1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 11, 2017 11:32:25 GMT
Went yesterday. I think vickster51 has it spot on. I enjoyed the performances of DT and AS, but the rest of the cast and the play itself were a let down. DT plays Don Juan as a cheeky chappy, but it needs more seriousness at points. Still, he has some great speeches, one liners and physical comedy moments. So pleased to have gone, but also happy to have stuck to a £10 seat in a nest!
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Post by CG on the loose on Apr 11, 2017 21:54:16 GMT
Saw this tonight and, in tune with some of the other comments above, I wouldn't have found it easy to sit through the material had it been in less accomplished hands, but Tennant and Scarborough are immensely watchable and for their performances alone, I'm very glad I went.
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Post by RudyGrey on Apr 12, 2017 5:17:18 GMT
Saw this tonight and, in tune with some of the other comments above, I wouldn't have found it easy to sit through the material had it been in less accomplished hands, but Tennant and Scarborough are immensely watchable and for their performances alone, I'm very glad I went. Same feeling here! I actually went in expecting the worst, after some of the comments here. Yes, the flaws are obvious, but exactly by being prepared for those "politically incorrect" jokes, we had an entertaining evening. The central duo were most watchable, with a natural chemistry and we quite liked the staging. The plot's weakness was camouflaged by some very quotable oneliners. Don Juan's second half soliloquy made some strong points, though obviously contradictory to his own egocentrism on display throughout. |
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Post by lem on Apr 12, 2017 19:36:05 GMT
I saw this at the weekend and have to agree with the comments above.
I admit to being a Tennant fan and it was great to see him on stage again and obviously enjoying the role. The pairing with Scarborough was inspired and they play very well off each other with some brilliant one liners. Sadly, the rest of the casting was poor and offered one dimensional characters in my opinion. Once you have got past the filthy language (mostly just added to the script for shock value I think), the plot is poor and act 2 is just dull (except for 1 noticeable speech that seems to turn DJs character on his head). Overall, it seems a sad waste of the talents of the 2 leads and a bit of a waste of good theatre time for the audience.
I have another ticket for later in the run but to be honest, it's not something I'm even looking forward to seeing a second time.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 22:52:41 GMT
I thought this was a good laugh tonight, though I agree with others who've said this is mainly down to the Tennant/Scarborough relationship. They really do play beautifully off each other.
I loved the "You've forgotten how to live" soliloquy, and as someone who is (not far off) Tennant's age, I can't tell you how much I appreciated his takedown of vloggers... The speech does get dangerously close to making you think, 'hang on Don Juan, aren't you just as bad as this?' But I guess in the end it comes down to DJ saying at least he's honest about the terrible stuff he does, whereas others hide under a veneer of respectability or self-importance, which is worse.
I think I also liked this bit as it's one of the few places in the play Tennant got to address the audience directly. I was in row B and there were times I could see his eyes range over the audience and I could almost feel him pulling back to the person on stage - as if he wanted to get that direct connection with the audience but the material didn't allow for it at that point.
And on a personal note, I admit I was tickled by the 'auntie LAURA?!' line. My real name is Laura, and I am indeed an auntie. Does this mean I get to claim to have had sexy time with David Tennant? ;-)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 8:46:56 GMT
@jeanhunt I think that DEFINITELY means you get to claim you've had sexy time with Davey T. (I might change my name to Laura and get myself some siblings so I can too, in my Tennant filled dreams as ever haha)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 12:17:48 GMT
Totally worth any name change cost emicardiff ;-)
He even managed to look good in that terrible pink checked suit DJ started the play in...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 12:23:35 GMT
Totally worth any name change cost emicardiff ;-) He even managed to look good in that terrible pink checked suit DJ started the play in... That man could look good in a paper bag frankly ...yes DT is STILL my number 1 crush. And I curse that despite living in Cardiff the entire time he was filming Who, I never spotted him in the wild... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 12:34:41 GMT
He's got quite knobbly knees though. Could you live with the knobbly knees, emi?
