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Post by jek on Jul 7, 2016 22:04:35 GMT
Was at a Picturehouse Cinema tonight for the live relay. Kenneth Branagh made an announcement at the start that Richard Madden had seriously injured his ankle two days ago and, after extensive physio was able to play the role but that they had made some minor adjustments to the staging. Having not seen the production before I don't know how much it differed from the norm but Richard Madden certainly seemed to be throwing himself around the place with no evident restraint!
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Post by jek on Jul 6, 2016 19:59:59 GMT
Just to say thank you for all your suggestions. The problem with standing is that I have two 10" metal plates in my leg holding my knee together: I am living proof that it is a bad idea to get on the wrong side of a BMW 4X4 (I have to point out that the car was driving on the wrong side of the road!). This was the second time I have been run over. As this is a theatre board people may appreciate the irony that the first time I got run over (again not my fault) it was a hit and run driver when I was on my way home from seeing The History Boys (the original cast) at the National. A bit too close to life imitating art!
I'm now very glad, having read this thread, that I didn't go for seats for the Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. Although I regret missing it it sounds like given the seats available I probably wouldn't have seen much.
This board is really helpful. Thanks to all who participate.
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Post by jek on Jul 6, 2016 8:15:03 GMT
I went to the Globe for the first time yesterday to see The Taming of The Shrew. I was hit by a car five years ago and so standing for a production isn't an option for me. We had front row upper gallery seats which had a great view but I can't remember ever having been in such uncomfortable seating at a play before. Even the Unicorn (where I saw the fantastic Hamilton Complex last week) where it feels like you're sitting on boards isn't that bad. My 6ft 2" 16 yr old son was with me at the Globe and had pretty much lost all circulation by the end of the play. While I enjoyed the play (and that is saying something as my dad was Irish and I am pretty allergic to anything involving Uillean pipes) I would have to really want to see a particular production to book at the Globe again. Is the seating arrangement all about authenticity? And are there any seats at the Globe that aren't quite such hard work to sit in?
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Post by jek on Jul 2, 2016 9:31:59 GMT
When we were on a NT costume tour back in early June they had some military costumes on tailoring dummies and said that they were for a 'top secret' WWI project. Clearly this was it.
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Post by jek on Jul 1, 2016 7:11:08 GMT
Have woken up this morning still thinking about this having seen it yesterday afternoon. For me it was a real winner but then, unlike a lot of people on this board and its predecessor, I really enjoyed the Lyndsey Turner/Es Devlin production of Light Shining In Buckinghamshire at the National. There was certainly no mumbling or lack of connection from Stephen Dillane and Gina McKee and Ron Cook were as excellent as other posters have suggested. I had a £10 front row seat and it was certainly more than worth the price of admission.
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Post by jek on Jun 23, 2016 7:34:59 GMT
My 16 year old son went to see this last night with his sixth form college, as part of his A Level drama studies. I was dreading him coming home thinking that he would have been bored, especially never having been to a Shakespeare performance before. Instead, while he said it was long, he was largely positive about the experience and very taken with Ralph Fiennes' performance (described by him as quite literally 'in your face'). Best of all, from my point of view, he has now agreed to watch one of my favourite films 'In Bruges' with me in order to see another Fiennes' performance!
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Post by jek on Jun 22, 2016 17:51:39 GMT
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Post by jek on Jun 22, 2016 9:13:15 GMT
We went on the NT costume tour before seeing this. It is someone's job to score the paper in the scaffold before each performance to make sure that it breaks easily on impact with the actor! Pretty essential job.
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Post by jek on Jun 22, 2016 8:38:52 GMT
Les Mis are tweeting that they are performing the finale at the tribute event for Jo Cox at 4pm today in Trafalgar Square.
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Post by jek on Jun 14, 2016 7:27:10 GMT
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Post by jek on Jun 9, 2016 8:34:56 GMT
My daughter is just 15 too and mad on musicals. As we live in London she gets to see quite a lot - highlights for her have been Assassins and Funny Girl at the Menier, Gypsy at the Savoy, Beautiful, In The Heights and, most recently The Threepenny Opera. And Les Mis was definitely the gateway drug to this. So I suppose it is not surprising that the obsession with Hamilton arrived in this house sometime last year. Birthday and Christmas present requests included the cast recording, the Hamiltome, the Ron Chernow biography (which she seems to be attempting to read). I even caught her reading the Financial Times last week because Simon Schama had an article in it about the show. It's definitely a very teen thing and other kids at her school (a state school in East London with kids from many different parts of the world) are similarly enthused. She sobs at the end of the cast recording because 'It is so sad'. God knows what she will be like when faced with an actual performance - if, of course, we manage to get tickets.
