270 posts
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Post by littlesally on Feb 27, 2018 22:15:20 GMT
Anyone remember the car crash that was Rylance and Horrocks at Greenwich? Quite possibly the worst Shakespeare I’ve endured.
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Post by alicechallice on Feb 27, 2018 22:31:30 GMT
I had no idea that this production has already announced an 18 city tour starting in Salford in September 2018 (though with tour casting to be announced). Full dates are on the Macbeth page on the NT site. Granted there may have been various reasons, but I rather wish the NT could have chosen to tour something like Amadeus, Network, Follies or even Pinocchio instead of taking a risk on touring this Macbeth which sounds like it hasn't gone off to a good start. It was only announced last week, I think, so you can be forgiven I'm sure.
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Post by Spectator on Feb 27, 2018 22:33:24 GMT
So...I liked this.
It’s long; I don’t know the text that well, but not sure a single line was cut (was just under three hours tonight, so assuming some edits have been made since last night.)
Kinnear does chart the descent into madness very effectively and Anne-Marie Duff is basically amazing - actually making you sympathise along the way rather than right at the end, if at all. Don’t think there were any weak links in the cast.
The setting does take some getting used to and probably will divide people. Personally, felt the near-future dystopian was a lot less gimmicky than traditional modern-dress settings. There was a risk this could have shouted “IT’S ABOUT BREXIT”, but it opted for something more subtle and novel.
Appreciate it’s nearly sold out for the run, but would be a shame if this gets a mauling given the calibre of the performances and innovative (if risky) effort to take one of the best-known tragedies in a different direction.
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Post by callum on Feb 28, 2018 0:16:54 GMT
Also saw this tonight, to use Spectator's word, it definitely does not merit a mauling. Instead it was an unremarkable telling of a familiar story that for me had its thumb on the scale of style rather than substance. Act I (i.e. not the first half, but the first act out of the five) was definitely the weakest, the party scene before Duncan's death was very peculiar and gave me flashbacks to the Pleasure Island sequence in Pinnochio.. what where they thinking?! All booming music and Fleance walking around in a cardboard box. And Duncan doing Dad dancing. His murder was sadly pretty muted (though warranted after his dancing), especially compared to the final battle that was a lot more exciting.
Thankfully things did improve from there - in particular the development and descent of Kinnear and Duff into madness. They are the two best things about the production. Both of them went hell for leather. Banquo made a great re-appearance and like I mentioned, the final battle between Macduff and Macbeth was very engaging. Gender and colour-blind casting throughout, (Ross is now Rosse) and also wonderful to see an actress with a physical disability playing the Gentlewoman. Probably just over half the cast were playing RP, the rest having accents all over the place with a scouse Banquo, geordie Porter and Yorkshire Rosse. Yet while I think not a single line was cut (it ended at 10.20, for those keeping an eye out), Donalbain was unfortunately thrown to the scrapheap. Not on the cast list so I guess his lines were shared out - is it common practice for Donalbain to be cut? Forgive my ignorance. No Hecate either (which I know is far less untypical), but perhaps this is more surprising when the witches lurk in the background for quite a few scenes where they don't have lines. Ditto Banquo and Duncan. And it's not as if there was much else restraint in this production.
The scene where Lady Macduff and child get offed was truly excruciating... young Macduff's wig (understandably played by an adult) was the worst wig I've ever seen in a theatre. When he delivered the line 'he has killed me, mother' (yeah... duh!) in that godawful wig I had to stop myself from cracking up. Definitely a sight to be seen.
I think the aesthetic they were going for was post-apocalyptic - the cast list says setting: now, after a civil war. But this was a bit inconsistent - Macbeth's castle was extremely drab compared to the plush leather sofas Malcolm ends up having in England. But maybe I focus on the wrong things... Still, it wasn't particularly distracting after the first 30 minutes or so and ultimately fit well with the rest of the show.
In the end, I don't think this will be remembered as a classic production but I wouldn't be too down on it... Kinnear and Duff alone are worth making the visit. House fairly full (with Simon Russell Beale in attendance) though no standers. Ask away if there are any more questions.
