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Post by David J on Apr 8, 2022 8:52:44 GMT
What was the running time please? 2 hours 10 minutes
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Post by David J on Apr 2, 2022 18:44:08 GMT
This was disappointing to be honest
Maybe I’m setting a high standard to the brilliant 2012 RSC production and this is still in previews but this production feels tame.
I’d rather see Jamie Lloyds version again, which was too stylised and over the top to my liking
The main problem is most of the cast don’t work off each other. The only two that my friend that was with me felt stood out were ian Bartholomew and Geoffrey lumb as the uncle and the boxing younger brother
To be clear Mathew Horne was off with COVID so we had the understudy on with script in hand as Lenny. He did the best he could
But the others were performing in their own worlds, not working off each other. Keith Allen admittedly stood out playing Max again as a randy old codger. But beyond that he lacked brutishness or threat
The whole time it lacked tension and claustraphobia and you’re left noticing how bleak and unashamedly perverted Pinters writing can be in this play about a household full of masculine bravado.
So I may be setting a high standard with the rsc production, but really pinters writing sets a high standard that this production has a long way of meeting
Average, borderline three star production
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Post by David J on Feb 22, 2022 1:59:32 GMT
I felt very much the same with the Country House RSC version but with the Benedick gulling scene. All the business with the exploding Christmas tree should never have left the rehearsal room. Ot was cheap and obvious. Pork Pie humour as WS Gilbert might describe it. And then the ones gulling him were pouring themselves whisky and out pops his hand out from the tree with a glass and they pour some for him
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Post by David J on Feb 22, 2022 1:59:14 GMT
I felt very much the same with the Country House RSC version but with the Benedick gulling scene. All the business with the exploding Christmas tree should never have left the rehearsal room. Ot was cheap and obvious. Pork Pie humour as WS Gilbert might describe it. And then the ones filling him were pouring themselves whisky and out pops his hand out from the tree with a glass and they pour some for him
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Post by David J on Feb 22, 2022 0:10:34 GMT
Expanding on the scenes where Benedick and Beatrice hide and get fooled into thinking they love each other, there’s obviously so much potential for business
There’s the premise that their friends are pretending to not know they’re there whilst they themselves do everything to stay hidden, but then you add elements that could expose Benedick and Beatrice and then the illusion is broken. Like the boy coming back with Benedick’s book. Added tension and comedy
And productions walk the fine line of keeping the suspension of disbelief that whatever mishaps happen Benedick and Beatrice won’t twig that they’re been fooled with
So that moment when Catherine Tate got caught up in that hauling and was lowered up and down screaming whilst the girls continued talking like nothings going on shattered the suspension of disbelief for me. Just for cheap laughs
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Post by David J on Feb 21, 2022 18:09:17 GMT
Just to say my favourite Much Ado is the 2011 Charles Edwards and Eve Best Globe production. Those two worked perfectly together
And Jeremy Herrin and the cast worked to bring some dimension to some of the characters, particularly Claudio who was brash and prone to put his foot in it, so you could see why he would easily fall for Don Johns lies.
Only negative was Dogberry. For some reason the actor interjected these “phwoars” in the middle of the lines for laughs. I mean it’s not an easy task to make shakespeares clowns funny, but I had no idea what the point of that was.
Well recommend the recording
Liked the RSC Iqbal Kahn one, particularly the marriage scene which was set in a public space so the humiliation was mortifying to watch (in a good way). The 2014 Edwardian production was good
I think the David Tennant and Catherine Tate is my least favourite. Not bad but clearly geared towards general audiences. The Beatrice hiding scene took me out of the show watching Catherine Tate hoisted up yelling. You’d think Beatrice would have guessed that the girls were trying to ignore her there and then
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Post by David J on Jan 27, 2022 12:38:30 GMT
Meanwhile over at Much Ado About Nothing...please tell me these are costumes for the marketing and not what their vision of the future is! They pre-warned us about this - it's this designer: www.simon-hartman.com/It seems the future is a world where we will all be able to pay £375 for a "Wire and cord chest plate". Can't wait. I said this before on the Much ado thread. The RSC spent the last few years fundraising a costume workshop, putting time and effort to host exhibitions celebrating the best in costumes you created over the decades. And yet they have no confidence in your own designers to deliver costumes for this futuristic setting. And how much did they pay Simon Hartman to do this?
