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Post by tmesis on Feb 13, 2022 13:04:12 GMT
I decided to re-read Wuthering Heights again last year and I didn't enjoy it much. When I first read it in my twenties I found it spellbinding but now I'm an old git I found much of it tiresome. Maybe, for that reason, I enjoyed Emma Rice's production greatly as it's a pretty irreverent affair - although I still think done with love.
The novel if famously dense and confusing regarding who's related to who and she clarifies and finds much humour in this. My heart sank at the start because, within around five minutes she used three of my least favourite theatrical cliches: cast sat on chairs round the edge of the stage, puppets and a step ladder, but the whole thing is done with such exuberance and drive that the (nearly) three hours flies by.
Quite a large number of great songs too of a quality higher than most fully-fledged musicals I've seen recently.
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Post by tmesis on Feb 13, 2022 12:46:59 GMT
This was a very satisfying evening last night, and the first time I've been to a Katie Mitchell production (play or opera) that I've warmed to.
The cast was exceptional, Julia Bullock a fiesty Theodora, Joyce DiDonato making exquisite pianissimo tone in the relatively minor role of Irene and the fabulous Jakub Josef Orlinsky as Didymus making light work of his taxing arias with heart-stopping counter tenor tone - oh, and though we didn't see him do any break dancing, we did see him pole dancing in a spangley frock.
My only criticism was I thought the chorus lacked oompah, and accuracy too, in the more contrapuntally challenging items.
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Post by tmesis on Jan 29, 2022 19:15:10 GMT
I really enjoyed this. Tamsin was fantastic as Ramsay and also Josh Finan was perfect as the aspiring playwright.
It's a really entertaining, funny play the like of which we infrequently see at Hampstead/Almeida/Donmar et al these days.
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Post by tmesis on Jan 25, 2022 8:42:19 GMT
I'm pretty positive about the Arcola. I don't go very often but I have enjoyed everything I've seen there. Highlights have included Kenny Morgan and a stonking Richard III. I also really like the acting space of the main theatre.
They've also done some good musicals - a really affecting Carousel and a dynamic Sweet Smell of Success. The latter sparked the interest of one S. Sondheim who rocked up to Dalston to attend (though sadly not on the day I was there.)
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Post by tmesis on Jan 16, 2022 13:00:55 GMT
This was rapturously received last night (instant and complete standing ovation) and quite right too - it's an excellent musical; brilliantly executed by a talented, hard working, cast of five. The verbal dexterity reminded me of Gilbert or Coward and it was musically distinguished too with a 20s/30s feel to many songs but also some more contemporary elements. You could just tell the cast were really enjoying themselves.
Oh and the band is great too.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 29, 2021 11:31:27 GMT
Does anyone know if this is being repeated? - normally Sky Arts repeat everything to death but I can't see that this is coming up again. Annoyingly I missed it.
Thanks.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 14, 2021 16:32:10 GMT
I saw the Saturday matinee of this and hated every second (and I'm a Bennet fan.) It's not so much Carry On as Benny Hill. So dated it's cringe-worthy and not remotely funny. If it had not been written by Alan Bennett do you think they would have dared to have staged it ? Almost certainly not - it was one of the longest two hours of my life; a laugh-free zone from beginning to end.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 13, 2021 18:30:05 GMT
I saw the Saturday matinee of this and hated every second (and I'm a Bennet fan.) It's not so much Carry On as Benny Hill. So dated it's cringe-worthy and not remotely funny.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 3, 2021 0:12:17 GMT
A few random things remembered from my childhood (I'm quite old)...
Butter being sold in the grocer's shop 'loose,' ie. cut individually from a big slab and then wrapped in greaseproof paper (it never seemed to be refrigerated!)
Surprise peas - a strange hybrid that weren't quite like frozen in taste but not like dried either
All beer was real ale (but not so called) because that's all there was since it was pre keg beer (Double Diamond, Watney's Red Barrel et al) and no lager whatsoever was sold in my parent's pub or any in the vicinity.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 28, 2021 21:33:59 GMT
Saw this yesterday - a nice set and some good performances (particularly Shaun Evans) but the play is absolute rubbish. Another duff evening at NT.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 28, 2021 20:17:23 GMT
I saw it again yesterday - it was a slightly different cast and not quite as sharp as before but still very enjoyable.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 11, 2021 10:23:30 GMT
Interesting...
When I walked past at the weekend I feared the worst as the place was all boarded up but pleased that it's only a re-branding and with a production I quite fancy seeing. When it was called The Tristan Bates Theatre they had a few enjoyable things I went to see but it was usually more miss than hit.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2021 6:54:57 GMT
I've hated way too many Katie Mitchell efforts (including opera productions) to risk this one.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2021 23:14:07 GMT
Well it was very brave of you to go, tmesis , in view of some of the comments above! Yes I was going to duck out of this and now wish I had - but I have a strange loyalty and affection for OT but they're going through a bad patch - Last Easter was execrable also.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2021 23:02:50 GMT
Well worth seeing for Channing's brilliant performance. Also enjoyed (if that's quite the right word) it as a play and the production - although most critics disagree with me on that one.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2021 22:56:19 GMT
This was beyond awful - an excrutiating 100 minutes of torture.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 28, 2021 15:02:04 GMT
Pinkerton being booed I have witnessed on more than one occasion and I too completely deplore it. The other character who pretty regularly gets booed is Monostatos in Die Zauberflote but since this is Mozart's version of a high class pantomime it's almost acceptable and, as originally conceived in the opera, the character can't really be taken seriously with modern day sensibilities.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 28, 2021 11:53:45 GMT
I always prefer to walk from Angel (the Oxfam shop has an excellent selection of books and music) than from H & I. But here's the strange thing; I always enjoy the walk on my way to the theatre but resent it totally on the way back!
