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Post by David J on Jun 1, 2016 22:25:08 GMT
Got to agree this is a great production. It felt natural in the African setting and Simon Godwin didn't go overboard with any directorial ideas (unlike Lyndsey Turner and David Farr).
Pappa Essiedu's acting was natural and believable as the young prince. A great actor with a bright future. I can't wait to see his Edmund in King Lear
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Post by David J on May 31, 2016 22:11:01 GMT
I've watched Midsummer as a kid and didn't recognise the sexual undertones. It was just a fairy story to me.
It's like those pantomimes that are filled with sexual innuendos. Children and adults are going to laugh for entirely different reasons.
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Post by David J on May 31, 2016 22:05:49 GMT
I'm going to see this again.
Not because it was brilliant (right now). In fact I wen't to see a preview tonight and unfortunately the energy was non-existant during the first act, with only smatterings of laughter
The only part that was greatly received was the start when the band was playing theme tunes like the A-Team and (I think) The Italian Job in Elizabethan/Modern style music. It pumped me up for something thrilling and funny, but was never matched by the rest of the act. Ian Redford was the only one outshining everybody as Sir Epicure Mammon (has he played Falstaff already because he acts the part).
But boy did the show pick up in the second act. Everyone was hitting the right notes with gusto and was greatly received by the audience. There's also quite an explosive moment to watch out for. There was even a cheeky breaking the fourth wall to finish the show.
Polly Findlay has definitely reined herself in after Treasure Island, The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It. Even if it lacked energy the first act definitely shows promise.
So yeah I'm going to the press night this Thursday (even my mum wants to come now), and am expecting a fantastic night out.
Stay tuned.
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Post by David J on May 30, 2016 22:02:44 GMT
There is a world outside the West End, Parsley. Doesn't touring, regional, amateur, school production revivals count? And sure RJ is the obvious introduction to Shakespeare, but interesting staging and updated versions helps make this over-familiar play interesting to watch
And I'm sure the story of two people from two opposing sides finding love pops up a few times.
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Post by David J on May 30, 2016 21:15:09 GMT
For me the RSC staging done by Rupert Goold (in his heyday) remains the gold standard for this play I'd never would have thought you'd highly regard that production. That certainly gave this never-ending revived play, with its overused story, a good kick up the backside with vitriol and fire.
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Post by David J on May 30, 2016 21:07:58 GMT
Yeah, the Athenian's should be panicking by the paranormal activity the fairies were creating
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Post by David J on May 30, 2016 20:52:56 GMT
JESUS the humour in the Pyramus and Thisbe sequence has been sucked out. They're taking the Athenian scenes SO seriously.
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Post by David J on May 30, 2016 20:25:56 GMT
Okay...the Demetrius falling for Lysander moment was an interesting, but brief, departure
Otherwise this is a pretty rushed adaptation
Also the actors are competing with the overly loud music.
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Post by David J on May 28, 2016 18:24:15 GMT
You know what, I appeal to superior judgement here and say that I am wrong.
And memory of this play only adds up to a cut down version by my university friends a few years ago, and the only professional production was a touring outdoor show about a decade ago
So yeah, I'm not the best person to talk about this play who made himself look sexist in the process
I suppose I could say that this is a slippery play to get your head round, and I'll think on this some more.
All I can say is that this very well done, though the tone in the second act veers between from dark and comic so sharply that it felt disconcerting for me.
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Post by David J on May 28, 2016 14:40:40 GMT
Watching Aoiffe Duffin who is now Kate and she's very stellar performance. Not just shrewish in her abrasive manner but in her expressive face. And she sings some very sorrowful songs at times
A great Irish setting and music, though I can't see how much 1916 or the Easter rising reflects on this production
The production certainly mocks the men and gives more of a voice (and roles) to the women. Bianca for one is not the soppy type she can be portrayed as, and there's a kind of kindred sisterhood between her and Katherine, even when she's tied up.
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Post by David J on May 24, 2016 11:15:33 GMT
I'm not liking the extra notes added to the opening music. I hope that's just for the trailer. It's as if they're adding different notes for the sake of being different.
