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Post by theatregoer22 on Jun 19, 2023 22:23:39 GMT
They need to up the ante in terms of the advertising and marketing. This deserves to do really well. Has this featured yet on Kuennsberg, The One Show, Sunday Brunch, Graham Norton's radio show etc? Come on Playful, get it moving! I've seen loads of posters on the tube (or maybe the same poster several times). |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jul 5, 2023 14:11:24 GMT
Today Tix curently have this on 24 hour offer - £35 stalls seats are £15 and £45 stalls seats £25.
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Post by sf on Jul 5, 2023 16:12:16 GMT
Loved this last night. Funny, furious, perfectly cast and directed, and I don't know how Daniel Rigby does that eight times a week. Will go again before it closes.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Jul 11, 2023 9:42:45 GMT
Saw it on the Saturday matinee and still thinking about it days later. I’ve ended up reading the original play because I find it fascinating the changes they’ve made to the text to bring it up to date.
Does anyone know how to mark spoilers on these boards because I’d love to talk about it but I don’t want to spoil it for others
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5,156 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Jul 11, 2023 12:25:02 GMT
Does anyone know how to mark spoilers on these boards because I’d love to talk about it but I don’t want to spoil it for others It's easier in desktop mode, but if you're using a smartphone to post, type (spoiler) at the start and (/spoiler) at the end, but use [] rather than (). |
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Jul 11, 2023 13:01:30 GMT
Spoilers for the end of the play I find it fascinating that the original play (as per the synopsis online) ends with the Maniac asking the audience to choose between two endings: allow the police to die with the bomb going off and become anarchists themselves, or free the police who will then get away with their crimes to arrest innocent people. But in this new adaptation the Maniac is the one who dies via the bomb and window, and the police easily free themselves - the new play doesn’t give you the choice, the police will always get away with it. But then it has a cyclical ‘An Inspector Calls’ twist where the whole thing will go around again, with the maniac apparently returning. They’re trapped in a loop, much like the nature of scandals. |
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Post by capybara on Jul 15, 2023 17:59:02 GMT
Absolutely fantastic. Went in with no real knowledge or expectations and it ended up being the best play I’ve seen all years.
Daniel Rigby was absolutely phenomenal.
Obviously it’s a farce so among the genius there are some broader moments of levity but for the most part this is a stunning, hilarious and powerful piece of theatre.
Five stars.
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Post by Rory on Jul 15, 2023 18:08:29 GMT
Absolutely fantastic. Went in with no real knowledge or expectations and it ended up being the best play I’ve seen all years. Daniel Rigby was absolutely phenomenal. Obviously it’s a farce so among the genius there are some broader moments of levity but for the most part this is a stunning, hilarious and powerful piece of theatre. Five stars. Was it busy? |
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Post by capybara on Jul 15, 2023 18:30:37 GMT
Absolutely fantastic. Went in with no real knowledge or expectations and it ended up being the best play I’ve seen all years. Daniel Rigby was absolutely phenomenal. Obviously it’s a farce so among the genius there are some broader moments of levity but for the most part this is a stunning, hilarious and powerful piece of theatre. Five stars. Was it busy? Hard to tell as I was in the stalls second row. Seemed healthy though, with a few spare seats here and there. |
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Post by Rory on Jul 15, 2023 18:38:42 GMT
Ah I'm glad it's doing well. Great to read your review. I'm seeing it at the beginning of August and am really looking forward to it.
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Post by capybara on Jul 15, 2023 18:39:53 GMT
Pretty sure I’ll catch it again before it closes.
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3,574 posts
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Post by Rory on Jul 15, 2023 18:41:16 GMT
I love this trailer.
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Post by ncbears on Jul 15, 2023 18:52:23 GMT
Sigh. We had an open Saturday matinee on the last day of our last trip - and decided if we could get an inexpensive ticket to Crazy for You, we would do that. If not, then we would get the inexpensive tickets to Anarchist. The GL Box Office was too kind and Charlie Stemp was incredible and so I don't have regrets, but there was the thought that Crazy For You might come to the States whereas Anarchist likely would not and so we would miss our opportunity. But, we did what we did. I only wish we had seen Anarchist instead of Pilllowman!
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Post by mkb on Jul 19, 2023 22:03:12 GMT
I can add little to add to what has already been said. I last saw this 30+ years ago, and I remember only enough to know that this re-adapted adaption is quite different, but in a good way.
The brilliant and energetic lead performance by Rigby could have fallen flat were it not for the superlative foils provided by the rest of the cast. This is a great ensemble and terrific, if painfully apposite, theatre.
This would sell better if the playgoing public had a better idea of what to expect, which is a breakneck farce, albeit one seeped with barbed political admonitions. That said, the appeal may be limited, as many of the cultural references in the jokes that come thick and fast may go over the heads of non-Brits. (The two lower tiers tonight were 70% full and the upper tier unused.)
Four stars, almost a five.
Act 1: 19:31-20:19
Act 2: 20:36-21:19
Boos to the theatre for the unnecessarily short and stress-inducing 15-minute interval. I want to use the toilets and enjoy a drink in a relaxed fashion and not be rushing around like The Maniac of the play.
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Post by cherokee on Jul 19, 2023 22:03:53 GMT
I loved this. Daniel Rigby! What a tour de force. Hilarious - just couldn't take my eyes off him. And a terribly relevant message at the heart of it too. Very glad to see it in the West End.
