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Post by tlt on Nov 22, 2016 16:24:37 GMT
It just didn't work on its first outing, despite a great cast and director, but I would really like to see what a good fringe director, cast and crew (don't think the West End would do it unless it becomes a pet project of a really famous actor or director because of its initial reception) could do with Michael Frayn's Afterlife which I still think is a better play than reviews allowed back in 2008. Although a play which deals with public spectacle, like a lot of Frayn's drama much of it is an intimate piece which was totally dwarfed by the Lyttleton stage and huge scenery.
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Post by martin1965 on Nov 22, 2016 18:30:00 GMT
Savages by Christopher Hampton (the one set in South America) Night and Day by Tom Stoppard in a double-bill with Hare/Brenton's Pravda Serious Money by Carol Churchill The Way of the World by William Congreve Athalie by Racine The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux Egmont by Goethe Penthesilea by Kleist The Mayor of Zalamea by Calderon The Persians by Aeschylus
All, incidentally, plays I haven't seen except the Conjgreve.
Bloody good season right there!
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Post by Jan on Nov 22, 2016 18:33:21 GMT
Thomas Middleton's "Second Maid's Tragedy". Saw it on the fringe years ago but not since, it is a classic Jacobean revenge tragedy and in a good production it could be quite a horror show (necrophilia making a rare and unwelcome stage appearance).
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Post by lynette on Nov 22, 2016 21:43:47 GMT
Well, I really hope 'someone' reads this thread because it is throwing up some brilliant suggestions. I would be happy to see everything listed here.
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Post by bordeaux on Nov 22, 2016 21:59:12 GMT
Tom Stoppard's version of Schnitzler entitled Undiscovered Country. And his (Stoppard's) farcical On the Razzle adapated from the same Nestroy play that gave us The Matchmaker.
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Post by Jon on Nov 22, 2016 22:56:21 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider
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Post by martin1965 on Nov 23, 2016 9:57:11 GMT
Thomas Middleton's "Second Maid's Tragedy". Saw it on the fringe years ago but not since, it is a classic Jacobean revenge tragedy and in a good production it could be quite a horror show (necrophilia making a rare and unwelcome stage appearance). Yes! Any Middleton is welcome. Greg Doran gave "Hengist king of kent" a shout out a few years ago. Methinks another Swan season of redisoveries in 2018?
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Post by bordeaux on Nov 23, 2016 10:09:56 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 12:30:13 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote. I believe it's still the (tied) most nominated play at the Tonys (10) and the play that has won most awards (7) including Best Play, Best Director (Jack O'Brien) and Best Featured Actor (Billy Crudup) and Best Featured Actress (the divine Jennifer Ehle winning her second Tony).
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Post by showgirl on Nov 24, 2016 5:17:15 GMT
I've never seen any play by Dodie Smith on stage - Dear Octopus, Service, Autumn Crocus were all huge hits in their day. If you can get to Watford (short, fast journey from Euston, for those who don't know and would travel via London, and max 10-min, straightforward walk to the theatre - I go there a lot), Watford Palace Theatre are doing I Capture The Castle in spring 2017. I'm certainly going and looking forward to it.
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Post by Jan on Nov 24, 2016 8:24:51 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote. There were moans from the actors at NT, and Stoppard I think, that Trevor Nunn had not allocated enough time to rehearsals. The play was somewhat re-written for New York and had a different director.
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 24, 2016 10:05:03 GMT
I've never seen any play by Dodie Smith on stage - Dear Octopus, Service, Autumn Crocus were all huge hits in their day. If you can get to Watford (short, fast journey from Euston, for those who don't know and would travel via London, and max 10-min, straightforward walk to the theatre - I go there a lot), Watford Palace Theatre are doing I Capture The Castle in spring 2017. I'm certainly going and looking forward to it. Thank you for letting me know. It's not a play though. It seems shocking that Britain's leading female pre-war playwright has been so completely forgotten.
