench sheets, but decent leg room and good views, although you were looking at a bit of an angle, but we thought they were good value. There is another modern mixed ballet programme coming up in a couple of months and the exact same seats are £38 - go figure (we decided to pass on them.) The other thing if you think you might go frequently is to look into their Friends scheme. I really enjoy the Friends rehearsals where seats are usually around £5 - £19. Sometimes if I just want to take a chance on something that's what I go for. But I can't handle anything farther back than L in the amphitheatre and haven't loved the slips, so sympathise, Abby. I tried to watch Falstaff from the slips at a Friends rehearsal and it was impossible. You weren't allowed to lean forward at all, so I could see about a quarter of the stage. At an early break, I decided to cut my losses and slip out. On the way out, the Front of House saw me leaving and asked if anything was wrong. I said I couldn't really see, so was going to have a sandwich. They were like 'no, no, you have to see it - it's great' and snuck me into the Grand Tier - it was fabulous! And they earned a lot of loyalty from me.
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Post by foxa on Mar 19, 2017 18:09:45 GMT
I enjoyed the whole evening. You know sometimes it just comes together in all sorts of ways - I was with a friend who was so happy to be there and is such good company, we had inexpensive stalls circle seats which were amazing value, the intervals were the perfect length to catch up...it was all super pleasant.
I liked all three pieces. The first ballet, Human Seasons, was very good - some fascinating holds/lifts, Sarah Lamb- lovely as always, and really beautiful dancers (like works of art, so perfect) - some of whom were new to me. But it was more technically impressive, while the other two packed an emotional punch. I understand that Nunez and Soares were wonderful in the pas de deux in 'After the Rain' for the opening. We saw Zenaida Yanowsky (who is retiring soon) and Reece Clarke and adored them. There was something about the control and slow pace and mutual dependency of the dancing - I caught myself holding my breath. Loved it - and it was my friend's favourite. My favourite was Flight Pattern, but my friend thought they should have changed the order and ended with 'After the Rain' because 'I like a happy ending.' So, a long-winded reply - but Human Seasons was enjoyable but the other two were something special. I would like to see both of them again. Right now.
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Post by foxa on Mar 19, 2017 10:09:45 GMT
Caught this last night and would definitely recommend. I can see that on another thread people are recommending a Crystal Pite piece. Her new ballet s the last of the three ballets in this programme and is amazing. Even those who don't usually like ballet will like this. There are over 30 dancers on stage, and the group movement (depicting a journey, hope, despair of refugees) is unlike anything I've seen before. It's called 'Flight Pattern' and one of the pleasures is watching the unexpected patterns/rhythms of movement. The second ballet, After the Rain, was also beautiful - so tenderly danced.
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Post by foxa on Mar 17, 2017 15:39:47 GMT
I'm genuinely glad that others have liked it - I want theatre to succeed and if it did for others - great! Obviously there were problems with the performance I saw if the actor is asking the audience (after a long silence from something that I think was meant to be funny): 'Have I lost you?' (or does he always do that?) I hesitated to post my thoughts because I know it's annoying if you've loved something to have someone poke holes in it. I adored 'She Loves Me' and not everyone else did - and I was like 'I can't believe it, it's heaven.' But that is what makes the board interesting. And we're all seeing slightly different shows, under different conditions. (A personal pet peeve of mine is the 'I can't hear you' stuff - even in pantomimes I'm a bit yergh about that, so obviously I wouldn't be the ideal audience for that approach.) Zmed: I talked to a lovely woman before the show who was there especially to see him, so he has his fans. I didn't feel entirely secure when he was on stage - to me, it felt a little tentative, but there were no obvious flubs. He's very short and some of the other performers, especially in heels, towered over him which made for some sight gags.
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Post by foxa on Mar 16, 2017 16:39:01 GMT
I saw a matinee in Wimbledon and the audience was ancient (I'm not young, but I was definitely in the younger quadrant of this demographic.) I heard a couple of people asking before hand if it was about cancan dancers (I suppose, there is a bit of cancan....) and saying, well, it's nice to get out. Pretty much what Burly Bear said in terms of suitability.
I really didn't like this (I've seen two other productions which I did like.) Although Partridge can sing and I thought would be good in the role, he was very unfunny. Especially in an extended ad lib bit with the audience (I remember Douglas Hodge being delightful and deft with all the comedy/interaction stuff.) Partridge wanted the audience to swing their arms around and did a lot of 'I can't hear you?' stuff. It was excruciating. At one point someone towards the back of the stalls shouted out 'This isn't a pantomime.' Partridge seemed a bit surprised and then said, 'Yes, it is.' Then he did a bit in German to total silence (I don't even know what that was supposed to be - Marlene Dietrich??) After a while, he asked the audience 'Have I lost you?' and clearly he had. There were two young women who he kept calling 'the mutes' (I assume they were on a pay deal so couldn't speak?) and Marti Webb onstage watching him. They were all trying to be game, but Marti Webb began to look stricken as it wore on. Jokes about Primark, Per Una and...Beyonce. For no particular reason, he ended one dance number, leaning over,hoisting his skirt over his head and sticking his sequinned bum out at the audience - why? He actually sang 'I am what I am' well but he paused so long and hammily before beginning it that someone behind me (maybe the 'It's not a pantomime' guy) sighed very loudly, which was annoying but understandable. They've spent some money on the costumes and some of the singing was fine.
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Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2017 20:14:37 GMT
I think 'Rope' mentioned some posts back is an excellent suggestion. 'Stones in his pockets' - if they are good at accents/multi-role.
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Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2017 19:37:11 GMT
'True West' it made John Malkovich's name.
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Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2017 19:34:23 GMT
Ooh, I like challenges like this. How about 'Zoo Story' by Edward Albee?
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Post by foxa on Mar 13, 2017 22:50:06 GMT
Interesting - I originally booked for the 10th and then changed to the 20th when they cancelled the previews. Box Office recommended front of circle rather than whatever stalls seats were available saying 'we don't know yet what the set will be like' so went for that. So maybe a good thing.
I read the book this was based on which was partly why I was interested in it. Evans did a lot of cocaine - I wonder if they were trying to capture that. He had a wild life: 7 marriages, big hit films, tremendous fall from grace.
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Post by foxa on Mar 10, 2017 17:30:47 GMT
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Post by foxa on Mar 8, 2017 13:38:13 GMT
I was a bit 'meh' about booking for this, but decided to go for Circle seats and from the comments so far am glad I did. Looking forward to seeing it.
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