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Post by Forrest on Sept 26, 2022 10:05:23 GMT
I'm surprised to see how many people don't like the Bridge: I love the space, both the theatre itself and the foyer.
On a different note, I've unexpectedly booked for this for tomorrow. I adore Lia Williams, so am kind of excited. (Also will be glad to be back at the Bridge, it's been a while!)
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Post by cavocado on Sept 26, 2022 10:30:13 GMT
I'm surprised to see how many people don't like the Bridge: I love the space, both the theatre itself and the foyer. Me too. So many London theatres are uncomfortable, have horrible loos with long queues, no foyer seating, overpriced bar, restricted views, etc. I haven't enjoyed every show I've seen at the Bridge, but the building is a pleasure to visit. Great place to meet friends beforehand - seating, bar, friendly staff. It's probably the only theatre I've visited where there are enough women's loos. And the sightlines, seat comfort, legroom and ticket prices are all pretty good.
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Post by David J on Sept 26, 2022 10:35:23 GMT
I like the layout of the theatre but it looks bland aesthetically and dark in the corridors and auditorium. Not enough variety of colour. Cold and uninviting
Maybe too modern
I mean the National may look like a concrete bunker but they’ve put the effort in to add flourishes to it over the years. That’s what I think this theatre desperately needs. More character. Make you feel more welcome there
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Post by cavocado on Sept 26, 2022 10:55:45 GMT
I suppose it is a bit bland, but I'll take functionality and comfort over beauty.
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Post by lynette on Sept 26, 2022 12:17:14 GMT
Who doesn’t like the Bridge? Great staff! Plenty of loos and some on ground floor. On a recent visit we sat outside the theatre 9cos there were seats) for a bit before going to eat somewhere else. On our return to the theatre to go in we were accosted by a security guy who had seen us when were sitting down ( from inside ) and saw that we had dropped a travel card which he duly returned. Talk about observant.
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Post by Rory on Sept 26, 2022 12:55:12 GMT
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Post by bordeaux on Sept 26, 2022 14:11:08 GMT
Thanks for posting this. So Coward's The Vortex in the spring. Never seen that despite a couple of high-profile productions in my theatre-going life (30 years or so). Wonder where and directed by whom.
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Post by frankubelik on Sept 27, 2022 6:50:25 GMT
Given the last time I saw this play was in 1996 with Paul Schofield (his last stage appearance I believe), Vanessa Redgrave and Eileen Atkins, the memories remain of Schofield's voice, Atkins superlative performance and that final scene, this production had a lot to live up to. The three leads do not disappoint with Clare Higgins taking the acting honours here. I was less impressed with the modern dress and one monumentally poor piece of casting but overall the leads are excellent. Lia Williams was wearing what looked like a hearing device or perhaps a head mike (to help with projection?) which the other two definitely weren't. Good to see some classy classic theatre at the Bridge.
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Post by alessia on Sept 27, 2022 9:24:34 GMT
Given the last time I saw this play was in 1996 with Paul Schofield (his last stage appearance I believe), Vanessa Redgrave and Eileen Atkins, the memories remain of Schofield's voice, Atkins superlative performance and that final scene, this production had a lot to live up to. The three leads do not disappoint with Clare Higgins taking the acting honours here. I was less impressed with the modern dress and one monumentally poor piece of casting but overall the leads are excellent. Lia Williams was wearing what looked like a hearing device or perhaps a head mike (to help with projection?) which the other two definitely weren't. Good to see some classy classic theatre at the Bridge. Interesting- who was monumentally poor? I thought everyone was v good. Been thinking about this play since seeing it on Saturday as I couldn't quite work why I did not love it. It was almost like the play has been abridged here and there as it felt like some bits weren't fully explored, (for example the relationship between father and son) but I am sure it is not the case (or is it?). I know this is more about the two sisters than it is about JG Borkman- so perhaps this was just me not knowing anything about the story and having expectations.
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Post by Jan on Sept 27, 2022 17:22:23 GMT
What’s the running time ? Thanks.
