2,496 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 9, 2017 16:36:33 GMT
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Post by Jan on Nov 9, 2017 16:42:00 GMT
Been there once. Never again. Uncomfortable atmosphere in the area around it and in the theatre bar. This was a few years ago so it may have changed but I’m not going to check.
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 9, 2017 17:46:56 GMT
I've never been but would you normally expect anyone to be at a fringe theatre on a weekday lunchtime? The website makes it pretty clear that that they want you to book online which suggests to me it's not fully staffed at all times |
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2,496 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 9, 2017 18:13:04 GMT
I've never been but would you normally expect anyone to be at a fringe theatre on a weekday lunchtime? The website makes it pretty clear that that they want you to book online which suggests to me it's not fully staffed at all times To be fair, that's not REALLY the issue.... |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 18:31:58 GMT
Click on the embedded tweet to load it up in Twitter itself. Scroll down and read the rest of the story. You'll never want to set foot in the Courtyard again by the time you've finished.
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Nov 9, 2017 18:54:13 GMT
Depends if what she is saying is true. Could be an argument that has just got out of hand. I don’t know either of them, but I wouldn’t take uncorroborated tweets as evidence. Worth seeing what others at the theatre say.
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1,127 posts
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Nov 9, 2017 19:28:25 GMT
I've heard a lot of bad stories from people I trust who have worked there. Not only not paying people, but worse. I don't doubt that this woman was treated badly.
On the other hand, her own behaviour seems... problematic. She badmouthed the writer on social media for failure to perform "basic legal and administrative duties", and all this started when the writer made a complaint about her to the theatre. Nothing justifies the theatre's treatment of them but it sounds like it was a messed up situation even before the theatre got involved.
I would have serious second thoughts before working with any of them.
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 9, 2017 21:34:43 GMT
Clicked on the Tweet and have no idea what I'm meant to be looking for. Can someone explain as the opening post isn't very clear. I'd like to know why I'm being instructed to avoid a theatre
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1,250 posts
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Post by joem on Nov 9, 2017 23:08:52 GMT
I went there to see a performance of Animal Farm once, that is the extent of my experience of it. Given that I don't think it has its own production company (is it a problem with the company, the venue or what?) and given the lack of explanation I won't be avoiding it on the strength of this "warning".
And I'm not going to go anywhere to read more about it. If someone posts on this site wanting us to know something they should give the whole story here in my view.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 23:21:25 GMT
Well if multiple people are saying the same sort of thing then it is likely that there’s an issue needing investigation.
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2,496 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 9, 2017 23:22:41 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread
One of the plays playing there asked for an update as to ticket sales. The artistic director said “I don’t give a f*** about your little production and it’s money. I’m a big company you’re just little f***s” He then told her writer To come to the theatre so he could swear at her to her face because “this f***ing stupid production has been a headache”
A pattern apparently there
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 23:27:39 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread One of the plays playing there asked for an update as to ticket sales. The artistic director said “I don’t give a f*** about your little production and it’s money. I’m a big company you’re just little f***s” He then told her writer To come to the theatre so he could swear at her to her face because “this f***ing stupid production has been a headache” A pattern apparently there Exactly, there are a whole raft of issues that we are seeing rise to the surface where people, for far too long, were able to get away with denying their existence by either ignoring them and/or pretending they didn’t exist. ‘Head in the sand’ is no longer a tenable position to take. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 10, 2017 0:50:32 GMT
Strangely enough I was thinking about this theatre this morning, before this thread existed, so a coincidence there.
It got me to Google the venue to see if it still actually existed and this is absolutely terrible for a person who is a theatre fanatic and will go to most things if it seems promising, neither have I seen a review of one of their productions in the Evening Standard, so therefore the Artistic Director isn't just arrogant and conceited bully - he is doing an appalling job in getting good productions in his marvellous theatre and getting the message out there to come and see something. So there is another reason for budding producers/creatives to avoid this superb venue.
