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Post by Snciole on Feb 11, 2019 15:56:56 GMT
The Heff has a skill, much like SRB where he doesn't necessarily do anything different across performances, but I find him sincere, engaging and watchable.
I am also distracted by Ryan's "He's STRAIGHT?" comment whenever I see him.
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Post by crowblack on Feb 11, 2019 16:31:50 GMT
doesn't necessarily do anything different Oh, I think he does - and I'm always happy when he turns up as some dubious character on telly, but I haven't had the chance to see him on stage till now. I've seen him in audiences a couple of times and he seems really nice!
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Post by Marwood on Feb 12, 2019 23:23:09 GMT
Saw this tonight (followed by a Lloyd, Dyer, Freeman and Heffernan Q&A) - I think I preferred A Slight Ache marginally more, probably because I’d never seen (or heard it before) and also because I’d seen the Cranham/Blakeley filmed version of Waiter a few months ago at the BFI so it didn’t seem so novel tonight.
Was it just me or did Freeman & Dyer somewhat seem to be channelling their inner Laurel & Hardy into their performance (Freeman as Laurel, Dyer as Hardy)?
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Post by learfan on Feb 14, 2019 21:53:24 GMT
Saw 7 this afternoon. Thats the Pinterthon done. Seen all seven and if the venture doesnt get an Olivier then there's no justice. Agree with poster who invoked stan and ollie in dumb waiter, def saw that. A never to be repwated triumph for all concerned.
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Post by Dr Tom on Feb 14, 2019 22:06:38 GMT
Viewed tonight to round off a marathon season.
Two strong plays to finish, both very Pinter. Based on the applause, many of the crowd were there just to see Dyer and Freeman. They delivered, but the subtle performances by Hefferman and Whelan won out.
I experienced this from the £15 Royal Circle standing spots. A winner price wise, although not comfort wise. It was unpleasantly warm. View was good, just suffered with the pillars you get everywhere. Sound was clear. You could lean against the railing (necessary with learners in front). And the whole show is over in two hours.
As always, I’d avoid the back row as it must be uncomfortable with people standing right behind. All the standing spots were taken, with even a few people ignoring the usher and leaning in the middle section.
Glad to have seen all seven volumes.
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Post by peggs on Feb 15, 2019 9:18:27 GMT
Agree with dr Tom re last night, audience very appreciative for dumb waiter which I enjoyed but slight ache won out for me, I'd seen that before but appear to had forgotten the whole second half it. Loved the direction, acting top notch, good way to end the season for me, would have liked to see more of them but finances and all that jazz.
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Xanderl
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Post by Xanderl on Feb 15, 2019 9:35:09 GMT
Saw 7 at the weekend, great end to a great season! Very impressive that Jamie Lloyd has managed to do this in the West End and appeal to a mass audience with it. Got the impression many of the audience around me were there for Freeman and Dyer but they were also very receptive to the more challenging A Slight Ache.
For most of the season I sat in the stalls pillar seats - this time was at the edge of the dress circle which was also £15 - great view from there.
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Post by missthelma on Feb 15, 2019 10:58:06 GMT
I saw the matinee yesterday thanks to the lovely people at TodayTix. Don't think I have anything profound to add to the discussion, I did enjoy them both and am a little annoyed with myself I did not make greater effort to see the earlier ones but felt a bit Pintered out.
Must say though that had I paid the astronomical prices that are being asked for stall seats (another factor that held me back) I might have felt a little short changed at what amounted to just over 90 minutes of performance.
Side point, has the quite barmy queue for ticket collection been a factor throughout or was it an anomaly yesterday? Pitched up about 2:10 and the queue stretched almost to the stage door round the corner and plenty arrived after me. It moved quickly but I wonder if these things are often as much a PR stunt as anything else.
Second side point, is the 'woo-hoo' hollered at the actors now obligatory? And what is it with the raising of the hands above your head to clap like a slightly deranged sea lion? It feels like a lazy persons standing ovation, you were great but I can't be arsed standing so how will people know I enjoyed it???
