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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 4, 2023 18:47:40 GMT
Anyone else seen the trailer for this?
The cockerney accents from PF are not good
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Post by Jan on Sept 4, 2023 19:31:45 GMT
Anyone else seen the trailer for this? The cockerney accents from PF are not good Yes, rather odd. Bertie giving it plenty too, like the Wicked Witch of the West. I’d be amazed if that was the set, it looks nothing like a Richard Jones production. When Howard Davies directed the NT production (Frances Barber and Alan Howard) critics said he directed it as if it was My Fair Lady. Then on Broadway he directed My Fair Lady as if it was Pygmalion. I’m expecting Richard Jones to direct it as if it was every other Richard Jones production.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 4, 2023 20:34:30 GMT
It is on my list of potential projects for me t year. And the one thing I am clear about is that it mustn't feel like My Fair Lady without the songs.
I remember a TV version in the 80s and spotting where the songs should have been!
Never easy to make something this familiar feel fresh
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 4, 2023 21:32:25 GMT
Yes, rather odd. Bertie giving it plenty too, like the Wicked Witch of the West. I’d be amazed if that was the set, it looks nothing like a Richard Jones production. Yes, there's a noticeable lack of lurid wallpaper for starters!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 5, 2023 7:27:07 GMT
That’s obviously not the set.
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Post by Jan on Sept 5, 2023 8:07:55 GMT
Yes, rather odd. Bertie giving it plenty too, like the Wicked Witch of the West. I’d be amazed if that was the set, it looks nothing like a Richard Jones production. Yes, there's a noticeable lack of lurid wallpaper for starters! And everything is level, no crazy perspectives.
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Post by lynette on Sept 5, 2023 11:31:04 GMT
I’m gonna say it and then go away. This play is the one play that is better as a musical. My Fair Lady is an improvement on the play. Whatever you do with the ending, just hearing a couple of lines of dialogue and a song emerges… said it. Bye.
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Post by bordeaux on Sept 5, 2023 12:08:44 GMT
I’m gonna say it and then go away. This play is the one play that is better as a musical. My Fair Lady is an improvement on the play. Whatever you do with the ending, just hearing a couple of lines of dialogue and a song emerges… said it. Bye. Arguably Verdi's Falstaff is better than The Merry Wives of Windsor too!
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 5, 2023 12:33:19 GMT
Arguably Verdi's Falstaff is better than The Merry Wives of Windsor too! Personally I've preferred most of the opera/musical/ballet adaptations of Shakespeare I've seen to the original plays! In fact the only one I can think of where I prefer the play is Much Ado About Nothing compared to Berlioz's Beatrice et Benedict. I definitely agree on preferring My Fair Lady to Pygmalion. It's not just the songs but having scenes - Ascot, the Embassy Ball - shown that are only talked about afterwards in the play. Presumably Shaw didn't believe in the "show, don't tell" principal whereas Lerner did!
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Post by Jan on Sept 5, 2023 16:37:31 GMT
I’m gonna say it and then go away. This play is the one play that is better as a musical. My Fair Lady is an improvement on the play. Whatever you do with the ending, just hearing a couple of lines of dialogue and a song emerges… said it. Bye. West Side Story too.
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Post by rumbledoll on Sept 5, 2023 16:53:00 GMT
Front row for first 5 performances now avail at 33 quid at Old Vic web page. Seen on their FB page, hope would help someone as I myself am too far away to go..
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Post by Polly1 on Sept 5, 2023 17:52:23 GMT
Hi, would anyone like my £10 PWC ticket (stalls L24) for this Thursday, 7th Sept? I can email ticket. Bump - no-one?
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Post by rumtom on Sept 6, 2023 21:17:25 GMT
An enjoyable first night. 2 hours on the dot with no interval. Beautifully air conditioned thankfully. BC and PF both impressed - although Bertie reminded me of Richard Briers throughout, both in his speech and mannerisms (and probably dress sense too!).
I'll leave it to others to dissect, compare and contrast but it was an entertaining evening with a few genuinely funny moments, and even more moments of over acting. The acoustics weren't great, which wasn't great for a play where fast, clever and witty dialogue needed to be heard.
Overall, enjoyable, nothing groundbreaking, very warm applause at the curtain.
