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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 26, 2022 22:41:30 GMT
Ellie T and Fleur had to dance off. The judges saved Fleur. Ellie T was eliminated
It was Ellie's time. Johannes can only take you so far...
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 26, 2022 20:29:36 GMT
Very very random scores tonight
Not a great set of dances overall.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 25, 2022 15:56:30 GMT
But no one performs the Barton or Hall versions. So they were very much one offs.
The essence is that Othello isn't a play you can perform to highlight the black experience because the text just doesn't allow for it.
It isn't the play the director thinks it is.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 25, 2022 11:53:39 GMT
These reports do seem to confirm my fears that too many directors seem to want to direct the play they want it to be rather that directing the text as written.
Othello may be the title character but Iago is always going to be the most interesting figure on stage.
The only way to really alter that balance is to write a new script. And then you can't use Shakespeare as the draw.
I know the rise of the dramaturg has given some directors permission for the idea that they can completely reshape a text. And whilst that is technically true, it is very rare that a director is a better writer than Shakespeare.
Yes, it has been happening for centuries. Through history we have had Lear rewritten to have a happy ending, Merchant ending after Act 4 to put all the focus on Shylock and many, many others.
But none of these adaptations have persisted in the repertoire. The originals have.
If a director doesn't have faith in the text, they should not direct it.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 23, 2022 16:08:40 GMT
This does remind me a bit of a show I did several years ago, where an audience member stormed out loudly declaring the show was racist. It was a historical drama featuring a racist character who is rightly called out for this racist-ness by the protagonist. It would have been more offensive to act like those views weren't held at the time by some. With Miss Saigon has had a turbulent past, surely working with Sheffield Theatres to ensure some mistakes of the past and outdated depictions aren't repeated, rather than bailing on them, would have been a more sensible idea? the group I work with most often, did Merchant of Venice back in 2019 and got a complaint that it was anti-Semitic....
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 23, 2022 14:19:17 GMT
We have already had Glyndebourne and ROH trying to 'cleanse' the operatic repertoire of anything that might not fit the modern sensibilities of the easily triggered.
Many other companies have drunk similar Kool Aids.
Audience members can tell when theatre pieces reflect values that are rooted in the past without seeing them as a celebration. No one watches Kiss Me, Kate/Taming of the Shrew and thinks that is how best to approach relationships with the people in their lives.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 22, 2022 15:43:10 GMT
The scene is set in a club where the women are forced by the Engineer to flaunt themselves in skimpy outfits. That is central to the setting of the opening of the show. It wouldn't work in any way if the club workers were all dressed demurely. It just isn't how that sort of establishment would have operated.
Plus you need the contrast so that the sale of the virginal Kim hits even harder. This is a horrific transaction and needs to have an impact.
It is supposed to be uncomfortable and I have never left a performance feeling that any of the male characters came out in a positive light.
As for Movie in my Mind, they are clearly conditioned to see a certain escape route out of the horrors of the club and that is not a healthy fantasy. But we understand why they think like that.
I certainly don't have the male gaze when viewing these scenes.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 22, 2022 14:59:03 GMT
Reading the statement from the theatre, I wonder whether they had actually thought about the show in any depth before taking in the project.
The Heat is on in Saigon has always, to my mind, been a look at how the GIs treated the locals as commodities. Their behaviour is not comfortable to watch and rightly so. They are not the heroes of the scene. And the fact that this segues into Movie in my Mind gives the club workers an opportunity to escape into fantasy for a few moments even though we can see that fantasy as deeply flawed.
Bui Doi is not a saviour moment. It has always been to me an examination of the damage that war does to all sides and the desire to atone by trying to put some things right. It isn't about easy answers. It is damaged men trying to help rebuild lives and take responsibility.
The Morning of the Dragon as I have seen it staged in the original and touring productions hasn't been a celebration of Orientalism. It has been how an oppressive regime crushes all those who might stand in its way. Using the very techniques that dictators always do.
I am just perplexed by the lack of understanding of the source material by so many who really should have known better.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 21, 2022 23:34:59 GMT
I appreciate that there are many Americans who despair of the situation. But as a nation they keep electing representatives who accept the status quo (and that includes both main parties)
Unless and until that changes, gun related murders in the US will continue to shock the world.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 21, 2022 21:33:14 GMT
That really doesn't hold water as an argument when you look at the whole amendment.
It says:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The necessity for a well regulated Militia ceased many, many decades ago. Therefore the need to allow people to keep and bear arms also ceased to be necessary let alone desirable.
There is nothing in the 2nd Amendment that protects the right of the citizen to own firearms given that there is no citizen militia.
