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Post by sfsusan on Apr 29, 2023 16:35:15 GMT
This is what concerns me. I've never seen him on stage, but it seems to me that he's best when directed by someone else as they seem to control his 'hamminess' in roles that don't call for it. And Lear would not call for overacting. (Ian McKellen's 2018 Lear was a masterclass in understatement and was heart-wrenching for it.)
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Post by bordeaux on Apr 30, 2023 11:43:38 GMT
I think he’s way too young to play the lead in this, and last time I saw him onstage was in the unflushed toilet that was The Painkiller so I’ll pass on this. Both Michael Gambon (1982, RSC, for Adrian Noble) and Brian Cox (1990, NT, for Deborah Warner) were 42 when they played the role. Paul Scofield was only 40 when he did it for Peter Brook.
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Post by lynette on Apr 30, 2023 22:33:17 GMT
You should frankly only see Lear once in your life - it's like jury service. This ain't it. Made me chuckle. I have never been called for jury service ( do they know about me, I wonder?) but seen a load of Lears. McKellen memorable and old. I saw Branagh’s Hamlet on stage and also the movie which is v good for studying, so I suppose I should round off with his Lear. I like his approach to Shakespeare on the whole. We’ll see.
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Post by evilmat360 on May 7, 2023 18:21:31 GMT
DMT+ newsletter has a bit more information on when tickets are being released for the priority signups.
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Post by ilovewemusicals on May 29, 2023 20:51:44 GMT
The play will run for two hours with no interval.
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 29, 2023 20:57:04 GMT
The play will run for two hours with no interval. That is a poor choice. It is a play that needs the space to breathe.
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Post by theatrelover97 on May 29, 2023 21:00:11 GMT
2 hours is pretty short for King Lear. Most productions have at least 45 mins more of stage time.
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Post by Jon on May 29, 2023 21:02:17 GMT
If they managed to condense Henry IV into one part at the Donmar then King Lear shouldn't be an issue.
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Post by theoracle on May 29, 2023 22:04:29 GMT
Could we have John Heffernan as Edmund and Tom Bateman as suggested above as Edgar?
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Post by nottobe on May 29, 2023 22:20:43 GMT
The Hopkins TV film is 1 hour 55 mins and that was an easy to follow and concise telling
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Post by Being Alive on May 29, 2023 22:30:01 GMT
Looking more and more likely this will be a one man Interpretive dance version of lear rather than...an actual full production.
McKellen's was almost 4 hours for heaven's sake.
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Post by Rory on May 29, 2023 22:36:51 GMT
Would help a bit if DMT+ actually gave advance notice of the dates and times.
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Post by joem on May 29, 2023 23:14:03 GMT
The play will run for two hours with no interval. Suspect there's going to be a lot of peeing on the heath.
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Post by Jan on May 30, 2023 7:13:18 GMT
The play will run for two hours with no interval. Must be the schools version.
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Post by Jan on May 30, 2023 7:18:09 GMT
If they managed to condense Henry IV into one part at the Donmar then King Lear shouldn't be an issue. I've seen a 1hr version of Hamlet. It's not whether you *can* do it, it's whether it is wise to do it.
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Post by Rory on May 30, 2023 9:25:13 GMT
It will surprise nobody to learn that the prices for this are absolutely scandalous.
Cheapest decent stalls seats are £87.25 with a smattering of £20 seats at the back of the stalls. First two rows not on sale so a lottery or something to come probably. You'd need to win the actual lottery to afford to book it in advance.
The West End becoming more ball achingly elitist with each new show.
So glad I have no particular interest in seeing this.
Disappointed in Branagh. You'd think he would at least give you the extra hour of the show for the prices they're charging.
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Post by ceebee on May 30, 2023 9:33:31 GMT
It will surprise nobody to learn that the prices for this are absolutely scandalous. Cheapest decent stalls seats are £87.25 with a smattering of £20 seats at the back of the stalls. First two rows not on sale so a lottery or something to come probably. You'd need to win the lottery to afford to book it in advance. The West End becoming more ball achingly elitist with each new show. So glad I have no particular interest in seeing this. Disappointed in Branagh. You'd think he would at least give you the extra hour of the show for the prices they're charging. Totally disagree. I booked two lots of three central stalls tickets. £85 per ticket - I think this is entirely reasonable and found the pricing structure surprisingly normal. Very happy with what I've bought and looking forward to seeing one of our finest actors play this iconic role
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Post by Rory on May 30, 2023 9:42:20 GMT
It will surprise nobody to learn that the prices for this are absolutely scandalous. Cheapest decent stalls seats are £87.25 with a smattering of £20 seats at the back of the stalls. First two rows not on sale so a lottery or something to come probably. You'd need to win the lottery to afford to book it in advance. The West End becoming more ball achingly elitist with each new show. So glad I have no particular interest in seeing this. Disappointed in Branagh. You'd think he would at least give you the extra hour of the show for the prices they're charging. Totally disagree. I booked two lots of three central stalls tickets. £85 per ticket - I think this is entirely reasonable and found the pricing structure surprisingly normal. Very happy with what I've bought and looking forward to seeing one of our finest actors play this iconic role We are all entitled to have our own opinion. I suspect you will be in the minority on this.
