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Post by fossil on Jun 18, 2019 9:23:40 GMT
Last night finished at 10.15pm and not a moment too soon for me. If you like farce then this is for you and I have to admit that most of the audience did seem to thoroughly enjoy the performance so it is a matter of taste. The somewhat frenetic style of acting put me in mind of the Brian Rix farces of a long time ago. One aspect of the play puzzled me as I did not think it would have been permissible in Noel Coward's day until the couple next to me explained that in the original one of the characters was played by a woman, not a man.
I found some of the dialogue inaudible from my seat, L31, although the view was excellent as they have taken out the first five or so rows.
When I commented to my neighbour that for a tenner you cannot really complain if the show is not really to your liking it turned out those to my right had £10 PwC tickets but the chap to my left had paid £40 for a TodayTix ticket. I thought originally PwC tickets were entire alternate rows so presumably this has changed.
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Post by fossil on Jun 14, 2019 8:07:26 GMT
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Post by fossil on Jun 12, 2019 14:26:05 GMT
The calendar listing for Lungs on the Old Vic web site is showing just two PwC £10 preview days - 14th and 15th October.
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Post by fossil on Jun 10, 2019 16:42:13 GMT
Last Saturday's matinee was being filmed. I hope this was for the V&A's National Video Archive of Performance. This is definitely one of those productions that deserves to be preserved.
This was a superb production. I demand Rufus Norris arranges for it to transfer to the Dorfman immediately!
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Post by fossil on Jun 2, 2019 21:47:27 GMT
I looked at this thread. A few minutes later I opened Facebook and the first item it displayed was an advertisement for livr. Coincidence or clever intrusive algorithms?
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Post by fossil on May 23, 2019 13:07:40 GMT
National Theatre booking was down yesterday afternoon and currently down again this afternoon.
"Website maintenance This page of our website is currently unavailable while we make important changes behind the scenes. We anticipate that the work will take up to 60 minutes to complete and we will post any updates here. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused during this essential maintenance work."
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Post by fossil on May 20, 2019 16:01:29 GMT
I just tried the VPN add-on for Chrome from 'Hola' and setting the region to USA got me past the 'Not available in you region' message and on to the payment page.
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Post by fossil on May 20, 2019 15:50:41 GMT
Advance train tickets are available, usually £5 or £8.50 each way but can sell out and may not be available if there is engineering work. When they go on sale for Saturdays can be a bit variable due to late notification to the train company of engineering work. Currently on sale up to dates, according to the National Rail web site ( www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/44703.aspx ), are Saturday service: 22 June Monday to Friday service: 2 August
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Post by fossil on May 20, 2019 15:40:20 GMT
Quick and easy members booking for the Barbican this morning on the RSC web site so got all the £10 (discounted to £8 for this OAP) centre front seats I wanted. RSC has all the seats on one side of the auditorium on sale. Presumably the Barbican sells those on the other side to its members.
Just checked a few dates this afternoon and for all the dates I selected most of the front row was still available.
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Post by fossil on May 17, 2019 16:38:36 GMT
I'm in A19 and am short, am I going to need to smuggle in a cushion? Darn my stupid short body. You don't have to smuggle. I am 5ft2in and after years of having my enjoyment spoiled by not being able to see properly I now often take a small cushion into the National (I like to book row B or C) and to various other theatres (unless I know the seats have a good rake) and have never had any problems. Doesn't help with standing ovations though....
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Post by fossil on May 13, 2019 12:21:25 GMT
990 in the queue and an hours wait. Managed to get the last unrestricted view stalls seat (L31) left. All else that was left were a few restricted stalls, quite a few restricted circle and a few unrestricted view circle seats. I did not check the upper circle, my last visit to that level put me off ever sitting there again. Mind you, that was in 1970! (Coriolanus with Anthony Hopkins)
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Post by fossil on May 3, 2019 16:40:19 GMT
Join playwright David Edgar for a special BBC Radio 4 version of his solo performance, fresh from the RSC and the Royal Court Theatre. It’s 1968. David is 20 and in his second year at University. It is the height of the world-wide student revolt. The Vietnam war rages. Powell delivers his “rivers of blood” speech. Martin Luther King is assassinated. These events will define David’s politics and give focus to his writing. It’s 50 years on. The 70-year-old is confronted by the 20-year-old. Do they share the same beliefs? If not, is it the world that’s changed, or him? Why did his generation vote Brexit? Has he sold in or sold out? David Edgar’s plays have been presented by the Royal Court, the National Theatre, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company (including Destiny, Maydays, Nicholas Nickleby and A Christmas Carol). After 50 years of writing, Trying It On (made with China Plate Theatre) marks David’s debut as a performer. Date: Saturday 1 June Venue: BBC Radio Theatre, London Tickets validated from: 5.45pm Doors open: 7.15pm Recording starts: 7.30pm To apply for tickets visit bbc.co.uk/showsandtours. www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/trying_it_on_1jun19
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Post by fossil on Apr 11, 2019 13:35:40 GMT
Theatremonkey is correct in that they hold £15 seats back so it is worth persevering if you have time. There seems to be the same pattern of seats available for each performance during priority booking with quite a few £15 seats unavailable. I have observed some of these then become available when public booking opens. I have also seen on several occasions more £15 seats becoming available for each performance nearer to the opening of the production. (Holding them back until they know sightlines/configuration?)