(Who am I kidding, of course we could live with the knobbly knees...)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 12:38:09 GMT
He's got quite knobbly knees though. Could you live with the knobbly knees, emi? (Who am I kidding, of course we could live with the knobbly knees...) I will make a David Tennant exception for knobbly knees. He can keep them covered in the pink suit. |
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Post by mistressjojo on Apr 19, 2017 19:58:11 GMT
He's got quite knobbly knees though. Could you live with the knobbly knees, emi? (Who am I kidding, of course we could live with the knobbly knees...) Who was looking at his knees in that scene?? :-o |
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Post by lynette on Apr 19, 2017 21:17:54 GMT
Sorry I booked towards back of the stalls. Looks like I should have booked front row. Might take binoculars.
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 19, 2017 21:38:31 GMT
Sorry I booked towards back of the stalls. Looks like I should have booked front row. Might take binoculars. I wouldn't worry, lynette - he's not nick-named David "Ten-inch" for nothing! So I've heard... |
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Post by lynette on Apr 20, 2017 21:56:13 GMT
A big..disappointment. Nice performance from AS but I felt that DT didn't show enough of the dark side. It was the writing wasn't it? Updating an update which didn't work in the first place was never going to work. I mean you can't just tag a few jokes about Trump and celebrity chefs and make a play. It becomes a tv comedy half hour at best. The underlying concept of what free will is and the idea that you can't do harm to others etc completely lost in the melee. There was one moment when I felt DT was channeling self destruction. But o my what a following he has. They worshipped at the altar of St David of Tennant and laughed heartily at every weak gag. I think he can actually act on the stage. I've seen him do it. Here he was performing, not the same thing at all.
Is it just me or was this the worst dancing ever on a West End Stage? In fact the movement throughout was rubbish and the pace drooped to oblivion on several occasions. Director?
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Apr 20, 2017 21:57:44 GMT
Ps if you want a bit of something to look at ladies, go to Antony and Cleo at the RSC where young Octavius has much promise.
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Post by talkstageytome on Apr 21, 2017 0:18:53 GMT
Saw this tonight and I.... enjoyed it. It was fine. Okay so I'm a David Tennant fan (who isn't?) and thought he was very good, but agree with other comments on here that he wasn't dark enough in the role.
And yes, the movement was not the best imo. Looked like the sort of thing my uni musical theatre society would perform.
After the terrible reviews (from both audiences and critics) this got I was expecting it to be much worse, but it's definitely not the best thing I've seen.
Very tired so will write up more thoughts tomorrow...
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Post by peggs on Apr 25, 2017 12:13:29 GMT
Saw last night and sat wondering if it was possibly the worst thing I'd ever seen. Thought the play and writing was really poor leaving everyone with not a lot to work with. I didn't think the updating worked, it made the {Spoiler - click to view}
abandoned wife bit weaker as the brothers response made little sense in a modern setting and all the illusions to current affairs and people just felt too glib. I like David Tennant but felt he was miscast, I just didn't believe him, he did his best but he lacked the menace/darkness whatever it was that would make me believe he was that character. His comedy was very good and goodness isn't he springy bouncing around the set leaping on and off furniture but as I didn't buy into him entirely it didn't work. Adrian Scarborough was lovely and for me the best thing in it and as a double act with DT it worked well, their chemistry seeming natural. The other characters well I suppose aren't really characters in a developed sense so made little impact, found the wife particularly wet though that was mainly the lines. And the dancing? Presumably meant to be erotic, sensual? No.
There was much ovating and roars of laughter, so mine wasn't the common view, but I just felt it was a poor way to get laughs. On reflection it wasn't the worst thing I've seen but possibly some of the worst writing which is quite different and not a fit for me, ahh well we live and learn.
The nest seats whilst rather making me feel like I was going to be ejected down into the stalls were a steal so thanks theatremonkey. |
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Post by stageyninja83 on Apr 25, 2017 21:37:45 GMT
A big..disappointment. Nice performance from AS but I felt that DT didn't show enough of the dark side. It was the writing wasn't it? Updating an update which didn't work in the first place was never going to work. I mean you can't just tag a few jokes about Trump and celebrity chefs and make a play. It becomes a tv comedy half hour at best. The underlying concept of what free will is and the idea that you can't do harm to others etc completely lost in the melee. There was one moment when I felt DT was channeling self destruction. But o my what a following he has. They worshipped at the altar of St David of Tennant and laughed heartily at every weak gag. I think he can actually act on the stage. I've seen him do it. Here he was performing, not the same thing at all. Is it just me or was this the worst dancing ever on a West End Stage? In fact the movement throughout was rubbish and the pace drooped to oblivion on several occasions. Director? The dancing reminded me of Ross and Monica doing 'The Routine' in Friends, laughable! |
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Post by cat6 on Apr 25, 2017 22:27:08 GMT
Well, I'm in for it, 2 weeks from now. Maybe they'll brush up the dialogue and the dancing in the meantime!
