Juno and the Paycock w/ Mark Rylance - Gielgud

BurlyBeaR Can we have a poll please...

Saw this yesterday and was unimpressed. I thought at the end of the first act, oh here we go, but then it never really took off. What a shame.

I usually try and see MR, too and I know he divides opinion. Several people I spoke to thought he was overacting in Richard III at the Globe.  I thought he was superb.  I also loved Rooster Byron but even there I was a little worried by his dominance.  As Captain Jack I thought he stood out from the rest of the cast; but, this time, not in a good way.  When I asked myself if I'd forgive anyone other than Rylance for this performance, the answer I gave myself was a definite 'no'.  I'll still go and see him in his next role but this was the first time I've thought he got it very wrong.

Obviously, how you prepare is your decision but you might be interested in the comparison between my experience and that of my companion at the production who was 'going blind'.  I've read the script and seen the play several times and I thought this was the worst interpretation of the play I've ever seen as well as the only disappointing performance I've seen from Rylance.  My companion (who had seen and liked Rylance as Dr Semmelweis) left with the feeling that there was a good play in there somewhere but we hadn't seen it.  As I posted earlier, this might have been due in part to the awful acoustics in the rear stalls; but he found the production disjointed and often hard to follow.  And he specifically found the comic elements annoying and distracting.

Specifically on the script.  If you choose not to read it in advance it's worth noting that the Irish pronunciations are largely written into the text (as well as the title!) eg struttin' about the town like a paycock; entherin' the neck...penethratin' the heart; the boul' Joxer ...and that's just in the first few pages.  So that, at least, is something that can't be blamed on the cast overacting!

Really enjoyed this on Saturday. I think it's an amazing play. Never seen another production so can't compare. Thought Rylance was excellent and found him hysterically funny in the comedy bits. Hilton was also terrific and the rest of the cast did a great job too.

The response from the audience was enthusiastic and almost everybody in front stalls gave a standing ovation.

Saw this at the matinee yesterday - 2/3 panto, 1/3 tragedy, in terms of acts 1 and 2, then act 3. But then a panto ending as well! I suppose you could play this largely for the comedy pairing but I doubt it's what O'Casey had in mind. But the real problem, as lots of others have noted, is that the rest of the cast seem to be inhabiting a very different play from Mark Rylance, with the possible exception of Paul Hilton. If you're going for a light afternoon's comedy which features terrorist murder as part of its theme, this will be right up your street...

For what it's worth I was right at the back of the stalls and the acoustics were fine.

Was this perfect, no, did I think it was a good production of an Irish classic, yes. Rylance is a version of Rooster Byron but it works and overall the cast are very good. What stops it from really soaring unfortunately is J Smith Cameron. It felt like she was so focused on the accent, which wasn’t terrible, that she lacked the emotional punch needed for the character. Even though they’re miced, she still swallowed dialogue. She wasn’t terrible by any means but just didn’t look comfortable up there. 4 stars just, from me. The direction, majority of the cast, set and lighting were really good.

Anyone know what time the review embargo lifts?

Am guessing it might be midday today, or SFP could trench it until tomorrow.

Yikes, that’s not a good sign.

A Thursday Press Night is usually to get them out in the weekend papers for maximum publicity.

Sonia Friedman's track record is usually decent but clearly this is a stinker akin to Lyonesse.

Others are allowed to dislike something that you liked you know

I wonder what the consequences would be if the press ignored the embargo and published on Sunday anyway? It’s not for the management company to manage expectations by interrupting the news cycle because they suspect their product not being favourable?

Spiderman reviewers did this on Broadway, after another aborted opening night, the critics lost patience and went ahead anyway. But Juno has A superstar producer?