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Post by andrew on Dec 28, 2023 16:02:10 GMT
I guess I lucked out. Lottery win for the matinee (that I’m messaging from the interval of) yielded Stalls H7. Unbelievable fortune. A great end to the theatrical year for me!
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Post by andrew on Dec 28, 2023 9:52:59 GMT
I may try to get discounted tickets in the new year but the cheapest I could find even on the day TKTS were close to £100 I’ve heavily relied on waiting until January and then getting a day seat for buttons and having a gay old time. This year it’s completely sold out. Is it the pull of Ecclestone? Theatre returning to normal for the population at large? I’m going to end up missing it this year which is a shame (I love Chrissy E) but didn’t want to spend big bucks on a show I’ve seen several times already for cheap.
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Post by andrew on Dec 26, 2023 22:41:53 GMT
but we get an airy (if dry iced filled) cavernous house Did you not see the seven hundred insistent signs declaring it a "water based haze"? And it is an extreme level of haze at the start of act 1 for what's actually an empty house.
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Post by andrew on Dec 26, 2023 22:39:18 GMT
I'm glad to see this sold out knowing I've got tickets to see it next week! there's no better feeling than waltzing into a decent seat in a house you know is full, ideally walking past a returns line on your way in
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Post by andrew on Dec 26, 2023 17:34:46 GMT
It is a well-realised portrayal of contemporary American nihilism but it offers no exit ramp, or even the promise of one, which is surely the true calling for a contemporary American artist. I'm a big Annie Baker apologist, but I do think a conclusion would have helped nicely.
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Post by andrew on Dec 26, 2023 17:30:55 GMT
Christine wearing a Nike hoodie, twerking while The Phantom composes his latest masterpiece on GarageBand for the iPad, laying down those sick dubstep beats. Raoul is Raoulina, and the action has been moved to the Moon in the 23rd Century, as The Phantom and Christine travel over moon rocks to reach his lair on a Dune Buggy, stunningly portrayed here by having Go-Pros strapped to their heads. Christine Daae having a bisexual awakening does actually sound sort of compelling.
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Post by andrew on Dec 25, 2023 21:45:11 GMT
1. Sunset Boulevard (I haven't been as enthused about anything like this since before Covid probably) 2. Next To Normal (Just excellent, perfect musical theatre) 3. Motive and the Cue (A great play, it was nice to see the National Theatre doing a proper National Theatre play in a National Theatre way and succeeding enormously) 4. Old Friends (Mainly for the talent on stage and the quality of the source material, how could it fail?) 5. Groundhog Day (seen it before but really enjoyed it, probably more than I did in it's last incarnation)
Bonus mention of Streetcar which was good but didn't quite make the top.
My 5 disappointments of the year (not necessarily lacking any quality but just the things that let me down) would be Phaedra, A Little Life, A Strange Loop, The Little Big Things, Pygmalion.
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Post by andrew on Dec 24, 2023 22:15:23 GMT
It's funny because you'd assume he'd hate it. It's neither the style of the show as he originally created it nor anything like the style of any show he's done. If I was 75 and someone was creating a quasi-modern tik-tok inspired video screened version of my beloved work I'm not sure if I'd me much behind it. But maybe he likes his stuff feeling fresh and modern again.
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Post by andrew on Dec 24, 2023 10:40:29 GMT
I like the strict policy. I've got sympathy that once in a blue moon something out of your control happens and you turn up late, lots of people can have unexpected problems mid-act that cause them to leave. Sunset in their upstairs bar seem to have a nice setup of comfortable seats surrounding a big TV streaming the performance for the auditorium, so if you do end up in one of those camps you can still enjoy the show and not disrupt people. Particularly if I was spending £100, £200, £300 for a ticket I don't want anyone interrupting it.
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Post by andrew on Dec 21, 2023 22:18:18 GMT
With the lottery tickets, are they handing out tickets when people present with their lottery wins? Is there an advantage to being early to get a better seat or has my seat already been secretly allocated?
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Post by andrew on Dec 14, 2023 17:21:37 GMT
I want to go back for a second watch but it's just too expensive. Got a great deal the first time round and couldn't bear spending £200 on a seat that's worse. I'm just completely jealous of everyone who seems to have been 6-10 times over the run!
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Post by andrew on Dec 14, 2023 16:54:42 GMT
The lottery does have stalls tickets but they tend to go within a couple of minutes. The fans of this one are very on the ball with the lottery and ready to grab seats as soon as they get a link. The tickets in the top level tend to stick around a lot longer but are pretty uncomfortable if you're above average height. Quite annoying that the fan base, who go multiple times a week, are most likely taking all the good seats, stopping others who have probably never seen the show before from getting a good deal. True but we benefit on Theatreboard all the time with people sharing offers, reminders about on sale dates, tips to get tickets, all of which push non-theatre fans in general to the back of the line. I'd find it hard to get too upset that there are die hard Mincemeat fans willing to put the energy into the same sort of thing but on their one particular show.
