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Post by loureviews on Feb 7, 2018 18:12:38 GMT
I loved this - Lia as Mary, Juliet as Elizabeth this afternoon.
No creaking from the revolve.
John Light always plays John Light. But he's OK in this. Thought Michael Byrne was excellent.
Very moving final scenes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2018 18:29:47 GMT
I think they should let one of the audience toss the coin instead to see if Lia and Juliet really don't know who is playing Mary and who is playing Betsy until the beginning of the show.
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Post by loureviews on Feb 7, 2018 21:37:14 GMT
I think they should let one of the audience toss the coin instead to see if Lia and Juliet really don't know who is playing Mary and who is playing Betsy until the beginning of the show. Well you see the coin spun in real time but ... how do we know which role is heads and which is tails? |
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Post by n1david on Feb 8, 2018 3:21:37 GMT
Last night, Williams called "heads." It landed on heads, and everyone bowed to her as Elizabeth. However, according to my friend, STEVENSON called "heads" tonight, the coin landed on heads, but Williams was still Elizabeth. If there is no consistency between who calls heads and what "heads" even means for the outcome, they can easily decide beforehand who plays which role, and in the moment, they bow to the pre-determined Elizabeth regardless of the coin toss result. They can easily get away with this because the audience has no idea beforehand which coin result yields which pairing. A couple of nibbles from Robert Icke's talk tonight - the actor who spins the coin decides at random whether to look at Stevenson or Williams, they call Heads (because, as you spotted, of the significance of heads in the show), and then the actor who wins plays Elizabeth - sounds like they may have played around with this in Preview. He did say that Lia had recently had a whole run of Marys, about five in a row. On matinee days, they do a 'real spin' for the matinee and then flip the casting for the evening show, so if you're seeing an evening show on a matinee day, the actors do already know who they're playing. |
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Post by stefy69 on Feb 8, 2018 7:30:39 GMT
Saw this yesterday and was blown away by it ! Excellent all round LIa was Mary and Juliet Elizabeth and I struggled to think of them the other way round. AS has been said the final scenes very moving indeed. 5 stars from me  |
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Post by alexandra on Feb 8, 2018 12:22:08 GMT
Saw this yesterday and was blown away by it ! Excellent all round LIa was Mary and Juliet Elizabeth and I struggled to think of them the other way round. AS has been said the final scenes very moving indeed. 5 stars from me Yet it does work just as well both ways round.
It is the case that they know which actor will play which queen on the evening of matinee days, and in fact announce it on twitter, so if you're desperate to see it a particular way round and can book at the last minute, you can.
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Post by loureviews on Feb 8, 2018 21:13:35 GMT
My review:
Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were both of the same Royal blood, both anointed monarchs, and both passionate.
This production plays with the similarities and differences between the Queens by having both leading actresses playing one or the other parts on the toss of a coin.
Yesterday afternoon Lia Williams played Mary and Juliet Stevenson was Elizabeth. Mary was quick, impulsive, frustrated, and every inch a queen even when imprisoned in bare walls.
Elizabeth is proud and aloof, commanding her courtiers with a click and primping her appearance with a compact mirror. A public virgin she privately romps with the duplicitous Leicester (John Light) while toying with a promise of marriage from France.
Mary, though, three times a wife, a mother, a lover. Also with Leicester, which may be her downfall, and his. She seethes at her treatment and long imprisonment when seeking asylum – this play is on the side of her innocence – but equally she seeks Elizabeth’s acknowledgement as an equal.
The meeting never happened in history but here it works well within the machinations of state and politics. Stevenson’s Elizabeth is imperious enough to recover quickly following the shock of seeing the woman who has plagued her and caused her endless worry standing before her in the garden at Fotheringay.
Mary’s gamble, hoping for the mercy of another monarch, causes her to move quickly towards execution; a misfire in which Elizabeth’s pride is worked on by a weasley Burleigh, despite the best efforts of a sympathetic yet tradition-bound Talbot (a very strong performance from Michael Byrne).
The slight amusement of early scenes evaporates in Act Four as Mary’s fate is sealed and her execution looms. A Catholic, she is allowed her last communion and to walk to the block in the company of her nurse (Carmen Munroe).
The scene where Elizabeth is garbed in her white face, boned corset and dress, pearls, ruff and wig, is juxtaposed with Mary reduced to a simple shift, majesty removed but morally victorious. It’s an emotional piece which is riveting and accompanied by a new song by Laura Marling.
Robert Icke directs Friedrich Schiller’s play, in a sparse set with modern dressed characters, an explosive script, and two very strong women who are closer together than they might think.
Mary gains a strange sense of freedom while Elizabeth remains uneasy and trapped with the guilt of her regicide. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, indeed.
