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Post by rmechanical on Oct 12, 2017 15:40:05 GMT
First an introduction, I found this forum in an effort to discover other people’s opinions on Saint George and the Dragon.
I went to the second preview and found it to be the most buttock clenching boring time I have ever spent in the theatre.
There were technical issues (mainly with the dragon) which I’m sure could/ were resolved, but the text and theme of the piece were both banal and listlessly delivered by a cast whose embarrassment at having to do so was easy to see.
The point such as it was, having been made once was then repeated again and again.
I’m sure people will say that is the point but when done with dialogue that appeared to emanate from a 6th form drama session it’s no wonder I longed for the sweet release of the final curtain.
Does the NT not employ someone to take a look at scripts such as this and commit them to the fire except being so damp they would probably put it out.
Were there any positives?
The set was an ingenious use of the revolve
The music was atmospheric.
Julian Bleach was a camp cross between the Devil in Jerry Springer and Abanazar.
There was one good joke about football.
And as my mother used to say a bad play is better than no play at all.
After Salome and Common, Rufus Norris is obviously on a mission to redecorate the Olivier by ensuring the house is fully papered.
But a more succinct review goes to my companion “At least Common had a talking crow “
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13 posts
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Post by rmechanical on Oct 12, 2017 15:52:47 GMT
Thanks - or should that be in Common
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5,159 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Oct 13, 2017 12:51:24 GMT
Welcome to the board rmechanical . Now, you must look for a regular member called @parsley , I think you will have a lot in common  . I'm not sure Mr Parsley will take kindly to being called 'regular'. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2017 12:56:31 GMT
Welcome to the board rmechanical . Now, you must look for a regular member called @parsley , I think you will have a lot in common . I'm not sure Mr Parsley will take kindly to being called 'regular'. Or indeed 'common' . . . |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 6:54:52 GMT
Well. I started to write something kind about an interesting idea, great committed performances, etc, but then I was too irritated.
It's not terrible but equally it's not in a fit state to be on at the NT. I keep reminding myself that I've seen some great things there over the last two years (Les Blancs is one of my top plays ever) and I expect every theatre to have the odd stinker. But quality control and judgement at the Nash is clearly going wrong somewhere. In an interview for his book (which I bought but confess I haven't even opened yet) Hytner talks about Greenland and can clearly and concisely pinpoint why it went wrong. I hope RN is learning from this and/or has a mentor to help him, because it's really depressing to sit in a half-empty Olivier and watch things that aren't up to scratch, especially when you've paid full whack in advance (which is a long way from bargainous) and you're surrounded by people waving their free tickets. Again, I remember interviews about Hytner mercilessly pushing and chivving and criticising Elliott during the last stages of War Horse and I wonder if RN is too nice or doesn't have the confidence to chivvy his colleagues in the way you probably have to in that role.
On another topic, it's weird that with the country so divided and facing the worst crisis since the war and held hostage by a few massive egos prepared to fight to the death within the Tory Party, etc, no theatre seems to be able to put on a decent play about it. Maybe it's too big and too soon?
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Post by chameleon on Oct 20, 2017 7:32:23 GMT
Well. I started to write something kind about an interesting idea, great committed performances, etc, but then I was too irritated. It's not terrible but equally it's not in a fit state to be on at the NT. I keep reminding myself that I've seen some great things there over the last two years (Les Blancs is one of my top plays ever) and I expect every theatre to have the odd stinker. But quality control and judgement at the Nash is clearly going wrong somewhere. In an interview for his book (which I bought but confess I haven't even opened yet) Hytner talks about Greenland and can clearly and concisely pinpoint why it went wrong. I hope RN is learning from this and/or has a mentor to help him, because it's really depressing to sit in a half-empty Olivier and watch things that aren't up to scratch, especially when you've paid full whack in advance (which is a long way from bargainous) and you're surrounded by people waving their free tickets. Again, I remember interviews about Hytner mercilessly pushing and chivving and criticising Elliott during the last stages of War Horse and I wonder if RN is too nice or doesn't have the confidence to chivvy his colleagues in the way you probably have to in that role. On another topic, it's weird that with the country so divided and facing the worst crisis since the war and held hostage by a few massive egos prepared to fight to the death within the Tory Party, etc, no theatre seems to be able to put on a decent play about it. Maybe it's too big and too soon? do you have a link for the interview about 'greenland'? thanks! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 8:49:47 GMT
chameleon - I can't find it and it may have been a platform I went to rather than a print interview (my memory isn't great). Essentially what he said was - they felt like they needed a play about climate change so they commissioned three writers to respond to a brief, then chopped up and messed around with what was presented and ended up with a dog's dinner. He contrasted it with the Royal Court play The Heretic, which was written because the writer was interested in a particular angle which was human and challenging and made people think, whereas the NT's was driven by the need to address an 'issue' rather than by a narrative so was just a mess. Probably very far from exact words but I think that was the flavour!
