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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 6, 2021 10:42:25 GMT
 Lowry in July (deferred from June). |
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Post by robertb213 on Apr 11, 2021 22:35:57 GMT
Also at Leicester in July and Milton Keynes in August. I may give it a go. Might even be my first paid trip back to Theatreland since March 2020 😁
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545 posts
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Post by drowseychap on Sept 5, 2021 2:01:10 GMT
Saw this in Malvern this evening ... not the type of play I would normally see . But glad I did really enjoyable night .. I did solve it in the first 5 minutes mind .. but was very engaging ... rather impressed by Adam woodyatt. And the family were all strong actors ... great set and lighting ... the only part that took away from it was the police station set that rolled on and off ... and one of the actors kept reminding me of a Victoria wood sketch or thin blue line .... felt almost like 2 plays . The finale / summing up wasn’t as tense as the previous 80mins And needed to be tightened would have made for a tenser stronger finish .... 7/10
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 19, 2022 22:35:37 GMT
“Good evening Ladies and gentlemen this is Peter James. Please switch off your mobile phones, if you don’t then you might be the one looking good DEAD!”
A nervous giggle emanated from the sparse audience. Sadly that was about as tense as things got all evening. I can fully understand how someone like Adam Woodyatt, after a lifetime in a soap, might want to break free and do some proper acting on a proper stage with proper people watching. Why he would choose this load of old hokum to do it in God only knows. Especially as he still seems to be playing Ian Beale while Gaynor Faye continues with a lifetime of playing… Gaynor Faye.
They’re a married couple with a 16 year old (going on 30) son who are thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse. The set is their fabulous expensive and perfect (we are told) designer home which actually looks like it was furnished at Home Bargains. The police station complete with a copper called Bella rolls on and off with depressing regularity and there’s a sex dungeon behind some accent wallpaper.
I’ve never read a Peter James novel, or seen any of his tv series and after this I’ll not be seeking them out. I actually laughed out loud and it wasn’t supposed to be funny. Dreadful ⭐️.
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Post by robertb213 on Jan 19, 2022 23:02:15 GMT
“ Good evening Ladies and gentlemen this is Peter James. Please switch off your mobile phones, if you don’t then you might be the one looking good DEAD!”A nervous giggle emanated from the sparse audience. Sadly that was about as tense as things got all evening. I can fully understand how someone like Adam Woodyatt, after a lifetime in a soap, might want to break free and do some proper acting on a proper stage with proper people watching. Why he would choose this load of old hokum to do it in God only knows. Especially as he still seems to be playing Ian Beale while Gaynor Faye continues with a lifetime of playing… Gaynor Faye. They’re a married couple with a 16 year old (going on 30) son who are thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse. The set is their fabulous expensive and perfect (we are told) designer home which actually looks like it was furnished at Home Bargains. The police station complete with a copper called Bella rolls on and off with depressing regularity and there’s a sex dungeon behind some accent wallpaper. I’ve never read a Peter James novel, or seen any of his tv series and after this I’ll not be seeking them out. I actually laughed out loud and it wasn’t supposed to be funny. Dreadful ⭐️. You make it sound fabulous! I'm reviewing it at Cambridge the week after next so I'll try and be kind 😊 |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 19, 2022 23:08:09 GMT
You’ll be staggered at how much mileage can be made out of a set of Beats headphones. Enjoy!
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Post by PhantomNcl on Jan 24, 2022 9:56:47 GMT
I'm a big fan of the Peter James books, but I've never really found that they transition well to the stage. The first one I saw, Dead Simple, was a good show, but from there they've all been a bit formulaic, especially with the set - they're usually split-level, with a second bit that rolls on and off.
I thought LGD was well acted, but the main issue for me was how much the play deviated from the book - act 1 was pretty accurate, but act was WAY off the mark. I wasn't expecting the final climax with a helicopter showdown on the roof (though with Miss Saigon no longer touring the UK there should be a chopper going spare somewhere...), but the 'big twist' was even bigger in that it was so far removed from the book's ending!
I did get the giggles the first time the police station set rolled back into the wings but got stuck - there's a drinks cabinet on the end of it that's part of the house set, and is used right at the start of the next scene. It kept slowly edging its way across the stage as she was trying to walk to it and open it...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 24, 2022 10:25:02 GMT
I just thought it was terribly old-fashioned, despite the very obvious attempts to make it seem current with use of technology. The computer savvy kid who knows everything really is a cliche these days, his parents are of an age who would been using tech for 20-30 years so being agog at noise cancelling headphones or what a computer can do is lame.
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Post by robertb213 on Jan 25, 2022 11:45:53 GMT
I'm confused why the 'amiable, good-looking man of thirty-six with a boyish face' (in the novel) is being played by.... Ian Beale 🤣
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 25, 2022 11:48:46 GMT
Because I wasn't available, can't act and don't have any name recognition. 😁
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 25, 2022 12:04:02 GMT
Judy Mallet’s Gaynor Faye’s acting mugging throughout was a sight to behold. When the American bloke comes round to make his business proposition to Ian Beale and is laying the big talk on she’s mincing around in the background, making drinks, silently pulling these Frankie Howard-esque “ooh!” and “aah!” faces at Bealey. It’s borderline deranged. And the accent is straight off Wakefield Market.
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Post by robertb213 on Jan 25, 2022 13:06:05 GMT
God I'm gonna need a drink to get through this one aren't I! Thank god it's free 🤣
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Post by robertb213 on Jan 31, 2022 22:56:24 GMT
Lots or you need to go and see this. Mainly because if I had to suffer through it, then you should too.
Full review will be posted tomorrow, but yeah.... dreadful!
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19,787 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 4, 2022 8:37:27 GMT
Lots or you need to go and see this. Mainly because if I had to suffer through it, then you should too. Full review will be posted tomorrow, but yeah.... dreadful! I know it was forgettable but did you forget? |
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Post by robertb213 on Feb 4, 2022 10:50:42 GMT
Lots or you need to go and see this. Mainly because if I had to suffer through it, then you should too. Full review will be posted tomorrow, but yeah.... dreadful! I know it was forgettable but did you forget? Haha, do you know what, I completely did! Here you go if you're at a loose end. I was more generous than a lot of other ones I've read. And spooky that drowseychap and I both thought of Victoria Wood sketches, I hadn't even read his thoughts when I wrote mine! eastmidlandstheatre.com/2022/02/01/review-looking-good-dead-touring-cambridge-arts-theatre/ |
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19,787 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 4, 2022 10:57:22 GMT
“Looking Good Dead’ is more a case of ‘Looking At Your Watch’” 😀 |
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Post by robertb213 on Feb 4, 2022 11:22:15 GMT
“Looking Good Dead’ is more a case of ‘Looking At Your Watch’” 😀 I did actually make myself chuckle when I wrote that 🤣 |
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