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Post by tmesis on Mar 1, 2019 21:54:45 GMT
That's because they always go to people who have priority booking (£80.) I've seen it three times from row B in the stalls but only because I've coughed up that amount. Even then, within half an hour or so there's usually nothing left in the front three rows. I must say that paying £80 in order to be able to buy a £15 seat does seem counterintuative to me. (See also the ROH.) I just checked my diary and during the whole of 2018 I went to 16 productions at NT, nearly all at the front for £15/£18 and 30 productions at ROH also all reasonably priced tickets. To be able to achieve that I paid priority/Friends membership of £80 and £96 respectively so I would say that was more than worth it. |
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Post by sf on Mar 1, 2019 22:17:20 GMT
That's because they always go to people who have priority booking (£80.) I've seen it three times from row B in the stalls but only because I've coughed up that amount. Even then, within half an hour or so there's usually nothing left in the front three rows. I must say that paying £80 in order to be able to buy a £15 seat does seem counterintuative to me. (See also the ROH.)
It works out at £6.70 a month. To me, the benefits are worth the cost, and it's not just about early access to tickets. It's about supporting the institution.
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Follies
Mar 1, 2019 22:22:03 GMT
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 1, 2019 22:22:03 GMT
Also most of the seats in first three rows are on sale for the Entry Pass under 25 scheme at 7.5£ each
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Follies
Mar 2, 2019 11:37:13 GMT
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 2, 2019 11:37:13 GMT
I must say that paying £80 in order to be able to buy a £15 seat does seem counterintuative to me. (See also the ROH.) I just checked my diary and during the whole of 2018 I went to 16 productions at NT, nearly all at the front for £15/£18 and 30 productions at ROH also all reasonably priced tickets. To be able to achieve that I paid priority/Friends membership of £80 and £96 respectively so I would say that was more than worth it. I guess if you're seeing 16 productions then it is worth it. I was thinking of someone seeing 3-4 productions a year, as I thought that was about how many the NT did each year. Sounds like getting anything at £15 is going to be pretty much impossible for me so I guess I'd better write off trying to see Follies. I can't justify paying about £70 in order to see Dame Felicity sing 1 number. |
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Post by tmesis on Mar 2, 2019 11:59:36 GMT
I would say that, on a very rough average Dawnstar, the three theatres that make up The National mounts five to six productions each a year, totalling around 15 - 18 different plays. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 12:14:34 GMT
As I said on another thread, all £15 tickets should be priced normally until public booking opens. These are tickets which should be aimed at people who don’t attend the National, go infrequently or are unable to pay the large amounts of money needed for anything beyond advance membership. To have people interested but unable to access productions in a subsidised, flagship theatre is very poor. Yes, they would still be competing with others when public booking opens but at least they have a chance and those who really want to see something will already have paid the £35ish amount they could probably easily afford.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 2, 2019 13:00:21 GMT
I love how every thread eventually degenerates into a) theatre prices discourse b) blind casting discourse, or c), where's the interval, I need to pee
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 2, 2019 19:05:42 GMT
I would say that, on a very rough average Dawnstar , the three theatres that make up The National mounts five to six productions each a year, totalling around 15 - 18 different plays. This shows that I pretty much never go to the NT! I've only seen 2 productions there in my life (& 1 of them, The Light Princess, I detested). |
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Post by welsh_tenor on Mar 2, 2019 19:21:40 GMT
Right I’m here in my seat and ready to see the show!
I literally know nothing about the show, not the era, the style, the country! Excited to be going into something blind!
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Post by tmesis on Mar 2, 2019 19:36:13 GMT
I would say that, on a very rough average Dawnstar , the three theatres that make up The National mounts five to six productions each a year, totalling around 15 - 18 different plays. This shows that I pretty much never go to the NT! I've only seen 2 productions there in my life (& 1 of them, The Light Princess, I detested). Well, there I have to agree with you. I absolutely loathed every second of The Light Princess. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 2, 2019 21:06:58 GMT
Glad it wasn't just me. There was one scene, when the Princess was force-fed & was sick, that gave me a panic attack. If I hadn't been stuck right in the middle of a row I would have left. It really put me off wanting to return to the NT (or to see Rosalie Craig in anything ever again). Fortunately Follies in in the other auditorium or I think I'd have problems with trying to see it.
