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Post by Latecomer on Jun 14, 2018 17:47:52 GMT
Hmmm....people hated this one didn't they? I took something entirely different from the play...it was all about the power games between men and women. It was about how women are often victims of men but are programmed to collude in this behaviour...we are taught to doubt ourselves and therefore end up playing the "victim" and encouraging the bad behaviour of men. These are learned behaviours, hence all the back stories....
So, I liked it. I didn't necessarily like the characters, but hey, it had something to say and it said it! Next time you see a man being a bully and a woman putting up with it, ask yourself "why?"
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Post by Latecomer on Jun 14, 2018 17:35:48 GMT
Pip Carter from Mood Music would do a great job, I had forgotten what a lovely voice he has!
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Post by Latecomer on May 24, 2018 18:05:06 GMT
I was the mad woman ovating before everyone else at the end! Great seat CC4
Can't add to previous posters except to say Cookson was brilliant, loved Orlando (who wouldn't) and I have never seen storm scenes like that in the theatre......and fab set....
Laugh out loud exhilarating at the end! Restored my faith in theatre after Nightfall....
Oh and I missed Ryan! And Jamb0r! Nooooo
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Post by Latecomer on May 19, 2018 18:18:06 GMT
Thought this was very poor......bizarre is the best word I can use to describe it....many different strands/issues tossed into the plot at seemingly random moments and none really developed. And the ending? Really?
Poorly attended at Aylesbury and we all left a bit shell shocked....as one of the audience members was overhead saying on the way out "I think it was supposed to be funny"
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Post by Latecomer on May 17, 2018 19:11:30 GMT
I saw today's matinee and whilst I enjoyed it, I was happy when it finally ended. The Lyttelton seats with the low backs! I think my patience would have been severely tested had it still been at the preview duration of 3hrs 40, as opposed to 3hrs. It's a beautiful looking production but as others have said, some of the intimacy and claustrophobia of the time and setting is lost in the cavernous set. The tone is uneven and the woman beside me said she felt like a designated driver wanting to escape from a party of drunken bores. I liked the performances though and always like watching a massive ensemble piece. The couple beside me left at the interval and the overall response at curtain call was appreciative and polite. Still, I'm very glad I saw it and there is much in it to recommend. Rory, very sad to have missed saying hello! Peggs and I were centre of row A! Having read Lynette's assessment I have to agree with it all...thought Kate Fleetwoood was miscast. Didn't really feel her despair. I did, however, just want to take dear Charles home and nurse him back to health and encourage him to write again.....as Peggs remarked he usually takes such dapper parts that this new "down at heal" character was quite a departure! |
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Post by Latecomer on May 8, 2018 9:56:20 GMT
Not pleased. I agree with foxa and also follow Gardner on Twitter.
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 29, 2018 17:41:46 GMT
Saw matinee yesterday, along with Baz! It was great fun and I am completely in love with Freddie Fox! He was fabulous and his interplay with Edward Fox was made even funnier by the fact that they are father and son in real life! I liked Nathaniel Parker and Sally Bretton and Frances Barber has a ball.....lovely production!
For a preview this was word perfect and in fine shape. Ran close to 3hours, first half a little slow perhaps (there is a lot of setting up to do!) but second was great. Didn't mind the strange ages of Frances and Freddie....they pulled it off!
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 26, 2018 20:26:36 GMT
Thanks all, I was there yesterday. We were allowed bottled water but I did have to sacrifice a cereal bar, even though I’d been sneaky and put in my coat pocket, haha! When I went with Peggs she took it as a challenge to sneak in as many snacks as possible! Water was not really a problem as they have free water in the bar....I had to ask the first time I went but I seem to remember it being there on return visit this year! |
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 20, 2018 18:29:39 GMT
OH and I enjoyed this at yesterday's matinee though I've nothing profound to add; just very touching and hard to categorise. It certainly made me want to know more about Bella and Marc Chagall and though (unusually) I bought the programme, that wasn't very illuminating, though OH, being more into art than I am, knew much more than anyone would learn from the production. Not having been to Oxford Playhouse for years, I was interested in seeing the interior revamp and quite liked the colourful seats. And btw, Latecomer , I did look for Kupp but the shutter was down and there was no indication of what was going on or why. I think they may have been doing a private function...they tweeted a picture of a runway arrangement and lots of nibbles...sorry! |
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 16, 2018 18:44:30 GMT
Who? Moved on....over them!  |
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 12, 2018 17:18:04 GMT
I liked this a lot. Was not entirely convinced by the interval but by the end I was rather in pieces. It made me think, not just about race and religion but about all people in poorly paid jobs today....the "just coping" and how basically it is not fair and you then have no freedom. Society basically has to be more equal.....but so many people are trapped, like Caroline, wondering how to escape the hand fate has dealt them. Always good when a play makes you think...and uncomfortable when you come from a position of having money to spend on theatre....
