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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 26, 2024 19:07:58 GMT
This form of protest is targeted at the wrong people.
It costs people enjoying a treat at the theatre and ruins what should be a memorable event.
It does not get positive publicity for the environmental cause. It creates anger towards the protests and that sets back positive engagement on the issues they claim to represent.
I was reading earlier about the people who target SUVs by letting down tyres. They don't care that some people need larger vehicles because of caring/transport issues. I really don't like the increase in use of larger vehicles in urban settings but I do know that for some people there isn't a viable alternative.
Again this sort of unfair targeting does harm to public discourse on environmental matters.
Disrupting theatre, damaging works of art and such stunts do not help the green agenda.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 25, 2024 21:35:29 GMT
It is a very short run.
So it might attract enough.
I won't be making the effort. I like Shakespeare because of the words!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 24, 2024 15:34:27 GMT
I do love me some Marschner
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 23, 2024 22:46:32 GMT
Is this a record for the number of West End theatres that a single production has used?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 23, 2024 19:58:33 GMT
I only saw An Inspector Calls last year or perhaps the year before. And it felt very dated and far from radical.
In one way that shows how influential it has been. But it now seems to exist as a cosy piece of nostalgia and as something for teenagers to study.
Given how the rights have been restricted, no one has had the opportunity to revisit the piece. Priestley died 40 years ago and so there are three more decades before people can do what they like with his plays without having to negotiate with agents and rights holders.
It would be good for the rights to be released so that other creative minds can see how they can work with the text.
Few directors will have probably given it much thought because of the dominance of Daldry. But if they knew that new productions could be permitted, they may well start to bring fresh thinking to it.
Now the rights for Priestley are nowhere near as tightly controlled as those for Beckett. He died in 1989 and so we have even longer to wait for artistic freedom to come to his great works.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 20, 2024 22:25:17 GMT
On this occasion, side stalls might be better than front on.
The blocking is a bit clunky so the diagonals are not very well used.
I was sat in D25 and frequently couldn't see key moments
But sitting round to the side would probably have avoided the worst of this.
Of course each production is different so what is true for LLL may not be true for Merry Wives
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 19, 2024 12:56:18 GMT
Avoiding Emma Watson is something I am always keen to do....
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 19, 2024 12:30:20 GMT
I may be wrong, but I had never heard of this book probably because ballet was not a part of growing up for me.
There will be those who do have fond memories of it but it probably doesn't have universal appeal.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 18, 2024 23:16:03 GMT
Me no likely the new RSC programmes.
Now cut down to A5. To save trees apparently. But it is thicker so not many!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 18, 2024 23:10:38 GMT
Just home from press night.
It isn't perfect. Some of the stagecraft shows a serious lack of experience in handling a thrust stage.
But the performances are all solid or better.
The updatings/interpolations work very well in context. Yes, even the Back Street Boys section!
Excellent physical comedy throughout. Costard and Moth were particularly well characterized. Excellent Boyet.
The tonal shift after a very well handled Worthies scene was well judged. Final song very haunting.
Overall an entertaining and fun production of a play that can be tricky to tackle.
I would happily see it again.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 16, 2024 9:43:43 GMT
Am reviewing on Thursday so will share my thoughts!
The Masque of the Worthies is going to have to be radically rethought to fit a contemporary setting I would imagine.
Also I can't see a Sir Nathaniel in the cast list.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 12, 2024 23:29:45 GMT
It's out of copyright now which saves a lot of hassle.i can just imagine a set made up of Georgie's watercolour sketches.
A vocal setting of the Moonlight called Un Po di Mu
And a reprise of Au Reservoir to end Act 2.
Yes, it would have to be a passion project. But theatre is all about passion.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 12, 2024 18:13:49 GMT
Anderson and Petty might be the right partnership
Would love to see them tackle a longer form piece
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 12, 2024 17:48:29 GMT
I know it has been tried before but I think the Mapp and Lucia stories would make a great chamber musical. Lots of fun period pastiche combined with memorable characters and wonderful catty lyrics/dialogue.
