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Post by MrBunbury on Mar 23, 2016 9:03:56 GMT
After working hard to convince a couple of friends to come with me, I went to the first performance yesterday. The revolving set got stuck towards the end of the first act and they did not manage to make it work again so we were sent home at the interval (with my friends' delight as they like to think that their presence was somehow the cause of the problem...). From what I could see the first act is a little slow at the beginning but it gets better as it goes along. I really liked Sian Phillips. The show should last three hours with one interval.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 9:56:45 GMT
Don't worry about Sian Phillips. What about Elliot Cow-wow-wow-an? I still have delightful memories of his snugger-than-snug trousers in 'An Ideal Husband' . . .  |
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Post by MrBunbury on Mar 23, 2016 10:10:02 GMT
Don't worry about Sian Phillips. What about Elliot Cow-wow-wow-an? I still have delightful memories of his snugger-than-snug trousers in 'An Ideal Husband' . . . He is in good shape but his trousers were not particularly snug (but they might get snugger in the second act, who knows). |
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Post by foxa on Mar 23, 2016 11:32:31 GMT
Ever the optimist, Mr B!
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Post by Snciole on Mar 23, 2016 11:39:51 GMT
What happens in that scenario? Do you get your money back? I am going to see this this evening and haven't had the cancellation email yet!
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Post by Snciole on Mar 23, 2016 11:41:28 GMT
Just looking at Twitter and people heckled! How undignified!
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Post by MrBunbury on Mar 23, 2016 12:10:55 GMT
What happens in that scenario? Do you get your money back? I am going to see this this evening and haven't had the cancellation email yet! Yes, they told us to contact the box office and we will get our money back (I still haven't done that but it will be probably a voucher than can be used for any show at the National). |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 23, 2016 12:59:44 GMT
What happens in that scenario? Do you get your money back? I am going to see this this evening and haven't had the cancellation email yet! If it's abandoned less than half way through, yes, you get your cash back. Probably best phoning them, Snciole if you are travelling far. I am assuming no news is good news but I was using it as an excuse to use my Pizza Express voucher so will be more devastated about that if it does get cancelled |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 13:13:47 GMT
What happens in that scenario? Do you get your money back? For a moment there, I thought Snciole was talking about Cowan's trousers not being snug enough. Then I read on... |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 23, 2016 13:29:16 GMT
What happens in that scenario? Do you get your money back? For a moment there, I thought Snciole was talking about Cowan's trousers not being snug enough. Then I read on... I just assumed they would be throwing money back at you, like Oprah, in that scenario! |
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Post by avenueqresident on Mar 23, 2016 14:33:47 GMT
Or credit/debit card! Depending on your mode of payment.
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Post by lynette on Mar 23, 2016 15:54:05 GMT
There you go, what have I told you guys? Beware the revolve. If they can't make a play standing still they have no business trying. Come on, tell me a play at the National where the revolve actually meant something.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 16:09:32 GMT
Es Devlin's revolve at the Royal Court for Linda was brilliant design.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 16:23:33 GMT
Lots of productions have used it to excellent effect, but by phrasing it as "where the revolve actually meant something", Lynette has very cleverly set it up that she can dismiss any example offered by reiterating "yes but did it MEAN anything?".  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 16:39:32 GMT
There you go, what have I told you guys? Beware the revolve. If they can't make a play standing still they have no business trying. Come on, tell me a play at the National where the revolve actually meant something. A revolve usually means that you can stage a play fluidly with multiple settings which can sometimes be used simultaneously and which are often tangibly linked. The production of Linda was so much richer with its revolve than it could have been otherwise. |
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Post by foxa on Mar 23, 2016 16:44:52 GMT
There you go, what have I told you guys? Beware the revolve. If they can't make a play standing still they have no business trying. Come on, tell me a play at the National where the revolve actually meant something. And The Revenger's Tragedy - that was one of my favourite uses of a revolve ever. |
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Post by MrBunbury on Mar 23, 2016 16:46:13 GMT
In the case of "Les blancs", at least in the first act, the revolve is used to show the same set from different angles and create a little more variety in defining the space where the various scenes take place.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 19:24:54 GMT
His Dark Materials, A Little Night Music (both using the Olivier drum revolve), etc.
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Post by littlesally on Mar 23, 2016 22:25:43 GMT
His Dark Materials, A Little Night Music (both using the Olivier drum revolve), etc. Agree and I'd add Coram Boy. |
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Post by caa on Mar 23, 2016 23:52:16 GMT
The Young Vic "Streetcar" revolve was impressive, particularly the way its speed reflected emotions. It might have been impressive but it was also very annoying and for me made me feel less involved in the story especially when in one scene it stopped and I could see very little of what was going on. |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 24, 2016 0:03:49 GMT
So the whole production happened tonight. It is closer to 3 hours than the 3.5 listed on the free cast list but still too long for a 7:30 start.
It feels very appropriate in the light of recent terrorist events and it very much reminded me of A Season in the Congo. I am not sure how much of the piece was Hansbury's work as there is a dramaturg involved but I thought it was some of the strongest dialogue I had heard in a while and some interesting and engaging performances from the cast.
For Damned by Despair fans there is a lot of fire, I don't how long that will last though unless it is part of some insurance scam by Rufus to make up for the Arts cuts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 24, 2016 5:39:04 GMT
Jeez the NT has really hit the skids lately hasn't it?
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Post by Snciole on Mar 24, 2016 9:19:25 GMT
I went in with such low expectations because Rufus' reign of terror hasn't been enjoyable for me but if you liked Yael Farber's The Crucible then you will like this.
Without too many spoilers it also reminded me of the recent Another Country's Good, maybe it was the Olivier staging, which I always feel is quite limited for modern sets despite its vast size, maybe it was the "innocents" abroad aspect but I would still argue the NT is not in a great place but I hope it is trying.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2016 10:33:48 GMT
I think the NT has hit as low as it's going to be for a while and it's beginning to climb out. Shame wonder.land and Talk House are still dragging things out, but I don't reckon there'll be anything as miserable as those two for a while once they finally clear off.
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Post by DuchessConstance on Mar 24, 2016 11:43:07 GMT
Well personally I'm counting the days (years?) till Simon Godwin takes over, and we can all start bitching about how much better things were under Rufus.
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