13 posts
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Post by niklas on May 13, 2016 9:08:20 GMT
Last night was the first preview. Has anyone seen it yet? I'm especially interested in what the set/costumes look like.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 10:00:34 GMT
Last night was the first preview. Has anyone seen it yet? I'm especially interested in what the set/costumes look like. Me too. OK. Well. When I say I'm interested in what the costumes look like, what I actually mean is: Is Richard Madden's costume tight? Does it come off? |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 13, 2016 10:37:07 GMT
I went last night with my mum. We were in the cheap seats at the back of the Grand Circle.
Costumes are modern dress - suits, jeans, dresses. Though Juliet has a rather vintage floaty nightgown. The set is basically a piazza-style space, with three steps up to a higher level surrounding the 'square' centre-stage. Various columns and the odd wall are flown in to change the space to Friar Lawrence's cell, the tomb, etc. Juliet's balcony is placed upstage on the higher section, and is basically a bit of ornamental wall they bring on - no jumping or climbing required to get to it.
It's very Italian - snatches of Italian are spoken. Lily James has a brunette wig (which I don't think suits her very well).
I really liked the use of music - Mercutio occasionaly sings snatches of songs, almost rat-pack style, Juliet sings karaoke-style at the party, prayers are sung. I thought an older Mercutio works well - he's a little bit of a foolish old man, dapper and a little camp, and his challenge to Tybalt is initially riduculous. Jacobi wasn't always totally audible to us because he rattles through some of his lines, might be better in the stalls but I suspect it's for effect.
Mum - whose hearing isn't the best - struggled with Romeo's quieter moments in the second act too, I could just about make him out. We both struggled to see the tomb scenes, especially Romeo's death. Lots of haze and very low ambient light, actors carry on lamps as they arrive so it does get brighter as it goes on - very atmospheric, might be fine in the stalls but up in the Grand circle I wanted a bit more light, please, Ken.
I'm afraid I was the annoying person coughing as Romeo stared at Juliet's 'corpse', sorry! I was really trying not to. Other than me I didn't notice any annoying audience behaviour - I didn't hear any phones go off. House Full sign was out but there were a few empty seats around.
I thought Richard Madden was very good as Romeo, and I do like Lily James but it's hard to make much of Juliet - especially during the first act. Meera Syal was good as the nurse, and had some nice interaction with Derek Jacobi.
We got out about 10.35pm, so it must have finished just before 10.30.
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 13, 2016 10:40:25 GMT
Last night was the first preview. Has anyone seen it yet? I'm especially interested in what the set/costumes look like. Me too. OK. Well. When I say I'm interested in what the costumes look like, what I actually mean is: Is Richard Madden's costume tight? Does it come off? No, sadly it doesn't come off - there might have been a tight t-shirt but not evident from our seats. Derek Jacobi knocked over a glass of water in one scene and Benvolio took off the shirt he was wearing over a vest top to mop it up - that's the closest we got! |
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 10:49:44 GMT
Juliet is a wonderful character with a solid character arc showing her growth from naïve young girl to determined young woman, and although by necessity of historical casting practices she doesn't get as much stage time as the male characters, she's certainly more richly drawn and more interesting to watch than Romeo.
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 13, 2016 10:55:26 GMT
Well, I liked her better after the interval. YMMV.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 10:57:23 GMT
Well, I liked her better after the interval. YMMV. Before or after she dies? |
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5,891 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 14, 2016 20:11:17 GMT
What level of Ham is Jacobi giving on a scale of 1-10?
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 14, 2016 21:17:47 GMT
7.5
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374 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on May 14, 2016 22:57:01 GMT
He's by far the best thing in it, and Meera Syal is WAY outhamming him. Overall, it's exactly what you'd expect if you saw his Winter's Tale. Dripping with class and style, it looks a treat and it's chock full of lovely lovely performances and moments.
For those of us who thought Ken had gone awry casting Jacobi as Mercutio, well, that turned out great. Marisa Berenson as Juliet's mother though? Not so much. She's terrible, she forgot her lines on Friday night at one point and given that the text leads you to think she's in her early 30s at the latest (she references Juliet being 14 and how she'd had kids already by her age), casting someone who is knocking on 70 and looks every day of it, despite copious amounts of plastic surgery may not have been the most "on point" of decisions.
