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Post by adrianics on Dec 14, 2021 20:36:23 GMT
The wife and I had an impromptu long weekend in London over the last few days and went to see the Comedy Store Players on Sunday night.
Fantastic show, dangerously close to being ruined by an extraordinarily drunk woman and her friend, who was getting progressively more and more anxious at her behaviour. They were sat right in the very front row, mere feet from the stage and performers. The drunk woman started with annoying, rhythmic swaying and fidgeting and had soon progressed to full-on talking at normal conversational volume. Several people told her to be quiet, but she objected to the same from the woman sat next to them, who was much more assertive. The discussion starts to become more and more heated to the point that I can't hear what's happening on stage, several people are getting involved and Rachel Parris, one of the performers, was looking towards the commotion and appeared to be weighing up stopping the show. Eventually the friend, looking on the verge of a panic attack, dragged the drunk woman out and the show continued without incident.
I've read so many stories in the last couple of weeks about the increase of bad behaviour, particularly around drunkenness. In addition to Drifters Girl, a Lucy Spraggan concert last week had to be paused so that a number of drunken patrons who had started a fistfight having being told by Spraggan to stop talking, and she's consequently cancelled the remainder of her tour. It truly, truly baffles me that people would just throw money down the drain by buying tickets to a show then proceeding to get so drunk that at best they don't remember the experience afterwards and at worst get thrown out and put on a list. The wife and I love a sesh and I'm a very social drinker but it horrifies me the idea that I would drink so much that I'd cause commotion in public and embarrass myself in such a way.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 8, 2021 13:52:49 GMT
I'm thinking a lot about that old adage about pure hatred, because I can't think of anything else to describe how this weeks' developments have made me feel.
That sickening video of Jacob Rees-Mogg joking about how today's party doesn't breach any laws, him and all of his dead-eyed chums just laughing it up knowing that nothing will happen about the fact him and all his mates got together while people were dying literally in their thousands, alone, their families at best allowed to watch them gasp their last over a video call, alone apart from a nurse on a 12 hour shift who might have found time to touch them on the hand or something just in case they could feel it, before going on to the next.
It's a joke to them, they know that nothing bad will ever, ever happen to them, that there are no consequences for them, that the rules only apply to the little people who were stupid enough not to have rich parents who could send them to the right schools. That laughing you hear in the Stratton and Rees-Mogg videos? That's them laughing at *you*, and everyone you know and love, and everyone who has to follow the rules. The utter contempt and arrogance, the determined refusal to take any kind of responsibility or accept any kind of consequences, knowing that the absolute worst that will ever happen to any of them is that they'll be supported in stepping down with dignity into a life of obscene privileges, opportunity and comfort and being paid more than most people will ever earn in a year for a single after-dinner speech.
I cannot believe that even after all this, there are still those out there who will continue to defend these people to the death despite it being perfectly clear just how low the public they're supposed to be serving are on their priority list, the footballification of our public life so ingrained that you feel compelled to support the dignity of your chosen side no matter what. I know nothing will come of this because it never does these days, and I have no idea what any of us are supposed to do about it.
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Post by adrianics on Sept 8, 2021 18:35:45 GMT
When I went to see I Can't Sing, the ridiculous revolve in Act 2 kept breaking down and Nigel Harmon (as Simon Cowell) did a King's job improvising around it.
At the Other Palace's production of Falsettos back in October 2019, the FOH announced that there would be a delay to Act 2. It later transpired that one of the four actors had taken ill and, with the standby already on, they had to convince Joel Montague, who was not performing that night, to come in to finish the show so the standby could take over from the actor who had taken ill. All handled it very well but Montague had a face like thunder at the curtain call.
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Post by adrianics on Sept 3, 2021 12:00:28 GMT
This discussion reminds me of seeing Bat out of Hell many years ago. A group of about 15 people, all of whom were more than old enough to know better, were reprimanded at least three times by an usher for singing along. Each time, they would wait until the usher was gone then start again.
