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Post by ladidah on Sept 8, 2023 9:15:39 GMT
They couldn't even afford to put some railing on that metre high grand staircase! Wow, that is awful.
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Post by BVM on Sept 8, 2023 10:04:53 GMT
The white curtain is literally what the songs are performed in front of. When the bows start is the Manderlay set. The Manderlay set is a masterpiece in comparison to the set for the hotel in Monte. Perhaps this should be in the 'Bad Behaviour At A Show' thread, but.... Are you allowed to take a pig into the auditorium at Charing Cross Theatre? When Mrs Danvers comes out at 1'07" the pig seems to go completely wild, or is perhaps being ritually slaughtered. Oh that made me laugh! Have to say for a show that’s allegedly terrible the audience in that clip seen to be witnessing the second coming. Curiouser and curiouser.
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Post by toomasj on Sept 8, 2023 11:26:18 GMT
The white curtain is literally what the songs are performed in front of. When the bows start is the Manderlay set. The Manderlay set is a masterpiece in comparison to the set for the hotel in Monte. Good Lord, that looks sub-amdram
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Sept 8, 2023 11:45:41 GMT
Waiting for amateur rights for this to come through and mountview or artsed to put on a sublime production tbh
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 8, 2023 11:51:50 GMT
I've seen better am dram sets in village halls...this is really really bad
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 8, 2023 14:11:45 GMT
waaaaaaaay too late - they're not gonna build another set, this is it
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 8, 2023 17:19:59 GMT
What baffles me most is how bare those walls are. They could have popped into Ikea and brought a couple frames and printed some pictures. Manderley is grand and opulent isn't it? Where are all the paintings and decorations. Really how much extra would it have costed them? A hundred pounds at most?? I'm a set designer and the level of laziness here offends so much lol It’s so bizarre. Some frames from a charity shop would have cost pennies 🤣
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Post by BVM on Sept 8, 2023 17:24:53 GMT
Who’s the set designer? Have they ever designed anything else?!
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Post by demelza on Sept 8, 2023 17:35:00 GMT
I was holding off on booking for this until we started to get some reviews on here and I'm glad I am now! Factoring in travel it would cost over £100 for my mum and I and from the looks of it it's very much not worth it. Such a shame — Rebecca's a favourite novel of ours and we'd both been tentatively excited for this to be finally opening. Oh well, there's always the Jeremy Brett/Joanna David version to rewatch on youtube! This isn't selling particularly well, is it? I wonder if they'll end up doing some heavy discounts... I feel dreadfully sorry for the cast and backstage crew, doing their best with what they've been dealt.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 8, 2023 17:39:44 GMT
Who’s the set designer? Have they ever designed anything else?! Maybe Kunze designed it?
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Post by Oobi on Sept 9, 2023 9:14:30 GMT
Who’s the set designer? Have they ever designed anything else?! The production designer (presumably costumes and sets) is Nicky Shaw. Her website has a ton of pictures of her other productions, and while the sets are sometimes a bit abstract, there's nothing that looks nearly as amateurish as this. I can only assume this production was heavily impacted by budgetary issues. But for God's sake, the set is single-handedly going to drive down review scores by a star or two; surely, however tight money is, some extra investment would justify itself?
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Post by BVM on Sept 9, 2023 10:14:12 GMT
Ironically more could have been achieved by a bare stage - perhaps a central spiral staircase and atmospheric lighting rather than this 1950s "village hall" set. Especially when the Charing Cross has such limited stage space. Unless that's what the designer was going for but it's the first time Mrs Danvers had the right idea by burning it all down. Amen to this. I am a MASSIVE advocate that no set is better than cheap set. Cheap ugly sets are an assault (in a bad way) on the senses and make it harder to immerse yourself. At least with no set you can let your imagination do the work.
