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Post by lynette on Jul 4, 2019 21:03:25 GMT
Marvellous review missthelma. You didn’t see Tamar's Revenge?
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Post by missthelma on Jul 5, 2019 9:45:39 GMT
Marvellous review missthelma. You didn’t see Tamar's Revenge? I did not, nor I don't think ever heard of it. Did I miss a treat? |
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Post by theatremad on Jul 5, 2019 9:49:36 GMT
Haha, sorry I'm still in therapy for Tamar's Revenge, will go down as one of the worst productions ever seen.
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Post by Snciole on Jul 5, 2019 12:43:06 GMT
I cannot believe someone put on the Berkoff Weinstein play. I genuinely thought any theatre would have too much pride to even meet with him.
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Post by Jan on Jul 5, 2019 19:23:08 GMT
Haha, sorry I'm still in therapy for Tamar's Revenge, will go down as one of the worst productions ever seen. Only *one* of the worst rather than *the* worst given that the RSC/Wooster Group Troilus and Cressida is occupying the last place in perpetuity. The RSC pulled Tamar’ Revenge as quickly as they could, in addition to being very bad in general (and from the always disappointing Spanish Golden Age) there were concerns expressed over the depiction of the rape - in these post-Weinstein days the production wouldn’t have got near the stage in that form. |
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Post by foxa on Jul 5, 2019 21:07:07 GMT
Miss Thelma's review - really entertaining. I certainly laughed more reading that than you did during this production.
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1,972 posts
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Post by sf on Jul 11, 2019 19:56:41 GMT
Saw it last night. It is quite magnificently dreadful - a spectacularly unfunny first draft in which nobody apart from Mr. Malkovich has enough to do, which wouldn't necessarily be as much of a problem if Mr. Malkovich wasn't phoning it in. Which he is. Mr. Mamet is also phoning it in. There are no ideas here, no central thesis, no point, just a repulsive central character saying and doing repulsive things over and over again. There are all kinds of interesting possibilities in this set-up, but this play doesn't explore any of them. It simply lobs insults. There's a much better comedy waiting to be made about, for example, rich liberals who use charitable activities and/or political activism as a fig-leaf to hide their awful personal behaviour, and while I certainly don't share Mr. Mamet's personal politics, plenty of the targets he takes aim at here deserve to be punctured. Puncturing them, though, in a stage comedy would require wit, and this play doesn't contain any. It. Is. Not. Funny. At all.
That might not matter if it managed to be clever or even just mildly interesting, but it doesn't. Mr. Mamet's script, I'm afraid, is a turd of the highest order.
The supporting actors deserve better, and Doon Mackichan's character is the most interesting person on stage - there's a much more interesting play, potentially, about a woman like her: someone who knows every detail of her boss's awful behaviour, has even facilitated some of it, has never been the target of it herself, and is disinclined to hang him out to dry when the police come calling even though she knows he deserves it - but this isn't it (once upon a time, Mamet could have written that play - he's managed to write from a woman's point of view before, most notably in the Jolly sene in The Old Neighborhood - but I think it's not within his grasp now). The key to making someone as awful as Barney Fein interesting, I suspect, is to keep him offstage as much as possible and show his awfulness, at least at first, mostly via his effect on other people. Putting a star centre stage and having him just be horrible to everyone around him for 85 minutes is very much subject to the law of diminishing returns. And yes, the second act isn't as good as the first, and the first act is deeply, DEEPLY terrible. The play as a whole is simultaneously too short and very, very long.
Two out of ten - one point for Doon Mackichan, who somehow manages to emerge from this garbage with her dignity completely intact, and one point for Teddy Kempner's epic beard.
And I have to say I'm desperate for it to be done on Broadway, because the Broadway reviews would really be... something.
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3,321 posts
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Post by david on Jul 13, 2019 16:27:39 GMT
Just watched today’s matinee. Firstly, from a seating POV, I was sat in P7 of the stalls. For £25 this was a bargain and despite the RV notices, there wasn’t anything to worry about. The pillar was just far enough to the right hand side of the seat to give me an unobstructed view of the stage.
