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Post by fossil on Jul 16, 2023 12:08:10 GMT
My recommendations which seem to be available on BBC Sounds:
The Interrogation series of plays by Roy Williams with Kenneth Cranham and Alex Lanipekun. McLevy with Brian Cox Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz Life Lines
I also enjoyed I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Richard Matheson's 1954 cult classic post-apocalyptic horror novel about Earth's last living man. Read by Angus McInnes.
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Post by fossil on Apr 6, 2023 16:23:28 GMT
Oh man I'd love to see this again but I'm seeing something else at the same time. Do these screenings ever get second showings? According to the website: "The archive now holds over 450 high-quality archival multi-camera recordings of live performance in Britain and continues to record and preserve productions for the national collection... When V&A East opens in 2024 all the recordings will be available for the public to view in a brand-new facility."------ I'm a bit confused about the free event - do you not have to book in advance or is it first come, first served? Unsure what the capacity is. I asked. The event is not ticketed and the Hochhauser Auditorium seats 140.
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Post by fossil on Mar 20, 2023 18:07:18 GMT
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Post by fossil on Feb 5, 2023 15:57:37 GMT
There is also a fantastic secondhand bookshop on the walk to/from the station, so take your books wishlist if you have one. Love that place. My bag was so heavy leaving Chichester after working on a production there because I couldn't resist that shop. My wife loves the charity shops. They tend to have far better quality clothes donated than our local shops. Also note the advance rail fares from London are amazingly cheap. With a railcard it only costs me £3.60 each way.
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Post by fossil on Dec 30, 2022 16:41:59 GMT
Because my other half wanted to watch it I reluctantly settled down to watch Channel 5's The Canterville Ghost on their My5 catch-up service. This turned out to be a very well made thoroughly entertaining production from BBC Studios. Probably not to everybody's taste but if you want over three hours of harmless family entertainment I would recommend this.
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Post by fossil on Dec 18, 2022 17:10:36 GMT
ArtsEd 7 - 11 February 2023. Booking opens Tuesday 10 January, 1pm
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Post by fossil on Dec 18, 2022 13:20:57 GMT
I usually go to matinees, only going to evening performances when good rush seats become available. I have never noticed the difference. Very occasionally I have gone to some well reviewed shows which were well into their run or tour and thought that perhaps the director has not been in for a while as the performances were somewhat lacklustre.
This raises the question, is it best to go to a production earlier or later in the run?
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Post by fossil on Dec 5, 2022 14:50:49 GMT
From WhatsOnStage
"......audiences shouldn't lose hope that this is the last we'll see of Tammy Faye – lyricist Jake Shears posted a comment saying: "See you after intermission kids" on social media – suggesting a future life is very much being courted."
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Post by fossil on Nov 28, 2022 19:22:04 GMT
I guess The National is continuing with musicals killing children. Maybe they’ll write “It! The Musical!” next. Think of the rip-off merchandising on bespoke yellow macs in the NT shop. No yellow macs but the NT shop does have these... Rose in a Dome Pin £22.95 Created by surface design artist and maker Amber Joy, this collaboration was inspired by the world class theatre that is produced by the National Theatre. This pin features a purple rose in a dome to coincide with the National Theatre's Christmas musical Hex.
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Post by fossil on Nov 12, 2022 17:28:57 GMT
I tested out the day seats today and was able to get one for the evening performance in my basket pretty easily (I did the URL trick mentioned earlier in the thread but it seemed like that wasn't necessary as I had the regular booking page opened in another tab and was able to get in that way too) but I'm not able find any of the matinees by changing the URL and neither did it become available to book at 10am when the evening performance did. Do they just not do day seats for the matinees, did they just sell so quickly that it never displayed as anything but sold out, or have I missed that somewhere it says day seats for matinee performances are released at a different time? Day seats for matinees are definitely released at 10.00am on the day. I managed to get one for the matinee a couple of days ago. They do sell extremely quickly though. Before 10.00am I did notice the link to the page becoming active a few times when (presumably) returns went on sale at £140 so that is one way to capture the URL before 10.00am. I do have the link for the matinee on the 24th November. tickets.barbican.org.uk/choose-seats/865006The front row is not ideal for this production as I felt you are too close to take in the best of all the terrific visual effects. Also they have raised the stage slightly. I am 5'2" and wished I had brought my cushion as it was difficult to see some of the stage level stuff. But don't let me put you off. I still found it a wonderful production.
