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Post by happysooz2 on Jan 6, 2024 22:51:31 GMT
The Encounter played at the Barbican and used the same binaural headphones. I don’t know enough about theatre accessibility to know if the hearing loop at most theatres would allow every attendee to be plugged in. Bet someone on here will be super knowledgeable though.
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Post by mistressjojo on Jan 7, 2024 1:56:17 GMT
Do we think a transfer is on the cards for this? Must be tricky with the headphones? I think the trickier part would be finding a suitable venue *and* David Tennant Bing available at the same time The man never rests!
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Post by mistressjojo on Jan 7, 2024 12:10:27 GMT
Do we think a transfer is on the cards for this? Must be tricky with the headphones? I think the trickier part would be finding a suitable venue *and* David Tennant being available at the same time The man never rests!
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Post by theatremiss on Jan 7, 2024 16:00:41 GMT
I saw this last night. Some great acting but it seemed very short and lacking in depth and detail. I’m sure I’m in the minority but I hated the headsets. From a personal level they hurt my ears as I wear glasses and they rub. But, I would much rather have heard the actors speak rather than have it be piped through my ears via a headset. At certain points I actually removed the headphones so I could hear clearly. I also hated the breaking of the fourth wall, it added nothing to it for me. My daughter however liked it, but I think just because it made her laugh as she couldn’t say the benefit of having it in, not what the production would be like if it was removed. I do have another trip booked with another friend, but had it been up to me I wouldn’t have gone a second time.
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Post by lichtie on Jan 12, 2024 15:10:53 GMT
Saw this last weekend and been mulling over it since. I can't help feeling that for the most part the headphones were there to give the atmospherics, rather than the stated means of allowing us to hear the actors talking quietly. I checked a few times and I could hear them well enough anyway even in such scenes. I would have thought that cunningly placed speakers could have done the same job without the need for us all to sit there wearing rather naff headphones. I can see how the atmospheric sound effects help to present a play like this in such a small space, so it's not a criticism of their use, just the practicalities of how it's delivered.
As to the performance itself, both DT and CJ bring out the characters well, and give their all (please ignore the idiotic article in the Spectator about the play). Not so convinced by the rest of the cast I'm afraid but that's partly in the nature of the play (and there was too much doubling up of minor parts to clearly delineate them anyway).
Overall glad I saw it.
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Post by Latecomer on Jan 13, 2024 20:35:28 GMT
This was disappointingly style over substance. It was a bit like someone had done everything in a different way just for the sake of doing it differently. So at all points I was like “oh, interesting costume choices, black kilts, each one with the same tilt to the hem and varying pleats” and then thought about those for a bit….or “oh the sound through headphones, that’s new” and then thought about that for a bit…..or “no witches, just headphone noise”and then thought about that for a bit…..”the porter as modern standup” ….and then…..somehow I was thinking about ALL THE OTHER THINGS and the play passed me by? No emotional impact at all for me. Which is a pity. I’ve seen far better. Or maybe my brain was just too easily distracted by it all?
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 15, 2024 15:59:14 GMT
I've seen a couple of posts now mentioning "no witches". Weren't they in the back, behind the glass, to the right?
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Post by Latecomer on Jan 15, 2024 17:03:42 GMT
I've seen a couple of posts now mentioning "no witches". Weren't they in the back, behind the glass, to the right? Maybe I missed them? I did find the “behind the glass” stuff quite hard to see (or more accurately focus on) at times….plus the side stalls felt quite low down a lot of the time, as the stage was raised and the glass window high too, so didn’t make for the easiest view.
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Post by happysooz2 on Jan 15, 2024 22:59:02 GMT
I've seen a couple of posts now mentioning "no witches". Weren't they in the back, behind the glass, to the right? Maybe I missed them? I did find the “behind the glass” stuff quite hard to see (or more accurately focus on) at times….plus the side stalls felt quite low down a lot of the time, as the stage was raised and the glass window high too, so didn’t make for the easiest view. yes, I think at least two of the musicians voiced the witches, but they never appear on stage.
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 16, 2024 11:48:39 GMT
but they never appear on stage. Not in front of the glass, certainly. But there seemed to be a fair amount of action behind the glass throughout the play (although I grant much of it was poorly lit, so somewhat hard to see). I could have sworn I saw at least two women speaking the lines during the witches' scene.