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Post by David J on Jan 27, 2022 11:59:02 GMT
Mariah Gale certainly has a lot to live up to Katy Stephens from 16 years ago. God I feel old! I remember Mark Quarterly as Ariel in that cgi Tempest. Yeah, I think he'll be good as Henry VI. Meanwhile over at Much Ado About Nothing...please tell me these are costumes for the marketing and not what their vision of the future is!
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Post by David J on Jan 18, 2022 23:08:56 GMT
I could have sworn there were planned broadcasts for all the sam Wanamaker shows but since I checked earlier this month only Merchant of Venice is going to be broadcasted
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Post by David J on Jan 8, 2022 23:09:07 GMT
Saw this in the afternoon and have to agree with the the more critical reviews
Watching this there was a general feeling that this barely justifies its existence as a musical
The main problem is that it is chock full of unremarkable songs that bloats a 2 hour film into a 2 hour and 45 minute unmemorable musical. What moments of simple dialogue scenes that could drive character development and story gets swamped by these endless songs
Could this have worked as a musical? Of course. But Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard lack the creativity here to conceive that. Was you get is an pale imitation of the film with songs thrown in. They don’t even hide it when Marty gives a knowing look at the audience before strumming the guitar on the amplifier at the start
It was telling that the highlight for me was the chase with the bullies by the end of act 1. When there was actual business going on and it became a stage adaptation trying to do its own thing
The other highlight was Roger Bart as Doc bringing some humour to proceeding and . Even if it’s a mixture of imitating the character and doing the same schtick he did as Carmen in The Producers, yelling words and so on
The others did a good job recreating the characters onstage. Especially Will Haswell who was on as Marty McFly
I suppose I went to see this for the production values. Frankly I expected more. I too felt the car was slow on the contraption in the finale and in the end it’s the same effect you get at the London Palladium and the other Qdos/Crossroads pantomimes
And there were other set pieces that I felt were lacking. Particularly the Goldie Wilson number with that simple frame. Moments like that where I thought “Is that all you’ve got?”.
I felt some of the projections looked a bit on the murky side. I saw Life of Pi in the evening and the projections looked better in my opinion
This isn't awful. I just came out of this thinking there’s a better musical in this that was never realised. It’s just Back to the Future the experience, with added songs
2.5 stars from me
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Post by David J on Dec 27, 2021 20:40:50 GMT
My top 5. Haven't seen many this year and am including ones I've seen before. - The Play That Goes Wrong (London back in June)
- Anything Goes
- South Pacific
- Spring Awakening
- A Christmas Carol (Old Vic)
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Post by David J on Dec 22, 2021 11:35:36 GMT
A big prominent photo of "One Man, Two Guvnors" early on in this report I see. A decade old production, the gift that keeps on giving. That photo could be a subtle message about the state of NT at the moment
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Post by David J on Dec 18, 2021 23:16:23 GMT
Saw this tonight. Have fond memories of the original London show and seeing this reminded me why
Even as someone nearly reaching 30 there was so much to relate to. The music is sublime and I find different undertones to the lyrics
Enjoyed the staging and choreography. Not sure the masks adds anything to this. Can’t remember if the different adults were portrayed as such larger than life characters in the original but I felt it was at odds with the tone in the show
The one thing I was disappointed with was Totally F*****. This production extends it and makes it unnecessarily long. The original song was short, punchy and too the point.
At times I enjoyed this version especially when the youngsters start messing with the set as I tapped along to the music. Then it starts adding further business with the characters speechifying for some reason before repeating the same lyrics again…and again…and again. Until the song peters out on a damp conclusion
Was left wondering what I just watched. And that was the song I always look forward to
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Post by David J on Dec 16, 2021 22:26:58 GMT
Saw this tonight. Just above 2 hours long
It was okay. I wouldn’t say this is a case of the emperor’s new clothes, but the lack of a plot, no matter how slim, did expose the rehashed acts by the same old cast
The whole theatre wasn’t roaring with laughter like the previous times I’ve been
Goldilocks certainly had more variety
Enjoyed Julian clary as ever
Donny Osmond. Great. Though i don’t listen to his songs so they didn’t leave an impression on me
Disappointed that Jac Yarrow didn’t join him singing Any Dream Will Do
Favourite was the twelve days of Christmas and the mess ups
Paul Zerdin certainly needs to move on. His acts are certainly the most tired. The masks during the audience members bit stopped working at times. Surely that wasn’t part of the act?
