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Post by nash16 on Feb 28, 2017 14:46:36 GMT
Has a tour been announced for this? It's just been announced to be playing Hull when the New theatre reopens in November. Think you might be onto something... Just announced here also... www.thelowry.com/event/hedda-gabler1Unlikely that Ruth Wilson, Rafe Spall and Kyle Soller will be packing their suitcases I imagine? Nope, a brand new cast in all roles.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 28, 2017 0:29:59 GMT
Have to side with Ade and bellboard27 in not liking this tonight. It started promisingly enough, with a different type of set from Es Devlin (looks a bit like the inside of an inverted Death Star with 3hours hindsight), and nice video projections on top of it.
But the play itself is weak. A balancing of niceties, and never any real drama or propulsion in making us the audience meet these characters, who seem to be suffering slightly at one minute, then laughing along with life the next. But neither at any extreme at any point. My friend and I both came out saying we didn't really care, which isn't a good sign, and not the expected outcome of an evening about a soldier returning from the wars with such horrific injuries.
Fleetwood acquits herself well, with obvious attention to detail, especially in the movement. But Ralph Little gives her little (oops) to work with, but then it's a fairly lukewarm and thankless part. Kris Marshall is fine, but plods along. And I have to agree with whomever said Olivia Darnley was bad. She shouted everything. Maybe she had been given a note about not being heard, but they're all mic'd up, as is the way these days at the NT, so why the bellowing? She is a good actress normally, but here, awful. Like something out of a 50's set American musical
Left wishing the writer had been braver and gone deeper and more truthful with her presentation of these people in this situation. As it is, it's almost a nice evening out, that bores its audience gradually over 90minutes. And you don't even need to see it for the set, as the production photos will do that for you. A shame.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 25, 2017 10:02:49 GMT
Was anyone at the first preview tonight? I do regret not booking some cheap seats earlier, so I may have to rely on the TodayTix lottery! First preview is tonight.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 17, 2017 1:34:10 GMT
Oh gawd...
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Post by nash16 on Feb 10, 2017 1:45:05 GMT
Let's have...
Hamilton: Riz Ahmed
King George: Jonathan Groff, for a couple of months.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 10, 2017 1:26:49 GMT
Wonderful news. I wonder who will play the Anna Francolini role?
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Post by nash16 on Feb 2, 2017 2:09:07 GMT
Oh no, they must need the publicity badly.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 2, 2017 2:07:31 GMT
Thank God we don't have to have him on our stages acting soon.
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Post by nash16 on Jan 27, 2017 1:25:24 GMT
Isn't there already a thread for this? Anywho, I'm booked! Let's hope so!!
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Post by nash16 on Jan 27, 2017 0:15:59 GMT
Revival of the Schwartz/Taylor show, with new additional material from none other than Lin Manuel Miranda.
Expect a LMM super-fan onslaught when booking opens!
Luke Sheppard rumoured to be directing, but not choreographing.
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Post by nash16 on Jan 26, 2017 21:24:22 GMT
Sssh... Don't say that... You'll MAKE it news...
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Post by nash16 on Jan 26, 2017 20:42:41 GMT
Great news to hear about this new production of this musical.
It was wonderful at the National, a few years back now.
Michael Longhurst to direct.
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Post by nash16 on Jan 17, 2017 18:39:34 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Jan 16, 2017 12:09:07 GMT
They switched off the SELECT YOUR OWN SEATS option within 3 minutes! Wow!
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Post by nash16 on Jan 14, 2017 15:52:27 GMT
You see, it's always interesting to see other people's views of the same production that you've seen. I didn't get what was particularly moving about the end myself. I found Hedda just so deeply unlikeable in this production that the end result couldn't have come quick enough for me. I do agree Ruth Wilson was terrific though, especially as she made no attempt whatsoever to try to elicit any sympathy from anyone (the other characters or the audience). It did give the production quite a clinical feel though. We felt the same way. And the ending was very much laughable to us. They made no effort to make those, let's face it, slightly ridiculous sounding final lines, make more sense or be in any way moving. All stilted and placed bodies. From the moment Rafe Spall's Brack started going psycho (tomato sauce time onwards), it lost us. Ruth Wilson was cold, yet impossible not to watch. Ivo van Hove seems to specialise in clinical productions. The heating never seems to be on in his shows…if that makes sense?
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Post by nash16 on Jan 13, 2017 0:44:50 GMT
£89 top price.. wow. Broadway greed hits London. And premium £200. And just wait for the Ticketmaster "fees" too. It's gonna be through the roof!
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Post by nash16 on Jan 12, 2017 3:34:47 GMT
Maxwell Takes A Holiday.
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Post by nash16 on Jan 11, 2017 0:41:27 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Dec 23, 2016 20:34:19 GMT
If this does transfer Good for them It has to be the least mainstream thing since The Nether And would perhaps also become the most credible thing also since that play It could go the the Noel Coward The sooner the better Inspector Calls wraps up around the time this finishes at the NT. Likely? Ruth Wilson will be off filming as soon as the extended run ends in March, so doubt a transfer is possible at all.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 19, 2016 23:49:55 GMT
Charley: great news!
Danny: awful! Cheese o rama!!
Now torn as to whether to see it at the Lowry. I don't think a Ken Doll is right for that role.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 17, 2016 0:38:51 GMT
Saw this tonight.
