2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 2, 2017 20:30:05 GMT
Our Town at the Royal Exchange Darn it, I think the Tory conference has snagged up Manchester, closed Deansgate till Friday (my route in) and means I'll probably have to cancel my tickets! Shame if so, though my companion wasn't looking forward to the onstage seats I'd booked!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2017 7:30:30 GMT
Our Town at the Royal Exchange Darn it, I think the Tory conference has snagged up Manchester, closed Deansgate till Friday (my route in) and means I'll probably have to cancel my tickets! Shame if so, though my companion wasn't looking forward to the onstage seats I'd booked! Just when you thought the Tories couldn't get worse they mess with Theatre too! (BTW the on-stage seating isn't too scary, from the looks of it and i say that as an interaction-averse audience!)
|
|
2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 3, 2017 9:14:23 GMT
Yes - shame, but never mind - got the touring productions of Rita, Sue and Bob Too in Liverpool and How to Win Against History in Manchester the week after. Jubilee is coming up next at the Royal Exchange - I love the film, so I'm curious to see what they do with it.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2017 11:16:16 GMT
|
|
61 posts
|
Post by junet on Oct 10, 2017 15:22:26 GMT
Saturday evening at the Orchard Theatre Dartford we saw the DAODS Singing in the Rain. They were very good as always and there was a lot of tap dancing in this show. Made me realise that I have to see 42nd Street again really soon.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2017 15:42:15 GMT
I saw this last night and I absolutely loved it. Didn't know the play at all, never been to the Royal Exchange, so it was all quite an experience. I loved the staging, and the whole thing was just extraordinary and very moving. The last act was really painful, and I cried quite a bit, which I never do in the theatre and as I was in the front row it was all a bit emotional. I had to run afterwards to catch the last train and thank goodness it was dark and raining outside because the crazy sobbing woman in the street would have looked a bit bonkers.
|
|
2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 12, 2017 22:34:33 GMT
Rita, Sue and Bob Too at the Liverpool Playhouse (touring) was great - the three leads were really strong, simple but effective staging and very good, almost Dennis Potterishly nostalgic use of 80s music (and thankfully no Black Lace!). I'm very familiar with the film but have never seen it on stage before, and think I prefer this version.
Good soundtrack playing in the foyer/house beforehand, too - 80s pop, but the good stuff.
|
|
3,480 posts
|
Post by showgirl on Oct 14, 2017 3:52:54 GMT
As mentioned elsewhere, I went to see Richard Bean's Harvest, (saw it when it originally opened at the Royal Court in 2005) on the Guildford stop of the touring revival by New Perspectives theatre company. Curiously this was not only the sole full week's stay listed but also the single theatre; the rest were other types of venue and for one night: newperspectives.co.uk/?idno=1184&s=55Having seen it again, I think the play itself isn't one of his best (though I'm not sure which I would say fell into that category as Richard Bean is quite prolific and has done a lot in the intervening years, with mixed results), but it was a very good production and worth catching if you haven't seen it and/or live in an area without easy access to theatres and can reach one of the venues. There are some reviews online if anyone is interested - 3 and 4 stars, to give you an idea.
|
|
2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 15, 2017 20:11:41 GMT
How To Win Against History is great fun and well worth catching in its travels.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:31:41 GMT
28 - What Shadows - Lyceum
Its 1967/8 and Enoch Powell is tired of being ignored, he wants to be Prime Minister but no one is listening to what he has to say - when the editor of the Wolverhampton local newspaper gives him some coaching on how to get the media interested in what he has to say a chain of events are set in motion that will make Powell one of the most famous people in the country - but at what cost to the local community?
1992 - a black historian sets out to interview Powell to discover if his views have mellowed over time....
It doesn’t have any courage - is Powell racist? Are we all racist? Its platitudes and liberal handwringing without actually going anywhere - the final confrontation is a damp squib of blustering rhetoric which doesn't seem to want to say anything controversial or indeed new.