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Post by tmesis on Oct 26, 2021 15:01:36 GMT
Saw this last night. It doesn't really work as a musical - the resetting of the story in a night club was just an easy way to bolt half of the songs on to the plot but few of them pushed the drama along and they felt like add ons. Having said that though, I enjoyed it and the time flew by, mainly due to the excellent cast and clever production. It was great to see Jacqui Dankworth, and she has some of the best songs which she performed immaculately - but she has little to do with the plot, being just the lead singer in the club.
The premise of the story didn't really feel that dated to me and I think it was dealt with more delicately than in the film. I actually think there's a decent musical buried somewhere in this but it needs major tweaking to find it.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 23, 2021 16:07:03 GMT
Sorry to be pedantic but imagine has three syllables and 'magine' two and therefore fits the tune at that point.* More importantly it sounds pretty interesting musically.
*Also there's a precedent for doing this sort of thing as in the classic song S'wonderful by Gershwin
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Post by tmesis on Oct 19, 2021 14:46:29 GMT
This is quite an event. I must confess I went with some trepidation as, like most Brits, my knowledge of Dante's Inferno is non existent but I was drawn into this 2hr 45min, 3 act ballet right from the start. The evening benefits from a huge plus in that Thomas Ades' newly composed score is absolutely magnificent - the first latter day score that can be compared with Prokofiev and one of the few of which I would like to own a recording. The music is intensely dramatic and varied and I worried that McGreggor might not be up to the choreography as he tends to favour minimalist scores of the somewhat irritating kind but Woolf Works - apart from the tiresome 2nd act - was good and showed a considerable maturing of his art and this is even better; almost like Macmillan-like in its intensity.
In the performance that I saw the ageless Federico Bonelli was the lead dancer but this is misleading as it's very much an ensemble piece. Evocative designs (Tacita Dean) and wonderful atmospheric lighting added to a top-notch evening at The Garden that I think will have, and deserves, many revivals.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 18, 2021 19:36:57 GMT
Jenufa is now on Opera Vision (YouTube) free to watch and its truly amazing. Saw it live there a week or so ago - it really is one of the best things I've ever seen at ROH - fantastic cast. Incidentally it's really easy at the moment to get tickets for all productions (opera and ballet.) Things are not selling out and there's lots of cheaper seats available. I decided not to renew my Friends of Covent Garden priority booking until things fully settle down and I'm pleased I did as, at present, I would say there's no real advantage. However, the real test will be when Netrebko and Kaufmann grace The Garden with their presence later in the season.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 18, 2021 18:21:09 GMT
Glad you enjoyed it alece10 although it's not my cup of tea. I really like Glass' symphonies and violin concerto but I hated Satyagraha when I saw it a few years back - however, the audience went wild at the end so it's probably my loss. Opera in general though I really love and as for Cosi fan Tutte - well now you're talking...
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Post by tmesis on Oct 11, 2021 22:56:22 GMT
A general question about microphones in plays rather than musicals. Obviously actors always wear them in musicals (exception being at places like The Union) but at places like the National Theatre for 'straight' plays it seems to be more or less universal; may be understandable in The Olivier and Lyttelton but I think also most of the time in The Dorfman. I'm sure 20 or so years ago this was not the case even in The Olivier - I'm sure it wasn't the case even 10 years ago so when did this start to happen? It also seems to be prevalent at larger small theatres (if you see what I mean) like Hampstead and the Almeida.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 11, 2021 10:19:33 GMT
Sounds interesting - been to the theatre twice before. Saw a good production of [title of show] there a few years ago.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 11, 2021 9:27:51 GMT
Radio 4 are serialising her autobiography 'Will she Do?' - the first instalment was really good - will definitely buy it.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 10, 2021 11:37:34 GMT
Totally agree - was at yesterday's matinee; It was very funny, with a near perfect cast and spot on production. I actually feel it deserves some sort of transfer. I'd never seen this early Ayckbourn play until yesterday but it left me feeling hugely impressed, not just at the way the humour develops as the tension increases but just at his brilliant technical skill in pulling it off.
I too hope we get more Ayckbourn revivals but in London (may be less so in the provinces) he seems to be out of favour - at The National in the past 20 years there have only been two revivals: Season's Greetings and Small Family Business.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 8, 2021 16:27:15 GMT
I'm quite enjoying the contestants this year but Fielding and Lucas, who were OK to begin with, are now just appalling - strained attempts at humour that raise nary a titter and no genuine warmth of rapport with the bakers. Makes you realise how good Mel and Sue were.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 26, 2021 11:57:17 GMT
This is highly recommended and back to form for NT. Some wonderful performances from the whole cast with stand outs from, of course, Ben Daniels as Weeks but also Liz Carr as Dr. Brookner and Dino Fetscher as Felix Turner. Last night's performance was greeted with an almost total standing ovation. My only slight criticism was the dull set - in fact many productions in the Olivier of late (and I mean pre Covid) have been more or less a bare stage - but really it didn't matter as this was so engaging and moving. Actually cavocado the main foyer area is now open to non-ticket holders from 10.00 am and apart from a bag search there's none of the previous kerfuffle.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 25, 2021 15:47:52 GMT
I found this tedious, confused and very worthy; continuing the National's run of poor offerings pre lockdown. Seeing The Normal Heart tonight so let's see if that restores my faith in the place.
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