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Post by Mark on Dec 22, 2021 8:47:49 GMT
Four shows at the NT this year.
After Life - pretty good
Normal Heart - I know it got great reviews but I wasn’t fully taken by it.
Hex - Not good
East is East - Really great show and production.
I’m definitely being more cautious of what I book ay the NT now though. Avoided Manor due to the write-ups on here. I will try and catch Trouble in Mind in the new year and I am quite fancying the next two Dorfman plays too (Our Generation and Middle). I’ll wait for the word of mouth on the others.
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Post by stevemar on Dec 22, 2021 9:13:17 GMT
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Post by cherokee on Dec 22, 2021 9:28:29 GMT
Four shows at the NT this year. After Life - pretty good Normal Heart - I know it got great reviews but I wasn’t fully taken by it. Hex - Not good East is East - Really great show and production. I’m definitely being more cautious of what I book ay the NT now though. Avoided Manor due to the write-ups on here. I will try and catch Trouble in Mind in the new year and I am quite fancying the next two Dorfman plays too (Our Generation and Middle). I’ll wait for the word of mouth on the others. And East Is East was actually a Birmingham Rep production that transferred... |
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Post by Jan on Dec 22, 2021 9:44:28 GMT
A big prominent photo of "One Man, Two Guvnors" early on in this report I see. A decade old production, the gift that keeps on giving. This bit made me smile, they must have had management consultants in to write the report. "The National Theatre is, fundamentally, in the mass gathering business." |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2021 10:37:49 GMT
I've walked out of the last two shows I saw at the National, though both were generally well reviewed (Hadestown and Anthony & Cleopatra) so maybe I just went on a day when I wasn't in the right mood.
Nothing since has tempted me to book except for Small Island, which I ended up missing due to illness, so I guess I can say I haven't enjoyed a show at the National since Angels in America!
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Post by cavocado on Dec 22, 2021 11:23:50 GMT
To be fair, One Man Two Guvnors was very successful on youtube in lockdown. I know people who loved it who have never set foot in the NT building, and the NT streaming in general was very popular, and has led to their paid streaming service. I think that deserves praise and is probably their biggest achievement of 2021.
I still love the NT and book over half of their shows. Even with the limited shows since Covid, I really enjoyed Rockets and Blue Lights and The Normal Heart, and thought After Life and East is East were also good. But I'd prefer @drjanbrock's programme plus lots of new plays and new writers.
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Post by David J on Dec 22, 2021 11:35:36 GMT
A big prominent photo of "One Man, Two Guvnors" early on in this report I see. A decade old production, the gift that keeps on giving. That photo could be a subtle message about the state of NT at the moment |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Dec 22, 2021 11:43:19 GMT
A big prominent photo of "One Man, Two Guvnors" early on in this report I see. A decade old production, the gift that keeps on giving. That photo could be a subtle message about the state of NT at the moment Considering petitions exist for JC not to be cast in various films I think you're right |
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Post by crowblack on Dec 22, 2021 13:34:31 GMT
Theatre feels like it's in a losing battle with the 'peak TV' era which is hoovering up the better writers and actors and (thus far) has been able to work through lockdowns.
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Post by teamyali on Jan 7, 2022 15:03:02 GMT
I’ve dug here in the past threads in the forum on the National productions, the ones intended for the 2020-21 season had Miss Rona not happened…
2020, pre-lockdown
Olivier
The Visit
Lyttelton
The Welkin
The Seven Streams of the River Ota
Dorfman
Death of England
Other shows announced before the first lockdown
Olivier
Jack Absolute Flies Again
Paradise - staged on August 2021
Romeo and Juliet - turned into a movie, filmed at Lyttelton stage
Small Island revival - about to open on February 2022
Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Lyttelton
Manor - staged on November 2021
The Corn is Green - to stage on April 2022
Outline. Transit. Kudos.
