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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2018 21:55:13 GMT
I am rather shocked by the negative reaction to this play here. I loved it. The writing is beautiful and the acting is sublime. I laughed and I cried and 90 minutes flew by. Yes, the specifics are American but the general theme is international - the way many (probably the majority) of families function - the heartbreaking ways we screw up our kids lives with only the best of intentions - the devastating way our children have to make their own mistakes as we look on helplessly. And, of course, so many other topics and themes are touched on and treated with humour and sadness and despair. This little play will stay with me for a long time I know. And the majority of tonight's Hampstead audience seemed to tune in to the style very quickly and laughed and reacted vociferously. The cast were visibly delighted by the warm and vocally appreciative reception at curtain call. You are easily shocked perhaps??
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Post by stevemar on Sept 3, 2018 22:00:24 GMT
I am rather shocked by the negative reaction to this play here. I loved it. The writing is beautiful and the acting is sublime. I laughed and I cried and 90 minutes flew by.
Old Stager - nothing shocks me about the views here! I just checked back to the start of this thread, and there have been 2 negative reviews and 4 positive ones. It’s just that the negative ones (well one in particular!) get amplified a bit more...😇
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Post by stevemar on Sept 3, 2018 22:08:03 GMT
The entire family are failures And no one had achieved anything I felt embarrassed to have to watch such awful people portrayed Sitting round a plastic table In a sh*t hole Eating food off paper plates The family had little to be shouting about Perhaps if there was even one positive role model Or a character who wasn’t emotionally stunted I might have been more generous I’m sorry you felt embarrassed watching this Parsley. It’s true that if they had all been successful, it wouldn’t have been so interesting! Yes, the flat (duplex, don’t you know) was not great, but hey, people do live like this. The makeshift nature of the paper plates and cutlery certainly wouldn’t have been how many of us would wish to serve a Thanksgiving Dinner, but hey, the family were together, they had a lot of love and care for each other and that was worth celebrating. There were three generations together. Life isn’t perfect, far from it. Nothing embarrassing about that for me.
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Post by daisy24601 on Sept 4, 2018 21:47:51 GMT
I saw this tonight and did enjoy it, although when something's this glum I don't tend to enjoy it 100%. The main thing I can is the acting was incredible. Every character felt very real and not cliched. The end was a bit dragged out and I may be a bit dense but I didn't really get it. {Spoiler - click to view} When the lights all went off a woman near me said quite loudly "Is that the end?"
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Post by nash16 on Sept 5, 2018 0:37:46 GMT
This is a dramatically dull play, but with excellent acting.
(Just to balance).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 15:02:08 GMT
I saw this tonight and did enjoy it, although when something's this glum I don't tend to enjoy it 100%. The main thing I can is the acting was incredible. Every character felt very real and not cliched. The end was a bit dragged out and I may be a bit dense but I didn't really get it. {Spoiler - click to view} When the lights all went off a woman near me said quite loudly "Is that the end?" I wasn’t going to see this so clicked on your spoiler and now I am intrigued. Contemplating buying a ticket.
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Post by The Matthew on Sept 5, 2018 15:37:15 GMT
Everyone, please refrain from personal attacks. The title of this thread is "The Humans". Treat others like that's what they are.
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Post by sherriebythesea on Sept 5, 2018 16:39:23 GMT
This sounds fantastic. I wish it was still going to be playing when I'm in town.
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Post by nialld on Sept 5, 2018 21:14:36 GMT
Well I personally thought this was outstanding. Can't remember the last time I saw a piece of theatre that felt so real and alive. It's quiet and there's not a whole lot in terms of drama but I was completely captivated throughout, the performances were just phenomenal and the relationships between each character so wonderfully crafted. A lot of it personally resonated with me which made it on the whole more poignant. I'd go as far as to say it's my favourite piece of theatre I've seen this year so far.
