52 posts
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Post by pledge on Sept 21, 2022 8:38:23 GMT
Can hardly believe it, but the first play of the new season at the Orange Tree turns out to be YET ANOTHER (the seventh? eighth in a row?) piece in which two outstanding actors basically talk at the audience for two hours! Superb performances, an important theme, and very fine writing (as writing) cannot disguise the fact that for 90% of the evening there is simply no drama - just narration. (And I'm afraid the ending felt both predictable and melodramatic.) Occasionally - mostly in Pt 2 - there is some actual interaction between the characters, and audience instantly interest perks up, but while the actors work their socks off to try and engage and involve the audience, the author simply hasn't given them the vehicle to do it. Is this why, despite good reviews, the audience was around 20% of capacity? (And not all of those came back after the interval.) Will the artistic leadership at this theatre ever realise that there is more to play-writing than just (even the best intentioned) writing..?
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3,471 posts
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Post by showgirl on Sept 21, 2022 14:31:18 GMT
A shame to read but perhaps not surprising as the programming has been so weird under Paul Miller that I've hardly been and have hated some of the productions I did try. Oh for the days of Sam Walters! Still, if Tom Littler's programming when he takes over is anything like what he's done at Jermyn Street Theatre, I'll be much happier.
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1,329 posts
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Post by Dave B on Sept 24, 2022 23:07:09 GMT
Maybe about 3/5 full this afternoon and no sign of anyone leaving at the interval but otherwise I'm fairly in agreement with pledge.
The afternoon came to life and shone in the brief moments where the two superb actors were engaging with each other rather than taking it in turns to yes, talk at us. We both did enjoy it but really wanted more moments like that, I'd hoped at the start of the second half (as they meet in NYC) that we would move into them together and we'd get a wonderland rather than just complimenting monologues but not to be.
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1,329 posts
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Post by Dave B on Sept 25, 2022 8:54:44 GMT
Maybe about 3/5 full this afternoon and no sign of anyone leaving at the interval but otherwise I'm fairly in agreement with pledge. The afternoon came to life and shone in the brief moments where the two superb actors were engaging with each other rather than taking it in turns to yes, talk at us. We both did enjoy it but really wanted more moments like that, I'd hoped at the start of the second half (as they meet in NYC) that we would move into them together and we'd get a wonderland rather than just complimenting monologues but not to be. I have no idea what autocorrect decided I meant when it put in 'wonderland' and this morning I have no idea what I mean either!   I think you get the gist anyways  |
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