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Follies
Mar 2, 2019 22:28:26 GMT
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Post by Being Alive on Mar 2, 2019 22:28:26 GMT
Does anyone know when the understudy run is for this. ?? My friend covers Carlotta and Phyllis and I’d love to be able to go see but can’t find the date (she also won’t tell me 😂)
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Post by welsh_tenor on Mar 3, 2019 11:19:15 GMT
Nothing else to add on what’s already been said, I’m so glad I saw this last night it truly is a spectacle! From the moment the first girl appeared on the top of the balcony, to the tap number (wow!) and the individual follies at the end - wow again! So many highlights but obviously Janie Dee and Jo Riding were outstanding. I really enjoyed Tracie Bennet too and the audience lapped it up. Felicity Lott and Alison Langer were mesmerising in their solo number as Heidi, Alison especially has such a beautiful voice. Not knowing there wasn’t interval until I picked the tickets up and having been out drinking since midday (birthday trip to London!) I worried about the old bladder but fortunately no disasters and no one around us left to pay a visit either, perfect audience! Huge thanks to Being Alive for the recommendation, I saw this purely on his raving tweets and am so glad I did. |
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Post by Being Alive on Mar 3, 2019 12:27:41 GMT
Huge thanks to Being Alive for the recommendation, I saw this purely on his raving tweets and am so glad I did. My work is done  |
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Post by orchidman on Mar 4, 2019 19:12:20 GMT
I think this is probably the best production currently in London, or at least close with Hamilton and that will run and run. It definitely worked better for me with Joanna Riding, much more believable as a former showgirl and as someone who Ben might still fall for thirty years on. My memory isn't 100% but liked the small changes to the staging, it felt like there was more interaction between the younger and older selves which really works.
Anybody who saw it last time and is on the fence, don't hesitate to revisit it.
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 7, 2019 17:06:15 GMT
Just booked for these events and thought others on here might also be interested: ‘The Making of Follies’ day - looks fascinating, with talks from the director and some of the designers, a session showing how they approached rehearsals, and technical demonstrations of set and lighting. I love behind-the-scenes stuff like this and student tickets are a bargain at £15! www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/making-folliesI’m also going to one of the ‘After Lights Down’ tours showing workshops and backstage areas and ending with the change to go on the Olivier stage: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/after-lights-down-tours |
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Post by lewis on Mar 7, 2019 23:47:31 GMT
Does anyone know when the understudy run is for this. ?? My friend covers Carlotta and Phyllis and I’d love to be able to go see but can’t find the date (she also won’t tell me 😂) next tuesday afternoon |
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Post by distantcousin on Mar 8, 2019 8:14:08 GMT
Just booked for these events and thought others on here might also be interested: ‘The Making of Follies’ day - looks fascinating, with talks from the director and some of the designers, a session showing how they approached rehearsals, and technical demonstrations of set and lighting. I love behind-the-scenes stuff like this and student tickets are a bargain at £15! www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/making-folliesI’m also going to one of the ‘After Lights Down’ tours showing workshops and backstage areas and ending with the change to go on the Olivier stage: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/after-lights-down-tours
I'm going to the Making of Follies.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Mar 8, 2019 9:59:19 GMT
Does anyone know when the understudy run is for this. ?? My friend covers Carlotta and Phyllis and I’d love to be able to go see but can’t find the date (she also won’t tell me 😂) next tuesday afternoon Do you know if you need an invite or is it just a 'turn up and get a seat' situation like they did for Antony and Cleopatra? Thanks |
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Post by tommy on Mar 8, 2019 20:51:12 GMT
Looking forward to tomorrow's matinee!
