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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 9:53:47 GMT
Harley Granville Barker must be turning in his grave.
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Post by Marwood on Dec 7, 2016 10:34:07 GMT
Okay, so recently I had an hour to kill late afternoon, before I met a friend. Decided to grab a coffee and have a quiet read of a book, seated in the NT foyer near the bookshop. Fine, found a table to myself. Four people having a quiet business meeting opposite me. No problem. Then a smartly dressed young guy set himself up on the table next to me, with his laptop and headphones. He then proceeded, for a solid 30 minutes, to have a loud skype call, during which he extolled (in great detail I might add) all the details of his company's overseas property investment portfolio to some unwitting prospective customer. Mild glances from me rapidly turned into bone-numbing glares, all of which he totally ignored, as he was deep in his selling spiel. I wouldn't have put up with it, except that I had no idea that the call could possibly go on for that long... Not sure that this contributes to the discussion, but good to get it off my chest! You should have got your own phone out and called someone up, then proceeded to talk rubbish as loud as possible without shouting, or just go out to make as much noise as possible (without doing enough to get yourself thrown out or into a fight) What sort of person buys anything from a Skype call made from a theatre/pub/cinema/restaurants (or even takes such a call), God only knows - probably the sort of sap who is told they have won the Spanish lottery (despite never having even been to Spain in their life) then when they give their bank details to the kindly benefactor who contacted them out of the blue to pass on this good news, wonders why their bank account then gets cleaned out. |
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Post by Flim Flam on Dec 7, 2016 11:48:12 GMT
Yes, I should definitely have done something. But it was one of those situations when I kept thinking the call would end in a minute or two, but then it didn't...
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Post by peggs on Dec 7, 2016 12:35:37 GMT
Like rumbeldoll I too head to the NT when I have time to spare and park myself somewhere quiet and partake of their free heating, water, toilets, exhibitions etc. I feel very much at home then but that's because I've been there so much so it's familiar and I know where I'm going etc. That said there is something in what Baemax has said, since the changes you have to head upstairs more to find a spot as it's busier (but presumably the NT needs the money food brings in) and downstairs is a bit soulless, I miss the music in the evenings. There always seem to be lots of very small people running around when I'm there in the day which is rather nice, I assume it's a good coffee stop and free running area if you have small children.
It's tricky though isn't it, you need something to get you going there enough to feel at home. I am somewhat desperate to share my theatre passion with my nieces however they're currently still a bit young for plays and even with under 18 prices it's quite a gamble money wise to take them if they then don't like it.
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Post by Polly1 on Dec 7, 2016 13:22:30 GMT
As a female usually going on her own, I do feel very comfortable at the NT, especially if I'm eating alone but agree with the airport lounge comment. I can understand the obsession with attracting younger/new audiences but as an older, regular attender, it does make me feel a bit unloved! Plus, two names I never thought I'd see in the same sentence - Ian McDiarmid and Bernard Bresslaw  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 13:50:58 GMT
I totally approve of getting rid of free wifi surfers clogging up the seats - stick to bloody Starbucks! Totally agree about the music; and the bookshop needs to just be called the shop, since books are a tiny part of what he tries to flog these days.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 14:09:08 GMT
Plus, two names I never thought I'd see in the same sentence - Ian McDiarmid and Bernard Bresslaw  I've just checked back and Ian McDiarmid was the director (not an actor) and the two principal actors were Jonathan Kent (as Don Juan) and Bernard Bresslaw. |
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Post by lynette on Dec 7, 2016 14:24:00 GMT
Baemax you are right about the lack of seating...would love a few sofas scattered about.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 14:34:37 GMT
I rather like the buzz of the lobby area at the NT. So what if people are sat around using the free wifi? One of them could be writing a fabulous new play!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 14:39:26 GMT
If they've got access to wifi, they're WAY more likely to be procrastinating writing *any* play, let alone actually writing a great one.  |
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Post by Jon on Dec 7, 2016 15:04:10 GMT
I think the National's laptop policy makes sense, the theatre audience who have paid to come to the theatre and also may have decide to dine there should have priority over someone who doesn't have a ticket for a show and who is just using the table as a workspace. Given how big the National is and there is areas of the National like the upper area of the Dorfman and the upper areas of the main building which are always quiet and they could be used by non ticket holders.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 15:33:40 GMT
It does make sense, but also it doesn't make sense, depending on how important it is to them to attract new people. Terry Crews says the best way to build a gym habit is to just go to the gym. You don't have to work out, you can just sit and read a magazine or eat breakfast or whatever, it's the act of Going To The Gym that is the hardest habit to form, and if you get the hang of that, then working out will follow naturally. If the NT wants to attract new audiences, then they need people to feel welcome coming through the doors no matter what reason they're using the space, as if they spend time there for meetings or eating or spending time with friends, then being an audience member is much more likely to follow than if they never set foot inside for any reason. Isn't it better to make someone feel welcome a dozen times over for an array of reasons (so they keep coming back) than to make someone feel unwelcome once (so they never darken the doors again for any reason)?
