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Post by Jan on Mar 28, 2024 11:54:09 GMT
Thank goodness the seats at Wyndham’s have good legroom as this play is 30 mins too long in my opinion. The full text plays for 4hrs including an interval so it sounds like they’ve already taken 30 minutes out of it.
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Post by Dave B on Mar 29, 2024 23:37:25 GMT
If anyone has a programme could you post who the understudies are. James Tyrone: Paul Eason Mary/Cathleen: Nichola MacEvilly Edmund/James Jr: Tom Mahy
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Post by Dave B on Mar 29, 2024 23:46:04 GMT
Still some time being trimmed. Went up at 19:00 on the dot, curtain call finished at 22:23 and I made the 22:29 from Charing Cross
Cast are all great, each with a moment (or two) to really shine. Slightly confused why Louise Harland with such a main role in Ulster American would take up such a small role in this, really just the one full scene.
Clarkson and Cox are of course particularly great. The time flew by, though the comfort and leg room makes that a bit easier. Only really towards the end of the final act that it started to at all slow down. Lots of coughing, lots of people checking the time on their full screen brightness phones and the 'no readmission' policy entirely not in place. Bah.
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Post by greatauntedna on Mar 30, 2024 10:35:28 GMT
Still some time being trimmed. Went up at 19:00 on the dot, curtain call finished at 22:23 and I made the 22:29 from Charing Cross
Cast are all great, each with a moment (or two) to really shine. Slightly confused why Louise Harland with such a main role in Ulster American would take up such a small role in this, really just the one full scene.
Clarkson and Cox are of course particularly great. The time flew by, though the comfort and leg room makes that a bit easier. Only really towards the end of the final act that it started to at all slow down. Lots of coughing, lots of people checking the time on their full screen brightness phones and the 'no readmission' policy entirely not in place. Bah.
It finished for me at 22:21 last Saturday.
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Post by bgarde on Apr 4, 2024 7:25:47 GMT
Reviews seem to be a mixture of 3 and 4 stars.
I enjoyed it very much on the whole -Patricia Clarkson was so clear, so sharp that you can't take your eyes off her and the play has real dramatic energy when shes there (and after having just seen Dorian Gray and Opening Night ah for the simplicity of real dramatic magnetism on the stage without bells and whistles). The problem being in the second half (hard to describe it in terms of acts in this form) it does grind to a halt a bit when she's not present and some of it doesn't engage. There was a wide standing ovation and Cox/Clarkson were certainly worthy.
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Post by demelza on Apr 4, 2024 21:46:40 GMT
It's bloody long, isn't it? That second half really drags! I thought that Clarkson and Kynaston gave the best performances. Unfortunately Brian Cox was a disappoint for me. I'm not sure if I caught him on a bad night, but he seemed to be struggling with the lines quite a bit
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Post by sf on Apr 10, 2024 18:53:01 GMT
Today's matinee.
The play: great.
Brian Cox: good, but not great.
The sons: ditto
The maid: ditto
The direction: ditto
The lighting: crepuscular
The set: why did Lizzie Clachan set it in an Ole and Steen dining room?
Patricia Clarkson: sublime, heartbreaking, devastating, a must-see.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Apr 10, 2024 23:31:50 GMT
Got day seats a few days ago. I echo your comments. The set and lighting are abysmal. I've seen better in amateur productions.
Patricia Clarkson is absolutely sensational. Louise Harland is very good but her part is just too small for her to really shine. The rest of the cast are just fine, not great. Just my two cents.
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Post by callum on Apr 16, 2024 18:56:41 GMT
Anyone stage door-ed?
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Post by bgarde on Apr 17, 2024 3:06:00 GMT
I did! It was actually my first stage door experience and delightful - Brian Cox was very chatty to all (shook my hand which I wasn't expecting) and Clarkson also was friendly.