Seemed to get a positive reaction from the audience tonight, with lots of laughing at the right places and positive conversations upon exit.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 5, 2018 21:35:41 GMT
Posts removed. Please could you focus comments on the play rather than on other members, past or present. Thanks.
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Post by Mark on Sept 7, 2018 20:31:37 GMT
I really wasn’t taken by this. For a Tony winning play I had much higher expectations. The first 45 minutes or so just dragged along for me, and towards the end I thought it did pick up but could never quite build enough momentum and then the ending it just flaked out.
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Post by jadnoop on Sept 10, 2018 22:04:39 GMT
In many ways this reminded me of Annie Baker's The Flick at the National a couple of years ago. Both were very American plays with precise, but naturalistic dialogue, wonderful acting, and beautifully realised sets that were somehow simultaneously both completely real and yet surprisingly stylised.
Unfortunately however, for me that's where the similarities end.
Despite being slow, deliberate and 3 hours long, The Flick was masterful and held my attention the entire time. Despite feeling 'true' there was a wonderful arc to the story as well as for each of the characters, and the story made for interesting commentary on modern life. In contrast, despite often speaking at break-neck pace, overlapping and intercutting dialogue, The Humans' 90 minutes felt ponderous. Despite the apparent pace, much of the story seemed to meander aimlessly and didn't really grab my attention. The 'big' character moments felt forced, and by the time the largely unsurprising revelation occurs I simply didn't care enough about the characters.
This was a play I really wanted (and expected) to love. There were a couple of great moments, such as the beautiful & eerie lighting of a spiral staircase in the darkness, but in the end it really wasn't for me.
Having said that, I seemed to be in the minority, with lots of laughter and tears from audience members nearby, and a fair few giving a standing ovation.
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Post by squidward on Sept 11, 2018 0:38:34 GMT
I’m in the ‘disappointed and not sure what all the fuss is about’ camp.
Superb acting from most of the cast ( I wasn’t taken with the boyfriend). Thinly drawn characters, some great lines but it didn’t actually amount to much for me by the end.
It had the feel of a devised piece that needed a much tighter structure. Quite a few of the events in the play didn’t ring true and the very end was completely perplexing ( and not in a good way).
Other people have made comparisons with August Osage County which for me had everything that this play lacked. It’s very hard to care about characters who we learn very little about (the biggest case of this being the daughter who has moved into the new flat).
At the start I thought it was going to be a great, witty observational drama about the various challenges, both practical and existential,faced by several generations of a family. By the end it seemed to have morphed into a cross between a soap opera and a horror film.
I’m absolutely baffled by how lauded this production has been. Perhaps the respect afforded to The Steppenwolf Theatre company name is enough to guarantee 5 star reviews even if some of the productions are under cooked.
Performances aside, this was a big case of Emperor’s New Clothes for me.
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Post by n1david on Sept 12, 2018 12:04:37 GMT
Seeing this last night, a quintessentially New York play on the anniversary of 9/11 perhaps gave it an extra resonance, but I mostly enjoyed this. Some mild spoilers follow, but no significant plot points. I agree with jadnoop 's comparison of this to The Flick (which I too thought was wonderful), in that the drama of this is small drama, but the joy is in the phenomenal acting - obviously these actors have been playing these roles for a long time but I really believed that these characters were sisters, and the challenges of Rich integrating with this difficult, flawed family. So for a long time I sat back and enjoyed watching the interactions, wondering when it would add up to a greater truth. ...and it never really did for me. I thought the last 20 minutes or so were strange and unsatisfying, in an attempt, perhaps, to give some stage presence to impending doom, whereas I would have enjoyed it more should the family's conversations continue, even if they ended up petering out - this would, oddly, have felt more satisfying than the intensifying psuedo-supernatural effects. Ultimately, I think it's worth seeing for the great writing and superb acting for about 80% of the play. The last 20 minutes or so really let it down for me.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 15, 2018 18:13:21 GMT
I was at the matinee today. I tend to agree with the majority of views here; a good play, with some immaculate performances but definitely falls short of greatness. Jayne Houdyshell as the mother is superb.