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Post by cavocado on Sept 27, 2022 19:34:28 GMT
What’s the running time ? Thanks. Last night it was 1hr 40, although it started several minutes late. No interval, which I think was a mistake - lots of fidgeting and glances at watches in the last half hour. I could have done with a break after an hour or so. I liked most of the separate elements of this but somehow it doesn't yet spark together into something really good - hopefully the previews will sort that out. Some fine performances, especially Clare Higgins. I don't know which casting was monumentally poor? Fanny? I thought Ony Uhiara's interpretation worked really well with the modern setting - the Erhart/Fanny relationship made sense to me. I wasn't too keen on the design - the scene changes seemed to take a long time, and Daisy Ou playing piano alone on an upstairs platform made her feel too removed from the play.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 27, 2022 22:06:51 GMT
Saw it this evening, enjoyed it. A lot of up front humour, quite a few laughs - not what I necessarily expect from Ibsen. Three great central performances. Really effective use of haze at the end, it's so common these days but this felt like a real addition to the production. A bit of a faff with the stage changes, they felt unnecessary and even allowing for the change of rooms, there was no need for the set at the back to be moving - felt like it was just done because it could be done. Slightly unlucky with our seats A53/52 - a LOT of backs to us as a clear marker set at the corner of the stage there and a lot of the three way interaction done in a triangle, so one with back also blocking another. Still, great seats for some moments.
Amused to spot crew member with script standing by in a corner but she looked pretty bored very quickly, three very old hands had no issues.
{Spoiler - click to view}Left pondering on just why JGB spent the 8 years isolated upstairs, guilt, shame, fear, all of the above? Not sure the relationship with Earheart lands at all, it's less impactful than his break with his mother and his aunt but we have more of their relationship (seen and told about).
No issues with any of the cast, thought all were good. Really distracted by Ony Uhiara's costume though, *so* different, so glaringly different. I assume this is more of a comment on how Fanny lives a different life with less concern for opinions than anyone else but it felt OTT. Good to randomly run into londonpostie once again - not at the NT for a change though - and to have a chat before and after This was my last pre-Covid show that I had tickets for to actually come back, I'm glad it did.
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Post by bordeaux on Oct 1, 2022 8:51:29 GMT
Mix of three and four star reviews but all praise the acting especially SRB. Quite a few, surprisingly to me, seem to regard the play as minor Ibsen, though to my mind whenever it's on it gets very prestigious casts (Scofield, Redgrave, Atkins; Rickman, Shaw, Duncan; Piccoli, Ogier, Frot).
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Post by mkb on Oct 1, 2022 13:38:31 GMT
Not much to say. Worth seeing for the acting, rather than the play, which is pretty inconsequential. If there are deeper meanings and metaphors at play, they escaped me.
I don't particularly like Scandinavian architecture, so the set design captured that well.
To address previous comments, the casting of Fanny Wilton as a black character works fine in contemporary Oslo. Giving her a South London accent does not.
Three stars.
One act: 19:33-21:15
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Post by andrew on Oct 3, 2022 19:22:09 GMT
I was really disappointed by this. It was just boring. I felt like I could have written it. I don't know what I was supposed to take from it. I didn't really rate Clare Higgins, SRB did his best, Lia Williams is one of my favourite actresses alive and even she didn't really manage to elevate anything that happened. I dunno maybe just 2 stars? Bewildered that this has been put on, it's going to struggle through the next 2 months.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 3, 2022 20:36:17 GMT
Just finished seeing it tonight (I picked up a ticket at the weekend as a last minute choice before going on holiday on Wednesday): I thought it was ok rather than superb , excellent acting from the three leads but things never really took off (for me anyway).
The theatre wasn’t exactly packed, about half full: I’m writing this from the Bridge bar area, SRB having a beer with friends opposite while I write this (a few people went over to say hello but I think a man enjoying his drink is a sacred act, not to be disturbed so I have steered well clear)
Glad I saw it but not worth paying top dollar to watch to be honest.
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Post by theoracle on Oct 3, 2022 21:00:32 GMT
Lia and Claire were both excellent and the highlights of this production. The pacing was definitely slower than I had anticipated and sadly even the more tense moments didn't grip me as much as I'd hoped. I felt younger audience members around me started zoning out and getting twitchy towards the middle of it. By the time the show ends, it was more a feeling of "ahh, that was good" but not "wow". I was a little confused why Simon Russell Beale had his back turned to the centre block so often. The piano was a nice touch but not sure how much it added to the piece. 6.5/10 for me.