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Post by AddisonMizner on Feb 28, 2018 6:36:32 GMT
Is there a possibility that the two leads will tour with this production? I see that most dates at the National are sold out, and I would have liked to have seen them in it. The tour is coming to Nottingham, so I will probably get tickets for it when they go on sale.
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Post by Jan on Feb 28, 2018 7:00:48 GMT
I do so love Macbeth, remembering Sher and Walter, and more recently the RSC Jonathan Singer version with the children. Going way back Jonathan Pryce was great, but Nicol Williamson was not. And then the legendary Dench/Mckellen was truly thrilling, and the Hopkins/Rigg was good. The worst, and ye gods it was bad, was the royal exchange's concentration camp version with Threlfall and Francis Barber.....horrorific indeed. The Nicol WIlliamson one was directed by Trevor Nunn on the main stage and he was so dissatisfied with it he immediately directed it again with McKellen in the Other Place. The best I've seen was the Rupert Goold/Patrick Stewart one. Doran's with Sher and Harriet Walter was also very good. Amongst many duds Simon Russell-Beale's at the Almeida represents one of the most misguided pieces of casting ever.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 7:01:38 GMT
Anyone remember the car crash that was Rylance and Horrocks at Greenwich? Quite possibly the worst Shakespeare I’ve endured. Yes. Jane Horrocks pissed herself in the mad scene. How she managed to do this on cue every night I’m not sure. I remember feeling very sorry for Gentlewoman who then had to mop it up every night before the next scene.
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 28, 2018 7:02:33 GMT
Going to this on 23 June after seeing the RSC version on 5 May. Have an open mind as this board is full of plays that have had good or even very good reviews after being rubbished here by someone who went to the first preview.
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1,119 posts
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 28, 2018 7:06:12 GMT
I do so love Macbeth, remembering Sher and Walter, and more recently the RSC Jonathan Singer version with the children. Going way back Jonathan Pryce was great, but Nicol Williamson was not. And then the legendary Dench/Mckellen was truly thrilling, and the Hopkins/Rigg was good. The worst, and ye gods it was bad, was the royal exchange's concentration camp version with Threlfall and Francis Barber.....horrorific indeed. The Nicol WIlliamson one was directed by Trevor Nunn on the main stage and he was so dissatisfied with it he immediately directed it again with McKellen in the Other Place. The best I've seen was the Rupert Goold/Patrick Stewart one. Doran's with Sher and Harriet Walter was also very good. Amongst many duds Simon Russell-Beale's at the Almeida represents one of the most misguided pieces of casting ever. Did you see that prof? On paper Williamson and Mirren must have seem like good casting. Back in the 60s Peter Hall directed Paul Scofield in what apparently was a big flop at Stratford. This year's double header will be interesting.
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Post by Jan on Feb 28, 2018 7:44:15 GMT
The Nicol WIlliamson one was directed by Trevor Nunn on the main stage and he was so dissatisfied with it he immediately directed it again with McKellen in the Other Place. The best I've seen was the Rupert Goold/Patrick Stewart one. Doran's with Sher and Harriet Walter was also very good. Amongst many duds Simon Russell-Beale's at the Almeida represents one of the most misguided pieces of casting ever. Did you see that prof? On paper Williamson and Mirren must have seem like good casting. Back in the 60s Peter Hall directed Paul Scofield in what apparently was a big flop at Stratford. This year's double header will be interesting. Didn't see the Nunn ones. Scofield was not alone, Olivier, Gielgud and Ralph Richardson all played it with limited success at best. In the Gielgud production Ernest Thesiger played the First Witch - directors don't make things easy for themselves.
