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Post by Jon on Sept 17, 2017 19:28:40 GMT
What's the chance of this extending, sadly not in London till the 1st Jan? None as The Birthday Party takes over two weeks later
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Post by gazzaw13 on Sept 18, 2017 7:37:32 GMT
I saw this on Friday and enjoyed it. I've criticised other posters on this board in the past who can't deal with genre-bending shows but find myself agreeing with them, to some extent re Oslo. In parts it's a knockabout comedy, at times a history play with clunky exposition and at times a thriller. The problem is that it doesn't really succeed in any of these genres. At the end I had enjoyed a long three hours but not really sure why or indeed what I'd seen. 3.5 stars.
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Post by rosscoe on Sept 18, 2017 12:23:03 GMT
What's the chance of this extending, sadly not in London till the 1st Jan? None as The Birthday Party takes over two weeks later Bugger, thanks Jon, hoping Sydney Theatre Company pick it up
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6,310 posts
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Post by Jon on Sept 18, 2017 19:07:14 GMT
@theatremonkey, is your review coming tonight or tomorrow as it's the third and final press Night tonight
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Sept 19, 2017 14:09:56 GMT
Saw it last night. Enjoyed it a lot but agreed with many of the points raised here.
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Post by lynette on Sept 20, 2017 16:17:39 GMT
Yes, it's on my site now. Delighted I can finally say that it's a 5 star standing ovation from me. I was utterly engrossed, and cried twice - both times those handshakes took place. Polycarpou I think will be in with a fighting chance of an Olivier, and I think a couple of others may, too. I thought it was utterly gripping edge-of-seat stuff. Only amusing side note was the man next to me scoffing out loud to the air that "it's the oldest Jewish Joke going" in act 1. He was right, but we made up for it swapping "Hymie" jokes for much of the interval... O the handshakes. Fab timing, writing, acting. What else has this Rogers guy done?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2017 16:49:12 GMT
What else has this Rogers guy done? 'The Overwhelming' and 'Blood and Gifts', both performed at the Nash, are two of them!
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Sept 20, 2017 16:49:46 GMT
The Overwhelming (about Rwanda) and Blood and Gifts (about Afghanistan), both done at the National
Overwhelming was an early role for Andrew Garfield as the son of the lead character
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Post by showgirl on Sept 20, 2017 21:38:43 GMT
Though it took a while to get going, the humour and character development meant this wasn't the heavy, serious play I was expecting and even at 3 hours plus - and with the second act being by far the longer - it didn't outstay its welcome. Of course the sad part was reflecting how long ago the events depicted took place, and that they came to nothing so soon afterwards.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2017 8:30:10 GMT
Well. I really rather liked this although I found it hard to fully engage with a story about events that you know really didn't pan out afterwards in the way the characters hoped. You're left with a kind of emptiness.
It's a bit rambly at times and could do with a teeny bit of pruning but on the whole it's a very entertaining night out. Great cast and Peter Polycarpou sets out his case for an Olivier rather well. He's matched by Philip Arditti as Uri Savir and they both get the biggest cheer of the night (quite rightly as it does sag a touch when they aren't in it). Wasn't struck on Lydia Leonard to be honest and all through her scenes I just kept wondering how marvellous Dame Jennifer Ehle must have been. Also loved the way Toby Stephens' accent hit Bergen via Eton, sometimes during the same line. Very clever.
And I do love a waffle so that's an extra point from me.
Oh and hello Yair Jonah Lotan!
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Post by lynette on Sept 21, 2017 10:30:28 GMT
Well, I'm sorry I missed this guy's other work. I will look out for it now.
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Post by showgirl on Sept 21, 2017 13:20:08 GMT
Well, I'm sorry I missed this guy's other work. I will look out for it now. Can't recall whether I saw Blood And Gifts but I certainly recall The Overwhelming (about Rwanda and also at the NT, though in what was then the Cottesloe); chiefly for the way it created an almost palpable sense of menace and unease. Very chilling and disturbing, as no doubt it was meant to be.
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Post by sf on Sept 24, 2017 11:56:41 GMT
Saw it yesterday afternoon, and loved it. Very, very clever piece of writing, turning something that could have been a rather dry history lesson into a gripping, funny, surprisingly moving play. Good performances across the board, and a magnificent one from Peter Polycarpou; slick direction and design too.
And I'm glad I saw it at the Lyttelton rather than the Pinter - if you're going to sit in the cheap(ish) seats, the ones in the Lyttelton are far better!
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Post by misspiggy1979 on Sept 24, 2017 12:35:50 GMT
looking forward in seeing Oslo on the 14th, being half Norwegian, rather fitting! Plus, I am up on the cheap seats!
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Post by bramble on Sept 24, 2017 16:33:09 GMT
Really enjoyed this great piece of writing.Well directed.Well acted.Very satisfying.
