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Post by bellboard27 on May 1, 2018 14:54:18 GMT
I was there also last night. Must say that I enjoyed it. The singing was excellent and the sound was good. And the design works really well.
I am not very familiar with this musical, so can someone enlighten me? At one point Freddie Trumper sings a rap, or more precisely one that seemed to be in the style that Wham! did in 1982. I assume that this was in the original and was meant to be taken at face value at the time. However, as soon as he started singing in that style last night, I dissolved into laughter. I'm not sure this was the intended reaction!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 1, 2018 14:42:00 GMT
Well, I went to 9 of the 10 ENO productions for 2017/18 (I had seen Marriage of Figaro before, which I liked, but could not fit it in this time). Overall, I liked the season, but rank them in the following order:
1. Satyagraha (reached places others couldn’t reach!) 2. The Barber of Seville (spot on comedic acting – loved it) 3. Marnie (Muhly pulled off a great psychological drama) 4. Chess (great design, good performances, but hard to engage with the book) 5. Iolanthe (lots of fun, really silly, great design – over-analyse it at your peril!) 6. Rodelinda (ENO are Handel specialists and normally I lap it up, but something did not gel with this) 7. A Midsummer Night's Dream (critics loved it, but I found the staging just neutralised it all) 8. Aida (disappointing – others criticised the mish-mash of design, but I didn’t mind that – overall the performances didn’t work) 9. La Traviata (really disappointing – I didn’t care for the two leads at all, which means the whole emotional journey is wasted)
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 30, 2018 22:37:58 GMT
Some pretty shocking behaviour at the BFI last night, but assuming the multiple eye witness reports in this twitter thread are accurate the bad behaviour wasn’t by the person who was removed from the cinema BBC News item on this: Woman with Asperger's removed from BFI cinema 'for laughing' www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43950171
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 30, 2018 5:32:13 GMT
I think it's time for Forbidden Broadway to make a return. So much new material out there. I get a feeling Forbidden Broadway could get a return and the timing is spot on for their current show Spamilton. Which I saw in Los Angeles and is hilarious 😆. . The Bridges of Madison County has one peach score, would be great if this was done in Regent’s Park, that delightful score would sore there. It’s Spamilton from 12 July to 8 September. Well predicted!
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 21:57:48 GMT
Anybody know if the stage is high with this show? Or what the seats very close to the stage on the sides would be like with this set? The stage is quite high, but it’s front edge is at quite an angle to the seating. So for row A low numbers the stage is some distance away and seeing is no problem. For high numbers row A, the stage is closer, so might result in looking up (but maybe it’s OK). Also the stage design includes a bit of ceiling and I wondered if those in the upper most seats closest to the stage (on left side facing the stage only) would see everything. Obviously hard to tell from the stalls, but possibly worth thinking about.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 21:12:39 GMT
I rather enjoyed this, this afternoon. Same here - the woman next to me clearly didn't, though, kept looking at her watch, which was really annoying - person in front had a talking watch so didn't need to, argh. I do think the Almeida should either raise the stage or rake their seats, especially if you're going to have actors performing key speeches sitting down on the floor. Even when they were on chairs, one actor was completely blocked from view by the person sitting in front of me, and he wasn't a giant and I'm 5'6", and in row C. I can see about the seating. I was in row C also (far to one side) but a woman in front of me had trouble seeing round a rather tall guy sat in front.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 20:46:55 GMT
Simply outstanding. Laughed till I cried. Drama. Emotional. Crowd on their feet. A great ensemble piece. This deserves awards. Can you believe Her first play!!! Although the playwright is an actress Imagine only 5 weeks run for this Whilst Macbeth limps On next door It’s a disgrace There’s got to be life after the Dorfman. God knows where. But it must be somewhere.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 20:36:35 GMT
Simply outstanding. Laughed till I cried. Drama. Emotional. Crowd on their feet. A great ensemble piece. This deserves awards.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 17:03:21 GMT
I rather enjoyed this, this afternoon. A couple of scenes drag a bit, but overall I liked the twists and turns. Believable performances and interesting mixes of design. Came in at 1 hour 55.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 11:46:26 GMT
On tickets, I noticed today that at least 9 £15 day seats went on sale at about 9.50 (so there might be last minute opportunities in the future). I picked up a seat with a nice position in the stalls for tonight.
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Abba!
Apr 28, 2018 5:36:33 GMT
via mobile
Post by bellboard27 on Apr 28, 2018 5:36:33 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 27, 2018 11:26:06 GMT
Louis Walsh finally gets one over Simon Cowell.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 26, 2018 20:41:15 GMT
This concerns annoying behaviour by a performer. This evening I went to the Théâtre des Martyrs in Brussels. It was to a concert of music that had inspired Samuel Beckett given by a trio – piano, violin and cello. I sat close to the performers middle row B. After a while I got the impression someone was humming to the music. I thought I was imagining it. Then I realised it was the pianist – not so much humming as ‘aahing’. Not too loud, but loud enough for me. It was especially off putting when he got going on passages where there were good melodies, but relatively quiet. Of course once you realise someone is doing this, it is all the more noticeable!
