131 posts
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Post by critchyboy on Nov 15, 2024 1:55:29 GMT
Caught this this evening - the first Shakespeare play I’ve watched in it entirety… yes, I was at Player Kings the night Ian McKellan fell off stage…
This production was wonderful - thoroughly enjoyed it. The use of headphones for the sound scape, music and whispered plots brought a wonderful dimension to the play. The acting all round was great and would love to see it again. But alas - £250 is a tad out of my price range!
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Post by westendboy on Nov 17, 2024 15:33:02 GMT
Saw this over a month ago, but only now have I decided to write a review! (Should really find myself more time), explicitly for David and after hearing a lot of good things from friends who saw the Donmar production.
I thought the use of headphones was slightly 'gimmicky', but not Jamie Lloyd levels of gimmicky. It did make specific moments in the piece more eerie and I thought it was clever how they used the Witches' voices. It does make me wonder how this would've been at the Donmar, with its smaller and more intimate spacing, and if some of that wasn't translated that well into the Pinter?
As for the production itself, I'll admit I found it dragged a bit in the first half and I was thrown off by the Porter scene, moreso the adlibbing and silliness to it, although I have since then learnt that that scene specifically is meant to be a light hearted break from all the tragedy going on. When it got to Macbeth's second encounter with the Witches, aka the "Beware Macduff" scene, that's when it picked up for me.
The acting all around was strong from the entire company. It was my first time watching Tennant onstage, performing Shakespeare none the less, and he was excellent as expected. Cush Jumbo as Lady Macbeth was also a standout and I found the choice to make her the only non-Scottish one in the cast a very intriguing one and does sort of recontextualizes the character and the play. Also, that scene towards the end with the kid was just... If you know, you know...
Overall, I enjoyed this production of the Scottish Play and glad I saw it, although I wonder if I would've enjoyed it much more in a smaller venue? My highlight for the evening was David signing my programme!
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Post by SilverFox on Nov 17, 2024 21:41:49 GMT
Worth repeating for those out-of-town, or with limited funds, that is being streamed in cinemas next February. Will be a different experience for sure, but maybe worth considering.
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5,053 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 17, 2024 21:54:14 GMT
Saw this over a month ago, but only now have I decided to write a review! (Should really find myself more time), explicitly for David and after hearing a lot of good things from friends who saw the Donmar production. I thought the use of headphones was slightly 'gimmicky', but not Jamie Lloyd levels of gimmicky. It did make specific moments in the piece more eerie and I thought it was clever how they used the Witches' voices. It does make me wonder how this would've been at the Donmar, with its smaller and more intimate spacing, and if some of that wasn't translated that well into the Pinter? As for the production itself, I'll admit I found it dragged a bit in the first half and I was thrown off by the Porter scene, moreso the adlibbing and silliness to it, although I have since then learnt that that scene specifically is meant to be a light hearted break from all the tragedy going on. When it got to Macbeth's second encounter with the Witches, aka the "Beware Macduff" scene, that's when it picked up for me. The acting all around was strong from the entire company. It was my first time watching Tennant onstage, performing Shakespeare none the less, and he was excellent as expected. Cush Jumbo as Lady Macbeth was also a standout and I found the choice to make her the only non-Scottish one in the cast a very intriguing one and does sort of recontextualizes the character and the play. Also, that scene towards the end with the kid was just... If you know, you know... Overall, I enjoyed this production of the Scottish Play and glad I saw it, although I wonder if I would've enjoyed it much more in a smaller venue? My highlight for the evening was David signing my programme! My overall thought with the headphones is that are they really a gimmick? Or made to look that way, as are all the monologues done live, or could they be pre recorded? |
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Post by fclou on Nov 17, 2024 23:03:13 GMT
I kept taking my headphones off to listen to them on the stage, and sat for quite a while with just one over my head ear - none that I heard was pre recorded.
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824 posts
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Post by rumbledoll on Nov 18, 2024 11:37:25 GMT
Having seen it in Donmar I didn’t understand why would I even bother with headphones - I could perfectly hear them whispering.
Also maybe it’s just me but I think the headphones on only takes away a lot from the experience without adding too much (witches’s voice could be pre-recoded and unleashed from the speakers anyway). It’s like eating a burger with the gloves on which I never do - yes, you keep your hands clean but the point is to get them dirty snd licking your fingers afterword.
And even when I took my headphones off.. Just could not shake the feeling of it being artificial which probably was one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy this production that much.
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Post by aspieandy on Nov 18, 2024 14:46:22 GMT
Caught this this evening - the first Shakespeare play I’ve watched in it entirety… yes, I was at Player Kings the night Ian McKellan fell off stage… This production was wonderful - thoroughly enjoyed it. The use of headphones for the sound scape, music and whispered plots brought a wonderful dimension to the play. The acting all round was great and would love to see it again. But alas - £250 is a tad out of my price range! Fwiw, I think Tennant would look at this page, read the topmost post and think 'job done'. He's in a pretty unique position with younger adults. This production isn't looking to attract the usual crowd - that's not to say it's deliberately different, he just had the opportunity to try and draw in a newer or previously wary crowd, and he did that. Shakespeare is more accessible. The barrier to entry (to this world) is diminished. Given his family background of community service, socialism, etc - and the goals he set for this - he'll feel the job's a good 'un.
Kudos also to those who joined him on the journey.
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752 posts
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Post by Latecomer on Nov 18, 2024 16:11:25 GMT
Having seen it in Donmar I didn’t understand why would I even bother with headphones - I could perfectly hear them whispering. Also maybe it’s just me but I think the headphones on only takes away a lot from the experience without adding too much (witches’s voice could be pre-recoded and unleashed from the speakers anyway). It’s like eating a burger with the gloves on which I never do - yes, you keep your hands clean but the point is to get them dirty snd licking your fingers afterword. And even when I took my headphones off.. Just could not shake the feeling of it being artificial which probably was one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy this production that much. Couldn’t have put it better. Hated the headphones at the Donmar. Made me completely disconnected from the show - a bit like watching on TV! |
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41 posts
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Post by shakeel on Nov 19, 2024 22:21:45 GMT
Odd one, this. Tennant was superb, and I’m glad to have seen the production if only to see him. But everything else was just … fine.
The headphones are interesting, and there are moments when they’re used quite effectively (eg some of the scenes with the witches and ghosts). But they’re not *quite* good enough to work properly — there’s a noticeable “lip sync” lag, for lack of a better phrase, between the actors speaking and the audio in your ears, and they’re not high enough quality gear to make the actors really feel present. I think they would have worked superbly if they were eg AirPods Pro level tech, but obviously that’s not cost effective. As is, it feels a bit average.
I thought the rest of the cast were all pretty average too — Jumbo was a big disappointment, and whoever played Malcolm was pretty atrocious IMO. Part of this is that Tennant outshines them all, though. The one exception is the Porter, who I thought did a very good job with some odd material. I didn’t hate that scene, but I’m not entirely sure why it was there.
Other scattered thoughts… the play’s pacing is always odd (the second half really drags) but that felt particularly noticeable here. And I think it really fluffed the ending, which felt pretty cringey and tonally out of place (I get that’s what they were going for, but I don’t think it landed).
5* for Tennant, 3 or 3.5* for the production.
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