The odd £15 front stalls seats also seem to pop up in the week before a performance, even on the day. On one occasion I secured an excellent centre stalls £15 matinee seat for Man and Superman at 10.15 the same morning although that was cutting it a bit fine to get to the theatre!
That new Captcha screen for the queue this morning was a bit annoying.
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Post by fossil on Mar 14, 2019 22:38:22 GMT
The Moka Efti nightclub sequences in Babylon Berlin shown on Sky Atlantic the other year were the highlights of the programme.
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Post by fossil on Feb 18, 2019 10:12:32 GMT
And if you want a bit more Maria Freidman on the 11th March..... BBC Concert Orchestra: Double Acts Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre London Special Offer: Stalls tickets £10 only plus booking fee* Olivier Award-winning singer and actress, Maria Friedman and Adrian Der Gregorian star in this special evening celebrating the best double acts and romances from musicals, theatre, film and beyond! Including favourites from Annie Get Your Gun, Gigi, Guys & Dolls, Sweeney Todd and Anything Goes. Plus music by composers John Williams, Tchaikovsky and Gershwin. Daring duos, comedy couples and popular pairs. This gem of a concert, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Chief Guest Conductor Keith Lockhart, invites you to get swept up in the love, heartbreak and comedy that some of the best loved duos offer. *Transaction fees apply: £2.50 online, £3 over the phone. No transaction fees in person or for Southbank Centre Members or Southbank Centre Supporters Circles Members. Use code DOUBLEACTS to redeem this amazing ticket offer. www.bbc.co.uk/events/ezg9hn
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Post by fossil on Feb 16, 2019 11:42:10 GMT
Sorry you missed the show londonmzfitz. The queue actually started forming at about 3.30pm. I got there a little after that and was 10th in the queue. By the time the doors opened 5.15 for ticket validation and entrance to the cafeteria waiting area the queue must have been over 100 people long. I would guess the radio theatre seats about 300-400.
The recording started a little after 7 and we were out at about 9.30. The show was a discussion of Sondheim interspersed with songs and a few archive programmes (added later to the recording). The programme was introduced by Maria Friedman with Jason Carr, Mark Umbers and my failing memory means I cannot remember the names of the two other guests. Mark and Maria performed several Sondheim songs with Jason on piano including "Children Will Listen" and "Finishing The Hat". Lots of retakes at the end of the show including Maria (understandably!) having to have about half a dozen goes at getting "Not Getting Married Today" right.
Well worth a listen when this is broadcast in a few weeks time. Not sure of the date but it will be a Saturday on Radio 4 Extra.
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Post by fossil on Feb 15, 2019 9:26:16 GMT
Slightly stressful but I eventually managed to book a £15 front stalls for Rutherford. No £15 tickets were showing in the date listing for any performance but going into an actual performance page showed one front stalls which I grabbed. Going through checkout I logged in and went to pay but just as I got to the credit card stage, about 5 minutes after I had selected the ticket, it said I had timed out and released the booking. Needless to say the seat had gone by the time I got back to the event page. Still no £15 seats showing on the date listing but after checking several performance pages found another row C seat and was able to book that.
Baemax - you can change the default app for PDFs on Windows 10 so it does not have to be Edge. Go to Settings, Apps, Select Default Apps, Scroll down to Choose Default App by File Type, scroll downe to PDFs and select, e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader (you may have to install this free from the Adobe web site if it is not already there).
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Post by fossil on Feb 5, 2019 22:54:19 GMT
I received the notification text and the email followed almost immediately. Have you checked your junk mail folder?