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Post by foxa on Sept 15, 2018 18:23:15 GMT
Mr Foxa and I were there at the matinee today and we were both in the absolutely loved this camp. 5* from us both.
Beautiful performances,nuanced direction, something to say but in a non-preachy/balanced/no taking sides way about the disappearing middle class.
I get frustrated with plays or fiction when I can't figure out how characters manage financially (probably one of the reasons I so enjoy Austen - she lays it all out.) Here the details of work and money are believably worked into the plot: references, student loans, pensions, trust funds, etc. are at the centre of this not-quite-managing family. Having lived in NYC the compromises of real estate were true and evocative.
It is highly naturalistic (except perhaps the very ending to which n1david alludes) which I love but might not appeal to everyone. But I'm a fan.
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Post by wannabedirector on Sept 15, 2018 20:34:45 GMT
I saw this tonight, first visit to the Hampstead which seems to be lovely little theatre. I really enjoyed the first hour and a bit of this, but the ending left me feeling a little bit flat. Based of the first hour or so this could have been the best new play I’ve seen this year so far, and it’s a great play, but the ending didn’t elevate it to that level for me. The whole supernatural/spiritual ending is something that I tink worked well in Nine Night at the NT earlier this year, but it just didn’t really work for me in this, which is a shame because overall it was a good good play. The writing is wonderfully naturalistic, and I found all the performances utterly captivitating. Sometimes American plays don’t always translate well to a British audience (Against at the Almeida last year springs to mind, as does Belleville at the Donmar although I enjoyed the later far more than the former), but in this case I feel that the themes translate quite well to Britain and British society at the moment. Nonetheless I’d recommend, I’m glad that I went to see this in the end. The theatre was full and it seems to be sold out for the rest of the run, it would be nice if this got further life in London.
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Post by poster J on Sept 15, 2018 22:26:43 GMT
I saw this tonight, first visit to the Hampstead which seems to be lovely little theatre. I really enjoyed the first hour and a bit of this, but the ending left me feeling a little bit flat. Based of the first hour or so this could have been the best new play I’ve seen this year so far, and it’s a great play, but the ending didn’t elevate it to that level for me. The whole supernatural/spiritual ending is something that I tink worked well in Nine Night at the NT earlier this year, but it just didn’t really work for me in this, which is a shame because overall it was a good good play. The writing is wonderfully naturalistic, and I found all the performances utterly captivitating. Sometimes American plays don’t always translate well to a British audience (Against at the Almeida last year springs to mind, as does Belleville at the Donmar although I enjoyed the later far more than the former), but in this case I feel that the themes translate quite well to Britain and British society at the moment. Nonetheless I’d recommend, I’m glad that I went to see this in the end. The theatre was full and it seems to be sold out for the rest of the run, it would be nice if this got further life in London. I saw it yesterday and this pretty much sums up my feelings as well - the performances are superb and I enjoyed the first hour or so, but the ending didn't work for me. Glad I saw it (though I don't feel the need to repeat visit) and overall pleased but just slightly disappointed the ending let down all the good work beforehand.
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Post by barelyathletic on Sept 17, 2018 10:38:46 GMT
Saw this on Friday and thought it was terrific. A funny and disturbing and emotional play about our rational and irrational fears, with so much going on under a deceptively simple surface. Beautifully written, directed and designed and the performances are amazingly rich and deep and interconnected, as they should be having spent so much time working as a company together. It won't be everybody's cup of tea but I think it was a major coup for Hampstead to have this and it deserves to sell out for every performance. Catch it if you can.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 22:08:56 GMT
Sold out :-(
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Post by jek on Sept 19, 2018 19:20:28 GMT
I really enjoyed this but then I have a special interest (both academic and personal) in depictions of Catholic family life. In fact I wouldn't have known anything about it except for an interview with its author Stephen Karam in the American Catholic magazine (Commonweal) a couple of years back. It was much funnier than I was expecting and the audience seemed to lap it up. I did like the fact that it was on at a theatre so close to the - excellent and relevant - Freud museum at the address where Freud lived in his London years.