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1,260 posts
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Post by theatrelover123 on Oct 20, 2017 9:33:54 GMT
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Post by Jan on Oct 20, 2017 11:39:18 GMT
Well. I started to write something kind about an interesting idea, great committed performances, etc, but then I was too irritated. It's not terrible but equally it's not in a fit state to be on at the NT. I keep reminding myself that I've seen some great things there over the last two years (Les Blancs is one of my top plays ever) and I expect every theatre to have the odd stinker. But quality control and judgement at the Nash is clearly going wrong somewhere. In an interview for his book (which I bought but confess I haven't even opened yet) Hytner talks about Greenland and can clearly and concisely pinpoint why it went wrong. I hope RN is learning from this and/or has a mentor to help him, because it's really depressing to sit in a half-empty Olivier and watch things that aren't up to scratch, especially when you've paid full whack in advance (which is a long way from bargainous) and you're surrounded by people waving their free tickets. Again, I remember interviews about Hytner mercilessly pushing and chivving and criticising Elliott during the last stages of War Horse and I wonder if RN is too nice or doesn't have the confidence to chivvy his colleagues in the way you probably have to in that role. On another topic, it's weird that with the country so divided and facing the worst crisis since the war and held hostage by a few massive egos prepared to fight to the death within the Tory Party, etc, no theatre seems to be able to put on a decent play about it. Maybe it's too big and too soon? Well of course it isn’t the worst crisis since the war, and you need to think how many great plays written about Suez, or the Cuban missile crisis, or the Winter of Discontent, or the oil crisis and three day week, or the miners’ strike, or Black Wednesday, or the Lehman crisis. Very few, though wel’ll see on the last of those. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 21:53:02 GMT
The Lehman Trilogy ends before the collapse of the bank.
And I think we are at the outset of the worst crisis since the Second World War. The UK is blunderingly withdrawing from political union with the rest of Europe, making it far more likely that, at any time, some moronic "leader" (Boris? Jacob?) will take us into conflict with the EU. And everything else in the world is at crisis point, or beyond it. We are all living on borrowed time. We are doomed. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 22:05:14 GMT
The Lehman Trilogy ends before the collapse of the bank.
And I think we are at the outset of the worst crisis since the Second World War. The UK is blunderingly withdrawing from political union with the rest of Europe, making it far more likely that, at any time, some moronic "leader" (Boris? Jacob?) will take us into conflict with the EU. And everything else in the world is at crisis point, or beyond it. We are all living on borrowed time. We are doomed. I am stockpiling chickpeas; I will have a few extra weeks of fibre while the food riots break out around me. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 21, 2017 3:47:23 GMT
The Lehman Trilogy ends before the collapse of the bank.
And I think we are at the outset of the worst crisis since the Second World War. The UK is blunderingly withdrawing from political union with the rest of Europe, making it far more likely that, at any time, some moronic "leader" (Boris? Jacob?) will take us into conflict with the EU. And everything else in the world is at crisis point, or beyond it. We are all living on borrowed time. We are doomed. That is why no-one can write a play about it - opinions are fixed and extreme. I remember when UK inflation reached 27% - puts the current panic over 3% into perspective. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 7:50:54 GMT
The Lehman Trilogy ends before the collapse of the bank.