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Follies
Mar 9, 2019 1:09:02 GMT
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Post by Being Alive on Mar 9, 2019 1:09:02 GMT
Does anyone know when the understudy run is for this. ?? My friend covers Carlotta and Phyllis and I’d love to be able to go see but can’t find the date (she also won’t tell me 😂) next tuesday afternoon 12th or 19th is that?? |
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Post by songbird on Mar 9, 2019 22:28:35 GMT
Just saw this evening's performance. I must say I enjoyed it far more this time round compared to a couple years ago. It was phenomenal. Jo is a great casting choice and far more convincing than Imelda.
Still not convinced on the lack of interval, especially with the front Olivier stalls seats being so uncomfortable.
Faultless production apart from one change in Live Laugh Love. I think the staging of the breakdown was more effective in the older version. Previously the ensemble were more bewildered, at a loss for words, whilst trying to make the song go on.
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Post by callum on Mar 9, 2019 22:37:40 GMT
Just saw this evening's performance. I must say I enjoyed it far more this time round compared to a couple years ago. It was phenomenal. Jo is a great casting choice and far more convincing than Imelda. Still not convinced on the lack of interval, especially with the front Olivier stalls seats being so uncomfortable. Faultless production apart from one change in Live Laugh Love. I think the staging of the breakdown was more effective in the older version. Previously the ensemble were more bewildered, at a loss for words, whilst trying to make the song go on. Yep - 18 months ago I felt the whole atmosphere in the audience change thinking that Quast had genuinely forgotten the routine. Not so much this time so not as effective, but AH is doing his own thing. |
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Post by horton on Mar 10, 2019 9:59:41 GMT
Even as a Sondheim purist, I'm not convinced about the lack of an interval either.
I am tempted to believe that the original show was written without intermission partly because these creatives were toying with the form; was it different for the sake of being different?
I can't see any arguments for this story not suiting an interval that would not apply to any other Sondheim show. Yet they all have intervals- and Anyone Can Whistle has two! (If any show demands an interval cut it would be 'Sweeney' so that the audience never escaped the grip of the "thriller".)
It seems a pity to hamper a show, that already demands more maturity and thought from its audience than the average musical, with an unnecessarily unconventional structure.
I think Act 2- even in this "re-write"- would be more effective if there was there was an interval, but I think Who's That Woman or I'm Still Here would need to be the Act 1 closer. That would not be difficult, though, as neither impacts on the progression of the main plot.
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 10, 2019 10:11:26 GMT
I have to agree with most of whats been said by others - it's still just as brilliant as its previous incarnation. A masterpiece from Dominic Cooke. 'Who's That Woman' was joyful and thrilling, and did seem more complex than before. 'I'm Still Here' was, dare I say, even better than last year. If Bennett was deviating from the path before, someone's clearly reigned her in as last night's rendition was focussed, funny, and musically close to perfection. I actually preferred Felicity Lott to Josephine Barstow - 'One More Kiss' was heartbreaking and beautiful last night, and pulled emotion out of me that it failed to last year.
It's very much still the Janie Dee and Peter Forbes show, but Joanna Riding made me understand Sally in a way Imelda didn't and her voice is much more suited to the score. I did, however, feel that Imelda's 'Losing My Mind' was better. In my opinion it didn't need the extra things that have been added, and while Riding knocked it out of the park musically I felt she didn't quite capture the same devastation that I got from Imelda. Regarding Alex Hanson - I would've said he was perfect if I hadn't seen Philip Quast. Unfortunately Hanson suffered from the change to 'Live, Laugh, Love' which made it less effective - I would like to see what he could've done with it had it been left in the form that Quast was given.
All the other new cast members were very good as well, although I did feel that the only one of the young lovers who managed to capture the same sparkle as their previous counterpart was Gemma Sutton. Im nitpicking though, this is still a 5 star sensation and deserves to be remembered as a NT triumph for a long time.
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