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Post by Jon on Feb 23, 2024 21:05:53 GMT
Next show at the Trafalgar theatre is "the return of one of the best new plays of the century". Any ideas? The History Boys? Which century though? I wonder if it's British or American?
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Post by Jon on Feb 23, 2024 0:09:13 GMT
Not to mention while Sheridan did take time away from Funny Girl, she did return to finish the run and also did the UK tour.
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Post by Jon on Feb 22, 2024 21:44:44 GMT
I think if I was chosen to be an audience member who got picked for the Q&A, I'd probably take a more humorous stance to the proceedings. Nothing worse than an audience member being po faced and serious.
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Post by Jon on Feb 22, 2024 20:35:44 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if the dress run for The Human Body was 3 hours 20 minutes but as previews have gone on, they've managed to get timings down by cuts or just faster scene changes.
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Post by Jon on Feb 22, 2024 20:21:59 GMT
The Wimbledon run seems to have sold heavily. It is interesting that they decided to go to Wimbledon for the tryout but I believe it's because the New Wimbledon Theatre was where he did the pre West End run for a play called A Scent of Flowers 60 years ago.
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 23:17:30 GMT
One of the joys of this was its theatricality, and the creativity of the staging. They're going to have to work some to make it a non-conventional drama. TBF Quiz worked as a TV series so I trust James Graham can rework his play into a series.
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 22:31:49 GMT
Jon There is certainly plenty of swearing but it doesn't quite reach Malcolm Tucker's creative, operatic heights. In our family (working class Irish/EastEnders) swearing is basically punctuation. Hope you enjoy the film. Nothing can beat The Thick of It for creative swearing!
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 22:28:25 GMT
Looks like this will be a no from me then. Even 3hrs 10mins makes it a huge rush to get to the Lyttleton for a 1830hrs start. Starting it at 1400hrs would be a better option A 2.30pm would finish at 5.40pm, giving you 50 minutes to do the 20 minute walk to the National - I think you've got time? The Donmar is only a few minutes from Leicester Square Station which is only two stops from Waterloo and if you take the exit on the South Bank then it's only in total 20 minutes max.
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 20:28:30 GMT
Dear England is going to turn into a TV series by the BBC. James Graham and Rupert Goold are back to write and direct with Joseph Fiennes as Gareth Southgate.
I assume they're going to add more material but also have to reimagine it.
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 18:52:04 GMT
amyja89 To be fair there were other people in the audience clearly really enjoying it, but it was a definite 2/3 star at best from my 22 year old daughter and I. I only read the one star Guardian review (from when it was on at the Toronto film festival last year) after I came back from the film and found it had some very real truths in it. I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy in it - spotting all the well known British actors in small parts is fun - but my expectations based on the trailer were for so much more, especially given the calibre of the cast. I'm still planning on seeing it because I like the cast and swearing is always funny.
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Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 17:30:25 GMT
Curious about the next @sohoplace show after Red Pitch. Would love them to return to another classic play like Medea at some point I would love Till the Stars Come Down to go there! It would fit there perfectly as the show is in the round.
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Cash
Feb 21, 2024 16:08:20 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 16:08:20 GMT
One thing I will say, is that I think any shop/cafe/venue etc that only accepts either one or the other, should clearly state as much before the customer reaches the point of sale. Theatres do generally state card-only in a welcome email, but how many people read those in detail? If you book online, theatres do tell you if it's cashless or not, cinemas is 50/50 as some do and some don't. There are cons of being cash only as you need to hire a security firm to transport money to banks. Of course, if you're a small business then perhaps you or someone else can do it for you but generally speaking, if you're making lots of money per week then you wouldn't just be cash only. Weirdly while I mostly use card for payments, I still have an Oyster card which I top up every couple of week even though it's easier to use to card or contactless.
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Cash
Feb 21, 2024 15:36:45 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 15:36:45 GMT
I think the problem with articles saying cash has increased is that it doesn't paint the full picture. Perhaps people are using more cash along with card and contactless but I doubt they're abandoning card and contactless altogether.
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Cash
Feb 21, 2024 15:20:21 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 15:20:21 GMT
As someone normally sensitive to casual ageism, I can't say I have detected any in this thread. Plenty of older people embrace change and new technology when there are clear benefits. As for the risks of electronic payments, the test should not be "is it risk-free?", but rather "is it safer than cash?", and, if it's not, are any additional benefits worth the increased risk? In my own experience, I have several times in my life lost cash or had it stolen. I've had a few attempts to wrongly debit my card accounts, but all were quickly resolved. I have also had the ability to force a refund on many occasions when goods/services were substandard from uncooperative retailers, something that would have been impossible with a cash payment. I have also made thousands of pounds worth of purchases in foreign currencies at almost the spot (interbank) exchange rate. Getting foreign cash would have cost me 3-5% of the purchase price. Both card and cash have risks attached. Anyone carrying wads of cash around with them is an easy target for pickpockets and scammers. Alan Bennett got robbed for £1000s after being targeted after going to the bank. Perhaps I'm being cynical but I think if a business is struggling then going cash only isn't really going to help their finances and then because cash only businesses have a reputation of being money laundering fronts then people won't use them anymore. I think cash will be phased out but not in this decade or even the next decade.