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Post by andrew on Dec 13, 2023 12:26:58 GMT
Somewhere around 3 stars. Positives would be the money spent on making it look good, the talent onstage, the special effects, the story (which obviously is adapted) and the warmth of a Christmassy audience enjoying themselves (especially the American sat next to me who kept wooping at everything, not sure if there's a need for that).
Ultimately though the musical adaptation component is trash. Like, really terrible. We don't need Back To The Future to be Sondheim but we probably do need the songs to actually say something. Almost all of them are the classic example of stopping the show for a song, and then we continue on unaffected. Almost none of the moments justified musicalisation, and when they did (the dreamers song, act 1 closer etc) the song offered just lacked a certain quality. It's the sort of show that you probably do actually want a couple of hummable numbers from - they didn't manage that. None of them were clever or interesting, none offered new perspectives. This would have suited Hairspray style stuff (similar era I guess) with some witty and earwormy songs. But it was just dross.
Like the opening song as far as I recall was about Marty wanting to be a rockstar. This doesn't really have anything to do with the rest of the plot other than the random inclusion at the end of him suddenly becoming a rockstar. There could have been a link between him struggling to find success as a musician (what's the point of playing guitar?, maybe his parents are repeatedly dismissive of this) and him finding success getting his parents to have their kiss through his guitar playing. Setup, payoff, maybe the same motif or a reprise of a section of the song.
Where was the song where he expresses the insane terror of your own existence being wiped out by your own actions? Imagine a song where the father meaningfully talks about being unconfident, being a goofy teenager, being the butt of everyone's jokes. I dunno, there seems to be some obvious wins in the story that they've just not gone for.
It feels like a big waste of potential, it's success based on spectacle onstage, decent people doing it and a recognisable brand to get you in the door. The kids in the audience whom I presume haven't seen the film were getting agitated by mid-Act 2. The actor playing Marty was also basically exploding out of his purple underwear, like I don't want to objectify anyone but I've never seen anything quite like it on a stage, good for him. Not enough to save the show though, sadly.
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Post by andrew on Dec 13, 2023 12:03:08 GMT
Yeah the upper circle was pretty dire. I never normally buy tickets that rubbish but felt compelled to see this and not spend big bucks on it. The sound is a bit poor, hard to hear the rap/quickly sung lines. sightline aren't the absolute worst but not great when the leaners in the second row start to lean. I don't think I've ever seen something from the gods and really enjoyed it, a lesson for me going forward to probably just spend more money or don't spend anything at all.
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Post by andrew on Dec 8, 2023 17:38:08 GMT
Someone up thread said before it opened that the NT's drum revolve has always been a problem and is regularly out of action. Seems they have been proved correct! But they don't use the drum in this production, only a revolve and it's quite a simple one too. I've not seen it so I don't know, but have they installed a different revolve? Because classically they still used the drum revolve without the lifting function for their normal revolutionary needs on the Olivier stage.
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Post by andrew on Nov 12, 2023 11:14:10 GMT
It’s almost redundant to comment on this but I went last night. The front row keyworker seats were absolutely incredible. It’s really cool that Jamie Lloyd does this and ATG for tolerating it when they could have sold those seats for three times as much. The show is astoundingly good, it’ll go down for me as one of the great productions of the decade. I avoided reading a lot of spoilers about what Lloyd had done, I liked almost everything he chose to do. The opening of act 2 is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen, when he walks out on stage at the end, sitting right next to the absolutely thunderous orchestra, it’s orgasmic. I’ve come hoooooooooooooooo (30 seconds later) oooome is such good fun. I could go on for hours. One or two friends have been sceptical and held off booking a ticket, they’re being advised they must go.
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Post by andrew on Nov 8, 2023 12:24:14 GMT
Has anyone who qualified for the key worker tickets had any experience yet with showing ID - did they ask to see it like it states on the website? No but why would you risk not bringing it?
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Post by andrew on Oct 27, 2023 14:45:34 GMT
Mixed reviews in the press, mixed reviews on TheatreBoard... seeing this tomorrow so excited to see where I fall. Interestingly they've moved the performance from 1pm to 2pm, apparently due to it being shorter than expected.
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Post by andrew on Oct 17, 2023 6:17:37 GMT
Thinking of booking a trip to London next month and really would be wanting to see this, but of course it’s sold out for the dates I’m there. Based on past productions of this caliber in the West End, do you think there’s a good chance of returns becoming available or more tickets going on sale as we get closer? Thank you! Currently the front three rows aren't on sale, likely some have been removed but often these come on sale later on after they figure out if they can sell the front row etc. Returns in the West End are common enough that the committed can usually get a seat. There's to be a weekly lottery for this as well which is another opportunity. Ultimately though there's no guarantees, keep checking every day for your chosen date and you might get lucky!
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Post by andrew on Oct 15, 2023 8:18:08 GMT
Bernadette was iconic as always but I do wonder if some people there really didn't really know who she was as I didn't feel she got the ovation she deserved for her status. Agreed with your whole review, but I hate the US habit of applauding big names when they've not done anything. Bernadette got rapturous applause for her numbers in yesterday's matinee all the performers were world class and they all deserve the same recognition in my book. I think there's a broad consensus that Buddy's Blues and the HMP video should be cut, I'm guessing it's there as it's a comedic number for a male, but it's not a great song even in context, never mind outside of it. They should've given The Road You Didn't Take to Pennycooke instead in that slot. Loved this show so much, a huge treat for Sondheim fans.