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Post by fossil on Feb 5, 2019 20:30:37 GMT
Don't give up hope completely as you may still have a slight chance of a ticket. Some time ago I had applied for a ticket for "Friday Night Is Music Night - Michael Feinstein sings Harry Warren" and received a "sorry you were unsuccessful" email. Then at about midday on the day of the recording I was emailed a ticket. Presumably if anyone cancels this frees up a ticket.
I was lucky enough to spot the Sondheim show on the BBC audience site last Friday so applied straight away and was emailed a ticket yesterday.
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Post by fossil on Jan 14, 2019 16:12:23 GMT
I saw this yesterday and watched a terrific show. I wish I could also say that I heard a terrific show but the balance of the sound was awful. Despite the actors being miked up they were often drowned out by the over-loud band. It is such a shame when the hard work of the performers is being spoilt by the poor sound engineering. I know this is not a problem of the venue as I have I saw Top Hat last year and that was fine.
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Post by fossil on Nov 20, 2018 16:16:38 GMT
Nearly all the circle seats for the NT Live Camera Rehearsal performance 23rd Nov at 1.30 have gone on sale. Priced at £15 to £30.
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Post by fossil on Oct 25, 2018 19:19:48 GMT
This is being repeated on Radio 4 Extra this Saturday. Hugely entertaining and well worth a listen with lots of anecdotes from his acting career interspersed with some of his old radio programmes including a Down Your Way he did from Stratford-Upon-Avon.
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Post by fossil on Oct 22, 2018 21:29:15 GMT
Nice interview with Bonnie Langford on Steve Allen's programme on LBC yesterday. Mention of a tour of the show being undecided. Worth a listen, I believe it can be downloaded on the LBC website.
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Post by fossil on Sept 30, 2018 15:36:48 GMT
Bonnie Langford was on yesterday's Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4. The whole programme is on iPlayer or downloadable as a podcast.
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Post by fossil on Sept 23, 2018 11:59:25 GMT
Yesterdays matinee was my 6th visit and the first time since the end of January. Having sat front stalls and front balcony I thought I would view the show this time from the front of the Grand Circle. Seats A15 and 16 are discounted as restricted view but except for missing the top third of the mirror there seemed to be nothing much restricted about these seats.
It was good to see the show is still as fresh as ever but, oh dear, what has happened to the sound? From where I was sitting in the Grand Circle the sound from the performers microphones was very tinny. The equalisation was completely wrong. The singers were also being balanced at the same level as the orchestra so words were often drowned out. Sound balance should nearly always favour the singers over musicians and this is a common error among sound engineers.
I would be interested to know if this problem is now affecting current performances generally or if it just depends on who is driving the sound desk on that day. Has anybody else experienced poor sound recently?
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Post by fossil on Sept 7, 2018 16:29:06 GMT
More tickets appear to have become available.
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Post by fossil on Jun 28, 2018 8:57:20 GMT
Stressful NT priority booking this morning. Got position 1300 in the queue. 30 mins to get to the head of the queue. Then found the site very slow, 2-3 mins to load each page. Could only find one front £15 seat for Ant and Cleo - I suspect they are holding some of these back.
Front row for The Prisoner in the Dorfman are £20 bench seats.
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Post by fossil on Jun 26, 2018 16:30:03 GMT
The new platform performances now seem to be on general sale. I have just booked my Theatre Quiz ticket. For this platform, if you log in as a priority member tickets are £0 under Show Concessions.
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Post by fossil on Jun 3, 2018 18:49:17 GMT
A little bit of Googling reveals that this production is produced by Mercurius whose web site has a link to a crowd funding page for this production: "We need to raise money to do justice to this brilliant piece of theatre, and pay people for their talent and energy. We've got an amazing team together and original writer Warner Brown is revising the script and score especially for this production. But to make it happen and to reward everyone for their work we need your help."
I have no reason to doubt the integrity of Mercurius ands suspect that if this production transfers to a larger theatre (it would be a crime if it does not!) then the actors would the be better remunerated.
Effectively, because the actors choose to gain experience and exposure by choosing to work for very little money, Shenton is to punish them for being exploited by not giving publicity to their efforts.
I saw the matinee on Saturday. A thoroughly enjoyable show playing to a full house. 4*
The usher was asking everyone not to record the show on any devices. Apparently they have had trouble with a few people doing this.....and presumably they want to sell the CDs of the show which were on sale.
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Post by fossil on May 26, 2018 7:25:49 GMT
The Liza Minneli film is on Talking Pictures TV tonight at 9.00pm
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