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Post by kathryn on Mar 10, 2020 14:51:55 GMT
I think the main issue with the idea that ‘everyone should be able to play anything’ line of thinking is that it is never used to help gay actors play straight roles, or asian people playing asian roles, or as in this, case trans people playing trans roles. The people who always benefit from that line of thinking is predominately the straight/cis people. It rarely extends the courtesy the other way. The majority of queer representation you’ll see, especially on the screen (though not excluding stage), will be played by cis straight performers; yet you’ll hardly ever see queer actors playing straight roles. The minority group hardly benefits. You'll hardly ever see OUT queer actors playing straight roles, which is not quite the same thing as queer actors not being cast in those roles. The closet is a thing. Though it's a funny thing, these days - there are definitely actors who are quietly LBG, but probably wouldn't describe themselves as 'in the closet'. They just decline to discuss their private life in the press, because it's private. 'Coming out' was very often a political move (look at Ian Mckellen!) and many actors nowadays don't want to attract that attention to their private life unless and until they have a good personal reason. Look at Ben Whishaw - the first many people knew he was gay was when he announced his civil partnership. Some still don't - he's just not a big enough celebrity for his private life to be of interest. Can we talk for a minute about your last sentence, though? The thing about being a minority is that there's fewer of you than the majority. That's what it means. Even in a perfect-world, all-things-being-equal situation you'd see the majority of roles going to cis straight performers, because they are the majority of actors, because they are the majority of the population. Only around 5% of the population identifies as LGBT. That's been pretty consistent over the past few decades - it appears that LGBT people are 'born that way', so it's unlikely they will ever be the majority.
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Post by kathryn on Mar 6, 2020 14:50:46 GMT
I'm going on 7th Nov - grabbed P9 in the stalls for £59.50. After previews that seat goes up to £89, so I'm assuming it's a decent view. Hopefully not too much will change in the last 5 days of previews!
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Post by kathryn on Mar 4, 2020 15:36:17 GMT
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Post by kathryn on Feb 28, 2020 19:24:47 GMT
I can see how there would still be some value in the communal experience of going to a concert for fans of an artist, but not sure what the difference is between a hologram and a live accompaniment to film footage of them singing.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 24, 2020 14:42:24 GMT
Yes, thanks - managed to grab a ticket to Dear Evan Hansen in the stalls for £35 (albeit midweek), which I have been meaning to see but not at full price, and Book of Mormon row H circle for £25, which I have been meaning to re-visit.
I decided to persist with the Come from Away Rush, since the good seats were still £40+, but might pop back for Be More Chill.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 23, 2020 17:28:58 GMT
I was referring to the Forbes piece’s thesis.
The thing is, a play using Howard’s End as its template cannot do so without a politically conservative character at its centre, or a main character who is upper-class, politically progressive, privileged and and naive.
Obviously a certain section of the audience just didn’t want to see that, and it seems they couldn’t engage with the piece beyond their dislike of that main conceit.
Was that the fault of the expectations raised by the marketing? Perhaps. But The Forbes article doesn’t understand why London critics loved the play so much (that thing about exotic NY gays is clearly bollocks) which makes me think there’s a more profound disconnect going on with the play itself.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 23, 2020 12:10:34 GMT
Boys in the Band was also not about the AIDS crisis.
People go to Broadway to be entertained - most shy away from heavy stuff. They’re paying so much money for tickets they *must* have a good time for it - most won’t risk paying to see something difficult or confronting or complex.
We have a different play-going culture in London that is driven by the subsidised sector and facilitated by (until recently) much cheaper ticket prices. Off-Broadway tackles the same kind of subjects and has a similarly adventurous audience but it doesn’t drive the culture of Broadway in the same way.
Even star names do not sell out most serious plays on Broadway.
Also kind of startling to see so much of the criticism being based around ‘woke’ ideas - that the cast are straight (I mean, I have no idea whether the main cast are actually straight or not, due to them not being famous enough for their private lives to be the subject of gossip) and that it’s not diverse enough, that the Republican character gets too much stage-time. There is clearly a pre-conceived idea about what stories should be told on stage and how they should be presented among some taste-makers, and it’s getting in the way of them actually engaging with plays on their own terms. And that’s obviously not just applying to this play, but if you don’t understand why this *particular* story features a prominent conservative, then you can’t understand what it is doing.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 22, 2020 18:53:58 GMT
Of course ‘is worth’ ain’t the same as having the money in the bank. The likes of Madonna have expensive lifestyles....
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Post by kathryn on Feb 21, 2020 14:09:34 GMT
They all follow the same format. Release the first 'hit' single and sell the tour tickets on the day the album drops. They pretty much only make albums to sell tour tickets off the back of them these days, which is the complete opposite of how it used to be when you toured to sell an album. Amy and Adele have been the only recent female artists to sell albums in massive quantities over the last 10 years and I believe Rihanna is the queen of singles sales. Even young artists are inflating their album sales figures via tour ticket sales - thing like the 'verified fan' schemes that give you pre-sale tickets by buying albums, etc. There are die-hard fans buying multiple copies of albums (plus streaming the music for hours on end) to make sure they get all the tickets they want.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 20, 2020 22:03:35 GMT
I made it to the ticket desk just in time to hear the guy behind it say they were having problems with the satellite, decided today is cursed, and went home.
