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Post by Jon on May 29, 2022 14:02:48 GMT
Given how well it's sold, a transfer is a no brainer even with the slightly mixed reviews. They've got plenty of 4 star reviews plus one 5 star which will help with marketing.
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Post by talkingheads on May 30, 2022 6:07:02 GMT
The subpar reviews have not helped the transfer plans. Subpar reviews? Most I've seen have been four star, full of comments about how much the audience laughed all the way through.
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 30, 2022 7:53:35 GMT
The subpar reviews have not helped the transfer plans. Subpar reviews? Most I've seen have been four star, full of comments about how much the audience laughed all the way through. 2 stars in both The Times and The Independent.
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Post by talkingheads on May 30, 2022 8:01:53 GMT
Subpar reviews? Most I've seen have been four star, full of comments about how much the audience laughed all the way through. 2 stars in both The Times and The Independent. 4 stars in both The Guardian and The Telegraph, 5 stars from WhatsOnStage.
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 30, 2022 8:36:27 GMT
2 stars in both The Times and The Independent. 4 stars in both The Guardian and The Telegraph, 5 stars from WhatsOnStage. Thanks. You weren't sure which ones were 'subpar' though. Which was why they were provided. So it was a mixed bag. Which is likely impacting transfer potential.
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 30, 2022 18:10:43 GMT
4 stars in both The Guardian and The Telegraph, 5 stars from WhatsOnStage. Thanks. You weren't sure which ones were 'subpar' though. Which was why they were provided. So it was a mixed bag. Which is likely impacting transfer potential. It really isn’t. Every major theatre owner in London has offered it a theatre. So the transfer potential is pretty much guaranteed.
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Post by Jon on May 30, 2022 18:30:36 GMT
It really isn’t. Every major theatre owner in London has offered it a theatre. So the transfer potential is pretty much guaranteed. I suppose it's a question of when and not if. I still think the new Nimax theatre is a candidate for The Unfriend but obviously it depends on when Nimax is planning on opening it.
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Post by lynette on May 30, 2022 18:35:17 GMT
I’ll book when it comes. Sounds a good un
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Post by mrnutz on May 30, 2022 18:47:04 GMT
Very excited to see this in July. I booked it in March 2020!
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Post by emsworthian on May 31, 2022 8:19:50 GMT
I saw it on Saturday and enjoyed it on the whole; there were several laugh out loud moments, although I could have done without the toilet humour in the second half. I loved the fact that in the shot of the front door we saw that it was No 9.
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Post by mrnutz on May 31, 2022 9:24:32 GMT
I saw it on Saturday and enjoyed it on the whole; there were several laugh out loud moments, although I could have done without the toilet humour in the second half. I loved the fact that in the shot of the front door we saw that it was No 9. Spoiler tags please!
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Post by bgarde on Jun 1, 2022 7:27:02 GMT
I was hoping for a witty black comedy and while it offered that to some degree, with a few funny lines and game performances, the sitcom tropes (grumpy teenager screaming "mum" and stomping up and downstairs) and heavy reliance on bodily functions for a laugh were unappealing to me. The actors are let down by a script that has potential with an interesting idea. Frances Barber's performance makes it worthwhile and the audience last night seemed to enjoy it very much.
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Post by Jon on Jun 1, 2022 13:41:16 GMT
I was hoping for a witty black comedy and while it offered that to some degree, with a few funny lines and game performances, the sitcom tropes (grumpy teenager screaming "mum" and stomping up and downstairs) and heavy reliance on bodily functions for a laugh were unappealing to me. The actors are let down by a script that has potential with an interesting idea. Frances Barber's performance makes it worthwhile and the audience last night seemed to enjoy it very much. Out of interest, what's the set like? I assume it can easily transfer to a more traditional theatre without too much issue given many shows at the Minerva have transferred to the West End in the last few years. Given the dearth of comedies in the West End aside from The Play that Goes Wrong, I imagine The Unfriend could do solid business if or when it transfers.
