The Other Place - NT Lyttelton

Oh yes there are the stairs at the side

I hope she is 🆗🙏🏽

Was in the front row right next to the girl Emma landed on, it was really shocking.

Earlier in the play when the ashes are put in the bag Emma dropped a handful that were swept on the floor, which is later what they slipped on when they went flying into the audience.
It definitely affected the rest of the show, having seen in twice, there are a few things that have changed and dialogue that has been cut or altered and even the ending with Erika going out the Annie in the tent, that never happened in the first preview.
Some interesting choices to change.

As a writer I find it fascinating as I found aspects of the play very compelling to watch with good writing but then it really went down hill for me, I felt cheated. It felt as thought it is written for a young audience to get them to see theatre especially with the cast, who are all fantastic but the ‘Saltburn’ esq writing choices towards the end felt gratuitous.

Also one of the few play I have ever seen that I felt could be longer as if your going to push the boat out and give us this drama push the drama, give us the drama!

Glad they were back on

Gasps probably say more for the audience

Than the work itself

On balance they are a poor marker of anything these days

I was disappointed with this, given the rave reviews from some on this thread. I like the idea of updating Greek tragedies (I loved the Simon Stone Phaedra and am looking forward to the Icke Oedipus) but I just didn't buy the big deal being made of the ashes eight years after someone's death, tragic though that death clearly was. And the later revelation just seemed tacky to me and not quite believable. And there were various nagging questions all the way through. Why did the brother have the house and not the daughters? I do wish I'd seen some of Zeldin's other work, though, which sounds both different and much better.

I thought this was dreadful, and I adored Love, and Faith, Hope & Charity so much. Just write a new play about if that's what you want to do.

I didn't mind the changes from Antigone but the fundamental tension is gone: the stakes in Antigone are so high because the body is to be left unburied on pain of death, dooming his soul, as a deliberate punishment. Those are three very high stakes right there. Two people squabbling over ashes doesn't have the same weight in a 21st century context because there's no taboo and no fundamental beliefs about the afterlife at play. Annie doesn't even live there so it's hard to swallow when she walks on and immediately says

I also thought the had some of the worst writing I've seen on a professional stage in years.

The ending ratchets up the dramatic tension yes, and amazing acting all round yes, but Zeldin really should have forgotten about trying to vaguely shoehorn this into being nebulously Antigone-flavoured and just written a wholly original work about

Yes yes yes, but what about the Percy Pigs? Their pivotal meaning and fixating Emma’s Annie so as she sits and stares at the non-gelatinous goodness.

Went based purely on the merit of reviews here and did not regret. Thanks for the recommendation!
Acting doesn’t get better than this! Astonishing, bold, deeply moving. I don’t watch House of Dragons at all so blissfully unaware of the fuss, but Emma D’Arcy indeed have an amazing stage presence, some performers just do, it’s not the thing you can learn or develop I believe, it’s just there. Tobias Menzies (been hoping to catch him in a theatre thing for a long time) and Alison Oliver do not yield, so naturalistic the suspense of disbelief was all there.

The story could probably benefit without being linked with Antigone, because there’s nothing much left of it anyway. I do agree that 9 year old ashes is not quite the same as a body to be buried here snd now, but I liked the brother/father change, it adds additional layer to motivations, feeling and under-thoughts.

I really liked this on Friday. Good script, strong ensemble work, brought the tragedy of Antigone plausibly into everyday Britain, and didn't overstay its welcome.

It helped that I saw Oedipus a month ago of which a few story elements were still fresh in the memory, although I had to wrap my head around some aspects - no mention of their mother? Nonetheless, really enjoying the trend of Greek tragedies being staged in the present-day; it helps to keep the shock of the stories.

Only real bum note for me was an overdone final moment beefed up by unnecessary loud pumping music. Otherwise, I preferred this to Icke's Oedipus (which I also thought very good) based on the consistent strength of the cast and its short punchy nature.