I agree that they should have added the Broadway songs (absolutely love If I Can't Love Her), but what can you do.
Ewan McGregor's accent is off putting, but Ian McKellan is just reminding me of Gandalf rather than Cogsworth.
RUN, YOU FOOLS
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Post by David J on May 23, 2016 14:19:07 GMT
Hopefully this White Devil will be an improvement on the Maria Aberg version
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Post by David J on May 21, 2016 20:22:01 GMT
Well, all I can say so far is that this is not nearly as entertaining and bizarre as Emma Rices production
But it is certainly the better Shakespeare production, and it has been leaving me with a smile on my face
Also whilst Emma Rice flings dozens of ideas into her production, this gives modest helpings that leaves me curious to see more
And I am loving Lucy Ellinson's 'Emcee' Puck. Especially since she doesn't resort to SHOUTING. The Barbican Tower company are doing a good job as the mechanicals
The first act is very long though. It finishes right after Puck sends the four lovers to sleep and amends all wrongs
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Post by David J on May 19, 2016 7:22:23 GMT
I find taking someone along when reviewing is perfect, so that there is a second opinion and the two of us can bounce thoughts off each other.
I'm sure the same can be said for the critics
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Post by David J on May 16, 2016 13:45:43 GMT
Yeah...I meant the expressiveness of his face
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Post by David J on May 16, 2016 12:07:27 GMT
He's deadly evil with his mind as much bright as it's twisted, yet he's a lot of fun and somehow compelling.. He makes you understand his pain and deep-seated anger. I found myself rooting for him unconsciously.. Isn't that weird? A wonderfully stange mixture of feelings that lingers on. Also loved the way his speeches are delivered - straight on to the camera in almost stage-like fashion. Really draws you in.
That's the Machiavellian anti-hero drawing you in there After writing three plays of endless carnage and deaths, Shakespeare has taken a leaf out of Marlowe's book and created a character that repulses and delights you at the same time. Just that alone marks the difference in quality between Henry VI and Richard III. I don't recall any other character speaking directly to the camera up until now in these two episodes. You can almost sense Shakespeare suddenly upping his game as Cumberbatch turns to the camera for the first time, as if to say "now the real sh*t can start, motherf**ckers" And I must say I've only liked Cumberbatch's work up until now, but just the last 15 minutes of him up close has me quaking for more. Just his facial work alone looks deformed and villainous
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Post by David J on May 10, 2016 22:10:32 GMT
It was done at the Lyric, Hammersmith a few years ago, wasn't it? They wanted to revive it a year later, too, but found half the original cast were on maternity leave, as I recall. Well the rabbits were desperate for some does so... And yes this is the Lyric Hammersmith play. Written by Rona Munro, who also did the King James Plays
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Post by David J on May 10, 2016 12:19:09 GMT
As a fan of the film and book I'm really looking forward to this.
Just the fact that this is being staged in the tiny Watermill Theatre, near to the real down itself has me buzzing with excitement.
The imagination they put into fitting plays into that space is amazing.
The casting announcement has just been released. Edward Bennett (recently in the RSC's Love's Labours Lost and Much Ado About Nothing) will be starring as General Woundwort.
I like him as an actor, and am always keen to see range in performers. I'm just struggling to see him in the role. Even when you take Harry Andrews and John Hurt's voice acting from the film and TV series out of the equation, he's not monstrous dictator material.
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Post by David J on May 8, 2016 19:00:23 GMT
I agree, but when its done well it can be a thrilling bloodfest.
If only HBO had done this series
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Post by David J on May 8, 2016 18:34:58 GMT
I've just watched the first episode, and generally it is good.
It squeezes Parts 1 and 2 into one, ending with York declaring his claim to the throne
Sadly Jack Cade has gone, and Joan of Arc and Talbot are woefully underused (and I think Phillip Glennister would be perfect for the role)
I hope we get to see Ben Miles and Samuel West get their ultimate comeuppance as Somerset and the Bishop of Winchester. Such weasely, deceiving characters.
There's some great performances from Hugh Bonneville, Sophoe Okonedo, Adrian Dunbar, Sally Hawkins, Anton Lesser, and Stanley Townsend as the main players in this power vacuum.
