703 posts
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Post by theatremiss on Sept 22, 2024 12:48:35 GMT
Saw the matinee today and found it soporific. I was literally nodding off. I think the main fault is with the verse speaking, which for me had very little expression to it - it seemed almost monotone - but I found the whole production rather lacklustre. I completely loved the Donmar-Hiddleston production and kept flashing back to the aspects of that production that for me were so much better than this. Obviously, the verse speaking was a big part of that - there is a huge difference between listening to actors who make verse sound completely natural and expressive and those who don’t. Then, there was the humour that an actor like Mark Gatiss can bring to a role, and of course, the fight scenes, which really lack that sense of viciousness and personal animosity in this production. The slow motion just took all the impact out of them - I did not believe for one moment that these men were trying to kill each other. The prop and set work, while technically impressive, also seemed over-fussy to my eye, and I really didn’t get what the point of the museum-style display was. Other than the chance for a beauty-shot of Oyelowo at the end. The projections were fine, not overused or too distracting. I also found it disappointing that the NT coulda’t find a few supernumeries to bulk out the plebeians, who were rather thin on the ground. I was at Sat’s matinee. The bar was set high for me as I loved the Donmar production with Hiddleston. I’m afraid I left at the interval as I could utilise my time better until I was at the Young Vic for the evening. I liked the set but couldn’t really understand the museum element of it unless it was to focus the “Rome” setting and video tends to make me switch off as Ivo Van Hove has sucked the life out of using it in productions now. Not going to lie, I nodded off at one point and felt I just couldn’t give it another hour or so. It looks like I’m in the minority over this. |
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5,138 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 23, 2024 21:23:00 GMT
A mixed bag tonight for me.
The positive:
- design is great - properly classy and really works, is cohesive and makes sense.
- some really strong supporting performances (particularly Peter Forbes and Pamela Nomvete.
-the cuts are quite substantive to bring it to a 2hr 45 run time (considering the Hiddlestone version I believe was over 3 hours?)
The negatives:
- it's a dreadful play that I need never watch again.
- oddly, David Oyelowo. I found him strangely underpowered all evening, which was weird because I could see in his performance that it had been meticulously thought out every single second, but lots of it didn't travel across into the auditorium.
It sits at 3 stars for me, but I could understand 4s if you found Oyelowo worked for you.
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2,476 posts
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Post by zahidf on Sept 23, 2024 21:25:45 GMT
I enjoyed this tonight. I quite liked Oyelowo's performance, thought it was a great set. Liked the fight scenes.
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1,276 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Sept 24, 2024 16:10:22 GMT
This just ok for me. The set is stunning and some of the fight scenes were breathtaking, but some of the performances were not quite there yet in spite of being the last preview. Three stars.
I was surprised at the amount of empty seats last night in spite of being heavily papered.
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 24, 2024 19:57:13 GMT
This just ok for me. The set is stunning and some of the fight scenes were breathtaking, but some of the performances were not quite there yet in spite of being the last preview. Three stars. I was surprised at the amount of empty seats last night in spite of being heavily papered. Hassold appallingly It’s Shakespeare without a major celebrity What do you expect Most people don’t really like or want to see him |
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1,217 posts
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Post by nash16 on Sept 24, 2024 23:06:46 GMT
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 24, 2024 23:16:08 GMT
2 stars Times
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Post by cavocado on Sept 25, 2024 9:49:24 GMT
A big range of reviews for this - 5 starts from Time Out, 4 from the Standard & Independent, 3 from the Guardian & Stage, 2 from the Times. Could we have a poll please BurlyBeaR? |
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19,650 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 25, 2024 9:55:49 GMT
Action is eloquence… cast your vote!
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167 posts
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Post by cherokee on Sept 25, 2024 10:12:34 GMT
I enjoyed this on the whole. It looks great - although the decision to have set changes happen during scenes is really distracting. There's a particularly egregious one during one of Kobna Holdbrook Smith's speeches in Act 2, where two ensemble members lug a wooden block all away across the stage in preparation for the next scene.