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Post by oedipus on Jul 20, 2023 9:14:24 GMT
This was fantastic. I'd always wanted to see a production, and this adaptation was blisteringly fast -- and blisteringly smart. Zingers abound but when the show bares its fangs, it really has something serious to say about power (and powerlessness) in contemporary society. As a non-Brit, a few of the local references went over my head, but it barrels along with such velocity / ferocity that it really doesn't matter. As the reviews note, the lead performance is one for the ages, and I can't imagine the exhaustion of the lead actor on two-show days. Two thumbs up.
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Post by colelarson on Jul 27, 2023 5:26:17 GMT
Saw the Matinee yesterday and this play is absolutely superb. Daniel Rigby's performance is incredible.
The performance is full on, gripping and fast paced. The dark humor script does not fail to make you reflect on some very modern problems.
Amazing from beginning to end. A real must see.
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107 posts
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Post by pws on Jul 27, 2023 8:34:43 GMT
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jul 27, 2023 22:47:21 GMT
Not long got back from this evenings performance. I went in totally blind, knowing nothing about either the original play or this updated version and while I definitley laughed at and agreed with parts, there were times when I found the Maniac's role to be a bit too absurd. Also, I wish they'd used microphones, because the actor playing Agent Joseph wasn't great at projecting his voice and I had to strain to hear him.
That said, I can't deny that Daniel Rigby was fantastic, giving so much energy to his role. I also thought the supporting cast (when I could hear them) complemented the play well.
As I was going in I overheard a couple being told that the whole upper circle was closed and people with tickets to sit there were being moved into better seats.
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107 posts
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Post by pws on Jul 28, 2023 19:29:33 GMT
Not long got back from this evenings performance. I went in totally blind, knowing nothing about either the original play or this updated version and while I definitley laughed at and agreed with parts, there were times when I found the Maniac's role to be a bit too absurd. Also, I wish they'd used microphones, because the actor playing Agent Joseph wasn't great at projecting his voice and I had to strain to hear him. That said, I can't deny that Daniel Rigby was fantastic, giving so much energy to his role. I also thought the supporting cast (when I could hear them) complemented the play well. As I was going in I overheard a couple being told that the whole upper circle was closed and people with tickets to sit there were being moved into better seats. I was downstairs in the middle and the sound was fine, in fact, jolly loud. Yes, the whole top level was closed but the rest was full, so not so bad for a Thursday. I laughed a lot and was exhausted by the end. I went on a whim and was pleased I did (wanted to spend some theatre tokens). Catch it if you can. But don't bother with the programme.
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jul 28, 2023 22:37:13 GMT
Not long got back from this evenings performance. I went in totally blind, knowing nothing about either the original play or this updated version and while I definitley laughed at and agreed with parts, there were times when I found the Maniac's role to be a bit too absurd. Also, I wish they'd used microphones, because the actor playing Agent Joseph wasn't great at projecting his voice and I had to strain to hear him. That said, I can't deny that Daniel Rigby was fantastic, giving so much energy to his role. I also thought the supporting cast (when I could hear them) complemented the play well. As I was going in I overheard a couple being told that the whole upper circle was closed and people with tickets to sit there were being moved into better seats. I was downstairs in the middle and the sound was fine, in fact, jolly loud. Yes, the whole top level was closed but the rest was full, so not so bad for a Thursday. I laughed a lot and was exhausted by the end. I went on a whim and was pleased I did (wanted to spend some theatre tokens). Catch it if you can. But don't bother with the programme.
I was nearer the back of the stalls (Row S) and had no problems with the sound except when Agent Joseph talked.
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Post by matty on Jul 29, 2023 23:49:09 GMT
Really enjoyed this at the Lyric, so took a friend along to see it at the Haymarket. Still just as good, my friend loved it too. Daniel Rigby really is a force, but the whole cast is great.
We had the £15 front row seats and definitely couldn't complain about the view.
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Post by greenswan on Aug 1, 2023 7:18:12 GMT
Saw this last Thursday - stalls at least were mostly full. Starts dialled up to eleven and just keeps ratcheting up the tension. It worked as farce to an extent - the juxtaposition with the police subject matter covered rather took my laughter away. The physical/panto humour was a bit borderline in places for my taste but it's not my favourite comedy genre.
The information projected at the end felt like a slap in the face - took me until the next day to get my head around what I had seen. (Sometimes) funny and very impactful at the same time.
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Post by firefingers on Aug 9, 2023 21:44:00 GMT
Saw this tonight and loved it. Incredible energy from the cast, and extremely hard hitting despite being a farce. Something actually worth buying the playscript of for once.
EDIT: And I agree Joseph was a bit quiet. The cast are mic'ed from above (as one got struck by something being thrown in the air creating a solid bang) but not wearing their own so still reliant on the cast to give a bit of welly.
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Post by colelarson on Aug 11, 2023 11:40:26 GMT
I saw this again last night thanks to a TodayTix deal and still found it gripping, fast paced, funny and a real tour de force. The raptus definitely got me a 2nd time!
Daniel Rigby's performance is superb and look forward to seeing him in whatever he does next.
I had no sound issues as I was 2nd row in the stalls so very loud in certain moments!
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