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Post by bordeaux on Feb 28, 2018 7:48:47 GMT
I do so love Macbeth, remembering Sher and Walter, and more recently the RSC Jonathan Singer version with the children. Going way back Jonathan Pryce was great, but Nicol Williamson was not. And then the legendary Dench/Mckellen was truly thrilling, and the Hopkins/Rigg was good. The worst, and ye gods it was bad, was the royal exchange's concentration camp version with Threlfall and Francis Barber.....horrorific indeed. The Nicol WIlliamson one was directed by Trevor Nunn on the main stage and he was so dissatisfied with it he immediately directed it again with McKellen in the Other Place. The best I've seen was the Rupert Goold/Patrick Stewart one. Doran's with Sher and Harriet Walter was also very good. Amongst many duds Simon Russell-Beale's at the Almeida represents one of the most misguided pieces of casting ever. And Richard Eyre's at the NT with Alan Howard was a failure (1993), though somewhat better than Adrian Noble's with Derek Jacobi, another spectacular piece of miscasting (and also 1993 Google tells me). It's a difficult play to get right. Most of the Hamlets and Lears and Othellos I've seen have been excellent - but only two of the Macbeths (the Goold and Doran ones), and even those haven't hit the heights of the greatest Hamlets and Lears).
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Post by Jan on Feb 28, 2018 7:54:56 GMT
The Nicol WIlliamson one was directed by Trevor Nunn on the main stage and he was so dissatisfied with it he immediately directed it again with McKellen in the Other Place. The best I've seen was the Rupert Goold/Patrick Stewart one. Doran's with Sher and Harriet Walter was also very good. Amongst many duds Simon Russell-Beale's at the Almeida represents one of the most misguided pieces of casting ever. And Richard Eyre's at the NT with Alan Howard was a failure (1993), though somewhat better than Adrian Noble's with Derek Jacobi, another spectacular piece of miscasting (and also 1993 Google tells me). It's a difficult play to get right. Most of the Hamlets and Lears and Othellos I've seen have been excellent - but only two of the Macbeths (the Goold and Doran ones), and even those haven't hit the heights of the greatest Hamlets and Lears). Yes, the Alan Howard one, no good. I mentioned above the Michael Pennington one where (ludicrously) in the fight scenes men in kilts went at it in thick fog with massive broadswords. Even the great Greg Hicks was disappointing in the role.
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Post by jasper on Feb 28, 2018 7:57:38 GMT
Macbeth seems to have more bad productions than good. No one who saw it can forget the O'Toole one at the Old Vic, but it sold out every night. The best Macbeth I saw was at the Warehouse in 1987, although I cannot remember who was in it. Played straight through and in typical Cheek style (for then) with minimal props. The other productions I have seen have not delivered the goods despite having top flight casts. Missed Dench and Stewart ones. I think I am giving up on Macbeth and will stick to reading it.
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Post by Jan on Feb 28, 2018 10:24:58 GMT
Macbeth seems to have more bad productions than good. No one who saw it can forget the O'Toole one at the Old Vic, but it sold out every night. The best Macbeth I saw was at the Warehouse in 1987, although I cannot remember who was in it. Played straight through and in typical Cheek style (for then) with minimal props. The other productions I have seen have not delivered the goods despite having top flight casts. Missed Dench and Stewart ones. I think I am giving up on Macbeth and will stick to reading it. Keith Bartlett was Cheek by Jowl’s first Macbeth. Actually their second one with Will Keen was OK too.
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Post by barelyathletic on Feb 28, 2018 10:35:47 GMT
Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood were fantastic I thought in Rupert Goold's production, cold, ruthless, brutal and utterly mesmerising. The best I've seen. It was brilliantly thought through, and its echoes of the civil war in what was Yugoslavia, seemed horribly contemporary and close to home. The film version, along with Goold's film of Richard II, for me, rank among the best Shakespeare films I've seen. He should do more.
I decided I'd rather fork out to see the RSC than the NT production but did grab some £15 for this in the end. It's got to be worth that I think. It will be interesting to see what people think once this has settled in more.
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Post by Boob on Feb 28, 2018 10:44:21 GMT
Does anyone remember the awful Ed Hall helmed Sean Bean/Samantha Bond production in the West End that also, inexplicably, seemed to feature a low rent version of the Opera Babes?
