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Post by theatreloverlondon on Feb 18, 2024 9:12:59 GMT
I saw it on Wednesday night. The first act (2hrs) actually flew by. Very engaging but the second half was much much weaker to me. The constant singing was also jarring
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107 posts
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Post by pws on Feb 19, 2024 23:17:38 GMT
Saw this tonight. Some empty seats. Finished at 10.40pm
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Post by Forrest on Feb 24, 2024 17:06:19 GMT
I saw this last night... Well, only a half of it, as I'd left in the interval.
I found the first half completely numb(ing): I just didn't care about anyone on stage, and while I understood what was happening, it all felt so irrelevant and uninspired. In the middle of Lear's unravelling demise I found myself thinking about lunch tomorrow, and just decided to leave.
I'm not sure if it's Farber, or I'm just not appreciating the text enough, but for me it simply didn't work.
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Feb 24, 2024 17:09:00 GMT
O dear
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Post by blaxx on Feb 24, 2024 17:47:24 GMT
I saw this last night... Well, only a half of it, as I'd left in the interval. I found the first half completely numb(ing): I just didn't care about anyone on stage, and while I understood what was happening, it all felt so irrelevant and uninspired. In the middle of Lear's unravelling demise I found myself thinking about lunch tomorrow, and just decided to leave. I'm not sure if it's Farber, or I'm just not appreciating the text enough, but for me it simply didn't work. What show did you watch? It was thrilling from beginning to end, much better than recent Lears. Be glad you didn't catch those! |
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Post by parsley1 on Feb 24, 2024 18:39:26 GMT
Part of the issue
She thinks she is a “worthy” director
There is no joy or humour in her work
And whilst her early work was excellent
She is too pretentious in her approach and adds little
Definitely she should NOT direct Shakespeare
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Post by blaxx on Feb 24, 2024 22:34:04 GMT
Part of the issue She thinks she is a “worthy” director There is no joy or humour in her work And whilst her early work was excellent She is too pretentious in her approach and adds little Definitely she should NOT direct Shakespeare Sounds awfully personal. I personally found enough "humor" for such a tragedy. |
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Post by Forrest on Feb 25, 2024 18:51:03 GMT
I saw this last night... Well, only a half of it, as I'd left in the interval. I found the first half completely numb(ing): I just didn't care about anyone on stage, and while I understood what was happening, it all felt so irrelevant and uninspired. In the middle of Lear's unravelling demise I found myself thinking about lunch tomorrow, and just decided to leave. I'm not sure if it's Farber, or I'm just not appreciating the text enough, but for me it simply didn't work. What show did you watch? It was thrilling from beginning to end, much better than recent Lears. Be glad you didn't catch those! We agree to disagree, I guess. It just didn't connect with me on any level. I do acknowledge that that is entirely subjective, but I found it utterly disappointing. (I wish I hadn't and I'm glad you enjoyed it.) |
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Feb 26, 2024 23:55:52 GMT
Make your minds up guys. I’ve just booked cos everyone was saying it is good. Definitive opinion will follow.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Feb 27, 2024 1:00:05 GMT
This wasn't very good. Great cast but some of the main speeches were drowned by the the loud 'atmospheric' music. Yael Faber is such a pretentious director. Her style over substance approach to staging is really annoying.
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Post by blaxx on Feb 27, 2024 4:27:27 GMT
Make your minds up guys. I’ve just booked cos everyone was saying it is good. Definitive opinion will follow. Well I wasn't expecting much but I'm with the professional critics. I say just the end of Act I was worth the ticket. |
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Post by Forrest on Feb 27, 2024 8:23:22 GMT
Make your minds up guys. I’ve just booked cos everyone was saying it is good. Definitive opinion will follow. This made me laugh. I really hope you'll enjoy it. :) |
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Post by gcbf on Mar 20, 2024 17:33:22 GMT
I saw this last night and thought it was great. Danny Sapani was intimidating as Lear right from the get go, striding around in a power that seemed to captivate the whole room. There was lots of striking gore and violence which I enjoyed and the unravelling of the characters was done well, with an undercurrent of tension and discomfort.
However I wasn't as moved as I would have hoped for the ending and as others have noted the sound effects made it difficult to hear sometimes, never great for a Shakespeare. Quite a few people around me didn't know the story and I doubt that could have helped. Some aspects I felt lacked depth and I didn't feel a huge emotional depth. But overall a largely captivating treat and Danny Sapani was so compelling I feel glad to have seen him in this role.
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Mar 23, 2024 0:24:55 GMT
Classy. Thoughtful production. I loved the range of voices ( brilliant casting ) that all melded together when required. I didn’t mind the tweaks to the way it was done at the end. The usual way they do the end is a bit drawn out but this had some pace. Super way of doing the Fool. I’ve seen an older fool before but this mirror image of the king worked very well.
