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Post by tmesis on Jan 13, 2019 13:43:36 GMT
I very much enjoyed this last night. It was a transfer from the King's Head Theatre of Kevin Elyot's first play. Although not in the same league as My Night with Reg - it does not have the immaculate construction or pathos of his most famous play - it shares many themes in common and kept me totally engaged for its two hours. Being set in the early 80s (and pre-AIDS) the whole mood is lighter than 'Reg' until the last half hour.
It concerns the effect on a long-term relationship when one of the guys employs an out of work actor as a cleaner of their dingy flat. This cleaner is the drop-dead-gorgeous Robert. This was brilliantly played by Tom Lambert in his first West End role. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of Tom (we saw quite a lot of him last night.)
Lots of great 80s references, which people of a certain age will enjoy, and some great music 'Dreamer' Supertramp, 'Guilty' Streisand and some great bits of Mozart, which is referenced a great deal in the dialogue, particularly 'Cosi Fan Tutte.'
I didn't really feel the last scene worked; it also felt a tad superfluous. Tony brings back a leather-clad german guy who is played by the actor Eliot Hadley, who in earlier scenes played the outrageously camp William. This doubling-up didn't help because to begin with I thought it was William fooling-around pretending to be german (his approximate accent only added to this confusion.) However, apart from this, the cast of four is excellent.
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Post by david on Jan 13, 2019 14:56:06 GMT
I watched this when it was on at the King's Head Theatre. I thought overall an enjoyable play if spoilt a little by that last scene as you mentioned.
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Post by n1david on Jan 13, 2019 15:35:37 GMT
Another here who saw it at the KH. I enjoyed it but thought it fairly slight, was surprised to see the transfer Disappointed they haven't found a better way to end it as I felt that undermined the whole show.
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Post by lonlad on Jan 13, 2019 15:38:10 GMT
Sadly it hasn't transferred at all well. The limitations of the actors at the KH are severely exposed at the Trafalgar as is the tenuousness of the writing. An unfortunate misfire and the performances are all about 1000% too much for that space.
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Post by zak97 on Jan 14, 2019 15:11:28 GMT
Saw on ATG that it contains full frontal nudity. Is this done tastefully/brief like in The Inheritance? I’m just a little bit worried about where the best place to sit is and I obviously it’s intimate but might feel a bit uncomfortable on the front row.
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3,070 posts
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Post by david on Jan 14, 2019 16:18:48 GMT
Saw on ATG that it contains full frontal nudity. Is this done tastefully/brief like in The Inheritance? I’m just a little bit worried about where the best place to sit is and I obviously it’s intimate but might feel a bit uncomfortable on the front row. From what I can remember, there is a brief full frontal scene very early on. I don't recall there being any other scenes afterwards where this occurs. |
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Post by tmesis on Jan 14, 2019 21:24:51 GMT
Saw on ATG that it contains full frontal nudity. Is this done tastefully/brief like in The Inheritance? I’m just a little bit worried about where the best place to sit is and I obviously it’s intimate but might feel a bit uncomfortable on the front row. The nudity is all in the second act and it is as tasteful as The Inheritance. It lasts around three minutes and the actor with his kit off is the aesthetically very pleasing Tom Lambert. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 21:35:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 9:09:25 GMT
Based on reading about this play on here, can I nominate it for worst title of a play, ever?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2019 15:19:36 GMT
The difficulty with the nudity in this theatre is you are sat on three sides, so those who don't want to be too close and awkward may not be able to help it, those who want up close and personal may chose the wrong place. 😂
I distinctly remember going to see A Guide For The Homesick and @ryan requested a full report over text of the best place to book so see as much of Douglas Booth as possible. I obliged of course! 😂
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2,519 posts
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Post by n1david on Jan 19, 2019 17:49:35 GMT
I read on a blog that “this would be better presented without an interval”. I’m sure it didn’t have one at the KH. I wish producers wouldn’t stick arbitrary intervals in (even if I do understand the financial imperative)
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 20, 2019 14:55:36 GMT
I saw it a few days ago and I really liked it, not as good as My Night with Reg, but still a pretty wonderful first work. It has an incredibly contemporary vibe, it could easily be set in 2019: not much has changed for many relationships between gay men, and the lack of AIDS discourse doesn't anchor the play in the 80s or 90s. And I agree, it would be better without an interval.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 20, 2019 18:54:21 GMT
The difficulty with the nudity in this theatre is you are sat on three sides, so those who don't want to be too close and awkward may not be able to help it, those who want up close and personal may chose the wrong place. 😂 Following on from these discussions, which are the seats we should avoid if we don't want the full frontal nudity to be too much in our face?  |
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1,315 posts
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Post by tmesis on Jan 20, 2019 19:36:42 GMT
The difficulty with the nudity in this theatre is you are sat on three sides, so those who don't want to be too close and awkward may not be able to help it, those who want up close and personal may chose the wrong place. 😂 Following on from these discussions, which are the seats we should avoid if we don't want the full frontal nudity to be too much in our face? Right hand side block. |
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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 Jan 27, 2019 9:05:10 GMT
Enjoyed this - interesting to compare with My Night with Reg. Agree with the comments on the final scene - I assumed the play had ended at the penultimate scene with the main couple leaving the stage to the sound of "Guilty". Which would have been a far better ending. Also felt like aspects of the plot needed another draft - for instance the gay bashing plot looks like it's going somewhere, but then ends up being treated for laughs and forgotten. Also agree it didn't need an interval but to me this was an advantage as I was wedged in next to someone who was occupying at least 1.5 seats and was able to move forward thanks to some people leaving at the interval. A shame that the major plot development in the second half is given away by the poster! Good period detail in the set - bookshelf was full of things like "Not The General Election" |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2019 20:38:22 GMT
Well. I rather enjoyed this and there's some rather delightful nudity from the lovely Tom Lambert too so it was win-win all round. I did find the Greg character most unlikeable but Stanton Plummer-Cambridge (great name) had a touch of the Taye Diggs about him which helped somewhat. Lee Knight comes into his own in the second half and his lovely hair wafts about so much I'm surprised it didn't get its own credit in the programme but for me, the show is stolen by Elliot Hadley who is an absolute hoot. Not quite sure he convinces as a butch German leather queen but as the camp best friend, he was terrific. He must be sick of doughnuts by the end of the run though.
No wonder they needed a cleaner though, that flat was filthy.
Go see it. Oh no, you can't.
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Post by finalperformance on Feb 5, 2019 3:32:53 GMT
The flat never looked clean even with a so called cleaner. What a dump.
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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 Jun 20, 2019 13:59:00 GMT
Returns to the Trafalgar Studios for 4 weeks from 8th Jan
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