We spend the first half in the build up to the rivers of blood speech and the second is 25 years later looking at the impact. Using a black historian to look into the story of Powell seems a reasonable approach to take but then we veer off into her being an alcoholic for 5 minutes and then nothing, its never mentioned again - yes we are led to understand that the impact of the Birmingham speech is what has made her the woman she is today but it’s a cul-de-sac that doesn’t need to be gone down when you are just blatantly going to ignore where you have arrived at.
Ian McDiarmid is doing an impression of Powell and is doing it very well, even if it does come across as Brian Walden meets Ken Livingstone, and he says a lot by not saying anything but does sadly veer into Palpatine a couple of times during his final speech and there is some solid support from Paula Wilcox, Ameet Chana and Nicholas Le Provost but sadly for such a relevant topic its all so inconsequential.
A 7/10 for the production.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:34:29 GMT
29 - How the Other Half Loves - Theatre Royal
Bob and Fiona attempt to cover their affair by saying they have been supporting the Featherstones through marriage difficulties - Bob saying he has been out supporting William over the affair Mary is having and Fiona saying that she has been out supporting Mary over the affair William has been having. Bobs wife decides to invite the Featherstones round to dinner but they cant come till tomorrow as they are having dinner this evening with Fiona and her husband and William and Bobs boss Frank) - things are about to get complicated.
A new production of the Alan Ayckbourn 1969 comedy - new as in, being a tour of a version that played London last year.
This takes an AGE to get going, it’s a very laboured 45 minutes until the Featherstones arrive and things actually get started in terms of the comedy but even then its not actually that funny - amusing moments, yes, but the funny has been forgotten.
Those first 45 minutes must be the must turgid piece of theatre I've seen in years, NOTHING interesting at all happens and that it doesn't even raise a titter is almost criminal for something that's supposed to be a comedy. William and Mary being onstage are when things perk up but it is a long slog to get there and Sara Crowe and Matthew Cottle are giving it their all as the boring and timid couple who are unwittingly caught in the middle of other peoples lies but they cant pack a punch big enough to lift this show from the torpor of the majority of the first act.
By setting the entire thing in one set and having that set act as the houses of both couples we can see how things are going on in 2 locations at once and this leads to the supposedly hilarious two dinner parties at one time scene as William and Mary swivelling in their chairs to face in a specific direction indicates which party we are currently at and whilst this is an interesting concept it doesnt work in this production - its stilted here, it needs to be far pacier and the dialogue delivered snappier but this version has been dragged out to over 150 minutes.
Another problem is that no one is actually very likeable at all - of course we are supposed to think we should be rooting for William and Mary but as we discover as the comedy goes along he's just as controlling in his relationship as Bob is in his but in a far more subtle fashion.
The cast are all fine, Robert Daws and Caroline Langrishe can play these parts in their sleep.
It says a lot that the biggest pop of the night was Leon Ockendon coming on stage in just his Y-fronts.
A disappointing 4/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:35:29 GMT
34 - The Comedy About a Bank Robbery After escaping from jail Mitch plans to rob the bank of his girlfriends, Caprice, father - but Caprice has fallen in love with Sam, a pickpocket whilst Mitch has been in jail. Soon there will be three Mr Freeboys in the bank trying to steal the loot whilst Officer Shuck tries to ensure nothing happens on his watch but who cant understand what keeps happening to Mr Freeboys pants.
Consistently amusing and some funny turns in something that can best be described as a return to the days of farce - trousers are lost, people are hiding above and below beds and there are some seriously annoyed seagulls on the go. I found The Play that Goes Wrong and Peter Pan GW to both fade dramatically in their second acts but this kept the interest up for the full length as its not a "Goes Wrong". Its a 100 minute comedy about some inept bank robbers that harks back to the films and productions of yore - 50 years ago Terry-Thomas would have been Mr Freeboys and George Cole in support as Mitch.
