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Post by samuelwhiskers on Sept 2, 2022 10:26:17 GMT
Tickets on sale this Monday.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 28, 2022 22:19:59 GMT
Oof, I don’t know if I’m getting crotchety in my old age because I seem to have hated a lot of shows lately, but I really did not like this.
The acting is great, but there’s just no plot at all. It’s like watching a particularly plot-lite episode of Frasier if Frasier was working class and Martin was a dick. The dialogue is funny enough but very sitcom.
The transphobic rant in the opening scene was deeply uncomfortable. I don’t care that Harbour’s character rebuts it with “don’t be mean to the nice trans people” it’s still exploiting trans people and transphobia for a cheap laugh.
The scene with the girls was one of the most misogynistic and gratuitous things I’ve ever seen on stage. Female characters as literal sex objects. Yes it’s supposed to be an insight into the character who picks up the girls but that could have been achieved without the play grinding to a halt entirely so we can watch five minutes of scantily clad girls twerking. Are they supposed to be sex workers who are paid to be there? I didn’t get that sense. Does the writer really believe teenage girls just go around giving free lap dances and asking for breast gropes from every single man they come across?
Left at the interval so perhaps the second half is better, but the poor writing and one dimensional female characters made this unwatchable for me.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 27, 2022 14:38:32 GMT
It's being promoted as a play for the trans community and its allies, in which trans/nonbinary people can see themselves for the first time on stage. The Globe website has a link to Gendered Intelligence and a reading list of books celebrating and promoting gender ideology. So the theatre itself is situating this play within the context of 2022 trans culture and identity. Like it or not, the Tavistock scandal is a part of that. I laughed out loud at the Globe's content guidance for this: "This production includes strong language and depictions of war." How utterly disingenuous to pretend that swearing is more likely to upset people than transing female historical figures. It's that dishonesty which puts me off the play: not the transing of Joan, but the Globe's tone deaf, elitist, "I'm right, no debate" attitude. The Globe's attitude as you describe it, is very much the same as a lot of trans allyship, where any disagreement is shut down and people who have different views or dare criticise, are called bigots and fascists. no debate indeed. As for Joan and trans representation, I find it sad that, given the hundreds of male historical figures that could have been transed, (if they had to, instead of creating a completely original story), they felt it was appropriate to choose one of the very rare strong females. Sorry ladies, you can't have a powerful role model, go back to the kitchen. Depressing and regressive. That is a good point. There are so many historical male figures who could easily be viewed through a non-gender confirming lens, and there’s so much space for theatre to explore the possibility of them being trans women (or that they would have identified as women if they’d lived in a different era). I’ve never ever seen any play do this, or any suggestion that any male historical person may have been trans, not once. But it happens to historical female figures constantly, any historical woman who does anything deemed insufficiently feminine (which seems to include any woman who is powerful or a warrior, those things being deemed by 2022 standards the preserve of men only) is reinterpreted as male to push the agenda that women cannot be strong. Hell, we’ve even seen archeological cases where ancient female skeletons were found with swords or other weapons and immediately people have started saying “well clearly they were trans and actually men, because Swords Aren’t For Girls.” I’m 100% trans supportive but there’s a ton of very alarming MRA/incel types exploiting trans rights in order to spread a misogynist agenda, which is actually inherently alarming and is sometimes nakedly transphobic. Some of the worst and most dangerous transphobia I’ve seen has come from people claiming to be TRA or trans allies.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 25, 2022 12:09:53 GMT
Let’s just hope they don’t do what they did with American Psycho and think it better fits Broadway and leave the West End without No risk of that, though I think a future life on Broadway has been discussed. The only way it won’t go to the West End is if it flops.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 25, 2022 10:28:24 GMT
A very exciting casting! Wonder if it has eyes on going somewhere post Almeida if it does well? Iirc the original deal was for it to open straight in the West End, but RG negotiated for the Almeida to have a run first.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 23, 2022 21:15:05 GMT
Not bad behaviour at a show but bad behaviour over a show: some casting director I’ve never heard of is throwing a huge Twitter tantrum over how it’s “NOT OKAY” for the names of the lead actors to be listed first and the name of the casting director credited underneath (for a show she didn’t cast or appear to have any involvement in, where the casting directors were credited and namechecked in the press release and on the website) on the grounds the casting director’s name should be above the stars because casting directors start work on a project before the actors do and the actors wouldn’t even have the job without the casting director.
Yes because it’s not like having celeb names attached brings in audiences or anything. Most people book shows because of the casting director.
How do some people function being so offended by everything.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 17, 2022 11:23:18 GMT
My understanding is it’s still due to open later this year. I would expect an announcement before too long.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 12, 2022 20:36:22 GMT
I certainly hope no one connected to Barlow and Bear is on a forum publicly denigrating Shonda as ego—driven trash having a tantrum and implying her career is a failure by comparison to two girls who went viral. In terms of copyright. Lots of shows esp student or fringe play fast and loose with copyrighted material in terms of homaging or taking things from pop culture as a starting point and they don’t get sued. There are shows on the Fringe this year using the name and elements from Batman, Ben Hur, David Attenborough’s Life on Earth, Eastenders, George Michael songs, the list goes on. That’s not what the Bridgerton Musical does which is more or less a direct adaptation. They really have pushed it in assuming Netflix wouldn’t sue over something both so direct and so commercial.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 4, 2022 17:51:49 GMT
I’m speculating which possibly is bad of me, but it may be an access accommodation for the cast. I know that’s the reason the streaming version won’t be available until after the run ends.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Aug 2, 2022 13:23:30 GMT
I went to see Dance of Death at the Arcola and both Lindsay Duncan and her husband signed loads of sci-fi/telly stuff afterwards. I had no idea they’d even done the kind of work that draws autograph hunters!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 29, 2022 1:43:52 GMT
Sooooo which playwright or theatre will be the first to do a play titled “Prince of Pegging”? I reckon either Mike Bartlett or Vault Festival.
