A Little Life - Richmond/Harold Pinter/Savoy/ Cinema

theatrefan77, I'm so glad to read this, because I finally caved the other day and bought an (in my view) expensive stage seating ticket to see this. FOMO is an odd motivator!

I did find the book interesting (I wanted to say i "liked" it, but it's not really the sort of thing that one can "like", is it, given the subject matter? I did finish it in record time, though), but am admittedly intimidated by the length of the play. But - let's see... 

I saw it on stage at the Harold Pinter and from Stalls front row at the Savoy.  Both views were great. I'm sure you will 'enjoy' -not the right word for this play, I know- the on stage experience.  Being so close to the actors and seeing their facial expressions is really amazing.  

I saw this for the third time yesterday and I have to say the more you see it and know what’s coming, the far less impactful it becomes. I know this has been a long run and the cast are still doing a great job but it did feel a little mechanical and a little overacted in places actually. They must all be exhausted.

I still love this production but I think I’m ready to say goodbye to it now.

Fwiw, I found it difficult to engage with such extreme artifice. I guess as a shock piece of art it has currency - which I would imagine the source material has - but, if you're looking for a reasonable intelligent theatrical experience, this didn't work for me.

Had this been based on events then you might have the choice between, say empathy or shame (your shame, for the voyeuristic nature), and found that dichotomy challenging. But it's entirely made up, to shock for the purpose of shocking. It felt superficial and vapid, merely a platform to sell units. And now seat bookings. Though, if you want a fake-shock experience, have at it.

I’ve just tracked down a cheap(ish) ticket for tomorrow’s matinee as having seen this at the Pinter at the end of April, and reading the book at the moment, I didn’t want to miss another chance to see it whilst I still can. There’s only two more weeks at the Savoy - and then hopefully a long holiday for them all.

Wondering if it’ll affect me in the same way, or differently, but looking forward to sitting front of house, next to the string quartet. At the Pinter I sat on-stage so I’m excited to see how it differs watching from the front.

So I’ve absolutely no regrets about paying a second visit to this yesterday!

What an incredible afternoon - I was a mess by the end, I think I cried more than I did the first time. So glad I decided to go again before the Savoy run ends. Was sat in the stalls this time (row A close to the string quartet) so it was wonderful to see it all from the front rather than from the stage (although I loved both experiences equally). As iwanttix said, the moment with Jude blowing out the candles on his birthday cake was played out right in front of me.

I think as I’ve been slowly reading the book since I saw it in April, the characters and relationships meant even more this time around, and filled in small gaps in the plot that perhaps didn’t make complete sense (or I didn’t appreciate the background to) when I first saw it. In fact I cried more at the happy moments when Jude is surrounded by love (because of how much he’s gone through to get there) than I did at the more graphic scenes when he’s suffering.

The connection between the actors too is an absolute pleasure to watch as well, and my wonder at how they do this night after night and twice on some days remains. Yes it’s a tough watch, and I wondered if I’d react to it in the same way knowing what was coming, but I ‘enjoyed’ it just as much and am so pleased I went back. Now to find me a man who looks at me the way Willem looks at Jude!

I saw this yesterday, from my comfy stage seat, and I have to admit I liked it more than I anticipated.

I know there have been complaints here about how the play skips some of the parts of the novel and/or some characters, but - having read the novel before seeing the play - to me it felt kind of the opposite: I thought they did a great job of telling us all the pieces of the puzzle crucial for understanding the story, without falling into the trap of being a bit of a pity party, that I felt the book was in places. I ended up liking the play more than the book!

The actors did a fantastic job. Someone mentioned that they were amazed at how both Norton and Cowan changed their age/characters, and I could not agree more, they were both amazing. I also loved Thompson as Willem, who played the part of the overprotective friend and then lover so endearingly from the first moment.
To me, perhaps because I knew what was coming from the book, the violence wasn't too much. Perhaps I would have appreciated a "metaphor" in place of the actual cutting, but I didn't feel the urge to look away.

My problem with the book, which also then reflects on the play, although neither the director nor the actors are to blame, is that I feel like it promotes an almost unhealthy idea of love and protectiveness over someone who gives so little in return; the idea that bending over backwards with no questions asked (literally, in this case) is somehow noble. The play-Jude actually seemed like a nicer character than the book-Jude, because we get less of him overall, although, for me, the problem persists in both.  

But I found it to be a really thought-provoking experience, and I am absolutely glad that I decided to splurge a little to go.

Yes, it’s raked. There’s a good step up between each row. And I rarely felt as though I was watching backs of heads for long at any point. It’s a great view I promise!

The stage seating is great because there is a step up between each layer. Unless you get stuck behind the tallest person in the world who was straddling two 'seats' because there was an empty one and their head was completely in the way for Jude and Willem on that dodgy sofa... but that's just my luck and that isn't a usual problem. My last on stage seat is in the last week and I'm actually sitting on the other side - all my seats so far have been on the side of JB & Malcolm's area, but this one is by th3 medical area/kitchen.

Something I remembered about my last visit - JB had completely painted over the face of the painting of Malcolm he was working on and was painting it in again. I wonder how many times Omari has painted and repainted pictures. At the Pinter they were different pics entirely.

I presume because of the half hour call and the actors will begin to be called to the stage etc. they do come on stage before 7pm. In a rota. James is last on. 

you can’t have them wandering around and still getting people to their seats.