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Post by sph on Nov 23, 2023 15:48:31 GMT
I sort of want to see it now. It does bring out an almost morbid curiosity doesn't it? Not a terribly good season for plays in the West End it seems.
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Post by pws on Nov 23, 2023 21:51:20 GMT
Oh dear, sorry, I think I missed the point of that. It's not good that the cast still don't know their lines. Even for a short play it drags. Some funny moments at the end.
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Post by Steve on Nov 23, 2023 22:52:02 GMT
Saw this tonight, and there is no story. Watching David Threlfall being David Threlfall is a good thing. Some spoilers follow. . . Ok, there is a story, it lasts 5 minutes, in the body of a play running 2 hours, including one interval, and it answers the question why David Threlfall's Grosse has come to Enfield hunting Ghosts without his Ghostbusters partner, Playfair. The 5 minute story feels like it's from a more innocent age, where in "The Twilight Zone" someone would want something paranormal to happen, it would happen, and then Rod Serling would say "Maybe it's possible in the Twilight Zone." The End. Except this story is such a short amount of the running time, which is otherwise just "Here's a day in the life of the Enfield Haunting." A day that simply depicts the "Haunting" and tells you definitively whether the Haunting is real or not, something that obviously doesn't matter, because they can tell you whatever they like, and it doesn't make it true. So ultimately, you're left with the following things to enjoy: (1) Threlfall's a great actor, and has a way of being on stage that compels moment to moment attention; (2) Ella Shrey-Yates gives good Linda Blair from "The Exorcist;" (3) The lighting person does a good Tate Modern "Lights on Lights Off" whenever the Sound person does a good shrill scary noise, ala 2:22, though this time its not foxes; (4) The rest of the cast do a decent job of living a random day in a scary house. I rate this two stars, mostly cos I like watching Threlfall, but I still can't believe how truncated the actual story is, and how the Enfield Haunting of the title is actually just background noise for this teeny tiny story!
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Post by pws on Nov 23, 2023 23:14:55 GMT
There was very half hearted applause at the end, but it picked up more in sympathy with the cast than for the show. Walking up to the station, I heard 'awful' several times. Such a shame.
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Post by coco on Nov 23, 2023 23:22:35 GMT
Reading the comments, I feel sorry for the cast. Can’t imagine how they gonna survive the West End run…
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Post by pws on Nov 23, 2023 23:25:50 GMT
Reading the comments, I feel sorry for the cast. Can’t imagine how they gonna survive the West End run… Next week!
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Post by stevejohnson678 on Nov 24, 2023 8:51:14 GMT
Press night is supposedly Wednesday 6 December. Eek.
Such a shame. It certainly looks the part in the images that have been released. I've seen quite a bit of praise for Ella Schrey-Yeats' performance too. The source material is so strong and should lend itself well to a theatrical setting. A real missed opportunity that this take on it appears to be so misconceived. I can't recall such a near unanimously scathing reaction to a piece quite like this before.
Like others, I feel sorry for the cast. They must be aware of how the play is being received, both online and in the muted responses from audiences.
I'm booked for late December and still inclined to see it for myself. But you do have to wonder if it will even make it to the Ambassadors Theatre at this rate and, if it does, how long it can possibly last.
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Post by Rory on Nov 24, 2023 9:04:14 GMT
Sadly it won't last until January with feedback like that. It's a real shame. I had really wanted to see this but won't waste a slot on it now unless something drastically improves by opening night at the Ambassadors.
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 24, 2023 9:11:15 GMT
Damn! Booked to see this on 28th of December. Interested to see if it evolves at all, or even makes it! At least it's a short experience if really that bad unlike Lyonesse.
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Post by n1david on Nov 24, 2023 12:38:46 GMT
I see that the producers are now intermittently responding on Facebook:
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Post by Rory on Nov 24, 2023 13:02:21 GMT
I see that the producers are now intermittently responding on Facebook: Yes, which has annoyed people, who have responded by saying they weren't charged preview prices in Brighton and Richmond. It's all a bit of a horlicks.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Nov 24, 2023 15:04:38 GMT
That will be marketing people replying. Not the producers.
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Post by Jonnyboy on Nov 24, 2023 15:21:11 GMT
If there’s so little plot how can any amount of developing and tweaking help? Other than writing a different play!
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 24, 2023 16:00:59 GMT
I can certainly see them removing the interval and having it go straight through at 90-100 minutes. Removes the chance for any mass exits!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 24, 2023 18:00:43 GMT
It’s clearly going to go into the Ambassador’s pretty much as it is other than faffing with an interval so it’s puzzling to image why the producers think it will get a better reception there. Still getting universally panned on Facebook and some comments now being deleted which isn’t going down well. Surely the leads will have been given the script to read before accepting the roles? Why didn’t they realise it was a dud?