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Post by Rory on Sept 6, 2023 22:06:22 GMT
An enjoyable first night. 2 hours on the dot with no interval. Beautifully air conditioned thankfully. BC and PF both impressed - although Bertie reminded me of Richard Briers throughout, both in his speech and mannerisms (and probably dress sense too!). I'll leave it to others to dissect, compare and contrast but it was an entertaining evening with a few genuinely funny moments, and even more moments of over acting. The acoustics weren't great, which wasn't great for a play where fast, clever and witty dialogue needed to be heard. Overall, enjoyable, nothing groundbreaking, very warm applause at the curtain. Was there a traditional set?
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Post by Jon on Sept 6, 2023 22:17:06 GMT
2 hours no interval makes me wonder how much was cut but also how My Fair Lady is much longer even with songs!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 6, 2023 22:26:14 GMT
BBC broadcast a 2 part radio version recently and that was just under 2 hours
So it can be done.
A fair amount of MFL is dealing with the too frequent scene changes!
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 6, 2023 22:44:26 GMT
I think this wil end up having an interval in at some point during previews.
Liked it, didn't love it. Production has some interesting, fresh ideas - some of which I liked, some of which I didn't. Bertie is Bertie and is doing what he does really well - to me his Higgins is 100% on the spectrum from the word go, whereas it's always a bit ambiguous in MFL, I didn't feel an ambiguity here. Patsy is excellent - so warm and engaging. I love seeing her on stage, she's such a chameleon and really gets to the heart of the roles she plays. I did wish that they were both doing My Fair Lady, as the script is SO similar (I forgot how similar) but it zipped along at pace and I had a nice time. 3 stars currently, probably 4 once they've ironed a few bits out.
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Post by rumtom on Sept 7, 2023 6:22:33 GMT
BBC broadcast a 2 part radio version recently and that was just under 2 hours So it can be done. A fair amount of MFL is dealing with the too frequent scene changes! I caught five minutes of it and intended to go back and listen. Is it worthwhile?
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Post by rumtom on Sept 7, 2023 6:32:28 GMT
An enjoyable first night. 2 hours on the dot with no interval. Beautifully air conditioned thankfully. BC and PF both impressed - although Bertie reminded me of Richard Briers throughout, both in his speech and mannerisms (and probably dress sense too!). I'll leave it to others to dissect, compare and contrast but it was an entertaining evening with a few genuinely funny moments, and even more moments of over acting. The acoustics weren't great, which wasn't great for a play where fast, clever and witty dialogue needed to be heard. Overall, enjoyable, nothing groundbreaking, very warm applause at the curtain. Was there a traditional set? Yes. Retractable (front to rear) building facade with columns that was used for a few scenes. Otherwise a fairly minimal set. I actually found it quite distracting when they attempted to change the set during dialogue - pushing tables and chairs off the stage ready to transform seamlessly into the next scene but it took my attention away from Bertie's speech on occasion - even though he is anything but dull!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 7, 2023 7:49:45 GMT
BBC broadcast a 2 part radio version recently and that was just under 2 hours So it can be done. A fair amount of MFL is dealing with the too frequent scene changes! I caught five minutes of it and intended to go back and listen. Is it worthwhile? I haven't finished it yet. But it is entertaining this far
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Post by jm25 on Sept 7, 2023 21:16:25 GMT
I was there this evening and although I’m familiar with Pygmalion thanks to My Fair Lady, this was my first time seeing it on stage. I did like it, but if anything I found that the unavoidable comparisons to MFL worked against it. Without the gorgeous songs and swelling orchestra, the dialogue felt slightly flat, and compared to the lush backdrop of last year’s MFL at the Coliseum, the set design felt far too bare. I appreciate we’re right at the start of the run, but the main feeling I was left with was that this could have been a bit more than what it was. Patsy Ferran is wonderful, though. I could watch her all day!
I also really, really wish that they’d ended it about a minute or so before they actually did. Eliza delivering her final words to Higgins was a real knockout moment and it got a big round of applause from the audience. But that seemed to just fizzle out during the extra minute that followed. I don’t know if the final sequence is in the original script or is specific to this production, but it would be a far stronger ending if they just cut it entirely.
Not a bad evening at the theatre by any means, however. And I was very grateful for the air con!
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 7, 2023 21:33:36 GMT
Is it traditionally costumed? Or modern?
