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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 12:20:00 GMT
Its one of those shows where I can see why some don't liek it. If the reviews are bad, I won't be mad about it too much even though I enjoyed the show. Its not like Big Fish where I was genuinely pissed off how that show was reviewed. It didn't deserve that, that is a beautiful show.* *can you tell I'm still bitter.  |
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Post by foxa on Dec 14, 2017 12:45:58 GMT
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Dec 14, 2017 12:59:53 GMT
I really enjoyed it too, and I really liked the large puppets. In particular, I loved the Gepetto puppet, I thought it was really expressive, and really suited its voice and the way it moved. Perhaps with the large puppets it helps being far away? I was near the back of the circle, so I wouldn't have been able to see actors' expressions anyway, so for me it really worked with the puppets.
The show itself is good, but flawed. As someone said above, it could do with ten minutes of dialogue being trimmed in each half, and at least one more proper song near the beginning.
The only scene I really didn't like was the Pleasure Island sequence. I found it overlong and offputting, but then it's like that in the film too - the whole concept of that is really flawed. No sympathetic characters,it's VERY obvious to the audience what is happening ("lol they can't read"), and I could particularly have done without the whole Wee Jimmy Krankie routine we got from the main child character too.
Other than that, for all I was restless at times, I have to admit the ending really got me - and that's when I realised I was engaged and invested. So it definitely did something right.
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Post by MrBunbury on Dec 14, 2017 13:00:20 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Dec 14, 2017 13:10:43 GMT
Nothing at all from press night yet? Seems very odd. They've been embargoed so as not to impact on the corporate night tonight. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 13:12:38 GMT
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Post by lonlad on Dec 14, 2017 13:35:29 GMT
Saw it last night - very poor indeed. The few songs that are there get reprised endlessly and the second act grinds to a dead halt during the nasty and interminable Pleasure Island sequence. The book is underwritten and often doesn't make sense, and Tiffany's normally unerring eye for stagecraft seems pedestrian and lazy. Other than that, I loved it LOL! Some stood at the end as is de rigueur but there were a lot of grumpy, dismayed faces near me as we made our way up the aisles.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 13:44:45 GMT
Pulled it now, must have missed the embargo (although you can still see it via the cached page on Google). |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 13:54:28 GMT
Please m’m How many stars was it they give |
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Post by foxa on Dec 14, 2017 13:56:30 GMT
Four stars.
Loved the puppetry.
Said his 12 year old grandson enjoyed it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 14:03:56 GMT
Said his 12 year old grandson enjoyed it. Probably great-grandson, if it was Michael Billington. Or great-great-grandson. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 15:30:27 GMT
Four stars. Loved the puppetry. Said his 12 year old grandson enjoyed it. Thanks |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 15:30:50 GMT
Said his 12 year old grandson enjoyed it. Probably great-grandson, if it was Michael Billington. Or great-great-grandson. Too funny I wonder who will take over from him |
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Post by alicechallice on Dec 14, 2017 15:41:10 GMT
You, hopefully.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 19:31:05 GMT
Went to the platform tonight which was interesting but I think the press night is tonight as it was busy and Tiffany mentioned it. Maybe something got lost in translation when the NT were changing it.