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Cash
Feb 21, 2024 1:12:12 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 21, 2024 1:12:12 GMT
No Government is going to force businesses to accept cash, if you do that then you have to force businesses who are cash only to accept cards to balance things out. Also people using cash only must still banks/post offices and debit cards otherwise how do they get their cash? The pro-cash campaigners could spend their energies more usefully lobbying for better regulation of the percentage rates and minimum transaction fees charged by the card industry, especially for small traders, and also guaranteeing some sort of card access to all adults as a right. I agree although I wonder what should be the minimum because not all businesses are treated equal so 0.5% to a luxury business is not the same as a small business. There is a lot of fear mongering from certain media outlets. Cash is not going to be phased out anytime soon.
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Cash
Feb 20, 2024 21:36:57 GMT
via mobile
Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 21:36:57 GMT
I think businesses going cash only is risky as it makes them targets for robberies
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Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 15:15:06 GMT
I find it very hard to believe that businesses are switching to cash only. Unless you're a very small business or a market trader, cutting off people who use card or contactless is 1. cutting your potential revenue 2. will attract attention from HRMC.
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Cash
Feb 20, 2024 14:37:32 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 14:37:32 GMT
The theatre is one of the few places where nobody would bat an eyelid with using card or contactless.
To me, you're more at risk of getting mugged by carrying loads of cash with you which is why I personally don't carry much if any cash with me.
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6,232 posts
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Cash
Feb 20, 2024 14:11:31 GMT
Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 14:11:31 GMT
I also get suspicious when I see cash only businesses. I would have said we should ditch cash so that all purchases/services/whatever are traceable and as a way of ending tax dodging. But then there’s the whole Post Office thing. We’re really not good at all at IT systems. I think usage of cash has been increasing recently partly because of the Keep Cash campaign as well as the rising cost of living. No it hasn't, the Keep Cash Campaign is on a channel with few viewers. People aren't going to abandon using contactless or cards in favour of cash.
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Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 14:04:33 GMT
Honestly, performers aren't robots and do get sick.
It is frustrating to have performances cancelled but it's not something theatres do lightly.
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Post by Jon on Feb 20, 2024 13:46:02 GMT
I also get suspicious when I see cash only businesses. I would have said we should ditch cash so that all purchases/services/whatever are traceable and as a way of ending tax dodging. But then there’s the whole Post Office thing. We’re really not good at all at IT systems. Cash only businesses in my eyes suggests money laundering or not paying taxes.
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Post by Jon on Feb 19, 2024 0:50:45 GMT
Saw Bob Marley One Love and I liked it although it's a fairly safe biopic but enjoyable enough.
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Post by Jon on Feb 19, 2024 0:34:50 GMT
I would imagine they'll be aiming to cut that down before opening night.
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Post by Jon on Feb 18, 2024 13:30:54 GMT
That can't be right, maybe someone got the numbers mixed up!
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Post by Jon on Feb 18, 2024 1:49:05 GMT
Not in the audience but pretty sure I saw Tom Fletcher walking on the Strand as I made my way back to Holborn from the National on Thursday evening. I also randomly bumped into Derren Brown in Starbucks at St Pancras on Friday morning. I would guess he was going to meet up with Giovanna as she's in Everybody's Talking About Jamie at the Peacock.
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Post by Jon on Feb 17, 2024 23:36:08 GMT
The Masked Singer has been a guilty pleasure of mine since it started, my favourite aspect is not the singing even though that is great to fun but trying to work out who is it. Some you can get if you know them but others require a bit more work.
Hopefully there is another series, there are so many people I want to see on there.
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Post by Jon on Feb 17, 2024 23:32:26 GMT
There's not much that can be done with the Savoy, it would have to be gutted and redone which is very unlikely given it's Grade 2 Listed.
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Post by Jon on Feb 17, 2024 0:52:33 GMT
The 1994 Palladium production was Cameron wanting to breath new life into Oliver! What had happened was the original production kept getting revived with diminishing returns and it was the failure of the 1984 Broadway revival which closed after 17 performances that Cameron realised they needed to do something different with the show.
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Post by Jon on Feb 16, 2024 13:43:55 GMT
The imagery is clever. A boy made from the soot, smoke and grime of the city. Look at the eyes and nose - this draws inspiration from the iconic Les Mis Cosette image by Emile Bayard. I like it as well. The Fagin with Oliver! name in the face logo is iconic but good to see something new. Noticed the co director is Jean Pierre Van Der Spuy who has worked with Cameron on various things like Les Mis at the Gielgud, the last tour of Miss Saigon as well as associate director of Mary Poppins.
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Post by Jon on Feb 15, 2024 21:53:55 GMT
Producers are greedy and have loads of money is only partially true.
I skim through Michael Ball's Aspects book and he mentioned he would arrive at the theatre three hours before curtain up which seems like a long time, 2 hours I'd understand.
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