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Post by samuelwhiskers on Mar 19, 2022 18:26:11 GMT
If you want to see this for cheap/free, I can recommend calling your local council and asking if you can observe the next urban planning meeting to discuss local road closures. It’s basically the exact same thing.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Mar 22, 2022 1:25:26 GMT
I enjoyed this. It's well acted and I found the story very interesting although the ending a bit unsatisfactory. Great set by Bob Crowley too.
Didn't know anything about Robert Moses before this play and I've been reading a bit more to understand how he became so powerful without being in office.
In the new West Side Story movie a banner protesting against Moses can be seen during a demonstration against evictions.
From Wikipedia: 'During the song "America", a group of Puerto Rican demonstrators appear, protesting their pending evictions, and one of them holds a sign condemning Robert Moses'
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Post by bordeaux on Mar 24, 2022 6:45:35 GMT
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Post by Jan on Mar 24, 2022 7:27:02 GMT
I can't understand why the heck Hare wrote this. Because he could. More interesting is why old Rigsby wanted to appear in it - promise of a Broadway transfer ? Just a guess. |
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Post by theatreman on Mar 25, 2022 23:37:09 GMT
I can't understand why the heck Hare wrote this. Because he could. More interesting is why old Rigsby wanted to appear in it - promise of a Broadway transfer ? Just a guess. Maybe he has committed to write the screenplay for Fiennes' next directorial effort. |
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Post by Jon on Mar 26, 2022 1:29:32 GMT
I can't understand why the heck Hare wrote this. Because he could. More interesting is why old Rigsby wanted to appear in it - promise of a Broadway transfer ? Just a guess. I find Hare's work hit and miss but theatre companies aren't going to turn down a new Hare play especially one with a name like Ralph Fiennes. |
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Post by lichtie on Mar 28, 2022 17:58:03 GMT
So I enjoyed this more than the people who would rather have been watching paint dry. I would agree that if you have no interested in the topic of urban growth and planning and who decides what goes where (especially roads), or US history/politics, then avoid like the plague. I found it interesting though it's not really a play in the sense of a coherent whole. The "human interest" bit of Moses's life added nothing - in many ways the loyalty of his subordinates could have been strengthened to make it more obvious why he was let loose with the toys for so long. The ethnic aspects of the planning that was going on was lightly touched on, but felt like something that Hare was trying to skate over. Thereagain the definitive text is well over a thousand pages long so maybe he just couldn't decide how to focus it down to 2 hours in a play. He did manage to get across Moses' love of the motor car. Having seen The Shark is Broken a few months ago I couldn't help thinking that without Moses we'd never have had Jaws...
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Post by sfsusan on Mar 29, 2022 23:30:03 GMT
So I enjoyed this more than the people who would rather have been watching paint dry. I agree, it wasn't nearly as boring as I'd feared. And the audience seemed to enjoy it... no empty seats after the interval, good comments overheard. I'm not a city planning geek, but parts of the discussion about the proposed Washington Square Park project echoed some of the city 'planning' done in San Francisco's Fillmore District in the 1950s/60s, so I found that interesting. Some plays I enjoy because of the performances, some because of a performer, some because of the content. This was one where the content (mostly) held my attention. I enjoyed the performances, although Ralph Fiennes seemed to be 'performing' rather than 'inhabiting' his character. (The character was a vivid personality, but I was thrown off when Fiennes seemed to direct some lines to the audience, particularly in a scene that was supposed to be in his office with just one or two other characters.) Overall, I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. |
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Post by cavocado on Mar 31, 2022 13:51:57 GMT
It was pretty much what I expect from a David Hare play - good theme which touched on some interesting points (prioritising cars over public transport, the racism of slum clearance, visionary individual versus grassroots democracy, protecting diverse communities leading to gentrification and loss of diversity), but hamstrung by having to fit around this maverick, somewhat stereotyped central character (obsessive, drinks and shouts a lot, oblivious to other people's needs), and only anchored in reality by a few more nuanced supporting characters.
It was funny, and I liked the parts where the characters addressed the audience. I had a few yawning moments, but mostly it kept my attention, although I could hear someone snoring a couple of rows behind me for most of the second half.
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Post by Mark on Apr 15, 2022 22:35:07 GMT
I quite enjoyed this tonight. I wasn't sure after act one, which I found a bit too focused and internal for the first bit, getting better towards the end. Act two was much stronger and I felt it all came together, and there was some really great dialogue.
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Post by Dave B on Apr 16, 2022 7:58:03 GMT
We too enjoyed this last night. As Mark says, some really great dialogue. Some pacing issues in the first half but it did mostly come together nicely in the second. Really enjoyed Siobhán Cullen and think she should have really had an extra call along with Ralph Fiennes at the end.
The £25 front row seats were an absolute steal for this.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 20, 2022 16:18:35 GMT
At cinemas 26th May
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Post by callum on Apr 27, 2022 23:04:32 GMT
Had a fabulous time - so many interesting themes brought up (preservation of communities = preservation of power structures etc etc) and Fiennes top-rate. Loved the scene with Danny Webb as Gov Al Smith which even got a round of applause mid-act!
