Follies

Can you still see facial expressions from the front of the circle ?

I sat 3 rows from the back of the circle for £20 and had no issues with the view at all, it lets you take all of the staging in without feeling like you're miles away from it 😀

I saw it from the front row of the circle and thought my seat was perfect. You got a big panoramic view of all the spectacle and yet the more intimate scenes felt very close. Everyone in the row seemed overwhelmed when Philip Quast started Too Many Mornings.

For anyone interested, there are currently 8 cheap £15 front stalls tickets available for Wed 20 March (max two per person). In fact, it is the only day those cheap tickets are currently available in the run. Just thought I would post as people here have always been so helpful in getting returns or cheaper seats which suddenly become available, and just noticed this is my first post this year! I shall try to find more time to post...

PS Loved this show on the second viewing (first viewing in 2017). Such a superb cast, and very moving.

Well done NT on the cheap tickets deal! Theatre must,must must reach out to the younger generations.They are the audiences of the future when old fossils like myself are long gone.

Will be in full attendance at The Making Of Follies tomorrow daytime and the show in the evening

Really enjoyed on Monday but not as much as with the previous cast. I saw it from row C Stalls and loved to be so close.

Claire Moore was totally meh for me. Her Broadway Baby fell a bit flat.

Tracie Bennett gets a lot of criticism but  really enjoyed her performance now as much as I did  18 month ago.

Felicity Lott was fantastic as Heidi.

Joanna Riding was great vocally but acting wise I prefer Imelda Staunton as Sally.

Alexander Hanson was truly awful or maybe he was just having an off day. He kept moving his mouth strangely as if he was chewing gum, although I don't think he was, and also kept moving his glass manically all over the place spilling his drink around. Didn't like his performance at all, really missed Philip Quast who was excellent when I saw him.

Janie Dee and Peter Forbes were both brilliant, as good if not better than when I saw them before.

Just my two cents.

The Making of Follies NT Tuesday. I was one of 3(?) TB attendees and I hop others will chirp in. ( Sorry if I missed you, I wasn't in my original seat as they put me next to my Daughter.)


The Olivier was about 1/4 full. More males and there was a distinct gap in age between students and the rest. Most sessions were compered by Kate Mosse who was likeable and knowledgeable but a bit fond of her own voice and on a couple of occasions had clearly not listened to an earlier answer.

Started at 10am with an interview with Dominic Cooke. Missed the start due to traffic jams but it seems the he started with two hurdles. To get Sondheim's permission and Imelda Staunton on board.

He said Sondheim attended the first two previews and changed his mind about requesting the two guys in drag in Buddy's Blues.

They stuck pretty faithfully to the original script except finding Sally's line (From memory) "I should have died the first time..." in a later iteration.

He also said he tried to make it as much as possible about the younger versions seeing their older selves and what they’d become and how the older actors should be taking cues from them. Throughout the day there was much talk of ghosts and how the two actors interacted and 'mirrored' behaviour. He said the four main characters were all having a breakdown.
One song was dropped because in the first previews it didn’t work (Sorry memory failure about which one).
Although he's quietly charming he didn't give away that much apart from everyone on the team being simply marvellous.... My Daughter was very impressed with the team’s knowledge and love for the project, so brush my cynicism aside…

15 min break and then Set and Costume design with Vicky Mortimer and two back of house staff Iona Kendrick and Sarah Mercer.

As with all the following sessions this was valuable to a non professional like me, showing how many people are involved and what their roles are.

ON stage were various costumes and I loved seeing how similar elements were used in the two versions of Sally’s party dress. Colour, bows, pockets - similar but 30 years fashion apart. With the 1970’s version noticeably shorter.

Vicky did demonstrate all the 'ghost's' colour palate was muted.

The detail was fantastic.

There were Q&A chances at the end of each session, and I missed the chance to get my Question heard. Isn't the mature Phyllis's outfit a variation on the traditional Vietnamese Costume, Ao Dia? Quite the statement costume for an American politicians’ wife in 1971?
There then followed half and hour with the “running Wardrobe team” who are quite separate from the original “Production Wardrobe team”. Julie Burns McKenzie and Amanda Tyrell. The art of sleight of hand and stage magic. Velcro was possible for this show; but because its noisy, only for costumes going on, not coming off.
Lunch

then from 1.45 to 3pm a Rehearsal demonstration with associate director Josh Seymour, MD Nigel Lilley, Claire Moore, (the quite lovely!) Lisa Ritchie (who was Claire's 'ghost' also dance Captain) and Vanessa Fisher (ghost to Stella)
Although the meat of this session was the deconstructing of the performing ‘Broadway Baby’ by Josh and Claire the others contributed a lot as well.
Throughout the day the revelation detial one wouldn’t nictce was incredible. All the Ghost spend a long time – upto and hour and Quarter – just standing on stqge. Depending on which Folly they appeared in their stance subtly altered.

Josh explained how they spent along time trying to find a way to present Broadway Baby as part of the show and not a stand alone number – as most of the audience would know it. Hattie starts seated seated looking around her old dressing table. She’s back in a world she’s left far behind. She starts off not sure she wants to perform her old no, but a pivotal moment comes as she sets down her handbag and stands up and starts to move. We see her ghost echo this (slightly contradictory to Dominic’s earlier Comment) and there’s a brief moment of recognition when they see each other. Hattie like many of the Characters are reconciled with their past and leave the stage. Those with issues, stay behind.
Claire Moore was also lovely.

Finally David Marsland and his team demonstrated how such a complex production worked including transforming to a Proscenium Auditorium for Loveland.

A final Q&A had a brave man admit he really didn’t get what Phyllis was challenged about in her Loveland no? Josh explained she was confused as to which was the real Phyllis and who did she want to be, the dancer who started out or the person who she’d become.
So was it worthwhile? Definitely.
VFM? Mmmm £60 was steep, £15 Students tickets good.
Only for nut jobs like me (an anyone reading this)? Probably, there was a lot of talk about how much they talked everything over, but I’m really glad I went.


This is all from memory so I’d be happy to be corrected if anyone else feels I’ve misrepresented things.

Off to The Nash today to see Tracie sing I'm Still Here live once again. 🙌🙌

Stop Press! We're thrilled to announce a last-minute addition to our talks and events line-up.

This Friday, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim will be in conversation with Dominic Cooke (Follies) on the Olivier Stage to discuss the production and his multi-award winning career.

Gutted! I can't get any earlier flight down on Friday to catch this.  Someone please send a private plane for me, you don't get many chances to meet your heroes in this life.