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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2017 19:53:36 GMT
That performance might be notable as the only one in which something exciting happened...
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524 posts
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Post by callum on May 27, 2017 21:27:31 GMT
The only bomb in the Old Vic this afternoon was this production!
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2017 17:32:56 GMT
Cannot attend this
Dizzy from painting
Will relax
Have bananas and custard
And watch Eastenders
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Post by bellboard27 on May 29, 2017 18:00:37 GMT
Cannot attend this Dizzy from painting Will relax Have bananas and custard And watch Eastenders Make sure you don't mistake your kitchen sealant for custard! |
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Post by crowblack on Jun 4, 2017 17:04:11 GMT
Felt he hadn't quite got under the skin of the character and was going through the motions. It might have been the fact that he seemed to be in shadow for most of his big scenes, making it hard to properly see the details of his performance, that gave me that impression. I couldn't see his facial expressions. My friend commented that he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. We both thought it would have been better in a smaller, more intimate, space than the Old Vic. I saw this on Saturday afternoon and was really disappointed (especially having seen the fantastic Life of Galileo the night before) - it's the first really poor play I've seen since getting back into theatregoing early last year. I wondered if it felt very underpowered because it was a Saturday matinee but judging by the other comments here evidently not - and it's a shame because the audience were clearly much younger and more diverse than usual and if that's their introduction to theatre I doubt it'd tempt them back! Boyega really didn't seem to be inhabiting or feeling the part, but there was stuff a director could have tightened and clearly hadn't. I also sat there thinking why this play, why now and why in this damn great cavern of a venue? I haven't seen that much of Jack Thorne's work - I really enjoyed Junkyard, but that had excellent performers, especially the very charismatic Erin Doherty. He's very prolific, but maybe spreading himself too thin? Security-wise, I saw a lot of lurking police vehicles around on Saturday, so at least when the horror happened it got a fast response but bloody hell...saw fleets of police cars heading into London as I was getting night coach home. Grim. |
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Post by Hamilton Addict on Jun 4, 2017 18:25:31 GMT
Felt he hadn't quite got under the skin of the character and was going through the motions. It might have been the fact that he seemed to be in shadow for most of his big scenes, making it hard to properly see the details of his performance, that gave me that impression. I couldn't see his facial expressions. My friend commented that he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. We both thought it would have been better in a smaller, more intimate, space than the Old Vic. Boyega really didn't seem to be inhabiting or feeling the part I've been informed that Boyega only did the matinee yesterday and was then sick, missing the evening performance. Perhaps that could have altered the performance you saw? |
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Post by Snciole on Jun 4, 2017 18:56:55 GMT
4 stars from WOS. 'Completely absorbing' and 'terrific performances', apparently. *rolls eyes* I haven't seen it yet so I can't comment from a personal perspective but they can't all be blinded by Boyega's gorgeous face? As a reviewer who has no qualms about hating stuff I just can't with MSM theatre blogs. There seems to be this deal that however bad something is the West End or percevied big theatres will get at the very least a 3 star. I can't think of the last major production that got 1-2 stars. It really isn't always that fabulous. |
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Post by crowblack on Jun 4, 2017 19:09:50 GMT
I've been informed that Boyega only did the matinee yesterday and was then sick That's interesting - maybe that was part of the problem, though some comments about earlier performances reflected how I felt watching it on Saturday. It really was the wrong venue too, I thought - far too big. |
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Post by Boob on Jun 4, 2017 22:22:32 GMT
I was there on Saturday afternoon too. Poor production of a play that should really be in a much smaller venue, if anywhere at all. Thought the first half was just about passable, but the second half was excruciating beyond belief, so much so I tried to put myself to sleep during the final, climactic scene. Thorne goes for a literal approach to an expressionist play, the production goes for an expressionist approach to a literal text. All wrong. Everyone apart from Boyega and Greene directed as caricatures. Yuk.
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Post by CG on the loose on Jun 4, 2017 22:33:48 GMT
I have a bargain ticket for this on Tuesday but am not feeling hugely inclined to go... will be in town during the day anyway so guess I'll make a last minute decision, but with shows Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday as well, an extra evening at home would not go amiss!
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Post by rockinrobin on Jun 5, 2017 10:25:29 GMT
I saw the Saturday matinee too. Hmm... My expectations weren't too high so I can't say I was disappointed - but it felt so half-hearted. Lukewarm. And indeed, the venue seems too big for this show.
For me - one of the shows you forget about quickly. Not bad, just leaves you indifferent.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2017 3:28:04 GMT
Saw it tonight. Essentially, The Old Vic has stepped into the breach created by the National Theatre dropping classic plays. But with an inexperienced adaptor and director, it's all too stolid and worthy, like a regional rep production of a classic - which is what it is really. Disappointing.