There is an amazing scene where the crooks go though the ventilation shafts at the front of the stage whilst we watch the goings on in the bank with the set having been moved to vertical so we are seeing them against the back wall, some great wire work here.
Consistently amusing 8/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:37:29 GMT
30 - Fox - Old Red Lion Theatre Pub An evening out in glittering Islington, in a pub theatre, above a pub, showing a Norwich game on the telly and full of Canaries! Stefan and Rachel are young and in love. Stefan and Rachel have split up. The beginning and end of the relationship followed by the middle bits. He's shy and cant believe his luck, she is a drunk. A non chronological look at the relationship of two young people in the 21st century - the first scene is them meeting for the first time and the second scene is their final ever meeting and we jump back and forwards across their relationship from the times that those annoying little habits are endearing to the arguments about behaviour and all the time we have strewn through the show snippets of what has led up to their final split. I enjoyed it - it is a bit repetitive, she comes home drunk every night and he starts to argue with her. It leaves unanswered questions, are there voices in her head and are we supposed to feel sympathy for him when he effectively rapes her when she passes out one night after initiating sex ? An interesting fringe production in a new to me location, will it ever go beyond above a pub? Probably not. Its not brilliant and its one of many productions about relationships that doesn't have enough to stand above many other similar shows but its an engrossing 100 minutes. 7/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:38:55 GMT
31 Othello - Ambassadors Theatre
Verily tis the tyme to partake of that old forsoother Shakey.
Othello runs his gang from the pub but Iago has designs on being the leader of the gang and sets out to poison Othellos mind about the fidelity of his wife Desdemona - it wont end well
Its Shakey, its Othello so you know what you are getting but here we have a modern version set in a pub - and to be honest that means we have about 10 minutes of gyrating (faking fights etc.) to a techno soundtrack with the battles that Othello wins being fights against other pub based gangs. The staging makes use of the minimalist setting that they are using and whilst the sets look like they have come straight from BBC Sitcoms circa 1978 it makes sense later on when as the world comes crashing down for Othello the roof is lowered and we discover that the fake looking pillars are actually rubber or somesuch and bend to allow the roof to cave in.
It’s a very breezy run through of the text and its certainly never less than entertaining but it lacks that certain oomph - not sure if it’s the bomber jackets and pool queues or the limitations of the original play (I'm not a big Shakey fan and here you cant help but wonder why Othello is so bloody stupid and why nobody talks to each other normally - everything could be cleared up in 5 minutes if they did) but still worth a trip if you are looking for something cheap and cheerful 7/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:40:05 GMT
33 - Kinky Boots - Adelphi
Charlie inherits a failing shoe factory from his father - with closure around the corner inspiration for a new range comes from an encounter with Lola, a transvestite, who is about to turn the world of the factory and Charlie upside down.
I'll admit I've never seen the film but this is just a joyous show. In times of troubles its nice to see something that is uplifting and sassy whilst wearing its heart on its sleeve about treating people in the right way despite the differences you may have. Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein have turned out a winner here - throw in a couple of show stopping moments from Simon-Anthony Rhoden as Lola being oppositeed with an understated performance, when required, from Jordan Fox as Charlie.
Sure the characters and story are cliched and you'll have seen it all before and be able to guess the ending from about 10 minutes in but this sweeps you along in a wave of feel good contentness like a warm blanket on a winters day. 9/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:41:27 GMT
36 - The Kite Runner - Kings Edinburgh
1970s Kabul, Amir and Hassan are friends (well Hassan is the son of the servant of Amirs father,) and take part in kite flying competitions - when Amir wins the competition one day he inadvertently sets in motion a train of events that will echo down the decades and finally come to a head in Taliban controlled Kabul 30 years later.
Having never read the book or seen the film I went into this one cold and it was an engrossing evening of theatrical entertainment. Amir is our narrator as he takes us through 30 years of personal history as well as the history of Afghanistan over the same period, the other 12 actors are playing multiple parts, and the narration device works for once even though we know from the start that things aren't really going to work out well for the majority of people we meet in Kabul.
