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Post by Polly1 on Nov 3, 2019 20:14:18 GMT
I remember seeing a touring version of The Old Ladies in 2003. Great cast (Sian Phillips, Rosemary Leach, Angela Thorne), terrible play. Had to look up details as apart from title and how awful it was, had no recollection.
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Post by learfan on Nov 3, 2019 21:37:09 GMT
Fans of lost classics should try and visit the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake once in their lives (and couple it with a trip to Stratford, Ontario). Their brief is to put on plays from Shaw's era and they quite often have some intriguing rarities. I saw Rodney Ackland's The Old Ladies in 2002 when I was there. I think a lot of these plays are merely of historical interest, though. The major rediscoveries of relatively unknown British plays in my theatre-going life have been Ackland's Absolute Hell, Rattigan's After the Dance and Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son (I'm thinking of the Katie Mitchell production with Bob Peck). John Whiting and James Saunders are once biggish names who've been forgotten. The former's Penny for a Song was done twenty years or so ago in the Whitehall theatre, I seem to remember. I could imagine someone doing something interesting with his Devils (filmed by Ken Russell). Amongst US playwrights with a big name, I'm always surprised how little John Guare we've seen over here in major productions. The only one I can recall is Six Degrees of Separation. [b A trip to The Shaw Festival and Stratford Canada Fest is on my bucket list. Sadly such a trip is way beyond my budget so will have to wait for retirement. |
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Post by emsworthian on Nov 6, 2019 10:45:32 GMT
Hi, Learfan. Those two are on my bucket list as well. We have relatives in Ottowa and went out two years ago to stay with them and explore the city and 1,000 islands. They said that the next time they would take us to Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake and see something at The Shaw Festival. However, we are still waiting for the follow-up invitation.
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Post by billontour on Nov 6, 2019 22:09:45 GMT
Spinning this thread from discussions in the Almeida 2020 thread. While there are playwrights and plays that seem to come around every couple of years like Arthur Miller, Noel Coward, Shakespeare etc there are others that don't get the same treatments. I wonder why that is, is it to do with the rights holders or simply that some playwrights or plays simply fall out of favour for a time. At the risk of being trolled to oblivion, can I make a plea for Aphra Behn or Thomas Heywood. I am old enough to remember 'The Fair Maid of the West' in the Swan's first season at the RSC and at the Mermaid- granted heavily adapted by Trevor Nunn - but what a wonderful, joyful production that was, with none of the current caveats on gender etc imposed. Blissfully funny, extremely over egged (and hammy to boot) and for once wasn't challenging or experimental or "woke" but just a lovely night's entertainment. Aphra Behn's 'The Rover' and Jonson's 'Every Man in his humour' the same season were also joyful. Moving to more modern times, I loved '2 guvners ' but how about the Scots version " A servaint of twa maisters" or Timberlake Wertenbaker's 'Our Country's Good' paired with 'The Recruiting Officer', or 'The Shaughran'? Some of the most joyeous nights I have had in the theatre. Also hoping to hit Stratford Festival next summer, Colm Feore in Richard 111 and The Miser, plus Spamalot, Wolf Hall and the Shakespeares. I just want to enjoy watching playwrights and plays at their finest :-) ' |
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587 posts
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Post by Polly1 on Nov 6, 2019 22:17:52 GMT
There was a very well-reviewed production of The Rover quite recently at Stratford, it was a great pity it didn't transfer to London.
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Post by billontour on Nov 6, 2019 22:21:02 GMT
There was a very well-reviewed production of The Rover quite recently at Stratford, it was a great pity it didn't transfer to London. Indeed there was - and I thoroughly enjoyed it! |
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Post by Jan on Nov 7, 2019 7:22:07 GMT
Spinning this thread from discussions in the Almeida 2020 thread. While there are playwrights and plays that seem to come around every couple of years like Arthur Miller, Noel Coward, Shakespeare etc there are others that don't get the same treatments. I wonder why that is, is it to do with the rights holders or simply that some playwrights or plays simply fall out of favour for a time. At the risk of being trolled to oblivion, can I make a plea for Aphra Behn or Thomas Heywood. I am old enough to remember 'The Fair Maid of the West' in the Swan's first season at the RSC and at the Mermaid- granted heavily adapted by Trevor Nunn - but what a wonderful, joyful production that was, with none of the current caveats on gender etc imposed. Blissfully funny, extremely over egged (and hammy to boot) and for once wasn't challenging or experimental or "woke" but just a lovely night's entertainment. Aphra Behn's 'The Rover' and Jonson's 'Every Man in his humour' the same season were also joyful. Moving to more modern times, I loved '2 guvners ' but how about the Scots version " A servaint of twa maisters" or Timberlake Wertenbaker's 'Our Country's Good' paired with 'The Recruiting Officer', or 'The Shaughran'? Some of the most joyeous nights I have had in the theatre. Also hoping to hit Stratford Festival next summer, Colm Feore in Richard 111 and The Miser, plus Spamalot, Wolf Hall and the Shakespeares. I just want to enjoy watching playwrights and plays at their finest :-) ' Yes that production of The Fair Maid of the West was great (except for Trevor Nunn's perennial failing of making it slightly too long, having spliced two plays together and not cut enough out). A clever framing device of having it presented as if it was a populist entertainment being staged in a tavern at the time - a high-minded Prologue launching into Troilus and Cressida at the beginning being pelted off the stage with bread rolls - "We want the Fair Maid !". However, I think it wasn't the play that was good, it was the director. Around the same time Howard Davies did an absolutely brilliant production of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" which made it look like one of the greatest plays of all time. When more recently I saw it again it was terrible. |
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Post by bordeaux on Nov 7, 2019 13:52:51 GMT
In my 30 or so years of theatre-going I've never seen a production of Sheridan's The Critic, though I've seen two or three productions each of the Rivals and School for Scandal (and Richard Bean is going to be adapting the former next summer for the NT). It was done by Olivier in a famous double-bill with Oedipus the King in the 40s. I'm sure someone enterprising could do pair it with something good for a revival.
