196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Aug 28, 2017 12:38:08 GMT
Nabbed a stalls ticket for tonight. Very excited. Joseph Millson, here I come!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2017 17:41:09 GMT
Just realised too, this will be my first time in this theatre! I saw Vanities in the smaller space last year, but this will be my first time in the larger space!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2017 19:45:07 GMT
Well this is a fabulous play! Enjoying it alot more than I expected too, Stockard is fantastic, as are all the members of the cast. That scene that follows the dress moment really is something impressive, as soon as dinner is served you get some stellar acting moments to follow the great acting that happened prior! And what a cliffhanger to end Act I on!
Very responsive audience, I'm at the end of BB, and the view is so good for £15. You don't miss any faces and you get to really feel a part of the action. Really enjoying it, looking forward to seeing what happens next!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2017 21:45:02 GMT
Well... what a fabulous evening. I really enjoyed this play alot. The cast was fantastic all over, and I was surprised to find that Stockard (the main draw for me) was one of five faces I had seen previously! They were all fantastic. The switch between drama and comedy was obvious but also somehow subtle. You never really saw the switch coming, but when it happened, you really were along foe the ride! I also loved the set, which whilst it never changed, it was a set that was very detailed and you were really brought into the reality with it. Clearly the audience loved it too, and I wouldn't hesitate to return again to the show before it closes in October!  |
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Aug 29, 2017 9:47:26 GMT
I enjoyed it too. The play is brilliant, funny and bitter at the same time, and acted very subtly. I love simple stories which turn out not to be so simple when you look closer...
And oh, my massive crush on Joseph Millson is even more massive now.
(And I have Stockard Channing's autograph. My dad is a big fan of Grease so he'll get green with envy when I show it to him.)
The only thing I did not like was the phone belonging to a lady next to me. She checked it every 10 minutes. Come on...
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Post by HereForTheatre on Aug 30, 2017 7:56:02 GMT
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Post by anthony on Aug 31, 2017 8:43:31 GMT
Saw this last night and loved it. Thought that Laura Carmichael was brilliant -- by far the stand out. This should be doing much better than it is. The last 4 rows of the Studio were basically empty last night.
I will always wonder if Claire enjoyed Thursday night............
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Post by Someone in a tree on Aug 31, 2017 16:24:23 GMT
I really enjoyed this. Good play.
Last time I was in this theatre was for the John Doyle Sweeney Todd and it was configured differently. When did the studio become more 'proscenium'
(I also remember the old theatre, now I'm showing my age)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 8:51:11 GMT
TodayTix is now selling some of the £15 seats in advance rather than just as day seats. Row BB for the day I looked at.
Am I right in thinking that BB is better than AA due to proximity to the stage, unless you end up with someone tall in front?
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1,287 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Sept 3, 2017 9:39:06 GMT
You are correct. BB is much better. AA is far too close for such a high stage. I sat in row BB on Friday and had a tall person in front but didn't interfere with my view at all as I still had to look up. Had the stage been lower it would have been a problem but it wasn't the case. The view was great value for £15. You don't miss anything.
Loved the play. It's funny, sad, witty...Great acting too. Stockard Channing is excellent.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2017 10:09:33 GMT
Ta! Looks like the whole of BB is on sale in advance (played around with multiple browsers to get a seat on the aisle ) So presumably the rush seats are now just AA plus whatever else is offered on the day. |
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 9, 2017 9:12:48 GMT
First - a rant.....
I have often posted my great experiences with Box Office staff at WE theatres - getting deals on tickets at the last minute by just rocking up and being charming and polite...so I think it only fair to report when this doesn't happen and my irresistible charm proves ....well resistible!
I was unexpectedly free in the WE last night and too late for TKTS or Today Tix so I rocked up at the box office at the Trafalgar Studios at 7.15pm to buy a ticket and of course in search of a deal. The foyer was busy. I asked the girl on the box office when it was my turn to be served if she had a single seat for tonight (with a smile of course) and her response was " You want to buy one?" "Yes" I replied. "You're not picking up a ticket?" "No, I'd like to purchase one" I responded. "Oh, just wait a minute while I serve people picking up tickets". She then proceeded to deal with other people in the queue behind me. Several minutes went by and I was stood there like a lemon. Eventually her male colleague called me over and said "Can I help?" "Yes" I responded. "I would like to purchase a ticket for Apologia, sorry to be a nuisance, it seems buying a ticket from a box office is unheard of!". The girl, who was stood doing nothing now looked sheepish! "I can offer you £35 at the back or £65 at the front". "Can you do me a deal on a good seat?" I asked oozing what little charm I could muster at this point. "No" - he responded " We are very busy tonight". "Excellent" I said "I'm delighted you have managed to sell a few tickets, I'll leave it, thank you for your time anyway". "Just a minute" he says "I can offer you a mid side stalls ticket with a slightly restricted view for £35". "OK I'll take that" I said and bought the ticket. When I got into the auditorium at 7.28 there were swathes of empty seats - it was around 60% full. The row behind me was empty - so I moved back a row and along and sat in a £65 seat! The box office guy must have known the seats were empty on the screen......? No-one challenged me about moving just before the lights went down and I thought if they did they were going to get their head ripped off!!!
Rant over!
So....to the play. I was glad I wasn't sat at the back as I simply would not have heard several members of the cast.
A mixed bag I thought. Act One was excellent, good plotting , lots of laughs and really enjoyed it. But I thought the play fell apart in Act Two and did not live up to the promise of Act One.
Performances mixed too. Loved Laura Carmichael, who stole the show for me and Desmond Barrit was hilarious - no projection issues there. Joseph Millson, I thought was unconvincing as the two brothers and his monologue in Act Two was almost completely inaudible.
