The Pillowman - Duke of York's

Another thread dominated by the "how do I get in cheap?" brigade.

For those of us who want to discuss 'The Pillowman', I am disappointed by this casting- certainly a step down from Broadbent and Goldblum.

Having seen both live (and don't forget David Tennant was also in the NT production), Goldblum was slightly better, I feel, as he brought his trademark other-worldliness to the role. Can Pemberton bring the gravitas and cynicism necessary for the role? He was always the "lightest" of the League of Gentlemen.

Matthew Dunster seems to be this author's go-to director, but I don't understand why. His approach seemed prosaic in 'Hangmen' and 'A Very Very Very Dark Matter' (both lesser McDonagh plays, admittedly).

McDonagh's writing on stage and screen has seemed rushed since "Seven Psychopaths"- like he is not getting time to polish first drafts- so at least this is a bona fide masterpiece to start with; but choices of cast and creatives do not suggest to me that this production will match the bliss of the National's original.

The Pillowman is truly first-rate McDonagh. I still have very fond memories of seeing the Broadway production with Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg. So very good.

This thread has followed/will follow the standard Theatre Board reaction to a new announcement
- One of us gets to hear of a new production
- A few posts musing on the initial post
- A wave of posts on finding the best view to price seats (thank you Mr Monkey)
- A period of quiet as the initial interest wanes
- The performance posts where we finally get to know the production warts and all

Speaking for myself I love this dynamic, finding a deal and then following the discussion on the play/production, the excitement of finding a deal adds to the experience of the play itself and there is nothing better than seeing a great play in a good seat at a bargain price.

After a few previews someone will post a report about loud noises as well.

The self-serving enquiries about how to get cheap tickets a) makes reading these threads much more difficult as every comment about the actual production is interrupted by 3 questions seating which are of no interest to anyone other than the enquirer (eg is A 23 is good seat?  is the £15 seat far back?) b) producers have been forced to re-shape their business models massively because so many customers no expect to get a discounted ticket- apart from the juggernauts, independent producers are increasingly squeezed by rising costs and falling revenues, which is unhealthy for the industry.  Look at the income distribution in the recent box office figures for 2019)

 Anyway back to McDonagh, I found Hangmen to be a thoroughly unsatisfying piece, with unfinished plotlines, lazy jokes at the expense of the comedy deaf old guy and a set design with terrible sightlines.

Three Billboards was either rushed or deeply compromised by big movie production demands- the Willoughby/ Anne relationship was lazy, the requirement for the grieving widow to deliver a message to Mildred on the very day of her bereavement stretched credulity.  The big reconciliation scene at the reposting of the billboards was trite, very un-MacDonagh and vaguely offensive in that Denise had to be found romance with another nice convenient POC as if that was the only option.  I'm not sure whether the reptition and confusion of short comments and sentences (such as between Dixon and the desk sergeant) has become a trademark or just schtick.

MacDonagh can't help but write great dialogue sequences, (and especially colourful bravura expletives and insults), but the overall structure felt wobbly and the ending did not feel like a cliff-hanger but more a non-decision.

And in terms of it not being the director's fault that a play needs a re-draft, one of the director's most important jobs is to highlight areas of a text that need further work.

Wonder what happened with the beauty queen of lehane revival at the lyric

Can you expand on this? In what way they changed business models and how the income distribution differs from previous years? Not that I disagree, I just want to know more as I'm interested in theatre production. 2019 was the highest grossing year ever even though some big theatres were dark for considerable time, so I thought West End was doing quite well.

The boxes will always be off sale until the show actually arrives at the venue. This is to ensure that the sightlines from them are decent enough to actually sell, but also to make sure the boxes aren't filled with lights or any other equipment that would render them unusable.

Have there been any more developments on this since they said it was on hold until this year? The Ocean at the end of the lane is opening in October, which makes me wonder if A) a new theatre has been found, B) it is now pushed back to 2022 or C) the production has been dropped.

I don't think you've missed anything. It's still in my COVID spreadsheet as "Awaiting Further Update" - nothing since the "postponed to 2021" announcement in the post above from June 2020.

I hadn't booked as was still sorting out my schedule, but this was the opening I was looking forward to the most so hopefully it reappears.

Same here - I think I booked but it's so long ago I'd forgotten!