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Post by lt on Jun 9, 2024 15:05:06 GMT
Saw this at a matinee yesterday, it's very much a fringe-style piece using a combination of performances from four actors with special shot videos, done as cod news reports relaying what is happening on the farm. I thought that the audio-visual material worked very effectively with the on stage acting and it was a clever and witty retelling of Animal Farm, that I found entertaining.
However, it's difficult to write about the production without commenting on the theatre. I go to a lot of fringe/off-West End shows and I have never been to a theatre as grotty as Greenwich. As we passed a side door of the theatre, my friend commented it looked more like a derelict building and when we went in to the loos near the entrance area, it was a grim sight. Most of the paint had come off the loo door and the whole area looked desperately in need of renovation.
The cafe had black curtains hung round it and the auditorium was also very down at heel.
I understand - of course - that many theatres run on a shoestring. For example, the Playground Theatre just uses normal seats, a bit like dining room chairs for its seating in the theatre, but it still creates an inviting atmosphere and you want to return.
We couldn't get out of the theatre fast enough and wouldn't want to return unless there was a major renovation.
Our experience was not enhanced by the man sitting on my left who had overwhelmingly bad BO, to the point where my friend had to go out at the interval to get some fresh air, as it made her feel quite ill. (More of that in Bad Behaviour strand...)
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Post by Jan on Jun 9, 2024 19:26:38 GMT
Saw this at a matinee yesterday, it's very much a fringe-style piece using a combination of performances from four actors with special shot videos, done as cod news reports relaying what is happening on the farm. I thought that the audio-visual material worked very effectively with the on stage acting and it was a clever and witty retelling of Animal Farm, that I found entertaining.
However, it's difficult to write about the production without commenting on the theatre. I go to a lot of fringe/off-West End shows and I have never been to a theatre as grotty as Greenwich. As we passed a side door of the theatre, my friend commented it looked more like a derelict building and when we went in to the loos near the entrance area, it was a grim sight. Most of the paint had come off the loo door and the whole area looked desperately in need of renovation.
The cafe had black curtains hung round it and the auditorium was also very down at heel.
I understand - of course - that many theatres run on a shoestring. For example, the Playground Theatre just uses normal seats, a bit like dining room chairs for its seating in the theatre, but it still creates an inviting atmosphere and you want to return.
We couldn't get out of the theatre fast enough and wouldn't want to return unless there was a major renovation.
Our experience was not enhanced by the man sitting on my left who had overwhelmingly bad BO, to the point where my friend had to go out at the interval to get some fresh air, as it made her feel quite ill. (More of that in Bad Behaviour strand...)
Couldn’t you have moved away from him ? Every time I’ve been to this dismal theatre over the last 30+ years it’s been virtually empty. Which is, of course, the problem. |
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Post by lt on Jun 9, 2024 19:45:02 GMT
Saw this at a matinee yesterday, it's very much a fringe-style piece using a combination of performances from four actors with special shot videos, done as cod news reports relaying what is happening on the farm. I thought that the audio-visual material worked very effectively with the on stage acting and it was a clever and witty retelling of Animal Farm, that I found entertaining.
However, it's difficult to write about the production without commenting on the theatre. I go to a lot of fringe/off-West End shows and I have never been to a theatre as grotty as Greenwich. As we passed a side door of the theatre, my friend commented it looked more like a derelict building and when we went in to the loos near the entrance area, it was a grim sight. Most of the paint had come off the loo door and the whole area looked desperately in need of renovation.
The cafe had black curtains hung round it and the auditorium was also very down at heel.
I understand - of course - that many theatres run on a shoestring. For example, the Playground Theatre just uses normal seats, a bit like dining room chairs for its seating in the theatre, but it still creates an inviting atmosphere and you want to return.
We couldn't get out of the theatre fast enough and wouldn't want to return unless there was a major renovation.
Our experience was not enhanced by the man sitting on my left who had overwhelmingly bad BO, to the point where my friend had to go out at the interval to get some fresh air, as it made her feel quite ill. (More of that in Bad Behaviour strand...)
Couldn’t you have moved away from him ? Every time I’ve been to this dismal theatre over the last 30+ years it’s been virtually empty. Which is, of course, the problem. Weirdly, it was actually quite full in the central block. Possibly free seats at the back, I didn't look right at the back, but perhaps should have looked harder. But depressing to hear that for the last 30 years, the theatre has been dismal. Greenwich is a relatively well off area, so I am surprised a solution hasn't been found over the years to renovate it. |
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Post by Jan on Jun 10, 2024 5:23:22 GMT
Couldn’t you have moved away from him ? Every time I’ve been to this dismal theatre over the last 30+ years it’s been virtually empty. Which is, of course, the problem. Weirdly, it was actually quite full in the central block. Possibly free seats at the back, I didn't look right at the back, but perhaps should have looked harder. But depressing to hear that for the last 30 years, the theatre has been dismal. Greenwich is a relatively well off area, so I am surprised a solution hasn't been found over the years to renovate it. For a while (I was told) because the auditorium was so empty they would hang a black curtain halfway back in the stalls to make it look fuller. I class it with Kingston - the locals just won't support a theatre of that size (I don't know why) and it's just too far to be on the radar of the London theatre audience. |
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Post by lt on Jun 10, 2024 8:14:27 GMT
Weirdly, it was actually quite full in the central block. Possibly free seats at the back, I didn't look right at the back, but perhaps should have looked harder. But depressing to hear that for the last 30 years, the theatre has been dismal. Greenwich is a relatively well off area, so I am surprised a solution hasn't been found over the years to renovate it. For a while (I was told) because the auditorium was so empty they would hang a black curtain halfway back in the stalls to make it look fuller. I class it with Kingston - the locals just won't support a theatre of that size (I don't know why) and it's just too far to be on the radar of the London theatre audience. But the Greenwich theatre is smaller than Kingston isn't it? And the Rose is a lovely theatre, as opposed to the grimness of the Greenwich venue, which I can't think would encourage any local to go there. How does Richmond manage to support 2 theatres? It takes under 10 mins to Greenwich from London Bridge, so Richmond no more central. Yet the OT regularly sells out |
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Post by Dave B on Jun 10, 2024 8:46:32 GMT
I don't think Greenwich is any more shabby than Charing Cross or Wilton's for example. It's an awkward space and it may even be listed in terms of what changes they can make. The theatre has a huge and successful youth programme along with an eclectic mix of drama and other productions. It does a lot in house and they just recently had the theatre's future secured with a deal with the council for at least a a couple of decades, in no small part due to the community and youth programme.
