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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 12:03:17 GMT
I'm beginning to think Nimax are the West End equivalent of Ryanair.
Not only have they extended Thriller well into 2020, and given us Rip It Up, they have just announced that the 13 week gap between Emilia and Groan Ups will be filled by a children's play with only a handful of 7pm performances which are enough to mess up the chance of something decent going there. I know Nica Burns co-produces The Worst Witch with Kenny Wax but surely there was at least one play or musical which could have gone in for a proper 8 shows a week, 12 week run (with The Worst Witch working around it in day slots and Sunday evenings)? It's not as if Nimax have to spend too much time at the minute worrying about how to programme the Apollo, the Duchess, the Lyric and the Palace. I hope they can find decent content for their new theatre at the Astoria when it opens. Their existing programming is very patchy quality-wise.
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 12:50:27 GMT
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Post by Mark on Apr 3, 2019 12:50:27 GMT
Ambassadors, Pinter and Tragalgar all need shows for the summer too. And Duke Of York has nothing from mid-July. Maybe it was a case of having something and not being empty!
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 13:07:46 GMT
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Post by latefortheoverture on Apr 3, 2019 13:07:46 GMT
Such a pity- these little houses could easily hold Fun Home for a limited run! Hoping the performance at the Oliviers and maybe a win or two will spur the theatre gods to do something!
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 13:23:02 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 13:23:02 GMT
Ambassadors, Pinter and Tragalgar all need shows for the summer too. And Duke Of York has nothing from mid-July. Maybe it was a case of having something and not being empty! Three of those are ATG and whatever about their ticket prices, I'm sure they will put decent, quality shows in. |
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Apr 3, 2019 15:36:23 GMT
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Post by Jon on Apr 3, 2019 15:36:23 GMT
I do think it’s a little unfair to call Nimax the Ryanair of theatre, they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t have the deep pockets of the likes of ATG or Delfont Mackintosh.
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Apr 3, 2019 16:10:06 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 16:10:06 GMT
Maybe Nimax will us the time to carry out any work that needs doing to the Vaudeville before Mischief go in? The children's show is still on 9 times a week so major restructuring will be difficult. |
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 16:21:30 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 16:21:30 GMT
I do think it’s a little unfair to call Nimax the Ryanair of theatre, they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t have the deep pockets of the likes of ATG or Delfont Mackintosh. I don't really think it is unfair. The quality of the work Nimax has in its theatres varies considerably. They are housing 4 very successful long runners so they should be a bit more discerning as regards what is shown in the Garrick and the Vaudeville which they currently do have to programme more frequently. Delfont Mackintosh produce hardly anything themselves which go into the Noel Coward / Gielgud / Wyndhams but in the vast majority of cases these are high quality shows. And I think Mark Cornell is setting a high quality bar for ATG (again, not all self produced). I find myself frequently underwhelmed by Nimax's shows in comparison. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2019 16:32:10 GMT
I do think it’s a little unfair to call Nimax the Ryanair of theatre, they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t have the deep pockets of the likes of ATG or Delfont Mackintosh. They do seem a little bit "Channel 5" sometimes though. Possibly ITV at a push. |
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 17:58:25 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2019 17:58:25 GMT
I do think it’s a little unfair to call Nimax the Ryanair of theatre, they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t have the deep pockets of the likes of ATG or Delfont Mackintosh. They do seem a little bit "Channel 5" sometimes though. Possibly ITV at a push. I think it's certainly a fair comment that their theatres are less, shall we say 'curated' than Cam Mack, Webber's or ATG's...much like ITV or dare we say it Channel 5 they occasionally pull a blinder that takes you by surprise (Emilia) but you have to wade through a lot of 'World's largest Penis man' to get there...(insert for yourself which theatre show that might be) |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2019 18:27:48 GMT
I'm afraid this thread lost me when I looked for subtext and found lurking the idea that theatre for children "isn't proper" or something.
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Apr 3, 2019 18:32:41 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 18:32:41 GMT
I'm afraid this thread lost me when I looked for subtext and found lurking the idea that theatre for children "isn't proper" or something. There is definitely a place for decent children's theatre, of course there is, but I'm not sure what distinguishes this show from the children's shows Nimax usually put on in the daytime. I just think it's a shame when there are only 2 x 7pm shows a week which rule the theatre out for other things. My own kids love The Worst Witch and I would happily take them to this but it could have been scheduled in a way to allow a play or musical to run in tandem. |
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Apr 3, 2019 18:34:49 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 18:34:49 GMT
They do seem a little bit "Channel 5" sometimes though. Possibly ITV at a push. I think it's certainly a fair comment that their theatres are less, shall we say 'curated' than Cam Mack, Webber's or ATG's...much like ITV or dare we say it Channel 5 they occasionally pull a blinder that takes you by surprise (Emilia) but you have to wade through a lot of 'World's largest Penis man' to get there...(insert for yourself which theatre show that might be) Let's leave Julian Ovenden out of this! |
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 18:36:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2019 18:36:24 GMT
I think it's certainly a fair comment that their theatres are less, shall we say 'curated' than Cam Mack, Webber's or ATG's...much like ITV or dare we say it Channel 5 they occasionally pull a blinder that takes you by surprise (Emilia) but you have to wade through a lot of 'World's largest Penis man' to get there...(insert for yourself which theatre show that might be) Let's leave Julian Ovenden out of this! ooh now there's an idea for a play, let me give Nimax a ring.... |
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Apr 3, 2019 20:11:11 GMT