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Post by alexandra on Nov 24, 2016 10:57:57 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote. I saw it in both cities and liked it very much both times, but it did work better in New York. Stoppard cut it about a bit for NY, and also they created a massive event there - you couldn't be an intelligent liberal New Yorker unless you'd seen it - and so the audience was hugely up for it and hung on every word. They also got lots of helpful written material helping them to distinguish between the 9 Nicholases and 7 Natashas, or whatever. I thought the cast was better in London (Stephen Dillane, Eve Best and Simon Day especially) but the production was better in NY; I didn't like those filmic projections that the NT were so proud of, for example. But both productions still count as highlights of my theatregoing life.
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Post by martin1965 on Nov 24, 2016 11:27:05 GMT
Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote. There were moans from the actors at NT, and Stoppard I think, that Trevor Nunn had not allocated enough time to rehearsals. The play was somewhat re-written for New York and had a different director. I saw it at the NT in a trilogy day and liked it. But yes it clearly was a different beast in NY
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Post by martin1965 on Nov 24, 2016 11:28:54 GMT
Would be good. It got respectful reviews when it played in London at the NT, but raves in New York, I seem to recall. Either Stoppard, or the director, or both must have done something to it in the interim. I certainly remember David Hare singing its praises somewhere - have looked online but can't find the quote. I saw it in both cities and liked it very much both times, but it did work better in New York. Stoppard cut it about a bit for NY, and also they created a massive event there - you couldn't be an intelligent liberal New Yorker unless you'd seen it - and so the audience was hugely up for it and hung on every word. They also got lots of helpful written material helping them to distinguish between the 9 Nicholases and 7 Natashas, or whatever. I thought the cast was better in London (Stephen Dillane, Eve Best and Simon Day especially) but the production was better in NY; I didn't like those filmic projections that the NT were so proud of, for example. But both productions still count as highlights of my theatregoing life. Yes its something they do well in NY, its in all the media!
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 24, 2016 12:36:03 GMT
I wonder when we'll see a revival of Jerusalem
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Post by Honoured Guest on Nov 24, 2016 13:01:41 GMT
you couldn't be an intelligent liberal New Yorker unless you'd seen it and you lost all cultural credibility if you did go to see it. [just my Tom Stoppard prejudice peeking through there]
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Post by Honoured Guest on Nov 24, 2016 13:04:30 GMT
I wonder if The Coast of Utopia will ever be revived, I suspect it would be something Chichester could consider More likely, the Finborough - on Sunday and Monday evenings and Tuesday matinees.
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Post by alexandra on Nov 24, 2016 14:11:00 GMT
you couldn't be an intelligent liberal New Yorker unless you'd seen it and you lost all cultural credibility if you did go to see it. [just my Tom Stoppard prejudice peeking through there] Anything that gets people reading books by and about Herzen, Bakunin and Belinsky (and I know it wasn't just me) is all right by me.
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Post by foxa on Nov 24, 2016 22:57:47 GMT
Some really good suggestions. I wouldn't mind some more Restoration Comedy or maybe Neil Simon either. And I've only read Raisin in the Sun and never seen it, so that too. Also maybe some Lanford Wilson ('Burn This', 'Balm in Gilead', '5th of July') Maybe some Victorian stuff that you read about but is almost never done like 'The Bells' or 'Easy Lynne.' They probably haven't aged well, but possibly 'Black Comedy' or 'The Real Inspector Hound.'
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Post by showgirl on Nov 25, 2016 4:45:31 GMT
I'm tempted to start a parallel thread entitled "Revivals NOT Wanted" or "Please, No More"! Shakespeare will remain a perennial and many other dramatists' work comes round like buses, i.e. nothing for a while, then two or more productions overlapping or following swiftly upon one another.
However, to return to the point, I'd really like to see some more early/mid 20th century classics such as occasionally done by the NT, CFT or smaller houses such as the Finborough and Orange Tree. Thinking lesser-known Rattigan, Coward, Maugham, Priestley, etc - or, as CFT did very successfully last year, a stage version of a novel from this period. That said, there is hope, as one such work (Sheppey, by Somerset Maugham) is now previewing at the Orange Tree and the Old Red Lion is doing a more obscure Priestley, though unfortunately from my viewpoint, it seems to be a horror story or marketed as one.
