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Post by Rory on Jun 21, 2019 8:43:21 GMT
I've seen a few good Bottoms over the years and particularly liked Richard Griffiths and Bernard Bresslaw. Whatever steams your pudding!! 🤣 |
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Post by TallPaul on Jun 21, 2019 12:32:14 GMT
I doubt Roy Hudd has been near a bush in years You could well be right, TM. Mr & Mrs Hudd probably have a gardener now they live in Suffolk.  |
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Post by Fleance on Jun 21, 2019 14:04:04 GMT
A bottom I did not like was Ian Talbot. I did like David Haig, though.
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Post by Jan on Jun 21, 2019 14:39:56 GMT
A bottom I did not like was Ian Talbot. I did like David Haig, though. Where did Talbot play it ? Regent’s Park ? That was where I first saw it - improbably directed by Christopher Biggins with an eclectic cast including John Curry, the Olympic Ice Dancing gold medalist. Jesu, the days that we have seen. |
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Post by Fleance on Jun 21, 2019 16:15:44 GMT
A bottom I did not like was Ian Talbot. I did like David Haig, though. Where did Talbot play it ? Regent’s Park ? That was where I first saw it - improbably directed by Christopher Biggins with an eclectic cast including John Curry, the Olympic Ice Dancing gold medalist. Jesu, the days that we have seen. Yes, Regents Park, in 1987 directed by Caroline Smith. Talbot directed Dream there at least a couple of times after that. The same summer of 1987 that I saw Talbot's Bottom, I saw the RSC/Barbican production, with David Haig as Bottom. I always enjoyed Regents Park when it had true repertory. The 1985 Dream featured Ralph Fiennes, who (believe it or not) I remember vividly as Cobweb; and Vincenzo Nicoli (whom I do not remember) as Bottom. I saw Roy Hudd's Bottom there in 1991. A production of the play that I remember liking very much was Adrian Noble's at the Barbican in 1995, with Alex Jennings, Stella Gonet, Toby Stephens, Philip Voss (Peter Quince), Daniel Evans (Francis Flute), and Desmond Barrit (Bottom). |
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Post by Jan on Jun 21, 2019 17:13:45 GMT
The 1985 Dream featured Ralph Fiennes, who (believe it or not) I remember vividly as Cobweb. I remember Daniel Day Lewis playing Francis Flute for the RSC. It’s a separate topic - big actors in small parts. |
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Post by ceebee on Jun 21, 2019 19:24:49 GMT
My personal favourite was the RSC production with John Carlisle and a fantastically agile (and musical) Richard McCabe causing merry mayhem as Puck. If I remember rightly, David Troughton played Bottom.
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Post by Jon on Jun 29, 2019 1:05:55 GMT
Had great fun tonight even though there was a technical hitch at the beginning due to a power cut in the Tower Hill area which delayed the start by 40 minutes. Top marks to The Bridge for giving out free drinks in the interval as compensation.
Midsummer has always been my favourite Shakespeare play but this production really brought to the next level with top notch performances and a great atmosphere.
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Post by Fleance on Jun 29, 2019 2:02:09 GMT
I'll probably purchase a ticket for Gallery 1. Any thoughts on which of the four sides to sit would be welcome. On the ticketing chart, one of the sides says: "To access the below seating bank, audience members will need to walk through the pit and stage area." That doesn't bother me, but I would like to know if one side has a better view of the action.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2019 10:05:52 GMT
A bottom I did not like was Ian Talbot. I did like David Haig, though. Where did Talbot play it ? Regent’s Park ? That was where I first saw it - improbably directed by Christopher Biggins with an eclectic cast including John Curry, the Olympic Ice Dancing gold medalist. Jesu, the days that we have seen. Posts like this are why I come to this board. Any chance you can tell us a bit more about this production? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2019 10:20:27 GMT
I’ll echo the praise for Hammed Animashaun (Bottom) and try and start a panning for David Moorst (Puck) who delivered an irritatingly twitchy performance that just made me angry. In a show that did so much to bring the play to the audience, he was a clanging note, attempting anarchy and punk. Hytner should have shut that nonsense down in the first rehearsal.