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Post by n1david on Feb 8, 2018 21:22:40 GMT
how do we know which role is heads and which is tails? When I saw it, Stevenson called "heads" before the spin. It came up heads and she played Liz. I think that is how it is done, they call for who plays the Queen. They’re both Queens... but as I said in my post above, it’s whoever wins the toss gets to play Liz. |
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Post by peggs on Feb 8, 2018 21:23:22 GMT
how do we know which role is heads and which is tails? When I saw it, Stevenson called "heads" before the spin. It came up heads and she played Liz. I think that is how it is done, they call for who plays the Queen. Yep they confirmed on radio 2 interview, heads equals Elizabeth and the result of the coin applies to whoever calls. |
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Post by popcultureboy on Feb 9, 2018 9:28:35 GMT
Leicester performs the coin toss. He decides each night which of the two he will ask to call the toss, looking at one of them after they bow to each other. He then looks at the actress who wins the toss to be Elizabeth, so the ensemble know which lady to bow to and start the show.
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 10, 2018 0:18:35 GMT
At Mary Stuart tonight the show was stopped for 20 minute after only 2 minutes .
An Irish man and very drunk, started laughing loud, then shouted incoherent abuse about the Royal family. Maybe he got his wires crossed and thought a play about Mary Stuart, could somehow been about Michael Collins.
Hats off Wills and Kate next to me, didn’t flinch.
Joking aside I thought he cast at the end for the bows could have arranged a special around of applause for the FOH staff.
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 10, 2018 0:24:17 GMT
Saw a incident free production at the Almeida a while back.
The 2 leads Juliet’s and Lia were again both superb, the under cast wasn’t too bad either.
4 Star
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Post by showgirl on Feb 14, 2018 23:15:05 GMT
I saw the matinee today and from an excellent seat in the dress circle, even better value than I'd expected from the TKTS booth as they'd been advertising them daily for £25 and £35, but suddenly had some for £20. Superb view, given the rake, and as the Duke Of York's is relatively small, even the rear of the dress circle would feel close.
Juliet Stevenson played Elizabeth today, which felt the right way round somehow, but obviously it works either way and I'd probably have been just as happy with the reverse, had I seen it that way round. Although this is obviously due to the translation, I was fascinated to find the language so modern; I'd somehow not picked up on this with previous productions, which was why I'd never had any interest in seeing the play until now. I'd love to know how it reads in the original German, but doubt I'd make time to find out.
After a while all the double-dealing and double-crossing reminded me of trying to follow the plot in a John Le Carre novel (well, the play is after all about espionage in a way) and some of the twists took me (and, from their reactions, other audience members) by surprise, but as there was clearly some artistic licence, I don't know how much of the plot was based on fact and how much embellished or invented.
Interesting too to see so large a cast (I counted 16), though some very under-used, and such simple but effective staging. Definitely one to see at a matinee, both for its length and subject, but I found it far more modern and accessible than I'd expected.
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Post by andrew on Mar 11, 2018 10:44:14 GMT
Went back to this last night following a fantastic night at the Almedia many months ago, and I still love this. It's just got a bit of everything, and a lot of it is the two leads. Sadly I had the same combination as the last time I went, which solidifies my theory that Lia Williams may actually just literally be Elizabeth I, but I just got to relive an amazing piece of theatre.
Can someone remind me what the song is at the end? I want to listen to it again.
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Post by romeo94 on Mar 11, 2018 11:45:35 GMT
Can someone remind me what the song is at the end? I want to listen to it again. I believe it's untitled (just 'Song for Mary Stuart'), by Laura Marling. |
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Post by andrew on Mar 11, 2018 12:11:45 GMT
Thanks romeo94 I might try and go again some evening following a matinee where I can see the reverse casting, otherwise how will I ever know what that's like? How could I ever rest in peace? How will I sleep? |
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Post by andrew on Mar 14, 2018 14:53:43 GMT
Slightly obsessively, I saw on twitter that Lia is Mary Stuart tonight, and since there were rush seats still available, I may have accidentally bought one...