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Post by oedipus on Oct 5, 2022 11:42:43 GMT
I saw JGB on Monday and while I don't regret it, exactly, it's not a show I can easily recommend. The problem squarely lies in the structure: the three main characters talk endlessly about the actions of the past, and somewhere in those reminiscences are the materials for what could have been an arresting plot (grift! back-stabbing! mortification!). But that plot, alas, isn't what we're seeing, but rather, a sort of dismal epilogue: it's just recrimination 24/7, and that grows quickly wearisome. While the acting is superior, the production isn't helped by a drab, gray design that mirrors the flatness of the arc of the play.
I'm not quite sure what attract Hytner to this piece. I can see where a play about a megalomaniac financier might have some currency (so to speak) in the age of Trump, but that aspect is never explored. And it's not that every play needs to hit the audience over the head with urgency, but JGB is especially opaque. For Ibsen "completionists," this production is easy to recommend, but for most theatre-goers, I sense it's a puzzlement.
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Post by TallPaul on Oct 5, 2022 14:24:26 GMT
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Post by peterbrook on Oct 5, 2022 18:29:14 GMT
What a treat! Three exceptional actors at the top of their game - Simon Russell Beale, Clare Higgins and Lia Williams ably supported, especially by Michael Simkins.
I was among the very receptive matinee audience today and, judging from their reaction at curtain call, I was far from alone in thoroughly enjoying the afternoon. Yes, you had to concentrate very hard on the intricacies of the plot and dialogue, but then I expect that with Ibsen. I found it gripping from start to finish. Four stars from me.
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Post by david on Oct 6, 2022 22:33:48 GMT
After tonight’s viewing, I really didn’t get a lot out if this one I’m afraid. Running at around 105 minutes, I must of felt each of those minutes sat in my seat. Having purchased a deal from TT from a theatre week offer based on the casting of SRB and Lia Williams in this production, I’m really no clearer about what Ibsen was trying to say with this play at the end of the show as I was was when I walked into the auditorium. I really couldn’t engage with this play and really struggled to stay focused on proceedings.
I just felt that there weren’t any characters to support or empathise with. Despite some wonderful humorous moments, particularly between SRB and Michael Simkins, it really is a relentlessly bleak play that isn’t particularly helped by a grey set.
The addition of the piano playing was a nice touch though I did question the choice of coat worn by Ony Uhiara. All I’ll say it that it looked gastly.
Although not a great night out, the cast I thought were the one positive I took from this. For me, the acting was far better than the writing.
Rating - 2⭐️
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Post by Jan on Oct 12, 2022 6:23:50 GMT
Although not a great night out, the cast I thought were the one positive I took from this. For me, the acting was far better than the writing. I agree but we should make clear the poor writing was by Lucinda Coxon and not Ibsen. There are lots of good translations of this play which have been very successfully produced (the NT have sold out twice with it) so why not use one of those ? The answer here seems to be that they wanted an "updated" version. It is not necessary to update Ibsen - audiences are smart enough to draw parallels with the present day without being spoon fed - but if you're going to do it you need to rewrite the entire play word by word to fit a modern setting. This can be done well - I recall Simon Stone's "Wild Duck" - but usually it is a disaster. Here the dialogue is totally unbelievable in a modern setting, a strange combination of period English (I suppose copied from the literal translation) with soap opera style melodramatic additions, attempted jokes, and random Americanisms thrown in. Hopeless. The play is non-naturalistic and poetic - setting it in period makes that easier to accept, here you just think "Why are they speaking like that ?" and that undermines even the best actors. Points of the original plot make no sense in a modern setting either - why would anyone in 2022 care less what surname someone used ? They need to be modified to be relevant. I didn't like the design either - set or costumes. It is very well acted and so a great opportunity missed. The result is a play starring SRB with 50% of the seats empty.
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Post by londonpostie on Oct 12, 2022 8:06:58 GMT
Well put.
Plus, if someone can gather a team together I'd like to rush the stage, lift that bloody sofa, dump it on the green out front and make an early bonfire out of it. Absolutely absurd disruption every 15-minutes to the flow; tv, cables, et al. Is The Bridge sponsored by Bishops Move?
Also, we obv. all need a stage the size of a tennis court to illustrate emotional distance cos we fick.