A minimalist set which is curved at the sides which allows our kite runners to do a lot of running, particularly in the first act. The only issue I'd have with this is I'm assuming something that is adapted from the original book in that the orphan twist can be seen coming from a mile away and the final Kabul co-incidence is nonsensical.
8/10 - an interesting and enthralling adaptation.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:45:43 GMT
35 - Cockpit - Lyceum
World War 2 is over, in the British zone of Germany sits a theatre - a theatre that is now home to over 1000 displaced people from across Europe. A British army Captain is sent to ensure they are all sent back to their homelands. In the aftermath of war the allies should all be content but Serb hates Croat, Pole hates Russian, Latvians have nowhere to go, the French are fighting each other and everyone hates the Jews.
And then they discover someone in the theatre may have the bubonic plague.
First produced in 1948, where it closed after 60 performances, and having its first ever revival here this is an immersive staging (the whole theatre is used, so we get character monologues from the circle plus the boxes being used as a set and actors sat amongst the audience at some points) of a long forgotten play.
And for something that is 70 years old its a remarkably prescient piece of story writing about the problems facing Europe - but the problem it has is that its so earnest and right on that it sometimes forget to actually be a drama and instead the whole thing comes screeching to a halt whilst we get another missive on how rubbish everything is now that the Serbs and the Croats and so on cant get on when just weeks previously they had been united against a common foe.
The plague subplot seems to last for ever and the Chekov's Gun of the character sat in the audience becomes distracting - we know she is going to have something big to do with the plot or else why is she there but it goes on and on and on and on until her relevance to the plot is explained and whilst the whole scene is essentially superfluous to the plot its actually one of the highlights of the show. And then in the end, Europe falls apart and I guess that's why its been resurrected in 2107 but aside from being a historical curio that actually staggeringly reflects the modern world its not one to hurry to see.
A multi-national cast give it their all and there are some quick costume changes on show to increase the number of DPs but its the second Lyceum show in a row where the attendance has been pitiful - 7 of us in the circle for What Shadows and here I got an upgrade at the Lyceum for the first time ever. I assume they didn't want a small number of people up there when they'd more staff than usual to make sure we weren't in the way when an actor had to appear and do some acting. They need to pull the finger out in selling this years programme, its been underwhelming so far.
Competent but not compelling 7/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 17, 2017 11:49:16 GMT
32 - The Ferryman - Gielgud Ireland, the early 1980s - as the hunger strikers in the Maze Prison approach death a Priest has a meeting with the local head of the IRA. And that's all you are getting in terms of the story of this one, that's the 2 minute prologue. This is a play best seen without any inclination as to which way its going to go and what's going to happen. For example one line about 30 minutes in changes your viewpoint on everything you have seen so far - its subtle, brilliant and an indication that nothing may be what it appears to be And come the end of the 195 minute runtime you'll be drained, emotional and desperately wanting Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes to produce a Ferryman 2 - Electric Boogaloo. Mendes and Butterworth have pulled an absolute classic out of the bag here, there isn't a word wasted or a gesture that doesn't add something to the show. A large ensemble give it everything as 3 generations of one family, with veterans such as Dearbhla Molloy knocking it out of the park alongside the current generation of Paddy Considine acting his little cotton socks off whilst the large child/youth cast are also on form. And make no mistake it is an ensemble piece, I know they made a lot of Considine being the lead in this but he's not, he's one cog of a beautiful collective that all have something to offer in the production - indeed Considine is offscreen for long portions of the run time and indeed the start of the third act rests solely on the shoulders of the youth cast for a good 20 minutes or so and they rise to the challenge magnificently. I was lucky to see the original cast in their last week and the new cast are in London until January, miss this one and you've really missed out. It also has real animals, a very alarmed goose the night I was there, and taking their lives in their hands they also have a real honest to goodness baby on stage for around 15 minutes. Apparently the cast have been directed to act to the baby's reactions to being on stage - I saw it decide to throw its arm out to the audience in a sort of baby wave which led to around 1000 people all going "awwww!" 10/10 - beautiful writing and performances make this easily the best thing I've seen this year and indeed its my first 10/10 since 2014. A future classic.
