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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2017 22:15:56 GMT
This is interesting
The cast is strong and have all acted at RC Almeida WE so were all familiar to me
The story has been updated to modern China
There is a gay couple which at times feels a bit forced but also facilitates the plot twists nicely
Corruption
Organ harvesting
Attempted rape
Execution and murder
Death by rat poison
Child possession by a ghost
The new plot based on the traditional story is rather far fetched and quite perverse
My party and I enjoyed it but I have to say the tone is sombre
It reminded me very much of the playwrights last play at NT shed which was equally if not more pessimistic
There is a warning about content but I think that should probably be highlighted a bit more explicitly
There are some of the more realistic deaths I have seen on stage for a long time and some of the themes are quite disturbing
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Post by theatremad on Feb 28, 2017 10:33:42 GMT
One of those little gems from the RSC. Didn't know the story at all aside from the clues in publicity. Incredible production with some stunning moments, genuinely gripped by this and made me want to go back and read the original.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 11:54:20 GMT
One of those little gems from the RSC. Didn't know the story at all aside from the clues in publicity. Incredible production with some stunning moments, genuinely gripped by this and made me want to go back and read the original. so glad you enjoyed and it is gripping it is a bit like a really good soap opera as a result of the updating the characters are very vivid what did you make of the deaths?- particularly the death by rat poison there is a very good sense of balance I thought- those that die do so to pay the price for past wrongs |
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Post by lynette on Feb 28, 2017 14:37:09 GMT
Seeing this soon, thanks for the warning.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 15:17:46 GMT
Seeing this soon, thanks for the warning. Please be sure to report back what you thought The death by poison is quite excellently shocking and so well done I also recall a good poison death was portrayed in Behind the Beautiful Forevers In fact this play has 2 fight directors listed in the credits and the violence is all the more real for it There are some very realistic beating scenes as well The use of water effects is also very good particularly as I was in the front row and could dip my hands in and swish them about |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:01:35 GMT
Nice that Parsley appreciated this but I didn't personally get much from it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:13:14 GMT
Nice that Parsley appreciated this but I didn't personally get much from it. Telll us more please |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:14:53 GMT
Perhaps it's because I saw Virgina Woolf
And Hamlet
In the same week
And it was nice to see something that wasn't stuck up its own arse
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:30:58 GMT
I hadn't seen anything at all previously by either the writer or the director so I didn't really go in with any aspect in mind to watch out for. And I don't think I'll be going back to see either in the future. Nothing seemed of much interest. Except the cameo performance of the elderly masseuse which had a very special atmosphere and mysterious subtlety that was lacking elsewhere. It all seemed a bit prosaic. By the way, I consider a lot of Parsley's details to be major spoilers. I attended this afternoon's talk by the director and the writer and they were careful to avoid spoilers, but even so when I watched the play this evening I had too much advance knowledge, so I wasn't gaining knowledge but having it confirmed, and this contributed to my not really engaging with it. I missed much equivalence of the performance elements of the classical Chinese drama. For me, this play seemed too centred on bare plot presentation. The director said that he has radically re-ordered the second half since Saturday.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:43:57 GMT
I hadn't seen anything at all previously by either the writer or the director so I didn't really go in with any aspect in mind to watch out for. And I don't think I'll be going back to see either in the future. Nothing seemed of much interest. Except the cameo performance of the elderly masseuse which had a very special atmosphere and mysterious subtlety that was lacking elsewhere. It all seemed a bit prosaic. By the way, I consider a lot of Parsley's details to be major spoilers. I attended this afternoon's talk by the director and the writer and they were careful to avoid spoilers, but even so when I watched the play this evening I had too much advance knowledge, so I wasn't gaining knowledge but having it confirmed, and this contributed to my not really engaging with it. I missed much equivalence of the performance elements of the classical Chinese drama. For me, this play seemed too centred on bare plot presentation. The director said that he has radically re-ordered the second half since Saturday. Are you angry with me |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2017 1:50:51 GMT
No, I purposely avoided reading any of this thread until after I'd seen the play tonight. I'll be interested to read the critics' reviews and comments about the classical Chinese theatre translation project. For my taste, it seems to be too much a new play based on the classic and too little a translation, or even a version, of the original. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2017 6:46:54 GMT
All seats £10 for this for any performance up to 17th March with code 16569 (or use this link) |
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Post by lynette on Mar 11, 2017 16:53:41 GMT
I think I might be on my own with this one. For me too many issues, too many characters and toooo long. I liked the Hamletesque ghost idea but come on, we were blinded ( interesting one character was blind) by so many issues. For me the one that I think could make a good play is the selling of organs. To see how organs are not given according to need but are to highest bidder and that the doctor is compelled to cooperate is a marvellous meld of state and commercial compulsions.
Just a note on technique: shouty shouty. The Swan invites intimacy and you can hear a pin drop so why shout everything all the time?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2017 16:56:23 GMT
Just a note on technique: shouty shouty. The Swan invites intimacy and you can hear a pin drop so why shout everything all the time? Maybe as a result of the text being so bald and explanatory, which invites declamatory delivery? |
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Post by lynette on Mar 11, 2017 19:32:53 GMT
Nope not just text but direction and actor's technique. I'm thinking the outstanding example is just at the end. Handsome has already given us the speech about find me a man, then he repeats it before dot dot dot. Should have been in a whisper. Many other examples: talking to the child, the child talking, loads of stuff actually. I felt like it was a bit sixth form festival standard which is a shame.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 9:32:08 GMT
I enjoyed this more than Lynette but less than Parsley, I think!
Loved the staging, found it gripping, although I think it would of worked better tightened up a bit and done without an interval.
Always risky to write a play relying on a very young child actor delivering a complex performance with emotional depth.
Felt a bit odd doing a modern rewritten version of a play that hardly anyone in the audience will be familiar with.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 11:47:34 GMT
Felt a bit odd doing a modern rewritten version of a play that hardly anyone in the audience will be familiar with. Exactly! |
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Post by David J on Mar 25, 2017 16:41:29 GMT
Wow, I did not to expect to like this so much.
Initially it felt ridiculous. It was a combination of a soap-opera and a mystery play with the flair of an asian horror film.
But as Parsley says it has a sombre tone to its heart as each character reveals their part in the girl's death and the regrets they share.
And for a story that has ghosts, gore and revenge, it has a message that that is pertinent for everybody today. They don't even beat you over the head about it, and I didn't even think about it until it was delivered at the end.
And can I just say Katie Leung (AKA Cho Chang from the Harry Potter films) gives a outstanding performance as the wronged girl. She wins over the audience at the beginning and her soliloquy at her execution is heart-rendering.
I also enjoyed the performances from Colin Ryan and Andrew Leung as the gay couple. I felt for both of them as the relationship comes under strain.
This show just exemplifies how safe and uninteresting the majority of main house productions have become. Maybe I am nostalgic for the Michael Boyd era but the Swan Theatre productions I look forward to the most.
Everytime I go to Stratford the highlight is always a Swan Theatre production. This, The Rover, Don Quixote to name a few. Even if there are a few clunkers the Swan productions are always guaranteed to be creative and interesting.
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