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Post by David J on Jul 15, 2019 9:52:49 GMT
Could it also be that the dates in the projections are part of the copyrighted set too? If that is the case then it shows how incredibly short sighted this whole venture is and may affect how long the replacement will last How is it going to convert new fans if newcomers and tourists are going to be confused by what’s going on. And I’m not trying to be hyperbolic here. We took my grandma to the last tour and she was completely lost Couldn’t they just use a different font. Maybe find the locations in victor hugos writing and project them like they do for the title (at least I know they used it on the curtain for the broadway production)
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Post by David J on Jul 14, 2019 16:37:05 GMT
I’ve said my peace about loosing the original and the long running title.
Just PLEASE Cameron, for the love of all that’s good in this world, put in the bloody locations and dates into those sodding projections.
Just for the benefit of those tourists you want to make money off. Don’t expect them to keep looking at the programmes they buy to make out what’s going on
Rant over. I’ll post my thoughts on yesterday evening later
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Post by David J on Jul 13, 2019 11:04:16 GMT
Whos to say the new version will be soulless as the current one? I’m guessing they’ll get a great cast together when the show opens to satisfy the fans, and then they’ll go back to the soulless show with graduates giving okay performances
There’s nothing stopping CM doing that. Business as usual. Whatever works for him
I remember reading the comments on Broadway world when the new version opened there. Very shouty was mentioned a number of times
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Post by David J on Jul 12, 2019 13:35:58 GMT
Since some of us are at the last performance, maybe we should have a little meet up at the theatre
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Post by David J on Jul 12, 2019 10:43:31 GMT
”All three parts condensed into one epic event”. More like one confusing production I may like the trilogy but I know it’s flawed, with a plot that can be challenging to follow. I saw van Hove’s condensed version in Kings of War and it took a while for me to realise that Richard Duke of York had been melded with his son, Edward IV. There were great leaps with the battles taken out, which can be the best thing about the trilogy The trilogy is basically Shakespeares own Game of Thrones. You need a director with vision to create a production on an epic scale with brutal fighting and a large cast
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Post by David J on Jul 10, 2019 18:36:47 GMT
RSC announce King John .....female,of course. More fun and games on Friday......female Richard 111 I will guess......plus maybe male Margaret . Think I might be past caring . The recent Headlong R-III dispensed with Margaret entirely and to be honest it was an improvement. That’s what I find about Richard III. Love the character, not so much the play. Undoubtedly full of monologues and scenes for different characters that actors can get their teeth into. But its moments like Margaret that bring the play to a halt To be honest I’d rather see Emily Cardings one woman Richard III any day, and as much as I’d love to see HVI again I’m weary about the globe needing to gender swap nearly every production they do for the sake of it. A bit more variety would be nice Queen Margaret is meant to be the Amazonian, fearless woman who delights in having power over a nation led mainly by men. Wouldn’t gender swapping the nobles take that away. It can be a great role for an actress And I’m still not convinced about doing HVI in the Sam wanamaker
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Post by David J on Jul 10, 2019 11:06:48 GMT
So nice to go to the theatre and not be forced to drink over-priced vinegar Now THERE'S an idea for us victims to get our revenge on those in the "Bad Behaviour" thread... But then we’ll keep getting a full spray of slightly acidic spittle on the back of our heads
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Post by David J on Jul 5, 2019 20:29:28 GMT
Enjoying this. Most of the supporting cast perform well. Nancy Carroll is a natural actress and she and Gerald Kyd work off each other beautifully. Definitely the best moments of the production
