The 47th - The Old Vic

Interesting idea, not well executed.

As other have said Bertie is terrific and the physical transformation is so extreme I forgot it wasn't trump after about 39 seconds. I liked Tamara Tunie a lot as Kamala, but thought Lydia Wilson weak and disengaging.

Overall I just found it very meh - at the end of Act 1 I was very much 'this is not good' although they largely won me back in act 2 (terrific scene between trump and Harris that really moved it up a gear). Final scene 50 shades of whackadoodle. Total lost me. Bartlett was sat behind me and I wanted to turn round and go 'eh?!'

Critics will not be kind, and it's a shame as I think there is a good idea somewhere in there. Bartlett just hasn't found it, or needs more time. It felt like a first workshop more than a finished piece to me. Too many threads that seemed to be important in Act 2, never mentioned again in act 2.

I thought the cast, including two understudies, were excellent, with the exception of Carvel. His is a very good performance, just not the right performance. He -- or the director, maybe -- has gone for a skittish comic-book Trump rather than the full horror of the real-life version. His intonation is too high pitched, and, despite the prosthetics, he looks far too young (at least from the third row).

As with King Charles III, there is much to admire in this Shakespearean tragedy especially Bartlett's clever use of language. Where The 47th differs is that the drama is less interesting, and the villains are ones we've already had our fill of. Trump words and deeds that still shock and make one recoil, are diminished when a small number in the audience emit silly giggles as if this were a trivial sitcom.

With tightening of both acts down to an hour apiece, this would be a four-star play; as it stands during previews, it's three-star, but still a must-see.

The protruding circular stage is high to accommodate a revolve that adds little during its occasional use. I would have preferred a static lower stage. From the centre of Stalls row J, I could just see the sloping surface.

Act 1: 19:34-20:45
Act 2: 21:02-22:12

Note to Old Vic management: 15 minutes is too short, rushed and stressful for the interval, especially with your toilets.

And this is why I'm just going to stop buying tickets for stuff the second they go on sale. These £20 ones are better than mine which cost £50+ each. It's hard to stay loyal to the individual venues/box offices when almost everything ends up doing this a few weeks later.

God point!

Seeing this tonight and quite excited!

I've been mulling this over pretty continuously since Thursday and I still can't decide if I liked it or not!

From what I understand, nothing. The paranoia for Biden was enough and they're trying to hint at fake news and rumour (I think that's what they were getting at anyway?)

Terrible play. I did not like the play, direction (very slow despite movement and noise) or acting. Walked out afer the first act. I didn't leave earlier because I had to make people stand up and would disturb them.

Predictable, unfunny and preachy. Have a ticket to see Scandaltown, hope that one is better...

Well, that was a pretty surreal evening. As other have said, Bertie Cavell’s transformation into The Donald is pretty uncanny and it’s quite unnerving watching the way he moves across the stage. More unsettling however are probably the scenes featuring the notorious Qanons - the movement direction heightening the demonic essence of the movement. I’m not sure how I feel about Mike Bartlett’s writing though still - he has great ideas but the way he infuses Shakespeare and takes pop culture references into his work, always feels more textbook than a moment of genius. Nevertheless, it was absolutely brilliant to be back at the Old Vic, having not visited since Endgame pre-pandemic. The auditorium was fully charged by electric performances from the cast, expertly directed by Rupert Goold. It’s a pinch of salt sort of show I would say - there are deeply engaging moments where you’re locked in suspense or laughing at the comic elements but it also slows and takes some time to pick back up again in parts. It’ll be interesting to see how history continues to unfold and how prophetical this show is too.

Quite an odd mix of an evening, funny, deeply unsettling both in Bertie Carvel's portrayal (I did a double take as didn't immediately realise it was even him) and in the possible future that might still await us, a wander via various Shakespeare plays, a few odd moments when I rather zoned out.

There are times when Bertie Carvel is so good it rather shows up how other people are just pretending to be real life people, it was until the interval and talking to a neighbour that I discovered who the president I couldn't identify was. The set is a bit odd, in that it mostly seemly unnecessary to have the revolve and therefore be so high, I was row J and really wouldn't have wanted to be any closer. The movement, soundscapes, cross over from the real and possible is all cleverly done. It's like some surreal experiment when you know you're sat in a theatre and yet at times you're not entirely sure it's all make believe and what is happening on stage may have bigger implications than just on a few hours of your time.

So good and strange. I saw still in previews so from the sounds of reviews things might have changed so will go read a few and see if I can gauge what.

I can't figure out what the play is trying to do. It's not over-the-top enough to be satire* but not straightforward enough to be commentary. Bertie Carvel was amazing. The Ivanka character was odd... in the first act, she'd suddenly smile at inappropriate times, but that never seemed to lead anywhere in terms of her character. (I did get a kick out of the fact that the actress took the curtain call in slippers instead of the needle-heeled 6-inch stilettos she wore throughout the play.)

I was expecting some 

But I expected most of that from the comments and reviews. What I didn't expect was how painfully loud the sound was. Myself and the people on either side stuffed our fingers in our ears for the worst of it. And one of them turned to me later and said she was deaf, had taken out her hearing aids and it was STILL too loud! There are some unexpected, sudden loud noises, but most of it was just sound effects building to the end of a scene.

*As said in a post above, Trump already is a caricature so you'd have to create something completely unhinged.

>> Not true, Trump is the clear 11/8 betting favourite to be the Republican nominee

Not a chance and the idea of Ivanka against Kamala is BEYOND lunacy. Or good theatre. Sorry, Mike, but there we have it.