They’re doing an Encore showing in a couple of weeks so I’ll catch that instead.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 20, 2020 18:29:24 GMT
Train has not moved for the last 20 minutes so making it to Cyrano not looking likely.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 20, 2020 18:10:28 GMT
Had a really sh*tty day that involved: cancelled trains, getting on wrong train, spilling cup of tea, getting on right train then having to stand up all the way to Fenchurch St, arriving at work late, discovering that one of my work friends who is being made redundant is leaving next week and will not be in before then because of her ‘unresolved anger issues’, getting a really sh*tty email from a society contact, crying in the well-being room because of it, going to lunch in pub with colleague who has already been made redundant, getting sod-all of my huge task list done this afternoon, and another cancelled train.
On train now - hoping I make it home in time for the Cyrano NT Live.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 19, 2020 16:21:40 GMT
The NT are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
It's impossible for every new season announcement to please everyone!
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Post by kathryn on Feb 14, 2020 16:26:31 GMT
As I've said on here before, baffled Japanese tourists standing up, "this is not 'Evita'?" They were at "It's Magic" starring Paul Daniels at the Prince of Wales Theatre. "Evita" was at the Prince Edward. When I was picking up my tickets for Leopoldstadt the other week there were some utterly confused Japanese tourists at the box office asking about tickets for an entirely different show at an entirely different theatre. The box office guy finally figured out that they probably wanted the TKTS booth. I suppose they had gotten off the tube at Leicester Square and headed for the first box office sign they saw after leaving the exit.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 13, 2020 18:48:16 GMT
Groundhog Day!
I loved that show and I want it back to see over and over and over again.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 11, 2020 20:06:01 GMT
I don’t think we’re fighting, are we? Just disagreeing over a nuance.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 10, 2020 23:56:12 GMT
If, if, if...
We don’t live in that society - not yet. The world is not fair, or just. People are still discriminated against.
We can’t wish it into being over night. If we want it we have to fight for it.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 10, 2020 22:01:42 GMT
But as soon as I say my husband in a conversation with someone I am also announcing my sexuality because until that point the assumption is I'm straight. And even now in the UK I'll sometimes not say it because I'm unsure of the reaction. Saying that heterosexual people don't announce it isn't a particularly helpful statement to be honest. That’s announcing your relationship, and incidentally your sexuality (assuming of course your gender is obvious), it’s not sitting people down before you even have a date never mind a husband and “coming out”. I have no issue knowing someone’s sexuality (or assumed sexuality given their circumstances, just cos you’re a woman with a husband doesn’t mean your not bi), I just don’t need to be told it separately. Unless I am interested in them sexually it makes no difference to me, or changes who they are. But it makes a difference to them. It might even make a difference is tangibly practical ways - For example, they may not want to go on holiday with you to a country where being gay is still illegal, or eat at a fast food chain that gives money to politicians who support anti-gay policies, or go to a church that preaches that being gay is sinful. They might need you to know that gay they are a victim of homophobic bullying at school or work. They might need your vote on issues such as gay marriage, or gay parental rights, or gay anti-discrimination laws.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 10, 2020 12:56:04 GMT
No I absolutely don’t mean that anything should be secret. More that you don’t feel the need to announce your sexuality, which is different to making a relationship public, much in the same way that hetrosexual people don’t announce their sexuality. I think I understand what you’re saying, and that your intention is to be well meaning, but that’s not how it works. People are generally assumed to be straight. There will be a need to “come out” as gay as long as that remains the status quo. Given that the demographic breakdown of sexual identity seems to be reasonably consistent, heterosexuals are still the majority of the population and it does seem that people are 'born that way', it's fairly unlikely that heteronormative assumptions will change any time soon. The best we are likely to achieve is treating it with as much excitement as finding out that someone prefers pineapple on their pizza.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 10, 2020 12:15:56 GMT
There's a fine line between 'private - and no-one else's business' and 'secret, shameful - not to be spoken of in polite company'. For a long time being gay was the latter, and it did no-one any favours.
Our society is organised around the nuclear family - marriages, parentage, divorces all have to be public knowledge as a result. Though I notice that Fern and Phil getting a divorce did not prompt nearly as much interest.
Until we live in a world where bisexuality is assumed to be the norm and whether one's partner is male or female is a matter of mild gossip-interest, and nothing more, a public figure coming out will continue to be newsworthy.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 9, 2020 21:32:16 GMT
The child 2 seats along from me at the Mary Poppins matinee today was wearing those trainers that have flashing lights in them when you walk - and kept putting her feet on the back of the seat in front of her, making them light up.