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Post by Snciole on Sept 25, 2017 10:40:38 GMT
This feels like an old school play. It could easily have been written and produced not long after the Agreement in the mid-nineties. I am a sucker for plays/screenplays about negotiations, Endgame from 2009 is a great piece of work about Apartheid, but this plays strength is in its conflict and resolution. So the scenes with Ahmed Qurei (Peter Polycarpou, who is one of Britain's finest stage actors I am yet to see him put a foot wrong) and Philip Arditti, brilliant as the vain, pigheaded but so very good Uri Savir are exciting because they have a lot that divides them and a lot to bring them together. Where it flags is the scenes with Mona and Terje (Lydia Leonard and Toby Stephens) who have very little conflict, it seems their marriage is mostly happy and Mona's role seems to be maidservant in between saving the world? Spying? What exactly is her job? The second half feels so long and it is a real shame that the break doesn't come around 15-30 minutes later. I liked the humour and shifts to more serious tone. It is a fine production and one of the few new plays I've seen recently that feels like it will be revived in a few years as opposed to just forgotten about. The NT still has issues but if putting on plays like this are the beginning of overcoming them then I am all for it. Yair Jonah Lotan as Joel Singer is like a much sexier Russell Tovey. More of him on the stage/screen/wherever, please. I also found myself wishing someone had called Stephen Rea's agent for the Shimon Perez/Economist part but I would cast Rea in everything if I could
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Post by couldileaveyou on Sept 25, 2017 21:19:03 GMT
Saw the closing night at the NT and really enjoyed it. Very well written - and way more humorous than I expected - it perfectly combines information, thrill, comedy and feelings. I found it a bit shouty at the times and maybe the finale is a bit more didactic that I'd like, but it's such a well crafted production that it's easily forgiven. Bartlett Sher is really one of the best working directors and I hope to see more of his shows (please, The King and I!) here in London. The cast was great, brilliant Toby Stephens and absolutely amazing Lydia Leonard, what a lovely performance. But great performances all around, Philip Arditti was outstanding in his role and Peter Polycarpou should win awards for his Ahmed Qurie. He has enjoyed a very respectable career, but I still think he's an underrated actor.
So glad I got to see it, may it prosper at the Pinter!
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Post by jek on Sept 26, 2017 15:07:42 GMT
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Post by Rory on Sept 26, 2017 16:52:26 GMT
That is amazing. Good for him!
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Post by Phantom of London on Oct 15, 2017 18:52:10 GMT
Saw this a couple of nights back and this Tony winning play, but could this also bag the Olivier for best play? I feel that The Ferryman has got this Already. But a play about the serious Israel/Palestine peace accord would be a very unlikely play to win the Olivier for best comedy, but the producers could easily enter this in the unlikely category has it had many laugh out moments, where this playwright inserted many great one liners - which aided the 3 hours to fly past. However unlikely to be entered for best comedy, so likely to leave empty handed.
4 Stars
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Post by bordeaux on Oct 16, 2017 6:59:22 GMT
Saw this a couple of nights back and this Tony winning play, but could this also bag the Olivier for best play? I feel that The Ferryman has got this Already. But a play about the serious Israel/Palestine peace accord would be a very unlikely play to win the Olivier for best comedy, but the producers could easily enter this in the unlikely category has it had many laugh out moments, where this playwright inserted many great one liners - which aided the 3 hours to fly past. However unlikely to be entered for best comedy, so likely to leave empty handed. 4 Stars I think the judges are going to be spoilt for choice this year: it seems to be a very good year for new plays, what with the ones you mention, plus Ink and Labour of Love, Albion, Beginning and perhaps more to come.
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Post by mallardo on Oct 16, 2017 10:35:06 GMT
I have to say I've avoided this because it's a painful reminder that there was once a Peace Process and there was once such a thing as hope in the world. Given the shape we're in now it would just be too depressing.
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Post by lynette on Oct 16, 2017 13:06:07 GMT
Well, indeed mallardo, I see where you are coming from but in fact the play is uplifting because it says that we can make connections between people and it shows this happening. And in actual fact this negotiation process was I believe, influential in other critical negotiations between other groups. They could do with a bit of what this play shows in the EU negotiations. I do recommend but yes, sad.
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Post by viserys on Oct 16, 2017 13:39:14 GMT
I was surprised by how laugh-out-loud funny this play was at times.
And I agree with Lynette - there was an element of depression and frustration at how far they came once and how it all descended into fresh madness since, but at the same time the play held some hope that if this was possible once, why should it not be possible again? Not just in the Middle East but everywhere if people could only meet as human beings without any religious or cultural creed. That said, I can't for the life of me imagine Theresa May and Angela Merkel finding common ground on a girls night out in Brussels...
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Post by Latecomer on Oct 16, 2017 14:24:47 GMT
I thought one of the best things about the play was that, although the peace process didn't in the end succeed, the message was definitely "we just have to keep trying and MAKE CONNECTIONS" and that somewhere down the line we would be lucky with people thrown together. It also made me think about the Northern Irish peace process and Mo Mowlan and how she used her personality to help negotiations. Very clever play as the end was desperately sad but somehow uplifting at the same time.
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Post by lynette on Oct 16, 2017 15:28:59 GMT
Ok, I’m loving The May/Merkel girls' night out in Brussels. To be honest I wonder how much these people are allowed to be normal. Times have moved on so much I don’t think they can sit down and have a cuppa anymore. Not allowed.
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Post by alexandra on Oct 17, 2017 9:56:31 GMT
Doesn't David Edgar's The Prisoner's Dilemma have a section very much like this play? And more interesting, I thought. I found it a bit dumbed down: a joke every 10 minutes to lighten things up, and lots and lots of acting. Though Peter Polycarpou was good. I wish Toby Stephens would do a lot less acting and a lot more being, but then I always do with him.
Also, I realise it was deliberate, but the misogyny was just so tiring.
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Post by RedRose on Oct 17, 2017 13:00:08 GMT
By the way, today tix are doing rush tickets for this now.
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Post by showgirl on Oct 17, 2017 14:36:44 GMT
Yes, and when I was looking at the NT site, I could see Friday Rush tix still available several days later.
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Post by partytentdown on Oct 19, 2017 19:18:28 GMT
Enjoyed this more than I imagined, got a £20 rush seat on TodayTix and was seated in Row H of the Stalls with a great view. It's long and quite dense - you have to concentrate to keep track - but it did go quickly and I was never bored. Have to admit I'm fairly uneducated about this topic and I think a quick scan of wikipedia beforehand would have aided my understanding of some of the situations and characters but overall the play rockets along.
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