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Post by danielwhit on Feb 7, 2016 23:49:05 GMT
Ah damn - if I knew this was on a couple of months ago I would have found the time to trip up to Manchester to see it. Brilliant play.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 7, 2016 23:47:05 GMT
Saw AYLI at a captioned performance this afternoon. Solid production overall - with some caveats.
The first act being set in an office just did not work for me at all - couldn't see the point or what benefit this has on the text. Transition into Arden forced a show stop (tellingly the screentext even had a "technical problems" message ready) as "one of our trees has become tangled".
I completely understand the "the forest is a character" thing with the choral "oohs" and "aahs", however couldn't help but think they were a bit overindulgent with the songs installed. I get the point, but we didn't *need* a full length song to cover Adam eating before being carted off and never seen again. Couldn't help but think this would have easily cleared 10 minutes off the running time had there not been so many of these moments.
The biggest issue I had was how so much of the comedy came from visual/aural gimmicks rather than the text itself until you get to the "and I for Phoebe/Ganymede/no woman" stuff. There's plenty of humour within the text and the delivery thereof, which felt left out in place of (admittedly comical) sheep.
I struggle more and more with Rosalind as a character these days, she develops a much harsher tone as the play evolves (until the "all is rosy, it's a comedy, guv" Act 5) which doesn't sit well with me.
Performances were all generally very good - central dynamics especially. Craig/Ferran worked well together (I suspect the latter will become a big name one day) and Mark Benton lifts any production he's in.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 5, 2016 21:59:49 GMT
Now, can a techy tell me, what is the purpose of that little box you see sometimes on the side of a proscenium. It looks a bit like a cathode ray tube in shape, but has led red lights arranged in lines where the "screen" bit would be. About 6 lines of lights in 2 columns? I always thought those were infrared boxes used to prevent someone from illegal filming. Interesting thought - but how would it stop people?
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 4, 2016 15:57:33 GMT
Yes, a Saturday matinee will usually be Tanya Manalang, but she is off next week, so the matinee on Saturday 13th Feb will be Sooha Kim (same goes for the evening of Thursday 11th). Damn - that's when I'm going. Who is she? She's the second cover - one of the few in the West End to get scheduled performances (as the alternate's alternate, so to speak ). I quite liked her portrayal when I saw it a few months ago - plays the youthful innocent/pure side well. She's closer in style to Eva than Tanya, to my eyes.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 3, 2016 12:19:30 GMT
It's a shame they are scrapping Sunday performances, they allow greater flexibility for many of us to see productions. Surely that means there'll be less performances in all theatres overall, won't it?
However, the season itself looks very promising to me.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 22:26:18 GMT
Aha - that'll be interesting to hear from.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 18:17:53 GMT
Supply and demand - the higher Saturday ticket prices encourage local audiences to attend on weekdays when there is usually spare capacity. This pricing policy directly increases the availability of tickets for visitors from afar who can only easily attend on Saturdays. Obviously the Saturday visitors come from all directions, not just from London. The higher prices affect non-London visitors more because the Londoners have the option of easily attending many other Shakespeare productions in their home locality. Supply and demand certainly seems to be affecting the pricing of wonder.land, now on TKTS, despite you assuring us it would have broad appeal across all demographics and be packed out. That was on the old board though so I assume over here you hold the entirely opposite opinion. If RSC midweeks are not full then increasing Saturday prices is an idiotic policy to address that - reducing mid-week prices is the answer. Yes - however if they budget to cover a certain general percentage throughout the week, then by law of averages if you decrease ticket pricing for one show you have to raise it for another. The RSC seem to have less ticket offer opportunities than their cousins on the South Bank, so raising tickets now (and not decreasing mid-week mats) is a feasible route forward to ensuring they hit the budget cover they need. Of course, as we well know, a discount sounds better if it starts at a higher price point. Peculiarity of psychology, unfortunately.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 12:29:11 GMT
Loads of COMPS for tomorrow going. (Is that allowed? I know we r required to say it a certain way but I can't be c***** looking for that thread) Where? I've just had a look at my usual sources for things and found zilch.. And I don't even know if that particular thread migrated across.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 12:15:55 GMT
Just checking - so the two plays are paired together as scripts and they are termed as companion pieces. However, are they based around the same family/characters or are they in that regard entirely separate?
