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Post by QueerTheatre on Dec 12, 2016 14:42:25 GMT
Saw this on friday night having not read any reviews and, wow! It packs an emotional punch, and 3 exquisite performances. I even bought a programme, and i stopped doing that years ago!
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Post by RudyGrey on Dec 12, 2016 18:58:58 GMT
I even bought a programme Isn't it lovely that the Royal Court's programmes include the full playtext? Certainly better value for money than the advert-filled booklets at most of the other venues  Reading Lucy Kirkwood's lines again back home, gave me an extra appreciation of how suggestive and poetic some of the dialogue was. |
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247 posts
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Post by barelyathletic on Dec 14, 2016 11:28:43 GMT
What a beautiful play this is. Contemplative, eloquent, smart and yes, funny too. It quietly steals up on you and packs a big emotional punch. Beautifully written, directed and designed (the set, sound and lighting are all top rate) and the acting is wonderful, even if the casting is not perhaps right on the nail. Bravo to Francesca Annis in particular though for a brave and stunningly beautiful (literally too) performance as the moral centre of the play. After Chimerica and NSFW, Lucy Kirkwood cements her position here as one of the most interesting playwrights around. Go if you like intelligent, provocative theatre that doesn't have to shout to catch your attention. Four stars.
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3,575 posts
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Post by showgirl on Dec 14, 2016 15:25:43 GMT
I'm glad that others enjoyed it more than we did and the consensus here is more in line with the professionals' views, but I am increasingly baffled by the general enthusiasm, to the point where I am now wondering whether in fact OH and I were too old (though younger than the characters) to appreciate this!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2016 9:21:00 GMT
Saw this after taking advantage of a rare opportunity to do a £10 Monday. Enjoyed it a lot. Thought all three performances were great. Not sure why anyone would think Ron Cook is miscast - unless people think nuclear physicists don't have regional accents? I know a lot of retired nuclear physicists (actually true!) and thought all three convinced. These weren't supposed to be high flying research physicists - they were people who graduated with a science background years ago and worked as engineers. Spoilers ... Interesting watching this following the Print Room yellowface controversy. I knew the theme was the aftermath of a Fukushima-like accident but actually the entire story of what Annis's character was up to is based on something that happened at Fukushima - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13598607So a story set in Japan had been relocated to the UK to bring it closer to home. Which I had no issue with (although nothing in the text meaning the actors have to all be white) but an interesting comparison to the Print Room row. |
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1,503 posts
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Post by foxa on Dec 20, 2016 11:56:19 GMT
My spoiler came out the wrong way around, but you get my drift.
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247 posts
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Post by barelyathletic on Dec 20, 2016 11:59:59 GMT
Ralph Fiennes was sitting behind me when I saw it. Now that would have been good casting (much as I like Ron Cooks as an actor).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2016 12:05:16 GMT
Maybe give him another decade, it was fairly explicit the other two characters were in their 60s. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2016 12:09:34 GMT
Maybe give him another decade, it was fairly explicit the other two characters were in their 60s. Poor old Ralph he's not quite there yet |
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Reading Lucy Kirkwood's lines again back home, gave me an extra appreciation of how suggestive and poetic some of the dialogue was. 