In respect to this production, despite some great dead pan delivery of dark humour by JM, this was a misfire of a production for me. The writing for me was too superficial and didn’t really handle the subject matter with the seriousness it deserves. It didn’t help that there was very little depth given to any of the characters meaning there want any emotional investment in any them as characters. Ok, JM plays a good slimeball of a character, but the fact that he is on stage for the entire play for me diluted the impact of the character and I was just waiting for him to deliver his next barbed comment.
Quite what the second act rant about immigration brought to the table is a bit of a head scratcher and certainly didn’t do anything to improve the plot and the ending was just flat.
At the end, there were plenty of people giving a SO, though this didn’t include me. I certainly didn’t feel this production warranted one.
Overall rating 1 ⭐️ I’m afraid.
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Post by Marwood on Jul 14, 2019 14:05:08 GMT
Seen a number of posters around the West End today quoting some (possibly deranged) person :’performance of the decade’ WTF? That by itself is far funnier than anything in this train wreck of a play,
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Post by sf on Jul 14, 2019 14:35:14 GMT
Seen a number of posters around the West End today quoting some (possibly deranged) person :’performance of the decade’ WTF? That by itself is far funnier than anything in this train wreck of a play,
Never mind 'performance of the decade'. Mr. Malkovich isn't even giving the best performance I saw last Wednesday.
(Yes, I saw more than one play last Wednesday.)
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Post by sf on Jul 14, 2019 14:39:19 GMT
Just watched today’s matinee. Firstly, from a seating POV, I was sat in P7 of the stalls. For £25 this was a bargain and despite the RV notices, there wasn’t anything to worry about. The pillar was just far enough to the right hand side of the seat to give me an unobstructed view of the stage. I sat in the same seat. Yes, at that price an excellent bargain. At the end, there were plenty of people giving a SO, though this didn’t include me. I certainly didn’t feel this production warranted one. For the first time in a very long time, I couldn't bring myself to applaud at the curtain call. I mean, at all. I don't feel good about that - I think applause is part of the transaction that takes place when you watch a performance, it's an acknowledgment of everybody's hard work - but I couldn't applaud the play and I couldn't applaud Mr. Malkovich. |
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Post by sf on Jul 15, 2019 17:41:42 GMT
I sat in the same seat. Yes, at that price an excellent bargain. *sniff* nobody ever trusts a monkey *sniff*
On the contrary, I'm sure I'd read your advice on the subject before I booked the ticket.
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Post by altamont on Jul 15, 2019 18:24:09 GMT
So - I've spent quite a lot of money on seats for this in August - that money is gone and isn't going to come back. Do we bother? Is there any benefit to be derived from sitting through this? Maybe just the first half so I can say I've seen Mr Malkovich on stage?
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3,321 posts
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Post by david on Jul 15, 2019 19:02:18 GMT
So - I've spent quite a lot of money on seats for this in August - that money is gone and isn't going to come back. Do we bother? Is there any benefit to be derived from sitting through this? Maybe just the first half so I can say I've seen Mr Malkovich on stage? Personally, having seen this on Saturday, I was really disappointed with the production. Ok, JM plays a good slimeball on stage, but there really isn’t any real depth to the writing. There isn’t any harm if you just want to see JM on stage, but I wouldn’t go in expecting a masterpiece of theatre. |
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Post by Rory on Jul 15, 2019 19:03:51 GMT
There are still some people who appear to have quite enjoyed this (many have hated it). It's less than two hours plus interval so if it's not your bag, at least it won't scupper an entire evening. Go to say you've seen Malkovich and go to see Doon Mackichan who is fab in all she's in. Also go cos you've probably forked out loads of dosh so don't waste it!
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Post by missthelma on Jul 15, 2019 19:09:19 GMT
So - I've spent quite a lot of money on seats for this in August - that money is gone and isn't going to come back. Do we bother? Is there any benefit to be derived from sitting through this? Maybe just the first half so I can say I've seen Mr Malkovich on stage? Well like you say the money is already gone and if you don't have to shell out tons more for say travel, hotels, baby sitters, etc etc then why not? You might love it, or find things to enjoy that others have missed. Plus it's a short evening, it's all over before 9:30 and it's pretty much still light then so a stroll on the Southbank could be pleasant.
