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Post by bordeaux on Dec 16, 2021 10:54:08 GMT
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Dec 16, 2021 11:02:12 GMT
First time "enjoyable" and "Mark Lawson" have ever been in the same sentence, the guy has been stealing a living for decades.
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Post by edi on Dec 16, 2021 13:56:09 GMT
Thank you for sharing it. I do wonder sometimes whether the actors are aware of the volume of complimentary tickets when a play/musical is not selling well and whether it puts them off. (I am asking it generally, not referring to this specific play)
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Post by teamyali on Dec 16, 2021 13:57:37 GMT
Well…worse comes to worst! Manor is going to close early - 23 December www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/manor(Also, sometimes I cannot help but think that Miss Rona made it happen for Ben Daniels to make the very best decision to drop Manor for The Normal Heart…he was the original Ted during the first rehearsals, then they were shut down on March 2020 due to the outbreak.)
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Post by youngoffender on Dec 16, 2021 14:48:58 GMT
I think they will be lucky to get beyond this weekend, judging by the tumbleweeds across London. Even for the few ticket-holders who did not apply for credit notes after the reviews, how many of them are now going to risk turning up? You might if you'd paid £250 for Cabaret, but not for this.
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Post by stevemar on Dec 16, 2021 16:13:45 GMT
The article was very interesting - thanks. The actors are the ones who have to go out there every night, and it must be so difficult for them.. even though they are doing their job.
Probably best to close Manor early - when was it meant to run until?
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Post by n1david on Dec 16, 2021 16:31:22 GMT
Probably best to close Manor early - when was it meant to run until? Scheduled run was to January 1, so not too many performances cancelled.
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853 posts
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Post by bordeaux on Dec 16, 2021 17:23:49 GMT
First time "enjoyable" and "Mark Lawson" have ever been in the same sentence, the guy has been stealing a living for decades. I couldn't disagree more. I think he is an excellent writer and I've been reading him with pleasure since the 1980s. And watching him on TV. When he used to do the Late Review, I thought the only problem was that he as the host often had more interesting things to say about the play/novel/exhibition/TV programme than the guests.
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Post by stevemar on Dec 16, 2021 18:11:43 GMT
Probably best to close Manor early - when was it meant to run until? Scheduled run was to January 1, so not too many performances cancelled. Thanks n1 david. So not too bad, and I guess/hope the cast and crew get paid up to the 1 January (suppose it depends on their contracts and whether there is a “goodwill” payment which the National has decided to make to them if not).
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Post by mkb on Dec 18, 2021 11:19:31 GMT
I steer clear of all discussion and reviews before seeing a work, but somehow I had managed to gather that Manor was universally loathed, so I had low expectations. I am trying hard not to be a contrarian, and maybe the production has been modified during the run -- it is now just 2:25 and the racial pejoratives reported by the Guardian have been excised -- but I rather liked this. The fantastic set is a work of art in itself. The deeply skewed perspective at once signals that we are in a surreal gothic version of reality. The story is Mike Bartlett's Albion but as reimagined in a dystopian nightmarish England by Tim Burton and Salvador Dalí. The themes and characters are writ large as though part of a sweeping Greek tragedy with character names to match. And, moreover, I was engaged and entertained, which I had not expected. The acting is good, and there is some comedy, which I was laughing with, not at. The messaging is not subtle, but neither is it in many a "serious" play that the critics salivate over. Mostly, I understood what Buffini was trying to do with the dialogue handed to the characters, but there were just a handful of lines where the effect tipped over from satire to risibility -- especially some given to the pathetic man-child Perry. A script doctor could fix this. At one point, Perry is exhorted to say what he really thinks about the non-white woman who fired him, to articulate what he's really thinking, and the play loses the moment to a cheap joke instead. This, however, was the exception, and these jars were few. (And such jarring is par for the course, with most plays.) Sorry to go out on a limb, but worthy of four stars I felt. Act 1: 19:33-20:24 Act 2: 20:46-21:56 The front row is very much in the splash zone. I got wet.
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Post by teamyali on Dec 19, 2021 9:52:10 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore.
I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas.
