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Post by Jonnyboy on Apr 16, 2018 21:48:27 GMT
I enjoyed this tonight. A veneer of sheer lighthearted entertainment but with serious points lurking beneath.
Front row stage seats well worth it. I declined the Bullseye segment when we were seated but still I was approached unexpectedly for the Yes-No section. I was so stunned I almost forgot where I’m from. I was the one muttering something about Manchester. There was a bit of awkwardness later on with the winning pub quiz team named BJ!!!
My dad said afterwards that both halves were manipulative in gaining the respective votes the playwright wants. I said isn’t that one of the points? That we were manipulated too.
Shame that most reviews reveal the outcome of both votes so the live votes lose their impact somewhat.
Worth seeing. More thought provoking than you might think.
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Post by RedRose on Apr 17, 2018 7:03:53 GMT
My dad said afterwards that both halves were manipulative in gaining the respective votes the playwright wants. I said isn’t that one of the points? That we were manipulated too. Shame that most reviews reveal the outcome of both votes so the live votes lose their impact somewhat. Worth seeing. More thought provoking than you might think. That is exactly the point!
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Post by zak97 on Apr 17, 2018 8:19:17 GMT
Someone sitting a row back on the on-stage seating came in on his own, made some jokes to everyone around about how we'd all be participating in the show, said "you don't know who I am, yet, do you?", then took his seat. I was expecting him to be involved in the show, but he wasn't and I never did find out what his involvement with the show was. Anyone else worked this out on a previous visit? The downside of sitting on stage is the theatre has a list of TheatreBoard members. They then single board members out to take part in the game shows. Thankfully, I'm old enough to remember Take Your Pick, or I wouldn't have had a clue what I was meant to do or what was going on when "Des O'Connor" descended towards me (the woman next to me confessed during the interval she had no idea what was happening and was glad she wasn't selected). [it may also just be that there's an assigned seat and the person sitting there takes part, which would make sense based on where the host and cameras are positioned] It's not a typical West End show, but it is well-produced, not stretched out to four hours like so many plays, and it is worth a visit. On my side of the stage seating there was no one making comments before the show - maybe the other side?
Also, when I went, I was the person taking part in Take Your Pick - I had no prior warning of it. However, your point about where the cameras are suggests that the number of potential victims for this part of the show is limited!
Which seat was it?
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 17, 2018 8:33:50 GMT
I was in Stage SA5, which is the left side as you face the stage, front row and one of the two central seats on the aisle. I'd be interested to hear if they always go for that seat (or perhaps the other aisle seat). I'd think based on how the camera is positioned and where the host has to stand, there aren't really many options.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 8:53:31 GMT
I was in Stage SA5, which is the left side as you face the stage, front row and one of the two central seats on the aisle. I'd be interested to hear if they always go for that seat (or perhaps the other aisle seat). I'd think based on how the camera is positioned and where the host has to stand, there aren't really many options. I was also in stage seat A5.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2018 9:37:13 GMT
I'm on stage this weekend and a bit nervous now. Should I be brushing up on my classic game shows in case I'm picked on? Which ones would you recommend? (And that's a joke about them knowing who the TheatreBoard members are, right? Right?)
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 17, 2018 9:44:05 GMT
I'm on stage this weekend and a bit nervous now. Should I be brushing up on my classic game shows in case I'm picked on? Which ones would you recommend? (And that's a joke about them knowing who the TheatreBoard members are, right? Right?) No joke. They've got a special spotlight that picks out TheatreBoard members at specific points in the show. It's your chance to be a star!
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Apr 17, 2018 11:25:05 GMT
I'm on stage this weekend and a bit nervous now. Should I be brushing up on my classic game shows in case I'm picked on? Which ones would you recommend? (And that's a joke about them knowing who the TheatreBoard members are, right? Right?)
{Spoiler - click to view} Take Your Pick, Bullseye, The Price is Right.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Apr 17, 2018 12:05:45 GMT
I'm on stage this weekend and a bit nervous now. Should I be brushing up on my classic game shows in case I'm picked on? Which ones would you recommend? (And that's a joke about them knowing who the TheatreBoard members are, right? Right?) Other than Take Your Pick, you'll only get picked on if you agree to it beforehand - they come round asking people on the stage and front stalls. Take Your Pick will presumably only happen if you are in A5! In which case a bad Des O'Connor impersonator will ask you questions for a minute and if you answer them without saying Yes or No you get a free ice cream
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Post by stevemar on Apr 17, 2018 12:54:17 GMT
I'm reading these posts with trepidation, but it is useful to have the spoilers. We are in SA 3 and SA4 - my friend hates audience participation, I'm not too keen but ok with it. I wouldn't have known how to deal with some of the questions for Take Your Pick, as I never watched it. So will be (partially) prepared if I need to be. Do you appear on screen a lot if you are in the front row of the stage seats. My friend shall be horrified!