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Post by Jon on Apr 3, 2019 20:11:11 GMT
They do seem a little bit "Channel 5" sometimes though. Possibly ITV at a push. I think it's certainly a fair comment that their theatres are less, shall we say 'curated' than Cam Mack, Webber's or ATG's...much like ITV or dare we say it Channel 5 they occasionally pull a blinder that takes you by surprise (Emilia) but you have to wade through a lot of 'World's largest Penis man' to get there...(insert for yourself which theatre show that might be) Is that any different from any other theatre operator though? If you’re a theatre operator, having dark theatres isn’t desirable so there will be times when they have less than quality content, |
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Nimax
Apr 3, 2019 20:32:02 GMT
Post by Phantom of London on Apr 3, 2019 20:32:02 GMT
I'm afraid this thread lost me when I looked for subtext and found lurking the idea that theatre for children "isn't proper" or something. Correct Meanwhile Equis was a very decent revival and Florian Zeller’s The Son, which is now sold out at the Kiln. Maybe possible to slide something in the Vaudeville 5 nights a week, Hello Showstoppers. |
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Apr 3, 2019 20:41:56 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 3, 2019 20:41:56 GMT
I think it's certainly a fair comment that their theatres are less, shall we say 'curated' than Cam Mack, Webber's or ATG's...much like ITV or dare we say it Channel 5 they occasionally pull a blinder that takes you by surprise (Emilia) but you have to wade through a lot of 'World's largest Penis man' to get there...(insert for yourself which theatre show that might be) Is that any different from any other theatre operator though? If you’re a theatre operator, having dark theatres isn’t desirable so there will be times when they have less than quality content, Hardly ever in the case of DMT and a lot less frequently now in the case of ATG than used to be the case. Nimax seem to have times when they have very good stuff and other times when it's uninspired. It just makes me wonder why they are so keen to open another theatre when they often seem to struggle programming the theatres they already have. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 6:49:19 GMT
I'm afraid this thread lost me when I looked for subtext and found lurking the idea that theatre for children "isn't proper" or something. A bit like the people who put their argument about the NT around “and it’s ONLY a kids show” about female writers. |
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Apr 4, 2019 7:29:37 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 4, 2019 7:29:37 GMT
I think I have tried to make clear that I very much value children's theatre and have long been an attendee and supporter of it with my own kids. If not, I'm happy to clarify that.
My point was that Nimax's programming overall is not as exciting as other operators and that this show could have been scheduled better to allow something else to run alongside it as well. I'd have had less of an issue if The Worst Witch was on every night at 7pm but it's not.
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Apr 4, 2019 15:38:09 GMT
Post by Jon on Apr 4, 2019 15:38:09 GMT
They want a different kind of theatre - a flexible space - in the portfolio. Nothing wrong with that, I think. The current lack of material is probably down to all the uncertainties we all talk about. Quite possible "Worst Witch" had everything together so that it could come in, while other producers can't do quite yet. Better a theatre is open than mothballed as it was in the depths of the last recessions. I don't really see why being open in the day and dark at night is an issue anyway - quite possible in years to come as theatre audiences get ever older and prefer matinees that it could become normal, perhaps. Especially since the Sondheim Theatre was scrapped, it creates an opportunity for them as a new build will be of interest to the subsidised theatre. Nimax's disadvantage is that they have 4-5 theatres booked up which means they can't go after a lot of shows unlike ATG or Delfont. It's probably why Nica Burns does bring more off beat projects like Emilia and Jamie. |
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Apr 4, 2019 18:58:39 GMT
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Post by TallPaul on Apr 4, 2019 18:58:39 GMT
I've just had an email informing me that Three Sisters will be playing at the Vaudeville for 10 days at the end of June. Perhaps there will be more of the same!
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Post by Rory on Apr 4, 2019 20:18:49 GMT
Yeah it's the Maly Theatre Co from St Petersburg between 19th and 29th June.
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Apr 8, 2019 9:47:31 GMT
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Post by Rory on Apr 8, 2019 9:47:31 GMT
I'm bringing this back up because when I started this topic I referenced a children's show, The Worst Witch, and some of the comments got me thinking about attitudes to children's theatre (my own included). Here is an interesting Twitter thread on the subject:
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Nimax
Apr 8, 2019 10:03:09 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 10:03:09 GMT
I've been trying to work out to phrase the thought that's running through my head, but it's been very difficult, so please bear with me while I try to make this coherent.
I hope it's clear that I personally rate children's theatre very highly but I think there's an additional strand to the idea of "of course the WOMAN is directing the CHILDREN'S show" that doesn't undervalue children's theatre for being theatre for children, but rather plays along the idea that the division of labour is gendered. As "mowing the lawn" and "taking the bins out" are seen as traditionally masculine jobs in household labour, childcare has always historically been heavily considered a traditionally feminine job. So while some people are clearly thinking "well children's theatre isn't real theatre, so of course they've given it to a female director, they wouldn't insult a male director this way", I think some people are thinking much less about who gets what jobs in theatre and what shows count as prestigious, and more about the absolute inescapable idea that if something is for children, then of COURSE it must be women who do the work, because women providing labour in service of children is how society has been since literally forever, and this attitude being prevalent in the theatre world is just as depressing as when you're the only woman in a board meeting and all the men assume you'll be happy to get them coffee and take notes. It's not that children's theatre is unworthy, it's that women are more than caregivers to future generations, but some days this societal structure that we've lived in since birth means it's just so difficult to convince people to accept that traditionally-feminine jobs don't *have* to be done by feminine people.
So I think there's an important difference there, and I hope I've made it clear enough!
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