😕
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Post by kathryn on Feb 9, 2020 21:28:39 GMT
I have a vague memory of seeing the original West End production of this show and being underwhelmed by everything bar the dance around the proscenium.
Having seen it again this afternoon, I remain underwhelmed - though the I did enjoy the new songs far more this time around, and the performances are strong - particularly Charlie Stemp, who is always wonderful.
The problem is the book - and in particular the way it mashes up elements of the film with new story in a way that just doesn’t make coherent sense. There’s no dramatic reason for the Bird Lady and Feed The Birds in this version of the story, they are included merely because they were in the film. Let’s Go Fly A Kite similarly is robbed of its dramatic and emotional significance.
The children’s brattiness is really annoying, and changing Winnifred from a Suffragette to an ex-actress does her a disservice, as well as making no sense at all. The point is that the Banks family are thoroughly respectable pillars of middle class society who need shaking up to appreciate what is really important in their lives - it just doesn’t ring true if they are social climbers, as they appear to be in this version.
Still, the kids in the audience seems to enjoy it - except possibly the one kid who went ‘eeeuuurgh’ when Bert gave Mary a kiss on the cheek! 😂
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Post by kathryn on Feb 9, 2020 20:43:46 GMT
We’re at this odd societal juncture at the moment.
Most people my age and younger in the U.K. honestly do not care, but there’s plenty of people around still - given our ageing population - who obviously still do, and they don’t like being told that they are wrong by young people. They may well realise they are out of step with their children and grandchildren and hide their opinions, but that doesn’t mean they are not there.
And internationally there are totally different attitudes in different countries - which is why Hollywood is so far behind, they need to sell their product internationally.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 9, 2020 13:37:29 GMT
Interview with The Sun on Sunday today - hmmmm.
Does make me wonder if a deal was struck.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 8, 2020 10:20:11 GMT
Went last night.
Rafe does an amazing job. Really interesting approach to mixing the political and the personal - there were a couple of things that just felt a little too on-the-nose for me, but on the whole it was poignant and thought-provoking.
There were a few empty seats scattered around so if it’s showing sold out I would suggest checking for returns.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 8, 2020 0:29:19 GMT
Ah yes, speaking of Ant & Dec... Allegedly The Sun had a story they were going to run on PS this coming Sunday. The funny thing is I am way more interested in the shady journalism of The Sun than I am in PS’s private life. If there was a story I’d love to know what it was - what the spin was going to be - and how they obtained it. There’s been some notably dodgy stories turning up since the guy who got done for phone hacking was released from prison - makes me wonder if they are up to their old NOTW tricks.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 7, 2020 13:50:02 GMT
My guess is that something was going to be in this Sunday's newspapers. If so, that stinks. As for Mr Schofield himself, simply all the best to him. And I don't think there is anything wrong in the tone of this thread either. Factual title, supportive replies. Be assured though that anything homophobic posted on here will of course be dealt with by your friendly neighbourhood mod team... so think on... Yes, it does seem likelier that he has been pushed rather than him choosing to make the leap. Which is sad.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 7, 2020 11:43:35 GMT
Twitter is full of people saying 'no sh*t Sherlock' but I was genuinely surprised - is this one of those things that everyone knew but me, or are people on Twitter just being A**holes?
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Post by kathryn on Feb 5, 2020 20:08:58 GMT
Rebel Wilson proves once again that she isn’t funny. I laughed.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 3, 2020 9:51:05 GMT
There's also plenty of evidence that he abused Amber. The fact she slapped him one time, while not acceptable, doesn't make him the innocent party. Not when there are so many photos and videos of her from the course of their marriage looking like someone beat the s**t out of her. Depp's behaviour during and after the divorce is also classic emotional abuser. Men don't just 'start' behaving like that, they do it their whole lives. He had never had a history of being anything other than a nice guy and had certainly never had any problem with wives or girlfriends before. That really, really isn't true. He's had a reputation for being violent and unstable for decades, even in the 80s was getting into trouble for setting things on fire on set, has been arrested for assault multiple times, gloated after one assault on a photographer that it was worth going to jail to "enjoy the look of fear on the little maggot's eyes", has spoken in numerous interviews about how he has serious substance abuse issues dating to adolescence, has talked openly about how he suffers from serious rage issues, how he has "hillbilly rage attacks" where he sees red and will physically attack and even bite people, there was the court case with the disabled university professor (the one where she wound handcuffed, stripped, and dragged along the floor because Depp objected to her being allowed inside a VIP area), and there have been persistent and strong rumours surrounding him and domestic violence for at least thirty years. Remember Winona Ryder's infamous 1990s-era interview strongly hinting that he abused her (about which she's since done a 180)? Or the infamous hotel room-trashing fights he and Kate Moss used to have? I haven't heard about the university professor court case before! I'd forgotten about the Kate Moss thing.
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