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Post by Jan on Oct 7, 2024 17:03:28 GMT
...Trelawny of the ‘Wells’ (Donmar) ... quite tedious. It's a good play but that was a very weak production of it ... in fact I'd forgotten I'd seen it and now can remember hardly anything about it. |
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Post by lonlad on Oct 12, 2024 22:11:01 GMT
Interesting matinee of CABINET MINISTER today -- Sara Crowe was off with laryngitis so Helen Schlesinger, script in hand and wearing street clothes, read Crowe's part, introduced by Nancy Carroll. Sold out house but the timing felt off, perhaps b/c of the replacement, and a couple of the regular cast members flubbed lines more than once. I'd say the production was enjoyable enough but the play feels overly plotted and, at least today, unduly manic and OTT. Would be curious to know how atypical this afternoon's performance in fact was. Nick Rowe terrific, as he always is.
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 13, 2024 16:36:35 GMT
Interesting matinee of CABINET MINISTER today -- Sara Crowe was off with laryngitis so Helen Schlesinger, script in hand and wearing street clothes, read Crowe's part, introduced by Nancy Carroll. Sold out house but the timing felt off, perhaps b/c of the replacement, and a couple of the regular cast members flubbed lines more than once. I was thinking about trying to see this at the start of November but this scenario is distinctly offputting, especailly the emergency cover being in modern dress. I can understand not having understudies for a short run but this is running for almost 2 months & it seems a bit unrealistic of the Menier to expect a cast of dozen to all manage to not miss a single show for that long. |
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Post by lt on Oct 13, 2024 17:11:18 GMT
Interesting matinee of CABINET MINISTER today -- Sara Crowe was off with laryngitis so Helen Schlesinger, script in hand and wearing street clothes, read Crowe's part, introduced by Nancy Carroll. Sold out house but the timing felt off, perhaps b/c of the replacement, and a couple of the regular cast members flubbed lines more than once. I was thinking about trying to see this at the start of November but this scenario is distinctly offputting, especailly the emergency cover being in modern dress. I can understand not having understudies for a short run but this is running for almost 2 months & it seems a bit unrealistic of the Menier to expect a cast of dozen to all manage to not miss a single show for that long. This is probably a silly question, but why is it unrealistic not to expect an understudy at the Menier? I'd be really disappointed to come to a performance and just have someone reading in modern dress. I went to a production at the Arcola several months ago, so presumably a much smaller budget and the playwright had to step in due to one of the actors being ill. And she did a brilliant job, although she had a script, she just made it seem like a prop and I never saw her glance at it all. She just seemed like one of the actors. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 13, 2024 17:28:04 GMT
This is probably a silly question, but why is it unrealistic not to expect an understudy at the Menier? No, I meant I think it's unrealistic of the Menier not to expect that they are going to need understudies at some point during a 2 month run, i.e. they should have understudies. |
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Post by Jon on Oct 13, 2024 17:30:42 GMT
This is probably a silly question, but why is it unrealistic not to expect an understudy at the Menier? No, I meant I think it's unrealistic of the Menier not to expect that they are going to need understudies at some point during a 2 month run, i.e. they should have understudies. Understudies are expensive for a theatre with 180 seats. |
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Oct 13, 2024 17:32:39 GMT
No, I meant I think it's unrealistic of the Menier not to expect that they are going to need understudies at some point during a 2 month run, i.e. they should have understudies. Understudies are expensive for a theatre with 180 seats. But the Menier does usually have understudies - at least for their musicals. The Baker's Wife did. |
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Post by amyja89 on Oct 13, 2024 17:59:42 GMT
I'll be there on Thursday night. Hope all cast illness will have subsided by then!
