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Post by joem on Feb 17, 2023 23:10:14 GMT
I enjoyed this tonight. It's an easy story to understand with good singing and the score is pleasant enough even if there are few stand-out songs.
Great to see George Takei, what a legend together with his Star Trek chums and unchum. Been watching it since I was five or six and still in love with the series and most of its sequels.
Note to Charing Cross Theatre: it's a really bad idea, maybe even on safety grounds, to have a stall selling stuff just in front of the only exit from the auditorium.
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Post by joem on Feb 17, 2023 1:11:49 GMT
This is at the theatre rather than the show itself but I hope the self-important prig who wouldn't allow a lady trying to get to the toilet to pass because he was perusing an old fifties theatre poster and waved for her to go behind him (there was no space) is sleeping soundly tonight. He must be so proud of himself. I hope to see him in nursery when he grows up a bit.
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Post by joem on Feb 17, 2023 1:04:06 GMT
Knew nothing about this beyond that it wasn't The Lemon Trilogy and was rather appalled at the prices - although not quite as appalled as with prices for The Unfriend - but having time for a matinee today forked out for some lesser stalls tickets. Spread the cost, or persuaded myself I was doing so, by going to the Vaults in the evening.
I really enjoyed this, suspended disbelief and bought into the unbelievable - but certainly metaphorically credible - premise. After all we have had basic human freedoms restricted in recent memory which would have been thought impossible a few years back, so this is just a little leap further. Whilst it is an examination of relationships, or a relationship, I find the question of what to do in the face of basic freedoms being curtailed - protest, find ways around or acquiesce??? - rather more interesting and relevant.
I think Jenna Coleman has a flair for comedy. Would love to see her explore/exploit this (the way we are being exploited by West End prices).
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Post by joem on Feb 17, 2023 0:02:54 GMT
Went to Compositor E today by Charlie Dupre. A play about one of the typesetters of Shakespeare's first folio which weaves together fact, fiction and the works of Shakespeare to create an interesting story of witchcraft in Jacobean times.
A two-hander with the author himself acting the part of Isaac the owner of the typesetting business and Harry Pudwell taking on the role of John Pudwell, the troubled young apprentice.
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Post by joem on Feb 15, 2023 0:13:01 GMT
Despite having done some dancing myself when Nureyev was a household name I must admit dance is the least interesting of the performing arts to me and the one I know least about.
The only reason I went to this special Valentine's Day performance by the Ballets Jazz Montreal was that it consisted of a series of choreographies by three choreographers (Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem) aimed at bringing to life some of the songs of Leonard Cohen - my favorutie musician whose career I followed avidly and enthusiastically until his sad passing a few years ago. Given that I've always said I would have chosen to be him if I couldn't be born as myself, I obviously had to go and watch this.
I know little of the language of dance to understand whether there was an intention of a cohesive narrative here (I don't think there was it was more about feeling and emoting Cohen's songs and work in dance and movement), there were a few moments when the dancing seemed to be following the lyrics, but it was certainly energetic, colourful spectacle with some wonderfully fluid movements by the 14 strong cast. Plenty of amusing and pertinent details - the dancers wearing the suits and fedora Cohen sported, typewriting on the screen, moving references to the last communications between Cohen and his erstwhile muse Marianne and even some pretty good singing in a couple of pieces including, of course, the inevitable "Hallelujah".
Fine fare for an occasional visitor to this temple of dance. Would be interesting if someone on the forum with more knowledge of dance actually went and could give a more competent verdict.
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Post by joem on Feb 14, 2023 12:54:21 GMT
Surprised at 4 stars from the Standard and Stage. Thought it was easily bagging 5 stars! Aside from posters on this board (and a couple of critics), I haven't heard much praise for this show. I texted several industry pals who were there last night expecting they would share in the hosannas here but so far, not the case. They were unanimous in stating the audience was extremely receptive in its reaction but likewise in their consensus that the show was really not their cup of tea. I should add that most are non-British so I have to wonder if it is a UK thing....perhaps it doesn't appeal to those who know little about Sheffield and who may have struggled with the references/accents? Curious if any non-UK posters here found it to be all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips. There was a local band in Liverpool... can't remember their names now...The Quarrymen? The Silver Beatles? They had these broad scouse accents which make Sheffield's accent sound like the King's English by comparison. Didn't seem to do their career much harm.... Joking apart, I am not born in UK nor live here permanently but I have absorbed enough of its culture to realise from way back when that there was more to this country than red post boxes and black cabs. We celebrate diversity. Let's not forget that as well as wonderful traditions and cultures all over the world, many of which have been brought here too by immigrants, there is also a multiplicity of customs, accents, looks, festivals, writings, you name it etc etc here and they also deserve to be celebrated. There's more to UK than London and the big city culture, let's not pigeonhole it as quirky or backward or inferior. Let a thousand flowers bloom.