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Post by BVM on Sept 9, 2023 10:17:07 GMT
Who’s the set designer? Have they ever designed anything else?! The production designer (presumably costumes and sets) is Nicky Shaw. Her website has a ton of pictures of her other productions, and while the sets are sometimes a bit abstract, there's nothing that looks nearly as amateurish as this. I can only assume this production was heavily impacted by budgetary issues. But for God's sake, the set is single-handedly going to drive down review scores by a star or two; surely, however tight money is, some extra investment would justify itself?I have still not been so am reserving judgement until seen it with my own eyes - but you are right it is VERY odd. The big fanfare about the big orchestra - yet Charing X doesn't NEED a big orchestra whatever the piece and feel sure they could achieve a sound 99% of the audience wouldn't be able to differentiate for this with an 8-12 piece and pre-programming/synth strings. Also if the sound design is as unremarkable as people say, then literally what is the point. You do need to LOOK at a musical as well as hear it so surely, something should be spent on the set. Hardly dare ask but does the lighting design in any way make up for it?
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Post by max on Sept 9, 2023 10:50:13 GMT
"Hardly dare ask but does the lighting design in any way make up for it?" Doing it in the dark might help.
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Post by Steve on Sept 9, 2023 11:48:25 GMT
Have to say for a show that’s allegedly terrible the audience in that clip seen to be witnessing the second coming. That video is from the first night, so the creatives and their friends would have been there cheering. That said, the enthusiasm was still there on Wednesday. If you are a set designer, it is evident you are going to hate this. Even if you aren't, Manderley, which is very much a character in the novel, isn't on stage (bar an atmospheric projection at the beginning), so you still might hate this. But I went in thinking, this is Charing Cross, the absolute bottom of the theatre pecking order. This is where you find the hungry and the desperate. So, expectation management is key. Many of the one star crowd are those who love the show the most. They've seen it staged sumptuously , and they've seen it so often they can recite multiple minute changes. So by comparison, this is terrible for them, because they expect the Drury Lane. For me, going in with low expectations, and not knowing the show, Lauren Jones's performance and arc were so outstanding that I barely noticed the stage. Except the seagulls. That was a travesty.
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Post by steve10086 on Sept 9, 2023 12:45:13 GMT
But I went in thinking, this is Charing Cross, the absolute bottom of the theatre pecking order. This is where you find the hungry and the desperate. I don’t think that is fair at all. Have seen some wonderful productions there - Ragtime and Titanic immediately spring to mind.
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Post by Steve on Sept 9, 2023 12:47:16 GMT
I saw those too. I loved them.
I would class them as "hungry." That isn't a pejorative.
Showcasing their play there, in the hope of one day playing bigger houses.
Or showcasing their amazing skills there in the hope of being noticed and getting other opportunities.
But fair dos. Maybe the cheaper production costs can justify runs that are intended as a one-off.
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Post by Steve on Sept 9, 2023 12:53:01 GMT
I mean what's on stage doesn't resemble the Manderley of the novel, though it is set there. I'm saying the cheap staging didn't bother me, cos Lauren Jones's performance conjured the drama of Manderley for me.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 9, 2023 13:12:14 GMT
I mean what's on stage doesn't resemble the Manderley of the novel, though it is set there. I'm saying the cheap staging didn't bother me, cos Lauren Jones's performance conjured the drama of Manderley for me. What does that even mean? Going to need a detailed explanation.
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Post by Steve on Sept 9, 2023 13:28:02 GMT
I mean what's on stage doesn't resemble the Manderley of the novel, though it is set there. I'm saying the cheap staging didn't bother me, cos Lauren Jones's performance conjured the drama of Manderley for me. What does that even mean? Going to need a detailed explanation. Lol. I'm on a hot bus here in Hammersmith tying myself in knots, aren't I? What I am saying is a good performance forgives a thousand sins in my world. Manderley may not be represented well by the cheap as chips set, but the wonderful music and lead performance were mesmerising enough, on their own, that it took me on a fantastic theatrical journey, regardless. Everyone will decide for themselves what aspects of a show they value more than others. Set design as a tool of storytelling, unless it involves helicopters, chandeliers and giant beanstalks, is usually lower on my radar than script, performance and music. So I loved this show despite its crappy set, cos the ingredients I value were there in abundance.