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Post by fossil on Sept 29, 2022 11:27:44 GMT
I don't know if this has already been mentioned elsewhere. The latest RSC newsletter says that the Swan programme for 2023 will be announced in November, starting with a "world premier" directed by Erica Whyman.
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Post by fossil on Sept 21, 2022 12:37:57 GMT
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Post by fossil on Aug 18, 2022 8:41:11 GMT
For the next three evening performances there are some tickets for £15 + £3.50 booking fee. These are the stall back row and side slips, circle slips and most of the upper circle. Use this link and scroll down to the South Pacific entry. sobus.org.uk/2022/08/The stalls side slips look to be a particularly good bargain. I hope so - I have just bought one.
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Post by fossil on Aug 1, 2022 16:46:23 GMT
I have just tried the ticket code again and it does still work. After clicking on "I have a ticket Code" Enter the code and click on Find Tickets and you should see the text "What's on Stage £25 100th perf promo". Then select any seats except the top price ones and the price will momentarily show the full price (if the system is slow) and then change to £27.50. It does not work for matinees though.
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Post by fossil on Jul 29, 2022 16:33:08 GMT
Seats for £27.50 with this offer. Just booked a central stalls row G seat (normally £87.50) and it worked ok. I was not going to bother for this production but a good seat at the lower price makes it worth a punt. The offer does not work for the premium seats.
Enter code MFLWOS25 after selecting your chosen date to get best available seats for just £25* - book before Tue 9 August!
Valid for performances from Tue 2 August until Fri 26 August, excluding Thursday matinees and both shows on Saturday.
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Post by fossil on Jul 22, 2022 16:03:12 GMT
I don't know if it is an error on their part but Hampstead are showing the back row of the dress circle for tomorrow afternoon's socially distanced matinee as £0 for Senior Citizens.
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Post by fossil on Jul 19, 2022 16:09:56 GMT
They say you should have all your windows shut & curtains closed as cooler inside than out. That is working for me. From growing up in the hot/humid midwest US - open windows at night to let cooler air in - and then close them in the morning. Unless you have A/C Works for me as well. I have a remote wireless thermometer at the end of the garden which earlier read 39.4. Indoors it was 29. I went to a supermarket around midday and curiously it was quite windy around the building - it felt like I was standing in front of a fan heater. Most unpleasant. Good to see Tesco had set up a stall outside the store entrance giving out fruit squash drinks.
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Post by fossil on May 30, 2022 13:41:00 GMT
Very well worth a listen to these podcasts... Now, Where Were We? is the show that Barry Cryer has been waiting 86 years to make! Alongside his son, actor and writer Bob Cryer, Barry's booked a room at a favourite London pub, called up a bunch of famous pals he's not seen since lockdown began, and he's invited them down for a pint and a proper catch-up. This is Barry at his storytelling best, in his natural habitat, doing what he’s done for decades: making us laugh. www.podcastandradio.co.uk/podcast/now-where-were-we-with-barry-cryer-and-bob-cryer/
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Post by fossil on May 30, 2022 13:33:43 GMT
Sweeney Todd at RADA, From 25 May 2022 until 3 June 2022. I attended last Saturday's matinee. RADA productions like this used to sell out but sadly this was only about two thirds full and I was told many regulars have not returned post covid. This was an excellent production which I cannot recommend highly enough. I was particularly impressed by Hughie O’Donnell as Sweeney Todd and Ayla Wheatley as Mrs Lovett, so much so that I checked that they were actually students and not people further on in there acting careers. The sound balance was excellent. Not over amplified and with the vocals clearly heard above the band. Also you could hear every word of the lyrics. Many commercial productions could learn lessons from this (I'm sure one of the reasons Groundhog Day was not too successful is because, at least when I saw it the Old Vic, you could not hear the words!). I went to the show in a foul mood as work on my house was progressing far from satisfactorily. I left the theatre on a high. 5* from me.