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Post by happysooz2 on Jan 16, 2024 14:54:50 GMT
Sorry, yes, I should have been more specific. I was in the stalls, just next to the musicians and there was some glare on the glass. I could be wrong that it was the musicians speaking those lines and I didn’t buy a programme.
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 18, 2024 1:25:14 GMT
I could be wrong that it was the musicians speaking those lines and I didn’t buy a programme. I don't know if the figures I saw were actors or musicians. Or swear that they were meant to be the witches, for that matter. That's just what I thought they were. And I didn't buy a program, either.
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Post by Courfeyrac on Jan 18, 2024 9:47:28 GMT
I did buy a programme, but no-one was credited for the witches. My best guess is that their lines were divided between the cast (including the musicians).
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Post by Being Alive on Jan 24, 2024 13:21:41 GMT
The Porter scene in this made me the most angry at a show I've been for years - I couldn't believe what the director had instructed him to do (to the point I was going to pick up my bags and leave)
It's so frustrating because I was actually quite in until that moment. The sound and headphones thing worked for (despite the budget airline 00s headphones)- atmospheric, with the Witches being voices adding to things for me. Tennant I thought was terrific - really knew what he was going for and was the driving force which I haven't often seen in production. Jumbo less successful - I think the idea works, but the execution was poor (and her choice of accent just didn't make any sense)
It was a comfortable 4 stars for me til the Porter scene, but that made me so angry that I have to settle on a 3 as I couldn't get back into the show properly after that.
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Post by happysooz2 on Jan 24, 2024 19:49:57 GMT
I’d forgotten about Cush’s accent. In the end I decided that she was going for some words being more Scottish, that her Lady Macbeth wasn’t from Scotland but had picked up a bit of the accent from the people around her.
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Post by drmaplewood on Jan 25, 2024 8:15:39 GMT
The Porter scene in this made me the most angry at a show I've been for years - I couldn't believe what the director had instructed him to do (to the point I was going to pick up my bags and leave) It's so frustrating because I was actually quite in until that moment. The sound and headphones thing worked for (despite the budget airline 00s headphones)- atmospheric, with the Witches being voices adding to things for me. Tennant I thought was terrific - really knew what he was going for and was the driving force which I haven't often seen in production. Jumbo less successful - I think the idea works, but the execution was poor (and her choice of accent just didn't make any sense) It was a comfortable 4 stars for me til the Porter scene, but that made me so angry that I have to settle on a 3 as I couldn't get back into the show properly after that. I am surprised that there hasn't been more criticism of this, to the point that as no reviews seemed to mention it, I thought it might have been taken out (I saw it in previews). It took me out of it completely.
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Post by ladidah on Jan 25, 2024 8:51:42 GMT
What is the scene?
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 25, 2024 9:29:27 GMT
I think a prior post describes it, but it's basically a stand-up comedian interacting with the audience in an awkward, uncomfortable way.
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Post by ladidah on Jan 25, 2024 9:32:25 GMT
Sounds awful! thank you
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Post by n1david on Jan 25, 2024 10:01:00 GMT
In a different production it could work, but this Macbeth is so carefully constructed to create an evocative soundstage and a very 'designed' world, that someone coming in and breaking the fourth wall (it's the Donmar - also the second and third) in such a clumsy way changes the mood completely. I'm surprised it's still in there to be honest.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 26, 2024 22:50:16 GMT
Tix on the Noticeboard.
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Post by kate8 on Jan 27, 2024 7:58:06 GMT
I quite liked the porter. I dread being picked on myself, but luckily I was in the circle. It was an okay balance between original text and updates. By that point the tension seemed even greater than in a normal Macbeth, perhaps because the headphones blocked some of the usual things that break your focus - sweet wrappers, coughing, etc. So I liked having a breather from being absorbed in the play before it ramped up again with the discovery of the body. Isn’t that what the porter scene is all about - breaking the tension for a bit while the actors have a wash?
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Post by rumbledoll on Jan 29, 2024 13:57:59 GMT
I needed some time to adapt to the headphones. In order to persuade my mind that it is indeed live and not the recording I hear I took them off completely for the first 15 mins and to be honest.. even a whisper could be heard in the Circle so tiny this place is. I put them back on as I thought oh well it was intended this way.. but still not entirely sure it was all that necessary. I found this quite a disappointment, more of style over substance. The monochrome design is beautiful and the more affecting in the very final scene when the colour suddenly pops up. Apart from the porter (he should have cut his act at least in half, it was amusing but stopped being funny after 2 minutes or so) I found this a traditional version, no big findings or revelations (unlike the other Macbeths I have seen, e.g. John Heffernan’s character in YV production clearly having PTSD or Saoirse Ronnan’s Lady M present for MacDuff’s family being murdered). I also loved the Almeida’s take on the final image, much darker and fitting, as if to say the bloodbath will go on and on, with other faces showing the same ambition, as long as there’s such thing as power. Here the garden growing makes it too cheerful and out of logic. Solid performances snd s nice try, but will I remember it come summer? Probably not.