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Post by jm25 on Sept 7, 2023 21:43:03 GMT
Is it traditionally costumed? Or modern? Eliza’s outfits get a slightly more modern silhouette as the play progresses but overall it was fairly traditional.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 7, 2023 22:05:16 GMT
Is it traditionally costumed? Or modern? Eliza’s outfits get a slightly more modern silhouette as the play progresses but overall it was fairly traditional. Thanks!
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Post by Rory on Sept 7, 2023 22:06:18 GMT
It sounds surprisingly trad for Richard Jones. Not necessarily a bad thing.
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Post by Mark on Sept 7, 2023 22:26:53 GMT
I enjoyed it. Patsy is wonderful of course and I enjoyed watching Bertie. Two hours no interval did seem a tad long for it if I’m honest, but it did feel pretty fast paced so that’s good.
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Post by Jon on Sept 8, 2023 21:36:57 GMT
Saw it tonight and have to say having seen My Fair Lady, it was an interesting experience seeing Pygmalion and working out the similarities and the differences.
Bertie Carvel is great as Higgins, I'd remember the comment by Being Alive about the character being on the Spectrum and actually you can see that in the way that Higgins interacts not only with Eliza but frankly everyone around him.
Patsy Ferrin is wonderful as Eliza but interestingly, she's not on stage that much compared to Bertie Carvel but whenever she is, she's dynamite and it's a great satisfaction to the audience in the final scene with Higgins.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Sept 8, 2023 23:02:51 GMT
I have no real reasoning behind this, but this set/lighting/production/music gave me Kubrik's 'A Clockwork Orange' vibes and Bertie Carvel reminded me a lot of Willem Dafoe lol.
Anyway, hadn't realised quite how similar the musical was to the original play, with large sections of dialogue/lyrics being pretty much exactly the same. I did enjoy this a lot though.
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Post by foxa on Sept 9, 2023 9:39:35 GMT
This is an enjoyable evening largely because of the script, which is still funny, and the energy of the lead performances. I didn't entirely get the set - the perforated white boards used for the walls probably symbolised something, but just reminded me of cheap office dividers. The play was originally set pre-WW1, but the costumes were (I think) somewhat updated (mid-calf length dresses when not formal, trousers for women) With the evening clothes it's harder to say for sure.
Ferran and Carvel are both such resourceful actors so they are fun to watch. Ferran absolutely nails the tea party scene. As others have mentioned, Carvel takes an eccentric line on Higgins - tongue flicking, etc -and there was no discernible chemistry between him and Ferran which removed one interesting dynamic from the ending. But he has a way of throwing himself into the role which is entertaining and makes a certain sense, for example, in the exchanges with his mother.
Some of the supporting performances were also good - Michael Gould as Pickering is incredibly sympathetic and every reaction was just right - and Lizzy Connolly was funny in a smaller role.
It's played at a quick pace, so I didn't miss having an interval- it flew by. A few expected preview mishaps with dropped props- including a chocolate which Carvel then ate.
We certainly felt for £10 stalls tickets we more than got our money's worth!
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Post by dr on Sept 9, 2023 21:48:36 GMT
Saw this tonight, and was impressed. The production has real character, moving with a certain eccentricity and chaos that is engaging and brings a fresh perspective to an all-too-familiar plot. The story does sag at points, but the performances and design are worth it.
I saw this for Patsy Ferran, having fallen completely in love with her Blanche DuBois, and she did not disappoint. Her comedic timing is formidable, but her greatest strength is her ability to cut straight to the emotional core of a character; in certain scenes after the Reception, her performance is devastating in a way I was not expecting from this play. Bertie Carvel is also wonderful, sharply portraying Higgins - very much agreed on the Willem Defoe comparison above! It's a strong ensemble, who really buy into the larger-than-life style that Jones is going for. I think it works.
The set and lighting designs are very bold, with hints of "a proper set" in some of the trucks, but mostly the aforementioned whiteboard-style walls. It felt almost Brechtian in places which really suited the absurdity and quietly bleak comedy of the play.
There were clearly some settling-in issues, but I think this will be a smash once it opens. Is it a play that demands revival today? Probably not. But this exciting production, which revitalises many of the themes of abuse and class, is how it ought to be done, if we want to bring it back.
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