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Post by alessia on Jul 1, 2023 15:27:21 GMT
I loved this play today. When I booked months ago I thought it sounded interesting as a premise and really up my street (old friend shows up and disrupts couple’s harmony) but it was completely not what I expected, and in a good way. It is only 90 minutes, no interval. Acted beautifully by the 6 actors, the text is direct, fast and relatable, it really drew me in and the twist at the end, I did not see coming at all. Moving as well and makes you wonder, what is the right thing to do in that situation? Highly recommended. orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-swell/about
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1,477 posts
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Post by Steve on Jul 1, 2023 16:11:03 GMT
I loved this play today. When I booked months ago I thought it sounded interesting as a premise and really up my street (old friend shows up and disrupts couple’s harmony) but it was completely not what I expected, and in a good way. It is only 90 minutes, no interval. Acted beautifully by the 6 actors, the text is direct, fast and relatable, it really drew me in and the twist at the end, I did not see coming at all. Moving as well and makes you wonder, what is the right thing to do in that situation? Highly recommended. orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-swell/aboutI was also at today's matinee, and completely agree with Alessia. (There's a fire in the centre of Richmond, being handled effectively, so I had to walk a distance to get a bus out of there, before writing my thoughts). I did foresee the twist (it's a fair one, heavily signalled), but it really doesn't matter whether you do or don't, cos the play is actually about what love means, and there are some lovely performances, with Saroja-Lily Ratnavel drawing me right into the emotive throughline. Some spoilers follow. . . If this play is like the song "Jolene," then the above-mentioned Saroja-Lily Ratnavel plays the Dolly Parton role, Annie, with a flighty Jessica Clark as the Jolene-type, Flo, who flows forcefully but effortlessly into flirt-mode with the object of everyone's desire, Bel (like Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," she has similarly questionable judgement about who is or is not a "beast"), and I was hoping against hope that she wouldn't take Annie's girl "just because she can. . ." Anyhoo, years later, the same three characters, played by older actors, in a structure that intercuts the timelines, would appear to be on course for a reunion. . . Ratnavel drew me into the story and made me care. Clark scared me for her, in a breathing-all-the-oxygen-in-the-room unintentionally villainous kind of way, and, as Bel, Ruby Crepin-Glyne injected an air of dreamy openness that convinced me anything could happen. It's a fun story, the older actors are as good as the younger ones, it's original, and it has an air of mystery about it. Though the mystery occasionally restricts the depth of some of the themes, by the time the play is over, it's ruminations about the nature of love are approaching profound. For me, 4 stars.
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1,828 posts
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Post by Dave B on Jul 8, 2023 20:49:12 GMT
We saw this last night. The emptiest Orange Tree in a long time, lots of empty seats and upstairs closed.
Which is a shame as I agree with both Alessia and Steve. My better half and I really enjoyed this, script is tight and the twist works nicely. Moving more than once, empty seats a huge shame as the OT is still on a roll.
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jul 9, 2023 3:18:47 GMT
Hadn't fancied this originally; reviews here and in press made me keen to book but although the Orange Tree advertises "seats from £15", only those in the youth concession category can now buy them at that price, so no go, literally. Being shortish it would neatly have fitted in after a matinee for me and I could even find a few dates still unaffected by train strikes, but no affordable tix. I've never known this theatre do offers if a production is selling poorly, which I respect, and those can be annoying for people who've already booked at the original price, but in this case, and especially given the hot weather at times and strikes as mentioned, a deal might encourage bookings.
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Post by jr on Jul 9, 2023 6:47:01 GMT
Hadn't fancied this originally; reviews here and in press made me keen to book but although the Orange Tree advertises "seats from £15", only those in the youth concession category can now buy them at that price, so no go, literally. Being shortish it would neatly have fitted in after a matinee for me and I could even find a few dates still unaffected by train strikes, but no affordable tix. I've never known this theatre do offers if a production is selling poorly, which I respect, and those can be annoying for people who've already booked at the original price, but in this case, and especially given the hot weather at times and strikes as mentioned, a deal might encourage bookings. There are £15 tickets available. On the lower level, corner seats. It's true that it's not always easy to get there. But with a combination of tube/overground/train you usually manage even with strikes. And the theatre is very close to the station. I usually like everything I see there, it might not be amazing but it is always worthy.
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1,828 posts
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Post by Dave B on Jul 9, 2023 8:09:52 GMT
There are £15 tickets available. On the lower level, corner seats. Even as a member, these are our seats of choice. Legroom, little extra space on the side and always a great view. But I think Showgirl is right in that I have never seen an OT offer, even when there has been a dozen or so people in the audience. On the other hand, they do pretty strong season/early booking deals so they may be wary of undercutting those with any precedent.
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jul 9, 2023 9:44:48 GMT
Thank you both. I normally do book a corner seat on the lower level for £15 and I've never said that the OT is hard to reach; I've been going there for years and was last there only a couple of weeks ago. My point is that on all the dates I've checked - and bearing in mind that many of us see lots of productions so have to work round other bookings, with the additional restriction of 3 more train strikes within 9 days later this month - there have been no cheap tix left.
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Post by jr on Jul 22, 2023 20:19:36 GMT
Just out of this. A very good play with great acting and directing. Only but is that I saw the twist coming so the surprise effect was lost on me. Fortunately, the play is interesting, funny and moving so it did not really matter that much.
Upstairs was empty and probably 70% full downstairs. It deserves a bigger audience and touring.
This is one of the cases where I think there should be a prize for best ensemble. You might not be able to single someone's acting but as a group they are close to perfection.
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jul 27, 2023 3:44:48 GMT
Having been persuaded by comments here and the (apparently) unanimously positive professional reviews, I used a precious free evening to see this yesterday (and paid more than normal due to booking late) and so regretted it. Reckon I'd have done better to use the time and similar cost to catch Brokeback Mountain at last but that was due to end a week later, though both are nearing the end of their run.
I suppose had I missed it I'd have felt I'm missed out on a minor masterpiece but oh, the disappointment and frustration; I should have stuck with my instinct when the season was announced, as this was everything I dislike: overwrought, tedious, implausible and even the design and presentation were irritating. One of the most annoying aspects was that none of those playing the older versions of the characters (not a spoiler I don't think, as this has been mentioned publicly) looked like the younger ones so I was constantly distracted by trying to make sense of who they appeared to be. And none of them even had the same physique! Maybe whoever did the casting didn't think this mattered but I did, as it was another nail in the coffin of credibility.
Nevertheless the house looked full or nearly and everyone else seemed to love it, so I'm evidently a lone voice.
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Post by pledge on Jul 30, 2023 10:32:08 GMT
Not entirely alone: I too found the deliberate "miscasting" gimmicky, and spent the first half of the play trying to work out a) who everyone was and b) who everyone thought everyone else was...presumably it was intentional and saying something about not identifying people with their physical appearance, but I just found it tiresome. Then there was indeed an interesting development and I thought the play was finally going to take off, but instead it just...stopped. But, as you say, rapturously acclaimed....though, I suspect, more for its intentions than its actual achievement.
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Post by cherokee on Jul 30, 2023 10:49:10 GMT
I was confused at first by the 'miscasting', but it became apparent that the big plot twist wouldn't have worked without it. So it was clearly an artistic decision, and a necessary one at that.
Having said that, I'm afraid I wasn't engaged by the material either. Sophie Ward is a delightful actor but some of the other performances were not to my taste and a little overwrought. It didn't do anything for me.
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Post by jr on Aug 4, 2023 18:20:14 GMT
Couldn't it be that the cast choice is to mirror the character's confusion after she has the stroke?
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