Phaedra
Blues for an Alabama Sky
Wuthering Heights - coming to NT on February 2022
Dorfman
All of Us - was supposed to preview on the day the lockdown happened
Sea Sick
Romeo and Julie
Hamlet (for kids) - to be staged on April 2022
Welcome to Iran
Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
Kerry Jackson
After Life - NT’s first show for 2021
NT’s other shows staged in 2020-21, not part of the original plan pre-lockdown
Olivier
Death of England: Delroy - run was cut short due to the second lockdown
Dick Whittington - run was cut short due to the second lockdown
Under Milk Wood - NT’s first big show after the second lockdown
The Normal Heart - originally for February 2021, but affected by the second lockdown; staged on September
Hex - some dates cancelled due to the Omicron; remaining January runs for previews and plans to return on November 2022
Lyttelton
East is East - transfer from Birmingham Rep
Dorfman
Rockets and Blue Lights
Trouble in Mind
Plus: Death of England: Face to Face - filmed at Lyttelton; NT’s second film
NT’s other upcoming line-up:
Olivier
The Father and the Assassin
Dorfman
Our Generation
Middle
What do you think of the past and future line-ups as a whole? I’ve thought the initial announcements pre-pandemic were great. Some of them resonate in the context of the Black Lives Matter.
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Post by lynette on Jan 7, 2022 16:26:05 GMT
Well, tbh, now you have set it out and thank you for doing that, I can see only two productions I would book for. Of the others, one I have seen in real life, and one online.
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Post by Jan on Jan 8, 2022 10:00:23 GMT
That is an interesting list. The only one I would have booked in advance for is Romeo & Juliet. I was interested in Paradise but the reviews dissuaded me from paying their high prices. I will check reviews for Phaedra but I would be hopeful that as Simon Stone is involved it will be good. That’s all.
I don’t go to new plays but are any of those listed really challenging rather than just safe and conservative ? I mean do any not just present a view that the NT audience agree with anyway ?
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Post by crowblack on Jan 8, 2022 10:16:44 GMT
I mean do any not just present a view that the NT audience agree with anyway ? The Welkin. |
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Post by teamyali on Jan 17, 2022 15:16:15 GMT
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Post by Jon on Jan 17, 2022 15:38:00 GMT
TBF it wasn't open until May so it's not too surprising that they've had a huge fall in box office. |
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Post by properjob on Jan 17, 2022 17:56:11 GMT
Read all about it! “Theatre forced to shut down takes no money at box office and has to make staff redundant."
Turn to page 2 for breaking news about the religion of the pope!
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Post by Mark on Jan 17, 2022 23:39:53 GMT
What they really need is the next War Horse/Curious Incident which they can transfer for an extended commercial production.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 18, 2022 0:37:18 GMT
What they really need is the next War Horse/Curious Incident which they can transfer for an extended commercial production. They will be waiting for the next AD to deliver that |
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jan 21, 2022 19:30:10 GMT
The new Dorfman show is nearly four hours long.
Maybe the NT is just an elaborate piece of performance art now.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 21, 2022 20:42:00 GMT
4 hours of verbatim theatre about teenagers.
No thanks.
90 minutes of that would be enough.
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Post by meister on Jan 21, 2022 21:24:49 GMT
Another indulgent production! Meanwhile, where’s Jack Absolute?
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Post by showgirl on Jan 22, 2022 5:52:38 GMT
Another indulgent production! Meanwhile, where’s Jack Absolute? Our Generation might turn out to be good or great, though I'll wait for some comments and/or reviews. But yes, indeed, what has become of Jack Absolute, which was likely to have had wider appeal? The NT should at least acknowledge that they had also programmed this and should provide an update. Likewise Standing At The Sky's Edge. |
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Post by zahidf on Jan 22, 2022 10:01:17 GMT
Another indulgent production! Meanwhile, where’s Jack Absolute? Our Generation might turn out to be good or great, though I'll wait for some comments and/or reviews. But yes, indeed, what has become of Jack Absolute, which was likely to have had wider appeal? The NT should at least acknowledge that they had also programmed this and should provide an update. Likewise Standing At The Sky's Edge. Standing at the sky edge us confirmed for Jan 2023 |
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Post by emsworthian on Jan 22, 2022 17:46:11 GMT
Another indulgent production! Meanwhile, where’s Jack Absolute? Our Generation might turn out to be good or great, though I'll wait for some comments and/or reviews. But yes, indeed, what has become of Jack Absolute, which was likely to have had wider appeal? The NT should at least acknowledge that they had also programmed this and should provide an update. Likewise Standing At The Sky's Edge. Our Generation is also coming to Chichester. That is for the Spring season along with an adaptation of Kate Mosse's"The Taxidermist's Daughter". I read her book and hated it so I am not thrilled about the Spring season so far. |
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Post by meister on Feb 22, 2022 8:01:44 GMT
Article in Times today, interview with RN including details of the summer season. Much Ado about Nothing with Katherine Parkinson & John Heffernan and (finally) Jack Absolute Flies Again.
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