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Post by Kenneth_C on Apr 1, 2017 6:34:38 GMT
I saw an excellent production of this last year here in L.A. -- it won the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Award for Best Production -- and am curious if anyone is planning on seeing it in London. Opens 7 April and runs through 20 May. www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/guards-at-the-taj/Written by Rajiv Joseph, it's a 2-character piece, set the night before the Taj Mahal is revealed in 1648. Very dark comedy, interwoven with poetic & philosophic musings on beauty and art. Think Rosencrantz & Guildenstern crossed with The Lieutenant of Inishmore. More than that, I will not say (and the less you know going in, the better). When it played Off-Broadway in 2015, it won the Obie Award for Best New American Play and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. Am a bit concerned about Jamie Lloyd being the director. If he goes all Doctor Faustus on it, it will misfire. Also, the website says " Guards at the Taj contains mild, infrequent nudity" -- which is odd, because there was none in the L.A. production. Instead, our audience warning was about "gore and strong subject matter". |
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Post by showgirl on Apr 1, 2017 8:59:49 GMT
Booked a while back & being frugal by having one of those £10 seats they allocate on the day. At least now they have allocated seating there'll be no more of that slow scrum by the entrance.
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752 posts
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 1, 2017 9:51:34 GMT
Booked a while back & being frugal by having one of those £10 seats they allocate on the day. At least now they have allocated seating there'll be no more of that slow scrum by the entrance. Me too! ☺ |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2017 21:26:59 GMT
Enjoyed this. I saw the same writer's "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" on Broadway some years ago, think I preferred this
Be warned - very intense with a lot of blood, if that bothers you
Set is amazing in such a small space although (speaking as a qualified health and safety assessor) I have concerns about safe entry and exit of the audience despite the very helpful and proactive ushers (this is true btw although my qualification has lapsed)
Love what they've done with the building - kept the period features of the old bar intact but basically opened up one side of the building to create a much bigger foyer and bar space with an outside terrace. Nice seats in the theatre - comfy individual fold down seats
Only criticism - they've done such a massive refurb, and added a second theatre space, but as far as I can see have exactly the same number of loos, up a flight of stairs, as before
Thanks for the comments on the £10 tickets, great bargain. I booked last week and ended up on the front row in the centre - can't imagine a better seat
Interestingly they say that with these seats they don't guarantee people will sit together if they book more than 1 seat. A couple who had also booked this deal ended up with one sitting next to me and one a few seats away. So appeared they deliberately split the party up as they could have given one of them my seat!
Fair enough I think - if you want to choose seats together you can pay full price. And have we finally found a seating policy which actually gives an advantage to solo theatregoers?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2017 21:28:14 GMT
Duplicate post Which I will use to clarify the nudity warning given Kenneth's comment above
At the end of the second sequence one of the guards is freaking out about the blood on his face, the other one washes his face and hands for him then helps him change his uniform, in the course of which he's naked for a bit (back to the audience)
Not sure if this is in the script. I can see the scene could be done without the nudity though
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134 posts
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Post by Kenneth_C on Apr 9, 2017 19:44:32 GMT
Duplicate post Which I will use to clarify the nudity warning given Kenneth's comment above {Spoiler}At the end of the second sequence one of the guards is freaking out about the blood on his face, the other one washes his face and hands for him then helps him change his uniform, in the course of which he's naked for a bit (back to the audience)
Not sure if this is in the script. I can see the scene could be done without the nudity though I had a feeling it was something as inconsequential as that. The script reads: {Spoiler - click to view}
Humayun removes Babur's shirt, Babur lets him, but doesn't help. Humayun picks up a large cup from within the urn, filled with water.
HUMAYUN: It's warm, the water is warm.
Humayun pours the water slowly over Babur's head. He does it again, smoothening out Babur's hair, trying to comfort his friend. He pours another cup. It resembles a baptism.
