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Post by callum on Jul 14, 2017 7:39:04 GMT
It seems like every performance that isn't totally sold out has at least some £15 front four row seats. But nothing before Xmas.
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Post by callum on Jul 12, 2017 23:23:07 GMT
I have AMEX booking but didn't bother for today. Angels had a fair amount of last-minute availability - a good amount of tickets (including the £15 first four rows) were put on sale close to performance dates. I will risk Network doing the same, especially I'd rather see it in November than Feb/March. Still, I'll see what Friday brings/
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Post by callum on Jul 7, 2017 2:50:31 GMT
Lesley Manville mentioned this on Graham Norton's radio show a few months ago so not a great surprise. Saw the Jessica Lange/Gabriel Byrne/Michael Shannon production last year in NYC and a lot is to be said of doing a 'straight' version of this play. Looking forward to it v much.
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Post by callum on Jul 6, 2017 7:37:53 GMT
I've just remembered the back screens in Van Hove's OBSESSION and burst out laughing to myself all over again.
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Post by callum on Jul 5, 2017 5:51:53 GMT
I think Bette in Hello Dolly has hit the sweet spot for this. Her car is waiting outside, she comes out and waves and shakes a few hands then gets in her car and goes. No signing or selfies but everyone gets to see her up close and if they're lucky get her to notice them while Bette also gets to go home quickly. Or that was my experience, at least.
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Post by callum on Jul 2, 2017 20:57:25 GMT
Anyone know the AMEX release date yet?
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Cher
Jun 21, 2017 22:56:10 GMT
via mobile
Post by callum on Jun 21, 2017 22:56:10 GMT
When it closes there will be six months' worth of 'Farewell Week'.
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Post by callum on Jun 12, 2017 20:39:08 GMT
I don't see why it couldn't work at the Dominion, Palladium, Drury Lane or Coliseum at Opera / Book of Mormon peak prices. London has demonstrated there are enough people willing to pay a £249 top price, and I'd say our merchandising in the theatre is far more developed than Broadway, as we have more foyer space. Wouldn't totally write it off - though I admit it is unlikely anyway. Actually I did have the Coliseum in mind but wondered if they'd only stretch to another 'semi-staged' production. That wouldn't fit Bette or this production, it is pure Broadway bawdy opulent razzmatazz. She's doing quite a long run too, up until January next year. Probably over a year's worth of work for her. Don't know how much appetite she'd have to do it again, especially as I can imagine the producers will be coughing up for a big name replacement for her, meaning the team for this production will be in New York for some time.
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Post by callum on Jun 12, 2017 17:22:41 GMT
Well, there was a video posted in the Dolly thread recorded by an audience member of Bette doing the title number but it was swiftly taken down. I guess that'll be the closest thing to seeing it live if you can find a version online. But after seeing it myself this week, it is an absolutely exquisite production, Bette is worth every cent you can spend on seeing her, but I do hope it's recorded and preserved for the future near the end of the run because it is very special.
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Post by callum on Jun 12, 2017 2:38:01 GMT
RE Bette, they wouldn't cough up the cash for the whole rehearsal process (presumably they wanted her to do Hello Dolly itself which requires full staircase set, costuming, big ensemble), and it didn't make much sense for Bette to do that much preparation. They don't need the promotion for the show (sold out for months) and it plays into the exclusivity of the whole thing. The only way you can see Bette as Dolly is to buy a ticket!
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Post by callum on Jun 11, 2017 1:48:33 GMT
Someone else who was at Friday's performance - Bette was just radiant. This woman has it all, one of the best and most versatile performers I've ever seen, accompanying a terrific production. I couldn't really follow the plot (it was totally all over the shop) but everything else was disposable to Bette. I can't emphasise enough just how much she had the audience eating from the palm of her hand, the reaction to her first appearance on stage was wilder than the Beyonce concert I was at last year (a near standing ovation from the balcony where I was sitting)! Her voice has aged but definitely hasn't worsened, just a lovelier richness to it. But oh God, she is the real deal.
MAYBE this could work as a limited engagement at the Palladium, this is EVENT theatre, and was completely overwhelming. After seeing the show itself, the soundtrack doesn't now seem that bad. More of an accompaniment to the production, rather than something that can replace seeing it live.
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Post by callum on May 27, 2017 21:27:31 GMT
The only bomb in the Old Vic this afternoon was this production!
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Post by callum on May 25, 2017 13:42:46 GMT
A career in editing for the person who took that video beckons!