Rob Icke really needs to go and direct films for the cinema. He seems to have little interest in making theatre for the theatre, instead theatre as film.
Williams was slightly OTT but Stephenson was much more engaging and restrained. The "soundtrack" drove us nuts. Stolen from van Hove. Now feel this. Now feel this. What on earth was he doing with that folk song at the end from Laura Marling? Mortimer joined the OTT camp, and Jon Light who is normally brilliant was seriously underwhelming.
I'd say go for the performances on the leading ladies. The rest, not so sure.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 14, 2016 9:51:43 GMT
Twitter friends, obviously. Surely that was implicit! Ah, ok, I don't really call people I follow on Twitter "friends", I just follow them for their opinions. Probably where we got mixed up. My 50+ age is showing.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 14, 2016 9:21:18 GMT
People rarely say negative things about theatre shows on Twitter. Why is this? Is it because it's mostly public domain? I'm genuinely intrigued. I'd guess you don't have the right friends, I follow a wide circle of theatre fans and very few of us are civilised enough to hold back when we hate something. Though if you're interested, one of my friends very purposefully avoids commenting on a show she has hated because she knows it would be so easy for her comments to get to the cast and crew. So maybe some people fear confrontation, or maybe - as in the case of my friend - they realise that there is a real person on the other end of the Twitter account and thus don't say anything they wouldn't say to someone's face. Aaaaand I suppose for some people the realisation that the cast and crew could very easily find their tweet leads to their seeking approval from the cast and crew by loudly tweeting their approval first. (Also if you follow theatres and haven't muted their retweets, then you're going to get nothing but a neverending stream of "I SAW THIS PLAY AND IT WAS TERRIFIC BEST THING ALL YEAR OMG", especially the day after press night. That'll tip the balance like nobody's business.) "I guess you don't have the right friends" ??
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Post by nash16 on Dec 14, 2016 9:20:13 GMT
Saw this last night. Impressed as always by Ruth Wilson. Not the most emotionally diverse Hedda I've seen, but has a beautiful way of playing and is exceptional in her silences, especially in the last act.
The big trouble we had was with the male casting. Chuk Iwuji is a great actor, but completely lost here. No sexual chemistry with Ms Wilson and he fails to bring any of the hedonism of Lovborg onto the stage, or out and out distress in the second half act.
Also, Rafe Spall looked too much like he was acting, to be creepy/bad. It doesn't seem to come naturally to him and you can see his funny bones aching to come out, but he knows it's wrong for this part. So he tried his hardest, but it all looks too effortful, not just in delivery, but also in movement (watch the way he walks). I didn't believe him for a sec on, especially when he suddenly turned master manipulator at the end. That could also be down to the fact that van Hove goes very heavy handed, almost knocking the audience over the head to make sure we now know that Hedda is under his control. It's done in quite a sick way too, which you could say works, but in another dimension just looks beyond demeaning and a step too far.
The repetition of the the Joni Mitchell song is also way to obvious. I'm surprised van Hove is this slightly condescending to his audience.
Wilson survives both these men though to come out trumps, with Sinead Matthews and Kyle Soller also adding value.
The onstage maid doesn't work, not does the whole walking through the audience thing. Reviewers have said there is no door in the room, Hedda is so trapped. But there IS a door in the far corner of the stage, at least the outline of one. Why did no one use that?
Richard Eyre's production is still the the best I've seen, but this one was interesting. And Ruth Wilson deserves the plaudits. It's just a shame they miscast two vital parts so badly.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 13, 2016 0:09:21 GMT
There's been a lot of very positive comment on twitter. I'm seeing it (and a handful of other shows to round off the year) the week after next. People rarely say negative things about theatre shows on Twitter. Why is this? Is it because it's mostly public domain? I'm genuinely intrigued.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 8, 2016 12:39:30 GMT
It sounds like the Proscenium is a bit of a red herring and these will actually be played at Nimax's new theatre nr Tottenham Court Road maybe? It should be open by then.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 7, 2016 22:55:55 GMT
Do we know if the alternates would have been rehearsed fully for this show? I'd always heard that the rehearsals and Preview are for the main cast, with cover rehearsals coming after Press Night. Does anyone know what the situation here has been?
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Post by nash16 on Dec 2, 2016 8:52:32 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Nov 25, 2016 0:30:17 GMT
Saw the mat yesterday and have had a sleep to reflect. It just wasnt that good im afraid! Celia Imrie was miscast and some of the other roles undercast, Kent and Edmund for example. The whole thing moves at a dnails pace and the huge expanse of the stage is completely wasted. Clearly a lot of love for Glenda esoecially at curtain, which is a bit curious as she hasnt appeared on a London stage for about 30 years. A disappointment. Great to hear someone who agrees with me on this. So disappointing. It could have been great.
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Post by nash16 on Nov 18, 2016 3:28:00 GMT
But it's awful! (she's not bad, but the rest of it…) How is this allowed to happen? Because it's strongly cast People want to see Glenda Jackson It's SOLD OUT And it got very good reviews Remaining tickets went for £100 plus based on the dynamic pricing All of the above despite the sniping on this forum It may surprise you But the fortunes of producers aren't related to or affected by predictions or comments here Strongly MIScast. E.g. Why is Miss Babs playing Goneril with a wink and a smile? DIG Celia. Dig deep and you shall find a character that is not actually like you. Play that!
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