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752 posts
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 12, 2017 13:24:33 GMT
Could anyone clarify quite how bloody this one is (under spoiler of course!) as have bought tickets for someone who is rather affected by that sort of thing....many thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2017 13:55:19 GMT
Very.
The second scene is set in the aftermath of a grim atrocity which you don't see taking place, but both guards have blood all over their faces and there's also a fake blood + water pouring in to two trenches on the floor, with the guards are lying in at the start of the scene.
Plus it's small space, and the set design feels like you are sitting on the set, so it's very intense. And would be hard to get out if you needed to.
Probably would recommend anyone who might be affected by this to give it a miss.
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Post by quine on Apr 12, 2017 14:26:43 GMT
I agree - very bloody. I thoroughly enjoyed this last night. Great acting from both guards.
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 12, 2017 15:17:41 GMT
Thanks both! Will ask friend.
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Post by mallardo on May 4, 2017 13:21:55 GMT
Two guards, friends, with starkly contrasting personalities, stand on duty, their backs to the just constructed Taj Mahal which they are forbidden to turn and see. They talk of many things, past deeds and future hopes. But an ominous note is sounded, there is word of a great atrocity that the King - the builder of the Taj - is about to commit.
In Scene Two the atrocity has happened and our two guards, now covered in blood, were at the centre of it. They try to deal with what they have done but they are deeply damaged men and things go downhill quickly.
What does it all mean? I suppose it's about conscience versus duty, about individual responsibility when autocrats behave badly, a not untimely theme. But it felt a bit hollow and undernourished. The takeaway is not the moral dilemma of the two men but the overwhelming brutality of the acts they have committed. It's effective but ultimately unsatisfying.
The two actors - Danny Ashok and Darren Kuppan - are excellent and Jamie Lloyd has provided a fine and, for him, restrained production. Since the programmes are playscripts one can read what horror the playwright has called for in the play's climactic moments. A sincere vote of thanks is owed to Lloyd for finding an inventive way NOT to stage it.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 14:20:07 GMT
After a slow and self-conscious start I found this play and production increasingly captivating. It seems to blend naturalism, myth, magic realism, and history rather well, and by the end I found myself thoroughly invested in the fates of the two guards, and their relationship. And Jamie Lloyd's direction is very effective in its mood and simplicity.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 14:40:12 GMT
I thought the whole thing looked just glorious and all really done with lighting so you didn't need any other bells and whistles. There's a touch of the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Guards about it. I also loved the two characters which made the tale itself all the more upsetting.
Oh and Darren Kuppan clearly spends a LOT of time in the gym. A LOT.
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Post by firefingers on May 4, 2017 23:00:56 GMT
My companion and I really enjoyed this. Beautifully staged with great lighting and sound, really showing what a compact venue can do (No doubt helped by the small company numbers allowing for bigger budgets). Bloody, gruesome and darkly comedic it is a great piece of work. Not sold out, which is a shame as it deserves a full house. Never been to the Bush before but the theatre is certainly on my radar now.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 11:17:01 GMT
Yes, I was highly engaged by this - the performances, the situation, the dialogue, the design, the whole thing. My only personal niggle is the playtext itself which is a super-fine-tuned, award-winning product of the American professional playwriting training system which isn't really my thing. I prefer the two British traditions of dirty gut honesty and artistic experimentation. If I were being unkind, I'd say this play is a lovechild of Driving Miss Daisy and The Lion King.
But it was good to see the show and it's good to see the range of theatre on offer being extended to include the modern American model. And the performances and production are great. And the play is involving and interesting throughout. So why aren't I more ecstatic about it? I guess it's just too American, although Jamie Lloyd and the cast have done everything possible to disguise its provenance.
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Post by Phantom of London on May 16, 2017 19:34:15 GMT
What is the running time please?
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 19:40:51 GMT
Website says 80 minutes and if I recall correctly that's about right
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5,058 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on May 17, 2017 10:34:22 GMT
Tah
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