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Post by mallardo on Jul 7, 2018 10:42:31 GMT
The only other production I've seen of this played it with equal parts comedy and menace - and was effective. This is not Michael Grandage's approach. He and his actors are all in for comedy, to the point where the play can be seen as a farce with graphically violent episodes. This bothered me at first but as the show went on I realized that I, and everyone else in the theatre, was having a great old time. It was working!
If The Ferryman played its IRA gunmen as small time, small-minded thugs, Grandage's take on The Lieutenant of Inishmore plays them as simpletons and buffoons. And what better way for the play to express its condemnation of these murderous monsters than to laugh at them.
It's very VERY funny. And leading the laughs is Aidan Turner's psychotic clown of a Padraic - for me a great comedy performance. If he comes up short on the menace it's no matter. That approach would not work in this setting. The rest of the cast are not at his level - Charlie Murphy as Mairead, the only woman in the piece, makes surprisingly little of what can be a great part - but they keep the laughs coming and under the circumstances that's what's needed.
A crazy and, on the whole, wildly enjoyable interpretation of a great play.
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Post by lookingatthestars on Jul 7, 2018 16:53:17 GMT
The only other production I've seen of this played it with equal parts comedy and menace - and was effective. This is not Michael Grandage's approach. I have seen 2 other productions. These were both comedic but, as you say, had equal part menace. This current production, with it's focus on the comedy, does make for a good night out, and is very enjoyable, but I wish this would have had those darker edges, rather than just defer to the comedy all the time. Seems to me the director just missed some of McDonagh's dark comedic tone, plenty of other regular comedies around, not always easy to get a good dark one. I am thinking now of the 'In Bruges' ( must have a look at that again) hitmen who very funny, but still dark. They just didn't play the comedy. |
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Post by mallardo on Jul 7, 2018 19:36:40 GMT
The only other play of McDonagh's I can think of - and I haven't seen them all - that is as grotesquely violent yet as farcically funny as this one is A Behanding in Spokane. In both cases the comedy trumps (you'll excuse the expression) the violence and it's quite legitimate (IMO) to play them that way.
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Post by raiseitup on Jul 9, 2018 9:57:20 GMT
FYI – Stalls Row B tickets £10 on the Delfont Mackintosh website for 16-20 July performances.
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Post by thenightowl on Jul 9, 2018 11:17:23 GMT
FYI – Stalls Row B tickets £10 on the Delfont Mackintosh website for 16-20 July performances. Thanks so much for putting this post up - I've just booked a cheap post Birthday treat for next week. |
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Post by wickedgrin on Jul 9, 2018 13:16:44 GMT
FYI – Stalls Row B tickets £10 on the Delfont Mackintosh website for 16-20 July performances. I LOVE this board! Thanks so much raiseitup for this information. Booked a ticket. An absolute bargain! I know this has been mentioned endlessly on this board but the prices of seats has really risen in the WE. Top price for plays at £65/70 only get you rear stalls and you have to pay £100 premium for front stalls seats! Musicals now want in excess of £100 for good stalls and dress seats. Gone are the days when just a couple of rows were premium - now huge swathes of the stalls are premium prices! People must pay them and then the theatres discount down the few unsold at the last minute if they need to - clearly it maximises revenue. |
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Post by mallardo on Jul 9, 2018 16:17:57 GMT
For those who are able to day seat - you should definitely do so. Day seats are in the front row with loads of leg room and a perfect view of the show because of the low stage. Ten pounds.
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Post by Rory on Jul 9, 2018 16:55:28 GMT
Can anyone tell me please if they are selling posters for this in the foyer?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 17:25:35 GMT
Can anyone tell me please if they are selling posters for this in the foyer? I will let you know tomorrow. Unless I have been arrested. |
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Post by Rory on Jul 9, 2018 20:27:23 GMT
Can anyone tell me please if they are selling posters for this in the foyer? I will let you know tomorrow. Unless I have been arrested. Bless you, @ryan. I'll be your character witness! |
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Post by peggs on Jul 9, 2018 20:33:14 GMT
I will let you know tomorrow. Unless I have been arrested. Bless you, @ryan . I'll be your character witness! I fear we might have to delete the board pronto or it might tell against @ryan, premediated and all that  |
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Post by lynette on Jul 9, 2018 21:36:44 GMT
I'll hide a file in the fruit cake.
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Post by showgirl on Jul 10, 2018 3:52:52 GMT
I'll hide a file in the fruit cake. But where will you hide the fruit cake(s)?! |
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Post by asfound on Jul 10, 2018 7:06:52 GMT
I saw this last night and didn't think it was great. There was something very unnatural about the humour, it kind of felt like I could always picture Martin McDonagh in a writers room, thinking of witty things and telegraphing them to the characters in a way which didn't feel realistic or spontaneous. As such I smiled a few times but there was nothing that really made me laugh. On the whole, the whole thing felt very lacking in substance, kind of like a poor man's Quentin Tarantino script.