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Post by mistressjojo on Apr 26, 2017 3:41:18 GMT
I should preface my comments with the admission that I am quite a bit of a David Tennant fan , including his knobbly knees ( I refer you to my avatar!) This wasn't the complete train wreck I was expecting from the comments on here. It wasn't the worst play I've ever seen - it wasn't even the worst thing I've seen David Tennant do ( including tv & film here) ! I think the main problem though is that it's just not a very good play. DJ & Stan are for the most part well written characters, and David Tennant & Adrian Scarborough have a nice chemistry between them. The other characters seem to be tacked on as an afterthought to fill in the details, or maybe just pad out the story? Unfortunately the actors filing these parts aren't skilled enough to make them believable in any way. Having seen this play now more than once, I was generous enough to hope that the supporting cast might improve as time went on. They didn't. I found myself pondering whether this all could have been reduced to a 2 hander between DJ & Stan and the rest alluded to in the script? Because the only really good parts of the script are the scenes between these two. The music & dancing was quite out of place and a bit school musical, except the opening to the second act with Mr Tennant dancing in his robe. It seemed a strange selection of songs apart from the Talking Heads number, which sort of fitted in with the theme. Look, it's not going to win any awards for serious drama - but it is very funny in a politically incorrect way. I certainly enjoyed the comedy in this more than 'The Goat', which just made me feel very uncomfortable thoughout. If you approach this as a bit of fun, and not a grand drama, you'll probably enjoy it. And if David Tennant looking delightfully dishevelled and acting as a total cad appeals to you, you will definitely enjoy this.  |
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Post by floorshow on Apr 27, 2017 15:55:08 GMT
Saw this last night, it is a bit clunky in places and its a much bigger production than it needs to be - havent seen that much smoke since an 80s goth night. Still enjoyed it although it was prone to the occasional lull.
Adrian Scarborough did a great job of not letting it disappear too far up its own arse and noticeably got the loudest applause at the end. Tennant was as broad as he gets without quite crossing over to Russell Brand but it was a close call.
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Post by jgblunners on Apr 29, 2017 22:22:47 GMT
This didn't quite sit right for me - very patchy. Moments of fantastic dialogue and direction for DJ, Stan, and DJ's father, but other characters are poorly written and poorly directed. The ensemble movement could've been used very effectively to represent DJ's demons, but it just felt a bit pointless and mostly served to cover scene changes. The statue is a nice idea, but most of its lines were ridiculous and made it feel like Marber was trying to be too clever. David Tennant and Adrian Scarborough deliver incredible performances and are the glue that holds together the mismatching parts of this production. There's a lot of potential here but it's only partially realised.
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Post by Pennywise57 on May 30, 2017 16:26:14 GMT
I saw this on Friday the 19th and I must say I really enjoyed It. Yes it's not the greatest play in the world but I found it really funny. David Tennant and Adrian Scarborough were both brilliant in this. The relationship between Don Juan and Stan is electric to watch. Being a David Tennant fan as well, It was great to actually get to see him live on stage. He's so energetic!
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Post by mallardo on May 30, 2017 17:48:16 GMT
I saw this on Friday the 19th and I must say I really enjoyed It. Yes it's not the greatest play in the world but I found it really funny. David Tennant and Adrian Scarborough were both brilliant in this. The relationship between Don Juan and Stan is electric to watch. Being a David Tennant fan as well, It was great to actually get to see him live on stage. He's so energetic!
I agree with you. I thought it was very funny and wonderfully acted by Tennant in particular. The Moliere play it's based on is hardly the "greatest play in the world" either and I thought Marber's adaptation smart and entertaining. My estimation of his work is on a decidedly upward curve.
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Post by lynette on May 31, 2017 9:44:21 GMT
So why have two of our best actors in a play that isn't 'the greatest play in the world' which actually means it is a weak play?
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