Eventually the usher got the FOH Manager, who walked right up to the group and said "you've been told not to sing along three times. This is the fourth and final time. If I have to explain to you that you shouldn't sing along for the fifth time, it will be as we're walking down the stairs and you're making your way outside".
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Post by adrianics on Jul 21, 2021 11:11:53 GMT
I saw Tailor Made Man at the Arts followed by the final Saturday preview of Book of Mormon back in 2013, it was a good day!
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Post by adrianics on Jul 21, 2021 10:51:02 GMT
Presumably now distancing has been ditched, a lot more people will get pinged by the app. Is the isolation mandatory or is it now a case of testing and if it's negative then carry on? There is no legal obligation to self-isolate due to the NHS App and there never has been; it's purely "advisory" and down to the discretion and good judgement of the individual. The infamous trial that Gove, Johnson and Sunak (coincidentally, I'm sure) got randomly picked for involves testing every day, going to work and isolating at home for the duration of whatever timeframe the app gives you. If you're contacted directly by NHS Track and Trace over the phone or email, you are legally obliged to self-isolate; I believe this happens if you're given as a direct contact by someone who has tested positive.
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Post by adrianics on Jun 14, 2021 9:21:09 GMT
Anything that triggers leftists has my full support. It's been hilarious to watch them go into full meltdown before a single second of output has been broadcast. I guess we now know who GB News' target audience is, and the kind of mindset they'll be aiming at. It really is a shame that this is what our country's political discourse has come to. Truth, dignity, facts, all of it takes a backseat to "triggering the left" and I guess that it's perfectly acceptable for baseless and repeatedly debunked conspiracy theories spouted by thoroughly unserious grifters, as well as comparisons between lockdown guidance and the Nazis, to be given a mainstream platform as long as you can conjure up an image of a strawman leftist being upset. The right-wing of this country, despite having essentially 100% of the political will, capitol and power and having gotten more or less everything they wanted over the last 11 years, truly has nothing to offer beyond this nonsensical culture war in which people who have been establishment media figures for years or decades claim that they have somehow been "silenced" despite having platforms most could only dream of. GB News is just going to be more of the same, giving a voice to those who already had one, so that they can continue to say what they have always been given platforms to say, all fronted by one of the most noted establishment figures of all, who claims to be a patriot whilst beaming in from his tax exile in the south of France. What a joke.
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Post by adrianics on Jun 3, 2021 10:42:17 GMT
Agree with the above. It's fascinating that a 1.5 hour episode could have so many "what could have been" moments.
The scenes of the cast just sitting on the set or around the table having a natter and catchup, interspersed with candid behind-the-scenes footage, was excellent. I desperately needed more moments of the cast just connecting as human beings, talking about their experiences on the show and how they got through the trials and pitfalls of their worldwide fame together, and I could have done with more insight into the making of the show than we got. The cameos of recurring guest stars were bizarrely brief, I would have loved some more insight from Tom Selleck, James Arnold Taylor and Maggie Wheeler, for instance.
I think my favourite part was Schwimmer and Aniston talking about their mutually reciprocated attraction during the early seasons, and how they channeled the energy from their frustration that this was never acted upon into their performances and portrayal of Ross and Rachel's relationship. I always thought their chemistry was outstanding, and some of the R/R scenes (first kiss, breakup) are the highlight of the series, so I greatly appreciated this additional context.
The James Corden sections were worthless. Completely empty, vapid and a waste of everyone's time. Several times his question contradicted what was just shown - asking Jennifer Aniston what is was like when her parallel show didn't go ahead and she got to meet the rest of the cast for the first time, despite it just being said that they shot the first four episodes with her knowing they'd have to recast Rachel and reshoot the episodes if her other show was picked up, for one example - and all of the accompanying sketches, especially the catwalk model of the costumes, were awful.