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Post by popcultureboy on Feb 15, 2019 11:16:22 GMT
Side point, has the quite barmy queue for ticket collection been a factor throughout or was it an anomaly yesterday? Pitched up about 2:10 and the queue stretched almost to the stage door round the corner and plenty arrived after me. It moved quickly but I wonder if these things are often as much a PR stunt as anything else. The Pinter foyer is tiny and so is their box office, but the Pinter holds over 800 people on a sold out performance. So any sold out performance at the Pinter has always had mad collection lines stretching all the way round the building. Hamlet, Oslo, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and so on. This and Betrayal will be the same. As will any juggernaut which follows.
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Post by crowblack on Feb 15, 2019 12:50:00 GMT
It feels like a lazy persons standing ovation No, I do it if I've loved a show but seem to be in the minority and don't want to block the view of non-ovating, often elderly people in the seats behind me. That or I'm in a circle seat and I'm too scared to stand.
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Post by missthelma on Feb 15, 2019 19:45:40 GMT
It feels like a lazy persons standing ovation No, I do it if I've loved a show but seem to be in the minority and don't want to block the view of non-ovating, often elderly people in the seats behind me. That or I'm in a circle seat and I'm too scared to stand. And both of those make perfect sense! It seems to be a recent phenomena to my brain but probably isn't. I think I am conflating it with other behaviour I find, not bad so much, as slightly grating in the way audiences show their appreciation sometimes. I fear am becoming too grumpy to be allowed out in public some days!
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Post by peggs on Feb 15, 2019 21:24:45 GMT
I fear am becoming too grumpy to be allowed out in public some days! Not just you, walking back to the station last night I reflected that perhaps I should stay in since I seem to be so frustrated by all those slow walking in middle of pavement, excessively loudly talking, far too happy looking people that are clearly just out to annoy me
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Post by lynette on Feb 16, 2019 22:34:06 GMT
Saw 7 tonight What acting! And what writing.
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Post by theatremad on Feb 17, 2019 15:32:32 GMT
Saw 7 yesterday afternoon. Meaning I had done all 7.
Liked both of the plays in almost equal measure, however Slight Ache did just come out in front.
Overall I've been bowled over by the chances over the season, with some discoveries and ones I thought I'd enjoy but wasn't that blown away by.
Personal top 3, in no particular order:
- Party Time - Mountain Language - The Lover
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Post by learfan on Feb 17, 2019 15:56:36 GMT
Saw 7 yesterday afternoon. Meaning I had done all 7. Liked both of the plays in almost equal measure, however Slight Ache did just come out in front. Overall I've been bowled over by the chances over the season, with some discoveries and ones I thought I'd enjoy but wasn't that blown away by. Personal top 3, in no particular order: - Party Time - Mountain Language - The Lover I too saw all the magnificent seven! My podium:One for the road, party time, the lover.
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Post by david on Feb 23, 2019 22:57:09 GMT
Finally saw Pinter 7 this afternoon. As the final one in the season, both plays for me were a great way to the season. Both the writing and the on stage performances were magnificent and I enjoyed them in equal measure.
I thought the pairing of Gemma Whelan / John Heffernan and Danny Dyer/ Martin Freeman worked very well in their respective plays.
Overall, although I haven’t been able to watch all the season, the ones I have watched I have enjoyed very much. Though for me Celebration was the one I enjoyed the most as it was just so much fun, even with its darker undertones. It was been a pleasure to see some great actors on stage delivering Pinter’s text. Having paid £15 for each of the tickets for a central stalls seat, it was an absolute steal for those plays.
I hope that the entire season gets recognised in some form during awards season as it thoroughly deserves to get something for what Jamie Lloyd and the entire production crew and cast has done over the last few months.