It is time for the US to grow up and wean themselves off this addiction. Because it is exactly that. A murderous addiction.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 18:50:40 GMT
Ugo went out after his back problems and his really bad Rumba. Nothing Oti could do would overcome that.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 18:28:59 GMT
Gio went out early because he wasn't invested in the partnership for pretty obvious reasons
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 16:08:33 GMT
Thankfully the shooter was over powered by people in the club and is in custody.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 13:05:27 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 12:45:05 GMT
If Molly was with almost any of the other male pro dancers then I think she would have avoided the dance offs.
Carlos is quite hard to like. You can admire his technical prowess. But he doesn't yet know how to show off his partner rather than showing off how good he is.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 20, 2022 0:15:49 GMT
Molly and Tyler had to dance off. The judges saved Molly (Craig, Motsi and Shirley saved Molly. Anton saved Tyler). Tyler was eliminated!
I predicted this outcome tonight.
Molly just is not connecting with the voting public.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 19, 2022 20:37:16 GMT
And why is Nikita dressed up as Jill Dando?
Will Tyler go off and paint a lovely landscape given that he was channelling his inner Bob Ross?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 17, 2022 19:01:58 GMT
I still haven't heard any of the score... Where can I find even some extracts? Google hasn't been helpful
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 16, 2022 1:18:54 GMT
The first half of the final was miles better with Noel not being there.
I don't think the bakers were at fault for the quality of the final. It was all down to the excessively demanding challenges with not enough time.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Australian version as that feels more realistic and supportive. They give far more instruction for the technicals for instance.
However they have dumped the judges and the hosts for next year so am wary of how that will affect things. Particularly as Rachel Khoo is one of the judges and I cannot stand her on screen.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 15, 2022 23:26:07 GMT
The time frame for each challenge is the reason I have stopped trying to get on the show.
They don't want people to succeed. And I don't like to be set up to fail.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 14, 2022 21:08:44 GMT
They don't think.
That is a lot of the problem
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 14, 2022 19:53:31 GMT
The fact that the Trans Twitter user got no support from other Trans Twitter users for their pointless tweet shows that there may just be some sanity regarding this issue.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 14, 2022 0:52:01 GMT
I am glad that they don't shy away from showing Bashir for the lying fraudster that he is.
Marcia Warren is very cartoon casting for the Queen Mother. So wrong. And Anne has morphed into Duck Face from Four Weddings.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 20:39:36 GMT
I don't buy the explanation of his withdrawal in the slightest.
If you have a serious hamstring injury, you demonstrate just a bit of a limp. Or something.
But there was nothing.
He wanted to leave on his own terms which is understandable but he actually deserved to be properly eliminated for being the worst dancer.
Very glad he has gone.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 17:48:15 GMT
Actually it has happened to me on a second occasion.
I turned up to the evening performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to collect free tickets that I had been promised.
Turns out the freebies were for the matinee not the evening. Thankfully they still let me see the show.
Well maybe not thankfully as it was completely unmemorable. Couldn't recall a single song by the time we left the theatre!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 12:21:25 GMT
This was years ago with physical tickets. We just got it wrong. Embarrassing and expensive!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 11:20:14 GMT
I dont want him to be in pain. But I also never want to see him 'dance' again.
Either way, the show now refocuses on being more of a dance event
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 1:09:04 GMT
I am one of those people who turned up for the wrong performance.
It was for The Habit of Art at the National.
We got settled in our seats for the matinee only to be asked to leave by the people who had booked for that performance.
We were booked for the following week.
There being no seats available, we scurried away and returned the following week.
I think it came down to scanning the tickets and misreading the seat number for the date. Something along those lines.
But the usher didn't spot the mistake either...
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 13, 2022 0:57:49 GMT
On Sundays my mum used to make a huge massive yorkshire pudding in a roasting tin the size of the oven, cooked in beef dripping 😲. We had a piece before the roast with gravy, then a piece with the very small portion of roast meat with veg and a LOT of spuds, then if we were lucky there would be some left for afters to have with jam. Growing boys! 🙂 Yorkshire pudding.. It’s a superfood. We would probs had it served up for breakfast on Monday if there was any left (but there never was). our family tradition was to cook the Yorkshire round the meat. The best bit was then the soggy stuff nearest the meat which was always packed with flavour. My grandmother got it very wrong once on holiday and managed to render the whole batter soggy after the required cooking time. So soggy that it was poured into the plate!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 12, 2022 23:36:19 GMT
Tony and Tyler had to dance off. The judges saved Tyler. Tony was eliminated
thank feck for that
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