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Post by Dave B on Dec 19, 2021 10:24:36 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore. I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas.
Do you have a link to the Ocean info? We are due today and have not see anything yet - thanks!!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Dec 19, 2021 10:38:07 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore. I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas. Normally I support actors over this type of thing (eg all the Cinderella stuff) but my god, what a bratty thing to do. The videos she made rolling her eyes at her colleagues for daring to sing/have fun together/do vocal warmups - so childish, especially to film people seemingly without their knowledge. I doubt Manor being pulled is as simple as “the cast don’t wanna”; presumably the NT made the decision based on multiple factors in terms of sales and Covid. It’s expensive to keep a huge venue like the NT open for just one show and if ticket sales are low it probably makes financial sense to just shut the building.
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Post by teamyali on Dec 19, 2021 11:01:24 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore. I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas.
Do you have a link to the Ocean info? We are due today and have not see anything yet - thanks!!
Oh, apologies, I was reading from the Ocean thread here which was dated last week. I really hope nothing gets cancelled further, but we may have to prepare for the worst.
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Post by Mr Crummles on Dec 19, 2021 11:14:11 GMT
I steer clear of all discussion and reviews before seeing a work, but somehow I had managed to gather that Manor was universally loathed, so I had low expectations. I am trying hard not to be a contrarian, and maybe the production has been modified during the run -- it is now just 2:25 and the racial pejoratives reported by the Guardian have been excised -- but I rather liked this. The fantastic set is a work of art in itself. The deeply skewed perspective at once signals that we are in a surreal gothic version of reality. The story is Mike Bartlett's Albion but as reimagined in a dystopian nightmarish England by Tim Burton and Salvador Dalí. The themes and characters are writ large as though part of a sweeping Greek tragedy with character names to match. And, moreover, I was engaged and entertained, which I had not expected. The acting is good, and there is some comedy, which I was laughing with, not at. The messaging is not subtle, but neither is it in many a "serious" play that the critics salivate over. Mostly, I understood what Buffini was trying to do with the dialogue handed to the characters, but there were just a handful of lines where the effect tipped over from satire to risibility -- especially some given to the pathetic man-child Perry. A script doctor could fix this. At one point, Perry is exhorted to say what he really thinks about the non-white woman who fired him, to articulate what he's really thinking, and the play loses the moment to a cheap joke instead. This, however, was the exception, and these jars were few. (And such jarring is par for the course, with most plays.) Sorry to go out on a limb, but worthy of four stars I felt. Act 1: 19:33-20:24 Act 2: 20:46-21:56 The front row is very much in the splash zone. I got wet. I wouldn't give Manor a four star, but it was better than I expected. Maybe nothing like low expectations! Despite its flaws, there were things that I liked (such as the cast and the interesting set, evoking German Expressionism and reflecting a distorted reality). It kept my attention till the end. Despite its absurd premise and contrived dialogues, it did somehow manage to maintain a psychological enough coherence to make me accept what was going on in front of me. I have seen a few other shows of more or less of the same artistic calibre and they did not receive such harsh criticism. Two or three stars from me…
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Post by teamyali on Dec 19, 2021 11:14:26 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore. I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas. Normally I support actors over this type of thing (eg all the Cinderella stuff) but my god, what a bratty thing to do. The videos she made rolling her eyes at her colleagues for daring to sing/have fun together/do vocal warmups - so childish, especially to film people seemingly without their knowledge. I doubt Manor being pulled is as simple as “the cast don’t wanna”; presumably the NT made the decision based on multiple factors in terms of sales and Covid. It’s expensive to keep a huge venue like the NT open for just one show and if ticket sales are low it probably makes financial sense to just shut the building. I watched her recent IG stories and she was just so PETTY…why…I wonder, if the morale is low among the Manor company? On Twitter, the ones who defend the play are the Shaun stans (I completely get this one). In days’ time, Manor will be in the NT’s Archives, and I’d love to read production reports about this. (And also, I hope they kept the first rehearsals reports way back in 2020…)
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Post by partytentdown on Dec 19, 2021 11:45:50 GMT
Surely it's not up to the cast when a show closes?