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Post by alexandra on Feb 28, 2018 10:50:50 GMT
Danny Sapani and Monica Dolan by Cheek by Jowl at the Arcola. Best by a mile, exceptional leads. Paid 10 pence to be shown the Macduff bodies. Then thought, belatedly: what am I doing?
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Post by Jan on Feb 28, 2018 11:13:51 GMT
Danny Sapani and Monica Dolan by Cheek by Jowl at the Arcola. Best by a mile, exceptional leads. Paid 10 pence to be shown the Macduff bodies. Then thought, belatedly: what am I doing? Out Of Joint actually wasn’t it - Max Stafford-Clark.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 12:27:51 GMT
Danny Sapani and Monica Dolan by Cheek by Jowl at the Arcola. Best by a mile, exceptional leads. Paid 10 pence to be shown the Macduff bodies. Then thought, belatedly: what am I doing? Out Of Joint actually wasn’t it - Max Stafford-Clark. 'twas indeed.
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Post by alexandra on Feb 28, 2018 15:35:52 GMT
Yes indeed. Cheek by Jowl produced the best ever Tempest (the Russian one).
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 28, 2018 15:45:27 GMT
Yes indeed. Cheek by Jowl produced the best ever Tempest (the Russian one). That was the only Tempest I have ever enjoyed. Great opening storm and plenty of madness with the Masque and the scene with Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo in the shopping mall. Plus I didn't have to be that bothered by the text - I have never found any sympathy for any character in The Tempest (other than Arial!)
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Post by alexandra on Feb 28, 2018 15:50:59 GMT
Yes indeed. Cheek by Jowl produced the best ever Tempest (the Russian one). That was the only Tempest I have ever enjoyed. Great opening storm and plenty of madness with the Masque and the scene with Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo in the shopping mall. Plus I didn't have to be that bothered by the text - I have never found any sympathy for any character in The Tempest (other than Arial!) I was incredibly struck by Miranda in that production. She was so feral...as she would be. And clearly anxious about separating from Caliban at the end.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 28, 2018 15:55:18 GMT
That was the only Tempest I have ever enjoyed. Great opening storm and plenty of madness with the Masque and the scene with Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo in the shopping mall. Plus I didn't have to be that bothered by the text - I have never found any sympathy for any character in The Tempest (other than Arial!) I was incredibly struck by Miranda in that production. She was so feral...as she would be. And clearly anxious about separating from Caliban at the end. I dug out my review and I did note the parting of Miranda and Caliban as a very special moment. Can't believe it was 7 years ago!
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Post by turbo25 on Feb 28, 2018 16:54:20 GMT
Saw this last night. Rufus obviously had his regional accent score card out..this really ran the gamut. Pretty much everyone in the bar at interval was ticking them off...
In my eyes this is quite a fail. Admittedly we can hope that the poor lighting and slack pacing will be corrected during the preview period, but the design concept (is this Mad Max?) is baffling, and the whole thing seems (to me) quite painfully over-worked and over-staged. Goodness gracious, so much ACTING - ("the sheer ACTING of Meryl Streep") - the witches speaking backwards, running around or hobbling about like 3rd year drama students, the horrific rave/party scene, Banquo staggering around constantly...poor Anne Marie Duff wearing an ill fitting plastic frock...plus a neverending soundscape grumbling on in the background...enough with the bass clarinet and the "reclaimed" instruments already!
I really wanted to love this. Macbeth can be terribly exciting if it's whipped through at pace. I just think that this version was over-thought...my advice - calm down, let it speak for itself, and do it at top speed!
Oh and of course...lose the Porter.
Ah well Rufus, keep trying.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Feb 28, 2018 17:18:30 GMT
Danny Sapani and Monica Dolan by Cheek by Jowl at the Arcola. Best by a mile, exceptional leads. Paid 10 pence to be shown the Macduff bodies. Then thought, belatedly: what am I doing? Out Of Joint actually wasn’t it - Max Stafford-Clark. Saw it at Wilton’s Music Hall, which was a great venue for it; being hassled by gun toting African militia, happening on some sort of withcraft ceremony on the balcony, assorted random sofas as the seating inside the Macbeth compound and much more. Sapani was pretty terrifying.