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Post by peggs on Mar 14, 2018 15:50:12 GMT
Sometimes you just have to do these things andrew. You'd have probably kicked yourself had you not. |
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Post by popcultureboy on Mar 15, 2018 9:35:32 GMT
Slightly obsessively, I saw on twitter that Lia is Mary Stuart tonight, and since there were rush seats still available, I may have accidentally bought one... And how was it? As a fellow obsessive who has seen it both ways round twice, this enquiring mind needs to know :-) |
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Post by andrew on Mar 15, 2018 10:50:44 GMT
Slightly obsessively, I saw on twitter that Lia is Mary Stuart tonight, and since there were rush seats still available, I may have accidentally bought one... And how was it? As a fellow obsessive who has seen it both ways round twice, this enquiring mind needs to know :-) It was a completely different play. Honestly. It was interesting to see that this is not two actresses directed into playing the same role, it's two different actresses with quite widely different interpretations of the role given free range to do as they wish. I also just thought it was fun that the actresses kind of stay on their "side" from the beginning onwards, nomatter which role they're playing. So the other actors blocking is different (even when the leads aren't on stage). Lia as Mary is a lot less damsel-in-distress, she's a lot less soft and with less despair, she comes across as smarter but a little bit less compassionate. I was impressed by the tiniest moment right at the start where as she's taking out her letter to sign, you could see real terror suddenly in her eyes, you immediately felt like she'd found the character after the very neutral and stiff moment of the coin spin. Juliet as Mary has a very soft, tender edge to her, she seems a bit more overwhelmed by her situation, but I felt you could tell she yearns for freedom a bit more keenly than Lia, is a bit more passionate about her claims. She also just played it slightly subtler, was a bit less archly dramatic in places. Lia as Elizabeth had this real sexual predator edge to her, she was dangerous, you'd be afraid of her, she was very good at using her femininity as a weapon against her male advisors. She struts around like she owns the stage and takes no prisoners. She's more appropriately archly dramatic in this role. Juliet as Elizabeth was a bit more histrionic (to use an outdated term), in act 2 she just seemed to explode at people every so often, she was more of a complete brat to her advisors (the way she treats poor Talbot...). I reckon her work in act 4 though when she was making the decision was probably the most engaging and well-displayed of the two. Overall I would pick Juliet in the title role as the preferred combination. I think a version with a very sympathetic and likeable Mary compared with a dark, dramatic and ruthless Elizabeth suits the play quite well. I think Lia is better at being 'used and abused' by Leicester, better at playing the entitled queen who has to face up to this monumental decision and was a little bit more fun than Juliet. Juliet as Mary brings out the soft side of that character and felt a bit more real when she was running around free when she's allowed outside, trying to reassure her maids, and accepting her fate at the very end. Lia as Mary was a bit too brutal, a bit too Shakespearean in her delivery. There's lots I haven't talked about there because I don't want to nitpick every aspect of their performances, and it still stands that it's excellent either way. The usher at the interval said he preferred it the opposite to way to me, and you maybe get a slightly more balanced play that way, with no one character instantly as likeable as the other. They were very different to each other, and that was very good. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2018 11:10:26 GMT
I did not know that Joshua James was Lia Williams' son. He was in the Almeida version (which I saw) but not the transfer (he's doing Lady Windermere's Fanny at the mo) I recall. Obviously I know now.
As you were.
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Post by Mark on Mar 24, 2018 12:16:36 GMT
Forgot to add my thoughts on this the other night. Thought the acting from both the leads was exceptional. Lia playing Elizabeth and Juliet playing Mary - I know others have said it on their pairings in this post but I really can’t imagine it any other way.
I was in the front row quite close to the centre and neck ache did happen but the view was great!
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Post by mallardo on Mar 25, 2018 6:58:10 GMT
The thing about this production is that the coin toss for the roles is not a gimmick but central to the idea of the show - the two actresses with the same costume, same hair, same look. Interchangeable. History could so easily have gone the other way.
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Post by crowblack on Apr 19, 2018 22:59:07 GMT
Just got back from seeing it at The Lowry - as hoped, Juliet as Mary and Lia as Elizabeth, and both of course excellent, but gosh, the play really annoyed me! Actually, I think I hate it.
First time I've been to the venue in sunlight and decent weather and it's so much nicer - and, though not as hot as London, people were gleefully ignoring the 'no swimming' signs on the quays.
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Post by david on Apr 21, 2018 23:02:52 GMT
Watched the matinee today at the Salford Lowry and I’ve got to say that I really enjoyed the performances and was a great piece of theatre. At the coin toss it was LW as Mary and JS as Elizabeth. The idea of the coin toss for me was a great idea as it just added that extra layer of drama to proceedings. With respect to the music, I thought it was well used to subtly drive the tension along. I must say I did love the “Song for Mary Stuart” at the end. It’s a real shame that it isn’t available as I would love to hear it again.
From other earlier posts, the majority of people seemed to prefer the roles played the other way round, but for me having it as it was today actually worked really well as LW playing a more reserved Mary against JS as a really feisty Liz and provided a really balanced play. If I had thought on I probably would have booked both shows to try and catch both permutations, but sadly that wasn’t to be.
I was surprised how much comedy there was, particularly from LIZ. I think it helped that JS really delivered those lines in a bit of a sarcastic tone. I loved the delivery of Liz’s views on marriage as well as the really pithy put downs of her counsel, particularly her Secretary who was a great character.
I was seriously impressed at the end when you saw JS transform into the Queen Liz that everyone recognises right in front of the audience.
I couldn’t fault any of the other cast who where equally great in their roles.
If I had one gripe, it would be that I wish someone had turned up/on the AC in auditorium as it was absolutely roasting in there for 3hrs!
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