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Post by Rory on Nov 25, 2023 0:13:13 GMT
I can certainly see them removing the interval and having it go straight through at 90-100 minutes. Removes the chance for any mass exits! They started with no interval in Brighton and then put one in in Richmond
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Post by parsley1 on Nov 25, 2023 0:31:00 GMT
It’s clearly going to go into the Ambassador’s pretty much as it is other than faffing with an interval so it’s puzzling to image why the producers think it will get a better reception there. Still getting universally panned on Facebook and some comments now being deleted which isn’t going down well. Surely the leads will have been given the script to read before accepting the roles? Why didn’t they realise it was a dud? Ditto Lyonesse Ditto Mates in Chelsea The issue is often people are still have to pay to see crap theatre
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Post by ploverlover on Nov 25, 2023 18:32:25 GMT
Off to see this in Richmond tonight. Not holding out much hope after reading everyone’s comments… after paying £73 a ticket I’m praying for a miracle.
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Post by cat6 on Nov 25, 2023 21:20:22 GMT
I'm certainly interested in the sound of this. Hopefully it will be on par with the horror in Ghost Stories rather than 2:22. I am a little underwhelmed by Tate being in this as that Queen of Oz TV show was terrible but I have been a fan of her elsewhere. Late to the party, but Queen of Oz had me in stitches! Anyway, that's not what we're talking about. Enfield Haunting sounds interesting. But I'll be 3,400 miles away for its entire run. Enjoy.
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Post by ploverlover on Nov 26, 2023 10:40:56 GMT
I’m actually feeling pretty angry about this. Went last night and it was not good at all. Then reading the responses to people’s comments on Facebook giving the excuse that it’s in previews right now, I’m fuming! How can they justify charging £73 a seat when the play is so clearly in need of some major fixing? Saying that, I’m not sure it can be fixed. We felt there were so many missed opportunities to make this interesting. The poor actors did their best, but the writing is stagnant.
The best bit for me was having a good giggle at memories of the French and Saunders Exorcist sketch ….
‘Your mother’s a biology teacher in Cheshire…’ 😂
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 26, 2023 11:06:27 GMT
I’m actually feeling pretty angry about this. Went last night and it was not good at all. Then reading the responses to people’s comments on Facebook giving the excuse that it’s in previews right now, I’m fuming! How can they justify charging £73 a seat when the play is so clearly in need of some major fixing? Saying that, I’m not sure it can be fixed. We felt there were so many missed opportunities to make this interesting. The poor actors did their best, but the writing is stagnant. The best bit for me was having a good giggle at memories of the French and Saunders Exorcist sketch …. ‘Your mother’s a biology teacher in Cheshire…’ 😂 I’m curious, did you have an interval?
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Post by ploverlover on Nov 26, 2023 11:09:37 GMT
I’m actually feeling pretty angry about this. Went last night and it was not good at all. Then reading the responses to people’s comments on Facebook giving the excuse that it’s in previews right now, I’m fuming! How can they justify charging £73 a seat when the play is so clearly in need of some major fixing? Saying that, I’m not sure it can be fixed. We felt there were so many missed opportunities to make this interesting. The poor actors did their best, but the writing is stagnant. The best bit for me was having a good giggle at memories of the French and Saunders Exorcist sketch …. ‘Your mother’s a biology teacher in Cheshire…’ 😂 I’m curious, did you have an interval? Yes there was - I didn’t pay much attention to the timings but reckon the first half was around 45mins?
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Post by vdcni on Nov 26, 2023 13:55:38 GMT
I think it was 50 minutes then interval so the second act was 40 minutes. It feels a lot longer though.
Agree on the prices, they were high end for Richmond and where I was you couldn't see the stairs on the right hand side which were used for some significant moments.
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Post by pws on Nov 26, 2023 16:31:36 GMT
I think it was 50 minutes then interval so the second act was 40 minutes. It feels a lot longer though. Agree on the prices, they were high end for Richmond and where I was you couldn't see the stairs on the right hand side which were used for some significant moments. I was downstairs, but assumed that anyone upstairs could not see the bedroom where so much action occurred...
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Post by ploverlover on Nov 26, 2023 18:18:26 GMT
We were row G in the stalls and struggled to see what was going on upstairs in the bedroom… maybe the view wasn’t particularly good for anyone?!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 26, 2023 18:19:25 GMT
Top price for a Friday at the Ambassador’s is £135.
Can’t wait for the feedback on that.
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Post by n1david on Nov 26, 2023 21:32:31 GMT
Top price for a Friday at the Ambassador’s is £135. Can’t wait for the feedback on that. Oh come on, who wouldn't go for that compared to a £29.50 rush for Old Friends?
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Post by amyja89 on Nov 27, 2023 12:09:26 GMT
Have decided to cut my losses for this one, had it booked as part of a birthday trip on December 28th but can't face it! Booked for Dear England as a replacement, at least I know that one is acclaimed and I do love football. Football neutral friend will have to deal with it, but we are seeing The House Of Bernada Alba the evening before so best of both worlds.
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Post by Rory on Nov 27, 2023 12:39:53 GMT
Have decided to cut my losses for this one, had it booked as part of a birthday trip on December 28th but can't face it! Booked for Dear England as a replacement, at least I know that one is acclaimed and I do love football. Football neutral friend will have to deal with it, but we are seeing The House Of Bernada Alba the evening before so best of both worlds. You'll love Dear England- so good!
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Post by mprlibre on Nov 27, 2023 19:02:24 GMT
I’m traveling to London in January and booked tickets to this play based on the cast and am so bummed to hear all the negative feedback. I’m pretty sure it will have closed by the time I’m there, but should I try to get a refund? Is that even possible? At least this would open up another slot!
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