1,249 posts
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Post by joem on Sept 10, 2016 22:40:39 GMT
I was looking forward to this reimagination of what went on in New York when composer Benjamin Britten and his soon to be life partner Peter Pears left for the US fleeing from Europe and the Second World War, in the process sharing lodgings with WH Auden and his new partner Chester Kallmann. Add stpper Gypsy Rose Lee to the mix and bisexual American author Carson McCullers into the mix and you have, on paper, a very intriguing propostion.
Sadly, the play is very flat and mostly flits around the peripheries of relevance. Pears and Kallmann are not even in it, which made me wonder why they were missing out on all the action, Britten looks like he's just out of boarding-school and Auden presented as an affable boorish bully with strong views but pretty unpoetic langauge in his everyday life. A lot of talk about parties and having a good time but tawdry little scenes of pointless argument.
It isn't positively bad, but it ain't very good.
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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 15, 2016 6:28:02 GMT
Thanks for the review
Can I ask re Wilton's? They were raising money for a refurb and yet it was perfect in a shambolic, falling apart, anti new material way.
What does it look like now (hoping you saw it before to compare).
Was one of the most magical places in London where being allowed to age was a thing of beauty .
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Sept 15, 2016 9:01:08 GMT
I thought they were making the infrastructure safe and keeping the shabbiness. I think they like to let the place as a venue too so facilities important. I've not been for a while because they haven't had anything on I fancy. They tend to do easy to do stuff I think, I suppose until they have all the improvements in place. I used to love the atmosphere there.
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38 posts
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Post by quine on Sept 15, 2016 23:01:17 GMT
Well that's the worst play of the year sorted for me.
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587 posts
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Post by Polly1 on Sept 16, 2016 11:20:13 GMT
Well that's the worst play of the year sorted for me. That. Actually the worst play I've seen for some while. On another thread, we were warned not to say something was amateurish but there were a lot of things that I wouldn't have expected to see in a professional production (chiefly, Sadie Frost), and that's before we even get on to the script... I did, however, enjoy my first trip to Wilton's. The auditorium still looks very shabby so they certainly haven't taken away the charm, very atmospheric. Front of house area/bar/little museum room is probably where the updating has happened? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 17:39:54 GMT
Thanks for the review Can I ask re Wilton's? They were raising money for a refurb and yet it was perfect in a shambolic, falling apart, anti new material way. What does it look like now (hoping you saw it before to compare). Was one of the most magical places in London where being allowed to age was a thing of beauty . Wilton's was featured fairly recently on TV in a building programme. (I think a Hairy Biker hosted the show.) The whole programme was devoted to it. Basically, it has had a refurb, meaning it has been made completely safe, but preserving the faded, crumbling, shambolic nature of the building was top of the designer's list. In fact the lengths they went to to make it look falling apart were quite remarkable! |
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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 20, 2016 11:20:40 GMT
Thanks for the review Can I ask re Wilton's? They were raising money for a refurb and yet it was perfect in a shambolic, falling apart, anti new material way. What does it look like now (hoping you saw it before to compare). Was one of the most magical places in London where being allowed to age was a thing of beauty . Wilton's was featured fairly recently on TV in a building programme. (I think a Hairy Biker hosted the show.) The whole programme was devoted to it. Basically, it has had a refurb, meaning it has been made completely safe, but preserving the faded, crumbling, shambolic nature of the building was top of the designer's list. In fact the lengths they went to to make it look falling apart were quite remarkable! Thank you for the excellent news. Was last there when they recorded a Music Hall evening that got included in a Michael Grade Documentary on BBC 4. Glad to hear it hasn't been "improved". |
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