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Post by peggs on Apr 9, 2016 14:54:43 GMT
link
Not sure if this is going to work as having some problems but there's an interesting article in the guardian regarding this play and female roles.
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Post by peggs on Apr 9, 2016 14:55:58 GMT
Obviously Theatremonkey you did not say 'link' but it was only by using the quote button that I could get the richer text format which allowed me to post a link, sorry not very technology savvy it seems.
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Post by Jon on Apr 9, 2016 15:06:25 GMT
The National probably need the extra cash to make up the shortfall left by War Horse closing. They use dynamic pricing for Curious Incident as well.
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Post by showgirl on Apr 9, 2016 21:59:49 GMT
But has anyone noticed yet how the NT's new dynamic pricing is working in practice, please? I usually book on the first day if I do want to see something, and would be reluctant to check back for fear of finding that prices had subsequently fallen!
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Post by Snciole on Apr 10, 2016 15:56:39 GMT
I highly doubt prices will fall on the NT website but if a show isn't selling it could appear on the usual sites as discounted or complimentary.
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Post by Phantom of London on Apr 10, 2016 17:42:23 GMT
I was sitting on stage yesterday afternoon and it was pretty full.
Saw this at the Dorfman and saw this again, I said from the outset the Dnise Cough would win the Olivier, incredible performances tend to do that and Denise yesterday dlievered again and some more, this play got robbed by Hangman, which also was very good, but did not live up to this standard.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2016 8:30:19 GMT
Anyway, it actually is IMHO worth the cash. For me, NO show is worth £90. Oh I don't know. Angela Lansbury and Julia McKenzie as Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart in a revival of 'Chicago' with Tommy Steele as Billy Flynn and Shirley Bassey as Mama Morton would be worth at least £90.
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Post by AddisonMizner on Apr 11, 2016 17:59:47 GMT
THIS was the highlight of my London visit, having watched this on Saturday evening, being the last of the shows that I saw. As I have said previously in this thread, it is somewhat out of the ordinary for me to see something like this, as I do not really go and see plays (preferring musicals). However, with all the hype that this has received, and the accolades given for Denise Gough's central performance, I thought I would give this a go. Not to mention, I got £15 stage seats, which are the BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY! I was that close, I felt as though the actor's were giving me a private performance in my living room. It was amazing to feel the energy from the cast at such close range. If you get chance to sit here, do. There were absolutely no obstructions, and they are quite possibly the best seats in the house.
Now onto Denise Gough's performance. I know a lot has been said on here already, and so I am only repeating what has been said previously, but this was quite simply one of the best performances I have ever seen on the stage. It is up there with Imelda Staunton in GYPSY, and probably surpasses it. What Denise does is so brave and honest; the energy and physical intensity she gives to the role is remarkable. I couldn't take my eyes off of her for the entire performance! She was fully immersed into the role, so much so that I could't see the actress behind the character - she WAS Emma! She made a potentially extremely unlikeable character likeable, not only through the dry wit she brought to the role, but also the humanity, making you care deeply for her. Denise Gough certainly is an actress I am going to follow the career of from now on, and I am already planning on seeing her in ANGELS IN AMERICA next year at the National (providing I can get a ticket!) That said, the rest of the ensemble cast all give fine, quality performances.
The play itself is an absolute stunner! So well-written, with surprises at every turn. McMillan's ability to turn things on their head is remarkable. The play can absolutely break your heart and shock you one moment (as it does in the last scene between Emma and her parents), but can be hilariously funny the next. Some have said that they found the group therapy scenes overlong. I did not feel that at all, and feel they were pitched just right. I was engrossed from start to finish.
The staging too is brilliant - fresh and vibrant, proving my assertion that simple is almost always better.
It will come as no surprise that I would award this 5 stars. If I could get to London again before it closes, I would definitely be seeing this again. Don't hesitate - JUST GO!
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Post by Oleanna on Apr 11, 2016 22:12:35 GMT
For me, NO show is worth £90. Oh I don't know. Angela Lansbury and Julia McKenzie as Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart in a revival of 'Chicago' with Tommy Steele as Billy Flynn and Shirley Bassey as Mama Morton would be worth at least £90. Okay. Maybe that. Except Ann Reinking as Billy Flynn.
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Post by Phantom of London on Apr 12, 2016 17:00:35 GMT
Forgot about the ending with her parents. It had me sitting bolt upright again!!! {Spoiler - click to view} Who the hell was Katie.