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Post by frauleinsallybowles on Apr 17, 2024 14:08:58 GMT
Just seen that they are doing £25 day seats for this—does anyone know if they are the same seats every day? I can see a stalls G ticket for tonight for example
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Post by jakobo on Apr 20, 2024 19:12:28 GMT
Just seen that they are doing £25 day seats for this—does anyone know if they are the same seats every day? I can see a stalls G ticket for tonight for example I’ve seen various seats across all levels. I guess they offer whatever’s left.
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Post by jm25 on Apr 23, 2024 21:18:57 GMT
Picked up a great day seat yesterday (2nd row dress circle) but really struggled with this. It felt far too one-note in its misery and was certainly far too long. Particularly in the final act, every time I thought it was about to end, another character walked on and it'd go on for another 15 minutes! Didn't feel invested enough in any of the characters to care much about them or how they felt about each other.
That said, even at university I loathed lots of the mid-century American plays I had to read, so it may just be the case that this type of play is not for me. (Same probably goes for the lady I overheard on the way out who said she fell asleep.) Still, for £25 I don't regret going!
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Post by jm25 on Apr 23, 2024 21:26:41 GMT
Just seen that they are doing £25 day seats for this—does anyone know if they are the same seats every day? I can see a stalls G ticket for tonight for example I’ve seen various seats across all levels. I guess they offer whatever’s left. Brian Cox was on This Morning today and mentioned that there are 50 £25 seats available every day. I looked at the day seats on a few occasions and I don't think there were ever anywhere near that many! The first few times I checked it was mainly box seats available. Yesterday, presumably because it was a Monday, there were a few available across the stalls and dress circle.
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Post by theatre22 on Apr 23, 2024 21:59:32 GMT
I managed to get a day ticket for tonight’s performance. Checked availability at 10.30am and there definitely weren’t 50 seats on offer and none were in the stalls. 2 boxes of 2 were available and some in the dress and upper circle. My ticket was second row of the dress circle. Good view and thought the first half went by quite quickly but it does drag towards the end of the second half and the seats are quite cramped so was uncomfortable towards the end. Finished at 10.20 this evening.
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Post by aspieandy on Apr 23, 2024 22:33:27 GMT
I was there, as well!
Imo, unless you are able to fully commit this could turn out to be more ordeal than pleasure. I just wasn't in the right frame of mind tonight though, on this viewing, I’m inclined to think it doesn’t so much need scene cuts as O’Neil needed a strong-minded script editor.
Sure it covers ground, but really not over 3 hours never mind 4.
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Post by nash16 on Apr 23, 2024 22:38:59 GMT
We were all there tonight it seems.
Had a pre booked stalls seat, so was nice and up close. It did drag at times, but I felt, as others have said, that Patricia Clarkson really delivered.
One potentially controversial question though: are Clarkson and Cox wearing ear pieces?
Cox especially at times seemed unnecessarily stilted, and from Row B they both, at times, gave the appearance of having lines fed to them.
Anyone else suspected this?
It is a long play and Cox especially had a lot of lines.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 23, 2024 22:58:57 GMT
Yes they both have earpieces.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Apr 24, 2024 8:00:46 GMT
Now they're also doing rush on todaytix
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Post by Jan on Apr 24, 2024 8:30:30 GMT
One potentially controversial question though: are Clarkson and Cox wearing ear pieces? Cox especially at times seemed unnecessarily stilted, and from Row B they both, at times, gave the appearance of having lines fed to them. I wonder how frequently that happens ? I thought at one point McKellen was taking lines in Henry IV and someone in the business told me they thought he definitely was. It's better than an audible prompt I suppose, a good use of newer technology. There was a controversy at the NT years ago when it turned out an actor was reading it all off a teleprompter - I think that's more of an issue.
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Post by youngoffender on Apr 24, 2024 16:29:51 GMT
I don't see how it's possible to act a part properly if you are having your lines fed through an earpiece. Fundamentally it's the same as doing it with a script in your hand. If you are fully inhabiting a character, the lines should come from you as if they are a wholly organic thought or response: for that to happen, you need to have absorbed the text so completely that the words come unbidden.