Overall yeah, worth watching for fans, just could (and should) have been much better.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 4, 2020 11:02:47 GMT
Well, unless you include these things that you said: "The rest of us have got a right to live our lives. We've spent the best part of a year sacrificing pretty much everything. Like it or not, maybe it is time for those who need to shield to actually shield, and for those who don't to carry on with life. In your own words, "I have a bloody right not to shield" just because you have a lung condition. Perhaps that is your own health issue to manage - why should everybody else face restricted movements just to accommodate the few with issues? That's ridiculous and a "race to the bottom". Harsh though it sounds, we need to get the hell back on with living and stop pandering to the minority who can (and should) shield." (When told that your comments suggest a negative attitude towards the vulnerable/disabled) "Perhaps. I place more value on free movement for the majority rather restricted movement for all, just so "we're all in it together"." "We need to all get the shows back on the road for the majority, not shut them all down to appease the minority." You know full well the implications of what you're saying, particularly your comments on "survival of the fittest" and your likening of protecting those who are more vulnerable to "pandering to the minority", so maybe you should just own what you say and the implications of it, rather than attempting to hide behind pedantry.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 4, 2020 9:27:53 GMT
My wife and I moved from London to Warwickshire in April; we were very unexpectedly put into tier 3 last week. I don't mind telling you all that I saw a news story last night about fans being allowed back to football games in London and burst into tears. It's so hard watching so many people go back to a brief taste of normal life, I've missed going to live performance, theatre and football so much, and my wife and I can't even go to the pub for a couple of drinks. My social media is full of our old friends in London going out, eating good meals, drinking good drink, enjoying life once again. I understand why, obviously, I get that sacrifices need to be made and the stakes we're working with, but it's just so damn hard. Well said. Thankfully we're past the worst and the meals, drinks, theatre and proper living can resume. Then life's perennial whingers will no doubt find another soapbox to jump on. I'm not entirely sure why you think my post backs up what you've been saying in this thread, but to be completely clear I find your attitude towards the pandemic and comments on the disabled appalling.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 4, 2020 9:27:06 GMT
My social media is full of our old friends in London going out, eating good meals, drinking good drink, enjoying life once again. Tier 2 isn’t all that different to Tier 3. I don’t know what’s on your social media, but your friends must have had a very busy Wednesday evening as that’s the first time that the rules changed. Tier 2 still doesn’t allow socialising with other households indoors so I still can’t go out for a meal with friends within the guidelines, and as for pubs well only if you’re eating, which rather destroys the “drinks then dinner” plan (bearing in mind again you can only do this with your household). So I don’t know what your friends are up to, but while this Londoner can go and see the (very) occasional play, all my local cinemas are still closed and my social life - in terms of friends - remains completely curtailed. Yes, a lot of my friends booked meals out for the "first night of freedom", as some of them have called it. Not to mention a lot of venues I'm aware of in Tier 2 are busy finding loopholes around the "substantial meal" rule, especially since the scotch egg discourse a couple of days ago. I'm sorry, but being able to go out for a meal at a restaurant or pub is a *huge* difference and would make a great difference to my mental health in this situation. I would love to go for a good meal with my wife, but it isn't an option.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 3, 2020 15:27:56 GMT
My wife and I moved from London to Warwickshire in April; we were very unexpectedly put into tier 3 last week.
I don't mind telling you all that I saw a news story last night about fans being allowed back to football games in London and burst into tears. It's so hard watching so many people go back to a brief taste of normal life, I've missed going to live performance, theatre and football so much, and my wife and I can't even go to the pub for a couple of drinks.
My social media is full of our old friends in London going out, eating good meals, drinking good drink, enjoying life once again.
I understand why, obviously, I get that sacrifices need to be made and the stakes we're working with, but it's just so damn hard.
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Post by adrianics on Nov 3, 2020 21:43:14 GMT
I feel, based purely on my personal experience in the shops, that this time around it's a different shade of "panic buying"; it's many people buying one or two of something (usually because they're worried about panic buying) rather than the first people stockpiling.