|
|
2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 21, 2017 19:59:45 GMT
My Name is Rachel Corrie at the Young Vic - an absolutely stunning solo performance by Erin Doherty as the passionate young activist which had me breathless and shaking at the end. Best performance I've seen this year, I think. It's sold out on the website, with only a few days left of the run, but I managed to get a return by ringing the box office yesterday, having had to reschedule 3 times, and I'm so glad I finally made it!
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 28, 2017 21:32:47 GMT
37 - The Real Thing - Kings Edinburgh
A couples relationship is buckling under the strain of his suspicions of her infidelity but hang on a minute she is married to someone else - a playwrights latest play appears to have undercurrants relating to his real life.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm just not sure on this one, the script by Tom Stoppard is very witty and does make for an interesting evenings entertainment whilst stoppard also does a bit of showing off by essentially inserting himself as the main character and making use of badinage to progress the plot whilst also layering what we are seeing by using variations of the same scene across the play.
So nice script and great music but now we come to the problem - Laurence Fox is terrible in the lead. A distressingly one note performance that never goes beyond nasal mumbling. By the end of the play I'm supposed to have learnt what he is passionate about (pop music, writing, use of language etc) but the central performance is so one note and uninteresting that he may as well be talking for 100 minutes about what is on his shopping list for Aldi.
And Flora Spencer-Longhurst is also miscast as Annie, in the second act much is made of the fact that Billy is in lust with her as he has a thing for an older woman but FSL looks about 12 so lines of dialogue about this attraction to an older person fall flat - when your programme has a photo of Felicty Kendall in it from the 1982 production then it only serves to highlight that there has been a miscasting here. She's actually very good - flirty and in love and as we discover later in love with more than one person but for different reasons and with different levels of love and FLS manages to convince in her acting but she just looks wrong.
6/10 - a wasted opportunity.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Nov 3, 2017 23:21:17 GMT
38 - Duet for One - Kings Edinburgh
Stephanie is a world class violinist - or she once was, now with her body unable to cope with playing owing to an MS diagnosis she is suicidal and has nothing to live for. Her husband suggests she has some sessions with Dr Feldman. Over time he'll uncover what drove her to become a violinist and what she wants from her current situation.
Not for me. Dull repetitive and just downright boring - I found myself pondering how he accessed his CDs at one point and that was far more interesting than what was on stage.
Cotton is static, a stoic presence asking the questions that allow Lang to give it her all in response to these questions. And that’s it again and again and again for a torturous 100 minutes. And that's a major part of the problem - I don't believe in Lang for a minute as either someone with a passion for music or with a serious illness, now some of that is in the writing and the direction but the characterisation comes across as shrill and unlikeable and if I cant like someone with a life limiting illness in a play about said character then we have a problem.
3/10 - one too many.
|
|
32 posts
|
Post by amadeus on Nov 7, 2017 22:34:21 GMT
I know this should be in the plays section but I doubt many of you have seen this...
Has anyone caught this production so far? It runs until the 18th of November. I saw the first performance and I still don't know what to make of it. The production just lacked any sense of vision... It just sort of plodded along... Not terrible, but not great either. I loved the stripping away of the scenery though... Very Pippin-esque. Luckily I was sat on the front row at the right side of the auditorium - half the audience missed all the dancing scenes. Seems a strange thing to do.
I'm thinking of giving it another go considering I was a bit tired and it was the first night.
