1,321 posts
|
Post by Dave B on Sept 8, 2021 11:03:19 GMT
I don't see a thread for this one.
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Sept 8, 2021 11:14:08 GMT
I feel compelled to say 'mother of god': Public booking reopened at noon. Get on it!
|
|
|
Post by cavocado on Sept 8, 2021 11:24:48 GMT
This wasn't on my wishlist but somehow I found myself joining the queue and booked a lucky dip £10 ticket.
|
|
1,845 posts
|
Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 8, 2021 11:36:00 GMT
Ticket availability was good for the dates I looked at and queue was reasonably quick.
|
|
2,805 posts
|
Post by couldileaveyou on Sept 8, 2021 12:05:56 GMT
Same here, I randomly joined the queue and getting a seat was nice and easy. I somehow suspected it was already sold out or that it would have been a nightmarish experience
|
|
|
Post by ThereWillBeSun on Sept 8, 2021 20:48:28 GMT
Uh oh. Just bought a £10 ticket. Not my favourite Shakespeare but thought...Cush Jumbo. Why not.
|
|
1,845 posts
|
Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 24, 2021 10:07:00 GMT
£5 tickets for Mon if your quick!
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Sept 24, 2021 10:21:39 GMT
Boom! Thanks Neil.
First Preview? Interesting.
|
|
1,321 posts
|
Post by Dave B on Sept 27, 2021 18:52:40 GMT
Just got my things to know email prior to tomorrow.
Early start 7pm - and it's listed as 3h30m with one interval
!
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Sept 28, 2021 10:03:54 GMT
At the first preview, it was 2 hours 10 min to the break. Kwame Kwei-Armah introduced the evening and explained this was to be their first full run-though. In those circs, you can only offer general comments. It went well. Felt fully drawn in. A very able Cush Jumbo knows what she wants and delivers a distinct Hamlet. An interesting and confident set. Of course it needs tightening - I'd like to see it again later in the run - but more than half the house was on its feet at the end and that's not a bad place to be.
|
|
1,187 posts
|
Post by theatrelover123 on Sept 28, 2021 15:39:30 GMT
Of course it needs tightening - I'd like to see it again later in the run - but more than half the house was on its feet at the end and that's not a bad place to be. Not bad at all. Unless they were on their feet running for the doors or to get to the toilets Were they applauding at the same time?
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Sept 28, 2021 16:26:50 GMT
There may have been a row across the middle of the auditorium where the creative team sat and they may have been first on their feet and some of the audience may have taken their cue from that, I couldn't possibly comment.
It's a fair point on the toilets; with only a 15-minute interval after 2 plus hours, it's just as well toilets formally called 'the Gents' were available for women.
|
|
6,285 posts
|
Post by Jon on Sept 28, 2021 17:56:28 GMT
Hamlet's always going to a long evening, the Benedict Cumberbatch production was similar in length as was the Andrew Scott production.
|
|
1,321 posts
|
Post by Dave B on Sept 28, 2021 22:38:04 GMT
Lost some time already, out by 10.15 this evening. First half is too long, there is a notable increase in coughing, moving, fidgeting and noise. Really could do with a split down the middle and maybe a 20 min interval. Other than that, thoroughly enjoyed it. Cast are superb, on the way in we agreed would happily watch Cush Jumbo read the phonebook and in a funny moment she reads from Heat magazine which is even less engaging than the phonebook... so all was good. One particularly great moment that I think might have been unintended which I will spoiler just in case...
{Spoiler - click to view} Basically when the gravedigger went to take a second drink, the cap was still on the bottle. He rolled with it and covered nicely but just behind it looked like Cush Jumbo and Jonathan Livingstone came close to losing it. Could well have been intentional but just seemed to get a little more reaction from the cast than other things.
|
|
4,637 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jan on Sept 29, 2021 7:52:26 GMT
Hamlet's always going to a long evening, the Benedict Cumberbatch production was similar in length as was the Andrew Scott production. The Andrew Scott one had two intervals I seem to recall ? Not that I really like that personally but it would be useful for some in the audience. Two intervals used to be quite common in the West End years ago, even for standard three act plays like Ibsen for example they'd put two intervals in, sometimes of different lengths - an attempt to increase bar takings maybe.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2021 13:07:32 GMT
Wasn't this set to stream? I'm not finding anything about how to book.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2021 18:27:36 GMT
Y'know, I scoured that site for a good hour yesterday. Feel a bit like an idiot now. Thank you!
|
|
2,805 posts
|
Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 2, 2021 22:20:19 GMT
Watched it tonight and rather liked it. It takes a little while to find its footing, but when it does it gets quite sharp and focused. The second act in particular is very tight, because of both acting/direction and several cuts (eg: the whole Fortinbras sub-plot is gone; no second gravedigger).
Cush Jumbo is a fine Hamlet, at times very funny but constantly on edge. She has a very androgynous look, which can be quite uncanny since at times you have the impression of watching a teenage boy playing the Dane. I think this is something they are consciously going for, especially since Ophelia too is quite teenage looking and they removed the textual clues you can use to figure out Hamlet's age.
