1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 20, 2023 15:42:00 GMT
These comments have made me very excited to see this on Saturday!
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 19, 2023 7:08:05 GMT
Did they talk about any other work that hasn’t been announced yet? Not really. They were more discussing the process of deciding and that things can get quite far along and then not work out. Someone asked what they thought a 'Young Vic play' was and they gave examples of the breadth of their work,but also what would resonate in that space (which they praised for its versatility) and their audiences. There wasn't anything about how to apply to be one of the men, but suggested, if I caught this correctly, that the scene involved a kiss (!) When so many artistic directors are jumping ship, I was pretty impressed with how upbeat they both were (but I have a soft spot for the YV anyway and go to see most things there.)
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 18, 2023 14:33:38 GMT
Really interested to read your review jr . This production has really flown under the radar for me. Sounds like it will be a hard sell for the NT (though having said that, the previews look like they've sold pretty well.)
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 18, 2023 8:40:03 GMT
Kwame Kwei-Armah and Lucy Davies (Executive Director) just did a livestream with updates about upcoming work and mentioned that they thought there was a good likelihood of tickets available on the day for The Second Woman. They imagine it being quite fluid and especially at less popular times.
Another interesting thing he said was that they had planned to do a play about Chelsea Manning but it fell through so they decided to put Beneatha's Place on instead. They also spoke about the challenges post-pandemic including that people are booking much later and that event theatre was important.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 14, 2023 22:26:48 GMT
I enjoyed this, certainly more than I expected given its difficult journey. I think the 3 to 4 star reviews it received from a lot of the press were about right and agree with luvvie23 that Lewis Brown did a great job. I was sorry that he wasn't slipped in the programme/playtext - if you missed the notice on the auditorium door, you wouldn't have known who was playing the role. I thought the first 2/3s to 3/4s of the play worked pretty well with a number of laugh out loud moments and a beady eye on conversations actors have/competition between friends/blurred lines between friendship/sex, but it lost steamed towards the end (the childhood memories were less interesting to me and a late scene swerved into the joyless depiction of gay sex about which David had been complaining.) The direction was pacey and varied. The audience really stuck with the play and the cast looked very happy at the curtain call. Dyllon's wardrobe was very appealing. So a flawed evening, but it's a real play with some interesting ideas.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 13, 2023 11:06:37 GMT
I was glad to have seen this, though it didn't entirely work. On the plus side, Louisa-May Parker, as the sister gives a funny and touching performance,and some other performances were fine; the Quality Street gowns were fun and the plot surprising enough to maintain interest. I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed the bit of choreography. Didn't think the framing device worked and the knock-on effect on the set design was a shame - the unsightly metal frame and heavy plastic curtain. The sound design was a bit annoying as well. In one scene the music worked against the dialogue so badly, it seemed like someone should shout 'turn that down.' The puppets for children was strange, agree with mkb above that it didn't work, even though it was interesting to see how poorly suited they were to running a school. Audience was good. Very drunk person two over from me, but he was quiet and probably confused. I would give it 3 stars - esp as I wasn't bored. My companion, who thought the plastic curtain looked like something from an abattoir, would give 2.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 12, 2023 11:29:46 GMT
This is something I would like to see and am not sure why I haven't booked for it.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 12, 2023 7:41:35 GMT
Wonderful cast. But I still haven't forgiven the director Richard Jones for his Once in a Lifetime at the Young Vic.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 12, 2023 7:00:07 GMT
I hadn't thought of Longhurst as particularly political. Watch on the Rhine (directed by Ellen McDougal under his AD umbrella) and The Band's Visit were two of my favourite post-lockdown theatre outings. I thought his NT production of Amadeus was terrific. I first noticed his work when his first-rate direction of a so-so play, Carmen Disruption, somehow wrestled a good evening of theatre out of material that might otherwise have fallen flat. I hadn't heard about the climate dramaturg, but just read this. It seems reasonable that theatres are looking at new ways of doing things: www.theunderstudy.co.uk/2021/10/zoe-svendsen-to-act-as-climate.htmlBut all that aside - I will be disappointed if Private Lives is a misery-fest.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2023 16:32:13 GMT
Shame that it didn't entirely work, because it sounds like such a good idea. Makes me wonder if a promenade production using the two theatres, plus public spaces would ever work there.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 10, 2023 9:07:50 GMT
I believe it's always described as a comedy. Coward subtitled it 'an Intimate Comedy,' Wikipedia has it as a 'comedy of manners' and the Donmar calls it a 'dark comedy.'
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 9, 2023 9:30:13 GMT
Thank you for the reviews but - oh no! - I booked because I was looking for the laughs (I'm always looking for laughs these days) - but having been forewarned I will be less disappointed when I see it in a few weeks' time.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 7, 2023 14:21:25 GMT
I was really sorry when Exeunt halted publishing because its reviews were amongst my favourites.
Two reviewers I often find myself well-guided by are Alice Saville (freelance but writes for publications like the Independent and Time out - I follow her on twitter to catch her reviews) and Andrzej Łukowski who reviews for Time Out. They both convey a real love and knowledge about theatre, while ably being able to isolate the independent components of what makes a show work or not (though sometimes when writing for Time Out, I wish they were allowed a longer word count.)
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 6, 2023 10:54:52 GMT
Well oxfordsimon you've convinced me to give this a whirl when it comes to Richmond next week. I liked Bridgerton so hoping I fall into the camp who enjoy this.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 5, 2023 12:59:38 GMT
I just used mine via phone at the National Theatre. Really good scheme!
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 3, 2023 21:06:15 GMT
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Apr 2, 2023 14:33:30 GMT
It's very odd. Silently cancelled performances yet my social media, particularly Instagram, is pushing the production hard.