What did you guys make of it? Hope you're all well x
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Nov 11, 2017 21:41:59 GMT
39- Wind Resistance - Lyceum
Now this is an odd one, Scottish country singer Karine Polwart has written a 100 minute show about the migrating (and in some instances non-migrating) birds that live on the moss next to her home. Up here a moss is an area of rural wetlands, I grew up just down the road from Flanders Moss which caused some confusion when we did WWI at school.
But its not a concert, its clearly not a concert - yes there are songs spread throughout the runtime but its more (also?) a spoken word story about the death of the mother of the old lady who Karine and her son used to live next door to and how over the centuries the area around the moss has seen changes in terms of the people that live there and the roles that they perform in the society they live in and also, and maybe more importantly, how things haven't changed over the centuries.
Throw in a bizarre sidestep in which Karine introduces us to her fetish for former Aberdeen, Man Utd and Scotland goalie Jim Leighton and you have a show that's certainly different from the usual type of show that the Lyceum has been putting on recently.
I have to admit I was expecting more of a concert but what I got was an intriguing night out about love, team work, birds, bandy legged goalies and as the title says Wind Resistance.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Nov 11, 2017 22:00:44 GMT
40 - The Wipers Times - Theatre Royal Glasgow
Its 1916 and as the British army beds down at Ypres, a company finds a printing press and decides to try and raise morale by printing their own newspaper. Over the course of the next 2 years they'll face off against the Hun, the general staff and the temperance union. Can they keep the presses rolling and survive the war to end all wars?
An apposite choice for this week.
I don't know what to make of this one. On the one hand its a group of soldiers trying to bring some light into their life by working on the newspaper and ergo it should be dramatic BUT its played for laughs.
And the problem I have is that its not funny. Yes there is the odd chucklesome moment but overall its a leaden comedy that works far better as a drama. Its not helped by the general staff having come straight out of Blackadder with the acting to match, it lends an artificial feel to the show that doesn't have to be there.
The end of act I as they prepare to go over the top at the Somme should be a gut wrenching moment, we know (or you should know) what really happened and therefore what is likely to happen to our characters but as they are caricatures its hard to relate to them and feel sympathy for what may (will?) happen to them.
A grudging lower end 6/10 - it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Feb 3, 2018 8:38:52 GMT
1 - The Merry Widow - Sydney Opera House
The embassy in Paris of the poverty-stricken Balkan principality of Pontevedro is holding a ball. Hanna Glawari, who has inherited twenty million francs from her late husband, is to be a guest at the ball - and the Pontevedrin ambassador, Baron Zeta, is scheming to ensure that she will keep her fortune in the country, saving Pontevedro from bankruptcy. The Baron intends that Count Danilo Danilovitsch, the first secretary of the embassy, should marry the widow. With hilarious consequences.....
First time I've ever been to the Opera, and I'm pretty sure that this production is not really an Opera, sung in English it came across more as a musical but with the singing in a higher range. Apparently this is one of the most popular operas of all time, in terms of productions, and you can see why - its the sort of thing that 70 years later Tim Rice and ALW would have knocked out one weekend and then seen it run in the West End for 30 years - its light, frothy, very entertaining, well acted and had a cruise liner going past the balcony window.
A load of money has also clearly been spent on it - a cast of over 30, including the chorus, and also a full orchestra. Comfy seats as well.
Very enjoyable. 8/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Feb 3, 2018 8:40:20 GMT
2 - Strangers on a Train - Theatre Royal - Glasgow
Guy Hailey and Charles Bruno meet by chance on a train and over drinks decide to murder someone in each others lives - no links, no motive - the perfect crime. Bruno murders Guys faithless wife and then exerts pressure on Guy to reciprocate. As Guy starts to lose his mind a private detective starts to piece things together...