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 12:10:36 GMT
Astonishing how expensive the RSC has got now - and bumping up the prices so much on a Saturday is criminal. AND I got stung with the automatically added donation schtick because I was sneakily booking at work and only had one eye on it... I agree on this. Their prices are up near Branagh's purely commercial Shakespeare productions, one questions what the point of their massive ACE subsidy is, especially for a provincial theatre. And Matilda is probably cash-cowing them left, right and centre too. Apart from The Tempest, I'm considering giving the Winter season a total skip and just seeing the cinema broadcasts.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 11:58:31 GMT
Oh, I was sitting 2 seats to your left then. I knew anyone proffering a rubber hammer had to have seen it before! The possibility of turning up with a hammer had occurred to me but I thought that having a hammer in one's bag might not go down well with the bag searches & I don't own a rubber one. Where do you even get a rubber hammer?! Amazon. Dog toys. My dog is loving it. Less so the neighbours. Did we have the lady with the white gloves and camera between us? *too late but waves* I first saw this early on in the run, so they've obviously added bits, as the teeth bit and poison Peter Pan were not there on my first night. I'm sure the poison Peter Pan bit must have been there when you first saw it (however perhaps with no audience interaction so it passed cleaner), as it has persisted since the tour virtually untouched. Whoever is playing Chris can sometimes ramp it up a bit - that definitely seems to be the "go enjoy it" moment for him.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 2, 2016 11:54:59 GMT
Duke of Yorks cast according to an email I received is: Kenneth Cranham, Amanda Drew, Rebecca Charles, Brian Doherty and Jade Williams. Which means that either Brian Doherty is playing two parts or that there is another actor yet to be named... Talk about confusing the plot even further With regards to discounts: www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-father/duke-of-yorks using the code "FATHERDMT" gets best seats for all performances during the run down to £39.50. Considering no discounts appeared last time during the run itself to my recollection, that may be the best we see.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 16:12:57 GMT
I was at the final performance too - again - think I enjoyed it even more second viewing. An absolute riot in the front row! Such a brilliant cast, great comic timing. So, so funny. My kid was the one Hook picked on for laughing so hard, "why can't you be like this man, 2 hours and hasn't laughed once". Daniel, that wasn't you opening the bottle with your teeth, was it? If so we need to talk wardrobe. And how funny the young girl in the front row being the one to poison Peter Pan. Joyous bit of entertainment. I will admit to offering a rubber squeaky hammer as people were seated at the beginning, which completely threw the "stagehand". Quick recovery "Has anyone lost a hammer"? Ha, nah - I was sat near the back of the stalls. Oddly enough though the "use your teeth" line from the audience turned up the last time I saw it as well! And I did wonder whether the squeaky hammer pre-show was someone in the audience being clever!
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 15:19:12 GMT
Just to check - we don't actually have dates yet for the Old Vic run do we?
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 15:09:23 GMT
How many of the patrons at Red Velvet last week would have even known about the Apollo incident, know what type of noises started it and, most of all, realised they both houses are owned by the same company? Why would know who owns the theatre be at all important? I dint know. the Apollo thing WAS big news even for none theatre people. I still get people joking about theatre falling in whenever I go see something. People really get on my tits The reason I mentioned it as several comments on here have drawn that connection between the two houses - which most people surely wouldn't have. It doesn't really matter in any case, the theatre is safe and shows are running
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 14:33:45 GMT
I do wonder if we are drawing a link from that event to the Apollo a little too eagerly. How many of the patrons at Red Velvet last week would have even known about the Apollo incident, know what type of noises started it and, most of all, realised they both houses are owned by the same company?
I also really enjoyed the production at the Tricycle, however haven't yet found myself booking for this short West End run. I suspect most of the £15 tickets have long since disappeared, mind.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 14:25:27 GMT
Was at the final performance last night - definitely plenty of people who had seen the show before (no surprise there!).
I do wonder if this will try to come back next winter with a different cast, I suspect there'd be the appetite for it. Especially if it gets another Olivier nod.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 14:24:07 GMT
Having sat in various seats in the theatre before (both for this and other shows) - I'd be inclined to suggest dress circle for first viewing, or forward of the overhang in the stalls. Dress Circle minimises any occasional blip in sightlines - however the stalls probably has a better atmosphere overall.
I'd agree with other comments, legroom is fairly generous throughout most of the theatre.