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Post by lynette on Nov 7, 2019 14:07:07 GMT
It must have been been paired with something else cos I’ve seen it. I thought maybe it was a prod of School for Scandal. Jan, any ideas.you usually remember what I’ve seen 🤪
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Post by Jan on Nov 7, 2019 14:16:01 GMT
It must have been been paired with something else cos I’ve seen it. I thought maybe it was a prod of School for Scandal. Jan, any ideas.you usually remember what I’ve seen 🤪 Yeah, you saw McKellen play The Critic at NT paired with Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound when he was running a company with Edward Petherbridge. 1985. Sheila Hancock directed it. Stoppard directed his play. Roy Kinnear, Greg Hicks, Eleanor Bron. Not one of McKellen’s greatest roles, in either play. |
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Post by learfan on Nov 7, 2019 15:19:55 GMT
It must have been been paired with something else cos I’ve seen it. I thought maybe it was a prod of School for Scandal. Jan, any ideas.you usually remember what I’ve seen 🤪 it was done at Chichester a few years ago, i didnt see it however. |
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Post by learfan on Nov 7, 2019 15:21:01 GMT
There was a very well-reviewed production of The Rover quite recently at Stratford, it was a great pity it didn't transfer to London. It was brilliant and agree it deserved a transfer. |
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Post by Jan on Nov 7, 2019 16:04:01 GMT
It must have been been paired with something else cos I’ve seen it. I thought maybe it was a prod of School for Scandal. Jan, any ideas.you usually remember what I’ve seen 🤪 it was done at Chichester a few years ago, i didnt see it however. It’s amazing Simon R-B has never done The Critic, you would have thought it was perfect for him a few years ago. I see at Chichester in 2010 it was also paired with The Real Inspector Hound - two plays about theatre critics. |
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Post by Polly1 on Nov 7, 2019 16:44:19 GMT
it was done at Chichester a few years ago, i didnt see it however. It’s amazing Simon R-B has never done The Critic, you would have thought it was perfect for him a few years ago. I see at Chichester in 2010 it was also paired with The Real Inspector Hound - two plays about theatre critics. Chichester version was great, Richard McCabe starred, I seem to recall. |
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Post by Jan on Nov 7, 2019 17:11:51 GMT
It’s amazing Simon R-B has never done The Critic, you would have thought it was perfect for him a few years ago. I see at Chichester in 2010 it was also paired with The Real Inspector Hound - two plays about theatre critics. Chichester version was great, Richard McCabe starred, I seem to recall. I can imagine. It is a star vehicle. Harry Melling should do it. |
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Post by lynette on Nov 7, 2019 17:41:41 GMT
Thank you Jan.
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Post by learfan on Nov 7, 2019 17:59:56 GMT
it was done at Chichester a few years ago, i didnt see it however. It’s amazing Simon R-B has never done The Critic, you would have thought it was perfect for him a few years ago. I see at Chichester in 2010 it was also paired with The Real Inspector Hound - two plays about theatre critics. Indeedio, maybe its trying to get the other short play to pair it with? |
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Post by Jan on Nov 7, 2019 18:14:21 GMT
It’s amazing Simon R-B has never done The Critic, you would have thought it was perfect for him a few years ago. I see at Chichester in 2010 it was also paired with The Real Inspector Hound - two plays about theatre critics. Indeedio, maybe its trying to get the other short play to pair it with? It is not that short. Just do it on its own and charge us less for the tickets. A short play is sometimes a blessed relief - all I liked about Vassa at the Almeida was the running time. Actually there are loads of one-act plays, many by famous authors, that never get produced, it should not be hard to find one. |
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Post by Jon on Nov 9, 2019 3:42:22 GMT
Terrence McNally is another playwright who doesn't get produced that often. I believe only Frankie and Johnny at the Clair du Lune and Master Class have been done in the UK play wise.
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