Won’t go again until they get some new entertainers/comedians to replace some of the regulars
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Post by David J on Dec 16, 2021 0:29:16 GMT
I am for colour and gender-blind casting, but as oxfordsimon eloquently puts it the execution is what matters. I always say paying attention to the story needs to come first before putting your own spin on it so that it makes sense You only have to look at the Company revival to see the effort they made to swap the genders around. There's also those times when you had a Doran's African Julius Caesar and the Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy set in a women's prison. Again those shows didn't stop with the casting. The acting and direction made for some of the best interpretations of Shakespeare I've ever seen. The blurb and casting for this Much Ado About Nothing barely tells me anything really. A futuristic setting were most of the characters are black. Entirely plausible. I'm only happy that the RSC isn't virtue signalling and selling this production on its casting. Only when the show opens will we see the director's intentions and whether they work or not. Though what raises doubts in this show for me is that the company has to go to the owner of Simon-Hartman London to design the costumes for this show. Seriously RSC, you spend the last few years fundraising a costume workshop, putting time and effort to host exhibitions celebrating the best in costumes you created over the decades. And yet you show no confidence in your own designers to deliver costumes for this futuristic setting. www.simon-hartman.com/
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Post by David J on Dec 13, 2021 17:20:23 GMT
the fact you've just used the term "Latinx" tells me all I need to know, thanks. Say no more Latinx is the word that people of that descent, the West Side Story Sharks cast included, use. Do pray tell on what basis you think that using a word chosen by the community in question is wrong? The intolerance in your last couple of posts is astounding. The term isn't that widely used by the Hispanic community who consider it offensive. It's only used by a small group of vocal progressives, politicians and the pandering media And frankly, when Spielberg is saying things like "If I subtitled the Spanish, I'd simply be doubling down on the English and giving English the power over the Spanish", no wonder the movie is struggling to get general audiences.
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Post by David J on Dec 13, 2021 0:17:00 GMT
The film made $10.5 million dollars as of 10th December and has a budget of $100 million and $150 million in marketing to make up. And it didn't even have big stars or cgi.
Apparently, today the budget for the original would be $52 million
And whilst the virus is partly a reason, its not stopping people flocking to see Ghostbusters Afterlife and Venom 2 over this or Encanto.
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Post by David J on Dec 7, 2021 16:17:19 GMT
I became acquainted with a number of musicals thanks to the old theatre. The Beautiful Game, The Dreaming, Spend Spend Spend, The Spitfire Grill, Our House, Loserville, See Rock City and other destinations.
Even the sound of trains above added to the quaintness of the place.
The two productions I have seen at the new theatre, Three Sisters and Midnight, I did enjoy. Made great use of the space which made for an intimate show.
I do wonder though whether the theatre is hindered by the set up of their space, particularly that staircase which any show inevitably has to use as an entrance. Makes most sense in a domestic scene.
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Post by David J on Dec 3, 2021 15:23:13 GMT
I've seen productions add subtext to this play but at the end it is just a farcical, slapstick, silly, implausible comedy. I mean one of the sets of brothers know they have a twin and yet they can't put two and two together.
And I enjoy it immensely. Especially when you get an director who conceives some imaginative physical comedy. Which is why Blanche McIntyre's 2014 Globe production is my favourite. Go and watch that online.
I remember enjoying Nancy Meckler's production. The door scene was implemented well. The 2012 Dominic Cooke version, not so much. Too static speaking through a buzzer.
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Post by David J on Dec 1, 2021 13:19:01 GMT
This angle then then solves the Dorothy conundrum too, as it allows us to see her story unfold through the eyes of Glinda and the Scarecrow. Maybe it could resolve the glaring plot hole I’ve got which is how Dorothy could have met the scarecrow if he’s trussed up in the field long after she left
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Post by David J on Nov 27, 2021 21:25:56 GMT
Saw this play for the seventh time.
Can’t get enough of the singing and music. Particularly that ‘Christ was born in Bethlehem’ moment. Can we have a cd recording of the songs/music please Old Vic!