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 12, 2018 17:13:04 GMT
{Spoiler - click to view}
I thought the whole point was that sometimes you just had to swallow your pride and get on with the job....hence she went back to work as she needed the money....but that sometimes change took time...so the next generation (her children) could then lead the way...but in the meantime she had to swallow all her feelings to basically feed them. Plus nothing is ever simple....the step mother was desperately unhappy being the "boss lady" but what do you do? If she didn't have a maid then Caroline would have no money, but she knew it was morally rather wrong. I think the reference to seeing Noah again was just that bridges would take time to rebuild as they had fallen out so badly...but eventually they would be able to talk at some point in the future and with more of a distance from the events of the row. |
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 6, 2018 8:26:09 GMT
I think this play is probably best if you are there with a few other people. Was lucky to have seen it with a friend and two board members Peggs and Zoephile and the best bit was probably discussing afterwards if we thought they were guilty or not! I thought it did quite a good job of exploring how people's attitudes are coloured by prejudices (did the show people "like" the Ingrams) and our discussions afterward were all equally coloured by our experiences! Also interesting was how evidence can be presented in opposing ways....and whether we decide people really are innocent until PROVEN guilty without doubt? Is society now more ready to believe the worst of people and decide innocence and guilt on probabilities....have we actually subtely rewritten the rules on justice?
Did I like it as much as Ink and Labour of Love? Not quite, but I think the Ingrams are not the easiest people to like, and I think maybe that's the point!
Stage seats front row great!
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 4, 2018 9:30:58 GMT
I have a Twitter buddy in the area; she says most of St Martin's Lane appears to be open, but not the Noel Coward at this time. As of 40 minutes ago, Delfont Mackintosh's own Twitter feed doesn't have anything to say about any productions, but their call centre has been evacuated due to the gas leak so they can take email queries at customer.service@delfontmackintosh.co.uk but no phone calls. Thanks! Have tried emailing etc .....wonder if it's worth travelling! |
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Post by Latecomer on Apr 4, 2018 9:24:45 GMT
On or off today? Should be at matinee.....
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 30, 2018 12:17:30 GMT
OH and I are seeing this on tour as I loathe Wiltons so didn't want to see it in London, and though OH suggested Brighton Festival, the performances start at ridiculously unhelpful times. So we're going to Oxford, meaning we can also take in America's Cool Modernism at the Ashmolean, and I'm hoping to visit the relatively new 5-screen Curzon cinema. Can heartily recommend Kupp at the back of John Lewis for either coffee or lunch....go to back of the store, top floor behind childrens clothes and up stairs (RHS of loos). Lovely atmosphere, great views! |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 23, 2018 7:28:19 GMT
When I loaded this thread Ryan's comments came out as just blank for a second or two, before my old iPad finally agreed to put in the content.....most apt! |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 21, 2018 8:17:07 GMT
I hope it will build support from word of mouth as I and plenty of others here had a brilliant time. Maybe people are deterred by the length, and/or by the earlier start times, but if you can fit this into your schedule, I think it's well worth it. Maybe also people (like me) were deterred by the ticket prices - now they are offering top price £65 tickets for £10 it makes it even less likely I will ever book anything in advance there. Really they should have priced this correctly from the start. It was a real bargain for £10 and yes, the prices there do put me off (I end up behind a pillar for £21 mostly!) I think also the audience at the OV are quite elderly and winter+long running time (and hardly any loos!) makes it most unappealing....if I were a theatre manager I would put on short plays in the winter and leave my longer ones until the Summer! Transport home can also be a problem for late finishing! The blurb was not really that appealing either...a few pictures of that sumptuous dining table and a better picture of Penelope Wilton (where you can actually recognise her!) would have helped. It all sounded very worthy and rather grey from the blurb but was actually rather jolly and then dramatic! On ticket prices the £10 first previews are good but it is a bit of a bun fight trying to get one! If I were them I'd do a scheme where you got £20 off for the first 2 or 3 weeks to create a buzz and perhaps have a scheme whereby you get discount if you book 3 plays at the same time. Plus get your publicity for the next play ready (and giving some idea of what the play will be like!) and hand it out to everyone leaving with a discount voucher. Reward loyalty! Oh and their website hardly works on my iPad......I tell you it doesn't take much to put you off booking!!!! |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 11, 2018 20:01:49 GMT
I see people are getting rather upset in some of the threads. Can I make a constructive suggestion? I like lots of different opinions but I get quite bored when it goes A: I think this, B:I think something else, C:I agree with A slightly, A: see, I was right to think this and will tell you all about it again and again and again.....etc etc
If you have stated an opinion I think we can take it as read that that is how you feel, we don't need you to come on again and again to reinforce your point. And before anyone mentions names I can think of at least 3 people who do this on a regular basis!!!!! I have had to block people....check threads....if you turn up again and again without really letting others breathe then it is you!