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Post by adrianics on Oct 17, 2020 9:43:14 GMT
Sometimes I see a notification that seems to be saying something about being in contact, but when I click it it disappears, the app opens and there’s nothing there. It’s a fault because I’m staying away from absolutely everyone at the moment. Yes thats exactly what happened to me. I'll not panic then. Exact same thing happened to me last night and this morning, it said something like "someone you've been near has tested positive" then the second said "don't worry, we've assessed your risk", then when I clicked on the notifications they disappeared and it took me to the main landing screen
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Post by adrianics on Apr 13, 2020 18:24:16 GMT
Morning Todays famous people are Ant and/or Dec and Imelda Staunton. Bit late on this one, but my wife and I sat opposite Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton on the Met Line out of London once. They got off at Finchley Road.
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Post by adrianics on Apr 8, 2020 11:07:51 GMT
He's confirmed on Twitter he's okay. Whatever is going on in this life, best to leave it as private as he wishes it to be.
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Post by adrianics on Apr 8, 2020 9:29:28 GMT
I haven't met Bunnysniff Cucumberpatch, but I do amdram with someone who studied Drama with him at Manchester.
Can't say I'm the biggest fan of him as an actor but by all accounts he's a very genuine, affable bloke.
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Post by adrianics on Apr 7, 2020 21:43:30 GMT
TM is an invaluable resource for anyone with even a passing interest in theatre, and has saved me incalculable amounts of money over the years. It taught me, if nothing else, to stop being obsessed with the premium seats and learn to love a true bargain.
As a forum member, they were always very friendly, helpful and gregarious. A true Theatreforum legend. I don't know the Monkey in real life but I wish them all the best and hope they're as okay as they can be x
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Post by adrianics on Apr 3, 2020 6:45:37 GMT
Does anyone know how the guy with the sandwich messed up the play? Sorry to ruin it but every bit of "audience interaction" was staged - I saw it twice and it was exactly the same each time! I think the idea was that by offering a sandwich the audience member undermined the fact that Francis was starving and desperate for food. My understanding was that "Christine Patterson" and the sandwich guy are plants, but everything else is genuine - I saw the show with Owain Arthur and both the suitcase moment and suggestion for a first date were completely different. The National Theatre Twitter account also confirmed that at one show during the Broadway run, Donald Trump was brought on stage for the suitcase scene. I know as well that there were several times that the bit was genuinely ruined by a savvy audience member offering food.
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Post by adrianics on Apr 2, 2020 20:24:27 GMT
So great that NT chose this for their first stream. Its crazy how good James Corden was in this show, but at the same time everyone and everything is great. So much fun revisiting this.
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Post by adrianics on Mar 22, 2020 13:14:28 GMT
With everything that's going on, I completely forgot today was mother's day.
I've ordered my mum a gin and tonic biscuit set from Biscuiteers, we're having a Microsoft Team chat with them and the rest of our family later too.
My mother-in-law's family are in self-isolation, so we're buying them a Disney+ subscription.
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Post by adrianics on Mar 1, 2020 8:32:35 GMT
We saw this last night.
I've been a fan of the material for many years, so it was great to finally see it staged.
Much like Steve, I thought the two lead performances (particularly Oli Higginson) were excellent and well worth the ticket money alone. The intimate space encourages more subtlety than you'd otherwise get, which makes the surprisingly complex material shine through.
The central gimmick of the other performer playing the piano during the other's songs is, again as Steve said, an excellent idea on paper that is occasionally brilliant and occasionally baffling but mostly doesn't add all that much. I loved the way that the piano playing symbolised that both Jamie and Cathy expected the other to exclusively support their own wants and needs without ever trying to make a true partnership, and one of my favourite subtleties from the directions and performances was that, as Cathy and Jamie are playing, they are portraying their state in their own timeline. Ie, as Cathy is singing the positive I Can Do Better Than That, Jamie's acting as he plays the piano is very distant and distracted as he's about to sing Nobody Needs To Know.
My wife and I differed on the amount of interaction between the performers - Maybe I'm a purist but I'm very much of the mind that the entire precis of the show rotates around the characters never interacting apart from the midpoint when their timelines intersect, so to me the interactions between the two just confused things, particularly the final moment as the lights went down.
Still, I greatly enjoyed it. Love a show at the Southwark and the audience was impeccably behaved. Definitely recommend popping along if you can.