The set is very well done, even if its a bit wobbly, with sliding sections on several levels opening to reveal various bits of set and some dry ice and lights at the end makes us think for a second that they may actually have a train. But its a tedious 125 minutes of ripe over acting from one half of the duo, Bruno, and stolid blankness, Guy, from the other half and with neither of the leads being acted particularly well its just so hard to care about anything they plan or do. Bruno descends into a Kenneth Williams impersonation to show his madness whilst the mental breakdown of Guy seems to consist of nothing more than undoing his tie and shining a red light on him - Jack Ashton is a blank canvas in the role, the script is telling us what he is feeling and doing but there is nothing in the performance to bring this to life.
there were a couple of times where the set clearly took longer than anticipated to close, at one point we could clearly see the stage staff coming on to set up the next scene behind a slide that hadn't closed fully and I was wondering at the end as the whole slide came across the stage as to whether or not it was going to take his foot off.
The scene where Charles starts "shouting" at the detective as he's querying him about the flowers was a bizarre mix of Columbo and Carry on Constable - certainly something the Director should have had another run at.
It was surprisingly well attended as well so it seems to be popular or either there are a lot more Call the Midwife and Emmerdale fans in Glasgow than I thought - for a touring show to sell around 90% of the bottom 3 levels and also sell some Balcony tickets at the Theatre Royal is very unusual. There cant have been more than 150 of us in the entire building last year for The Railway Children - haven't seen it that busy since David Suchet was here in 2012.
Also have to say the people around me enjoyed it a lot more, there were some "Oooooooh" and "ahhhhhh" ing at certain plot points and the hubhub on the way out was positive - it was just one of those shows that wasn't for me. I mean Blood Brothers ran in the West End for 20+ years, I still think its the worst musical I've ever seen.
It keeps threatening to catch fire but it never does and even the end just peters out - that the biggest pop of the night was for the first appearance of Ashley from Emmerdale says it all.
Not recommended 4/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Feb 3, 2018 8:42:43 GMT
3 - The Lover - Royal Lyceum - Edinburgh
1930, Indochina. A 15 year old French girl begins a sexual affair with an older Chinese man. She is poor, he is rich. The shame could destroy both their lives - she looks back on their relationship from middle age after his death.
DANCE!!!! I have to admit that I've never seen the 90s film version that made Jane March famous for 15 minutes but I'm pretty certain it wasn't a dance film. Here we have the story told via narration from Susan Vidler and a cast of 4 dancers acting out the plot in a languid 80 minute production.
An odd one, it starts with Vidler reminiscing about the affair and then we see the girl and man first meet and its Vidler telling us about it and then the girl speaks. And she and as it transpires everyone are dubbed by recordings of Vidler - which just doesn’t work, it puts a level of artifice onto the actors that isn't required and which makes it hard to feel anything for the barely sketched brothers of the girl who Swan (lake) in and out of the action from time to time. We get one other voice on stage during the production - the final conversation between the girl and the man with him actually speaking his lines and by then its too late - we've become accustomed to the cast miming.
So as I'm sure we recall, if you are a certain age, March became famous for taking her clothes off in the film and here indeed we have some topless nudity during their original sexual coupling but from Row E it was clear that both dancers were wearing exceptionally saggy flesh pants to hide their lower portions and watching their undies was sadly far more interesting than the over choreographed karma sutra dance they were putting on.
Not erotic, not exotic, not very well constructed and really when it comes down to it just not that interesting to be anything more than a slightly diverting time waster-- 5/10
|
|
806 posts
|
Post by duncan on Feb 3, 2018 23:45:30 GMT
Bold Girls - Citizens Theatre
Belfast 1988, Marie isnt up for a night out with her friend Cassie and Cassies mother Nora - The husband of Marie was killed 4 years ago in the troubles (the insinuation being that he was a member of the IRA who was killed) and Cassies husband is in jail for terrorist related offences but is due out in a year. Cassie is looking to escape her past whilst Marie wants to embrace hers for her two children but then Marie admits she doesn't want to go out as she wants to stay home and see again the ghost in her house. Cassie thinks she needs a drink but as a bomb goes off nearby Cassie admits to also seeing the ghost in the aftermath of the explosion.