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901 posts
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Post by bordeaux on Jun 7, 2017 6:50:26 GMT
Saw it tonight. Essentially, The Old Vic has stepped into the breach created by the National Theatre dropping classic plays. But with an inexperienced adaptor and director, it's all too stolid and worthy, like a regional rep production of a classic - which is what it is really. Disappointing. Has the NT dropped classic plays? Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, three Chekhovs, Threepenny opera, Les Blancs, The Deep Blue Sea, The Plough and the Stars in the last 12 months? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2017 7:27:45 GMT
It pleases some people to think so, it's hardly worth dragging out the evidence any more as they'll inevitably come up with some sort of reason why it doesn't count.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2017 12:46:35 GMT
Has the NT dropped classic plays? Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, three Chekhovs, Threepenny opera, Les Blancs, The Deep Blue Sea, The Plough and the Stars in the last 12 months? They dropped them after staging those productions. |
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901 posts
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Post by bordeaux on Jun 7, 2017 13:30:00 GMT
Has the NT dropped classic plays? Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, three Chekhovs, Threepenny opera, Les Blancs, The Deep Blue Sea, The Plough and the Stars in the last 12 months? They dropped them after staging those productions. Well, the next few months are dominated by new writing but there are a Macbeth and an Antony and Cleopatra on the horizon and there will doubtless be more revivals later in 2018. I don't really think he has embarked on a policy of avoiding revivals. |
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 7, 2017 13:36:13 GMT
There's a co-production Chekhov in the works performed by a deaf and disabled cast. And more co-productions with regional theatres.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2017 14:27:36 GMT
Quite like this
Reminds me
Of
The Lakes
For some reason
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Post by jay78uk on Jun 7, 2017 17:44:03 GMT
Saw this last Saturday night with Theo Solomon standing in for Boyega. Quite a mixed experience- I enjoyed the staging but wasn't a fan of the piece, which is a curious mix of cartoonish characters, hum drum dialogue between the main leads and german surrealism. Found the evening thought provoking and left wondering if Boyega could have pulled it altogether. His understudy did a great job at short notice but from row Q of the stalls his feelings and anguish didn't come across. I read online this play is a staple in German rep- to be honest I'm at a loss why, and I'm a bit perplexed why the Old Vic decided to put it on in a reworked form. But it was far from a wasted evening, and the seats were great at £25 each on love theatre... guessing they are struggling to sell tickets, but the night I went it was relatively full.
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Post by Jan on Jun 9, 2017 13:27:00 GMT
Saw this last Saturday night with Theo Solomon standing in for Boyega. Quite a mixed experience- I enjoyed the staging but wasn't a fan of the piece, which is a curious mix of cartoonish characters, hum drum dialogue between the main leads and german surrealism. Found the evening thought provoking and left wondering if Boyega could have pulled it altogether. His understudy did a great job at short notice but from row Q of the stalls his feelings and anguish didn't come across. I read online this play is a staple in German rep- to be honest I'm at a loss why, and I'm a bit perplexed why the Old Vic decided to put it on in a reworked form. But it was far from a wasted evening, and the seats were great at £25 each on love theatre... guessing they are struggling to sell tickets, but the night I went it was relatively full. It is produced quite a lot in Germany for the same reason King Lear is produced quite a lot here, not because it's any good but because it's considered a significant play by a great national writer. Also German theatre is massively subsidised. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2017 15:19:18 GMT
It is produced quite a lot in Germany for the same reason King Lear is produced quite a lot here, not because it's any good but because it's considered a significant play by a great national writer. Also German theatre is massively subsidised. Yes, exactly the same reasons why the NT used to programme classic plays regularly in its repertoire for the last forty-odd years, until they stopped this spring [perhaps temporarily? - We will see...] |
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Post by Jan on Jun 9, 2017 15:30:24 GMT
It is produced quite a lot in Germany for the same reason King Lear is produced quite a lot here, not because it's any good but because it's considered a significant play by a great national writer. Also German theatre is massively subsidised. Yes, exactly the same reasons why the NT used to programme classic plays regularly in its repertoire for the last forty-odd years, until they stopped this spring [perhaps temporarily? - We will see...] The problem really is that they programme bland popular classical plays in their larger spaces that they have to fill. They do not explore the lesser known classical repertoire because the Dorfmann is reserved exclusively for new plays. So, we get another Twelfth Night and Macbeth instead of Henry VIII and King John which they have never staged but wouldn't fill the Olivier. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2017 15:38:08 GMT
Yes, Hytner dropped studio or midscale classic productions in the Dorfman. But he did programme less popular classics in the large theatres, e.g. latterly Edward II and Damned by Despair. And Rufus Norris programmed Everyman there.
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Post by Jan on Jun 9, 2017 16:41:27 GMT
Yes, Hytner dropped studio or midscale classic productions in the Dorfman. But he did programme less popular classics in the large theatres, e.g. latterly Edward II and Damned by Despair. And Rufus Norris programmed Everyman there. Yes, and I think the latter two show what a high risk strategy that is. It is not unexpected, when he was appointed Norris specifically said that he "didn't know the classical repertoire". |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2017 17:46:37 GMT
he "didn't know the classical repertoire". ... but that he would get in someone who did. The plan is that the New Work Department works with dramaturgs to research and develop new performing versions of classics. But it seems to be taking years for the new structure to get in gear and to produce a reliable stream of plays ready for production. |
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