Make your point. Then let others make their's without always chipping in again (unless you have a further genuine point to add, of course, but it has to be something extra different!!!) We will take it as read that you feel the same way!
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 10, 2018 23:14:20 GMT
For an updating, this is not outrageous enough, not angry enough, it's way too pleasant.
In no way did this express how nihilistic and angry I feel about the things that are happening in the world right now.
Some spoilers follow. . .
I can't ever imagine the director of this cuddly production telling one of his actors (the cop) to punch another one (Adam Ant) in the face for real, the way Derek Jarman did.
So the half -hearted critiques of now, in the first half failed, and felt like tamely retreading old ground (which was what Theatremonkey was saying to me, in fewer better expressed words).
The second half was a lot of fun though, when the performers and director gave themselves over to singing and performing communally. Toyah Willcox's song was great fun (and a great callback to the film). I liked that her placid Elizabeth reveals herself intrinsically to be no less ultraviolent than the killer she played in the film.
Most of all, I liked how Rose Wardlaw's Crabs walked down a bannister super slowly, to music, with a self indulgent cheeky grin on her face. That felt like the only true punk moment of the show, to keep us waiting like that.
Best of all though, was meeting Theatremonkey, co-creator of this board, and responsible for the best website in British Theatre. He's such a distinguished gentleman, I was a little cowed, so I had to remind myself continually from this board what he's REALLY like lol.
Sorry I missed Latecomer. I think I spoke to you once though, at Ruth Wilson's Eugene O'Neal Trilogy, when my friend crashed through the doors like a truly angry punk, when he was denied his pole position in the queue lol. Your daughter was far smarter, and negotiated her way to a seat in a far more civilised way. My friend should have directed this play.
2 and a half stars
I remember the incident well, Steve, when we all queued by one door and then they insisted on opening another instead but we were having none of it and went all "anarchy, we are GOING THROUGH THIS DOOR"! I was with daughter and adopted "theatre daughter" Peggs from the forum, and both of them moved like lightening to secure front row seats, on either side of the theatre (there was a lot of confusion!) leaving me to saunter in and choose between them! Never a prouder moment.... And yes, this was really a bit too cosy but I liked the text. My favourite bit was where the actress playing Crabs was discussing violence and said that the violence we see is often just a response to invisible violence that has gone before. I thought she was a great actress and I loved this scene. |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 7, 2018 22:21:36 GMT
Saw it this afternoon - found myself sitting next to our Steve as well. Had a really good chat. Didn't really work that brilliantly for me. Way too long, the second half had me lose interest as I thought it was repetitive. It felt like a bunch of actors had been given the money to improvise a work, and these were the ideas they presented for consideration. Still, there was at least less sex, violence and nudity than "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" the night before, thank goodness  . Oh, and for those who want to know, it's 2 hours 30 or so, 15 minutes at least longer than they advertise. So....I was the Mary they sang a song for at the start of the second half! Sorry I missed you and Steve! I rather liked it....I enjoyed the politics and found some bits rather moving....the bit about violence being invisible....and who could resist Toyah belting her song out like that at the end? It gave me a lot to think about, even if I did feel rather old, white and guardian reading!!! Plus I enjoyed all the naked people and dancing/singing/smooching. it was rather lovely to just "experience" it without knowing anything about it. |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 6, 2018 22:18:22 GMT
I'll pack my tap shoes for tomorrow's matinee! |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 6, 2018 22:15:11 GMT
I spent quite a while with husband going "so....there was the nasty child abuser living with the woman with kids and he had nothing to do with it, and then there was the other man with the walking frame who was ALSO living with the cut up girl's sister and then he was in disguise with a beard. And Strike knew because he had knicked a certificate from up North when he was the low life that robbed that woman before he headed down South and taken his name...." And he was in the picture on a weekend away when girl was killed (that was his alibi) but the helpful Strike uncle left a very dead looking plant on Strike's mum's grave that was the same type as in the photo in full bloom....handy!
Blimey, it took a bit of untangling there!
Plus it would have been better if Hans from Peep show wasn't in it!!!!
I love the main two actors, even though it is near impossible to tell why Robyn marries such a creepy/pathetic/controlling man.....leave now Robyn!
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 5, 2018 14:20:54 GMT
She mentioned Tennassee Williams in the same slight ramble.....#loveTW ! Apologies, Tennessee...... |
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 5, 2018 11:36:33 GMT
She mentioned Tennassee Williams in the same slight ramble.....#loveTW ! |
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