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Post by nash16 on Oct 13, 2024 19:42:14 GMT
I was thinking about trying to see this at the start of November but this scenario is distinctly offputting, especailly the emergency cover being in modern dress. I can understand not having understudies for a short run but this is running for almost 2 months & it seems a bit unrealistic of the Menier to expect a cast of dozen to all manage to not miss a single show for that long. This is probably a silly question, but why is it unrealistic not to expect an understudy at the Menier? I'd be really disappointed to come to a performance and just have someone reading in modern dress. I went to a production at the Arcola several months ago, so presumably a much smaller budget and the playwright had to step in due to one of the actors being ill. And she did a brilliant job, although she had a script, she just made it seem like a prop and I never saw her glance at it all. She just seemed like one of the actors. They barely pay their casts at the Menier, so v unlikely to start forking out for more actors. As always, it’s money, money, money. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 14, 2024 15:05:50 GMT
No, I meant I think it's unrealistic of the Menier not to expect that they are going to need understudies at some point during a 2 month run, i.e. they should have understudies. Understudies are expensive for a theatre with 180 seats. Right. This is absolutely standard in smaller venues isn’t it ? The Almeida and Donmar don’t have understudies for most of their productions. Even the RSC never used to have understudies for their Other Place productions, can’t recall if they do in the Swan. |
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Post by cherokee on Oct 15, 2024 9:46:59 GMT
It's a cast of twelve, of which about half play musical instruments. Providing adequate cover under those circumstances would be prohibitive to the production, I imagine. I can see why they'd hope for the best and deal with an emergency situation by drafting in a replacement if and when it covers.
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Post by amyja89 on Oct 17, 2024 18:16:48 GMT
Sara Crowe still off, poster says we’ve got Adele Anderson ‘reading’ the role of Dora tonight.
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Post by Jan on Oct 17, 2024 19:43:05 GMT
Sara Crowe still off, poster says we’ve got Adele Anderson ‘reading’ the role of Dora tonight. That is bad luck. |
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Post by amyja89 on Oct 17, 2024 21:37:25 GMT
Sara Crowe still off, poster says we’ve got Adele Anderson ‘reading’ the role of Dora tonight. That is bad luck. My luck was obviously in in the end, as we very much did have Sara Crowe in full costume and no script lol. Staff must have forgotten to take the poster down! A fun evening if not 100% to my taste. Stand out performances pretty much all round, but I guess traditional farce just isn’t my favourite. Would recommend for anyone who favours it though. My first time at the Menier. Great little venue, will definitely keep an eye out for future productions. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 18, 2024 6:19:02 GMT
My luck was obviously in in the end, as we very much did have Sara Crowe in full costume and no script lol. Staff must have forgotten to take the poster down! A fun evening if not 100% to my taste. Stand out performances pretty much all round, but I guess traditional farce just isn’t my favourite. Would recommend for anyone who favours it though. My first time at the Menier. Great little venue, will definitely keep an eye out for future productions. Oh good ! Self-interest because I'm seeing this next week. I like farce and it is an under-represented genre, we don't get much Feydeau, Aldwych farces, Whitehall farces even. |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 18, 2024 9:33:31 GMT
Sara Crowe still off, poster says we’ve got Adele Anderson ‘reading’ the role of Dora tonight. Oh that would have been HEAPS of fun! Adele and Dillie - great! |
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Post by david on Oct 19, 2024 21:09:03 GMT
My theatre holiday kicked off with a trip to the MCF for today’s matinee and what a great start it was too. A fantastic show from both director Paul Foster and his team an along with the wonderful cast assembled and I have certainly got no complaints from my viewing. Having got the ticket via the TT London theatre week offer, this one was worth every penny spent (£35 for seat A4) and I would highly recommend seeing this one with the various offers doing the rounds.
The set and costume designs from Janet Bird are top class and seeing the MCF stage crew completely disassemble the Act 1 set during the interval is worth staying in the auditorium for. With the full cast on this afternoon, this truly is an ensemble piece and everyone plays their part brilliantly in making for a fun filled viewing experience with plenty of laughs over the 2.5hr run time. For me it was a great way to unwind and didn’t require much thought watching it. The use of the actor-musician style in this production worked really well for me. Nancy Carroll has done a brilliant job in adapting the original text and making it feel relevant for a modern audience.