I liked David Oyelowo, and he was particularly powerful at the end of Act 1, although I thought he lacked chemistry with Holdbrook Smith's Aufidius - and the homoeroticism (implicit in the text) was entirely absent.
The weakest link was Pamela Nomvete's Volumnia, who really wasn't up to the role, and was nervous and fumbling, on one occasion losing her lines mid-speech and uttering a very unShakespearean "you know" as she tried to get back on track.
Still, Peter Forbes' Menenius gave the most moving moment of the evening, in the scene where Coriolanus rejects him.
A solid three stars from me.
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5,138 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 25, 2024 12:36:24 GMT
In this instance though I'm with her. She's literally written exactly what I think are the issues with the show, so for me (in this one off instance!) her 3 stars actually is fair. |
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 25, 2024 13:04:28 GMT
Is this the new Normal for every show to cancel their 1st preview? May well be right As Dorfman has cancelled first preview tonight |
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 26, 2024 18:07:14 GMT
This just ok for me. The set is stunning and some of the fight scenes were breathtaking, but some of the performances were not quite there yet in spite of being the last preview. Three stars. I was surprised at the amount of empty seats last night in spite of being heavily papered. f*** me I have NEVER seen the Olivier this empty In 30 years of NT going Pretty bad tbh |
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Post by Fleance on Sept 26, 2024 19:37:09 GMT
This just ok for me. The set is stunning and some of the fight scenes were breathtaking, but some of the performances were not quite there yet in spite of being the last preview. Three stars. I was surprised at the amount of empty seats last night in spite of being heavily papered. f*** me I have NEVER seen the Olivier this empty In 30 years of NT going Pretty bad tbh You should have been there for Mandragola in 1984! |
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 26, 2024 19:44:21 GMT
It has to be said
Es Devlin is a true genius
Usually her designs are the best thing about any show she is associated with
And often this is a problem for everyone and everything else going on
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Post by aspieandy on Sept 26, 2024 20:56:16 GMT
You should have been there for Mandragola in 1984!
Paradise by Kate Tempest (in the Olivier) was peak Woke in late-ish 2021 and became a proper Greek tradegy. Closed the Circle for part of that run.
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Post by Jan on Sept 27, 2024 17:02:58 GMT
This just ok for me. The set is stunning and some of the fight scenes were breathtaking, but some of the performances were not quite there yet in spite of being the last preview. Three stars. I was surprised at the amount of empty seats last night in spite of being heavily papered. f*** me I have NEVER seen the Olivier this empty In 30 years of NT going Pretty bad tbh Oh there’s been worse but almost by definition we’ve forgotten them. I could look them up but the one that occurs to me is Richard Eyre’s production of Johnny on a Spot that played to 28% capacity across its entire run in the Olivier. |
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Post by parsley1 on Sept 27, 2024 17:53:46 GMT
I did not think this was bad
As with all Shakespeare plays
It’s overlong and stretched out
But the staging and sets and direction were intelligent and eye catching
Very good use of video sound and lighting
Interestingly I found most of the peripheral roles better acted
The “main” characters were poor
Whoever played the wife needs to find a new job
And although Pamela Nomvete is a seasoned and respected actor I find her voice very strained with an unpleasant timbre
Her skills of emotions are definitely powerful but rather lacking nuance
Loved the tribunes and the attention to detail in each scene is pretty impressive
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Post by timbotim on Sept 28, 2024 20:31:11 GMT
More style than substance in this underwhelming production. Not the first time I've seen the National throw all its considerable resources at a show but fail to get the basics right. David Oyelowo plays Coriolanus as a decent soldier who gets a bit peeved at being asked to play the politician. That's about it. There is little sign of Coriolanus' arrogance or contempt for the masses, and far too little vocal variety. Coupled with some pretty run-of-the-mill acting from some others, this leaves a hole where the tragedy should be. The key relationships with Aufidius and Volumnia are under-developed, leaving Menenius and the tribunes to dominate. Meanwhile we had a parade of what are fast becoming modern-dress-Shakespeare cliches - scenes played as press conferences, live video projections, yet another cuboid set, plus an annoying soundtrack that the poor performers had to fight against. The money wasted on these peripherals would have been better spent on more heavyweight actors (ideally better-known actors too - the auditorium was half-empty on Thursday night) and hiring some extras. You cannot expect five or six placard-waving actors to fill a space the size of the Olivier.