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Post by fossil on May 10, 2022 11:44:24 GMT
New press release on NT web site today: NATIONAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PRODUCTIONS THE CRUCIBLE AND THE BOY WITH TWO HEARTS ON THE SOUTH BANK AND A MAJOR NATIONWIDE TOUR OF THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE • NT Associate Lyndsey Turner directs Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in the Olivier theatre with Brendan Cowell as John Proctor and Erin Doherty as Abigail Williams • Wales Millennium Centre’s widely acclaimed adaptation of Hamed and Hessam Amiri’s The Boy with Two Hearts transfers to the Dorfman theatre. Directed by Amit Sharma, and adapted for the stage by Phil Porter • Previously announced productions of Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky directed by Lynette Linton and the revival of Hex, the new musical based on Sleeping Beauty directed by Rufus Norris, also go on sale to the public on Wednesday 8 June • Opening at The Lowry, Salford, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane will tour the UK and Ireland visiting 29 towns and cities for 40 weeks from December
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Post by fossil on May 9, 2022 14:27:56 GMT
Sweeney Todd at RADA, From 25 May 2022 until 3 June 2022.
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Post by fossil on Apr 24, 2022 16:14:02 GMT
Middle of next month for us. The usual £20 front row seats and had to go quite a bit into the run to find 'em when booking opened. If you have front row seats they may be changed. There is an extension to the front of the stage that overhangs all of the front row except for four of five seats at each end of the row so only these seats were occupied. I had a centre front seat for yesterday's matinee which the box office upgraded to an excellent centre stalls seat in the main block which I regard as a very good result for me. As for the play. I enjoyed it. The performances are excellent but I found the framing device somewhat irritating at times.
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Post by fossil on Apr 18, 2022 11:53:09 GMT
I've received from two different ticket agencies a promo code for this show "MFLUPGRADE". Supposedly reduces ticket prices to between £30 and £75 up to 9 June, excluding some matinees. Don't think it's exclusive but I can't get it to work on any date or price. The code is accepted but the prices don't change. Has anyone managed to book with this code ? TheatreMonkey has the answer. I tried it and it seems to work. "Buy best available £85 stalls (ground level), £85, £70, £60 and £45 dress circle (first tier) and £70, £60 and £45 upper circle (second tier, second highest in venue) tickets (from agency / offer allocation) reduced to £65 / £55 / £40 / £30 (£75 / £65 / £55 / £40 Friday and 04th June 2022) each at all Monday to Friday performances ONLY. Note that seat prices may vary and original £85 tickets may increase to £90 at some performances. The system will advise at time of enquiry. Surtitles are not visible from all seats, and most upper circle and balcony seats have limited legroom - please be aware before booking. Seat information. Some dates are excluded - including 12th May Evening and the afternoon performances on 19th May and 26th May 2022 - the system will advise at time of enquiry. To book, select your performance. On the "select area" page, IGNORE the "I have a ticket code" below "SELECT AREA" and continue to the next page to select your seats. After the donations page, on the "Basket" page enter "MFLUPGRADE" into the "I have a promotion code" box to the right of your order summary and click "APPLY." The discount will appear in your order."
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Post by fossil on Apr 14, 2022 16:26:52 GMT
The odd musical does pop up on BBC radio from time to time. I just got back from a very enjoyable walk while listening on BBC Sounds to this musical drama which was on Radio 4 recently. If you like something silly but entertaining I recommend a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00161rd
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Post by fossil on Apr 11, 2022 15:03:10 GMT
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