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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Jul 13, 2019 9:31:31 GMT
I saw this a couple of days ago and was somewhat disappointed. It was still good and I'm glad I went but it was only sometimes great, mostly when it focused on Alan. I just didn't find the psychiatrist to be all that interesting of a character and so was disappointed whenever more focus was given to his psychology. I found the first a t very slow and questioned whether it was a one-act in my mind but then remembered being offered drinks at the interval when getting water at the bar so I knew it couldn't be. It does seem the first Act is quite a lot longer than the second which definitely felt faster but it was still a slog to get through most of the time. I think I was also expecting it to be a little less concetional. I thought that it might not follow such a clear and obvious linear structure and have all your questions answered so plainly by the end (I don't really know where I got this feeling from) so I suppose I set myself up for disappointment there. Zubin Carla was also not all that convincing to me (nor were Alan's parents) and his performance seemed very derivative of his performance in Fun Home (which I thought at the time was great but now I wonder if that's just sort of his go to?) so it was just a little boring to watch him as I'd seen it all before. I also didn't have the best audience experience because the guy next to me was constantly shuffling around, leaving his coat on the seat next to him and rocking it until it fell onto the floor loudly by accident (although with the number of time it happened maybe it wasn't - just leave it under your seat!), checking his phone a few times and I think he took his shoes off in the first act so that definitely didn't help and I felt a little sick as well so maybe all of this just added up to a disappointing experience rather than the play itself. I will say that the actor playing Nugget was brilliant at embodying the physicality of a horse without really moving like one that much - the movement director did a great job of evoking their movement without exactly copying it which would just look silly. The lighting was also quite captivating And as I said the actor playing Alan was great and all his scenes were tense and fascinating which allowed me to leave with a positive opinion overall despite all these drawbacks.
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4,038 posts
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Post by kathryn on Jul 16, 2019 22:42:31 GMT
Whew! This is a bit good, isn’t it?!
Blows most of the new plays I’ve seen recently out of the water.
I got a TodayTix Rush ticket and ended up in row J - people either side of me were also on Rush tickets so I suspect they’re allocated to that row.
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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 Jul 28, 2019 7:21:51 GMT
Saw this yesterday thanks to the TodayTix deal. Works really well in this space. Not full but seems to be doing pretty well.
Seating tip - I was in Row A which was marked on TodayTix, and on the tickets as possibly restricted as its not raised from row AA in front. In fact Row A is the front row for this production. The stage is at floor level and built forward over where AA and BB normally are so you are very close to the action (in fact given the closing scenes some people might find this uncomfortably close).
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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 Jul 30, 2019 19:12:57 GMT
Had a look at a copy of the playtext and interestingly the nudity in this version is consistent with the script. The stage directions for the scene with Alan and Jill say "they each remove their shoes, their socks and their jeans" but doesn't mention nudity or underwear. There's then a stage direction at the start of the final scene: "Alan stands alone and naked".
Given how specific the stage directions are presumably Shaffer would have specified nudity for the earlier scene if he felt it was crucial.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Jul 31, 2019 9:28:04 GMT
I think it's definitely a purposeful choice to emphasise his isolation, especially since the stage directions specify that he stands alone. If both were completely nude then his break down would be far less effective I feel but with how it's done here it brings focus to how exposed he is.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Jul 31, 2019 9:38:00 GMT
Exactly, juicy_but_terribly_drab. The woman being nude too adds nothing, yet was always the convention until now. It works better this way, I think most of us on here feel. Oh I see I didn't realise that the standard was that she was naked in previous productions.
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1,187 posts
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Post by theatrelover123 on Aug 1, 2019 17:56:37 GMT
Was in the matinee this afternoon and enjoyed the first half but annoyingly got called away for a work issue so missed the second half. I'm sure I can read the script but did I miss anything in particular? Can anybody explain (in spoilers) what the 'coup de theatre' mentioned in several reviews is please? Thanks
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Post by crabtree on Aug 2, 2019 9:35:34 GMT
I would suggest that that moment concerns the fate of the horses....brilliantly staged.
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1,187 posts
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Post by theatrelover123 on Aug 2, 2019 12:36:27 GMT
I would suggest that that moment concerns the fate of the horses....brilliantly staged. Cryptic
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3,059 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Aug 16, 2019 12:16:54 GMT
Loved this in Stratford and it was even better last night in the West End.
Got the front row centre Row A seat ticket as part of a £15 bargain TodayTix flash sale. The ticket says it’s restricted because of the row in front and the stage height. It’s not! The row is Level with the stage and there’s no one in front.
Now, where there is a restriction is there’s a shoulder height wall next to you. So you miss a small amount of the front of the stage at the other side. In reality, it’s not much of a problem for the close up view.
Last night, the theatre was about half full.
There was a fidgety French speaking lady next to me who couldn’t keep still and the seats rocked every time she shifted position. Kept making circles with her feet. It distracted me so must have been really distracting to the actors, who were level with her. I tried to filter her out.
Mostly the same cast, but they’ve changed around the staging a bit to suit the Studios. I definitely picked up on levels of the production, particularly relating to how it depicted sexuality, that I missed first time around. The lighting and sound effects were more intense.
Someone mentioned the nudity was more obvious than at Stratford East and I agree. There, it was hidden, here it was embraced, with a lighter stage and everything on show (I was front row for both, similar distance from the stage). It was a strength of the production that you just wouldn’t focus on the nudity as the character portrayals were so powerful.
As I say, a classic play, a memorable staging. A must see!
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Post by rockinrobin on Aug 17, 2019 2:10:28 GMT
Loved it. My kind of theatre. Very intense, very physical, marvellously played. I did actually find Zubin Varla's performance very moving - his Dysart is very restrained, blocked. He is the one who clearly needs to be healed - but who is going to heal the doctor?...
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87 posts
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Post by greenswan on Sept 6, 2019 16:39:04 GMT
So caught this last night. I had successfully suppressed the memory of the horrible seating - elbow in my ribs on one side and a full length of curls constantly brushing over my arm on the other side. Not that I can blame my neighbours, the seats were clearly too narrow. On the plus side loads of well-behaved school groups.
The acting and especially the physical representation of the horses was good, the play I couldn’t get on with at all. Mainly terribly boring and maybe a bit dated. Perhaps the subtext was more subversive at the time but it was fully out in the open here. Firmly off my list for the future.
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