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Post by jek on Jun 9, 2016 7:58:36 GMT
We went to the matinee last Saturday and really enjoyed it. What made us laugh though was that our fifteen year old daughter proclaimed at the interval that 'my school should do a production of this'! Her dad pointed out that they might have to cut rather a lot of references! A couple of days later when we were listening to a recording in the car (an old Ute Lemper version on cassette) she decided that any problems with profanity could be got round by the school (a state school not a million miles from Canning Town) presenting it in German!
Loved the Otto Dix styling of Hadyn Gwynne's Mrs Peachum. Had been on an NT costume tour in the morning and seen at first hand how much work goes in to creating that hair - and the joy of Polly's boots. Man who made those had also made footwear for Rosalie Craig for the Light Princess.
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Post by jek on Jun 8, 2016 17:00:10 GMT
On a costume tour at the National at the weekend the tour guide was explaining to us how they have to use a different mesh for the wigs for NT Live performances since the thicker mesh they usually use shows up on camera. He also mentioned how some of the costumes wouldn't work on camera. Clearly lots of things to be considered.
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Post by jek on May 29, 2016 17:20:16 GMT
Thought this was stunning. I went with no expectations and no knowledge of the team involved, I just thought it looked interesting and the Barbican is an easy journey for us. Also I'm a long time Barbican member and so the discount is appealing. The Forbidden Zone looked fantastic and I have already wish listed the Mary Borden book which is part of its source material. We took along our teenage daughter who was dazzled by the technical brilliance and shocked at the content (she held my hand so tightly at key moments that I lost all circulation). My only wish was that I could immediately see it again to take in bits that I surely missed. One of those occasions when I'm really glad that I took a punt on buying tickets.
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Post by jek on May 13, 2016 11:50:24 GMT
Am going to see this next Friday at the Opera House - 15th birthday treat for my daughter.
I've been on a tour/workshop at HHPP, Purfleet and the setting for watching on the big screen is fantastic. It's also easy to get to by train: Purfleet station is about a fifteen minute walk from the venue. When I've checked in the past the trains continue until late in the evening.
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Post by jek on May 8, 2016 21:28:25 GMT
Teenage daughter and I went to see this this evening (6pm show). Just to say that on a very hot day the venue was very hot indeed (I saw earlier posts where people were bemoaning how cold the venue is on a cold day). Very appropriate given the subject matter but definitely a good idea to take a cold drink with you. Given some reports I was worried about low audience numbers but it was pretty busy.
Daughter would now like to see it again - immediately - but I did point out that if we saw everything she wanted to see on multiple occasions we really would need a lottery win!
Thought it would make a great school trip show for kids in Yr 10 and above - particularly if, like my kids' schools, the pupils are of different ethnicities and facing issues around how to be in the world - leaving behind their neighbourhood for university, for example.
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Post by jek on Apr 27, 2016 13:52:04 GMT
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Post by jek on Apr 14, 2016 13:35:26 GMT
Daughter's copy of the Hamiltome has just arrived (ordered from Amazon on April 5th). If she has got homework tonight it is unlikely to get done. I like the way that she, and other teenagers, are getting their knowledge of American history via musical theatre. Not just Hamilton, but Assassins and the Pajama Game, among others. If only the GCSE boards could be encouraged to set their exams to reflect this specialist knowledge!
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Post by jek on Apr 14, 2016 7:16:31 GMT
When following a favourite pursuit of visiting the Sherling high level walk way in the National Theatre the other week there was a lot of things being painted green. Also a sign saying Clement Attlee House and what looked like mock ups of brutalist architecture. I'm guessing these were being prepared for The Suicide. Thinking of taking my teens to see this (one of them went to Boy at the Almeida last night on a school trip and enjoyed it) but think I'll give it a chance to settle first.
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Post by jek on Mar 29, 2016 16:22:52 GMT
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Post by jek on Mar 2, 2016 8:25:24 GMT
It is free. We went at the weekend combining it with a trip to the excellent Cosmonauts exhibition at the Science Museum (which you do have to pay for). The exhibition is well signposted up the stairs at the V&A. My daughter is doing the History Boys for GCSE English and enjoyed seeing the stage directions written out for part of that. My son, who is doing A Level Drama also enjoyed it.
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