I went there once several years ago.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 10, 2017 1:00:00 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread One of the plays playing there asked for an update as to ticket sales. The artistic director said “I don’t give a f*** about your little production and it’s money. I’m a big company you’re just little f***s” He then told her writer To come to the theatre so he could swear at her to her face because “this f***ing stupid production has been a headache” A pattern apparently there We are only seeing one side of the events here. It is only right to allow the theatre to have their say before any conclusions are drawn. However I am still far from convinced that going on an extended Twitter rant is going to make it easy to book future venues. Conflict resolution is far better done behind the scenes and involving the appropriate authorities/support services in order to attempt find an amicable solution. Of course if that fails, tell your story and make your voice heard. I am just a little tired of people reaching for the megaphone first (whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular issue may be) |
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Post by firefingers on Nov 10, 2017 1:25:54 GMT
Without naming names, if the above is true the Courtyard owner isn't the only vile theatre owner running an Off West End theatre... Worked in many of them, some are run by truly lovely people and some are just vile. (Remember one at one venue berating a volunteer usher for a good ten minutes because the pringles weren't stacked in the way he wanted. Never working there again!)
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Post by profquatermass on Nov 10, 2017 2:55:34 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread One of the plays playing there asked for an update as to ticket sales. The artistic director said “I don’t give a f*** about your little production and it’s money. I’m a big company you’re just little f***s” He then told her writer To come to the theatre so he could swear at her to her face because “this f***ing stupid production has been a headache” A pattern apparently there Thank you. I don't use Twitter and clicking on your link gave me a series of completely unrelated posts. That sounds shocking but I'd like to hear the AD's side of the story as it seems very hard to believe that anyone would behave like that without extreme provocation, if they behaved like that at all. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 6:04:07 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread If you're not registered with Twitter then many of the features just lead to a "sign in" form. I was eventually able to find the discussion but I had to click through several pages to get there. |
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2,496 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 10, 2017 7:31:57 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread If you're not registered with Twitter then many of the features just lead to a "sign in" form. I was eventually able to find the discussion but I had to click through several pages to get there. Fair enough. I didnt mean to be as aggressive as its come out, meant to be more jokey! |
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2,496 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 10, 2017 7:34:03 GMT
bloody hell its not that hard to click on a twitter thread One of the plays playing there asked for an update as to ticket sales. The artistic director said “I don’t give a f*** about your little production and it’s money. I’m a big company you’re just little f***s” He then told her writer To come to the theatre so he could swear at her to her face because “this f***ing stupid production has been a headache” A pattern apparently there We are only seeing one side of the events here. It is only right to allow the theatre to have their say before any conclusions are drawn. However I am still far from convinced that going on an extended Twitter rant is going to make it easy to book future venues. Conflict resolution is far better done behind the scenes and involving the appropriate authorities/support services in order to attempt find an amicable solution. Of course if that fails, tell your story and make your voice heard. I am just a little tired of people reaching for the megaphone first (whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular issue may be) Theyve been tagged in the thread so can reply of they want People are keeping quiet too long really. And if u dont want to read about someones story, you dont have to |
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Post by Jan on Nov 10, 2017 7:50:36 GMT
Impossible to know who to believe from this, but nothing she reports supports her own claim that there is a racist motivation in the AD's behaviour.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 8:02:07 GMT
The Whole thread:
So there's that. It will be interesting to see what comes next.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 9:19:38 GMT
Reading between the lines what is missing here is an account of what occurred between the poster and the writer who seems to have complained to this guy Rupert about their treatment by the company. I have heard stories about the courtyard too, but there is another conflict going on here that they are not telling us. It is not unusual for writers to be marginalised by (usually inexperienced) directors during the production process.
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Post by kathryn on Nov 10, 2017 9:29:23 GMT
Impossible to know who to believe from this, but nothing she reports supports her own claim that there is a racist motivation in the AD's behaviour. Replies from others with the same experience suggest that he is an equal-opportunity arsehole rather than a racially-motivated one. Not sure what difference that really makes, though. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2017 9:33:32 GMT
There do seem to be complaints from a number of different people about dismissive attitudes and difficulty getting money. Once could be a misunderstanding. Numerous times starts to smell like a strategy.
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Nov 10, 2017 11:39:14 GMT
There may be different reasons why there has not been a response to these tweets. One is that one cannot win in a tit for tat in twitter - both sides come off very badly. Another is that the tweets moved from a complaint about ticket sales information, etc., to stating that this was motivated by the fact that she is black and a woman - suggesting racism and/or sexism. These types of claims are hard to prove, and therefore publishing such claims might be actionable. Further, to publish that he might be "another Harvey Weinstein" implies he is a massive sexual predator (at the least). If so, a lack of response on twitter might mean an alternative more formal response is being considered. A third possibility is that he doesn't care what anyone thinks!
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