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Post by callum on May 19, 2017 11:46:33 GMT
I'm not saying that Imelda is a bad screen actress, simply that personally if I'd have seen the cinema broadcast only and not the play in person, I'd probably come away thinking she was a total ham. But, obviously, she isn't. Just pointing out the inherent problem with filming a play. If that makes sense.
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Post by callum on May 18, 2017 22:08:12 GMT
Oh god yes it was a coughing bonanza at the end? Imelda will be introducing cough tests next to go alongside her no ice rule!
Actually, while it was very intense just like seeing it live, the cinema broadcast definitely alters how one perceives the show. When Imelda acts, she acts for the theatre. That's to say that she is extremely exaggerated, animated and shouty. This works brilliantly in the theatre and makes her the star she is, but with cameras up close (and with subconscious comparisons to screen acting), she might come off as hammy or over-the-top. I found the same with the recorded version of Gypsy. Heresy, I know.
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Post by callum on May 18, 2017 19:15:51 GMT
Anyone else having minor sound problems? Keeps dropping out occasionally. Not sure if it's the live feed or just my cinema.
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Post by callum on May 18, 2017 15:27:31 GMT
Actually I think it's Kirsty Wark - hopefully the lights work better than last night's Newsnight if anyone saw that!
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Post by callum on May 18, 2017 15:05:51 GMT
Yep, I've already seen it in the flesh but I'm going for round two at the cinema. Seeing it all in close-up (and the actual drinks trolley this time!) will be a thrill. It's been years since I've been to one of the NT Live events - start time is 7pm but play won't actually start until 7.30 if I'm correct? And the first half hour is Emma Freud telling everyone about the play/cast etc?
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Post by callum on May 13, 2017 20:03:16 GMT
The Pig, or Who is Sylvia? starring David and Samantha Cameron.
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Post by callum on May 13, 2017 0:29:51 GMT
This was a total stinker - even Jude Law couldn't save it. I saw all 8 hours-ish of Angels in America last week and this felt longer!
Perhaps ignorant but can someone explain why Ivo van Hove is such a huge name in theatre? This avant-garde minimalist stuff has been going on for years and, to my mind, the only production of his that was universally adored was the Young Vic's A View from the Bridge?
I'm really looking forward to seeing Bryan Cranston and Cate Blanchett on the stage over the next 12 months but I hope van Hove doesn't shackle them with duds like Law with Obsession and Ruth Wilson with Hedda.
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Post by callum on May 11, 2017 22:33:36 GMT
I think he's brilliant. Great news.
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Follies
May 7, 2017 21:12:42 GMT
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Post by callum on May 7, 2017 21:12:42 GMT
Thanks, Baemax! I've had Bernadette's Losing my Mind on repeat for months!
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Post by callum on May 7, 2017 20:35:33 GMT
If anyone has come across the sitcom Difficult People, he does a delightful cameo in that as himself.
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Post by callum on May 7, 2017 20:32:52 GMT
Well, on the subject of Follies - I've booked to take my Grandma to see it in October, her tastes are probably, shall we say, more conventional. Les Miserables and Phantom are her favourites and in terms of Sondheim, she enjoyed Gypsy but I only just about got away with taking her to see Sweeney. She didn't mind the film of Into the Woods, either. I don't really know much about Follies so will this be up her street or is it more art-y and less commercial than the majority of musicals?
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Post by callum on May 3, 2017 22:48:44 GMT
The couple behind had said they could sit in their seats for acts 2 and 3 - they'd come to see friends in the show but it wasn't their cup of tea so they were off! I'd love to overhear how they explain that away when they next meet up... I guess Imelda won't be hosting the Oliviers with Michael Ball again any time soon...
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 23:18:14 GMT
Day seats alas - check the previous page for my experience.
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 22:56:12 GMT
Well, I thought this was tremendous. Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo can do no wrong and both were at the top of their game. Really blistering, like WAOVW, against supposed liberal values, whom Albee would've imagined, I suppose, to compose most of his audience. Deliciously dark but also challenging in the most rewarding way. An amazing set too, and those £5 day seats might be the best bargain in London at the moment! I might have to side with Billington on this and say five stars!
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 9:55:50 GMT
Well, day seat queue experience (cc @theatremonkey): arrived at 8:30, first one there. Next came at 8:45-ish, then just after 9am, then about 9:20. Only the four of us were there when box office opened, which was through the doors at the front (a 'day seat queue here' sign might've been helpful). I guess you could've showed up at 10 and still got tickets but who knows. Will check back tonight after the performance.
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 8:28:34 GMT
Guess I've been a bit conservative! Oh well, I'm enjoying my book
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 7:55:31 GMT
Stay by the front doors. You must be the first. Thanks mallardo, thought it would be busier.
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