Life of Galileo Young Vic

Saw a run-through of this the other day, very powerful and with an incredibly charismatic lead. Onstage seats (on cushions on the floor) probably the best if you're up for that kind of thing, and no dreaded audience interaction!

So. Got out at 10.45, but we started 10 mins late and interval lasted extra 10 mins - much of that was due to getting people seated.

Note the action does also take place in the central area amongst those sitting on the floor. As a result those there cannot take in coats or bags. For those in the centre inevitably action takes place behind them so there might be a need to shuffle around a bit.

Row A seats are quite low (not the usual YV benches), so are not particularly comfortable.

As to the production - well they have turned the YV into a planetarium. As the sun looms overhead the music shakes your body! I liked the performances, esp Galileo and Andrea. It's Brecht, of course, with music, puppets, comments to the audience, etc.

Finally, for the audience participation phobes, as stated earlier, there really isn't any. Some in the centre circle are spoken to, but it doesn't amount to anything.

"Scene Five", announces the actor playing Galileo, "Scene Five has been cut". Yes, we are in Brechtland. Informality is the order of the day. The actors, 11 of them sharing 53 roles, are dressed pretty much as the audience is dressed and when they sit amongst the audience (as they do from time to time) on the circular cushioned floor, they are indistinguishable. The set is as described above by bellboard27, unfinished wood and scaffolding, the foundation for a set yet to be constructed.  Overhead hangs a dome-like screen on which, from time to time, the heavens are opened to us to quite breathtaking effect. Those seated on the floor can just lie back and trip out. At other times the house lights are fully up and a kind of carnival atmosphere prevails - songs, parades, puppets - we and the actors all in it together.

Scene changes, as noted, are announced, mainly by Galileo who often adds what seem to be ad libs to remind us that he is just an actor playing a role. It's not pretend life. It's theatre. And it's powerful stuff. Especially for this piece, a very talky argumentative play in which the biggest of issues (astronomical and political) are debated, more or less endlessly. Joe Wright's inventive production works very hard not to bog down in the play's thick catalogue of ideas. And it succeeds.

It helps that Galileo is portrayed by Brendan Cowell, an Australian actor (all the actors use their own accents) remembered from Yerma. A big bearded man, quick witted and funny and seething with a passion to reconfigure the universe and make it right, he's also a deeply human figure with the ability to carry us with him (while carrying the play) on his journey. Really, he couldn't be better and, with his easy conversational manner, he's especially perfect for this production. Billy Howle, as Andrea, his young apprentice, is right up there with him as, in fact, are the whole cast.

It won't be for everyone - we had a few interval deserters in our row - and at 3 hours it's a long evening. If I were to return I think I'd sit on the floor, to be in amongst the action - and amongst the stars. It looked to be an exhilarating experience. But wherever you sit it's quite a show. Brecht was a notoriously difficult guy but one feels that this is a production even he might have approved of.

Unfortunately my avatar diverges from reality! I was in row A (the lower, less comfortable seats than the usual benches). I do wonder if being in the centre circle and lying down as the stars, planets, sun, etc., are projected in the planetarium space overhead is the best place to be!

Went on Friday and due to the awful bench seating (not helped by the idiot sat half in my space who made next to no effort to move over) which gave me terrible back ache after half an hour or so and not being able to contemplate a further 90 minutes of that to follow, I left at the interval.

It seemed to be more of an extended TED talk than a proper play, I got the impression that Johnny Ball or Brian Cox could do the same sort of thing far more entertainingly and in a fraction of the time. Best thing about it was the music, but that just seemed to have been put in because Joe Wright is friends with the Chemical Brothers (watching Cowell dad dancing wearing sunglasses made me think more of Ricky Gervais/David Brent than Galileo)

I saw the show on Monday, and we lucky dip holders had to wait until one minute or so before the show started (the show ended up starting about five minutes late). While waiting, I asked the usher if there was a chance that I would be seated on stage, since I was the first one in the queue waiting to be seated. He said that if there were seats available on stage, I could take one of those. One minute before show time, he took us to seats which were available, none of which was on stage. It was not clear if he knew beforehand which seats were available or not.

"Lucky Dip Tickets
Your ticket location will be revealed as you enter the auditorium.
Please note - this may be a standing position or the best seat in the house."

A Metophor for you can have what is unsold.

Saw this tonight and run nearly 3 hours, for me an hour too long, could of done with some judicious editing to make the main point stand out, in other words this got crushed by its detail. Great projections though, I thought I was in he IMAX on Waterloo Bridge - but that isn't a reason you go to the theatre though.

I saw this last Friday and loved it. We sat in the stage area on cushions, which was fantastic, like being in the centre of a orrery with the action right up close, the actors stepping over and around us and the 'sky' like a canopy overhead.



If that was the case in preview they must have improved because it was played with great gusto by the whole cast. The young man was Billy Howle, who was very impressive (I was racking my brain to think where I'd seen him - the BBC's Witness for the Prosecution over Christmas). The text could probably have done with a bit of trimming but it was always engaging - I think I've managed to convert a friend back into theatregoing with it.

I saw this yesterday afternoon and loved it. I've never been to the Young Vic before, and I don't know much at all about Galileo or Brecht, and I've never seen any of the cast in anything before, so I had no idea what to expect (beyond a pretty basic idea of Brecht) but I just loved how vibrant and alive it was. It felt very relevant and modern, and Brendan Cowell is excellent (HOW can he have so much energy, oh my god!). I couldn't stop thinking how the Inquisitor reminded me of the Toby Jones role in Doctor Who a few years ago, although I couldn't identify what it was that made me think that. There were a few bits where it all felt a bit long and wordy, but overall I really enjoyed it and I loved the Young Vic itself.

I couldn't have sat on the floor though, I'd have been moving around constantly trying to get comfy. I'm old, I want back support!

There were a group of young teenage boys sitting on the floor yesterday - Brendan Cowell got us to sing happy birthday to one of them at the very start of the show, and he got them to introduce scene 9. They stole all the cushions and spent ages playing with the gold confetti, but they did seem to enjoy the show.

And my friend who seems to have been converted back to theatregoing with it has just booked a ticket for her husband. Shame some of the young audience who were going to the disappointing Woyzeck couldn't have been redirected down the road to this - I think it would have won more of them over.