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Post by peggs on Feb 28, 2018 18:08:17 GMT
A plastic frock?! What is the gore rating like for this please? Though sounds like may be driven mad long before that becomes an issue.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 28, 2018 18:43:29 GMT
Saw this last night. Rufus obviously had his regional accent score card out..this really ran the gamut. Pretty much everyone in the bar at interval was ticking them off... In my eyes this is quite a fail. Admittedly we can hope that the poor lighting and slack pacing will be corrected during the preview period, but the design concept (is this Mad Max?) is baffling, and the whole thing seems (to me) quite painfully over-worked and over-staged. Goodness gracious, so much ACTING - ("the sheer ACTING of Meryl Streep") - the witches speaking backwards, running around or hobbling about like 3rd year drama students, the horrific rave/party scene, Banquo staggering around constantly...poor Anne Marie Duff wearing an ill fitting plastic frock...plus a neverending soundscape grumbling on in the background...enough with the bass clarinet and the "reclaimed" instruments already! I really wanted to love this. Macbeth can be terribly exciting if it's whipped through at pace. I just think that this version was over-thought...my advice - calm down, let it speak for itself, and do it at top speed! Oh and of course...lose the Porter. Ah well Rufus, keep trying. Rave / party scene? Oh dear. How does it compare to the dreadful one at the start of Everyman ?
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Post by jasper on Feb 28, 2018 18:51:05 GMT
Saw this last night. Rufus obviously had his regional accent score card out..this really ran the gamut. Pretty much everyone in the bar at interval was ticking them off... In my eyes this is quite a fail. Admittedly we can hope that the poor lighting and slack pacing will be corrected during the preview period, but the design concept (is this Mad Max?) is baffling, and the whole thing seems (to me) quite painfully over-worked and over-staged. Goodness gracious, so much ACTING - ("the sheer ACTING of Meryl Streep") - the witches speaking backwards, running around or hobbling about like 3rd year drama students, the horrific rave/party scene, Banquo staggering around constantly...poor Anne Marie Duff wearing an ill fitting plastic frock...plus a neverending soundscape grumbling on in the background...enough with the bass clarinet and the "reclaimed" instruments already! I really wanted to love this. Macbeth can be terribly exciting if it's whipped through at pace. I just think that this version was over-thought...my advice - calm down, let it speak for itself, and do it at top speed! Oh and of course...lose the Porter. Ah well Rufus, keep trying. What I want to know is were the witches pole dancing as implied in the photos on the nationals website? Although they seem to have disappeared from there for some reason. Here they are. lovelondonloveculture.com/2018/02/02/inside-the-rehearsals-of-macbeth-national-theatre/
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Post by Ade on Feb 28, 2018 19:19:52 GMT
Saw this last night. Rufus obviously had his regional accent score card out..this really ran the gamut. Pretty much everyone in the bar at interval was ticking them off... In my eyes this is quite a fail. Admittedly we can hope that the poor lighting and slack pacing will be corrected during the preview period, but the design concept (is this Mad Max?) is baffling, and the whole thing seems (to me) quite painfully over-worked and over-staged. Goodness gracious, so much ACTING - ("the sheer ACTING of Meryl Streep") - the witches speaking backwards, running around or hobbling about like 3rd year drama students, the horrific rave/party scene, Banquo staggering around constantly...poor Anne Marie Duff wearing an ill fitting plastic frock...plus a neverending soundscape grumbling on in the background...enough with the bass clarinet and the "reclaimed" instruments already! I really wanted to love this. Macbeth can be terribly exciting if it's whipped through at pace. I just think that this version was over-thought...my advice - calm down, let it speak for itself, and do it at top speed! Oh and of course...lose the Porter. Ah well Rufus, keep trying. Rave / party scene? Oh dear. How does it compare to the dreadful one at the start of Everyman ? I was about to say the same thing. Did he not learn his lesson?!
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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2018 20:13:28 GMT
Quite a few seats available over the next few days, unsurprisingly. Good pickings cancellation-wise if you live in London (Network too).
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