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Post by Fleance on Sept 15, 2019 23:31:06 GMT
Ah, good point. Thanks andrew From what I can recall there could be workarounds, though how female cousin reconnected with black sheep brother would need serious *re-imagining*. I was thinking about racism, family, anything about identity politics I missed/forgot, those broader themes. The structural stuff, if you will ... I wonder if the sensitivities about the cemetery would have been stressed 40 years ago (or 30), and so much of the plot revolves around that. |
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Post by Mark on Sept 18, 2019 9:13:48 GMT
With all the good comments on here, I've booked myself a ticket for next Wednesday through the daily release.
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Post by sf on Sept 20, 2019 10:56:28 GMT
Really loved this yesterday afternoon. Superb script, flawless direction, Monica Dolan is magnificent. And having seen this, I regret missing Gloria and An Octoroon (I've read both).
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Post by wannabedirector on Sept 20, 2019 11:21:44 GMT
Really loved this yesterday afternoon. Superb script, flawless direction, Monica Dolan is magnificent. And having seen this, I regret missing Gloria and An Octoroon (I've read both). I also really enjoyed it yesterday. BJJ is fast becoming one of my favourite playwrights, and the way he dissects the legacy of slavery in this is just spot on. Much like An Octoroon was last year, this will likely go down as one of the best things I’ve seen this year. |
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Post by david on Sept 21, 2019 22:38:08 GMT
I attended today’s matinee and overall I found it a really good piece of theatre with Monica Dolan as Toni the standout in a strong cast. I was sat in C8 of the circle and for £10 I couldn’t complain about the view and I certainly came away at the end thoroughly entertained and felt I had got more than my money’s worth this afternoon.
Having watched Octoroon at the NT last year and now Appropriate, I’m certainly now a fan of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins writing and will be keeping an eye out for any more of his work in the future. Both productions I found have given me plenty to think about post show regarding their subject matter.
It’s certainly a strong contender for a place in my top 10 2019 theatre viewings at the end of the year.
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Post by showgirl on Sept 23, 2019 16:46:32 GMT
Oh, was that you thumping directly above me, david ? LOL. Agree on Dolan, outstanding. On the play; I didn't like "Octoroon" at all, so I'm afraid I'm the opposite, will probably avoid his work in the future now. Wow, all this time I have thought I was the only one not to like Octoroon. Though I really loathed it - the little that I could bear before leaving - as opposed to merely not liking it. |
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Post by edi on Sept 24, 2019 7:05:59 GMT
I saw this yesterday and whilst I loved it, it wasn't what I expected.
I came away thoroughly entertained but I expected to be shocked. The subject matter was very dark yet it felt at times as comedy. The whole thing felt like a sitcom. Darker and darker subjects, fears, insecurities were added to the mix but it felt like the impossible situations sitcoms produce for entertainment.
Regardless I loved it. It was played with a very strong cast who gave earily realistic performances. Is that not how we all argue? Aren't arguments funny when looking at them from the outside?
The supernatural side didn't faze me. I took it was just coincidence, a crumbling old house rather than anything spooky.
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Post by Mark on Sept 25, 2019 21:51:08 GMT
Really liked this. What a great set at the Donmar. I was in the £10 seats high numbers and didn’t feel like I missed anything. Monica Dolan is particularly impressive here. I felt the final scene or so the playwright just didn’t know how to finish it, but other than that the writing was pretty solid.
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Post by jvoom on Sept 28, 2019 17:28:37 GMT
Saw this the other night and really enjoyed it! Monica Dolan is fabulous and that one scene where the family are fighting and Ainsley comes running down the stairs got one of the loudest gasps I've ever witnessed in the theatre. {Spoiler - click to view}
Spoiler question ... can someone explain to me the significance of the very last scene with "the stranger"? I assume I missed something but why did we need to see him (a real estate agent, presumably) taking photos of the house? |
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Post by Forrest on Sept 29, 2019 20:29:48 GMT
Saw this the other night and really enjoyed it! Monica Dolan is fabulous and that one scene where the family are fighting and Ainsley comes running down the stairs got one of the loudest gasps I've ever witnessed in the theatre. {Spoiler - click to view}
Spoiler question ... can someone explain to me the significance of the very last scene with "the stranger"? I assume I missed something but why did we need to see him (a real estate agent, presumably) taking photos of the house? {Spoiler - click to view}
It struck me that he was simply there to close the story: everyone had left, the house was left to rot and decay. He just came to assess the damage so that it could finally be sold. But perhaps I've also missed something.