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Post by joem on Feb 13, 2023 23:03:42 GMT
Tend not to go to the same productions more than once as a rule but having a spare night I used the excuse that I'd seen this in Sheffield so wanted to check out how it translated to the London stage.
Happy to report it hasn't lost any of the energy from the Crucible and the audience seem to have no problems with the Sheffieldisms which some forecast - never thought they would, audiences are cleverer and more adaptable than often given credit for. They hugely loved this tonight, it was press night, but bizarrely the National decided to cut the standing ovation very short by switching on the house lights. Mr Hawley was in attendance, beaming like Mr Punchinello whilst being congratulated by all and sundry.
Had the "privilege" of being the first person to buy the cd at the National shop apparently.
Definite hit. Love this.
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Post by joem on Feb 4, 2023 10:28:39 GMT
A new twist (for me) on the annoying "computer says no" techno-pedantry where you are unable to buy two seats because there's three available together - clearly due to the theatre/ticketseller leaving those three seats unsold. Sadler's Wells will not sell you two tickets next to a restricted view, you have to buy the restricted view as well.
Are there many threesomes amongst theatregoers or do these tickets end up eventually being sold?
I do really hanker for the old days of human contact and where theatres preferred to employs their own box office staff rather than farm this off to anonymous behemoths obviously increasing the price of tickets to the punters.
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Post by joem on Jan 7, 2023 23:20:13 GMT
When did ghost/horror stories become such an intrinsic part of Christmas? Was it the old MR James stories on the BBC, or does the tradition predate this? Is Dickens single-handedly responsible for this because of "A Christmas Carol"? Whatever the answer over the last few years the amount of spooky stuff in our theatres in the weeks around Xmas seems to have exploded.
In the case of the fringe and theatres on a budget you can understand the appeal - very often these dramatisations require small casts and little in the way of staging and scenery as the tales involved are usually highly descriptive in content and of a psychological nature, not requiring expensive special effects or fire-breathing monsters.
So it was with these three stories (well, two stories and a poem) adapted, performed and directed by Stephen Smith. "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Raven" are all well-known, archetypal Poe works and are comfortably suited to a one-man telling and enactment. Smith tells the stories, does other voices when needed and makes himself up for the parts on stage between stories. A competent, commtted and engaging performance which any fan of the genre would have enjoyed.
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Post by joem on Jan 4, 2023 15:18:41 GMT
I really, really wanted to agree with you TallPaul as I enjoy your comments and most often agree with your views but.... anyway thanks for tagging me I will definitely buy the "play's" soundtrack!!!
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Post by joem on Jan 2, 2023 22:42:40 GMT
For those who want their theatre to be earnest, didactic and affirmatory of their beliefs - give this a miss. For those who quite enjoy coarse entertainment and morally imperfect characters, you may well enjoy this. It is funny in parts and incredible in large measures too but, as someone has already said, it certainly isn't boring and certainly the audience tonight mostly enjoyed it if their
I'm surprised this got through the NT censors, but not unpleasantly so. Diversity should mean diversity not uniformity, even though I do not accept this play is meant to offend.
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Post by joem on Jan 1, 2023 14:09:29 GMT
I finally saw this on Friday and can say unreservedly it is a wonderful production. Being a big fan of Richard Hawley's music I made sure I put on my objective specs for this but cannot be faulted. Yes, it is an unusual experience (for me at least) to go to a new musical where I recognise all the songs. The last one would have been "Sunny Afternoon", but good as the music in that was it bears no comparison to this as a musical. Yes, it is a musical. What creates doubt is how well crafted the various stories have been and how the songs - which were not written with a musical in mind - fit seamlessly into the narratives. This is no jukebox musical; it tells a relatively complex tale - by musical stadards - very well, and deals with wider issues of belonging, who we are and where we are. In this sense it acts like a play but the music is absolutely central to the proceedings making it, for me, a musical.
