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Post by theoracle on Sept 17, 2023 11:18:21 GMT
Has anyone had a chance to see this yet? Very intrigued to see Jemma Redgrave’s name attached and downstairs shows typically have been better than upstairs in recent experience. Please do share thoughts
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Post by Dave B on Sept 17, 2023 12:24:24 GMT
Going tomorrow night, will report back  |
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Post by Dave B on Sept 19, 2023 8:03:29 GMT
I thought this quite a misfire.
There is a lot to like in the script and at times Ewan Miller and Jemma Redgrave have fantastic chemistry together (in particular while dancing) but....
The framing device of it being partially narrated just doesn't work and it slows and drags the entire thing down. It is also more than once superfluous, if narration is needed to tell us what the look on an actors face means... yikes isn't that why we have actors? It also just doesn't match up, the narration talks about a conversation bringing a smile - no smile on actors face. Redgrave's character is all "pointy" and talks with her hands but other than a brief effort at the point of this narration, the character does not. An extended moment where a full yoga workout is described but of course we see no yoga. It is never made clear who they are telling this story to or why. But the narration is used to jump back to place context around events, who is telling this, what is the point?
The story itself is okay, the characters introduction is smart and funny, a lot of the plot with grief and Frances is good - or at least has the potential to be good but again it never quite clicks. The writer's talent comes through more than once but I kept wanting an editor to have taken a heavy hand. Good use of Bowie, quite a fun soundtrack. The change for the last song (no pun intended for those that will get that!) is fab and I adore 'em but the moments when I felt the most engaged in the characters was the dancing, maybe even bonding through music. One downside of the songs is that it becomes very easy to see the amount of fidgeting and looks of boredom around the room, if the audience gets more engaged when you play over a Bowie classic, it might not all be quite working the way you intended.
Two stars for me - 1.40 straight through and oh boy does it feel it. Amused at a handful of people standing immediately last night but led by the person who had a very nice sleep during the first half an hour or so...
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Post by cavocado on Sept 29, 2023 18:56:40 GMT
I found this way too opaque. I wasn't exactly bored by it but saw a few people snoozing. I wanted to like it and felt like there were glimpses of a good play, but a lot of the time it felt like a Radio 4 programme with a biologist and an anthropologist discussing octopus intelligence and whether humans can ever really understand animals, or even each other. What I understood of that discussion was interesting, but not really dramatic enough. I agree with Dave B about how odd it was that the narration doesn't match the action. After reading the programme, I think it's making a point about our lack of tools to understand others, human and animal. Marek Horn says in the programme that the characters observe one another and "share their observations with each other and the audience and, in doing so, reveal far more about themselves than they might have intended." There's some discussion in the play about how we make up stories to explain the world, so I guess describing things that aren't really happening is a way of showing us that process? I think they are both unreliable narrators, finding each other as unknowable as the octopus. But to be honest, I didn't see any of this during the play, just from reading the programme on the way home. Horn also talks in the programme interview about writing a very long first draft and refining it again and again. I wondered if he'd over-edited and lost the clarity and some of the meaning in the process. You shouldn't have to read the programme to make sense of the play. I liked both performances and the Bowie dance bits, but still only 2 stars from me too. |
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Post by Steve on Sept 30, 2023 12:19:39 GMT
This was ok, with Jemma Redgrave's deep feeling character the best thing about it. Some spoilers follow. . . I also enjoyed what this had to say about octopuses, and felt I learned something about them, including how their behaviour suggests they have feelings. On the other hand, I didn't much enjoy the fact that the play itself is as cold and calculating as Ewan Miller's scientist character: all thinking, no feeling. This is a bit like "2001: A Space Odyssey," where the octopus (like Hal the computer) has feelings, but the male scientist (like Dave in 2001) is the real robot. But unlike 2001, where Kubrick approaches all "life" with quizzical awe, this play thinks it's got everyone's number, and feels more limited. It is fascinating watching Jemma Redgrave's character, who has so much in common with the octopus, try to bond with Mr. Robot through dancing to David Bowie songs, though the Bowie songs themselves suggest he is the real alien. If the octopus was a character in this play, played by an actor rather than just talked about, the play would be much more involving and moving. 3 stars for Redgrave and interesting ideas. |
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Post by dlevi on Oct 1, 2023 9:06:06 GMT
A ridiculous and boring play which makes little sense, ineffectively staged, designed and acted ( Sorry Gemma). The audience at least was able to sleep fairly peacefully.
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Post by jr on Oct 2, 2023 10:05:23 GMT
I saw this Sat evening. It could have been shorter and not sure what the point of this play was. I was more interested in the relationships (personal and professional) between the two characters than anything else. I always find really annoying when they tell you things instead of showing them, it feels like they are reading the stage directions.
The Bowie songs/dancing interludes are a drag. The acting was fine but I don't think they had much to cling to.
Not as bad as other members thought it was but def needs a lot of work to male it more interesting. They have published the script so I assume the writer has no intention of doing any further work on it.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 5, 2023 11:46:10 GMT
All seats to October 28th are £10 with code OCT10 if anyone wants to make up their own mind (via the OffWestEnd.com newsletter) |
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Post by theoracle on Oct 23, 2023 22:31:31 GMT
I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. Not perfect but not bad. Both actors I thought were evenly matched and it was exciting to see how the power dynamics shifted throughout the show. Dame Vanessa was in the audience tonight and also clearly enjoying the show too
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