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Post by marob on Apr 24, 2022 21:40:48 GMT
It’s not corpsing, but there were bits in The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary (a 39 Steps-style comedy) where they kept addressing the audience. Obviously that’s fine normally but was done as if it was a show stop, where they break character to talk/argue about what’s going on. I remember being annoyed at how it was presented as if it was spontaneous when it clearly wasn’t.
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Post by frappuccino on Apr 25, 2022 8:51:00 GMT
I hate all the corpsing on SNL. Such an unfunny show.
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Post by profquatermass on Apr 25, 2022 9:04:47 GMT
One of the One Man trunk movers on Broadway was Donald Trump...
Re the woman brought up on stage and covered in foam - in the NT Live film you got Nick Hytner apologising to her during the interval...
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Post by adrianics on Apr 25, 2022 9:38:45 GMT
I was so incredibly disappointed when I found out that Michael Ball did the whole "I can't do it when you're standing behind me" thing at every single performance of Hairspray.
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Post by og on Apr 25, 2022 10:14:20 GMT
Rocky Horror tour. Every time I've seen it. Always the bed/sex scene. Brad/Janet/Rocky/Dr Scott/snigger
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Post by lynette on Apr 27, 2022 10:16:10 GMT
It’s not corpsing, but there were bits in The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary (a 39 Steps-style comedy) where they kept addressing the audience. Obviously that’s fine normally but was done as if it was a show stop, where they break character to talk/argue about what’s going on. I remember being annoyed at how it was presented as if it was spontaneous when it clearly wasn’t. Gonna be at Jermyn St in the autumn. So we can check it out… |
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Post by maggiem on Apr 28, 2022 14:58:09 GMT
That whole piece about the guy in the audience with the sandwich in One Man Two Guvnors along with the various “stooges” used on stage… brilliantly done when I saw the tour with Gavin Spokes but so much of that show relied on the deception that I’d never want to see it again I think. It would be disappointing. Interesting view. I saw it at the Lowry, the Adelphi and the Haymarket, and always enjoyed the fun. In June, I will be seeing a new production at the Octagon in Bolton, and can't wait to find out how they are going to stage it! |
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Post by jojo on Apr 28, 2022 18:28:32 GMT
I don't mind brief pre-planned spontaneous gaffs, but if they are too elaborate and you find out, it cheapens the experience. I expect it in pantomimes, and it's fine for shows where the fourth wall being broken is no big deal.
It all comes with a big risk. Being present for what you think is a unique shared moment between your audience and the performers can be thrilling. Sometimes you can admire the dedication to maximising the gags, but sometimes it's plain deflating to realise you've been on the receiving end of a con.
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Post by sfsusan on Apr 30, 2022 22:36:33 GMT
sometimes it's plain deflating to realise you've been on the receiving end of a con. I fall for it every time, although I'm becoming more suspicious. Which in itself is a shame because so much of the enjoyment of theater relies on a willing suspension of disbelief. |
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Post by adrianics on May 6, 2022 13:49:54 GMT
I was in an amateur production of Spamalot a few years back and the "holy grail's been found" scene genuinely was improvised, following a set formula we worked on during rehearsal but always different and based on what we got from the audience member pulled up. Opening night the grail wasn't in the right place and the person in the seat headed for the stage before we asked them to!
Then one night, the person in the chair turned out to be a friend of the cast, and whether they knew it was coming or not they immediately started hamming it up, pretending to be nervous etc. Everyone who I spoke to afterwards assumed they were a plant, which was very frustrating.
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Post by inthenose on May 6, 2022 14:17:24 GMT
Was it the D-One bit? I worked on Spam in the West End and the seat in question was largely invite only (at an least towards the back end of the run, when I was there).
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Post by adrianics on May 6, 2022 15:02:05 GMT
lol yes that's the one, we had to change it to "LONES" (L15) as our theatre didn't have rows A-D or seat 1!
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Post by Jon on May 6, 2022 15:22:47 GMT
I've been to see Derren Brown a few times now and I always admire anyone who is willing to put themselves on stage, I always and try book seats that is nowhere near the firing line.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2022 15:43:25 GMT
Pantos have deliberate mistakes put in or a performer has something happen and they leave it in if it is funny. Seeing anything the first time is always funnier even with the funniest moments ever so stage/screen especially if something leftfield happens. Some performances/shows on stage/screen are very tightly scripted others can go off at a tangent. On chatshows a good interviewer knows when to let a star talk or wen to move on. Things can be planned but if you have a good comic on there they might chip in when not planned.
The likes of Kenneth Williams, Peter Ustinov were great chat show guests as they had good stories and could be funny. Richard Harris another sort of story teller. With the modern chatshows of having all the guests come on at the beginning with some of those great storytellers you'd have had them dominating the conversation. With some comedy performers you just had to let them go - Robin Williams for example and if you tried to shut them up you'd be stupid.
With stage performers things are often ad libbed and left in or there may be places where one goes off script/breaks 4th wall but everyone else needs to know where to come back in so these points may be planned and might there even be a keyword used so they know when to resume the script.
On Strictly Brucie would often go off script and poor Tess was trying to follow autocue to know when to come back in. As regards Michael Crawford he had a gronding in rep where he learnt a lot of the "pratfalls" he did as Frank Spencer so clearly took those into Barnum.
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