I don't want to be too negative though - I was never bored watching it, the acting was great and the production, set and effects (aside from the weak prerecorded gunshots) were terrific. Maybe Martin McDonagh just isn't for me, I'm starting to find the fact that every play I see has to be funny or ironic a bit tedious. Everything seems to have to be played for laughs as if directors are afraid of being sincere. I guess this isn't relevant for a play written as a black comedy but despite the violence, animal cruelty and sociopathic characters this seemed very much to lean on the side of pure comedy, and I'm not sure if this is due to the West End version being different.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 18:21:19 GMT
I will let you know tomorrow. Unless I have been arrested. Bless you, @ryan. I'll be your character witness! , there are posters. I confirm there are posters. Aidan in his vest holding his pussy. All for the grand total of 5 English Pounds. |
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Post by Rory on Jul 10, 2018 18:40:29 GMT
Oh my God, you do make me laugh! Cheers @ryan!😂
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2018 8:33:55 GMT
Well. Yet again I have avoided custody. They'll never catch me!
Quite frankly all you need to know about this show is that Aidan Turner is a hilarious delight in a tight white-ish/red-ish vest for a good portion of this show. I'd happily accept the Second Amendment if it means that he can get those guns out whenever he wants (although he did struggle with the real ones at times but I forgive him).
Happily the rest of the show is a bunch of jolly japes that I found hilarious. Actually I think the term is 'uproarious'. As did the swathes of middle aged Poldark lovers of a lady persuasion who filled the audience. In fact, there was one old dear who was sat in the third row of the stalls and brought her opera glasses with her probably so that she didn't miss a single muscle! A gal after my own heart.
The cast are uniformly wonderful and really playing it for laughs (which I heard some people grumbling about on the way out) but special mention has to go to Chris Walley as Davey who I thought was just smashing. It all zips by nicely and doesn't outstay its welcome, the set is lovely, there's a REAL CAT and Charlie Murphy has a delightful voice. I'd happily go again.
There's rather a lot of 'blood' though for those of a sensitive nature.
And the shots aren't really very loud. But the guns are glorious.
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Post by showgirl on Jul 12, 2018 3:52:46 GMT
I was surprised to be so disappointed by this last night and left at the interval. Admittedly I was struggling to stay awake (still too hot in the rear of the circle despite the aircon), but what I did see seemed simply silly and far too slow. Nothing much happened in the first hour; the dialogue was either poor or ill-served by the direction and as for the accents, was it just me or are some of those also pretty wide of the mark? (And yes, I do know that Aidan Turner is Irish.)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2018 8:13:46 GMT
I thought the whole cast were Irish?
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Post by Marwood on Jul 12, 2018 11:02:50 GMT
They are Irish, its the West Coast/Aran Islands dialect that might seem a bit too strong to some people, its a lot more full on than some of the pronunciation in some of the other Irish districts.
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Post by showgirl on Jul 12, 2018 13:59:54 GMT
Must just be me, then, but I obviously wasn't best placed to enjoy the experience in any respect last night. It was only a £10 ticket so I had £5 worth and got home a little less late than I would otherwise have done.
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Post by lookingatthestars on Jul 12, 2018 14:39:45 GMT
I was surprised to be so disappointed by this last night and left at the interval. Admittedly I was struggling to stay awake (still too hot in the rear of the circle despite the aircon), but what I did see seemed simply silly and far too slow. Nothing much happened in the first hour; the dialogue was either poor or ill-served by the direction and as for the accents, was it just me or are some of those also pretty wide of the mark? (And yes, I do know that Aidan Turner is Irish.) My thoughts would have been similar. I again would put that down to the direction. The actors are all Irish, but would have a more standard/educated accent than these characters, and I think most if not all are from a different area. So it's a case of 'putting on an accent'. In the right hands it would come from a rooted place of characterization. Druid Theatre always do that well, I feel. But as I mentioned before, I think this production was very much played for the comedy on a superficial basis, and did not get into the inner layers, particularly with the lead character, pity really I think AT had potential there. I remember being impressed with Ciaran Hinds doing an inner city Dublin accent, in the 'Night Alive', a few years back. He wasn't just 'putting on an accent' but it came from deep within. You never questioned the authenticity. |
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Post by demonbarber on Jul 13, 2018 15:27:19 GMT
Row B now released at all performances at full price.
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Post by David J on Jul 14, 2018 19:57:37 GMT
Damn, if this production doesn’t reach the depths of darkness it can go I hate to think how far you can push that last scene
This is the first time seeing this and I certainly enjoyed it immensely but I can see it leans heavily on the comedy in comparison to what I have seen by mcdough
But that last scene has quite a lot of kickers. I’m sure there were a lot of Poldark fans seeing a mcdough play for the first time leaving quite perturbed
I loved how one guy at the back of stalls shouted “NO WAY” at a big moment
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Post by viserys on Jul 14, 2018 21:47:18 GMT
Would the box office allow a swap of tickets? If I turn up at the box office with a ticket for a later date and said "could I swap this for a ticket for tonight?" would they do this, seeing as it's probably easier for them to shift a ticket for a later date than one for the same evening at short notice?
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