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Post by Hamilton Addict on Apr 16, 2016 21:07:38 GMT
Saw the matinee of People, Places and Things earlier. The best word to describe this play is WOW! I absolutely loved it! Denise Gough gives such a strong performance and is up there, for me, with performers like Helen Mirren. It was very well written and Hangmen must be the best thing since sliced bread if this play lost out on the Olivier. It has even made it's way into my top 5 plays (not including musicals). All the other cast members were all very strong, especially Nathaniel Martello-White and Barbara Marten. I can't recommend this play enough. It's astonishing that Denise Gough give that performance 8 times a week!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 16:15:40 GMT
We've all been there. "Oh you must see X show - it's amazing! You would love it" and so you book and go along with expectations for this 'best thing since sliced bread' production. The hype, inevitably never quite lived up to.
This however, is truly deserving of the high praise and accolade that it is receiving. Denise Gough is a truly inspiring performer, giving her characterisation of Emma everything she has got. It's got National Theatre running through it like Brighton in a stick of rock.
The fragility of Emma's state of mind comes across painfully clear, as she comes to terms with the consequences of a destructive life. Throughout the piece, I couldn't help but feel huge swathes of sympathy for her, however it was during her scene with her parents that I began to reevaluate just how much pain and suffering her actions have caused to those around her. A truly thought provoking piece. Believe in the hype.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 18:02:22 GMT
A friend went to see this with his OH. He was thoroughly bored. She, on the other hand, thought it was incredible!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2016 18:48:35 GMT
And just as a side note, for anyone with seats in the balcony:
I've always taken advice that - vertigo sufferers should avoid these seats - with a pinch of salt when I read them. These seats, on the other hand, are rather higher than I'm used to. I was ok with it, but others did upgrade themselves once they saw the sheer height of the balcony from the stage. The view was great all the same, but it was a shock to the system.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2016 8:34:31 GMT
A friend went to see this with his OH. He was thoroughly bored. She, on the other hand, thought it was incredible! I'm with your friend I think, although I realise I'm in a very tiny minority there. I couldn't really engage with the play myself and found the characters irritating. Thought Denise Gough was fine but you can see her working very hard for it - on the surface it ticks lots of boxes and it's clearly a performance you're supposed to think is terrific but it left me a bit cold. Obviously with an Olivier award in her hand it's done the job it was meant to do though so I can imagine she's very happy indeed. She wasn't an actress I was really aware of before so I'd like to perhaps see what else she can do after this.
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Post by Nicholas on Apr 29, 2016 16:02:00 GMT
I think it may come down to how much you empathise with internalised emotional distress. If you recognise it easily in yourself, then the play will instantly hook. If it isn't something you are particularly conscious of - and a lot of people are lucky not to be - then it's a harder climb. Agree Ms Gough works very hard, and deserves her success, but I still stand by my feeling that her psychologist was the deeper performance.
Absolutely. There were things that Emma would say about the way she saw the world in its brutal, unpleasant, unforgiving, godless awfulness that chimed with me, or at least felt like a way of looking at the world I recognised. Macmillan wrote many many moments where a character described extreme joy, extreme sadness, extreme melancholia, extreme confusion, or any extreme emotion we’ve all felt; throughout so many of these deeply touching, deeply relatable speeches I, who am lucky enough to have never been an addict, thought ‘There but for the grace of god go I’. And I think the variety of other characters, some nicer than others, some more troubled than others, rather mediated this – Emma’s clearly the most charismatic addict there, but some of the duller ones allowed for many, broader entry points into this. Plus Herrin’s direction was so full on I was in Emma’s head from pretty much the word go.
And actually, Ryan, I think the best thing to say is yes, I found the characters irritating too. How Macmillan managed it I’ll never know, but he managed to show that people like Emma can be a wee bit annoying yet never had us off of her side. Gough deserves so much credit for this too (whenever I talk about the play, I tend to talk about direction and writing and leave her out of it – that’s wrong of me, she’s beyond incredible), but Emma got on my nerves, and the fact that she was allowed to be grating and problematic and not that awful cliché of a ‘strong female character’ is what made this so special. Had this painted addiction merely as some kind of last chance saloon that the desperate and mistreated go to and thus not dared to show addiction as dislikeable, it would have been terrible. Had this taken the tone of Sir David Hare’s terrible My Zinc Bed – that if it’s addiction or desire you have to sacrifice, be an addict – it would have been terrible. I think we never lost our sympathy with people who often knew that they were now trapped with something destructive within them for the rest of their lives, yet we weren’t asked to sympathise with their violence, their selfishness or their rudeness. We could empathise both with the victims and sufferers of addiction, and dislike them in their dislikeable moments. I thought this script was really quite incredible.
Also got to agree about Barbra Marten though. A truly amazing performance of withheld anger and a difficult life lived that was the perfect counterpoint to the louder, larger characters around her. That she was overlooked by not only the Oliviers but most reviews I’ve read disappoints and astounds me. But truly the bee’s knees is Denise.
