The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?

Saw this on Wednesday night and must say I really enjoyed it. At points it was hysterically funny, some of that may have been the pre show margaritas but. I digress. I kind of sensed that some of the laughter around me was of the nervous uncomfortable sort and the charge for the exits by some audience members at the end certainly indicated it's not for everyone.

I thought the acting was phenomenal. Sophie Okonedo is a force of nature, I can't wait for her Mother Courage (someone organise this now please) and Damian Lewis was also excellent. Archie Madekwe playing the son in his stage debut also impressive but wears the largest most glaringly white trainers in this hemisphere which is slightly distracting.

I did leave thinking but what does it all mean?? Searching for metaphors and allegories. Maybe there aren't any. Mr Albee does seem to like the animal motif with the giant lizards in Seascape. However if the a play about goat sex had been written by a nobody as opposed to a multi award winning highly respected author towards the end of his career would the reception have been different? Answers on a postcard please.

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.

I must say, I rocked up at about 7:15pm a few days ago looking swanky, showing off the cheekbones, giving the box office a bit of a wink and a smile and nabbed myself a stalls ticket for £25. Don't know if that's normal or just pot luck because it was a quiet night though.

Result.

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!

Day seats alas - check the previous page for my experience.

Nabbed a student standby ticket for the matinee today and absolutely loved it. After seeing Virginia Woolf a few weeks ago, this only reinforced the genius of Albee - truly a master of writing material which is utterly hilarious and yet darkly serious. Sophie Okonedo was the stand out for me - Scene Two belonged entirely to her - and I thought Archie Madekwe really came into his own in Scene Three. Damian Lewis was very good, but I felt didn't quite deliver the full potential of the role.

The one thing I didn't get was the walls - what was the point? Clearly some sort of artistic decision that is meant to symbolise something, but it went over my head. I think it would've worked better with a static set like the current production of Virginia Woolf - the material is so good that you can just let the actors do their job, I didn't see the need for embellishments like that.

What do the walls do?

Tried my luck turning up 30 minutes before the matinee but the box office person obviously didn't like the look of me as the best they could do for a cheapskate was restricted view for £30 so I didn't bother

Looked to be plenty of availablility so obviously they prefer empty seats

I have absolutely no idea how this works. I do this a lot though (never with genuinely busy or sold out shows) and I would say I am successful 80% of the time. You have to have a back up plan and be prepared to walk away however. I will try my luck with this as I do want to see it but not at those prices!

Saw this last night, and found it to be a very fine production of a terrific play.

It's my second encounter with The Goat, or Who is Syvia? after first seeing it several years ago in a small theatre in L.A. At the time, I had no idea what I was about to experience and remember stumbling out of the theatre afterward in something of a daze. The current production didn't have quite that impact, but that could be largely due to my familiarity with the material. Cannot fault the actors, at all.


The one issue I had with this production was the set. It's gorgeous, but - not only do I not understand the point of the walls - I think the design is completely wrong for the play. It is far too warm and "rustic", making Martin's search for a residence in the country (and the epiphany he experiences while there) somewhat groundless.  I think a more modern, Manhattan-penthouse-type set, serves the piece better.

Just thinking that they could have done a different version of this, by which I mean The Chicken, or who is Sylvia.

With Damian Lewis saying the immortal lines "Fair Is Foul, and Foul is Fair".