Lets make it clear at this point that the ghost is metaphorical, the ghost of the past come to haunt both Marie and Cassie - and I could have hit myself at missing the massive Chekovs gun early on, which has a major impact on the last 10 minutes. Its a plot point that I think those who have gorged on soap operas will probably get very early on but it totally passed me by until it was spelt out. That the ghost should appear on this very day when skeletons come tumbling out of the closet is of course writers choice but it just feels too strained.
This is an early work by the acclaimed Rona Munro (of the hit James trilogy), from 1990 and it doesn't have the same oomph that her later work does - you can see the makings of a writer here but for me its not a polished work - we have clichéd characters, the widow who worships her dead husband and her brassy best friend who is easy with her virtues and who wants to escape her boring working class life. Throw in the mother who cant accept that her daughter isn't as willing to be a loyal wife to a jailed terrorist as she once was and the mysterious ghost who throughout Act 1 is allowed to carry out acts that any person in real life would never accept - and that's a problem, she walks into the house, takes a shower, wears Maries clothes etc etc and yet Marie doesn't bat an eyelid and we learn that they have never spoken. Cassie and Nora both point out that Marie needs to take action but she fails to do so for no other reason than plot expediency.
Its all very well done on stage, a nice set, some nice lighting and a set of adequate performances but it never rises consistently above being average. There is a lovely 15 minute or so scene set in a nightlcub whilst our main characters have their night out but everything that surrounds it just seems lesser quality material. An early calling card from someone with talent but a card that needed more polishing.
|
|
3,480 posts
|
Post by showgirl on Feb 12, 2018 4:41:08 GMT
The Winslow Boy - Terence Rattigan - CFT & Tour
This probably deserves a thread of its own in "Plays" but maybe someone else would like to start one if this becomes more popular here.
OH and I went to see Rachel Kavanaugh's revival which started its UK tour at CFT; OH had never seen the play and said it wasn't really his thing but I thought it was an excellent production. I was a little concerned as, though I couldn't remember it in detail, I'd seen such a good production at the Rose Theatre in 2009 that I'd doubted another could match it and hadn't planned to see it again. However, I received a surprise Christmas gift of dinner and theatre tickets, hence our trip.
My fears proved groundless as this version was also so good that I was delighted to have seen it (though I'd much have preferred a matinee and closer to home, as I was struggling to stay awake and didn't get to bed until 1 am due to trains) and am almost tempted to try to catch it again later on its tour. Great casting in all the main roles: Aden Gillett, Tessa Peake-Jones, Dorothea Myer-Bennett - and, rather disconcertingly for "Archers" regulars, Timothy Watson as the barrister.
|
|
2,965 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Feb 18, 2018 18:26:06 GMT
A few things -
The Almighty Sometimes, Royal Exchange - saw this a few days ago, with the post show talk. It's a strong, thought-provoking piece staged, though for a short run, in the main space. Great cast, including Julie Hesmondhalgh as the mother and Norah Lopez Holden, who I haven't seen before, as the daughter - she's one to watch for the future, I think!
I saw the first preview of Black Men Walking - it was OK, well played though the play itself was a bit rough around the edges and not always clear, but it was only the £6 first preview so I imagine it'll be in better shape by the time it's toured. It's going to the Royal Court at some point.
I saw A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer with my Mum, who has had cancer, and we both really disliked it. I feel bad saying that but, as the writer/performer makes clear at the start, she was commissioned to pitch something to Complicite and after throwing a lot of ideas at them hit on the idea of cancer, something which, it seems, she has no personal experience of. I don't think 'no experience' should prevent a writer from tackling a subject, but when it's something so many people have experience of, either directly or in their family, it's a bit like a white person writing about the black experience. Mum was particularly p-d off by things like the 'cancer face' routine - "so what does she expect people to do, say, oh, you've got cancer, grin and ask if you want some tea?". Some people were clearly very moved by it, though, so...
|
|