Post by showgirl on Jan 27, 2018 22:42:46 GMT
Just back from seeing this, which I booked on the basis of 4-star reviews from previous locations. Afterwards not only was I baffled as to how on earth anyone could have rated this so highly but I saw a new review (British Theatre Guide) also awarding this 4 stars. So I must be missing something, but...
I couldn't fit the writer/performer's name in the subject line as it was too long but this is a play/show/presentation/I don't know what by Javaad Alipoor about radicalisation, so I expected it to be interesting and topical. However, despite the use of multi-media, including Whatsapp messaging (a group is created for each performance and audience members are encouraged to join), I found it unremittingly tedious and longed to leave, even though the advertised running time was only an hour - actually about 70 minutes this evening. I would indeed have left had I been able to do so discreetly and I noticed the man next to me checking the time and seeming as un-engaged as I was.
What this actually consists of is a talking head, and whilst the presenter/performer moves around a bit, sits in different seats or sometimes stands, and wears headphones for some sections but not others, this window-dressing doesn't disguise the lack of substance: you don't hear anything new or gain any fresh insights so I'm none the wiser about what the point was.
I don't usually have so strong a sense that a production has wasted both an opportunity and my time, but I actually felt quite angry by the time I left. However, I expect others here will have seen this or booked to do so and I'll probably be the only one writing it off.
I couldn't fit the writer/performer's name in the subject line as it was too long but this is a play/show/presentation/I don't know what by Javaad Alipoor about radicalisation, so I expected it to be interesting and topical. However, despite the use of multi-media, including Whatsapp messaging (a group is created for each performance and audience members are encouraged to join), I found it unremittingly tedious and longed to leave, even though the advertised running time was only an hour - actually about 70 minutes this evening. I would indeed have left had I been able to do so discreetly and I noticed the man next to me checking the time and seeming as un-engaged as I was.
What this actually consists of is a talking head, and whilst the presenter/performer moves around a bit, sits in different seats or sometimes stands, and wears headphones for some sections but not others, this window-dressing doesn't disguise the lack of substance: you don't hear anything new or gain any fresh insights so I'm none the wiser about what the point was.
I don't usually have so strong a sense that a production has wasted both an opportunity and my time, but I actually felt quite angry by the time I left. However, I expect others here will have seen this or booked to do so and I'll probably be the only one writing it off.