Salomé - National 2017

Yes I saw Berkoff in the part. My main memory of it was that it proceeded at a glacial pace, as you say, and tedium set in very early. The dance of the seven veils was mimed by the fully clothed Schlesinger so that was disappointing too. Actually I quite liked Berkoff's work at the time but this was a total dud. It would be interesting to see a revival of "East" - his play in verse about East End yoof - I thought it was great at the time but I wonder how it looks now. 

Ooh I was sitting in second row and thought there was something weird down there, but not being familiar with female anatomy I did say nothing. But I was very suspicious.

Times review is worthless. 

Billington quite amusing on this, complaining about the terrible script;

"Herod has the worst of it: at one point, he informs Salomé, “Between your thighs are secret ravines that will quench my thirst,” "

Does Wilde's Salome actually work on the stage. The Royal Opera's opera version is terrific, especially the last ten bloody minutes. But oh I have just remembered the Ken Russell film.....oh yikes.

I guess this just shows how unpredictable theatre is - on paper this should have been a sure-fire hit and an obvious choice for NT Live. Poor sods...

That's interesting - thinking about it, you're probably right - a big name in the theatre world but I guess that's a small section of the country. And no big acting names to sell it either. Yeah, now I think about it, odd.

I wonder how committed the new regime is to NT Live? Maybe they want to say it's failing so they can bin it and spend the money on something else.

The only time I have come across SALOME is in Merchant Ivory's A SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES. The tween heroine goes to the opera with her gender-non-conforming boyfriend and his mother, played by Jane Birkin. The production is an avant-garde production of SALOME, complete with a heroin-injecting climax. It is roundly booed apart from Birkin and son who leap to their feet in earnest applause.

The girl dumps him soon after.

I love the NT live, but the last few I have seen have been somewhat plagued with technical problems, mainly being out of synch, which is pretty disastrous for a play.

Well. I almost volunteered to put my own head on the platter if it could have ended sooner.

There's a lot of walking s-l-o-w-l-y for those who like that kind of thing. The revolve does a nice bit of work which is always nice and there's a bit of ladder work which breaks things up a little.

Now I'm all for a bit of revisionist text but the main problem here is that Salome just isn't that interesting in this. There's some other version of her talking to the audience from a ramp at the front of the stage but the younger version has all of the stage presence and expression of a slightly damp tea towel. God knows how she managed to incite a revolution but she does cover herself in sand rather thoroughly so I appreciate her conviction.

There are some nice visual moments and the dance where she's wafting around a few old curtains is rather effective. The singing is good also. The script is a pile of old twaddle and mostly delivered like the cast have only just read it and can't believe how dreadful it is.

John the Baptist comes out of it best, even though he spends all of his time in a loincloth. Seems a shame he ends up the way he does but then perhaps in the end it was a blessed relief for him.

I wonder how badly they suffer from their generous returns policy - how many people cash in their tickets for a credit note following. bad reviews ?

I think there's a good chance of that. I'll usually book for most things at the NT and then return if I hear bad things or don't fancy it when it gets nearer the time. The alternative is hearing about an amazing hit and then not being able to get decent tickets. If they're going for a more diverse audience, there may be more returns than there were in the Hytner era, wonder if they will have to increase the charge?

I think it's interesting that Hytner has carried that policy over to the Bridge, although they have many fewer productions and so may be carrying a higher proportionate level of unused credit at any time.