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Post by danielwhit on Feb 1, 2016 14:21:08 GMT
The article in The Stage last week certainly sounded like they were looking at a long run. I can't quote as I've run out of free Stage viewings for the month but it was something along the lines of the original cast doing it till after Christmas then, implied, a second cast taking over. Yes - it was in context regarding taking Play That Goes Wrong to Broadway. They were offered to go in the fall but decided against as the original cast could only do 3/4 months of Bank Robbery. So they are taking it until the new year, then recasting (assuming it's good, obviously!) and heading to Broadway next Spring with Play. Personally, I'm there on the 31st March.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 30, 2016 23:22:39 GMT
So, this is one of those year long extensions that isn't bad news? This is an annual thing though, 30th Jan 2015 they extended until April 2016 www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/readnews.asp?id=114wkd Also still breaking their own ticket sale records doesn't sound like a show in trouble to me, doesn't appear like they have problem shifting tickets! Yes - this is definitely a show which is not in trouble of any form. However, I suspect all of their new record breaking weeks are due only to price inflation, so this is really only a gauge that the show is not *losing* popularity, rather than gaining it.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 30, 2016 23:17:21 GMT
It's so weird seeing this thread only have 3 pages. It won't last long..
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 30, 2016 23:09:04 GMT
So, I went to see this last night, having not seen it since previews. It's better. Much better. Performances across the board are fantastic, and Jamie Muscato is a welcome addition to the cast. Shame it's closing. I'm sure it will tour. I suspect if it tours it'll be on a much simpler production. Challenge is to make it more commercially viable to tour one of the easiest ways would be to shrink the cast. However, considering the requirement for distinct groups here who can't really overlap (as fun as it would be to see the Aunties as Harriers), that's going to be quite tough for this show.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 20:45:27 GMT
I've seen JOJ a few times in this run and he has been suffering with his back. I wonder if he'll do the lift and the trapdoor on Sat with it being his last show. Plausibly - although I doubt they'll change it for one performance, to be honest.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 15:45:15 GMT
Yeah - I'm in a similar situation to you with regards to giving their production a go. I know it's been doing the rounds long enough now, however I'm still resisting as I know it isn't the same as the original production.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 15:41:28 GMT
It plausibly is ITV testing the water for appetite for them to do their own Grease this December. Who knows - however I'll probably watch out of interest anyway.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 15:39:24 GMT
I think Rachelle Ann go as Gigi and Kwan Ho Hong as Thuy were better than the current cast. I loved Alistair Brammer and I love Chris Peluso, very different but both good. It's mainly Ellen that was a total miscast in the original revival cast. Edit: If they spend 2 days to shoot extra material with the original cast, I hope they fix the wrong melody lines of Eva too. I mean, this is the chance to do certain parts justice and use multiple takes. You're my official spokesperson. Yes on Rachelle and yes on Kwan. Yes on Ellen then vs now. True - Thuy was the role role which made me say "overall" rather than entirely. I can't say I have been overly taken by either Gigi above the other one. Siobhan is by far the best Ellen out of the bunch I've seen, and I think I slightly prefer Chris to Alistair. In any case, let's hope this is a full commercial release. Would seem silly to spend time recording everything only to hide the footage.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 0:25:19 GMT
Just thought - I wonder if restaurants are going to start snapping up slots to put their flyers on seats for the Part 1s on the matinee/evening days. Try to persuade people to visit them with a few quid off between halves, etc. Doesn't really sound like Nimax's style though, to allow it. I wouldn't be surprised if we see meal deals flyers with the tickets if you got them posted. True. I'm going in July though am not expecting my tickets to arrive for months yet. Anything they can do to hold back from the touting, I guess (it won't work, these things never do stop people who are determined enough..)
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 0:21:48 GMT
Everything sounds positive - however curious all the same. I personally think the current cast is stronger than the original one, overall.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 29, 2016 0:19:58 GMT
Aha. I am looking forward to seeing what Minchin/Warchus do this time around - Matilda, after all, is their only collaboration thus far.
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Post by danielwhit on Jan 26, 2016 22:50:04 GMT
Definitely the best out of the inaugural Warchus season so far. Tonight whizzed along. Two intervals didn't drag either, despite how used I am to the one or two act format.
Much better than the horrendously clunky Hairy Ape, by every measure.
Tonight finished at 10.15 with no noticeable delays.
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