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7,176 posts
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Post by Jon on May 15, 2016 0:43:22 GMT
He's by far the best thing in it, and Meera Syal is WAY outhamming him. Overall, it's exactly what you'd expect if you saw his Winter's Tale. Dripping with class and style, it looks a treat and it's chock full of lovely lovely performances and moments. For those of us who thought Ken had gone awry casting Jacobi as Mercutio, well, that turned out great. Marisa Berenson as Juliet's mother though? Not so much. She's terrible, she forgot her lines on Friday night at one point and given that the text leads you to think she's in her early 30s at the latest (she references Juliet being 14 and how she'd had kids already by her age), casting someone who is knocking on 70 and looks every day of it, despite copious amounts of plastic surgery may not have been the most "on point" of decisions. I thinking setting it in 1950s Verona was inspired and really works with the text. Jacobi and Syal were highlights but I did like Richard Madden and Lily James as the title characters although I agree her wig doesn't suit at all and I noticed that Madden's accent slipped slightly into his natural Scottish accent but only in the shouty bits. |
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115 posts
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Post by Sotongal on May 15, 2016 12:04:25 GMT
I went last night with my mum. We were in the cheap seats at the back of the Grand Circle. Costumes are modern dress - suits, jeans, dresses. Though Juliet has a rather vintage floaty nightgown. The set is basically a piazza-style space, with three steps up to a higher level surrounding the 'square' centre-stage. Various columns and the odd wall are flown in to change the space to Friar Lawrence's cell, the tomb, etc. Juliet's balcony is placed upstage on the higher section, and is basically a bit of ornamental wall they bring on - no jumping or climbing required to get to it. It's very Italian - snatches of Italian are spoken. Lily James has a brunette wig (which I don't think suits her very well). I really liked the use of music - Mercutio occasionaly sings snatches of songs, almost rat-pack style, Juliet sings karaoke-style at the party, prayers are sung. I thought an older Mercutio works well - he's a little bit of a foolish old man, dapper and a little camp, and his challenge to Tybalt is initially riduculous. Jacobi wasn't always totally audible to us because he rattles through some of his lines, might be better in the stalls but I suspect it's for effect. Mum - whose hearing isn't the best - struggled with Romeo's quieter moments in the second act too, I could just about make him out. We both struggled to see the tomb scenes, especially Romeo's death. Lots of haze and very low ambient light, actors carry on lamps as they arrive so it does get brighter as it goes on - very atmospheric, might be fine in the stalls but up in the Grand circle I wanted a bit more light, please, Ken. I'm afraid I was the annoying person coughing as Romeo stared at Juliet's 'corpse', sorry! I was really trying not to. Other than me I didn't notice any annoying audience behaviour - I didn't hear any phones go off. House Full sign was out but there were a few empty seats around. I thought Richard Madden was very good as Romeo, and I do like Lily James but it's hard to make much of Juliet - especially during the first act. Meera Syal was good as the nurse, and had some nice interaction with Derek Jacobi. We got out about 10.35pm, so it must have finished just before 10.30. We paid (a very long time ago) £65 per seat for seats in row S of the stalls, (for yesterday evening,)which does mean you slightly feel you're watching the production through a letter box, because of the overhanging circle. But yes, the lighting is low level throughout the whole production, which means even at points where the action is supposedly outside on an Italian piazza and when there are references to the Sun/heat the whole stage is still pretty dark. The fact that the all the sets and costumes are in shades of white/grey/black don't enhance visibility either! Because of that I found myself desperately hoping for colour - maybe when the star-crossed lovers passion is ignited? But no. Personally, I found Richard Madden lacking in charisma and passion in this in the same way he did in his performance of Lady Chatterley's Lover in the BBC production of the book. Neither look like teenagers and Madden in a suit makes him look older and more boring. Unfortunately for Lily James, giving her a brunette wig also just made her look much older, instead of younger. And I wouldn't class either of them as being great Shakespearean actors in any way (but they will put the Game of Thrones/Downton Abbey/Cinderella fans bums on seats). The most lively/passionate performances came from Meera Syal, as the Nurse and Michael Rouse as Lord Capulet. Down in the back of the stalls the coughing, squeaking seats and people popping out to the loos were more noticeable in the second half. |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 15, 2016 13:20:13 GMT
. Marisa Berenson as Juliet's mother though? Not so much. She's terrible, she forgot her lines on Friday night at one point and given that the text leads you to think she's in her early 30s at the latest (she references Juliet being 14 and how she'd had kids already by her age), casting someone who is knocking on 70 and looks every day of it, despite copious amounts of plastic surgery may not have been the most "on point" of decisions. Is she that old? Her age wasn't evident from our seats - I'd have put her in her 40s. |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on May 15, 2016 13:29:18 GMT
. But yes, the lighting is low level throughout the whole production, which means even at points where the action is supposedly outside on an Italian piazza and when there are references to the Sun/heat the whole stage is still pretty dark. Down in the back of the stalls the coughing, squeaking seats and people popping out to the loos were more noticeable in the second half. I thought the 'dawn' lighting was effective - I can accept it being dim then - but you're right, the piazza wasn't bright enough during the 'day'. There's a few squeaky seats in the circle too, but those loos at the back of the stalls are the worst. I think the haze effect they use triggers some of the coughing in the second half - it's probably a bit psychological. |
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115 posts
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Post by Sotongal on May 15, 2016 15:05:07 GMT
. But yes, the lighting is low level throughout the whole production, which means even at points where the action is supposedly outside on an Italian piazza and when there are references to the Sun/heat the whole stage is still pretty dark. Down in the back of the stalls the coughing, squeaking seats and people popping out to the loos were more noticeable in the second half. I thought the 'dawn' lighting was effective - I can accept it being dim then - but you're right, the piazza wasn't bright enough during the 'day'. There's a few squeaky seats in the circle too, but those loos at the back of the stalls are the worst. I think the haze effect they use triggers some of the coughing in the second half - it's probably a bit psychological. Maybe you could see more of 'the Dawn lighting' from the Grand Circle than we could from the rear Stalls? Lols! 
