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Post by Jan on Feb 23, 2017 18:07:28 GMT
An olden but golden topic from the old board. I have seen the following live animals in straight plays. Anyone seen any others ?
Dogs (multiple)
Eagle
Falcon
Goldfish
Chicken
Snake
Duck
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Post by altamont on Feb 23, 2017 18:10:34 GMT
The monkey in Inherit the Wind at the Old Vic a few years ago
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Post by joem on Feb 23, 2017 18:16:26 GMT
Turkeys
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Post by d'James on Feb 23, 2017 18:25:59 GMT
Not sure I've seen any.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 18:38:46 GMT
A cat in Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore. (After receiving my tickets from the RSC, I then received another letter from them to inform me that cats would be featured in the performance but that no real cats would actually be harmed!)
This was another gem from Mr McDonagh, and in the script there are two different endings written, dependent on what the cat actually does. With the Frosties!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 18:40:32 GMT
I remember that Michael Crawford arsed around with a rat in The Woman in White.
I didn't see the original Whistle Down The Wind at the Aldwich, but I was told they had real snakes!
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Post by duncan on Feb 23, 2017 18:41:18 GMT
The Woman in White had Michael Crawford being upstaged by a mouse.
edit - previous poster had the same idea at the same time, although we differ on what type of rodent it was!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 18:42:27 GMT
No, it was definitely a rat. Unless it was played by an obese mouse!
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Post by lou105 on Feb 23, 2017 19:04:12 GMT
Rat in Curious Incident. And the random fox in Unreachable.
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Post by lynette on Feb 23, 2017 19:10:09 GMT
The other night I was thinking how funny it would be for a real dog to run across the stage at the end of The Play that Goes Wrong. I suppose too expensive to employ a stage dog. But a missed opportunity methinks.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 19:38:30 GMT
1. A mouse in The Pride (or was it Pride?) at Trafalger Studio although I don't think it was getting paid and more living there. Iv always wondered what the actors thought was happening when suddenly the whole audience gasped 'oh my god, LOOK'
2. I would literally give my left liver to see a cat on stage! How do they get them to do ANYTHING night after night and on cue?
3. I was there that night the corgi got fired from The Audience. It was literally shoved on. It was hilarious. Though prob not for the corgi but it's prob dead now so seize the day
4. Animals and tap dancing. There is no theatrical performance on earth that wouldn't be vastly improved by animals and tap dancing. Sonia, take note
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 19:58:19 GMT
1. A mouse in The Pride (or was it Pride?) at Trafalger Studio although I don't think it was getting paid and more living there. Iv always wondered what the actors thought was happening when suddenly the whole audience gasped 'oh my god, LOOK' 2. I would literally give my left liver to see a cat on stage! How do they get them to do ANYTHING night after night and on cue?3. I was there that night the corgi got fired from The Audience. It was literally shoved on. It was hilarious. Though prob not for the corgi but it's prob dead now so seize the day 4. Animals and tap dancing. There is no theatrical performance on earth that wouldn't be vastly improved by animals and tap dancing. Sonia, take note Well that was the point... they can't. Which is why there are two different endings to The Lieutenant of Inishmore: the cat's shoved on. Will he eat the fecking Frosties or not? No matter- there are two different lines the actor can say! (It was great but probably not worth your liver. Unless you can honestly do without it.) |
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 23, 2017 20:04:59 GMT
The other night I was thinking how funny it would be for a real dog to run across the stage at the end of The Play that Goes Wrong. I suppose too expensive to employ a stage dog. But a missed opportunity methinks. On the tour (original 2014 tour as opposed to current one) they had a dog who came onstage for the curtain call so the opportunity wasn't missed, it just got cut before the West End. |
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Post by mallardo on Feb 23, 2017 20:54:15 GMT
The cat I saw in The Lieutenant of Inishmore gave an amazing performance. Right on cue it trotted across a ledge at the back of the stage and tucked into its bowl of food while the audience went absolutely crazy. Considering the cat's importance in the play it's one of the great moments in modern theatre.
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Post by bellboard27 on Feb 23, 2017 21:15:18 GMT
A horse in a production of Penelope. It was splashing in water as they had decided to drown the stage as well.
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Post by profquatermass on Feb 23, 2017 21:22:21 GMT
An olden but golden topic from the old board. I have seen the following live animals in straight plays. Anyone seen any others ? Dogs (multiple) Eagle Falcon Goldfish Chicken Snake Duck The Country Wife at the Haymarket about 10 years ago had a rabbit The Rose Tattoo at the NT with Zoe Wanamaker had a goat I've seen Shetland ponies in panto The fox in Unreachable was probably the most exciting animal I've seen because completely unexpected. |
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Post by lou105 on Feb 23, 2017 21:43:39 GMT
The Country Wife at the Haymarket about 10 years ago had a rabbit Oo that's just reminded me of the production of As You like it which controversially had a rabbit being skinned every night..As I recall Geoffrey Streatfield did the honours. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 22:08:06 GMT
Oo that's just reminded me of the production of As You like it which controversially had a rabbit being skinned every night..As I recall Geoffrey Streatfield did the honours. Freshwater, not Streatfeild. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 22:21:03 GMT
A horse in a production of Penelope. It was splashing in water as they had decided to drown the stage as well. white ("gray"?) horses, ridden by Theseus(?) and Hyppolita(?) (the royal mortals due to marry), in Moving Being's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Traverse staging with just six raked rows either side, so just imagine how amazing it was when they entered the stage! Also, the stage had a forest of real tree-trunks fixed in it. Cardiff theatre, you cannot beat it. The mechanicals had a real dog, a pitiful mongrel whippet thing. |
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Post by mistressjojo on Feb 24, 2017 1:36:35 GMT
The wolf in the recent The Crucible in NYC.
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Post by ctas on Feb 24, 2017 8:12:44 GMT
The Royal Opera House uses a pony in La Fille Mal Gardée and has used the same one for many years. He always creates a big "awww" from the audience and has quite a following - was presented with a pony bouquet in a live cinema relay once! They also had a pair of pigeons in Two Pigeons last season.
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Post by Marwood on Feb 24, 2017 8:17:35 GMT
A dog in Nell Gwynn and thats about it. Wish they hadn't bothered, I could have done without the woman sat next to me making stupid 'aww, look at diddums' comments when the dog made its brief appearance: she didn't seem too bothered about anything else on stage the whole evening.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 8:23:33 GMT
Oh, the woman next to me at Shakespeare In Love was VERY enamoured of the dog, she nearly lost her sh*t completely when it ran across the stage at the curtain call.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2017 8:26:43 GMT
There were chickens in The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar! They momentarily distracted me from Mark Gatiss' legs in stockings...
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Post by bellboard27 on Feb 24, 2017 8:37:09 GMT
Another rabbit in, of course, Fatal Attraction.
Also the vulture on stage in Testament of Mary which was there beforehand when the audience were invited to wander around the stage but carried off before the performance really got going. Not sure if anyone dared to stroke it (I didn't!).
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