I don't know what to think about Tom Sturridge as Henry VI. He certainly shows weakness, and he gives a different performance to the childlike Chuk Iwuji, Graham Butler, and Alex Waldmann. Instead he is an uncharismatic Henry VI, and I hope that's just his interpretation. I just hope he shows more than that in the second episode
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Post by David J on May 8, 2016 9:29:00 GMT
I mean, it's right there in the text that Helena offers to let Demetrius use her as his spaniel, and that he threatens to "do [her] mischief in the wood", and that Oberon uses a date-rape drug to trick his wife-figure into non-consensual bestiality, so if you haven't had to answer awkward questions for your kids before now with Midsummer, then you must've seen some pretty placid productions. Oh, the things you don't know my dear Baemax... Anyway whilst I do agree that this is doesnt represent Shakespeare well, I do think this is a great interpretation of the play
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Post by David J on May 7, 2016 22:52:27 GMT
Oh, and usually Midsummer is the best introduction to Shakespeare for kids, but I would express caution with this production.
Unless you are prepared to answer some awkward questions
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Post by David J on May 7, 2016 22:39:26 GMT
I can only concur with Steve that Rice's carnival of a show turns everything on its head. Not only gender, tone and music but just how we perceive how Globe productions should be performed.
I could complain that Katy Owen resorts to shouting a lot as Puck.
I could complain that the whole pre-show announcements that the mechanicals make goes on for ages.
I could complain that the production doesn't explore some dark undertones further (Lysander the sexual predator, or a drunk Oberon caressing the sleeping Titania as he gives her the love potion).
I could complain that the text gets overshadowed by the way characters frequently change between delivering the text to either singing, using modern language, or speaking the text to music.
I could complain that the use of lighting (which in this Rock gig/carnival setting I really loved) only works during the evening productions.
I could complain that some of the staging left me scratching my head (such as Puck passing right by Demetrius and Helenus after she mistakenly gives Lysander the love potion)
But really this is A Midsummer Night's Dream. This isn't Shakespeare's deepest play and deserves to be down right fun. And not only does this production achieve that, but like the mechanicals and the lovers who are subject to the fairies' mischief, I was amazed, dumb-founded, and surprised.
And surprised is what I want to be when I see another Shakespeare production. To realise that there is no end of possibilities to what you can do with a play and this did that.
That being said I hope this isn't all we can expect from Emma Rice's Shakespeare production. I can see this working again in The Comedy of Errors or even Twelfth Night where the carnival and misrule elements appear again.
A great director is one who doesn't do the same thing again and again (I'm looking at you Jamie Lloyd and Lucy Bailey), but to show variety.
And I also think variety is best for this current season. Let the other director's do their thing, Emma Rice
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Post by David J on May 7, 2016 13:57:52 GMT
Seeing this on its last day at the arcola
Better late than never
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Post by David J on May 7, 2016 8:26:53 GMT
I don't have objections to regional theatres taking on large scale musicals. Quite the opposite, and I have been amazed by the imagination production teams use to overcome their limitations. But for a musical like this, a bit more investment clearly goes a long way. I totally agree. I always thought a regional/subsidised production of Chitty would be great to see, and it is great that theatres like the West Yorkshire Playhouse are prepared to take the risk, but the scale and investment really is needed if it has any chance of living up to the original production. After all, the Palladium car cost £750,000 - the most expensive stage prop in history!
{Spoiler - click to view} Speaking of Toot Sweets, does this production have the dogs run on at the end? And who is singing Hushabye Mountain with Caractacus in this version? Truly? Michael Rose was one of the original producers who could invest in this musical before he found himself in everybody's bad books. I suppose nowadays somebody like Cameron Mackintosh can only put on a production like the original. {Spoiler - click to view} There's no real dogs. You know those toys where you have a pole that you hold on one end, and on the other there is a wooden animal with a wheel underneath it to trundle along the ground, with legs attached to the sides going round and round. Thats what they use. A shame, since the appearance of real dogs always got a huge reaction. I remember the time the first tour came to the Mayflower, it was in the news that the production team had lost one of the dogs, but found it had been sleeping on one the seats of the car all night.
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