You don't need to know much about Sheffield or Hawley's career to enjoy this but it will do you no harm if you do. Having said that it is, unapologetically, a musical about Sheffield, Hawley's entire solo career has been a love letter to his native city, warts and all. Watching it in Sheffield is special though, the audience loved the self-referential, deprecatory humour in particular.Proper heartfelt standing ovation at the end, not one for the gallery.
The singing and playing was of a pretty high order. If I had to highlight two songers it would be Faith Omole as Joy and Maimuna Menon as Nikki but there were no weak links. One quibble, if I must... the first half of the show ends on a tremendous high note with the entire cast bombing it out on stage. The ending, by contrast, is rather muted. I know it's a production choice but wonder if it was the best decision.
I see no reason why this can't become a sizeable hit in London, it is a gem. And it threatens to introduce Hawley to a whole new audience and maybe a bew career.
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Post by joem on Dec 29, 2022 23:37:07 GMT
Yes, enjoyable production even if the play is dated. Shows you can rescue or keep plays in the canon even with unpromising circumstances. What could be a tedious comedy becomes a well-done farce.
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Post by joem on Dec 28, 2022 22:40:17 GMT
Agree entirely with kate8's comments and analysis. The rough edges were probably already a little smoother tonight, only a couple of semi-stumbles.
It is indeed a colourful and visually appealing spectacle, especially aking into account this is the junior stage at the Hampstead so obviously not a big bucks production. The actors work wonderfully together with a real enthusiasm for the piece and the stories, which could easily become a confusion, are woven separately and not muddled even when happening simultaneously. I'd change some of the cast around but this is worthy putting on a bigger stage.
Didn't know Michalik's work before this but will certainly keep a look out for it now.
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Post by joem on Dec 28, 2022 18:37:58 GMT
This was rather good without being awesomely great. Paul Hilton takes the acting honours for a nasty Iago (will we ever see a nice one?) but I'm very fond of Giles Terera and he had a fragility which, whilst undermining belief in him as a great warrior, becomes increasingly effective as his emotional weaknesses are exploited/explored.
I quite liked the setting and the projections, I didn't find them intrusive. The (mostly) silent Greek chorus does seem to be a bit too much. You do kind of get the point in the first few minutes after which they become a rather pointless stage decoration. Some of the intimate scenes - and this is a common moan from me in recent times - seem to be played at a great distance (eg the first half of Desdemona's death scene) when they should be direct physical confrontations.
My last stage Othello, believe it or not, was Paul Scofield. I would have loved to see Adrian Lester but somehow missed it. I do think that we avid theatregoers can sometimes exhibit jaded palates and I would say, as gently as possible, it isn't always about us. 9 years is practically half a generation. Hopefully hundreds of thousands of new theatregoers have come on stream since then. They deserve to see an important play like Othello the way we have too.
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Post by joem on Dec 27, 2022 23:53:12 GMT
Spooky stories have always been popular at Christmastime and there seems to be a trend for this to spill over into the theatre. Paul Morrissey's new play "Wickies" - he also wrote "When Darkness Falls" which was staged at this venue and went on tour - jumps onto this bandwagon with an entry that is well-produced even if the play itself is at times a bit workaday.
Based on the mysterious happenings at Eilean Mor in the Flannan Islands (also the inspiration for Peter Maxwell Davies' opera "The Lighthouse") a cast of three alternates between two timelines; the tale itself and the enquiry in its aftermath. The staging is, as always in this theatre, very well done and the attractive set creates the look and ambience of the inside of a lighthouse, complete with the light of course, very convincingly. The solid ensemble acting, peppered with appropriate and pleasing sea-shanties, carries the story forward and delineates the differences in the temperament of the three lighthouse-keepers which may, or may not, have contributed to what happened.
As the play developed an uncanny chill gradually gripped the auditorium - the heating was off.