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Post by alessia on Oct 12, 2022 9:24:38 GMT
Although not a great night out, the cast I thought were the one positive I took from this. For me, the acting was far better than the writing. I agree but we should make clear the poor writing was by Lucinda Coxon and not Ibsen. There are lots of good translations of this play which have been very successfully produced (the NT have sold out twice with it) so why not use one of those ? The answer here seems to be that they wanted an "updated" version. It is not necessary to update Ibsen - audiences are smart enough to draw parallels with the present day without being spoon fed - but if you're going to do it you need to rewrite the entire play word by word to fit a modern setting. This can be done well - I recall Simon Stone's "Wild Duck" - but usually it is a disaster. Here the dialogue is totally unbelievable in a modern setting, a strange combination of period English (I suppose copied from the literal translation) with soap opera style melodramatic additions, attempted jokes, and random Americanisms thrown in. Hopeless. The play is non-naturalistic and poetic - setting it in period makes that easier to accept, here you just think "Why are they speaking like that ?" and that undermines even the best actors. Points of the original plot make no sense in a modern setting either - why would anyone in 2022 care less what surname someone used ? They need to be modified to be relevant. I didn't like the design either - set or costumes. It is very well acted and so a great opportunity missed. The result is a play starring SRB with 50% of the seats empty. Thank you for expressing so well what is wrong with the play- it did come across as modernised and abridged from what Ibsen would have written, but not knowing anything about it and never having seen it, I didn't know the extent of the changes. Now it makes perfect sense why it did not work for me.
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Post by Jan on Oct 12, 2022 9:33:05 GMT
Well put. Plus, if someone can gather a team together I'd like to rush the stage, lift that bloody sofa, dump it on the green out front and make an early bonfire out of it. Absolutely absurd disruption every 15-minutes to the flow; tv, cables, et al. Is The Bridge sponsored by Bishops Move? Also, we obv. all need a stage the size of a tennis court to illustrate emotional distance cos we fick. On the design, the first big problem was the set and costumes were designed by different people who were apparently totally uncoordinated, but then worse they were uncoordinated within each area too. Some of the costumes could have easily passed for drab period (1900) costumes but the rest were Scandi day-glo as pioneered by Richard Jones (of course) in his updated "Enemy of the People" (which I liked a lot). The set indicated some weird house of no particular style (modern but decorated in battleship grey ?) which had an entirely implausible corner that opened as a door and a scattering of props: your old grannie's sofa, a camp bed (SRB has slept on that for 8 years ? Really ?), a 1960s bar heater, a modern TV but with loads of dust on it, and multiple bottles of Scottish cola. A total mess.
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Post by Jan on Oct 12, 2022 9:38:46 GMT
Thank you for expressing so well what is wrong with the play- it did come across as modernised and abridged from what Ibsen would have written, but not knowing anything about it and never having seen it, I didn't know the extent of the changes. Now it makes perfect sense why it did not work for me. My impression at the time was that it wasn't significantly abridged. I checked afterwards and one character had been dropped but no scenes. The problem was rather that key telling lines in the original were simply rendered banal by the adaptation and thrown away. This is a great play but you'll have to take my word for that - the previous productions I've seen were electric - and far more accessible than "The Master Builder" or "When We Dead Awaken" for example.
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Post by stevemar on Oct 12, 2022 9:54:27 GMT
Interesting discussion. I only saw the Donmar version (2007) with magnificent performances from Ian McDiarmid, Penelope Wilton and Deborah Findlay. I remember it being very claustrophobic even though I don’t recall the plot points. Did anyone else see that version?
When I saw this announced pre-pandemic, it would have been a sure fire show for me to book. Despite the comments here, I probably ought to judge for myself, but I guess £ has also made me much more picky given I’d held back booking.
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Post by Jan on Oct 12, 2022 10:00:39 GMT
Interesting discussion. I only saw the Donmar version (2007) with magnificent performances from Ian McDiarmid, Penelope Wilton and Deborah Findlay. I remember it being very claustrophobic even though I don’t recall the plot points. Did anyone else see that version? When I saw this announced pre-pandemic, it would have been a sure fire show for me to book. Despite the comments here, I probably ought to judge for myself, but I guess £ has also made me much more picky given I’d held back booking. I saw the Donmar one. Directed by Michael Grandage in a version by David Eldridge. If you haven't got a ticket you can get one on TodayTix Rush for £25 - given how poorly it has sold I imagine you'd easily get a good seat.
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Post by kathryn on Oct 12, 2022 12:48:59 GMT
We were upgraded from gallery to stalls on Saturday. It might have been partly due to strike cancellations though.
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Post by Jan on Oct 12, 2022 13:02:48 GMT
We were upgraded from gallery to stalls on Saturday. It might have been partly due to strike cancellations though. Gallery stalls were closed yesterday, so I assume they always are now.
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