6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 11:44:44 GMT
Yeah I'd argue it's one a year too still - ASL they are co producing not at their venue and none of their team are directing. Surprised this is in the Olivier and not the Lyttleton but I guess it's the biggest house and probably their most commercial show. At least it's a solid creative team - I'm not a Lyndsey Turner fan but having Stephen Meat and Nigel Lilley gives me hope! I wonder what they have planned for the Lyttelton after The Effect?
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 11:36:45 GMT
I wonder when they'll announce the Palladium Panto? I have a hunch it'll be around the time The Wizard of Oz opens as that is a Michael Harrison show.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 11:32:27 GMT
They did say one musical a year. I guess Hex not officially opening in 2021 and coming back proper in 2022 means technically, it’s still one a year. I wouldn’t count Strange Loop, it’s got many many producers. Sky's Edge was also a delayed transfer as well.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 11:14:29 GMT
There is a lot more stage seats this time but I guess they have more space at the Savoy compared to Richmond and the Pinter.
There is also going to be a pop up bar beneath the stage.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 10:55:42 GMT
Of course, that's why they started doing the occasional one 40 years ago. But the point of the subsidy is so they don't need to be overly commercial. Plays can equally make a lot of money if successful. Amadeus, War Horse, One Man Two Guvnors, A Chorus of Disapproval are just four NT plays that made them a fortune. I think two musicals in a twelve month period is sufficient when London already has more musicals than plays. No, I'm not David Hare... The NT subsidy has recently been reduced so they need to fill the coffers somehow.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 10:35:06 GMT
I think these announcements are very disappointing. The NT have been doing the odd musical for decades but in twelve months we'll have had Hex, Sky's Edge, The Witches and Strange Loop (albeit at The Barbican). Two returning newish plays. Why aren't the NT doing a few more classics? They've not done Uncle Vanya in 30 years, for example. I'm not sure this is what the subsidy given to the NT is about. It should be a balance of new writing and classics with the occasional musical. Dancing at Lughnasa is playing at the Olivier at the moment. Last year they had quite a few classic revivals so having more modern classics isn't a bad thing. It's a bit snobby to suggest the NT shouldn't have musicals.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 10:29:44 GMT
David Wood of course did an adaptation of The Witches 30 years ago and it had at least two London productions. I dunno. The NT used to do the occasional musical but they now seem to be taking up a lot of the programming or scheduling. This year we will have had Hex, Standing at the Sky's Edge, The Witches and Strange Loop (albeit at The Barbican). Musicals can make a lot of money if successful.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 19, 2023 0:38:18 GMT
Out of interest, have they said how you can apply to be one of the 100 men or has that chance passed?
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 23:39:52 GMT
If you’re gonna transfer a show from a small simple off west end production to the West End then this is how you do it! So tight, and brilliantly done. The score is still top notch, I just loved it. And that finale - I was spellbound glad to see the plane from Drowsy Chaperone getting another outing This fits the fortune so well, and ATG must be happy with their bar takings compared to the school groups at Woman in Black. I hope this extends to have a decent run. That said, they’re really gonna need to bring in a different pricing structure once the main run gets going. I thought this when I went to get a programme at the Dress Circle bar before the show and there was a line.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 18:23:01 GMT
I have another touring query, is it deliberate for certain shows to only play one region? I understand for somewhere like Ireland, it's down to lack of suitable theatres and that people can travel to Dublin from both ROI and NI fairly easy but I wonder if producers of The Lion King for example know that people will travel to see the show no matter.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 18:10:53 GMT
Booking two years ahead of time is risky IMO, I could understand a year but something might happen before that.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 17:23:43 GMT
I think someone at the NT reads this thread as the runtime of The Motive and the Clue and Dixon and Daughters is up.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 17:01:40 GMT
Not sure whether the worst behaviour will be on stage or in the audience. The audience on Loose Women are quite respectful but a TV studio is more restrictive than a theatre.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 14:32:43 GMT
Starlight Express must be the most meddled musical in history. I do wonder why they keep tinkering with it?