Then Hadley Fraser came on and it’s was like night and day for me unfortunately. Sure he plays the un- self aware, drinking, swaggering English cad but good god he over acts at times. I’ve seen more subtlety in previous Freddie’s and even the guy who plays Jackie would have been more convincing in my view. I cringed watching Fraser play drunk
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Post by David J on Jun 28, 2019 7:36:34 GMT
Pericles is being performed on all evenings so we risked the audience vote show this afternoon and am waiting to see Pericles in 25 minutes. Please report on Pericles. I try not to miss a production of the play, if I can get to it, unless it's edited. I was deeply moved by Dromgoole's swan song production a few years ago. It was better than Twelfth Night. No gender swapping. Just your standard touring production with small cast playing multiple roles. I certainly had to take a moment to recognise that the man playing Pericles came on as another guy right after Pericles looses it Didn’t feel laboured as mentioned above so I assume they’ve improved. Can take some concentration on the doubling, especially the aforementioned Malvolio chap playing most of the rulers of the nations pericles visits. At least he had different costumes, and he used his Aussie accent again for one of them Reunion scene wasn’t as heartfelt as the Sam Wanamaker production. I felt the actors playing Pericles and Marina lacked range in their delivery, focusing more on projection than mining the text for real emotion of the scene
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Post by David J on Jun 26, 2019 18:50:25 GMT
Finally at the Minack Theatre to see the touring company
Pericles is being performed on all evenings so we risked the audience vote show this afternoon and am waiting to see Pericles in 25 minutes. I knew that it was going to be either Twelfth Night of Errors and sure enough the former was chosen (though Pericles seemed to come a close second)
Anyway Twelfth Night was a good. Met my expectations of a small touring production. Nice to have an Aussie Malvolio for once and he was certainly the highlight. The gender swapping didn’t add anything to the production though
Glad to be finally at the Minack Theatre with an inspiring story about the woman who created it. Bit of a faff queuing up for an hour and getting down and up the auditorium before and after the show though
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Post by David J on Jun 25, 2019 15:14:22 GMT
The bangs always have me on edge and I was surprised to work out there were only seven of them. A lot of them are released from what I presume doubles up as a lighting rig, really close to where I was sat in the Upper Circle, so it isn't the best place to sit. But they are all confined to quite a small section of the second half.. Sitting at the front of the stalls the times I’ve seen this, I’ve located the sound coming from the top left arch in the set where the boxes usually are. Always gets me every time no matter how much I anticipate it I think many here agree that Bayjou, whilst not the strongest vocally, his acting in the role is very impressive. I loved the details he put into the performance such as when valjeans age was catching up with him in Valjeans Confession. I’d put him as my fourth favourite valjean
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RSC 2019
Jun 23, 2019 11:10:00 GMT
via mobile
Post by David J on Jun 23, 2019 11:10:00 GMT
2011 Roxanna Silbert production for me with Paul Chahidi as Lucio, Jodie McNee as Isabella, Jamie Ballard as Angelo and Raymond Coulthard, with his magic card tricks, as the duke
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Post by David J on Jun 20, 2019 13:02:45 GMT
Best Midsummer I've seen was 2008 revival of Gregory Doran's production (a time when he gave a damn). Such creativity (the fairy silhouettes against the moon) and hilarity. The sight of Bottom in a large ass' head pretending to be a DJ is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Still remember the fairies pulling apart Quince's bike. And perhaps one of the disadvantages of being invisible is the possibility of someone falling asleep face first in your crotch.
The Lyric Hammersmith production was different, hilarious and subversive. And Emma Rice's production may not have pleased all purists but it was such a wacky, dirty and engaging production.
This production certainly has a lot to live up to for me
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Post by David J on Jun 16, 2019 20:43:04 GMT
First time I’ve seen an rowdy argument in a theatre up close.