But overall there was so much joy. The switching of Titania and Oberon (is it a switching? Trying to think of the best word) was glorious.
I did find being in the pit very hard on the feet. Agree that they do well to not oversell it, lots of room to move around. Bit jostly at times, mostly from the stage crew, but ok.
I happily held hands with a stranger and grinned from ear to ear.
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Post by Jan on Jun 29, 2019 11:13:35 GMT
Where did Talbot play it ? Regent’s Park ? That was where I first saw it - improbably directed by Christopher Biggins with an eclectic cast including John Curry, the Olympic Ice Dancing gold medalist. Jesu, the days that we have seen. Posts like this are why I come to this board. Any chance you can tell us a bit more about this production? Douglas Hodge was in it too. |
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Post by Jan on Jun 29, 2019 12:17:58 GMT
Posts like this are why I come to this board. Any chance you can tell us a bit more about this production? Douglas Hodge was in it too. I dug out the programme. It was 1983. "Christopher Biggins (Director) is best known to the public in general for the big brand of villain he has created. His appearance as Nero in the award winning television series I Claudius set the pattern of his sinister small screen popularity. He followed this by playing the Reverend Ossie Witworth, the wicked vicar in the hugely successful Poldark series". Don't know about you but from now on I'm always going to refer to Biggins as "The Wicked Vicar". |
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Post by Fleance on Jun 29, 2019 13:34:19 GMT
1983 was my first visit to Regents Park, to see the very enjoyable Shavian musical Bashville. Douglas Hodge played the eponymous character, though that was not the major role, which was Cashel Byron, played by Peter Woodward. My first Regents Park Dream, directed by Toby Robertson, was 1985, which featured Ralph Fiennes as Cobweb. It was a magical production, as I recall; more emphasis on the romance rather than the comedy. The following year was one of my favorite Regents Park years: Arms and the Man; Romeo and Juliet (with Fiennes as Romeo); and A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by David Conville and Emma Freud, based on Toby Robertson's production, with Fiennes as Lysander (Richard Bonneville at matinees), and Bernard Bresslaw as Bottom.
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Post by londonpostie on Jun 29, 2019 16:23:55 GMT
Goodness! Bernard Bresslaw actually died at the RP theatre, in his dressing room.
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Post by Jan on Jun 29, 2019 17:31:58 GMT
Goodness! Bernard Bresslaw actually died at the RP theatre, in his dressing room. Yes. Like Leonard Rossiter, died in a dressing room. There have been other examples where people collapsed in the dressing room but died shortly afterwards elsewhere (Arthur Lowe and Zero Mostel) or collapsed on stage and died elsewhere (Molière and Eric Morcambe) or died on stage (Sid James) or on stage and on live television (Tommy Cooper). Death hath ten thousand several doors. |
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Post by londonpostie on Jun 29, 2019 19:36:13 GMT
A lot of comic actors ...
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Post by Fleance on Jun 29, 2019 20:24:15 GMT
And there is the story of the great George Devine, producer of and actor in John Osborne's A Patriot for Me, at the Royal Court Theatre:
"On a sweltering Saturday night of the unusually hot summer of 1965, a week before A Patriot for Me closed, George Devine finished his performance as Baron Von Epp, climbed the five flights to his office, which he insisted on using as a dressing room, and had a massive heart attack. In full drag as Princess Alexandra – tight corset, gown, jewels – he was taken to the emergency room at St. George’s Hospital. A few months later, A Patriot for Me was published. Osborne sent a copy to the by now homebound Devine, who replied: 'I can’t think of any better person to approach the grave with than Baron Von Epp.' He died three days later."
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Post by Jan on Jun 30, 2019 9:00:05 GMT
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5,187 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Jul 1, 2019 10:48:59 GMT
this was a HOOT.