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 13:34:02 GMT
I can't complain about the Lottery, I won £68 the other week which is good innings.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 13:05:05 GMT
It is usual for rehearsals to start 5 months before opening? I assume perhaps they're doing it now as Bertie Carvel has filming commitments in the summer.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 12:09:33 GMT
Brian Gleeson is extraordinary. He's been doing amazing work in Dublin. I was surprised to find out he's younger than Domhnall Gleeson, I thought it was the other way round.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 18, 2023 0:36:31 GMT
I looked at Hamilton in Manchester. Half the mid-stalls premium seats left come with a package of three glasses of champagne and the other half come with a wine-tasting and a cheeseboard. Last time I was at the Opera House I saw that the programme stand in the stalls is now an Aviation Gin stand. It’s pretty obvious whose venues are the worst for bad behaviour and what one of the main contributing factors is. The ease of videoing and posting incidents online means they’ll have to do something about it before too long even if it’s only through being publicly shamed into action. It's easy to point the finger at ATG but you can't blame them for people who can't handle their drink.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 17, 2023 14:39:14 GMT
I know there's often competition for theatres in London but is is similar on tour? I imagine a show like Wicked and The Lion King probably are able to decide which dates they want at what venues.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 17, 2023 12:31:01 GMT
I wish they'd be upfront about likely running times. With pretty much any play, I can tell by the number of pages in a playtext what the ball-park running time is going to be. Why can't the National? They will have known from the get-go that this was a no-interval affair somewhere between 75 and 105 minutes, and not a two-act 2-hour-plus event. Knowing that would have been really useful. I wouldn't have bothered booking an expensive hotel and would have got the last train home. No-one is expecting accurate predictions before performances begin, but some information would be helpful. Something like: "We cannot give a running time until performances begin but initial expecations are that the show duration is likely to be between x and y minutes." I think beating up the NT over not knowing the running time for a new play until it starts is a bit OTT and a bit entitled.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 16, 2023 22:47:49 GMT
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised this weekend. I went to Mincemeat, Lehman Trilogy and Bake Off and the audience were absolutely brilliant at all of them. Such a nice change! Same with me, I saw Mincemeat and Dancing at Lughnasa and no bad behaviour to report.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 15, 2023 23:23:17 GMT
I saw it tonight as well and I liked it a lot. Not often does a play manages to stir the emotions and Dancing at Lughnasa does it and does it well. It's interesting that the events that befall the sisters are not of their own doing and make it a lot sadder because they are essentially victims of fate although I do wonder Why Aggie and Rose didn't apply for jobs at the knitting factory rather than leave to go to London. In terms of the cast, it's a tie between Justine Mitchell, Siobhan McSweeney and Louisa Harland on who I thought was the best and having only seen Louisa in Derry Girls, it's a pleasant surprise that she was able to pull off Agnes with such ease. Quite a mix of Irish and Americans in the audience.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 15, 2023 0:14:00 GMT
After seeing this tonight, I really hope this has an extended run because it's my favourite show of 2023 so far. Rarely does a show tick all boxes but Operation Mincemeat did for me.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2023 17:17:03 GMT
I'm not sure why 2.22 is getting blamed just because the producers got the Apollo before Playful did, it's business.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2023 17:13:58 GMT
Those retail units were always a blight IMO, I'm guessing the work will be done between Spitting Image and Stranger Things
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2023 16:57:37 GMT
I could see The Motive and The Cue transferring either in the Autumn or early next year, it's sold pretty well although not sure what theatre, maybe the Savoy or the Haymarket?
Strange that Playful Productions are struggling to find a theatre for Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2023 16:44:07 GMT
As much as I want OM to extend, I hope that ATG refurbishes the Fortune as well, it badly needs it.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2023 14:30:43 GMT
I wonder if they're planning a refurb on the Haymarket hence why nothing has been announced?
To have only one dark theatre is fine, it was never going to be a swathe of theatres, they're too much in demand.
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 13, 2023 17:43:04 GMT
Speaking of the Menier, they've finally updated the website!
|
|
6,333 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by Jon on Apr 13, 2023 15:36:48 GMT
Did I say it was a failure? No 3 star reviews are not a sign of a hit. But at no point did I describe it as a failure. I have been perfectly consistent in my approach to this. A hit and a success are the same thing. It's kind of sad that Hamnet is a success but yet we have people claiming it's not. Likewise with My Neighbour Totoro.
|
|