There are some very strong supporting performances, especially from Joseph Marcell (Polonius) and Leo Wringer (Leading Player/Gravedigger). The weak link for me was Adrian Dunbar, he gets better in the final couple of scenes in which he plays the calculating politician, but there is very little inner turmoil and he's quite bland in general. This is a pity, especially since he also doubles as the ghost. The interval was poorly placed and it seems to be there only so that Cush Jumbo doesn't have to drag Polonius' body off-stage, they could have put it five minutes later without interrupting the flow of the scene. But on the whole it's pretty pretty good
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Oct 3, 2021 1:40:38 GMT
The surprise here for me is Laura Lopez Holden as Ophelia. Not that long out of RADA by the look of it. Great role, of course. but she tucks it under her arm and hares off down The Cut.
|
|
2,955 posts
|
Post by crowblack on Oct 4, 2021 23:56:25 GMT
The surprise here for me is Laura Lopez Holden as Ophelia. Not that long out of RADA by the look of it. Great role, of course. but she tucks it under her arm and hares off down The Cut. She's great - we saw her at the Manchester Royal Exchange in The Almighty Sometimes and in the touring Equus and think she's one to watch! I'm not going to be able to see this in person but looking forward to the livestream.
|
|
|
Post by ThereWillBeSun on Oct 8, 2021 9:42:48 GMT
I returned a ticket for this Saturday evening!
£10
Should be snapped up but just in case any of my TB buddies was interested x
|
|
|
Post by Forrest on Oct 10, 2021 10:08:51 GMT
I saw this last night with a friend and we both really enjoyed it. Cush Jumbo is a terrific Hamlet - she absolutely made the part her own, delivering Shakespeare like it was written yesterday - and the rest of the cast were really good, too, with the exception of Gertrude, who for me lacked any agenda (I couldn't read her at all, and found her utterly empty as a character) and Laertes, who mumbled his way through most of his lines in the second half. The dynamic of the court was really interesting to me - the king (in my mind, so clearly modelled after Trump - did anyone else think this?) not as a figure of respect, but almost disguised contempt, with his laughable businessman-like, eager-to-appeal demeanour. (I agree he was not very good as the ghost, but I enjoyed his sleaziness in the main role.)
The only thing I intensely disliked was the set design: it looked oddly like a village school production of "Hamlet", with its painted cardboard-like stage and the odd revolving pillars - neither of which, to me, helped create the feel of an actual castle, fake glamour of it or not - and pink-loaded pastels, but I have not been able to deduce, or even come up with an idea of what might have been behind that choice. (Anyone has?)
|
|
2,389 posts
|
Post by peggs on Oct 10, 2021 20:54:46 GMT
Am I going to have much of a blood faint risk please?
|
|
|
Post by Forrest on Oct 10, 2021 21:10:39 GMT
peggs , no, don't worry, it's not bloody at all, and some potentially more difficult scenes are not actually shown, just referenced.
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Oct 10, 2021 21:50:57 GMT
Hi @forrest Fwiw, I had a different read on Claudius but, in yours, I do like the implication of Melania Trump. There doesn't seem to be passion in the marriage and you wonder what it is between them that caused events to lead to this ... The phrase used with the Trump's is that it was a 'transactional marriage'. Again, a potential fit with Claudius and Gertrude. And we know that Cush will have strong opinions on all of that given her recent return to London from a career there.
tbh, I need an alternative understanding becasue, atm, all I have for an explanation is that it's a mediocre performance by Adrian Dunbar. Prefer to move on from that.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!
|
|
|
Post by cavocado on Oct 11, 2021 9:28:35 GMT
I saw this last week and loved it. Cush Jumbo was superb and most of the ensemble did a good job, especially Norah Lopez Holden as Ophelia (first time I've seen her and will look out for her future work), and Joseph Marcell as Polonius: I particularly liked his self-awareness about his over-protectiveness and pedantry. The Hamlet/Ophelia relationship was also set up strongly with the dancing scene.
I liked Tara Fitzgerald. A clever performance, seeming quite glacial and businesslike, but there were little facial expressions and gestures where the mask dropped and you could see her distress. It seemed logical she appeared so cold - the shock of being newly widowed and coerced into a political marriage, so being numb emotionally made sense.
The Trump comparison is interesting, as I felt it was a very personal Hamlet at the expense of the political element, and I was a bit confused by Adrian Dunbar. I didn't get enough sense of the emotions and character behind the facade to see this as a man who killed his brother, but the idea of a Trump-like character makes some sense, and fits with Tara Fitzgerald's interpretation.
Some good supporting acting, especially the gravedigger, and I liked the way Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were played, although G mumbled some of her lines.
The big pillars/rocks looked a bit plasticky, but worked as battlements and arras, and I liked the way the ghost appeared.
I wonder if this will go on NT at Home at some point.
|
|
|
Post by Forrest on Oct 11, 2021 10:41:14 GMT
I so enjoy reading the impressions on here, because it always amuses me how same things speak so differently to all of us! :) My mind immediately decided Dunbar was acting (and looking) Trump-like, so I thought he did a really fine job. And perhaps that wasn't the case at all! Also, you are right cavocado and londonpostie that looking at Gertrude as Melania would somewhat explain her behaviour - oddly, however, that did not occur to me! (There should be a facepalm emoji to insert here!) We all seem to have liked Ophelia, though: she is definitely going on my to-watch list after this, too. I agree that the gravedigger was great, as well. (I wrongly thought it was the same actor who played Polonius, but perhaps I need better glasses. And I wish the YV would do slightly more elaborate cast lists.)
|
|
2,389 posts
|
Post by peggs on Oct 15, 2021 11:32:20 GMT
Presumably as there's just a blank next to my arrival time on my ticket I just guess? Have emailed the box office but no response.
|
|
|
Post by londonpostie on Oct 15, 2021 11:37:48 GMT
You just turn up. Capacity is 400 ish.
|
|
2,389 posts
|
Post by peggs on Oct 15, 2021 16:54:35 GMT
Thanks. Wouldn't have been concerned only my email says 'arrive at the time on your ticket'.
|
|