I had the most fun, loved the twist with two certain characters (not sure if it's been mentioned so I won't spoil).
Really enjoy Shakespeare the way it's being done at the Bridge - so accessible to young people!
Just huge fun, and I'll be going back!
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Post by asfound on Jul 4, 2019 21:00:42 GMT
Guess I'll be the voice of dissent and say I found this terrible - gimmicky, unfunny and unengaging. I loved Julius Caesar but this just missed the mark for me almost entirely. The acting troupe I thought lacked comic timing and delivery compared to the last version I saw at the Young Vic. Almost all the big laughs were derived from inane modern references ("oooh selfie", "ooooh Londoners") and there was too much reliance on silly voices, dancing and slapstick and not enough droll or subtle humour. I felt strangely disconnected from any of the actors, and it just didn't feel natural. In Julius Caesar we were the mob, we were part of the production and it was thrilling. Here I'm not sure - a bunch of people milling around watching some cabaret?
But perhaps it says more about me that I preferred a production which going back over the reviews at the time was "bleak and brutal" and "dark". This one just felt generic, LCD pandering. Beyonce was the nail in the coffin.
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Post by Jan on Jul 5, 2019 19:28:12 GMT
Guess I'll be the voice of dissent and say I found this terrible - gimmicky, unfunny and unengaging. I loved Julius Caesar but this just missed the mark for me almost entirely. The acting troupe I thought lacked comic timing and delivery compared to the last version I saw at the Young Vic. Almost all the big laughs were derived from inane modern references ("oooh selfie", "ooooh Londoners") and there was too much reliance on silly voices, dancing and slapstick and not enough droll or subtle humour. I felt strangely disconnected from any of the actors, and it just didn't feel natural. In Julius Caesar we were the mob, we were part of the production and it was thrilling. Here I'm not sure - a bunch of people milling around watching some cabaret? But perhaps it says more about me that I preferred a production which going back over the reviews at the time was "bleak and brutal" and "dark". This one just felt generic, LCD pandering. Beyonce was the nail in the coffin. Despite my neutral review above I find I agree with everything you say, but to a lesser extent. We’ve already had two votes against the fantastically irritating Puck which was a big weakness for me. |
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Post by jgblunners on Jul 7, 2019 10:40:39 GMT
Saw this a few weeks back and thought it was brilliant - I have to say I'm always nervous about Shakespeare as in the wrong hands productions can be utterly mind-numbing. Luckily Hytner is a brilliant direction and his vision for this was inspired. Loved the switching of Titania and Oberon - it's subtle touches like that which mark really great direction. No whacking you over the head with forced attempts at feminism or LGBT representation, just one simple switch that drastically changes the power dynamics in a totally convincing and natural way. The 4 lovers were exceptional as were Bottom, Oberon, and Puck. The only person who didn't quite convince was Gwendoline Christie - I am a GoT fan but didn't go just to see her so wasn't that disappointed really.
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Post by NorthernAlien on Jul 7, 2019 11:17:51 GMT
Hello,
I saw this yesterday and absolutely loved it. AMND is my favourite Shakespeare, and I've seen a fair number of productions over the years. I just thought this was great, especially the costumes for the fairies. I had a ticket in the Pit, and would advise anyone going to position themselves towards the right hand side (as you enter the pit), towards the far end from where you enter, to get the best views. I think this probably works for both acts.
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Post by Jan on Jul 7, 2019 17:11:34 GMT
Hello, I saw this yesterday and absolutely loved it. AMND is my favourite Shakespeare, and I've seen a fair number of productions over the years. I just thought this was great, especially the costumes for the fairies. I had a ticket in the Pit, and would advise anyone going to position themselves towards the right hand side (as you enter the pit), towards the far end from where you enter, to get the best views. I think this probably works for both acts. Or on the other hand do what I did and move around all sides as appropriate to view each scene optimally. |
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