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Post by foxa on Dec 7, 2016 15:45:29 GMT
I'm not always crazy about the National Theatre's programming but, like a number of the posters above I am fond of it. When I was teaching in an inner-city London comprehensive the National Theatre really, really worked at their outreach. They had discounted teacher's previews (£5 a ticket plus a glass of wine - though they had to stop giving the wine due to some edict); a teacher's forum where they would invite teachers to discuss how they could do better outreach; the New Connections season of plays for young people performed by young people; New Views playwriting (a superb opportunity for schools to get students writing plays - I had three students over the years who were finalists); lots of helpful online videos; education packs. My impression is that they began cutting back a little on the outreach stuff in the last couple of years, but I know when I brought students to the National they loved the public areas. There was always an exhibition to see, the views from the terraces were great. Hardly anyone seems to use the walkway near the Dorfmann (I've been three times and it's pretty lonely there) but it's a good idea. The students loved visiting The Shed/Temporary Space, so shame that had to come down.
In terms of the foyer space I think they should restrict the area where laptops can be used (I know the South Bank Centre members room has one half laptop free and certain hours when there are no laptops.) And that blooming' Skype call sounds terrible. At the South Bank I've noticed that a lot of language teachers meet their students there and conduct lessons at the tables which, on one hand, shows some initiative I suppose on their part, but makes it seem more like you are at a place of work than relaxation when you are there.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 16:13:40 GMT
I really hate the Festival Hall and have gone from being a fairly regular concertgoer there to never even checking the listings - just because it's not an enjoyable place to visit. The combination of hundreds of screaming children running around plus the people using the wifi/having meetings/doing informal classes means there's no room for the actual paying punters. I think it's a really good point about making people feel comfortable there in order to broaden audiences, but there's a point at which people get too comfortable and it gets rid of audiences! They're all bringing their own sandwiches as well, as far as I can see...
The Southbank Centre stopped being an arts venue years ago - it's just a glorified bar/creche/toilet now. I'd hate to see the NT go down the same route.
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Post by Jon on Dec 7, 2016 16:24:54 GMT
I really hate the Festival Hall and have gone from being a fairly regular concertgoer there to never even checking the listings - just because it's not an enjoyable place to visit. The combination of hundreds of screaming children running around plus the people using the wifi/having meetings/doing informal classes means there's no room for the actual paying punters. I think it's a really good point about making people feel comfortable there in order to broaden audiences, but there's a point at which people get too comfortable and it gets rid of audiences! They're all bringing their own sandwiches as well, as far as I can see... The Southbank Centre stopped being an arts venue years ago - it's just a glorified bar/creche/toilet now. I'd hate to see the NT go down the same route. It's about balance, I think having these rules in place is the National allowing people to use their facilities during quiet periods but also making it clear that they will have to move or leave for paying audiences in the busy period and that seems fair enough. |
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Post by Jan on Dec 7, 2016 17:23:47 GMT
I really hate the Festival Hall and have gone from being a fairly regular concertgoer there to never even checking the listings - just because it's not an enjoyable place to visit. The combination of hundreds of screaming children running around .... Ooooh, but they are the audience of tomorrow ! The Festival Hall will die if they don't attract screaming kids etc. etc. etc. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 17:43:10 GMT
To be fair, I'd rather have screaming kiddies in the foyer than some of the deplorables who actually pay to sit in the audience . .
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 17:51:10 GMT
The Southbank Centre stopped being an arts venue years ago - it's just a glorified bar/creche/toilet now. I'd hate to see the NT go down the same route. At least the NT won't have to change its logo if it becomes officially the National Toilet. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 18:49:18 GMT
I remember the Royal exchange used to tour its shows (albeit not a schools) and that was some of my first experiences of theatre. Possibly before your time, but the Royal Exchange used to do an annual tour of one of its main house productions which played in their mobile theatre which was a reduced size version (with no galleries) of their home theatre and which toured to towns which didn't have their own professional theatres. One year I saw a Shakespeare directed by Phyllida Lloyd and another time it was Don Juan by Moliere with Ian McDiarmid and Bernard Bresslaw. The RSC also did a long annual mobile theatre tour, usuallt of two plays (one Shakespeare and one not), again to places with no professional theatre. . Not before my time - they used to come to Bedford! I was in a local kid drama group (the same as John Oliver) and we used to open the doors for them! I remember once accosting Bridget Forsyth as she was waiting to go on and give her 'a handbag' women in Importance of Being Ernie |
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