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Post by ceebee on May 30, 2023 9:48:03 GMT
Totally disagree. I booked two lots of three central stalls tickets. £85 per ticket - I think this is entirely reasonable and found the pricing structure surprisingly normal. Very happy with what I've bought and looking forward to seeing one of our finest actors play this iconic role We are all entitled to have our own opinion. I suspect you will be in the minority on this. Perhaps - though the pricing looks standard and comparable to most other west end productions. Prices are similar to what Life of Pi was charging.
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Post by Jan on May 30, 2023 10:10:35 GMT
Have they announced any of the other casting yet or is it being sold purely on Branagh's participation ?
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Post by Being Alive on May 30, 2023 13:54:00 GMT
Have they announced any of the other casting yet or is it being sold purely on Branagh's participation ? I refer you to my theory this is a one man Lear...
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Post by theatrelover97 on May 30, 2023 14:07:13 GMT
I got my tickets for this.
Wouldn't they have announced if it's a one man version. It would be a unqiue and fascinating production and a major selling point.
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Post by Jan on May 30, 2023 14:47:41 GMT
I got my tickets for this. Wouldn't they have announced if it's a one man version. It would be a unqiue and fascinating production and a major selling point. There was a one-man King Lear only a couple of years ago. There have been at least two high-profile one-man Macbeths and Eddie Izzard is threatening us with a one-person Hamlet. Only Othello to go.
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Post by Being Alive on May 30, 2023 16:03:15 GMT
Re the ticket price comment further up this thread - I think it's worth bearing in mind (as a wider point) that west end casts and crew just secured a 16.5% pay rise and that money is going to have to come from somewhere, and I can assure you the only place it will come from is the ticket prices
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Post by theatrelover97 on May 30, 2023 16:10:41 GMT
Re the ticket price comment further up this thread - I think it's worth bearing in mind (as a wider point) that west end casts and crew just secured a 16.5% pay rise and that money is going to have to come from somewhere, and I can assure you the only place it will come from is the ticket prices They might soon be getting very large pay cuts if the amount of productions start being reduced.
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Post by Being Alive on May 30, 2023 16:26:05 GMT
Just worth highlighting. That money is only going to come from one place: the ticket buying public.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2023 19:30:11 GMT
If the cheapest stalls seats are £85ish, how expensive are the other stalls seats please? And are prices essentially comparable in dress circle?
(Someone else is booking for me tomorrow as I’m in work calls all day, and unless I give Very Strict Instructions, I’ll end up with nothing at all!)
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Post by ceebee on May 30, 2023 20:01:27 GMT
If the cheapest stalls seats are £85ish, how expensive are the other stalls seats please? And are prices essentially comparable in dress circle? (Someone else is booking for me tomorrow as I’m in work calls all day, and unless I give Very Strict Instructions, I’ll end up with nothing at all!) £175 for "premium" seats, £150, £125 for best stalls/dress front. However, if you know the Wyndhams, the price difference between stalls row D and E is not an extra £40 per ticket. My advice is to aim for the £85 bracket if this is affordable to you. I appreciate that prices are high these days for most shows so apologise if I'm generalising a little about pricing - as we know, times are tight for many.
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Post by Jon on May 30, 2023 21:57:58 GMT
Re the ticket price comment further up this thread - I think it's worth bearing in mind (as a wider point) that west end casts and crew just secured a 16.5% pay rise and that money is going to have to come from somewhere, and I can assure you the only place it will come from is the ticket prices They might soon be getting very large pay cuts if the amount of productions start being reduced. We're not going to see dark theatres. It's hard enough for producers to secure these venues.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2023 22:09:55 GMT
Thanks ceebee! Yes, I reckon an £85 seat will do fine - though I could probably stretch to £125 if the (slightly) cheaper ones have gone on the dates I can do. (I rarely go to the theatre now, so the money saved helps a bit with the post-Covid increase in prices for things I really want to see.)
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