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Post by bobbievanhusen on Apr 17, 2023 14:30:59 GMT
IF there was a chance of a further life then it's a shame the ensemble is so huge. There are only 10 people in the cast, and most of them are named characters at some point. There is no ensemble in this production, it's made up of people playing other parts. This is as bare bones as a production could be. |
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 17, 2023 14:52:50 GMT
Having seen the original production, I honestly couldn't conform the difference in the size of the cast. What I can confirm is that the stage was much bigger.
This meant that when Magic Fingers was performed, the three ladies were more evenly spaced out.
When Joyce sang Nobody, the whole set slid back to revel just her, two guys in tail suits with large white ostrich fans
It meant that we got to see more inside Joyce and Gilbert's house which really helped with the staging of Pig! No pig!
Also, as it was on a revolve, the hose spun around so you could see a group of gossiping ladies all wearing gas masks singing An Ill Wind.
In this production, Betty is a puppet controlled by a handler. In the original Betty was about a third if the size of a full grown pig, in a cart, all animatronic so her eyes blinked, her ears moved, as did her ears and mouth. At the time there was an article about how many millions Cameron Macintosh had spent on it.
During the bows Betty actually sang a line, which was actually Kylie's voice.
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Post by max on Apr 17, 2023 22:51:30 GMT
IF there was a chance of a further life then it's a shame the ensemble is so huge. There are only 10 people in the cast, and most of them are named characters at some point. There is no ensemble in this production, it's made up of people playing other parts. This is as bare bones as a production could be. Thanks for correcting that. I thought I'd read 16, but I stand corrected. However, checking the Union Theatre website has flushed out something that I find really terrible: the cast aren't even listed on the show page on the theatre's website. The 'Creatives' are but not the cast. Yes, I've found them by googling and seeing them on Whatsonstage.com, but surely in the low pay/no pay circumstances, the least they could do for the cast is feature them on their own website, with links to each performer's social media (and/or agent) to help them capitalise on any good profile they get from appearing. |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Apr 17, 2023 23:23:09 GMT
If they were paying equity minimums, would the show even be viable? Probably not on the £25 ticket price and who's going to pay more for a ticket to see something in that space? And no, I wouldnt pay anymore just to keep the cast on a minimum wage. As previously mentioned, they didnt have to take the contract if they felt that strongly about it.
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 18, 2023 14:32:47 GMT
A first look at this production:
Thanks Shaun Tossell
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Post by sph on Apr 18, 2023 16:50:58 GMT
Interesting that they'd post a trailer at the end of a sold-out run...
As for what max said above, yes I think that if a company are not paying actors a full wage they should certainly be pushing the profiles of each of them as much as possible. Ironically, whenever an actor is offered a low-pay/no-pay job, one of the things always promised is "great exposure". I guess they did get Cameron in to see them, quite an achievement for a fringe venue!
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Post by max on Apr 21, 2023 19:00:15 GMT
There are only 10 people in the cast, and most of them are named characters at some point. There is no ensemble in this production, it's made up of people playing other parts. This is as bare bones as a production could be. Thanks for correcting that. I thought I'd read 16, but I stand corrected. However, checking the Union Theatre website has flushed out something that I find really terrible: the cast aren't even listed on the show page on the theatre's website. The 'Creatives' are but not the cast. Yes, I've found them by googling and seeing them on Whatsonstage.com, but surely in the low pay/no pay circumstances, the least they could do for the cast is feature them on their own website, with links to each performer's social media (and/or agent) to help them capitalise on any good profile they get from appearing. Turns out it's a cast of 19, one of those being from the Union Theatre. Saw this on Thursday night. Very good cast, with Sam Kipling particularly strong in the role of Gilbert Chilvers. I liked the way that certain scenes melted into fantasy/memory but still within the same feel as the main aesthetic. I think the West End production made these a bigger design/fantasy leap which no doubt played to the size of the theatre, but, for me, interrupted the sense of forward motion in the story. |
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Post by max on Apr 21, 2023 20:33:57 GMT
it's a cast of 19, one of those being from the Union Theatre. Saw this on Thursday night. This was supposed to say "one of those being from the Union YOUTH THEATRE". She was very good too. |
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