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 26, 2018 16:25:59 GMT
On the subject of things not being what they were, for some reason I found myself eating a Fry's Turkish Delight yesterday. In my memory they were large enough that you could fix legs on the bottom and use one as a desk. What I got was like a fat postage stamp. Beneficial for my weight, certainly, but Eastern Promise isn't what it used to be. In my experience nothing is ever quite as big as you expect it to be.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 25, 2018 8:39:22 GMT
I’ve yet to see it, but I was amused by a line in the review in the Telegraph that the show made Annie look like The Ring Cycle.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 25, 2018 7:57:12 GMT
I suggest they be inspired by the supreme imagination that is Andrew Lloyd Webber and call him The Other Prince.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 25, 2018 7:52:05 GMT
I’ve only found 4 star reviews from WOS, BWW and Time Out. Nothing from the bigger hitters yet.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 24, 2018 21:59:41 GMT
Went tonight. I agree fully with @n1david and much of nash16 - a far from a satisfying production. To note: I got a last minute £10 seat online late in the afternoon in the Atkins box in the dress circle. For a performance in the end-on configuration this would not have been good (too much leaning and side stage missing). But for this production with the stage thrust directly beneath the boxes, it was fine (lots of nice close-ups of the actors).
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 24, 2018 21:24:18 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 23, 2018 17:44:12 GMT
They need some pause to adjust the set, but it makes sense to have a pause rather than a second interval. The resulting run time (having saved 10 mins from the 2nd interval) is only 5 minutes quicker than the 2nd preview, so I don’t expect much if anything has been cut.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 23, 2018 9:31:18 GMT
A while ago on a visit to the Kings Cross Theatre for a matinee of In The Heights, I noticed that the square in front of St Martin’s College was fenced off. A film crew and extras were milling around. After the show I went back and Renée Zellweger was there filming for Bridget Jones's Baby.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 21, 2018 12:24:46 GMT
Pink hair? Barefoot? This might be worth going to just to see the audience.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 20, 2018 19:09:39 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 19, 2018 22:59:56 GMT
Went this afternoon. Totally agree with the previous post!
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 19, 2018 22:51:42 GMT
2nd preview: they say 3 hours 45 minutes, but curtain down at 3 hours 26 minutes. 1st interval was after 90 minutes.
The place was packed to start with but thinned out after the first interval. Those of us in the front stalls got to spread out as a result!
I liked Charles Edward’s performance, but his was the only character I cared for. Rambling and drawn out. Audience started out quite engaged, but I felt this declined over the 3.5 hours.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 22:12:19 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 22:04:05 GMT
Agree with the earlier comments. Interesting enough, but not particularly special or really gets to grips with the themes that it raises. A few funny moments, but could not fathom the shuffling! The "shuffling" is an attempt to make it look as though they're on a conveyor belt. When dancers do this it is incredible. I saw a performance piece by DV8 where they did it and it was jaw dropping because the dancers looked as though they wee gliding across the stage - their movements were so smooth that you didn't see the "shuffling". I think they should have cut this from IFCA because the actors don't have the physical skill and it just looks awkward. Thanks. Seems slightly redundant given that they have a conveyor belt! I think you may be right that if this was delivered more smoothly it may be impressive.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 22:00:43 GMT
Little bump in this thread because I just have to express how incredible the Nuñez/Bolle casting for Manon was. I saw Manon a few years ago and didn’t really take to it, but last Wednesday went out of love for Marianela Nuñez and curiosity about Roberto Bolle and the atmosphere was just electric. The ovations went on forever! I adored it so much that I bought a rush ticket for the following Monday (last night) and it was just as good, if not better. I hope we’re lucky enough to see Roberto Bolle back here soon, especially paired with Nuñez. I was there also last Wednesday. Manon is a great production and Nuñez and Bolle were, indeed, excellent. There are a couple of times in the ballet when I was wishing they would get on with the dancing, but when they did the waiting was worth it!
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 21:56:29 GMT
Bit of disruption at the Royal Court tonight. A woman at the end of the circle slips was clearly blocking the view of the man next to her. At some point loud words erupted (all in the circle at least could hear). One woman gets up to get FOH, but in the meantime the man made his way out and sat in a vacant (and better) seat. I noticed that the woman was not just leaning forward, but had so twisted her body to ensure that her shoulder and upper body was contributing to the view blocking. Not nice, but it all ended peacefully.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 21:49:29 GMT
Agree with the earlier comments. Interesting enough, but not particularly special or really gets to grips with the themes that it raises. A few funny moments, but could not fathom the shuffling!
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