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Post by aspieandy on Mar 24, 2024 6:46:27 GMT
Thoughtful, well-conceived and executed, with a clearly committed cast. And I do want bold artistic choices. They're obv. not always going to be winners but bring on the big cojones. My difficulty is my own; I too recently rewatched the 2-hour BBC/Amazon Lear with Anthony Hopkins. Before that Branagh. A hard rain is gonna fall on subsequent Kings, at least for a while yet. This is a fine production. Considerable majority of the matinee crowd on their feet. 4* from behind a slim pillar.
* tried to exchange my seat but nothing to exchange with - rest of the run is a sell out.
** 3 1/2 hours with a 1pm kick off and a single 20-min comfort break. At least you avoid school parties ..
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Post by stevemar on Mar 27, 2024 16:44:17 GMT
A disappointing production overall, having enjoyed Yale Farber’s wonderful productions of Macbeth on the same stage and the Old Vic’s Crucible, as well as other Almeida triumphs.
There were many good points: the use of music and songs, and subtle performances by Fra Fee ploughing his own path as Edmund, Gloria Obianyo as Cordelia and Clarke Peters as The Fool. The vision was clear - ok using most of her trademark effects but still they worked.
However, particularly in the first half I couldn’t get on with the level of SHOUTING and overacting. Having seen the actors perform well elsewhere, personally I would put responsibility on the director. Everything was so unsubtle and shouty over the loud sound effects, particularly Goneril/Regan and Danny Sapani as Lear to the point I couldn’t look at him. I realise there is a level of anger in Lear, but it was then difficult to summon up sympathy for his fate in this production.
Whilst there was tremendous pace in the first Act, and the second Act was much more subtle and improved at normal volume.
I really wanted to like this given how dramatic and moving Lear can be.
7/10.
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Post by zuberin0 on Mar 27, 2024 17:31:32 GMT
The best Lear I have seen. Better than Jacobi, better than Beale, better than Warner.
(I did miss Glenda Jackson.)
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Post by Jan on Mar 27, 2024 19:51:55 GMT
Classy. Thoughtful production. I loved the range of voices ( brilliant casting ) that all melded together when required. I didn’t mind the tweaks to the way it was done at the end. The usual way they do the end is a bit drawn out but this had some pace. Super way of doing the Fool. I’ve seen an older fool before but this mirror image of the king worked very well. Yes I agree with that. 4* though it did lose momentum after the interval. |
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Post by argon on Mar 30, 2024 23:48:04 GMT
"However, particularly in the first half I couldn’t get on with the level of SHOUTING and overacting. "
I know shakespeare invites shouting but this was on a different level and unpleasant, I was smiling while being subjected to this for the simple reason I had a flashback to the recent excellent The motive and the cue. The scene were Gielgud (Gatiss) tells Burton(Flynn) that shouting is a power weapon that should be used sparingly.
3 stars just and one of those was for Peters' fool and the cast singing.
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Post by Jan on Apr 1, 2024 7:50:02 GMT
The scene were Gielgud (Gatiss) tells Burton(Flynn) that shouting is a power weapon that should be used sparingly. Gielgud was always accused of just "singing" Shakespeare, that is reciting the lines beautifully as if they were a poem. This was by proponents of Olivier who was seen as his great rival and who favoured a far more emotional, physical, and in some cases (like Coriolanus) shouty approach to the plays. So that line sounds like a very minor dig at Olivier. Gielgud was rather sensitive to noise. Well into the dress rehearsal of his 1968 production of Don Giovanni, with lots of people including the entire board of the ENO present, he noticed some chorus members who he had not so far directed. He rushed down to the front of the stalls to call a halt while he told them what to do but the orchestra ploughed on relentlessly, with Gielgud trying to make himself heard. Suddenly his voice rose above the din in an anguished wail: ‘ Oh, do stop that awful music !’ |
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Post by argon on Apr 1, 2024 22:35:50 GMT
The scene were Gielgud (Gatiss) tells Burton(Flynn) that shouting is a power weapon that should be used sparingly. Gielgud was always accused of just "singing" Shakespeare, that is reciting the lines beautifully as if they were a poem. This was by proponents of Olivier who was seen as his great rival and who favoured a far more emotional, physical, and in some cases (like Coriolanus) shouty approach to the plays. So that line sounds like a very minor dig at Olivier. Gielgud was rather sensitive to noise. Well into the dress rehearsal of his 1968 production of Don Giovanni, with lots of people including the entire board of the ENO present, he noticed some chorus members who he had not so far directed. He rushed down to the front of the stalls to call a halt while he told them what to do but the orchestra ploughed on relentlessly, with Gielgud trying to make himself heard. Suddenly his voice rose above the din in an anguished wail: ‘ Oh, do stop that awful music !’ Very insightful Thanks |
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