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Apr 29, 2016 16:11:27 GMT
Watch the hands, the contrast between Gough and Marten is striking, a directorial/performance decision that illuminates each perfectly.
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Post by kathryn on Apr 30, 2016 17:31:11 GMT
I absolutely loved this, even from the rather vertiginous (maybe it was the head-cold making me feel it, as heights don't normally bother me) balcony.
It's the best new play I've seen for a long time, and I'm surprised Hangmen won the Olivier over it. That final scene is shattering, and drew audible gasps from the audience - there were a few recovering addicts in, judging from the interval conversations, so I guess it really hit home for them.
It's goi g to stay with me for a long time.
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Post by Jasmine on May 1, 2016 11:38:20 GMT
Loved this yesterday. And those on stage seats - WOW!
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Post by theatremadness on May 6, 2016 17:51:32 GMT
Was randomly on the DMT website looking at tickets for this and 3 £25 front row on-stage seats appeared for this on Thurs 12th evening only, can't find them on any other date for the rest of the run. Bought one of them, naturally, as this has made its way onto my must-see list but hadn't as of yet got round to it. No idea whether the other 2 are still there but thought I'd put a heads up on here for anyone else who may be interested!
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Post by popcultureboy on May 6, 2016 22:06:23 GMT
They're gone and DMT really are the worst for dynamic pricing as the front row on stage seating started out at £15.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2016 17:34:09 GMT
So I am not good at predicting things, with the news of Audra and the pregnancy, if they can't get a filler to go into the Wyndhams, couldn't they just extend People, Places and Things?
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2016 18:07:44 GMT
So I am not good at predicting things, with the news of Audra and the pregnancy, if they can't get a filler to go into the Wyndhams, couldn't they just extend People, Places and Things? I was thinking the exact same thing, makes sense! How's it selling? If not, then why not bring back Hangmen? Missed that but would've loved to have seen it!
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Post by Jon on May 10, 2016 19:04:09 GMT
So I am not good at predicting things, with the news of Audra and the pregnancy, if they can't get a filler to go into the Wyndhams, couldn't they just extend People, Places and Things? I was thinking the exact same thing, makes sense! How's it selling? If not, then why not bring back Hangmen? Missed that but would've loved to have seen it! I doubt Hangmen will be back. I think PPT is more likely to extend since it's a 10 week gap.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2016 19:10:10 GMT
I was thinking the exact same thing, makes sense! How's it selling? If not, then why not bring back Hangmen? Missed that but would've loved to have seen it! I doubt Hangmen will be back. I think PPT is more likely to extend since it's a 10 week gap. That's what I imagine happening too, maybe a month/six week extension, followed by time to move the new show in.
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Post by popcultureboy on May 11, 2016 8:25:58 GMT
PPT won't extend, I don't think. The Truth is looking to come in for a limited run from the Menier, around the time that Lady Day would have been playing so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's announced by the end of the week.
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Post by Jon on May 11, 2016 14:13:51 GMT
PPT won't extend, I don't think. The Truth is looking to come in for a limited run from the Menier, around the time that Lady Day would have been playing so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's announced by the end of the week. There are a few playhouses available for The Truth to go into but the Wyndham's wouldn't surprise me
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Post by mallardo on May 14, 2016 7:14:55 GMT
I must be the last person here to have seen this so there's no need to repeat what's been said - even my sky high expectations were surpassed. Denise Gough as Emma... there are no words. And the rest of the cast. And the play itself which is an immaculately constructed piece of work in which everything planted early pays off late in ways that ring unexpectedly and shockingly true.
As someone with some experience in these matters I was glad to see the "upside" of the drug experience acknowledged; the bliss, the sense of confidence and what passes for contentment that can be attained in no other way, even by someone as articulate and intelligent as Emma. Addiction is so hard to combat because the addict doesn't really want to give up all those great feelings, despite knowing full well what the consequences will be. I thought Duncan Macmillan and Denise Gough caught that. As Emma's mother tells her so devastatingly, it was only when she was drunk or stoned that she was interesting. I'm sure all addicts feel the truth of that.
I also loved the parallels drawn between the drug high and the acting experience - both of them an escape from oneself into something that seems so much easier than coping with the daily improvisatory struggle with reality.
So much truth in this, so well dramatized, so well played. Amazing theatre.
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Post by callum on May 18, 2016 19:46:10 GMT
The scene at the end with her mother was so devastating, sheer theatrical ecstasy.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 20:33:35 GMT
I must be the last person here to have seen this so there's no need to repeat what's been said - even my sky high expectations were surpassed. Not the last, next week for me, but looking forward to this even more now.
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