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Post by anthony on Sept 9, 2023 19:01:07 GMT
Yeah I don't really get the comments about the quality of productions at Charing Cross. Granted, last time I was there was Woman in White, but I remember the staging for that being pretty amazing. A shame there aren't any videos on YouTube to see if my memory is accurate, but there are some photos on Thom Southerland's website: thomsoutherland.co.uk/shows/the-woman-in-white/36Sadly not many photos of the whole set, but you can see how atmospheric the piece looks. The lighting was amazing. Rebecca lacks all of this. The orchestra was a huge waste of money and I STILL don't understand how it still sounds PAPER THIN?! I mean it's a larger orchestra than Phantom (14), than Les Mis (14), than Wicked (17)... it's madness. Anyway, popped into Charing Cross this afternoon to buy a programme (they didn't have them Monday night!) and Melanie Bright (alt. Danvers) was in the lobby talking to people who had just seen the show's matinee. Heard her saying that she was worried that people would have booked for Rebecca to see Kara Lane and then be upset when they realised it was her. But I also heard her say that she (and the rest of the cast!) were loving performing. The people she was speaking to seemed to love it.
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Post by woobl on Sept 9, 2023 20:08:40 GMT
Yeah I don't really get the comments about the quality of productions at Charing Cross. Granted, last time I was there was Woman in White, but I remember the staging for that being pretty amazing. A shame there aren't any videos on YouTube to see if my memory is accurate, but there are some photos on Thom Southerland's website: thomsoutherland.co.uk/shows/the-woman-in-white/36Sadly not many photos of the whole set, but you can see how atmospheric the piece looks. The lighting was amazing. Rebecca lacks all of this. The orchestra was a huge waste of money and I STILL don't understand how it still sounds PAPER THIN?! I mean it's a larger orchestra than Phantom (14), than Les Mis (14), than Wicked (17)... it's madness. Anyway, popped into Charing Cross this afternoon to buy a programme (they didn't have them Monday night!) and Melanie Bright (alt. Danvers) was in the lobby talking to people who had just seen the show's matinee. Heard her saying that she was worried that people would have booked for Rebecca to see Kara Lane and then be upset when they realised it was her. But I also heard her say that she (and the rest of the cast!) were loving performing. The people she was speaking to seemed to love it. To your point about the orchestra - from what I gather, the new 'band room' is just that - a room where the band sit. The other shows you mention are in the open pits which allows the natural acoustic to shine. When every instrument is in a room, and piped through speaker, you'll never get the same effect. Could 5 musicians or 18, but it will still sound like it's come through a speaker - no matter how much reverb you stick on in.
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Post by amygdalopita on Sept 9, 2023 21:10:44 GMT
But I went in thinking, this is Charing Cross, the absolute bottom of the theatre pecking order. This is where you find the hungry and the desperate. I don’t think that is fair at all. Have seen some wonderful productions there - Ragtime and Titanic immediately spring to mind. I agree ! The early years of Charing Cross were magnificent….. equally all the “outside producers” have done excellent jobs in Charing cross in recent years! - it’s only the last few years of in-house productions this could possibly apply to!
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Post by boybooshka on Sept 10, 2023 9:15:26 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards.
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Post by Planty on Sept 10, 2023 10:31:13 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards. I counted 2 hours 35 ish including the interval on Thursday evening. I was out at 22:05.
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Post by boybooshka on Sept 10, 2023 11:01:05 GMT
Thank you.
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Post by anthony on Sept 10, 2023 11:07:05 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards. I counted 2 hours 35 ish including the interval on Thursday evening. I was out at 22:05. Interesting - we got out just shy of 22:30 on Monday. It did start about 5 minutes late, but still. Suggests they've cut something because there weren't any pauses (I remember because we were irritated at missing the 22:28 train we usually get!)
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Post by BVM on Sept 10, 2023 11:53:59 GMT
Has any musical on this forum ever had the one star vote in the lead? Or is this a first?
Wild....
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