Can’t imagine there’d be a much of a bad view for this one so grab a bargain.
Direct in my sight view was a person that was asleep for the majority - why do these people want to go in the first place and then secondly not leave at the interval if they can’t be bothered to stay awake?! Perplexing!
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Post by edi on Apr 28, 2022 8:59:06 GMT
We too enjoyed this last night. As Mark says, some really great dialogue. Some pacing issues in the first half but it did mostly come together nicely in the second. Really enjoyed Siobhán Cullen and think she should have really had an extra call along with Ralph Fiennes at the end. The £25 front row seats were an absolute steal for this. Hey Dave, where did you find £25 front row tickets? Thanks |
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Post by Dave B on Apr 28, 2022 10:06:07 GMT
We too enjoyed this last night. As Mark says, some really great dialogue. Some pacing issues in the first half but it did mostly come together nicely in the second. Really enjoyed Siobhán Cullen and think she should have really had an extra call along with Ralph Fiennes at the end. The £25 front row seats were an absolute steal for this. Hey Dave, where did you find £25 front row tickets? Thanks Looking back, it was direct with the Bridge in October last year. I'm not a member so that must have been around the start of normal booking.
We will email you once your Print at Home tickets are ready.
Straight Line Crazy on Friday 15 April 2022 at 19:30 in Bridge Theatre
2 Adult tickets (Stalls: A13, A14) at £25.00 each
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Post by sfsusan on Apr 28, 2022 19:30:28 GMT
why do these people want to go in the first place and then secondly not leave at the interval if they can’t be bothered to stay awake?! Perplexing! There was probably a partner who insisted on going and hasn't yet learned that it's not worth dragging someone somewhere they don't want to go. |
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Post by joem on May 10, 2022 11:01:12 GMT
Ralph Fiennes is a top actor. David Hare's output is mixed but he certainly has written at least a couple of plays with claims to greatness - especially "The Absence of War" for me. The Bridge Theatre I am already very fond of. So bit of a no-brainer going to see this.
However the play itself leaves much to be desired. A bioplay of a figure who might have been in his time well-known in the US but is not really a household name here really does need much more background and context to grab your attention. In this case, despite the tension created by the slums clearance, there is not enough to chew except a fairly shallow side-taking on the issue, and it's clear what side Hare is on.
Despite a good, if 2Dish, performance by Fiennes and a great cameo by Danny Webb this is surely more of a play for Broadway? It would seem so from the number of American members of the audience. Welcome back!
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Post by mrnutz on May 17, 2022 11:17:59 GMT
I *may* have a spare ticket for this tomorrow night, Wednesday 18th. Row C in the stalls, central block - face value £72.50 but bought for £45 when on offer. Open to offers!
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Post by n1david on May 17, 2022 13:49:38 GMT
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Post by david on May 19, 2022 7:09:47 GMT
I had a really great time watching SLC at yesterday’s matinee. Getting one of the £25 front row seats (A51) was a bargain and had a great view of proceedings. As someone who has an interest in urban history I certainly got a lot of of this play (my last Hare play was the bore fest that was “I’m not running at the NT) and got a better understanding of how NY became the way it is today having only heard about Robert Moses via US history documentaries.
As a fan of Ralph Fiennes it was nice to see him up close on the stage though for me it was Danny Webb as Governor Al Smith that was worth the ticket price me and probably a lot of others in yesterday’s audience. He absolutely stole that 1 scene in Act 1. Siobhan Cullen as the fiery Finnuala Connell was another standout in the cast. Her performance in Act 2 again was a joy to watch.
Certainly I felt the play maybe at times glossed over the human and social impact of Moses’s decision making both on his work colleagues and the wider NY community and could if been explored in more depth in the writing.
I loved the two sets used from designer Bob Crowley but it was just a shame that those wonderful architect’s models were hidden at the back of the stage in the Act 2 set. Those I would of liked to have seen a bit more of.
The play was well received by the audience, especially by the number of US patrons in the audience. Overall, a worthwhile trip to the Bridge.
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Post by NeilVHughes on May 19, 2022 8:01:42 GMT
Thanks for the perfectly timed positivity david , am booked for tonight and was considering giving it a miss as could not generate any enthusiasm for the trip. |
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Post by mrnutz on May 19, 2022 11:03:16 GMT
Saw this last night.
Without a doubt, the most boring thing I have ever had the misfortune of sitting through.
Dull story, dull staging, dull script. Good acting though.
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Post by theatrebee on May 19, 2022 17:37:16 GMT
To each his/her own, but I had a great time watching Straight Line Crazy. I guess it's my sort of play. Can't get enough of the peculiar, eccentric, visionary genius type of character. Thought Ralph Fiennes would be the obvious highlight (and he was) but the rest of the cast were nuanced and seasoned as well.
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Post by david on May 20, 2022 10:53:00 GMT
Thanks for the perfectly timed positivity david , am booked for tonight and was considering giving it a miss as could not generate any enthusiasm for the trip. did you end up going last night? If so, what did you think of it? |
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Post by n1david on May 20, 2022 16:20:37 GMT
Airing Monday night at 10pm |
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