Stockard Channing, was OK, looked amazing for 73, and a dream of a role but I could not help but think what a better actress could have made of it - think Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Julie Walters.
An enjoyable evening though as I was not familiar with the play and some really good laughs - loved the business with the dress!! LOL.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 9, 2017 10:45:22 GMT
Yes, I clearly caught them at a busy period....but I got a good seat at a reasonable price in the end. All's well that ends well, and I did enjoy the play.
Regarding rows AA and BB - they are close and the huge kitchen table must affect sight lines. I am surprised they put the rows in to be honest, unless they were expecting sell out audiences and anticipated extra revenue. However, this play does not appear to have caught on - quiet for a Friday night I would have thought.
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Post by Mark on Sept 9, 2017 10:47:21 GMT
It's an interesting one. I did the same the other week at Half a Sixpence. Plenty of seats showing online. It was either £25 for way back in the stalls or £72.50 for front stalls. No discounts offered and as cheap as the upper circle seats had been reduced I didn't want to sit up high. Went to TKTS and got a great central row N seat for £25, row M was completely empty so a nice clear view. I could have gotten front stalls for £39.50 but didn't consider the extra to be worth it. There was a play I saw last year, where I went and asked if there was any cheap last minute deals. "Yes, they're £10 in the upper circle" he said. Perfect, thanks I said. "And because the upper circle is closed I'll move you to 4 rows back in the stalls". Printed the ticket, crossed out my old seat and put the new, and a very happy me going into the theatre. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Sept 9, 2017 10:54:11 GMT
It's unusual for me to have a bad experience, to be honest, but it does seem to depend on the whims of the box office staff/producers at that particular performance and time. Unless it is a really hit show (Harry Potter, Hamilton) they have a balancing act to perform of maximising revenue and filling seats. You win most, you lose sometimes. You cannot take it personally!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2017 11:34:36 GMT
24 hour deal from TodayTix of tickets for £15 for any performance this month (which looks to be the next 30 days, rather than just the rest of September). I tried and initially got offered the usual row BB seats but playing with a few browsers eventually managed to get row G Extra £10 off with the many £10 referral codes such as SEZCE |
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Post by mallardo on Sept 29, 2017 13:28:02 GMT
I was very disappointed in this. What are we supposed to make of it? Yes, the activist youth of the 60s and 70s were into change and social justice and all that and, yes, they might have been so focused on the Big Picture that they neglected to see to the well being of those closest to them, like their children. It's a tired premise, ploughing a field that has already been ploughed into dry dust. And this play offers no new insights.
The cast were fine but they couldn't bring it to life. Stockard Channing got a standing O at the end - for what? She's a wonderful actress but seemed, frankly, miscast and could make very little of the role. Perhaps I'm being harsh but my expectations were high and they were not met. It was all so banal.
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Post by Tibidabo on Sept 29, 2017 14:06:34 GMT
Stockard Channing got a standing O at the end - for what? She's a wonderful actress but seemed, frankly, miscast and could make very little of the role. Completely agree with this - in fact I thought she was dreadful and the rest of the cast carried the show - which I enjoyed more than you seem to have done. |
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Post by orchidman on Oct 2, 2017 22:33:51 GMT
A fairly entertaining show but nothing special. As people have said, Act Two doesn't really deliver a payoff to Act One, which had been reasonably promising.
The characters aren't wholly believable, can't possibly imagine the soap actress ever getting together with the younger brother, and the American girl's IQ seems to jump about 25 points during the interval. Having one actor play both brothers didn't really work but the cast was fine. I think three characters have the same tick of following the previous person's statement with a question like "Is that so?" or "Did you?" which I couldn't tell if was for some effect or just mediocre writing.
The writing in general felt like the competent end of second-rate, characters saying the things the playwright needed them to say (the soap actress suddenly having an informed opinion about the 1968 generation, the American girl suddenly knowing about patriarchy and who George Eliot was) rather than what they would actually have said. Some amusing lines, a good crescendo before the interval but no real depth to it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2017 22:35:05 GMT
Her face looks like someone squeezed it
In the photo
Like a stress ball
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Post by floorshow on Oct 10, 2017 9:43:38 GMT
For stage managers reading this, question {Spoiler} what do you do to "red wine" so that it can spill on a white dress 8 times a week and not leave a mark. Neat effect, and I'm curious. Someone asked Freema at the Q&A and it is a single dress they clean and reuse every day. They did ruin one somehow but not cos of the wine. And she did say what they used to make the wine but for the life of me I cannot remember so this is a completely useless post  |
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Post by floorshow on Oct 10, 2017 10:30:53 GMT
Thanks Floorshow. Glad I'm not the only one who is curious. I put it in spoilers, btw, as it is an important surprise in the show, I think. It is! Very careless on my part  |
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Post by Tibidabo on Oct 10, 2017 13:04:32 GMT
Also must note that the Trafalgar staff were the nicest and most professional bunch I've encountered in ages. Oh yes! The best theatre staff in existence. They are fabulous, aren't they? I really love the Trafalgar Studios. I would also love to know the answer to your question Monkey. I actually wondered if the dress was made out of paper - sort of like a very strong doily - so they could have a new one every night! |
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Post by CG on the loose on Oct 10, 2017 23:01:49 GMT
Also, the move to row A was worth it. Nothing much wrong with the two rows in front, but A was just right. Glad to hear it, I'm there on Monday |
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Post by floorshow on Oct 11, 2017 9:13:27 GMT
No, {Spoiler} I was close enough to see it was cloth, Tibidabo. Good idea, though. {Spoiler - click to view}My other half thinks they said its Ribena and then fairy liquid to clean. (Following up the most useless post with the most boring..) |
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