I've seen this too, and thought it was quite entertaining and really well acted. Monica Dolan in particular, but also Isabella Pappas in her smaller role, were fantastic. It wasn't haunting theatre, neither in the sense that I found it scary (to be honest, I wasn't really sure if the intention was for it to be scary, or simply humorously eerie, in which it succeeded), nor did I have a lot to think about once I'd left the theatre. But it was nicely done and I really enjoyed watching it. |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 29, 2019 21:38:23 GMT
Took the crumbling house as an allegory to the erosion of the truth as the witnesses and perpetrators of past atrocities slip into history, either the house continues to decay and its history lost or redeveloped to a historical pastiche with new inhabitants with no recollection of its past, both scenarios having the same effect, after a few generations the past becomes a foreign country and they do thing differently there.
The family once the secret is exposed move on and abandon their true heritage due to its incompatibility with their current ideology and internal romanticised historical narrative which they do not want to, or cannot reconcile. (the arc of the album can be considered in a similar way)
To me the ending was the strongest part and had a powerful impact.
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Post by Stephen on Sept 29, 2019 23:03:24 GMT
How much are the programmes for this and are they selling posters?
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Post by Rory on Sept 30, 2019 9:50:51 GMT
How much are the programmes for this and are they selling posters? The Donmar always sells posters for £3. |
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Post by sf on Sept 30, 2019 11:32:57 GMT
Programme was £4. Didn't notice about the poster. There's also a combo deal where you can get a programme and a script for £10. |
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Post by Stephen on Sept 30, 2019 22:54:04 GMT
Gosh. {Spoiler - click to view}
I was shocked tonight that the audience as a whole laughed a lot (and not just nervously) when the child comes in with the KKK hood on. A terribly insensitive response I thought to a very serious subject. I did find a lot of the comedy in this play strange but at this moment i just didn’t get it. Am I missing something? A real slow burner. I was doubting that it would improve at after the interval (it did) as did the performances to a climax. I liked that the noises were effective but not so loud as to make me jump. Result sound design wise in my book! I was in C2 in the circle tonight. Very uncomfortable as warned by @theatremonkey on the website but also a steal for £10. |
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Sept 30, 2019 23:29:35 GMT
Gosh. {Spoiler - click to view}
I was shocked tonight that the audience as a whole laughed a lot (and not just nervously) when the child comes in with the KKK hood on. A terribly insensitive response I thought to a very serious subject. I did find a lot of the comedy in this play strange but at this moment i just didn’t get it. Am I missing something? A real slow burner. I was doubting that it would improve at after the interval (it did) as did the performances to a climax. I liked that the noises were effective but not so loud as to make me jump. Result sound design wise in my book! I was in C2 in the circle tonight. Very uncomfortable as warned by @theatremonkey on the website but also a steal for £10. I and a lot of my audience definitely laughed. The whole show is definitely darkly comic and that moment is so unexpected and such a terrible thing that it flips back round to being funny. |
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Post by Forrest on Oct 1, 2019 6:48:22 GMT
Took the crumbling house as an allegory to the erosion of the truth as the witnesses and perpetrators of past atrocities slip into history, either the house continues to decay and its history lost or redeveloped to a historical pastiche with new inhabitants with no recollection of its past, both scenarios having the same effect, after a few generations the past becomes a foreign country and they do thing differently there. The family once the secret is exposed move on and abandon their true heritage due to its incompatibility with their current ideology and internal romanticised historical narrative which they do not want to, or cannot reconcile. (the arc of the album can be considered in a similar way) To me the ending was the strongest part and had a powerful impact. This is the reason why I love discussing theatre: it never fails to amaze me how insightful some comments are and how others will notice the things I didn't consider at all (and there I was thinking I understood something)! Beautifully spotted and written (especially the part I marked in bold)! |
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