P.S. Whilst queueing outside the Ladies loos, near the theatre entrance, spotted Jane Devonshire, Masterchef 2106 winner going into the Circle.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 15:08:01 GMT
There's a few squeaky seats in the circle too Maybe they're part of an immersive sound design for the 'dawn' chorus? |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 15:55:52 GMT
Lily James was a very fine (and brunette) Desdemona in Sheffield.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 8:27:41 GMT
Well. As beautiful as they are to look at and as well as they play their parts Lily James and Richard Madden do not look anything like teenage lovers. Aside from that they do play their parts very nicely though (Lily James also rather amusing on the balcony scene) and Richard Madden's shirt fits very nicely so that's good too.
Not unexpectedly, Derek Jacobi gives the best performance for me. A touch on the camp, hammy side but he does speak the verse beautifully and it really doesn't seem strange that he's friends with these much younger men either. Meera Syal is very funny but you get the sense that she is on a mission to steal the entire play from everyone around her and no-one, but NO-ONE, is going to stop her! Loved the 50s Verona staging too.
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2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on May 18, 2016 8:48:57 GMT
How daft ARE they to schedule the cinema screening for this on the same evening as the semi finale of the Euro 2016?! Couldn't they wait a week until the football was done and over with? Would love to see this, but I'm sorry, the live football wins here.
Sorry, vaguely pointless interruption, carry on.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 9:35:26 GMT
Well. As beautiful as they are to look at and as well as they play their parts Lily James and Richard Madden do not look anything like teenage lovers. Diverse casting, dear. |
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330 posts
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Post by RedRose on May 18, 2016 10:04:47 GMT
The age topic again! They look more like it than Ken & Miranda in Harlequinade I bet!
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1,287 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on May 18, 2016 14:08:50 GMT
Overall I enjoyed this last night. Not crazy about the set, functional but uninspired, just a few pillars and steps.
Derek Jacobi was excellent as Mercutio and delivered his lines beautifully. He was less convincing during the fight though, a bit clumsy using the sword, but apart from that, his performance was faultless.
Meera Syal was awful IMHO. She was trying to play it for the laughs milking every scene she was in. It didn't work, not many people laugh, not even when she was grabbing Romeo by his private parts.
Enjoyed very much Marisa Berenson as Juliet's mother. I was strangely moved by seeing her on stage. She is in two of my all time favourite films, Cabaret and Barry Lyndon. I read somewhere that she had retired from acting after her sister died on one of the planes during the September 11th attacks. I was pleased to see her back to acting with a small part in the film I Am Love in 2009 but never thought I would see her on stage in the West End.
Lily James and Richard Madden were both very good. The don't look 13 and 15 years old but maybe because of that they take the story to another level. They come across as two spoiled brats from very rich and dysfunctional families. You don't really feel that sorry when they die. It's a bit 'Oh well, if that's what it takes for these two families to realise how ridiculous their rivalries are so be it'. Found both actors quite amusing in the Balcony Scene. I was a bit taken aback at first when Juliet started the scene a bit pissed and drinking champagne from the bottle. But it really worked and ended being one of the highlights of the evening.
Kenneth Branagh was a couple of rows behind me. He was talking to audience members during the interval and taking selfies with them.
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1,287 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on May 18, 2016 15:09:36 GMT
Oops! I should have phrased that better. He was allowing patrons to take selfies with him and seemed quite happy to pose for photos
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1,287 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on May 18, 2016 15:38:17 GMT
Don't be. Yo are famous. He might ask you for a selfie next time he sees you!
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 17:56:14 GMT
How daft ARE they to schedule the cinema screening for this on the same evening as the semi finale of the Euro 2016?! Couldn't they wait a week until the football was done and over with? Would love to see this, but I'm sorry, the live football wins here. Sorry, vaguely pointless interruption, carry on. Prob assuming England won't get through and the gays (I'm one of them) won't give a jolly |
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