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Post by nash16 on Dec 14, 2017 19:54:10 GMT
Went to the platform tonight which was interesting but I think the press night is tonight as it was busy and Tiffany mentioned it. Maybe something got lost in translation when the NT were changing it. Last night was Press Night. Tonight is their Gala/Sponsors night. Reviews embargoed until after this night so as not to upset the funding peeps in case negative. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2017 0:27:51 GMT
No wonder they wanted the reviews embargoed Nothing but 3 stars other than Billington And criticism across the board Of the confused nature of this show And comments on the sloppy staging The NT really is the sh*ts of late Isn’t it I have always despised John Tiffany’s direction Done on a crappy budget But pretending it’s lavish using a bit of lighting And gauze on wires Just like Harry Potter Hardly the Chanel Haute Couture show For me he embodies everything tacky and awful and pretentious about the theatre After this cack up let’s see how quickly Disney make this mistake again One can only wonder what magic their own theatrical arm would have done with this show My sister who often comes to the theatre Passed comment How all NT shows are average and cheap looking What has happened there?  |
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Post by nash16 on Dec 15, 2017 3:20:38 GMT
3* is what it deserves. None of the mainstream papers have gone above this, beyond Billington as Parsely points out, but his review is more a summing up of events, rather than actual an actual critique. The West End Whingers review is brilliant: westendwhingers.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/review-pinocchio-national-theatre/But the review for Exeunt Magazine nails it in it's first two paragraphs. The show forgot its audience: "I’m sitting in the stalls at the Lyttleton, flanked by two kids. I know the girl to my left: this is Qeiva. She’s ten years old and one of my favourite people to take to the theatre. She’s smart and sparky and utterly unafraid to say what she thinks. By the end of this dark and overly complicated take on Pinocchio – part pantomime, part sh*t scary fable, part nightmarish puppet show and part schmaltzy musical – Qeiva is plaiting my hair and sketching in my notepad. I’m fairly tempted to join her, despite all the imagination and thought that has so obviously been poured into this show (perhaps a little much too thought, a little too many flourishes and not enough plain fun). Meanwhile, there’s the girl on my right. I don’t know this girl but she seems thrilled to be at the theatre. Some of the signs are good: she wriggles to the front of her seat and bounces about with excitement. She gets particularly animated when Pinocchio dances about with the other kids on stage – even if some of the children are wearing grey masks; drinking alcohol and puffing away on pipes; transforming into donkeys (the story just gets weirder and weirder). The girl to my right clearly wants to enjoy the vaudeville performance from the marionettes at Strombolio’s circus, but it feels a bit like a horror movie mixed with a kid’s birthday party (the marionettes look like murderous clowns) and it’s all a little confusing. There are moments that are genuinely frightening; I watch this girl hide beneath her mum’s arms, properly scared and increasingly alienated. And then there are great stretches of this show during which this girl visibly droops and slides down her seat, lost and painfully bored." |
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Post by showtoones on Dec 15, 2017 5:32:42 GMT
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are both raves.
Overall it did well...most of the reviews are mixed
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Post by nash16 on Dec 15, 2017 7:52:03 GMT
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are both raves. Overall it did well...most of the reviews are mixed Really? This from Variety: "How ironic that “Pinocchio” should be a bit lifeless. With Disney handing over the keys to a cherished classic for the first time, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” director John Tiffany has served up an eye-popping production that is as stiff as a board. For all its staggering stagecraft, this “Pinocchio” is, for the moment, missing real soul." Can you link to the one you read? |
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Post by martin1965 on Dec 15, 2017 8:07:40 GMT
Not sure why anyone is surprised at the meh reviews. Ive said before that Disney dont actually have a good track record on stage. If you take out the mega hit Lion King, its v patchy indeed. Tarzan and Little Mermaid flopped in NY, Hunchback and Jungle Book havent even made it to Broadway. Beauty and Beast did ok. Aladdin may buck the trend. Certainly Pinnochio will see out its NT run and fade.
Frozen looms large on the horizon of course, but you feel they should have done better.
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Post by musicalmarge on Dec 15, 2017 8:48:59 GMT
Not sure why anyone is surprised at the meh reviews. Ive said before that Disney dont actually have a good track record on stage. If you take out the mega hit Lion King, its v patchy indeed. Tarzan and Little Mermaid flopped in NY, Hunchback and Jungle Book havent even made it to Broadway. Beauty and Beast did ok. Aladdin may buck the trend. Certainly Pinnochio will see out its NT run and fade. Frozen looms large on the horizon of course, but you feel they should have done better. Well that comment is nonsense. Beauty and the Beast was a great commercial success all around the world and ran for over a decade on Broadway. The several UK tours I agree were more successful that it’s shorter West End run. The amazing Aida did over 5 years on Broadway and was very popular in Europe. Tarzan too now has amazing success in Germany. And there are little shows called Aladdin and Mary Poppins that both ran for years on both the West End and broadway with tours all over the world that still continue to play. It’s not just Lion King that had been a success. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2017 9:02:04 GMT
I suppose it’s too late to call in Stiles and Drewe, isn’t it?  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2017 9:11:49 GMT
There is definitely an issue
At the NT
A number of issues
They are going to have to think carefully
First the trio:
Salome
Common
Saint George
Then this massive mess
As I mentioned
The staging of NT shows is getting poorer and poorer
I hope Norris steps down soon
He’s just not up to the job
We are still waiting for his Hytner and Nunn moments
I would also remind they are
Adapting
The Witches for next Xmas season
God help us
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Post by dani on Dec 15, 2017 9:52:02 GMT
Not all three stars. It gets four stars in The Times and Time Out, two in the Evening Standard. The Stage say it's a muddle, but still awards three stars.
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