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Post by cavocado on Jan 29, 2024 14:49:27 GMT
I also loved the Almeida’s take on the final image, much darker and fitting, as if to say the bloodbath will go on and on, with other faces showing the same ambition, as long as there’s such thing as power. Here the garden growing makes it too cheerful and out of logic. Solid performances snd s nice try, but will I remember it come summer? Probably not. Good point about the final scene. I doubt anyone believes in the divinity of kings now, so it's hard to see the ending as about the natural order being restored and a rosier future ahead. I also liked the Almeida's final tableau with its suggestion that Fleance will be the next one to be corrupted by the thought of power. But I do think I'll remember this Macbeth, particularly as an ensemble piece, and the menacing atmosphere created by the soundscape. I think in both the ALmeida and Donmar productions the Lady Ms, Ronan and Jumbo, were more memorable for me than the Macbeths.
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Post by theatremiss on Jan 29, 2024 16:56:35 GMT
The Porter scene in this made me the most angry at a show I've been for years - I couldn't believe what the director had instructed him to do (to the point I was going to pick up my bags and leave) It's so frustrating because I was actually quite in until that moment. The sound and headphones thing worked for (despite the budget airline 00s headphones)- atmospheric, with the Witches being voices adding to things for me. Tennant I thought was terrific - really knew what he was going for and was the driving force which I haven't often seen in production. Jumbo less successful - I think the idea works, but the execution was poor (and her choice of accent just didn't make any sense) It was a comfortable 4 stars for me til the Porter scene, but that made me so angry that I have to settle on a 3 as I couldn't get back into the show properly after that. I totally agree. I was second row behind the woman he “picked on”. Had he done that to me I would have left. Breaking the 4th Wall, it was an utter mess and did nothing to enhance the production
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Post by amybenson on Jan 29, 2024 17:21:28 GMT
Saw this referenced on twitter as proof that there are indeed plans to broadcast the show
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Post by theatremiss on Feb 1, 2024 10:14:11 GMT
If anyone is interested I have returned 2 tickets to Macbeth at the Donmar for this Sat Eve, B34/35 in the stalls
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Post by matty on Feb 2, 2024 22:32:01 GMT
Saw this tonight and didn't mind the headphones. I thought they were great at the start with the witches coming through them in the dark. There were a few times where I did struggle to hear the actors over the atmospherics, but they weren't many and I think they worked when the characters were actually whispering.
Loved DT and CJ. But overall I think I preferred the Almeida version (the only other one I've seen).
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Post by aspieandy on Feb 2, 2024 23:11:56 GMT
I saw it tonight, as well. << SPOILERS AHOY!! >>>
You’re inviting a pretty high bar with headphones and, imo, the added texture and colours almost got them there. What got them comfortably over the bar was an added level of comprehension – divvying up the spoken and thoughts/emotions worked very well. Super clear, easier insights.
Among the big successes was obviously hearing the last breaths of mother and daughter (rather than peering at them at distance).
I also liked the non-interval interval – giving people a chance to take off the ‘phones and have a bit of a rest from it all. Tbh, it took me a moment because we were clearly off-script but confirmation (the reference to a current, unpopular politician), was helpful. Later twigged this was the guy who also introduced the evening. I'm glad he mentioned 'radio play' because, beforehand, I was worried about that.
Loved the music and, actually, all the behind the glass screen activity.
Tennant and Jumbo are in their elements here; top level performers on their game.
Really quite glad to be there. Solid choices throughout, ambitious to an extent, and I was happy to buy in.
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Post by aspieandy on Feb 4, 2024 17:12:39 GMT
Do we think a transfer is on the cards for this? Must be tricky with the headphones? I think the trickier part would be finding a suitable venue *and* David Tennant Bing available at the same time The man never rests! I imagine all of this was planned - and in the important diaries - over 12-months ago. Details and issues long since sorted.
As long as the momentum of the run holds up, they know exactly the where's and when's.
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