We have some fantastic older MT stars who would be fab in it.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 11, 2024 16:44:43 GMT
Matinee today cancelled due to cast illness Oh dear!!! More bad luck! It is starting to look more like bad planning now
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 11, 2024 11:47:30 GMT
I loved the musical side of the production. Top class orchestra and the singing well delivered. Shadow has a lighter sound than many who have sung the role but it worked.
I don't yet know if it was a technical failure or bad lighting design that left the singers in darkness in many numbers last night. But it did impact on my enjoyment.
The production needs editing. Just too many ideas buzzing around. And I thought we left chairs being endlessly moved around the by the chorus back in the 90s. Just so dated.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 11, 2024 11:41:50 GMT
If this had been in a venue known for artistic innovation, it might have stood a better chance.
It was never a project that held any appeal for me.
But if it had been programmed as part of a season at the Almeida or a Vic, it might have received internal company support to help with artistic development which may have delivered a better piece.
None of us like it when theatre folk lose their jobs. But the writing was on the wall long before today.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 4, 2024 15:54:10 GMT
Taken far too soon.
A formidable set of credits both stage and screen. But 60 is no age at all
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 2, 2024 13:04:29 GMT
The West Wing gets my vote I rewatch it all at least once a year.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 23:11:25 GMT
Cosi was utterly charming.
The orchestra has never sounded better. The detail particularly in the obbligato sections was superb.
Dorabella pretty much stole the show for me. Rich, warm tone. Lovely even voice throughout her range. Pitch perfect characterisation. Well matched with a great young Guglielmo.
It didn't fully tackle the cruelty and misogyny at the core of the piece. But it was a top piece of entertainment with some real talent.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 16:50:24 GMT
No. What I am saying is this is a very inexperienced lead cast with no professional experience.
It is right that people have to start somewhere. One or two leads fresh out of drama school is not uncommon. But a principal cast with this little professional experience is exceedingly rare.
Learning how to sustain performances as part of a long run is not something a lead cast should be doing as their first gig.
A show or two in the ensemble and as a cover gives you that experience to help for when you do start taking lead roles.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 11:20:14 GMT
It is not acceptable to charge full price for a graduate showcase
Paying audiences deserve more than a bunch of leads making their professional debuts.
Yes, this sort of cast is cheap. But it does not inspire confidence
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2024 10:25:11 GMT
I could see that is what they were trying to do but because he spent the majority of his active stage time in various states of undress, that was harder to sustain
What they chose to do works within the construct of the production. I just felt that it lacked part of that sort of transgression.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 26, 2024 23:31:38 GMT
Death in Venice
So much to admire. Stunning work from the orchestra and chorus.
The use of circus performers was inspired and their work was almost beyond belief. Skill, stamina, flexibility and artistry
Mark LeBrocq probably gives the performance of his career.
But I struggled to love it.
Visually it is too monotone for the richness of the orchestration. I understand that budgets are v tight particularly for niche works. But it felt as if it was missing the grandeur it needed at times.
Also the character of Tadzio is supposed to be about 14. By casting someone who is very clearly a fully fledged adult took away what felt to me like a key point in the plot. I don't want the piece to in any way normalize paedophilic attraction. But the casting removed one of the elements of taboo which I think was important.
So much quality. So much to admire. But I didn't love it
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 25, 2024 22:30:12 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 24, 2024 22:21:43 GMT
Now that's what I call a cast
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 24, 2024 17:02:10 GMT
Hopefully rehearsals will bring it to an equivalent quality to this:
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 24, 2024 16:07:46 GMT
Neither part of the song fits her voice properly.
And breath control is not what it should be.
Hopefully by the end of rehearsals it will be a better integrated vocal performance
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 23, 2024 19:50:35 GMT
I am reviewing both productions this coming week. Going to be an exhausting but hopefully exciting time
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 23, 2024 19:49:45 GMT
What does 'the necessity of the play for today' mean?
Is it that the play tackles attitudes that are shockingly still present today in a number of forms?
Or is the point of the question is that the play is too offensive for modern audiences?
It is far from clear what point is being made
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