It is in zone 2, on a tube and mainline and DLR, very easy to get to.
As to Richmond, there is a huge difference between the Orange Tree and Richmond Theatre's programming! The OT has a solid reputation and people who book seasons just on that reputation. A different touring production going into Richmond every few days is a whole other story. I've been to and like both but chalk and cheese I reckon.
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Post by Jan on Jun 10, 2024 8:58:28 GMT
It is in zone 2, on a tube and mainline and DLR, very easy to get to. But it's still off the radar of London audiences. How often do we get threads on Greenwich productions here ? and when we do how often have more than a couple of people seen them ? |
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Post by lt on Jun 10, 2024 12:06:49 GMT
I don't think Greenwich is any more shabby than Charing Cross or Wilton's for example. It's an awkward space and it may even be listed in terms of what changes they can make. The theatre has a huge and successful youth programme along with an eclectic mix of drama and other productions. It does a lot in house and they just recently had the theatre's future secured with a deal with the council for at least a a couple of decades, in no small part due to the community and youth programme. It is in zone 2, on a tube and mainline and DLR, very easy to get to. As to Richmond, there is a huge difference between the Orange Tree and Richmond Theatre's programming! The OT has a solid reputation and people who book seasons just on that reputation. A different touring production going into Richmond every few days is a whole other story. I've been to and like both but chalk and cheese I reckon. Bit surprised by this, I've only been to Wilton's once, but I thought it was a particularly lovely and atmospheric venue - just a bit far from me geographically - and according to The Theatres Trust: " the most important surviving early music hall to be seen anywhere."
I don't think I've ever been to the Charing Cross Theatre, but certainly the pictures of the Players Bar and Restaurant look a million times more appealing than the Greenwich Theatre cafe.
Whether Greenwich is listed or not - which I find difficult to believe given its architecture - that would not stop them painting the side door area and painting the door in to the loo and generally sprucing up the place. The cafe seemed particularly depressing. I am not criticising the theatre's programming, but if they did make the theatre more welcoming, I am sure that would encourage people to come. And as I said in my first post, I go to a lot of fringe theatre, so I'm not expecting something expensive but just a venue that doesn't depress the soul when you walk in.
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Post by Jan on Jun 10, 2024 16:06:50 GMT
Wilton’s is deliberately shabby - that is it is a specific goal of all the renovation work they do that it is left looking in a “distressed” condition with exposed brickwork, unpainted wood, and so on in order to preserve its atmosphere. True “shabby” is places like Greenwich, Yvonne Arnaud, and multiple West End theatres.
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Post by keyspi on Jun 10, 2024 16:33:56 GMT
I attended the (final) Saturday evening performance of Animal Farm and that was also my first visit to Greenwich theatre.
While I agree it was certainly in a fairly dire need of renovation and keeping in mind that everyone's expectations of a theatre (or any public access) building vary vastly - I still think that the initial post makes it sound (perhaps unintentionally) far worse than what it actually is.
To me there was little difference between Greenwich or Yard or Network theatres for example, but maybe because I was lucky enough not to have an abhorrently smelly viewer sitting next to me throughout the performance 🤷♂️
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Post by lt on Jun 10, 2024 17:05:06 GMT
Wilton’s is deliberately shabby - that is it is a specific goal of all the renovation work they do that it is left looking in a “distressed” condition with exposed brickwork, unpainted wood, and so on in order to preserve its atmosphere. True “shabby” is places like Greenwich, Yvonne Arnaud, and multiple West End theatres. I think Wilton's is beautiful, love the architecture. |
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Post by lt on Jun 10, 2024 17:08:09 GMT
I attended the (final) Saturday evening performance of Animal Farm and that was also my first visit to Greenwich theatre. While I agree it was certainly in a fairly dire need of renovation and keeping in mind that everyone's expectations of a theatre (or any public access) building vary vastly - I still think that the initial post makes it sound (perhaps unintentionally) far worse than what it actually is. To me there was little difference between Greenwich or Yard or Network theatres for example, but maybe because I was lucky enough not to have an abhorrently smelly viewer sitting next to me throughout the performance 🤷♂️ Appreciate we all have different perspectives but I'm very used to going to low budget and fringe theatre, but on this occasion both my friend and I did find Greenwich vdepressing and we often have different views about things, so my post was quite intentional! And we both agreed we wouldn't want to return. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2024 19:06:04 GMT
What a shame that a good production is diminished by the state of the theatre and that the state of the theatre generated more comment here than the play.
Greenwich Theatre, someone on your team is reading this. Get the paintbrush out.
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