Pity - Royal Court

I did look. Saw a couple of things from cast members and two from members of the public - but maybe I used #Pity and should just have searched pity. (Also got a lot of people writing in Spanish about another Pity.)

Oh and there was someone who wrote a funny post about ordering a scone in the Royal Court restaurant and it was served with what tasted like sour cream but they were too afraid to say anything because it was probably some cool Royal Court thing they didn't know about. :-)

I'm not seeing it till the 28th, but the cast sounds really good. I was really impressed by Sophia di Martino in both series of ch4 Flowers so particularly looking forward to seeing her.

This is pretty f***ing dreadful

The writer's trying to do the whimsical but profound thing, but that's a very difficult trick to pull off (particularly given the subject he's taking on) and he falls a long way short. The play ends up feeling pointless and a bit juvenile.

The design is inventive & spares no expense. The actors do what they can. But it still feels like a very long 100 minutes, with a lot of false endings. Several walk-outs, tonight.

I have yet to see any cartoon

As unsophisticated

As this

The ice cream is a mistake

As the whole auditiorium

Has a sickly curdled sour milky smell
Like vomit

All the way through the show

Revolting

There is no specific plot or really
Any concept

It’s supposed to be a sideways swipe
At modern society

The fear of attacks and war
The futility of conflict
Mockery of the media
And the lip service politicians pay to these events

I am not sure if it’s supposed to be
Comedy
Satire
Drama

The scenes go on and on
There is one episode with mini tanks
That is so protracted
I almost got up and said something
I was screaming inside


You might be better off
Listening to Radio 4
And the recent Reith Lectures

By Margaret MacMillan

“The Mark of Cain”
The tangled history of war and society

Much much much more insightful

Thanks, Parsley, that gives me more of an idea about it.

Not to harp on about the ice cream - but is it offered to the audience? Sort of as a comment that people are eating ice cream while watching atrocities?

The ice cream is pretty atrocious
Perhaps worse than the play
“Ice cream”
Not ice cream

🤣🤣🤣

They are mildly loud

After the first 45 mins I didn’t know that much as I was listening to my story audio book via headphones

It wasn’t convenient to leave based on where I was sitting

I heard some bangs in the background

Lovely and relaxing my story was

@parsley , dare I ask what the story was?

I was trying to do a short quote but didn't succeed - sorry!

Of everything I've read, Parsley's description in the middle section above is the most detailed I've seen (and almost makes it sound interesting to me.)  Whereas there are a few posts on Twitter just saying 'Bonkers!'  or 'ice cream' or 'it might split the audience.'    Parsley's description of the ice cream makes it sound less joyous than I'd imagined.

Since I haven't even bought tickets (yet), I don't know why I'm so fascinated.   

That terrible ice cream smell was actually the pyrotechnics. They made the whole place stink!

Here's another interview with him. That he views St. George and the Dragon as his most positive theatrical experience shows a certain resilience. He actually sounds quite fun - if very blessed.

www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/rory-mullarkey-i-thought-the-royal-court-was-where-the-queen-lived-a3888486.html

Yes, about young women writers in big spaces....  there was a thread on Twitter by a quite well known female playwright (I've seen a couple of her plays in small spaces and bought the playscripts) who said she kept being told she isn't ready for a big space.

In a partisan way, I was rooting for 'Genesis' at the Hampstead to be a success because that is a rare time when a British female playwright has been given that space - but, alas....

I think this is the worst show I have seen so far this year. In fact I think it is the worst show I have seen since...St George and the Dragon. Depressing to see all the resources thrown at the production when they could have probably commissioned two more writers. His work must really sing on the page for producers to have so much faith in him. I enjoyed his first piece for the Court (Wolf from the Door?) but enough is enough. He needs to live more, read more, think more. This was part Kane’s Blasted (played as sit-com), part Monty Python (with a hell of a lot more dead birds) and a whole lot of Trumpton (Camberwick Green setting and all). To top it all I didn’t even get an ice cream.