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Post by foxa on Nov 25, 2016 9:31:30 GMT
Some really good suggestions. I wouldn't mind some more Restoration Comedy or maybe Neil Simon either. And I've only read Raisin in the Sun and never seen it, so that too. Also maybe some Lanford Wilson ('Burn This', 'Balm in Gilead', '5th of July') Maybe some Victorian stuff that you read about but is almost never done like 'The Bells' or ' Easy Lynne.' They probably haven't aged well, but possibly 'Black Comedy' or 'The Real Inspector Hound.' Of course, I meant 'East Lynne' - though Easy Lynne would be great title for another sort of play, Like Showgirl's suggestion of early 20th century stuff. It feels like there should be some undiscovered gems there.
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 25, 2016 11:42:16 GMT
I remember Black Comedy / Real Inspector Hound with Desmond Barrit and a not-yet-famous David Tennant. I think it would go down really well with the Play that Goes Wrong/Noises Off audience.
I'd like to see more Victorian theatre that isn't Wilde or Pinero. Dunno what but I guess that's the point - there must be loads out there we have no idea about
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Post by Jan on Nov 25, 2016 20:54:41 GMT
I remember Black Comedy / Real Inspector Hound with Desmond Barrit and a not-yet-famous David Tennant. I think it would go down really well with the Play that Goes Wrong/Noises Off audience. I'd like to see more Victorian theatre that isn't Wilde or Pinero. Dunno what but I guess that's the point - there must be loads out there we have no idea about You omitted to mention the tedious old windbag Shaw. Melodrama was very popular in the Victorian era. The Orange Tree did a few a while back - they weren't much good.
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Post by bordeaux on Nov 25, 2016 21:34:26 GMT
Yes, there is presumably an interesting thesis to be written about why there wasn't a great play written in English between Sheridan's The Critic, 1779, and Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893. A hundred-year drought. Many of the Romantics had a go, but none of their plays has lasted.
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Post by martin1965 on Nov 25, 2016 22:15:54 GMT
I remember Black Comedy / Real Inspector Hound with Desmond Barrit and a not-yet-famous David Tennant. I think it would go down really well with the Play that Goes Wrong/Noises Off audience. I'd like to see more Victorian theatre that isn't Wilde or Pinero. Dunno what but I guess that's the point - there must be loads out there we have no idea about You omitted to mention the tedious old windbag Shaw. Melodrama was very popular in the Victorian era. The Orange Tree did a few a while back - they weren't much good. Bit harsh Jan! I saw the Philanderer and quite liked it. He is after Shakey the most performed playwright in the english language.
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Post by lynette on Nov 25, 2016 22:46:26 GMT
Yes, there is presumably an interesting thesis to be written about why there wasn't a great play written in English between Sheridan's The Critic, 1779, and Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893. A hundred-year drought. Many of the Romantics had a go, but none of their plays has lasted. Note, both Irish writers as the best attempts in between and most of the best since.
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Post by d'James on Nov 26, 2016 2:47:06 GMT
I'd love some Ionesco. I've only seen one of his plays in English and would like to see more. I know they don't lend themselves to a broadience (TM d'James 2016) but they are interesting. Of course, if anyone asks me to reprise my role as Mary in La Cantatrice Chauve then I would leap ungainlily at the chance. (I know it in French, give me a little while to learn it English before you summon me to your stage.)
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Post by showgirl on Nov 26, 2016 5:07:44 GMT
You omitted to mention the tedious old windbag Shaw. Melodrama was very popular in the Victorian era. The Orange Tree did a few a while back - they weren't much good. I too disagree re Shaw; I've seen some vary enjoyable productions of many of his plays at a variety of theatres, and the most popular works come round quite often, perhaps as tours (e.g. Mrs Warren's Profession). I've generally liked Orange Tree versions except for the last which included one glaring instance of miscasting and I recently enjoyed Arms And The Man, which is less frequently seen, at Watford Palace. I'll certainly see anything by Shaw which I haven't already seen.
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Post by Honoured Guest on Nov 26, 2016 9:48:31 GMT
Sheppey by Somerset Maugham is running at the Orange Tree.
Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress and starring Tanya Moodie is at Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio.
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