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Post by Dave B on Mar 21, 2024 12:05:58 GMT
Just announced, based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro and has at least his approval if not perhaps even involvement.
Big fan of the book, had been idly thinking of a re-read just recently so I suspect we'll be out at this one. Comfortable seats and very reasonable prices at the Rose.
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Post by bordeaux on Mar 21, 2024 13:01:10 GMT
The same production will be at Bristol Old Vic, Malvern and Royal and Derngate, Northampton.
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Post by aspieandy on Mar 21, 2024 13:52:06 GMT
I hope they let go of more information.
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Post by showgirl on Mar 22, 2024 4:09:07 GMT
Interesting programming but none of it appeals to me, alas, least of all this one, as the subject is so depressing and sinister. Shame, as the theatre is quite pleasant if you choose your seat location carefully, though for me Kingston is a very slow trip via CLJ as there are no fast trains.
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Post by Dave B on Aug 9, 2024 17:58:59 GMT
Has anyone been to Rose recently? I am kind of interested in this. I was going to get one of their 'secret seats' but none are on sale and the info page about the seats seems to have vanished from their website. Anyone have any info?
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Post by David J on Aug 9, 2024 18:31:27 GMT
I was going to get one of their 'secret seats' but none are on sale and the info page about the seats seems to have vanished from their website. Sounds like someone at the Rose Theatre needed to be shown the definition of 'secret' |
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Post by dr on Aug 12, 2024 14:57:26 GMT
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Post by jr on Aug 12, 2024 21:02:44 GMT
I'd rather have this song.
Ishiguro and Stacey Kent are really good friends.
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Post by Steve on Sept 28, 2024 17:41:14 GMT
Saw this at Rose Theatre's matinee yesterday, and really liked it, as it's really well dramatised and acted. It is a very odd story though, and its oddness rubs me up the wrong way, but sometimes being rubbed up the wrong way is exactly what you need to make you think lol. Some spoilers follow. . . This story is like Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," in that it seems written to humanise the protagonists, in this case, clones who are raised as spare parts (like Prince Harry, but considerably less feisty), but these protagonists are almost too saintly in their acceptance of their fates, which they know. This is like "Logan's Run," where the characters don't do enough running, or like consumers knowingly noshing away on "Soylent Green." If people were really like this, there would be no revolutions. Overlords perpetuating injustices will be flocking to buy tickets to discover the secret of keeping their rubes placid without the need to spend billions creating divide-and-conquer propaganda channels like Fox News, which can be distastefully divisive and can result in legal blowback. For your regular punter, though, Nell Barlow's wonderfully likeable benignly head-girlish, Enid-Blytonish Kathy H is a terrific lead, and her triangular relationship with Angus Imrie's precious impish but naive Tommy and Matilda Bailes's feisty scheming bestie, Ruth, is a great entertaining watch. Personally, Bailes's mean girl antics resonated best for me, as I read them as an angry subconscious red-pilled reaction to the dystopia she was living in. A profoundly odd, disconcerting and slightly off-putting play, brilliantly rendered. 3 and a half stars from me.  |
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Post by lt on Oct 2, 2024 17:28:02 GMT
This fell rather flat for me, it lacked the underlying menace of either the book or the film. I don't think it's necessarily a very easy story to adapt for the stage, so that may be part of the problem. Particularly in the first half when Kathy, the key female protagonist and "carer", is retelling the story of being brought up in the Hailsham "school", it felt rather stagey and artifical to me.
I thought the second half was better and had more of a narrative drive. On the positive side, the friend I went with liked it more than me. I don't know if it makes a difference, but she hadn't read the book. Whereas, it's a novel that I know well.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 3, 2024 9:13:44 GMT
I thought this really poor to be honest. While I thought the lead Kathy H was quite excellent in almost every way, I didn't buy into a single relationship. There was so much telling and so little showing. There was no heart or soul and the Kathy, Tommy and Ruth triangle left me cold - so far from the book.
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Post by joem on Oct 4, 2024 23:29:08 GMT
Kazuo Ishiguro is for me - and for the Nobel Prize committee - one of the greatest living novelists, he has a distinctive way of writing - sort of naive, deadpan yet informed - which he has used to write a series of novels in various genres which are all linked by his style. and the fact that whatever the genre or the settings they are all intense studies of the human condition, we (or his characters) share universal values and concerns This is his "science-fiction" novel.
I don't think it is possible to get the most out of this play without knowing the original novel (also adapted for film) and I suppose that can be considered a weakness although it does work as a stand-alone play even if the novel's strengths are somewhat diluted. The novel has moments of heartbreaking pathos which are difficult to translate onto the stage, Ishiguro's writing is not always easy to depict visually. This leads to a bit too much telling rather than showing in the stage adaptation. I think reading the novel makes the dystopia easier to understand - these are not weird people in our world, these are victims in a world which we could deteriorate into - exploited and only wanting to be normal and lead a normal life. This is at the heart of the ethical questions Ishiguro poses.
Worth mentioning that at least three school parties were at the performance I attended - I don't know if this has become a set text - and I was gratified by how well behaved and yet involved in the performance they seemed to be. I think it was probably because of the age of the characters and the themes portrayed, which would have appealed to a young audience. If only 2% of them become lifelong theatregoers, it will have been a worthwhile exercise.
The cast is very hard working and Nell Barlow as Kathy is a revelation. I think we'll see much more of her in the future.
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Post by theatreian on Nov 3, 2024 22:53:09 GMT
I really enjoyed this when I saw it in Malvern yesterday. It's such a different story which I wasn't familiar with. It's interesting seeing things you may not normally see as I volunteer in Malvern theatre. I thought it was very well acted and staged well. It is quite thought provoking given the subject matter.
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Post by darreno on Nov 4, 2024 9:19:38 GMT
Saw this Saturday matinee at Malvern and absolutely loved it! Was drawn in right from the start and it kept my attention held the entire time.
Nell Barlow as Kathy is absolutely incredible, she was a huge part of why it was so gripping, as was Angus Imrie as Tommy.,, a difficult part to play considering the jumps in timeline and the development of his character.
The direction and pacing here is done to perfection, any slow moving story, which reveals itself to the audience in layers, relying on the audience to understand, is tricky to get right and this gets it spot on.
I have not read the book, nor seen the film, so went into it blindly, purely because of a ticket offer and the word dystopian in the advertising. That was enough for me to book, then avoid looking up any more info.
Now that I've read a little more into it, I can see how difficult this must have been to adapt for the stage, so kudos to those who did, as they have made something really gripping, with heart, paced to perfection and avoided the pitfall of too much exposition (which is very much a trap that presents itself when writing/producing sci-fi).
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