It was my first visit to the Hampstead theatre and I would certainly go there again. I had no idea it was so easy to get there on the overground (Finchley Road and Frognal station). I very much liked the toilets (although not the queue to reach them). Each cubicle has a blown up photo of an actor from one of their productions on the door - I got Tamsin Greig from Longing. All of those featured are female except for Simon Russell Beale who is depicted in his role in Mr Foote's Other Leg.
Pleased for the theatre and the cast that this is sold out - but disappointed that this means some people I know would have really enjoyed this won't get the chance to see it.
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Post by vickster51 on Sept 28, 2018 21:44:46 GMT
So, I saw this tonight and overall enjoyed it, but tend to agree I'm surprised it won the Tony. I now have a bigger dilemma - I have tickets for next week to take my parents. Now I've managed to go earlier, I conflicted as to whether they'll enjoy it or hate it.......
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Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 29, 2018 7:03:49 GMT
Naturalistic tour de force, family life in all its beautiful imperfections.
The precise timing, interactions, and expressions were symphonic in their complexity, an ensemble that encapsulated their characters completely.
The build up to the reveal was a wonderful depiction of family life, the ending detracted from what came before, preferred if the day petered out to snoozing, watching the television and friendly bickering as an antithesis to the darkness that is expected of a final act,
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Post by mallardo on Sept 30, 2018 12:57:11 GMT
The ending of The Humans is foreshadowed throughout the play, indeed from the very first scene. The basement duplex flat, with its bumps and bangs and power failures and lightless windows, is virtually the seventh character in the six character play, not just a metaphor for the Blake family's turmoil but a complicit partner in it. I thought the final moments were incredibly powerful, crucial to the conception of the whole piece.
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Post by Rory on Oct 12, 2018 15:47:29 GMT
How I would love it if this were to announce an immediate transfer to the Ambassadors, now that Eugenius! has cancelled its run. It would be over by 5th Jan, which would allow Jayne Houdyshell plenty of time to rehearse the Broadway Lear with Glenda.
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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 Oct 13, 2018 16:42:48 GMT
Thought this was a right load of old wank
And why did the grandmother look younger than the mother?
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Post by learfan on Oct 13, 2018 18:08:32 GMT
Thought this was a right load of old wank And why did the grandmother look younger than the mother? I use that line in the office, haha!
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Post by couldileaveyou on Sept 17, 2021 16:20:36 GMT
The trailer of the movie adaptation. Jayne Houdyshell is still in the cast!
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Post by mkb on Jan 3, 2022 12:37:19 GMT
My notes say I rated The Humans as four-stars when I saw it at The Hampstead Upstairs. I remember there were some jokes in the dialogue, and neck-hair-standing moments at various character revelations. Sadly, these seem inconsequential in the film version that I saw last night.
Instead, there is a focus on creating a claustrophobic atmosphere, and all sorts of visual and aural clues that we are watching a simmering horror film, a horror that will ultimately have no pay-off, leaving the viewer feeling short-changed.
Which is not to say the film is not worth your time: it absolutely is for the all-round masterclasses in acting. If Richard Jenkins, and especially Jayne Houdyshell (who was in both the Broadway production and Hampstead transfer) do not get Oscar nominations there is no justice.
Three stars (just) for the movie.
[So sad that at a Sunday evening show at the Curzon Bloomsbury, I had the auditorium to myself. This is a venue that was buzzing pre-pandemic where shows were frequently sold out and required advance booking. I would say that at 90% of my 2021 cinema visits, the audience size has been in single digits, and usually just me and my husband. I fear for the future of cinema exhibition. Please support your local cinema while you still can.]
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