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Post by joem on Dec 20, 2022 22:55:38 GMT
Literally everyone is now having a go at me. 😥 It was the interweb wot told me it's in Millwall! I've been there a couple of times and hadn't noticed it was Millwall to he honest. I saw a decent dramatisation of "Vernon God Little" and at atrocious play by Howard Barker "The Castle" there. It's not a bad venue as out in the sticks fringe venues go. It has a good acting space and plenty of room for the audience too, an ok bar, a fantastic Korean restaurant nearby and some lovely Thameside views and walks if you have time to spare before a show. Bus 188 takes you all the way there from Russell Square.
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Post by joem on Dec 17, 2022 10:23:47 GMT
Usually known as Lady Inger of Ostrat, this is Ibsen's third play and is rarely produced drama in prose, last time it was done in London was in 2013 by this same group Ottisdotter at the Baron's Court Theatre. Scheduled for The Space between 27th June and 8th July next year. As an anecdote, the drama group in question must have been named after the character of Inger Ottisdotter (surely?).
One for completists from what I know, look forward to ticking it off my list and hoping some kind souls will sage "Catiline", "The Vikings at Helgeland" and "Love's Comedy" at some point. Shamefully, I missed (never heard about it) the production of the last-mentioned at the Orange Tree.
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Post by joem on Nov 27, 2022 19:18:27 GMT
These reports do seem to confirm my fears that too many directors seem to want to direct the play they want it to be rather that directing the text as written. Othello may be the title character but Iago is always going to be the most interesting figure on stage. The only way to really alter that balance is to write a new script. And then you can't use Shakespeare as the draw. I know the rise of the dramaturg has given some directors permission for the idea that they can completely reshape a text. And whilst that is technically true, it is very rare that a director is a better writer than Shakespeare. Yes, it has been happening for centuries. Through history we have had Lear rewritten to have a happy ending, Merchant ending after Act 4 to put all the focus on Shylock and many, many others. But none of these adaptations have persisted in the repertoire. The originals have. If a director doesn't have faith in the text, they should not direct it. Can we have a post of the month feature so I can vote for this? I absolutely agree with this. I dislike dramaturgs - other than when they craft a work from a multiplicity of sources raher than just dump themselves on a big name - and whilst it is perfectly legit to be "inspired by" or "after" as visual artists say, it is bordering on the dishonest when you are invited to part with your hard-earned cash to see a play by someone in HUGE lettering and end up paying to see the meddlings or muddlings of someone in very small lettering. I'll go to this anyway because I'm very fond of Giles Terera but honestly let's be more honest about who has done what so audiences can make up their minds what they want to see.
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Post by joem on Nov 27, 2022 11:24:28 GMT
This didn't work for me. The James Plays were big and dramatic and self-consciously epic, with talk and action combining and driving them forward. This, by contrast, is lika a chamber piece. All jaw jaw jaw between three characters with a five second cameo for the title role and a multitude of people descending on the stage to shout a few seconds before that. Yes, the writing is good but the play is static and almost entirely reportage. Whatever happened to "show, don't tell"?
Despite a very good performance from Douglas Henshall and the other two actors I really wanted this to be more dynamic and to be exciting history (or pseudo history, I think I noted a change in Munro's take on current events from the original trilogy) but it falls flat.
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Post by joem on Nov 26, 2022 22:20:57 GMT
Appropriately, since we are in the middle of the world cup, this was a play of two halves.
The first-half is great, sets up the story, the characters and gives pointers as to where it might lead. Snappy, at times amusing and played with great pace. But ehe second half suffers from an interminable scene between George and Charley, I do get its point but its point could have been nade in two minutes, and the climactic scene is also patchy. So the second half is a no-no.
Visually stylish, clearly influenced by the Tom Ford film, with interesting music - though not always clear why/when it appears. Not a fan of the framing device. Great performance from Colin Firth in the Theo Fraser Steele role.
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Post by joem on Nov 24, 2022 22:46:58 GMT
Yes this is a very good play and production, which fits well within what I guess we can now call James Graham's canon? I did wonder how he would handle the American side of things as, in a way, he is a quintessentially British playwright but I needn't have worried; he'd done his research well and got into the culture and mores and tensions of what was a very difficult year in the history of recent US politics. Were the debates really as influential at the time as Graham would have us believe? Hard to tell, but they are certainly a powerful motif and unifying focus on which to pin the contrary currents of the time. As is his wont Graham reports more than comments but I have no problem with that. Understanding opposing viewpoints makes for far better theatre than propangandising rants.