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1,266 posts
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Post by mkb on Dec 19, 2021 12:12:44 GMT
Surely it's not up to the cast when a show closes? It's still on sale for the coming week. If the closure last night is true, at least some Pongos will be saved.
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Post by teamyali on Dec 19, 2021 14:00:54 GMT
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Post by edi on Dec 19, 2021 17:02:59 GMT
it is still being sold... a bit confusing
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Post by sweets7 on Dec 19, 2021 19:16:16 GMT
One of the cast, Shaniqua Okwok (who plays Dora), posted on IG stories that Saturday’s performance (18 Dec) is now their last. Sadly some of the members of the cast and crew didn’t want to continue anymore. I feel very sorry for everyone. With even The Ocean announcing some dates cancellation due to COVID, now all the NT productions have cancelled and will resume after Christmas. I cancelled on this, not because of reviews, but because I chose to spend the day with a friend who has had some bad news. I doubt the cast threw a tantrum and said no more. However, they were probably asked as part of the decision making; and actually we have no idea what their circumstances are this Christmas. Some may have had elderly relatives to see, travel plans for Christmas. Whatever. I am in a no judge mood with people this Christmas. People are doing what they have to. And the fact is it may be better to close now before Christmas. Why take the risk
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Post by cavocado on Dec 20, 2021 9:41:30 GMT
The NT website is still selling tickets for tonight and up to 23rd. Maybe just the understudies have finished?
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Post by teamyali on Dec 20, 2021 11:04:51 GMT
The NT website is still selling tickets for tonight and up to 23rd. Maybe just the understudies have finished? I tried doing a trial booking and it directs that it’s cancelled. I wish the NT made an announcement asap instead of the cast just posting on social media. (Shaniqua, who announced that Saturday was their last, is part of the principal cast)
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Post by meister on Dec 20, 2021 12:42:21 GMT
Now all showing as cancelled
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Post by cavocado on Dec 20, 2021 13:19:28 GMT
The NT website is still selling tickets for tonight and up to 23rd. Maybe just the understudies have finished? I tried doing a trial booking and it directs that it’s cancelled. I wish the NT made an announcement asap instead of the cast just posting on social media. (Shaniqua, who announced that Saturday was their last, is part of the principal cast) Yes, it seems to have been handled badly by the NT media team, but also very unprofessional behaviour by the actor who posted on social media before an official announcement.
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Post by cherokee on Dec 20, 2021 15:47:54 GMT
The NT website is still selling tickets for tonight and up to 23rd. Maybe just the understudies have finished? I can't imagine any production choosing to dispense with its understudies whilst intending to continue running at this precise moment!
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Post by youngoffender on Dec 20, 2021 15:55:07 GMT
I suspect morale is so low at the NT that they can't face making a public annoucement about this, and will just be quietly letting the few remaining ticket-holders know.
So with no shows running until the new year, have they shut the whole building?
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Post by teamyali on Dec 20, 2021 16:33:59 GMT
I suspect morale is so low at the NT that they can't face making a public annoucement about this, and will just be quietly letting the few remaining ticket-holders know. So with no shows running until the new year, have they shut the whole building? They also announced that Hex’s NT Live is cancelled. Although they will still film it, perhaps they will dump it on NT at Home. I wonder…did the mixed reviews during the previews affect their decision? They’ll still pushing through with the other announced NT Live screenings. (Hoping cinemas won’t shut down) If they couldn’t get the rights to stream The Normal Heart (dang, Ryan Murphy!), they should release an audiobook version, similar to Angels in America. At least they can recoup costs. There’s the thread about the “Losing the NT habit” thing, perhaps it’s time to dissect everything that’s going wrong with the National now.
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Post by sweets7 on Dec 20, 2021 17:19:44 GMT
Its probably everything. I mean both those shows had really good actors who could be relied on...its obviously a writing issue missing the mark.
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Post by jek on Dec 20, 2021 17:26:55 GMT
I see they have announced that they are closing the whole building as of 8pm tonight until Jan 4th. Such a shame for people strolling along the south bank over Christmas who would normally pop in for a tea or a bookshop browse. And of course for the staff working there.
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