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Post by frosty on Oct 28, 2019 10:15:33 GMT
Anyone else been to see this? Chichester Festival Theater have installed a pop up Spiegeltent which has been transformed into a pub for 'Sing yer heart out for the lads', Roy Williams's play which explores racism in Britain, using the England vs Germany world cup qualifying match as a backdrop to the events in the pub, some funny, some harrowing and very disturbing. I saw it last week and thought it was amazing. The venue was perfect, it really felt like you were sat in a pub, they even sold drinks from the bar during the interval. It's very hard hitting with extremely strong language, but that made it feel even more real, I have sat in pubs with the football on the telly and heard very similar conversations. I think the run is pretty much sold out, but there are day seats available for £15, which are stools sat at the bar.
The night I went, they had a drag show cabaret after the play, which was a lovely contrast and a nice bit of light relief. There are lots of cabaret and comedy nights coming up in the Speilgeltent in the next few weeks, well done CFT for trying something different, hopefully it will be a great success and become an annual event.
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Post by bordeaux on Oct 28, 2019 10:18:56 GMT
It's had rave reviews; it'd be great to see it move on elsewhere. Could the National bring the tent over this summer?
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Post by frosty on Oct 28, 2019 19:03:50 GMT
It's had rave reviews; it'd be great to see it move on elsewhere. Could the National bring the tent over this summer? Surely it must transfer, hopefully still in a tent, or something similar, I think that’s what made it so special |
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Post by zahidf on Feb 19, 2020 10:08:57 GMT
London transfer
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Post by alicechallice on Mar 3, 2022 10:06:24 GMT
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Post by frosty on Mar 11, 2022 12:33:35 GMT
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Post by fossil on Mar 19, 2022 9:58:15 GMT
Public booking opened today. No "waiting room", found I had to refresh the screen and then was 180 in the queue but the queue rapidly went down and was able to book my seats within three minutes. 'Pub' seats are £25 and unreserved. Regular seats start at row C for £40. There is a note that the first three rows are flexible and can move slightly. Lots of seats available at the sides but I would get in quick if you want more central seats.
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215 posts
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Post by frosty on Jul 29, 2022 11:21:19 GMT
This is back, and has got 5* reviews in The Times and The Guardian. Going tonight (and to the pub quiz after) and will be sat in the 'pub seating', so have borrowed some adidas gear to look the part!
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Post by n1david on Aug 7, 2022 13:00:40 GMT
Saw this Friday night, and it's a stunning performance. A difficult watch with often shocking opinions and language, it really provokes thought. Excellent large cast, stunning set, I am inclined to agree with the papers all of whom - Times, Guardian, Telegraph, so across the political range - gave this a strong five stars.
So why, on a Friday night mid-run, was it less than 40% full? Both of the side blocks almost completely empty and lots of empty seats in the other sections. Is this just too strong meat for the Chichester audience with a feel-good show next door, is it people who would normally travel to Chichester deciding not to risk trains? I felt sorry for the cast who gave it their all - and then some - to such a small audience.
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Post by showgirl on Aug 7, 2022 14:15:35 GMT
n1david I was certainly tempted, but having seen the original in 2018 and being due to make 9 separate trips (have given up trying to do 2 in one day due to the stress of late evening train travel) for other CFT productions, I couldn't justify the expense or giving up yet another whole day, since lovely as Chichester is, it's difficult or impossible to combine a matinee with a film and the art gallery doesn't change its exhibitions that frequently. I suspect I'm not the only one who hesitated to see this again so soon and/or who would opt for a matinee anyway.
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Post by theoracle on Aug 7, 2022 19:53:03 GMT
Well, this is definitely a contrast to Crazy For You over at the Festival Theatre but wow, this was good! When I walked in, I felt like I was walking into a 2000's pub and not an auditorium and when the show started, I thought I was watching real people having these discussions around football and race, rather than actors. The writing is terrific and I found the chemistry between the different characters very convincing. It's definitely not as preachy as I imagine, in fact I don't think it was preachy at all - everyone gets a fair say and as an audience we can make our own judgements about the characters and their motivations. I didn't see this the first time around but I thought it was staged brilliantly in the Minerva - very much reccomended!
