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Post by Jan on Feb 2, 2020 10:25:01 GMT
I think the argument that the NT and others put forward that they need to attract a younger audience “because where is the next generation of theatre-goers going to come from ?” is spurious. The average age of the Orange Tree audience looks about 65 and has done for the past 30 years.
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Post by learfan on Feb 2, 2020 11:21:23 GMT
I think the argument that the NT and others put forward that they need to attract a younger audience “because where is the next generation of theatre-goers going to come from ?” is spurious. The average age of the Orange Tree audience looks about 65 and has done for the past 30 years. You could say that about a lot of other theatres too, i look the youngest one frequently and my salad days are long gone!
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Post by lynette on Feb 2, 2020 13:03:38 GMT
You could say that you increase your theatre going when you don’t need to worry about babysitters or having to get to the airport 5am for a business trip...etc. Introducing kids to theatre is vital so that they remember it when that time finally comes. Kids’ shows always remembered and those few grown up ones that you can afford for all the family once or maybe twice a year. Taking 18 month grandson to a theatre babies’ show soon.
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Post by learfan on Feb 2, 2020 14:00:47 GMT
You could say that you increase your theatre going when you don’t need to worry about babysitters or having to get to the airport 5am for a business trip...etc. Introducing kids to theatre is vital so that they remember it when that time finally comes. Kids’ shows always remembered and those few grown up ones that you can afford for all the family once or maybe twice a year. Taking 18 month grandson to a theatre babies’ show soon. I started taking my two when they were school age, even to Shakespeare! And continued throughout their school years. Glad to say they still go and it even put my son on the path to drama school where he got a first last summer. So we have two next generationers already.
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Post by MrBraithwaite on Feb 3, 2020 8:31:23 GMT
This topic seems to drift off slightly, but if there are no actual reports on the show... I am looking forward to seeing it, however long and terrible it might be, certainly not cancelling my ticket.
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Post by Polly1 on Feb 3, 2020 9:49:30 GMT
This topic seems to drift off slightly, but if there are no actual reports on the show... I am looking forward to seeing it, however long and terrible it might be, certainly not cancelling my ticket. Yes, although I did swap to a matinee, I'm determined to see this, having waited 40+ years since studying it for German A-level.
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Post by edi on Feb 3, 2020 23:37:14 GMT
3 h 40 mins tonight and it went quite fast. Enjoyed the play, huge cast and some amazing performances and great staging. First part really good, 1 h 15 mins went very quickly. Lots of stuff could easily be cut from part 2 and 3 and they could cut the second break too.
Recommended
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Post by nash16 on Feb 3, 2020 23:45:22 GMT
Positives
Lesley Manville Hugo Weaving (topping even LM in the acting stakes. His character really is the heart of the piece and he is an incredible stage presence). The indomitable Sara Kestelman. The ambition of it all. Certain visual moments. The set up
Negatives
It’s 4hrs long. The fact that once the predicament/offer has been announced/made, there is little drama in the subsequent musings on the fate of one character. It’s 4hrs long. The pointless supernumeries and choirs and kids and... It’s 4hrs long. Whoever decided to put LM up in a gantry for most of Act 2. Who has she pissed off? It’s 4hrs long.
It’s such a shame they decided to take it all so seriously, whilst at the same time hoping to Ali their in comedic elements (the blind men...and other movements) that subsequently just do not land.
It is criminal they’ve allowed Kushner, despite some wonderful fleeting lines and moments, be allowed to indulge in this way.
The play could easily be done either straight through or 2 and a bit hours with interval, max.
As a result, the idea and drama get diluted and diluted and diluted until you just don’t care about the fate of said character and just want the whole thing to end.
Herrin has filled the Olivier with Vicki Mortimer and co, but it hasn’t the energy or the excitement or head drive to keep us all engaged.
Weirdly, a sort of flop, if not for the grandeur and stillness of LM and the brilliance, especially towards the end, of Weaving.
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Post by edi on Feb 4, 2020 7:19:36 GMT
I thought the first act was brilliant, it set the drama up very well and the stage effects supported the story well.
The second act is only 40 mins and it was partly telling the story (still brilliant) and partly the old woman's monologues on a very raised platform. I agree that it was a bad idea. Hard to see hard to hear.
The 3rd act was 1 h 5 mins and in my opinion this was the weakest and most diluted. It did lose some of the dramatic effects and diluted the good story. Lots could be cut here to tighten it up.
Still, I didn't know the play before I went and the storyline kept my interest up. Luckily the bits I didn't like were towards the end and by that time I was too hooked to lose my interest.
I would be interested to know how they change it during reviews.
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Post by peggs on Feb 4, 2020 13:14:47 GMT
Any blood if it's a revenge play please?
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on Feb 4, 2020 17:27:57 GMT
Has anyone seen it, who knows the play? It appears from above that this is as Duerrenmatt wrote it (uneasy mix of comedy and seriousness, Claire sitting out act two as she waits at an elevated distance, the ‘town’ as a character with a large cast, act two and three seeing the inevitable corruption play out etc., etc.).
What has Kushner done? Anything new or changed? There must be something for it to have gained an hour or so!
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Post by nash16 on Feb 4, 2020 18:38:20 GMT
Any blood if it's a revenge play please? Zero blood. Blood zero.
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Post by justsaying113 on Feb 4, 2020 18:38:28 GMT
No evening in the theatre should be four hours long!!!
