1,863 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jun 7, 2018 19:05:18 GMT
An impeccable production, Maxine Peake a captivating Winnie. (as if she would be anything else)
The playfulness and stoicism of the first act is mesmerising with Maxine making it look easy, every emotion beautifully realised with much more humour than I remembered.
The desperation of the second act is finely nuanced with every facial expression magnified on the television screens exaggerating the anguish as Winnie battles to make the most of her predicament and her lonelines now she can no longer see her beloved Willie.
The rotating stage worked exquisitely with the constantly changing perspective adding to the ridiculousness and isolation of Winnie’s situation.
If you get the chance, well worth a trip to Manchester, only two hours by train and not much more expensive than the price of a West End show when you add up the ticket and travel costs.
To quote Simon Stephens who was also there this afternoon (twitter)
“An exquisite production of a play rendered coruscating by ecological erosion. Maxine Peake is at her unbelievable best. A glorious, hilarious, devastating thing”
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3,320 posts
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Post by david on Jun 7, 2018 19:16:56 GMT
An impeccable production, Maxine Peake a captivating Winnie. (as if she would be anything else) The playfulness and stoicism of the first act is mesmerising with Maxine making it look easy, every emotion beautifully realised with much more humour than I remembered. The desperation of the second act is finely nuanced with every facial expression magnified on the television screens exaggerating the anguish as Winnie battles to make the most of her predicament and her lonelines now she can no longer see her beloved Willie. The rotating stage worked exquisitely with the constantly changing perspective adding to the ridiculousness and isolation of Winnie’s situation. If you get the chance, well worth a trip to Manchester, only two hours by train and not much more expensive than the price of a West End show when you add up the ticket and travel costs. To quote Simon Stephens who was also there this afternoon (twitter) “An exquisite production of a play rendered coruscating by ecological erosion. Maxine Peake is at her unbelievable best. A glorious, hilarious, devastating thing” Thanks for the review. I’m off to watch it on Saturday night. At the moment the theatre scene in Manchester is really strong at the moment with great stuff both at the Royal Exchange as well as at Hope Mill down the road. |
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3,320 posts
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Post by david on Jun 9, 2018 21:57:56 GMT
Having watched this tonight, I have to say that this is one of the most surreal pieces of drama I have watched for a long time and was a fantastic piece of theatre. For me, Maxine Peake really gave a tour de force performance as Winnie, while poor David Crellin as her suffering husband Willie probably had the easiest role an actor could have. A few grunts, hand gestures and the odd word every now and then.
Ultimately it’s Maxine’s performance over 2hrs that is worth the ticket price alone. A piece that for me differs in tone between the 2 acts. Act 1 provides a lot of comedy as she rattles off various musings about life and relationships, while in Act 2, the darker tones emerge. The fact that Maxine is able to balance these so well provides a nice even piece of theatre.
The set for this piece is an absolute piece of genius and the fact that it is done in the round adds that little bit of extra comedy during different parts of the monologue as well as highlighting as Neil stated in his review, Winnie’s ultimate isolation.
Overall, this is definitely worth a watch if you like your surreal theatre.
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3,040 posts
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Post by crowblack on Jun 20, 2018 19:57:02 GMT
I saw this yesterday along with the Q&A, and though Beckett isn't one of my go-to writers this really grew on me (Maxine Peake is an actress I'll always make the effort for despite the planes, trains and automobiles-style effort to get there yesterday because of the train strike!). I thought the performances and staging were superb, the slowly rotating mound with its tide of plastic reflected in the oil-slick-like water making it look like a dying planet in space, and the rows of lights around the balcony followed Peake's face round like the baking sun or a sundial. Apparently it's the first time it's been done in the round and I thought it added layers to the play.
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