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Post by alessia on Aug 9, 2022 9:01:47 GMT
Thinking of making the trip on Saturday, can someone tell me what the pub seating is like, is there interaction with the actors? Would one be expected to say something? Thanks!
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2,761 posts
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Post by n1david on Aug 9, 2022 9:33:31 GMT
The pub seating is at the same level as the stage around small round tables. Two audience members at each table, and occasionally one of the cast will sit at a third stool when they are not taking part in the 'main scene'. No actual audience interaction that I could see, it's just to give the vibe of a "busy pub". Might be at a bit more risk of spilled beer at some points in the show.
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Post by nottobe on Aug 9, 2022 10:49:12 GMT
I saw this last week and echo everyone else's praise. I had a thrilling afternoon in the theatre and was sat on the pub seating so felt even more engaged in the action than I usually am. I would say with the pub seating, that I was sat on the high seats near the entrance and would say if you are a bit weary don't sit there. This was mainly because in lots of the high energy moments the actors would rush and be very near to you, with me almost wobbling off my chair because it got so frantic. So yes the onstage seats are good but if you want a slightly less tense evening go for low down seats at the edge.
And it's a shame the National Theatre could not fit in reprogramming this as it is really the sort of thing they should be doing unlike some of the recent crap they have done.
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Post by alessia on Aug 9, 2022 13:21:07 GMT
Thank you both for the info! I really want to catch this, I think I'll go!
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Post by alessia on Aug 9, 2022 15:45:03 GMT
Well ticket and train booked, now! going to be in the pub. Sounds like it'll be great!!
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Post by alessia on Aug 14, 2022 5:44:12 GMT
I loved this show! Sat in the pub low table on the side, and did get some beer on me at one point, but didn't mind as I was having such a great time. Can only repeat what others have already said above- the acting was top all round, to the point that you forget it's a play and not a real pub with punters watching football on tv. That Alan character, and Lawrie, standouts for me. Also very nice late 90s music before the start and then during interval. It was well worth the train journey in the heat. One of the best I have seen this year for sure.
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Post by Steve on Aug 14, 2022 15:47:00 GMT
I loved this show! Sat in the pub low table on the side, and did get some beer on me at one point, but didn't mind as I was having such a great time. Can only repeat what others have already said above- the acting was top all round, to the point that you forget it's a play and not a real pub with punters watching football on tv. That Alan character, and Lawrie, standouts for me. Also very nice late 90s music before the start and then during interval. It was well worth the train journey in the heat. One of the best I have seen this year for sure. I completely agree.
I caught this three days ago, and haven't stopped thinking about it since. One of the best shows of the year, for me, and if there was any justice, one that deserves a run in London, or a tour.
More than anything, everything about it was just felt so alive. Alive in the sense of being convincing as a representation of real life, complete with characters you believe in and a compelling sense of dread about what was going to happen.
The Minerva was decked out beautifully too, with a huge football over the stairs, and the entrance to the actual theatre being the front door of the King George pub, together with England flag, Euro 2000 promo and photos of the football team.
Michael Hodgson's smug sly self-composed racist schemer, Alan, was one of theatre's great memorable chilling villains, a contemporary Iago that scared that crap out of me, the way he has of getting into the minds of all the younger characters, turning them against each other.
The frenzy of the exuberant regulars kitted out to watch England lose once again to Germany was at once incredibly rousing (extra credit to the ecstatic Kirsty J Curtis, the one female fan, jumping all over the place, including on the tables, in sheer excitement), and comic, given how often we lose to Germany, but also extremely foreboding, given the tinderbox of racist agitation persistently and convincingly going on in the background.
The amazing thing about the play, and the production, is that it plays out pretty much how you worry it might, like a slow motion bomb going off that you just can't stop, but it never feels predictable despite that, due to such amazing naturalistic performances by the entire cast, especially Richard Riddell's Lawrie and Harold Addo's Duane!
Unforgettably brilliant in every way.
5 stars from me. 
PS: Please let this production have a future life somewhere, anywhere.
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