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Post by bgarde on Jun 1, 2022 14:27:33 GMT
I was hoping for a witty black comedy and while it offered that to some degree, with a few funny lines and game performances, the sitcom tropes (grumpy teenager screaming "mum" and stomping up and downstairs) and heavy reliance on bodily functions for a laugh were unappealing to me. The actors are let down by a script that has potential with an interesting idea. Frances Barber's performance makes it worthwhile and the audience last night seemed to enjoy it very much. Out of interest, what's the set like? I assume it can easily transfer to a more traditional theatre without too much issue given many shows at the Minerva have transferred to the West End in the last few years. Given the dearth of comedies in the West End aside from The Play that Goes Wrong, I imagine The Unfriend could do solid business if or when it transfers. Primarily just a living room. I think it should be fine staging wise. There was also some creative use of video on the screen just above the stage.
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Post by Steve on Jun 1, 2022 23:06:49 GMT
Saw the matinee, and laughed a lot, though it's not as punchy or as manic or as untamed a comedy as I would have wished, given the premise and superb cast. Some spoilers follow. . Rather, it is a very gentle, Chichester-style comedy about British people being so buttoned up and polite, they can't even be rude to a murderer, a reality that I would have thought died out in the seventies, or at least by the time of Princess Diana's funeral. That's funny, but buttoned up can never be as funny as totally unravelling lol! Consequently, although the principals are all superb, in particular, Frances Barber, all have done funnier work on stage: Barber was riotously unloosed by the caustic script for Musik, Abbington was fiercesomely funny and dangerously edgy in "God Bless the Child," and Shearsmith was hilarious, panicking in any number of things, from Hangmen to Betty Blue Eyes to The Producers. I mean, how can you keep Shearsmith so buttoned up as this!? Anyway, the three are very funny, with what they've got, but it's laughs not belly laughs they are dealt and which they realise, except in one exquisite comic sequence in which Shearsmith has to talk about about the toilet. Now that IS very funny indeed, and it made me yearn for more moments like that. If you've got Shearsmith, put him under MORE pressure, please. The more, the better! 3 and a half stars from me for a funny, but not riotous, "night" out!
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jun 2, 2022 10:31:49 GMT
Definitely one of the best new comedies for a while but could do with some fettling if it does transfer.
The core premise is great and the machinations of their guest sets up a strong foundation but the children are so wooden they could at the beginning be mistaken for the scenery, not having children myself and never encountered a teenager in a domestic environment the stereotype seemed stretched to breaking point and made for easy laughs.
As above one scene is worth the entry price alone but would advise seeing blind as the twist is best encountered live and prior knowledge may diminish the comedic impact.
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 4, 2022 17:44:18 GMT
This is the most fun I've had at the theatre for years. The core cast are wonderful and I properly belly laughed all the way through.
I bought the script because there were so many lines I want to go back to, and yes the scene everybody else is talking about absolutely brought the house down, and rightly so, Shearsmith's timing is exquisite.
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Post by Jon on Jun 4, 2022 17:51:33 GMT
This is the most fun I've had at the theatre for years. The core cast are wonderful and I properly belly laughed all the way through. I bought the script because there were so many lines I want to go back to, and yes the scene everybody else is talking about absolutely brought the house down, and rightly so, Shearsmith's timing is exquisite. Shearsmith's always been great in shows, he was great in Betty Blue Eyes and in A Very Expensive Poison. What is Amanda Abbington like? I've seen loads of her TV work but never on stage.
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 4, 2022 19:03:46 GMT
This is the most fun I've had at the theatre for years. The core cast are wonderful and I properly belly laughed all the way through. I bought the script because there were so many lines I want to go back to, and yes the scene everybody else is talking about absolutely brought the house down, and rightly so, Shearsmith's timing is exquisite. Shearsmith's always been great in shows, he was great in Betty Blue Eyes and in A Very Expensive Poison. What is Amanda Abbington like? I've seen loads of her TV work but never on stage. Abbington is fantastic. I've been a fan of her's since that Nicholas Lyndhurst sitcom After You've Gone. Admittedly her role in The Unfriend is slightly more reactive than proactive, but she still gets a lot of the laughs.