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Post by adrianics on Feb 5, 2020 12:57:48 GMT
I laugh every time I see one of the adverts that says "run your own Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts", I like to imagine Ms Qurike finally having enough at a board meeting, flipping her chair over and storming out the room whilst shouting it.
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Post by adrianics on Jan 30, 2020 15:31:27 GMT
I'm not sure whether this is bad behaviour or etiquette or what ..... Two Chinese girls sitting next to me at today's matinee of Jamie were both wearing face masks which they kept on for the entire show. I wasn't aware we had been transported to Wuhan. Sorry to be flippant, but I think it's insulting to infer that our audiences are so plague ridden that they can't attend a show without masks. This is indeed a cultural thing, and as far as I know it's more likely that they are the ones who are sick and don't want to pass it on.
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Post by adrianics on Jan 13, 2020 11:43:53 GMT
David Fynn confirmed to close the show as Dewey Finn, starting on 20th January and ending with the final performance on 1st March
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Post by adrianics on Jan 10, 2020 16:05:15 GMT
I became the manager of a small administrative office about three months ago, I spent the entirety of this morning locked in an intense meeting with my equivalents in other offices who share building space with us.
The subject of the meeting? Who is ultimately responsible for distributing milk to the kitchens in the building. The rest of the day has been spent liaising with others about the ramifications of the meeting and how we're all going to handle milk distribution. I have spent all day on this but can barely speak about it out loud without feeling overwhelmingly depressed. This is not how I pictured spending my adult life.
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Post by adrianics on Jan 10, 2020 14:31:12 GMT
This does sound bizarre- was there no announcement at all that Jen would be taking over? If I didn't know the show I would have been entirely confused, especially as they wear completely different costumes. Also a long time for the others to recoreograph for 4 people! Still in awe of those understudies, they'd be lost without them. Nope, no announcement whatsoever. I only noticed Steel had left the stage when I realised there were only five ladies on the stage at that point. You know the bit at the end of Katherine Howard's song where she's going in a semi-circle saying "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded.... Survived"? That's when the new actress just casually walked on stage, the character having been absent for about 10 minutes. Lots of people around me were very confused, as was I. Fair play to her and the others, extraordinary situation and couldn't have been easy at all but they collectively barely broke a sweat.
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Post by adrianics on Jan 10, 2020 12:49:28 GMT
Finally saw this last night.
It was enlightening reading about all the casting/cover issues on the tube ride home, as upon arrival I was surprised to see that all but two of the ladies were being played by an understudy. To compound matters, Danielle Steel vanished from the stage just before Anne of Cleaves' big number only to be replaced by someone completely brand new near the end of Katherine Howard's song. There was a rather funny awkward pause as the others realised what was happening, and she was a little nervous and stiff to start with but got better and better in a damn hurry and knocked her big number out of the park. I later gathered that she has been bussed in from the tour and this was her debut as Catherine Parr. Her reception, and interactions with the other ladies at the bow, was amazing to see.
I enjoyed the show a great deal. Unashamedly feminine, contemporary and modern with a pitch-perfect tone and fantastic sense of humour, bolstered by a really quite extraordinarily talented and distinctive ensemble (I couldn't believe they were almost entirely understudies) and band, and often ingenious musicality, I can definitely see why this is as popular as it is. I don't know how the creatives made such a bizarre premise work but I honestly think this has the potential to redefine musical theatre and drag it kicking and screaming into a new age.
The music, lyrically and melodically, is really quite fabulous and I was hugely impressed with the versatility of the writing. My toe barely stopped tapping all night!
I particularly enjoyed Courtney Bowman's performance as Anne Bolyen, hopefully she has a bright future ahead of her.
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Post by adrianics on Jan 10, 2020 12:38:51 GMT
SoR is a great show. Considering the creative team behind it I couldn't believe how genuinely funny it was and how well ALW suited the material, watching the kids play live is utterly exhilarating and for my money it's a contender for one of the best male leads ever written.
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Post by adrianics on Dec 20, 2019 12:23:29 GMT
People with tenuous connections to cast members who will not shut up about it
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