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Post by MrBunbury on Feb 5, 2020 14:11:06 GMT
I saw it on Moday too. Leslie Manville and Hugo Weaving (such a delight to meet V from V for Vendetta...) were great, but I agree that it is too long and I think that Kushner' adaptation adds unnecessary stuff (mostly about Greek mythology) and thus dilutes the sense of uneasiness that the original version has. I wonder why Kushner decided to change the setting to an American town but left all the other geographical references as in the original play (so going from Slurry to Hamburg is hardly something that seems logical and straighforward).
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Post by lynette on Feb 5, 2020 14:13:26 GMT
Late to the party but going soon so tell me if so looong what time does it end?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2020 14:36:12 GMT
Late to the party but going soon so tell me if so looong what time does it end? National’s website says it’s 3hr 40 now so will finish 10.40pm. I’m there tonight!
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Post by MrBunbury on Feb 5, 2020 16:28:22 GMT
Late to the party but going soon so tell me if so looong what time does it end? Yes, on Monday it finished at 10,40 PM. Two intervals.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 5, 2020 22:13:24 GMT
How long is each interval, please?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2020 23:06:49 GMT
How long is each interval, please? First is 15/20 mins, the second is a 10 min ‘pause’. Came in at 3 hrs 45 tonight Saw it tonight, il write my thoughts tomorrow but if anyone is thinking of getting a credit note coz of the running time DON’T!!! It’s a wonderful treat!
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Post by crabtree on Feb 5, 2020 23:21:52 GMT
Are yellow shoes and 'eunuchs' still involved?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2020 23:27:30 GMT
Are yellow shoes and 'eunuchs' still involved? Eunuchs deffo, not sure about yellow shoes so probably been cut
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 6, 2020 0:09:18 GMT
How long is each interval, please? First is 15/20 mins, the second is a 10 min ‘pause’. Came in at 3 hrs 45 tonight Saw it tonight, il write my thoughts tomorrow but if anyone is thinking of getting a credit note coz of the running time DON’T!!! It’s a wonderful treat! So roughly 3 x 60-70 min blocks? Seems bearable.
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Post by edi on Feb 6, 2020 7:07:53 GMT
When I went it was 1.15 20 break .40 20 min break 1.05 and finished at 3.40.
I religiously kept checking the timing
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Post by altamont on Feb 6, 2020 11:32:08 GMT
Alas I left at first interval last night - I didn't hate it, but just couldn't face two more hours and a very late journey home.
Lesley Manville and (especially) Hugo Weaving are very good and I would have liked to have seen how the action played out, but it wasn't holding my interest enough to justify my staying, especially given the general tone of the comments that I've read suggesting the first part is the best. Perhaps a stripped down production somewhere like the Almeida would have worked better for me.
My fault for not booking a matinee - and for forgetting how much I dislike the cavernous Olivier - even though I was in the 6th row of the stall, I still felt distant from the action. Heaven knows what it is like from the back of the gallery.
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Post by lynette on Feb 6, 2020 20:29:00 GMT
Thanks guys. 10.40 a bit of a heave ho but we are Manville fans so will prob see it through.
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 6, 2020 22:45:21 GMT
Brief show stop near the end tonight c/o the drum revolve (which was making some ominous metallic crunching noises a few times throughout).
Overall I enjoyed though it could do with some trimming. Some parts are very self indulgent, particularly towards the end. The intervals/breaks do help in making it feel manageable.
It's a great example of the NT throwing everything at a show... Big budget, big cast, very flashy.
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Post by drmaplewood on Feb 6, 2020 23:37:29 GMT
Was there tonight too - agree with a lot of what has been said. Was fully on board at the second interval but act 3 drags it down a fair bit and really needs some cuts. LM is great but missed her a lot in the latter stages where she wasn't around
3hr 35 tonight. Jude Law spotted in the stalls.
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Post by johnnyutah on Feb 7, 2020 20:04:15 GMT
I was also there last night and found it thoroughly engaging. At no time did I feel it was over indulgent or belaboured its themes. The dialogue is quintessentially Kushner. Acid remarks punctuating rural mores and sanctimony. It's a witty essay on the price of debt. Whether its money or a moral grievance there's a price for its restitution. My companion felt the first third was a little stilted. By contrast, I felt it moved at a pleasing clip, an enormous cast were swiftly introduced and left a lasting impression. Lesley Manville's performance is world weary ennui personified. She lights up the stage to the extent you're a time impatiently waiting for her to return. Hugo Weaving, in a necessarily less showy role, is her match as the bluff disappointed romantic Alfred. If you're umming and ahhing over the running time, don't let it be a consideration. Two world class performers at the top of their game doesn't happen that often on the Southbank.
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Post by tmesis on Feb 8, 2020 11:58:45 GMT
I was a little unsure about my response to this during the first act. It was interesting but the characters and the 'set up ' of the story wasn't drawing me in as have other examples of Kushner's work I've seen. That all changed in Acts 2 and 3 where his sheer theatrical flair pulls the whole thing together. Unlike others, for me, Act 3 was the best bit, helped by being staged by Herrin in a really effective way. The ending was genuinely powerful.
Some tip-top performances from Manville, Weaving and Kestelman and a fabulously played, Miles Davis influenced, jazz score adds immeasurable to the atmosphere. It was also great to see the full resources of The Olivier deployed. The cash has been splashed unlike many recent productions which have looked pretty cheapskate.
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Post by crabtree on Feb 10, 2020 14:44:38 GMT
Oh I keep harping on about the Kander and ebb version, which is so deliciously strange and absurd - and only 90 minutes I think, without an interval?
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