And I think we are at the outset of the worst crisis since the Second World War. The UK is blunderingly withdrawing from political union with the rest of Europe, making it far more likely that, at any time, some moronic "leader" (Boris? Jacob?) will take us into conflict with the EU. And everything else in the world is at crisis point, or beyond it. We are all living on borrowed time. We are doomed. That is why no-one can write a play about it - opinions are fixed and extreme. I remember when UK inflation reached 27% - puts the current panic over 3% into perspective. But that's exactly why there should be a great play there - the material is fabulous. The first Christmas dinner after the referendum... |
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Post by Jan on Oct 21, 2017 7:54:58 GMT
That is why no-one can write a play about it - opinions are fixed and extreme. I remember when UK inflation reached 27% - puts the current panic over 3% into perspective. But that's exactly why there should be a great play there - the material is fabulous. The first Christmas dinner after the referendum... Of course Sir David Hare is threatening us with a new political play next year. Can’t wait. |
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Post by martin1965 on Oct 21, 2017 8:29:38 GMT
The Lehman Trilogy ends before the collapse of the bank.
And I think we are at the outset of the worst crisis since the Second World War. The UK is blunderingly withdrawing from political union with the rest of Europe, making it far more likely that, at any time, some moronic "leader" (Boris? Jacob?) will take us into conflict with the EU. And everything else in the world is at crisis point, or beyond it. We are all living on borrowed time. We are doomed. That is why no-one can write a play about it - opinions are fixed and extreme. I remember when UK inflation reached 27% - puts the current panic over 3% into perspective. Indeed JB, lot of nonsense here. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 9:11:14 GMT
Albion is effectively about Brexit and our current national malaise, without ever specifically referring to it, and it's also an excellent new play.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2017 10:40:30 GMT
Saw this last night. Total sh*t with no redeeming features.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2017 11:08:19 GMT
Saw this last night. Total sh*t with no redeeming features. Ha! Far more succinct than me! |
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Post by rumbledoll on Oct 22, 2017 12:18:20 GMT
Saw this last night. Total sh*t with no redeeming features. Not even The Heff?! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2017 12:36:23 GMT
Even The Heff was off form. Bit cruel to make him keep doing his entrances and exits through the stalls, walking past rows of empty seats.
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Post by theatre-turtle on Oct 22, 2017 12:36:55 GMT
Is this bad enough to trek all the way to the NT to return my ticket?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2017 12:38:29 GMT
Is this bad enough to trek all the way to the NT to return my ticket? Well, your alternative is to trek all the way to the NT to watch it so I'd say yes |
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Post by Latecomer on Oct 22, 2017 13:18:23 GMT
Well I rather enjoyed it, like Ryan! It was completely mad and the ending didn't really do the job but I liked the central idea and it was great fun seeing the journey! I thought it was good value for my nice cheap £15 front stalls ticket. Loved the Heff and Julian Bleach as the dragon and had fun afterwards discussing how I would have changed the ending! [Corbyn may have vanquished May in my version}
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Post by jek on Oct 22, 2017 13:23:58 GMT
Have to admit that we did what we very rarely do the other night and left this at the interval. I quite enjoyed John Heffernan doing a kind of Disney Knight - that kind of pantomime arrogance - but not enough to stick around for the second half. The first half felt like a very long hour and a half and I couldn't muster up any interest in the fate of any of the characters. It says something that I haven't given any thought since Friday night to what might have happened to anyone in the play after the interval. Such a shame - had booked this when priority booking opened with some sense of expectation.
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Post by kathryn on Oct 22, 2017 13:56:53 GMT
It wasn't awful, but it wasn't really good either. As much as we enjoyed The Heff's turn as a Lancelot-inspired Saint George, none of the characters felt real and it really didn't know where it was going. The latter is the inherent problem with writing an allegorical play about the problem of the human condition - there is no satisfactory answer to be had, and the play knows it.
Ho hum.
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