1,503 posts
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Post by foxa on Sept 15, 2018 18:23:15 GMT
Mr Foxa and I were there at the matinee today and we were both in the absolutely loved this camp. 5* from us both.
Beautiful performances,nuanced direction, something to say but in a non-preachy/balanced/no taking sides way about the disappearing middle class.
I get frustrated with plays or fiction when I can't figure out how characters manage financially (probably one of the reasons I so enjoy Austen - she lays it all out.) Here the details of work and money are believably worked into the plot: references, student loans, pensions, trust funds, etc. are at the centre of this not-quite-managing family. Having lived in NYC the compromises of real estate were true and evocative.
It is highly naturalistic (except perhaps the very ending to which n1david alludes) which I love but might not appeal to everyone. But I'm a fan.
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Post by wannabedirector on Sept 15, 2018 20:34:45 GMT
I saw this tonight, first visit to the Hampstead which seems to be lovely little theatre.
I really enjoyed the first hour and a bit of this, but the ending left me feeling a little bit flat. Based of the first hour or so this could have been the best new play I’ve seen this year so far, and it’s a great play, but the ending didn’t elevate it to that level for me. The whole supernatural/spiritual ending is something that I tink worked well in Nine Night at the NT earlier this year, but it just didn’t really work for me in this, which is a shame because overall it was a good good play. The writing is wonderfully naturalistic, and I found all the performances utterly captivitating. Sometimes American plays don’t always translate well to a British audience (Against at the Almeida last year springs to mind, as does Belleville at the Donmar although I enjoyed the later far more than the former), but in this case I feel that the themes translate quite well to Britain and British society at the moment.
Nonetheless I’d recommend, I’m glad that I went to see this in the end. The theatre was full and it seems to be sold out for the rest of the run, it would be nice if this got further life in London.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2018 22:26:43 GMT
I saw this tonight, first visit to the Hampstead which seems to be lovely little theatre. I really enjoyed the first hour and a bit of this, but the ending left me feeling a little bit flat. Based of the first hour or so this could have been the best new play I’ve seen this year so far, and it’s a great play, but the ending didn’t elevate it to that level for me. The whole supernatural/spiritual ending is something that I tink worked well in Nine Night at the NT earlier this year, but it just didn’t really work for me in this, which is a shame because overall it was a good good play. The writing is wonderfully naturalistic, and I found all the performances utterly captivitating. Sometimes American plays don’t always translate well to a British audience (Against at the Almeida last year springs to mind, as does Belleville at the Donmar although I enjoyed the later far more than the former), but in this case I feel that the themes translate quite well to Britain and British society at the moment. Nonetheless I’d recommend, I’m glad that I went to see this in the end. The theatre was full and it seems to be sold out for the rest of the run, it would be nice if this got further life in London. I saw it yesterday and this pretty much sums up my feelings as well - the performances are superb and I enjoyed the first hour or so, but the ending didn't work for me. Glad I saw it (though I don't feel the need to repeat visit) and overall pleased but just slightly disappointed the ending let down all the good work beforehand. |
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247 posts
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Post by barelyathletic on Sept 17, 2018 10:38:46 GMT
Saw this on Friday and thought it was terrific. A funny and disturbing and emotional play about our rational and irrational fears, with so much going on under a deceptively simple surface. Beautifully written, directed and designed and the performances are amazingly rich and deep and interconnected, as they should be having spent so much time working as a company together. It won't be everybody's cup of tea but I think it was a major coup for Hampstead to have this and it deserves to sell out for every performance. Catch it if you can.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 22:08:56 GMT
Sold out :-(
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644 posts
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Post by jek on Sept 19, 2018 19:20:28 GMT
I really enjoyed this but then I have a special interest (both academic and personal) in depictions of Catholic family life. In fact I wouldn't have known anything about it except for an interview with its author Stephen Karam in the American Catholic magazine (Commonweal) a couple of years back. It was much funnier than I was expecting and the audience seemed to lap it up. I did like the fact that it was on at a theatre so close to the - excellent and relevant - Freud museum at the address where Freud lived in his London years.
It was my first visit to the Hampstead theatre and I would certainly go there again. I had no idea it was so easy to get there on the overground (Finchley Road and Frognal station). I very much liked the toilets (although not the queue to reach them). Each cubicle has a blown up photo of an actor from one of their productions on the door - I got Tamsin Greig from Longing. All of those featured are female except for Simon Russell Beale who is depicted in his role in Mr Foote's Other Leg.
Pleased for the theatre and the cast that this is sold out - but disappointed that this means some people I know would have really enjoyed this won't get the chance to see it.
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Post by vickster51 on Sept 28, 2018 21:44:46 GMT
So, I saw this tonight and overall enjoyed it, but tend to agree I'm surprised it won the Tony. I now have a bigger dilemma - I have tickets for next week to take my parents. Now I've managed to go earlier, I conflicted as to whether they'll enjoy it or hate it.......
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1,863 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 29, 2018 7:03:49 GMT
Naturalistic tour de force, family life in all its beautiful imperfections.
The precise timing, interactions, and expressions were symphonic in their complexity, an ensemble that encapsulated their characters completely.
The build up to the reveal was a wonderful depiction of family life, the ending detracted from what came before, preferred if the day petered out to snoozing, watching the television and friendly bickering as an antithesis to the darkness that is expected of a final act,
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Sept 30, 2018 12:57:11 GMT
The ending of The Humans is foreshadowed throughout the play, indeed from the very first scene. The basement duplex flat, with its bumps and bangs and power failures and lightless windows, is virtually the seventh character in the six character play, not just a metaphor for the Blake family's turmoil but a complicit partner in it. I thought the final moments were incredibly powerful, crucial to the conception of the whole piece.
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3,578 posts
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Post by Rory on Oct 12, 2018 15:47:29 GMT
How I would love it if this were to announce an immediate transfer to the Ambassadors, now that Eugenius! has cancelled its run. It would be over by 5th Jan, which would allow Jayne Houdyshell plenty of time to rehearse the Broadway Lear with Glenda.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2018 16:42:48 GMT
Thought this was a right load of old wank
And why did the grandmother look younger than the mother?
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Post by learfan on Oct 13, 2018 18:08:32 GMT
Thought this was a right load of old wank And why did the grandmother look younger than the mother? I use that line in the office, haha! |
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Sept 17, 2021 16:20:36 GMT
The trailer of the movie adaptation. Jayne Houdyshell is still in the cast!
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1,485 posts
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Post by mkb on Jan 3, 2022 12:37:19 GMT
My notes say I rated The Humans as four-stars when I saw it at The Hampstead Upstairs. I remember there were some jokes in the dialogue, and neck-hair-standing moments at various character revelations. Sadly, these seem inconsequential in the film version that I saw last night.
Instead, there is a focus on creating a claustrophobic atmosphere, and all sorts of visual and aural clues that we are watching a simmering horror film, a horror that will ultimately have no pay-off, leaving the viewer feeling short-changed.
Which is not to say the film is not worth your time: it absolutely is for the all-round masterclasses in acting. If Richard Jenkins, and especially Jayne Houdyshell (who was in both the Broadway production and Hampstead transfer) do not get Oscar nominations there is no justice.
Three stars (just) for the movie.
[So sad that at a Sunday evening show at the Curzon Bloomsbury, I had the auditorium to myself. This is a venue that was buzzing pre-pandemic where shows were frequently sold out and required advance booking. I would say that at 90% of my 2021 cinema visits, the audience size has been in single digits, and usually just me and my husband. I fear for the future of cinema exhibition. Please support your local cinema while you still can.]
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