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Post by jamb0r on Apr 17, 2018 12:56:35 GMT
I was in Stage SA5, which is the left side as you face the stage, front row and one of the two central seats on the aisle. I'd be interested to hear if they always go for that seat (or perhaps the other aisle seat). I'd think based on how the camera is positioned and where the host has to stand, there aren't really many options. It sounds like that was the seat that was picked on when I went on Friday last week. I was sat in stalls C7 (end of the front front row) and the guy to my left was asked if he wanted to take part in The Price is Right.
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Post by Jonnyboy on Apr 17, 2018 13:58:53 GMT
They went to SA5 first and then turned to me in SA4. Be prepared!
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 17, 2018 19:58:21 GMT
I'm reading these posts with trepidation, but it is useful to have the spoilers. We are in SA 3 and SA4 - my friend hates audience participation, I'm not too keen but ok with it. I wouldn't have known how to deal with some of the questions for Take Your Pick, as I never watched it. So will be (partially) prepared if I need to be. Do you appear on screen a lot if you are in the front row of the stage seats. My friend shall be horrified! The first question will be “What’s your name”. Just say “Yes” as your answer and they’ll stop bothering you.
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Post by stevemar on Apr 18, 2018 8:16:32 GMT
I'm reading these posts with trepidation, but it is useful to have the spoilers. We are in SA 3 and SA4 - my friend hates audience participation, I'm not too keen but ok with it. I wouldn't have known how to deal with some of the questions for Take Your Pick, as I never watched it. So will be (partially) prepared if I need to be. Do you appear on screen a lot if you are in the front row of the stage seats. My friend shall be horrified! The first question will be “What’s your name”. Just say “Yes” as your answer and they’ll stop bothering you. Thanks Doctor Tom. I might play along if asked. I am guessing "Yay/No", "True/False" and "Correct/Incorrect" works for Take Your Pick?
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Apr 18, 2018 8:27:45 GMT
Are we getting into the area of people colluding on how to be successful in a game show....?
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Post by stevemar on Apr 18, 2018 10:07:34 GMT
Are we getting into the area of people colluding on how to be successful in a game show....? The jury's out on that one. Isn't that the point of the play! The manipulation of the audience..?
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 11:38:16 GMT
Seeing this, this afternoon. Hate audience participation! I will be keeping my head down!!
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Post by jamb0r on Apr 18, 2018 13:58:04 GMT
Are we getting into the area of people colluding on how to be successful in a game show....? If anyone wants to win a free ice cream, meet me in the pub over the road at 7pm and I'll pass you a manila envelope containing details of how much the vacuum cleaner is worth in The Price Is Right along with prime seating locations to be picked to participate 😉
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 14:46:58 GMT
Oh God - I didn't realise row C was the front row!!! But really enjoying it!!
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Post by Mark on Apr 18, 2018 16:24:21 GMT
Going tonight! Some great tickets at greatness prices available.
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 18, 2018 16:35:37 GMT
I was there this afternoon too! Really enjoyed it, I'm not normally a play fan and never seen anything of Graham's before, but I liked it for what it was. Didn't really need the handshake/high-five your neighbour stuff at the beginning but that's just because I'm miserable and British. Thought the cast all did a great job and the Chris Tarrant impersonation was pretty bang-on! Quite a lot of empty seats, managed to get the middle of Row P of the stalls 10 minutes before the performance for £27.50.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 18, 2018 16:39:01 GMT
£20 front row rush ticket from TKTS for this afternoon. Seemed very busy on 3 levels.
Enjoyed it. Great set. Very well acted. Thought provoking regarding media manipulation. Very apt! An entertaining couple of hours.
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Post by Dr Tom on Apr 18, 2018 19:51:39 GMT
Thanks Doctor Tom. I might play along if asked. I am guessing "Yay/No", "True/False" and "Correct/Incorrect" works for Take Your Pick? Well “No” wouldn’t be an acceptable answer. I presume the others would be okay. I said things like “That’s right” and at one point “Thank you”.
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Post by Phantom of London on Apr 18, 2018 20:03:04 GMT
Bagged a £20 ticket, yesterday through today tix and an excellent seat.