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19,650 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 30, 2024 11:56:49 GMT
There’s an almost free ticket on the Noticeboard for tonight.
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Post by jr on Sept 30, 2024 16:45:50 GMT
There’s an almost free ticket on the Noticeboard for tonight. Bit last minute but got the ticket from NT. Stalls D3 If anyone can make it DM please. See details on noticeboard. |
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181 posts
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Post by caa on Oct 1, 2024 14:24:13 GMT
A mixed bag tonight for me. The positive: - design is great - properly classy and really works, is cohesive and makes sense. - some really strong supporting performances (particularly Peter Forbes and Pamela Nomvete. -the cuts are quite substantive to bring it to a 2hr 45 run time (considering the Hiddlestone version I believe was over 3 hours?) The negatives: - it's a dreadful play that I need never watch again. - oddly, David Oyelowo. I found him strangely underpowered all evening, which was weird because I could see in his performance that it had been meticulously thought out every single second, but lots of it didn't travel across into the auditorium. It sits at 3 stars for me, but I could understand 4s if you found Oyelowo worked for you. I agree with most of your comments although I would as great as the design is, I don't understand the need to fill it with museum objects and the final scene seems odd. I was sat next to people one of whom fell asleep and another seemed to be on their phone, they did not return after the interval and yet it seemed to get a good reception by the audience. I don't want to single out the lead actors but it does seem that they are in a different play, underpowered seems the right phrase. I was left thinking that is was ok but found myself distracted by the music the costumes and why actors were moving things around seemingly for no good reason. |
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4,955 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 2, 2024 9:30:11 GMT
The play managed to shine through the endless scene changes. Why the museum setting? If more time was spent on character and not on Pickfords removals i could have enjoyed it more.
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15 posts
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Post by robwilton on Oct 13, 2024 21:44:39 GMT
The greatest pleasure of the evening for me was Es Devlin's attractive set: it's imaginative and ingenious, and provides very varied acting spaces and some striking stage pictures.
But ...
Unfortunately, I found the production to be fatally undercast; only one of the principal actors (Peter Forbes) has sufficient gravitas and presence to carry off these heavyweight roles.
And this text is in Shakespeare's mature style (written after 'King Lear' and 'Antony and Cleopatra'): in other words, the vocabulary is often obscure, and the use of the iambic pentameter sophisticated. This cast seems to have had no help bringing it to life, with the result that the verse speaking is monotonous, often sing-song, and frequently unintelligible. So, for me, this production of a potentially volcanic play turns out to be a damp squib. What a shame.
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Post by johnjohotspur on Oct 14, 2024 17:54:00 GMT
More style than substance in this underwhelming production. Not the first time I've seen the National throw all its considerable resources at a show but fail to get the basics right. David Oyelowo plays Coriolanus as a decent soldier who gets a bit peeved at being asked to play the politician. That's about it. There is little sign of Coriolanus' arrogance or contempt for the masses, and far too little vocal variety. Coupled with some pretty run-of-the-mill acting from some others, this leaves a hole where the tragedy should be. The key relationships with Aufidius and Volumnia are under-developed, leaving Menenius and the tribunes to dominate. Meanwhile we had a parade of what are fast becoming modern-dress-Shakespeare cliches - scenes played as press conferences, live video projections, yet another cuboid set, plus an annoying soundtrack that the poor performers had to fight against. The money wasted on these peripherals would have been better spent on more heavyweight actors (ideally better-known actors too - the auditorium was half-empty on Thursday night) and hiring some extras. You cannot expect five or six placard-waving actors to fill a space the size of the Olivier. |
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