Harewood and Quinto are excellent, easy to see where the Frost/Nixon comparisions lie, sill haven't made up my mind about what the Harewood casting does but he is a fine actor and puts in a pretty towering performance, never moreso than when he exposes the vulnerability and the self-doubt of such an ascerbic and opinionated character. I would have preferred Quinto to borrow from Harewood and be a shade more nuanced at times but it was certainly a compelling performance as well.
Very well worth seeing this though I admit I missed the original.
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Post by joem on Nov 22, 2022 20:35:32 GMT
Tonight's performance cancelled with five hours notice. Covid cast. Guess I'll have to wait another fifty years to watch this now to complete Britten.
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Post by joem on Nov 22, 2022 16:27:48 GMT
70 mins almost exactly on Saturday. I liked it but the Standard review made me laugh: "I detest clever-dick plays that make the audience struggle hard to find meaning but allows them the warm glow of self-congratulation for getting an obscure reference. I studied Eliot in A-level English and devoured the Marx Brothers films at what was then the National Film Theatre in the 1980s. Is The Waste Land on the curriculum now, in its centenary year? And who under 50 knows about Groucho and his siblings and will therefore get McGuinness’s oblique references to old routines and one-liners? Writers can write what they want, of course, but it’s odd to pitch a play exclusively to an ageing demographic."I think I must be the audience for this play! I'm over 50 and love something entertaining that has me puzzling over references and layers of meaning for the next week. And what's wrong with pitching a play at an 'ageing demographic'? I didn't think the play was great but there is far too much inverted snobbery these days. I was fond of the Marx Brothers from about the age of 4 or 5 (no I'm not a contemporary of theirs) and Eliot from my days at comprehensive school. Things are good or bad regardless of who/when/what wrote/sang/painted it. Perhaps the Standard reviewer might be happy reporting on bling or WAGS or death metal industrial jungle garage trip-hop? But ignorance is never pretty when it's flaunted.
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Post by joem on Nov 22, 2022 13:44:58 GMT
It was 70 minutes as advertised. It started a bit late yesterday but I imagine that was because it was press night.
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Post by joem on Nov 21, 2022 23:44:43 GMT
Wish I'd seen this before I was thirty.
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Post by joem on Nov 21, 2022 22:02:59 GMT
Press night. Full theatre. That's the good news.
"Dinner With Groucho" had me salivating at the prospect. My favourite comedian and poet shooting the breeze? Would it be lyrical or laugh-out-loud? April is the cruellest month breeding lilacs out of Lydia the tattooed lady?
Frank McGuiness' play is set in a restaurant on the edge of the universe where a Madame Sosostris type figure conjures up our two heroes for a dinner a deux to bring their mutual admiration society, they were indeed regular correspondents, into the "real" world. Initially, it sort of works. Jokes, comic routines and poetry blend together nicely and seem to be setting the play up for some major metaphysics. But then somehow the identity of the two characters drifts somewhat and the musing becomes woolier and less focussed.
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Post by joem on Nov 20, 2022 23:56:56 GMT
Will look forward to it. Have just booked a hotel. Can't believe how much they want for very basic rooms now in Scarborough. It's not Fair.
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Post by joem on Nov 8, 2022 18:57:31 GMT
When someone dies peacefully in their sleep, at the age of 98, having lived a long and fulfilling life and working in their chosen profession to a grand old age giving joy and entertainment to so many people, you cannot call it a tragedy. But it is still a sad loss.
Shame he was a Spurs supporter. RIP.
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Post by joem on Nov 6, 2022 21:30:02 GMT
Saw this at home last night. Saved about a £1,000 quid based on the last time I tried to get to Scarborough to see an Ayckbourn play.
Not one of his best but not bad at all and, as ever, a cleverly constructed play which is worth watching just to admire the craft. His attempt to be "with it" doesn't wholly succeed but what is sad is that an 83 year old writing institution - still writingly coherently and interestingly - feels the need to make himself hipper. Just enjoy the trip AA!
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