92 posts
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Post by chameleon on Jan 14, 2019 9:44:01 GMT
A quick recommendation for this revival of David Greig's under-rated 2002 play about ornithology and anthrax. Beautiful, atmospheric production (great sound design, in particular), and a brilliant performance from Rose Wardlaw.. well worth seeing..
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jan 14, 2019 10:16:44 GMT
Good to hear your positive recommendation, seeing it on Sunday.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 14, 2019 16:32:02 GMT
I saw the first preview and was quite underwhelmed, by the script rather than the performances. The cast is fine, with Rose Wardlaw being the stand out, and the limited space is used wisely and well. It's just that the play is not very good imho. btw I'm a bit confused, I saw on TodayTix that there is a nudity warning, but there was no nudity when I saw it. Did I miss something?
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92 posts
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Post by chameleon on Jan 15, 2019 0:48:05 GMT
I saw the first preview and was quite underwhelmed, by the script rather than the performances. The cast is fine, with Rose Wardlaw being the stand out, and the limited space is used wisely and well. It's just that the play is not very good imho. btw I'm a bit confused, I saw on TodayTix that there is a nudity warning, but there was no nudity when I saw it. Did I miss something?
Why did you think the play isn't good?
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Post by Snciole on Jan 19, 2019 11:32:29 GMT
I agree it is not a great script. It is unsure whether it wants to be a drama about relationships or whether it wants to look at the cruelty of war and the casualties of war we may not hear about (er...some birds on uninhabited island) it seems a bit scared to confront why Robert and John want to be isolated together on this island and Ellen is such a well explored character. It is a beautiful production, I felt the claustrophobia and isolation at all times. viewfromthecheapseat.com/2019/01/16/outlying-islands-kings-head-theatre/ |
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Post by pledge on Jan 19, 2019 12:14:01 GMT
I too enjoyed this minute by minute, without in the end being quite sure what the play actually added up to, or where its true dramatic focus lies...but a generally good production and fine performances still make it worth seeing.
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1,848 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jan 20, 2019 18:41:07 GMT
An excellent and atmospheric piece, as isolation and freedom tear away the imposed morality, the reversion to ‘paganism’ hovers just below the surface.
A more adult Lord of the Flies with a sexual focus.
Had also forgotten about the atrocity we imposed on a Scottish island in the name of research, will need to google whether the Island is now habitable.
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Post by joem on Jan 28, 2019 0:01:55 GMT
I found this mostly entertaining, perhaps slightly overlong, but it was a confused play which veered between different themes and narratives without quite settling on one. In his attempt to make a fairly cut-and-dried controversy interesting - who would now seriously defend dumping anthrax anywhere, except of course this was then and not now - Grieg develops an interesting set of human relationships which take over the play from its vague environmental viewpoint. I found some of the jumps in the story a bit hard to believe, too.
But the acting is good and the stage designer has worked wonders to create an atmosphere in this small stage. And the writing is interesting, even if the plots are a bit muddled.
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Post by itsabouttogdown on Feb 7, 2019 18:50:31 GMT
I feel like about half way through I could understand why it was one of David Greig's least critically acclaimed works. But this production had a brilliant scene stealing performance from Rose Wardlaw. It was utterly gorgeous, she mastered every beat.
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