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Post by Jon on Jun 10, 2022 12:26:16 GMT
Given the Chichester run is pretty much sold out, a transfer announcement must be imminent? I assume it'll be announced in the final 2-3 weeks or shortly after it closes.
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Post by Rory on Jun 10, 2022 15:41:26 GMT
Given the Chichester run is pretty much sold out, a transfer announcement must be imminent? I assume it'll be announced in the final 2-3 weeks or shortly after it closes. I'm eagerly awaiting London news too, and am holding off booking my next trip until dates for a transfer materialise (as I feel sure they will). Let's hope we're not disappointed!
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Post by David J on Jun 19, 2022 12:02:47 GMT
Saw this yesterday
It’s feels like a sitcom Moffat offered to the bbc but was rejected
The second act is better with plenty of moments with the policeman and the neighbour. But in the first act things are dragged out during the second half. Once it’s established that the parents want to get rid of the American lady but she’s very manipulative and the kids love her, it has nowhere else to go for 10 minutes
Good performances from the leads and I enjoyed the neighbour moments but the kids are two dimensional stereotypes
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Post by theatremiss on Jun 25, 2022 23:27:02 GMT
I saw this tonight. I belly laughed through most of it. Barber was just superb as the annoying “friend” , Abbington gave a solid, enjoyable performance and Sheersmith was brilliant with his awkwardness and en point comic timing. I agree with a previous poster that this seems very much like a sitcom, but it worked really well on stage and there was so much laughter in one room, I don’t think I’ve heard so many people laugh in unison for a very long time. This deserves a transfer
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Post by n1david on Jun 27, 2022 22:23:57 GMT
Disappointed by this tonight. Not many belly laughs from me and not from around the audience (Monday night?). Some leavers at the interval. Thought it was all well-acted in the context of what was asked of the performers but it was all very one-note. Very broad but no depth. The show's pedigree would sell tickets in London but I don't think it will stand up to review. Maybe enough fans of the creative team to sell it. Some specific thoughts When I say one-note, for example I'd have liked to see some darkness in Frances Barber's character, to give some sense about whether she was a murderer rather than just the Internet reports.. Everyone played things essentially the same way through, with the exception of the kids who go through this amazing transformation within 6 days (or, for us, in a 20 minute interval). There's no demonstration or explanation of the amazing skills of FB's character, we are asked to take on trust and I couldn't buy it. I could see this worked up into a 6x30 sitcom, but as a play where I was keen to laugh but also see real people on stage, I was severely disappointed.
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Post by stevemar on Jul 16, 2022 12:25:33 GMT
Although the current run has ended, I enjoyed this a lot. Yes, it’s a sitcom with only one “situation” but played with aplomb particularly by Reece Shearsmith at his awkward best. Frances Barber was excellent, but I would have appreciated more of her in the short second act. I felt that Amanda Abbington could have had more to do. I do think it could have been improved with a further subplot (others than the toilet joke which I found cringeworthy but hilarious) or neighbour. The audience including me loved it, and great to see close up at the Minerva. A genuinely funny new play.
4 stars.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 16, 2022 12:29:14 GMT
Transfer signed…
January 2023….
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Post by catw on Jul 16, 2022 13:05:42 GMT
Transfer signed… January 2023…. Where?
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Post by Jon on Jul 16, 2022 15:24:34 GMT
There are a few options for The Unfriend like The Pinter, the Duke of York’s, The Phoenix, Wyndham’s and also the new Nimax theatre although I think the final option won’t be available as I think it’ll opening sometime in November as the hoardings that are surrounding the building can only stay up until then.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jul 16, 2022 15:48:38 GMT
It’s none of those theatres
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Post by TallPaul on Jul 16, 2022 15:50:45 GMT
TRH after OFAH?
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