(If you don’t know what this refers to count your blessings and retain your innocence.)
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 28, 2022 18:37:18 GMT
I don’t really know why it’s so common for fans to give cuddly toys to adult male celebs. How many grown men want cuddly toys?
Yes, mistaking politeness for friendship is common. I read a beautiful story recently about a young man with Down Syndrome who had a close friendship with a photo of Chris Eccleston that meant a lot to him and clearly enriched his life, and when he met Chris in person, Chris was very kind and treated him as a friend. That’s the wholesome end of parasocial relationships.
It’s hard to judge because often you see fans behaving in a way where maybe there’s mental health or neurodivergence, or just not grasping boundaries. On the flipside, fans who show off on social media about how many celebs they’ve met clearly know what they’re doing. I know one infamous stage doorer who convinced everyone she’s good friends with a theatre “name” who in reality tried to get a restraining order against her, and the same fan previously stalked Tom Hiddleston to the point he snapped and called her a stalker in front of a huge group of fans. I believe there’s video of it on Tumblr.
The downside of live theatre is fans knowing when and where you’ll be!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 27, 2022 22:16:03 GMT
Ooh, shaking hands at a curtain call is so awkward. Half the front row of Prima Facie tried to shake Jodie Comer’s hand and she shook a few, but what a thing to ask for when she’s just seconds before finished such an extraordinary feat!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 24, 2022 3:14:35 GMT
I feel rather sorry for her. Putting on an entertainment event is a lot of work, licences, insurance, health and safety provision, rehearsals, accompanying band etc. We can all make a list. She clearly has no idea and thinks if you book a room and some musicians, you have a concert. Probably her dream concert, but she doesn't seem to have considered such little things as where the performers will change (well, she may expect them to sit in the audience with her) or that they might like to be paid. The event obviously can't go ahead, but I hope people can let her down gently. She seems to have taken it really well.... I honestly feel really sad for people like that. There are a lot of people who dedicate their lives to trying to meet or get close to celebrities, I guess for attention or validation or because there’s something lacking in their lives. There are a few infamous fans in the theatre world who seem to spend every waking moment chasing celebs or hanging around stage doors (more than regular stage door-ers), or pulling crazy stunts to pretend they’re well-connected. I looked at this woman’s Twitter and her most recent tweet was about trying to sign up to some service where for £30 a month you get news on celeb film screenings and red carpet access. That’s a heck of a lot of money just for the chance to see celebs.
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The HEAT
Jul 19, 2022 23:16:01 GMT
via mobile
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 19, 2022 23:16:01 GMT
I notice TodayTix have added a feature on their app to filter shows by venues that have air conditioning. Smart!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 19, 2022 23:14:12 GMT
Not really, you just have to look up.
There’s a house like structure on the stage (not at the front of the stage) and some of the action is played in the top room of the house, which might not be as easy to see from the front row.
But there’s no set blocking the view or anything like that.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 19, 2022 12:36:12 GMT
The only show I’ve seen sell out this year was Prima Facie (and maybe Punchdrunk’s latest). I was at Much Ado press night last night and the circle was half empty, which I’ve never seen on a press night.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 19, 2022 12:31:08 GMT
They send out an email saying that during the heatwave the show will only be two loops, with the first 30 minutes dedicated to private exploring, in order to protect the cast. I believe people did have the option to re-book.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 18, 2022 17:24:28 GMT
Well the play hasn’t started yet but so far a big fan of the NT’s aggressive air conditioning!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 18, 2022 0:10:07 GMT
(plus I hate it when the audience laugh at the Kill Claudio line and she played it so much for laughs that it probably got the biggest laugh of the night) Ugh, I hate that too. Catherine Tate played her Beatrice extremely comedic, but she delivered that line so straight it silenced the entire audience at a stroke.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 14, 2022 20:11:49 GMT
Spoiler: did they ever tell us why his wife's file was restricted in the end, or was it just a red herring? She was some form of witness protection as her father was abusive and had tried to kill her.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 14, 2022 19:50:36 GMT
Oh gosh I thought this was beyond dire. Walked out in the interval on press night.
The Rivals is one of my favourite plays and I loved, loved 1M2G but this was just puerile and exceptionally poorly written.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 12, 2022 23:01:50 GMT
TodayTix (app) is decent for New York, I always use it when I go there. Unfortunately the new Museum of Broadway doesn’t open until November, but the Museum of the City of New York has a decent theatre collection. www.mcny.org/collections/theater-collection
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 10, 2022 22:10:38 GMT
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Charlie Edwards is coming back. One of the reasons they delayed the transfer till November was to accommodate his schedule.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 10, 2022 17:40:03 GMT
I saw it with Penelope Keith about ten years ago. I love that play.
Intrigued by the duck subplot?!
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