If it's going to be what some of my Northern relatives used to call a 'thrutch' (they translated it for me as meaning a lot of bother, hope it doesn't mean something else vile) then stay home and watch TV!! |
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Post by altamont on Jul 15, 2019 20:09:42 GMT
Thanks David, Rory and Thelma - we are up in London (from Somerset) anyway and have a Travelodge booked so travel etc isn't an issue. So not a "thrutch" - what a great word though!
My expectations will be suitably low - we'll follow up with a stroll along the river and a pint or two
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Post by sf on Jul 15, 2019 20:55:12 GMT
Thanks David, Rory and Thelma - we are up in London (from Somerset) anyway and have a Travelodge booked so travel etc isn't an issue. So not a "thrutch" - what a great word though! My expectations will be suitably low - we'll follow up with a stroll along the river and a pint or two
And you may be pleasantly surprised. While I hated it, there were certainly people who enjoyed it far more than I did. There was a partial standing ovation at the curtain call, and there were also people who had clearly loathed every second.
And as others have said, it's relatively short. You'll have plenty of time afterwards for drinks/dinner/both. I had more than enough time to walk back to Euston to catch my train back up to Manchester.
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Post by sfsusan on Jul 16, 2019 10:25:11 GMT
So - I've spent quite a lot of money on seats for this in August - that money is gone and isn't going to come back. Do we bother? Is there any benefit to be derived from sitting through this? Maybe just the first half so I can say I've seen Mr Malkovich on stage? Just enjoy what's on the surface and don't look deeper for any meaning or point. And think of Malkovich's character as a harmless buffoon rather than a real person causing real harm to other real people. (It helps if you're not familiar with every little aspect of the reality.) There are some very funny lines that can be enjoyed as clever quips and put-downs. I think my major disappointment was that I expected more. If you put that aside, I think you can get an evening's (short) entertainment out of it. |
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Post by Snciole on Jul 16, 2019 13:44:00 GMT
I am both shocked and not shocked at how bad it was. I knew it wouldn't be great when it was announced, the reviews are fair in how misjudged and empty it is. The biggest factor, as much as I disliked it, is just how forgettable it will be in the long run. Everyone is clearly willing 21 September to hurry up. It is a real disservice to these actors and a real disservice to the power of theatre viewfromthecheapseat.com/2019/07/16/bitter-wheat-garrick-theatre/ |
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Post by floorshow on Jul 30, 2019 8:18:58 GMT
Just found out the lamp is £136 on Amazon. I don't want it that much. Would the bad behaviour thread be admissible as evidence in the case of prop theft? |
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Jul 30, 2019 21:01:59 GMT
Just found out the lamp is £136 on Amazon. I don't want it that much. Would the bad behaviour thread be admissible as evidence in the case of prop theft? Would it be a spoiler to put an Amazon link to the lamp? |
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Post by shady23 on Aug 7, 2019 16:46:55 GMT
Tickets from fifteen pound today only for all remaining performances on today tix
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Post by vertige on Aug 11, 2019 9:09:06 GMT
Went to the Thursday Matinee and it was not as bad as I expected it after reading this thread ;-) I would give it 3 out of 5 stars, I saw worse before. It is not great art but ok. Nothing special about John Malcovich, did expect a bit more on that front.
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Post by joem on Aug 17, 2019 0:24:00 GMT
Well I didn't think it was as bad as it's been made out to be but then the expectations game is a funny one. On which subject I was expecting a critique of power and greed and find a mildly amusing dark comedy in the first half which then rather peters out in the second.
Same as with sportspersons a good actor does not become a bad actor overnight. There's nothing wrong with Malkovich's performance. It may not be the performance of the decade but it's certainly not bad.
If this play had come out of nowhere then perhaps it would be seen in a different light, the problem is all the marketing which has harped on Weinstein and his crimes and excesses. The Malkovich character isn't Weinstein - he's annoying but too light in tone and (despite some of the lines) isn't a credible villain.
Not a huge fan of Mamet anyway.
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