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 24, 2024 16:36:21 GMT
Angela Lansbury did a cracking job of it in Blithe Spirit 🤷🏻♂️
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Post by kate8 on Apr 24, 2024 18:08:10 GMT
I saw it this afternoon, front row. Having read this thread beforehand, I looked for earpieces and couldn’t see them, so either they are very discreet or perhaps were only used for the earlier performances. I didn’t see any other indications that they were being fed lines. Both leads occasionally stumbled, but nothing major or that took me out of the play.
I liked this a lot, especially (as others have said) Patricia Clarkson. I‘ve seen a mixed bag of new plays recently, so it was nice to see a good play revived straightforwardly.
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Post by nash16 on Apr 26, 2024 2:10:16 GMT
Angela Lansbury did a cracking job of it in Blithe Spirit 🤷🏻♂️ She really did. When we mooted earpieces at the interval, Angela and her Princess Leia wig buns (perfect for hiding any hint of earpieces she could have got a full set of headphones under there tbh) were mentioned. No stumbling on lines for her. Whereas it seems Cox & Clarkson were both being thrown by the voices in their ears. Such a shame.
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Post by adamkinsey on Apr 26, 2024 10:49:27 GMT
Angela Lansbury did a cracking job of it in Blithe Spirit 🤷🏻♂️ She really did. When we mooted earpieces at the interval, Angela and her Princess Leia wig buns (perfect for hiding any hint of earpieces she could have got a full set of headphones under there tbh) were mentioned. No stumbling on lines for her. Whereas it seems Cox & Clarkson were both being thrown by the voices in their ears. Such a shame. Friend of mine worked on Blithe Spirit and says it's the happiest show he's ever done due to Angela Lansbury being so down-to-earth and so much fun. She did indeed have earpieces although she didn't use them to a great extent which seems to be the case with Cox and Clarkson. Having seen both you'd never have known when/if Lansbury took a prompt whereas with Cox and Clarkson it's very clear.
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Post by theatremiss on Apr 27, 2024 7:40:54 GMT
Should I be taking a pillow to either sit on or snooze on this afternoon?
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Post by nottobe on Apr 28, 2024 9:28:12 GMT
When this was announced last year I was intrigued to see it based on the cast but also a quite cautious as I’ve never seen an O’Neil before and had heard how long and gruelling they can be. I’ve also had bad experiences with other American classics I found very dull so knew if I saw it I needed a cheap ticket. I had managed to get a day seat online for £25 (looking at other dates it is £150 so I’m very happy) for the matinee and went in with caution.
But I have to say I was won over by this play. As a text itself it is so good and I can see why it is regarded as a classic. I was reflecting on the train back that story wise not much happened but O’Neil manages to add so much dimension and impact into it. I was personally never bored throughout.
The production is also very strong with a great ensemble cast. As mentioned Clarkson is the highlight and it is in the second half where she shines becoming a the ghost like Mary the characters talk about. Her final monologue too is a moment I found very powerful and deserved a standing ovation alone. The younger cast members were also just as strong and carried this play so well. I was very glad to see Cox onstage as he really is such a great stage actor and magnetic to watch. As the play went on though he did seem to give up on the American accent and we had a very Scottish Tyrone.
Maybe this production itself is not quite perfect but is very strong. I’m so glad I gave this play a chance and if you are unsure to see it I would say go.
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Post by Marwood on Apr 28, 2024 15:27:03 GMT
Brian Cox is doing an audience event at the Leicester Square Theatre on the afternoon of June 2nd including a meet and greet (that I have booked for): I’ve booked a front row seat to see this mid-May so I can meet him knowing he won’t shout out ‘f*** OFF!’ if he asks me if I’ve seen it and I respond in the negative(he might just do that anyway though 🤣)
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Post by aspieandy on Apr 28, 2024 16:31:25 GMT
If you want a f*** offf, ask him about the great Nicola Sturgeon and how Scotland is "ripe" for independance.
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