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Post by joem on Feb 24, 2019 17:09:28 GMT
"A Slight Ache" had me shaking my head for the first five minutes, disappointed it hadn't been properly staged. But I have to admit it grew on me due to the expressive performances from the two actors. The language in this play is about as Pinteresque as it gets.
There was so much expectation for this "Dumb Waiter" that it was difficult for this to be matched by the performance but Dyer and Watson gave a rollicking Beckettish performance. Does too much humour detract from the menace of the play or are we simply meant to see it as a dark comedy? Take your pick. I do wish the director would have sat on the stalls toward the front and right, in which case maybe Danny Dyer wouldn't have spent much of his time half-hidden behind the jacket draped over the bed.
Quibbles aside this has been a triumph of a season and proof that serious theatre is still alive and well in London even in the West End. Might this inspire similar retrospective cycles to be staged for other great moderns? It's a thought although few, admittedly, have the range and box-office appeal of Pinter. Shame they left out Tea Party, The Dwarfs and A Night Out.
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Post by lynette on Feb 24, 2019 17:12:31 GMT
Who else would warrant a season so brilliantly cast? I suppose you could do decades, like the sixties, all that anger..
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Post by joem on Feb 24, 2019 17:22:10 GMT
Who else would warrant a season so brilliantly cast? I suppose you could do decades, like the sixties, all that anger.. There's only one Pinter.... but for a retrospective of this nature you might look at Stoppard or Rattigan? There's a steady output of Rattigan but tends to be concentrated round three or four heavily revived works whereas there is stuff like "Adventure Story" that doesn't seem to have been put on since the original production. Also I think (and this is where Stoppard scores some points) it is helpful to be able to have one-act plays bunched together, seldom seen in the West End, and not all playwrights do this. There are of course writers with smaller outputs who could easily be done in toto in a season (Orton, Kane etc). I don't know, some of this is personal taste but this is a business so I imagine the producers would need to look at box office appeal. There are people like Hare and, to a lesser extent Brenton, who do well. It might be interesting to see some of their early works when Hare was a radical rather than a Hampstead luvvie.
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Post by Marwood on Feb 24, 2019 18:51:25 GMT
Who else would warrant a season so brilliantly cast? I suppose you could do decades, like the sixties, all that anger.. Ray Cooney 😝
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Post by learfan on Feb 24, 2019 19:53:20 GMT
Chichester did a mini Rattigan festival few years ago to mark his centenary. The only major playwright i know who has a lot of short plays like Pinter is O'Neill.
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Xanderl
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Post by Xanderl on Feb 25, 2019 9:11:26 GMT
The fact everyone seems to have already forgotten the year-long Oscar Wilde season shows what a success that was I guess!
Jamie Lloyd, unlike Dromgoole, seems to have managed to make this an event with a lot of buzz.
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Post by lynette on Feb 25, 2019 18:03:43 GMT
Joem, Hare has some lovely early work, some of which was on the telly and could be revisioned for the stage. And of course there is Plenty, before the decline, imo, into political rant. Stoppard has a good body of work also done on the telly , like Professional Foul
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Post by learfan on Feb 25, 2019 18:20:37 GMT
The fact everyone seems to have already forgotten the year-long Oscar Wilde season shows what a success that was I guess! Jamie Lloyd, unlike Dromgoole, seems to have managed to make this an event with a lot of buzz. Not the same thing at all. Speaking of Dromgoole, whatever happened to a follow up season on Shaw that he spoke about?
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Xanderl
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Post by Xanderl on Feb 25, 2019 18:57:02 GMT
Not the same thing at all. Speaking of Dromgoole, whatever happened to a follow up season on Shaw that he spoke about? Why? Both extended seasons of a single playwright at a West End theatre, promoted as a season, overseen by one director with other directors also contributing, starry casts, with special related events going on too. Exactly the same. Regarding Shaw ... Probably answers your question! www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jul/06/year-long-oscar-wilde-season-announced-west-end-vaudeville-theatreI think Dromgoole's snooty comments about young audiences probably didn't help this get off the ground.
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