Rating - 5 ⭐️
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Post by meister on Oct 20, 2024 11:23:58 GMT
This didn’t work for me. Found the first half a laugh free zone and totally bland so bailed at the interval. If this version was after it had been ‘revised’ can’t imagine how awful the original is.
Also the seating at MCF is off putting - the part of the bench you are allocated is too small so everyone is jammed in - and then another person arrives!!! In fact I now find the whole MCF experience - ceiling height, foyer space, seating - too constricting. Wonder if it will improve once the building works - whatever they doing - have finished. For now I won’t rush back.
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Oct 20, 2024 11:33:59 GMT
This didn’t work for me. Found the first half a laugh free zone and totally bland so bailed at the interval. If this version was after it had been ‘revised’ can’t imagine how awful the original is. Also the seating at MCF is off putting - the part of the bench you are allocated is too small so everyone is jammed in - and then another person arrives!!! In fact I now find the whole MCF experience - ceiling height, foyer space, seating - too constricting. Wonder if it will improve once the building works - whatever they doing - have finished. For now I won’t rush back. Were you in Row D last night? I noticed a couple of non-returners. I thought this was good, but not as funny as I was expecting. It just never reached the dizzying heights farce can. It was more of a pleasant light comedy, which could have been made much funnier with better plotting. The highlight for me was Dillie Keane and Matthew Woodyatt as the Macphails - they had the best lines, delivered to perfection. |
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Post by meister on Oct 20, 2024 14:27:25 GMT
This didn’t work for me. Found the first half a laugh free zone and totally bland so bailed at the interval. If this version was after it had been ‘revised’ can’t imagine how awful the original is. Also the seating at MCF is off putting - the part of the bench you are allocated is too small so everyone is jammed in - and then another person arrives!!! In fact I now find the whole MCF experience - ceiling height, foyer space, seating - too constricting. Wonder if it will improve once the building works - whatever they doing - have finished. For now I won’t rush back. Were you in Row D last night? I noticed a couple of non-returners. I thought this was good, but not as funny as I was expecting. It just never reached the dizzying heights farce can. It was more of a pleasant light comedy, which could have been made much funnier with better plotting. The highlight for me was Dillie Keane and Matthew Woodyatt as the Macphails - they had the best lines, delivered to perfection. No, in row F. Couldn’t face another hour of squashed sombre sedate so-called comedy!! |
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Post by Jan on Oct 26, 2024 16:54:48 GMT
I found this very disappointing given it’s the type of thing I normally like. The acting styles were all over the place with some really shrill overacting causing a section of the audience to treat it as a pantomime and boo and hiss accordingly. It betrayed a lack of confidence in the play itself, which might be justified.
2*
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Post by samuel1980 on Oct 28, 2024 21:40:27 GMT
I agree this was very disappointing which is a shame as I liked the cast. I also bailed in the interval. Nice set though.
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Post by artea on Oct 29, 2024 23:12:04 GMT
The set disappeared at the interval. It was fun to watch the team lift it all up and carry it away. Nancy Carroll is very, very good. There was one moment in act 2 when she falls to the floor on her back which took me out of the farce and back to the Judi/McKellen Macbeth in the Pit. This tiny empty menier space could be fantastic for intense close shakespeare with Nancy Carroll.
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Post by jasper on Oct 30, 2024 10:56:22 GMT
The set disappeared at the interval. It was fun to watch the team lift it all up and carry it away. Nancy Carroll is very, very good. There was one moment in act 2 when she falls to the floor on her back which took me out of the farce and back to the Judi/McKellen Macbeth in the Pit. This tiny empty menier space could be fantastic for intense close shakespeare with Nancy Carroll. the Judi/McKellen Macbeth in the Pit. The Macbeth production you refer to was played in the Young Vic as the Barbican Pit was not open at that date. The production did play at the Other Place in 1976 and transferred to London in 1977. |
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Post by nancycunard on Nov 2, 2024 17:48:30 GMT
I absolutely adored this and found it a top to bottom delight!
That said, I’ve been a defender of the current slightly ramshackle iteration of the Menier but even I struggle to defend the state of it today. Having paying customers in a building site is a step too far.
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