Sadly the show had to finish abruptly before the last bell ringing because someone in the front row had fainted or something
Couldn’t help notice they got younger actors in some of the roles. Marley and Cratchett particularly. Starting to verge into Les Mis territory there
Afraid im in the not sold camp over Stephen Mangan. Not bad but it was clear that he was putting on the act of the miserly old man without embodying the troubled Scrooge
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Post by David J on Nov 19, 2021 11:35:27 GMT
Well, I've just seen this show again. This time the uk tour in Brighton.
I join pianowithsam in saying the cast is the least of the three I've seen this year. They're good, they get the job done and the audience was laughing along. But not as hard as in the Duchess Theatre. And I feel its because the cast needs to tighten up the delivery of the comedy
And I'm not an expert on how comedy is delivered but it's fascinating how watching different casts can give you a perspective.
It was most clear with Tom Bulpett, whom I praised back in June when he was understudy Chris in the West End. I think he was amongst seasoned pros and was on point in his delivery. Here he milks the comedy by exaggerating and lingering on the punchlines. Though I did like how egotistical his Chris was and how snobbish he was to the audience in the ledger moment. I hate to imagine what his Chris was like during the rehearsals.
The strongest were April Hughes as Sandra and Gabriel Paul as Trevor. On point. April shows how to play a terrible actor without overdoing it. Leonard Cook was great as Robert, even if he likes to impersonate Henry Lewis. The snide remarks he makes during the show are hilarious.
Liked some of the choices Laura Kirman made as Annie. When she is forced to play Florence she reads the script and comments like she's watching a soap opera. Tom Babbage and Sean Carey too had their moments as Max and Jonathan. But otherwise the three could bring a bit more to the show.
Edward Howells never stood out as Dennis. I feel like no one wants to copy or differentiate themselves from Jonathan Sayer's performance because only Michael Keane in the current London cast has stood out to me and only because he is short and was the subject of some extra jokes in the show.
But to add to pianowithsam's comment that he didn't believe in what was going on, I feel the cast puts TOO much emphasis on the comedy and making the audience laugh, overlooking the story. And sure it's an implausible and ridiculous story. But what I really like about this play is the underlying tragedy behind the comedy as we watch these actors soldier on to their doom in this show. Watching their reactions when things go wrong and so on. Gabriel Paul for one is very good at that and I liked looking over at the box to see what he's doing.
But then I see the extras, playing the backstage crew, coming on stage to fix the set during the pre-show and smiling at the waving at the audience I was thinking shouldn't you be panicking that things not ready just minutes before the show starts. Couldn't take it seriously.
And there were moments like that during the show. Particularly the big set moment at the end, when everyone should be genuinely shaken. Even Leonard Cook looked shell-shocked. But soon afterwards he does this thing where he reacts to the audience laughs saying "come on, this is serious acting I'm doing here" which took me out of the moment.
Maybe I'm comparing this too much to the previous shows I've seen in the last few months, but seriously the West End cast sets a higher standard
I still enjoyed myself. I liked the extra things the cast brings to the show here and there. But yeah, needs tightening up
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Post by David J on Nov 18, 2021 21:03:35 GMT
Question: how does he know they left because they were against his entrance?
We’re they complaining to the staff and they passed it on to him?
They could have had to leave to get the train and it was bad timing. It happens
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Post by David J on Nov 15, 2021 13:10:26 GMT
They have a very rich catalogue of archive shows. Opening it up on a membership basis would be a start. Or how about an exclusive tie-in to Netflix? Something to monetise what they have if they're unsure about how the future looks? If cashflow is the issue, they need to scale back, rebuild with a simpler operating model, and utilise the potential income streams that they have in order to survive and return to their former glory. I’ve seen many of those at the birthplace library. Most of those archive recordings are from one camera fitted to the circle. No close ups just tiny figures on a stage far away Not exactly ideal for Netflix. Don’t suppose the birthplace trust would have a say in the matter as well? The RSC would just offer their broadcast recordings (which theyve already done on other digital platforms like Digital Theatre) and whatever productions they have filmed in the past like the Mckellan/dench macbeth.
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Post by David J on Nov 9, 2021 8:38:39 GMT
Even though the musical is written and composed by a jew and is more sympathetic compared to the source material?
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