Well I am conflicted on this one, I enjoyed seeing the play yesterday more than, thinking about it today.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2018 21:13:54 GMT
Loved Chris Tarrant
Such a wonderful impersonation
Thought the play dreadful and forced
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Post by martello736 on Apr 21, 2018 19:30:34 GMT
Not been a good week for me, theatre-wise, and this wasn't the happiest of endings to it. There's a very good 90 minutes staging the documentary of this affair. Then there is this wildly over-done two and a half hours. More on my site on Monday, probably. If I tell you that the best bit was a guest appearance by @baemax , that gives you some idea. Actually, even better was her face at the interval when I told her who I was.* There is a list of theatreboard members attending each night, and the profile pics are on there...** *We had a great natter, nice to put a face to a name. ** Only kidding. Or maybe not... Were you in this afternoon? Me too Which game were you @baemax? Was it you that got the hoover price the closest? Mixed feelings about this show to be honest. It's quite good fun I guess, but it's also pretty dreadfully written. Chris Tarrant is the saving grace, although by the end you're willing him to stop twitching his eyebrow and just get on with it. This show seems to feel padded and like it's lagging, whilst simultaneously covering very little ground at all. The Ingram story is a really interesting one, yet this show moves at a snail's pace and by the end you feel like you've been given about 1% of the necessary information to make a decision. I voted not guilty followed by guilty because I was so irritated at how badly both sides put their arguments across that I wanted to give the opposite response to what they were obviously angling for. The scene with the defence lawyer talking about the heavily edited tape presented by Celador was tight, and effective, but sadly by that point the flimsy narrative was beyond saving. Had the whole play been of a similar quality it would have been vastly better. What was the point of the pub quiz exactly? And why did they have that weird pointless throwaway scene after Chris says that the winner gets a signed poster where he runs backstage and takes some pills? I got 11/12 in the quiz, quite depressingly I know the turnout of every election since the 70s, it was just Emmerdale that I wrongly pegged as Midsomer Murders, but I didn't feel like drawing attention to myself. Diana Ingram was a good actress, as was the defence lawyer. What's-his-face from Benidorm was okay too, it was just a dreadful interpretation of a good story. {Spoiler - click to view} I wrote down the results of the last 10 shows at the end, we convicted the Ingrams 52-48.
I was surprised to see that no one decision has ever got more than 55% before.
Guilty vs. Not Guilty 13 - 49 vs 51 14 - 46 vs 54 15 - 50 vs 50 16 - 48 vs 52 17 - 46 vs 54 18 - 47 vs 53 19 - 55 vs 45 20 - 52 vs 48 21 - 49 vs 51 22 - 46 vs 54
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2018 8:19:45 GMT
I had a great time and I won't hear a single word against the production.
I mean, the play itself was just plain ol' bad, and I don't know that manipulating the audience in one direction for one act then in the opposite direction for the second act is the same thing as presenting an unbiased account, but the cast were great, and I got a free ice cream and a nice chat at the interval, so I've definitely had worse afternoons out.
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 23, 2018 8:51:34 GMT
Yes, I enjoyed it too. Of course it's not the greatest play ever written but it's entertaining and does make you think about media manipulation and how the public can be so easily influenced. I was astonished that 40% of the audience changed their minds at the end and how consistently close the audience vote was re guilty and not guilty. Sometimes is just good to kick back and enjoy something. I thought the staging and the cast were excellent.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2018 15:37:03 GMT
I had a great time and I won't hear a single word against the production. I mean, the play itself was just plain ol' bad, and I don't know that manipulating the audience in one direction for one act then in the opposite direction for the second act is the same thing as presenting an unbiased account, but the cast were great, and I got a free ice cream and a nice chat at the interval, so I've definitely had worse afternoons out. 1. I'd forgive almost any play that placated me with Ice Cream. 2. I'm just sad I missed the chance to heckle you (loves you really) 3. They missed a trick not getting the Monkey on stage to prove even a (theatre) Monkey can win it.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Apr 23, 2018 17:18:28 GMT
Of course the audience is manipulated, that’s the whole point, to show how easy it is to be made to believe something.
I’m confused as to what those saying so mean as regards to the writing not being good (which the critics don’t seem to have noticed) What is this referring to?
Three things I particularly liked about the writing were the structure, the characterisation and the way it uses the tropes and digressions of popular culture. The structure with its non-linearity relentlessly circling around the actual event so that, whilst on the surface it appears to not progress chronologically, it actually does as understanding was deepened, clarified, confused and contradicted as manipulatively necessary, ,With the characterisation, how Graham had taken on board how selective editing of character is the manner in which reality TV or television involving real events works. As such we are given parts of a character which can be changed quickly by moving focus, Finally by marrying form to content, you get a quiz, a popular drama, a police/courtroom drama, and so on (as I suggested in my earlier comment, like a night watching ITV).
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