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Post by andrew on Oct 9, 2023 20:27:38 GMT
This must surely be the unique combination of this being a new venue that Nimax are keen to keep open and in the public eye as much as possible, and there being absolutely sod all that Nica can think of to replace it? Or maybe they think word of mouth will pick up in the run up to Christmas and will carry it through? Madness. There is no way on this Earth that there are more than a dozen people sitting there on a Thursday night come February.
Fun Home. There's your answer. Get Jenna back in, get Zubin in, do a slimmed down Fun Home for a few months and we'd all be gagging for it.
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Post by andrew on Oct 8, 2023 11:10:23 GMT
The way the cast are all talking about the show ending, there is a very deliberate choice of words about it not being the end of the show necessarily. Obviously it could still fall through but they're under the impression there's a realistic chance of a transfer.
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Post by andrew on Oct 7, 2023 17:26:29 GMT
Michael Billington column in The Guardian on NT's 60th anniversary. www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/oct/05/national-theatre-nt-plays-drama"The future of the National depends on any number of factors: the state of the economy, who is in government and who the new director is. I would offer only one recommendation: that, without sacrificing its urgent contemporaneity, the National do more to retrieve plays from the world repertory." Not sure I completely agree. Obviously every single year someone asks the question "what is a national theatre for?" and every director gets to move between the three piles of classics, revivals and new work. (Plus maybe a musical at Christmas, or the same musical twice if your wife wrote it) My personal opinion is that only subsidised theatre can really support new work, and only a few of them have the machinery to do it often and well. The NT has a New Work department, it has a studio workshop and it has the flexibility of different performance spaces to do this. Commercial theatre will never perform that role (or very rarely perform it) but certainly is in a position to revive existing material. I'm not saying the NT should only do new stuff and classics, but I don't see why it should focus more on modern revivals when any theatre can do that.
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Post by andrew on Oct 7, 2023 17:19:11 GMT
I'm quite devastated to be honest. I don't really directly benefit from HS2 being built in any specific way, but the idea that we were actually building a high speed rail line the likes of which we should have had decades ago was such a beacon of progress. The backbone of improving rail services across the country, improve links up to Scotland, get more local passenger services onto railway lines making it more convenient and a viable transport option instead of it always being the car, more freight on rail rather than in 100 lorries. All gone, and instead complete spin and nonsense about what the money might go onto instead. The Brexit bus comes to mind. And increasingly it sounds like there's no opportunity for a future government to reverse the decision, or at least to do so will now be considerably more expensive than what the project already was going to cost. So sad.
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Post by andrew on Sept 28, 2023 11:56:24 GMT
Is the plan for this to just keep running it until it runs out of patrons? Or is February a hard exit? It sounds like they’re hoping for the former on this as it’s a commercial theatre. At least that’s what it sounds like from Nick Hytner on the Making Theatres podcast which was released earlier this week - a really interesting insight to both the architecture and the business model of the Bridge. Ooooh interesting, downloading it now!
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Post by andrew on Sept 28, 2023 11:04:53 GMT
Is the plan for this to just keep running it until it runs out of patrons? Or is February a hard exit?
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Post by andrew on Sept 28, 2023 9:20:19 GMT
Booked, thank you Theatreboard for up to the minute news! I've become a massive Jared Harris fan of late, The Crown, The Terror, Chernobyl, Foundation have been excellent with his contributions.
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Post by andrew on Sept 27, 2023 13:46:52 GMT
What is the best side to sit on for this, or do they play to all sides equally? I chose to be on one of the longer sides which I reckon was slightly better but there's honestly not much in it.
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Post by andrew on Sept 27, 2023 8:18:09 GMT
I never saw this but would love to, and the new touring cast looks great. Does anyone think a West End return could be on the cards? I see the hip team Wessex Grove are co-producing. If I remember correctly whilst the West End run went fine I don't think it was selling out much, I wouldn't bet on a return.
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Post by andrew on Sept 27, 2023 8:16:04 GMT
I'm sure Steve Coogan will be very good in this, but is it not a stretch calling him a stage star? I don't remember him ever being in a play or musical stage production. I've always thought he would be very good on stage but he has a major barrier now in that he is overwhelmingly known by the mass audience for a single character that he has played for 32 years. It will be hard for him, and the audience, to avoid the memory of that here. His own management agency don't list any stage credits on his CV. He has done stage stuff but probably not of the sort we'd think of, he's done a few tours playing his own comedy creations (mainly Partridge). That includes arena tours, so I can see a marketing person converting that to 'huge stage star'. A quick search around the internet didn't yield me a dramatic play. Nonetheless it's decent casting I think. Will have a peak around at the 10am ticket release but totally agree with Marwood about not generally booking things a year in advance anymore. If nothing else, whilst your seat selection is better it's not like the prices are particularly cheap anymore, they dynamically price everything immediately.
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