I was up in the gallery for Death of a Salesman at the young Vic and right after the show finished and I was shuffling along the row to the nearest exit this group starting shouting each other. They got into the corridor before me where they stopped to continue shouting at each other
No way of getting past in the narrow corridor and I was standing there holding everyone else up watching this happen
Thankfully they quickly calmed down and moved on, with the insistence of the usher (acted professional in this rare occasion)
You’d think they could wait till they got outside to have this confrontation. I half worried it was going to turn into a punch up in that corridor
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Post by David J on Jun 16, 2019 20:16:03 GMT
Oh it’s such a joy to watch this concert after being entranced by this musical nearly four years ago. Boy was the music glorious to listen to. And it’s great to see performers like John Owen Jones, Wendi Peters and Fra Free in this
Disappointed though they didn’t do the very, split second ending I remember from the landor production
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Post by David J on Jun 15, 2019 23:19:48 GMT
I recognised what they were but they still looked a little awkward, particularly in the football scene. They kinda looked like they were there to compensate for the limited space at the front
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Post by David J on Jun 15, 2019 22:12:43 GMT
Thought this was good but not great
Arinzé Kene is the highlight for me as Biff. Very emotional and authentic
Wendell Pierce was acting the role of Willy a lot, playing for the laughs. Sharon D Clarke was at her best when she spoke on the softer, motherly side
They could do with re adjusting the set for the transfer because some scenes looked a bit cramped on the small space at the front. Wasnt too keen on the snapshot poses the cast did either
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Post by David J on Jun 15, 2019 22:01:18 GMT
Tom Burke and Hayley Atwell give first class performances. So naturalistic and they play off each other beautifully
Giles Terrera not so much but he’s still enjoyable to watch. Peter Wright was straight up acting with big hand gestures and so on. Great performance from the lighthouse publisher and the housemaid though
But otherwise a play that even 100 years ago could predict the current political climate were in. Great production values and acting all round
Go see
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Post by David J on Jun 15, 2019 20:11:54 GMT
It was crazy watching the final scene after reading the news about Oberlin University being charged at least 33 million dollars for accusing a local bakery of racism and inciting protest and vandalism on the company. A family business that has lasted decades surviving the great depression and so on
Boy does Ibsen seem to resonate today
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Post by David J on Jun 8, 2019 6:39:58 GMT
So who is going to the evening performance on the 13th July? I'm in Row C. I too hope they do something special. I'm in Row C as well!
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Post by David J on Jun 7, 2019 17:10:09 GMT
Dorans got Errors, Alls well, Pericles, Winters Tale, Henry VI and Richard III left to do
Pericles, Winters Tale, and Errors seem like an apt group for a ‘lost families in far off lands’ season
Obvioulsy were going to have a summer/winter devoted to Henry VI. Assuming that’s in 2022 and Richard III ends the tenure in 2023 that leaves four plays to fill up two years
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Post by David J on May 4, 2019 19:38:27 GMT
Well recommend this
Kneehigh’s adaptation of The Beggars Opera and the misdeeds of killer Macheath is dark, fun and satirically funny
Everything you’d expect from a Kneehigh production is in here with puppetry, songs and never ending imaginative production values
The ensemble is fantastic, though the real criminal here is Georgia Frost for stealing the limelight every time she’s on. Her physical comedy is impeccable, but playing the hapless Filch she plays her vulnerability beautifully. Points also to the corrupt mayor and his wife as wonderful duo
The only times the show slows down for me is the romantic plots with Macheath. Dominic is criminally charming whilst he, Angela Hardie and Beverly Huff play it straight in this love triangle, verging on the tragic. But when everything else around them is stylistic and playing for laughs the it is the least interesting
Still this is a great show to see, with one hell of an ending
It’s coming to the Lyric Hammersmith later this month. Go and see it
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Post by David J on May 4, 2019 19:06:16 GMT
I thought this was all right
This is basically the British version of Little Miss Sunshine with an odd ball family trying to keep together who go a outing where they find themselves again. Slightly better than Sunshine with humour that has less misses but don’t always hit the bullseye
I didn’t really care for any of them during the first half. The problem I feel is that the musical doesn’t sit still enough for me to connect to each of them before jumping to the next. But it comes together in the second half and there’s a beautifully executed set piece by the end
Nice to see CFT get the Neville’s island set out again
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Post by David J on May 4, 2019 18:55:19 GMT
Saw David Thaxton last Wednesday
Very impressed. Agree he doesn’t bring anything new to the role, but vocal wise he gives a quality performance in comparison to Scott Davies. Thought I heard a little earl carpenter in him at times. But I loved his acting choices, particularly in the final lair where he throws himself into the scene
If he came back I’d love to see if he develops further in the role
And I liked Jeremy Taylor less this time. He didn’t seem to hold the long notes as well as when I saw him in February
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Post by David J on May 1, 2019 19:59:01 GMT
Well count me pleased that my favourite Enjorlas is returning to play the role
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