I am sure something unhappy must have happened, but (to me at least) handling it like this seems unprecendented.
On a somewhat related theme - theatres have experienced so many challenges through lockdown and beyond - I wonder if anyone is writing a great 'behind the scenes' book. I'd certainly read it.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 30, 2023 16:11:44 GMT
Today's matinee was cancelled and I see that bookings aren't being accepted for tonight's performance either.
Technical difficulties usually are overcome more quickly than this - I remember 'Wild' dealing with problems with its' extraordinary, gravity defying set or, recently, Standing at the Sky's Edge performed with the lights up. If it was illness, I think they would say,so must be something else.
I thought the reviews were okay, enough that I was thinking of going.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 30, 2023 10:10:03 GMT
After saying I wasn't going to go, got offered a ticket on a day when I needed an outing, so found myself on a backless bench watching this. I didn't hate it and if you go, I would say stay for the second half where (IMO) all the payoffs happen. Jenna Russell delivers an incredible monologue, really stunning, and Gerald Kyd's character is not what he at first seemed - more complex and empathetic.I would like to see more of his work. The script makes things unnecessarily hard on the audience - an unfamliar dialect; tonnes of repetition; general rather than specific - and then these irritations mount when your back is aching. The audience was exemplary, though a few either left or switched to different seats during the interval. The applause was warm. Noticed a few people even hanging back discussing what bits meant, so that's probably good. Overall, I was glad I saw it, but was confused in some part by why the YV chose to do it and some of the staging choices.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 28, 2023 15:51:32 GMT
Thank you for posting! Missed out first time but thanks to your alert, got them this time. About a 15-20 minute way to arrive in my inbox.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 25, 2023 13:00:10 GMT
The Empress is one of the set text options for the Edexcel exam board, but I'm not sure how many schools are picking it. By far the most popular English modern drama texts are An Inspector Calls (there was an article recently about the extraordinary percentage of students who study this) and Blood Brothers. It's always a problem for exam boards when they try to extend the range of texts that students are studyng, versus the schools' inclination to stick with what they view as tried and true material.
But yes, I am sure part of the hope is that it will attract student audiences. I'm interested to see it when it's at the Lyric Hammersmith.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 17, 2023 23:00:58 GMT
According to the Tomorow's papers twitter account, the Daily Mail is going with a 'James Norton nude' front page with what looks to be a pic snapped at Richmond during a performance. How depressing.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 17, 2023 17:06:57 GMT
Thanks so much for sharing that article Rory. Having seen Ferran both very early in the run and then later after it opened it was so interesting to hear about the process. You can see why Frecknall said at the preview that she was 'the bravest' person she knew. She comes across really well in that interview and she's just so excellent.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 16, 2023 9:07:27 GMT
Was there last night. Think it will be a real marmite production. It is quite faithful to the book, so if you loved that, then there is a fair chance you will be impressed with this. But most of the lighter sections of the book (say about the characters' careers or the evocation of place) have been stripped out and the focus is totally on the abuse/trauma of Jude. Aside from the film projections (which I liked and probably spent too long staring at) and (I assume) JB's art - I couldn't see this area from my seat - the set is utilitarian/minimalist/brutal.There is a sense that van Hove really wants to press your face into the ugliness of what happens to Jude. As has been said above, take the TWs seriously.
James Norton's commitment is total - I can't imagine doing that performance night after night. It's hard to say too much about the other performances. One actor had to play a lot of BAD men. Zubin Varla works very hard as Howard. The rest spent long periods half-lit looking sad. It was a relief whenever Malcolm talked about architecture.
There were some walkouts both during the show and at the interval (we lost the people both in front and behind us - honest we didn't do anything!)
But then there was a huge standing ovation at the end.
My theatre companion and I really didn't like it and afterwards were sort of laughing about all the deadly repetition in it. It opens with clunky exposition; there's a very unrewarding social worker character who comments on and awkwardly joins in some scenes; and if you hear a character say '1' you know you are in for a loooonnnggg sequence of counting/repeated actions.
True fans of the actors in this piece, lovers of the book or Ivo van Hove completists should see it, but I couldn't recommend it.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 15, 2023 9:33:34 GMT
Wow - just read those reviews. So glad I got tickets (cheap seated ones and not until late May) - I really had no idea this would work so well! So happy for them.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2023 14:23:04 GMT
Well blow me down - I got the last two stalls seats (rear stalls one behind the other) for the Wednesday evening. While still managing to walk the dog, etc. Think I'll make chocolate chip cookies to celebrate!
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2023 13:52:30 GMT
I walked my friend's dog and am now 706 - estimated 33 minute wait.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2023 12:43:17 GMT
Seeing this in Richmond tomorrow evening. Feeling a bit nervous about the 3 hour 40 running time! Seeing it in Richmond tomorrow too. In Dress Circle row F. Worried about legroom AND not drinking much beforehand We're in Row Q stalls, but similar worries, plus wondering if we will have time to get a bite to eat beforehand. Picturing us, starving, thirsty, needing to wee, while gore plays out for almost 4 hours before us. Then dashing to catch the train. Ah theatre! (and damn my FOMO.)
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2023 12:14:00 GMT
I'm in, but the payment system keeps failing! Oh no! How frustrating. That might explain why the queue is moving so slowly. I have to walk a friend's dog at 1, so I'll probably be out by the time my number comes up - if it does.
|
|
1,465 posts
|
Post by foxa on Mar 14, 2023 12:04:02 GMT
HUGE queue for PWC tickets. Over 2000 in front of me. Oh well.
|
|