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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 6, 2019 11:22:42 GMT
Are we supposed to drop a curtsy as you go past Ryan? No, we are supposed to fall to our knees!
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 6, 2019 9:06:16 GMT
This is a fine play - I cant believe it is 46 years old!
It is given a fine theatrical production here too. I loved the sound and lighting design and the minimal white curtained box setting. The staging of the horse riding at the end of act one with the physical use of the company, the billowing curtains, lighting, sound and smoke was stunning.
The performances I thought were a mixed bag. Working on a bare stage, while focusing attention on the characters is very exposing for actors without the anchors of chairs or tables.
Some actors seemed completely immersed in their roles and others less so.
Ethan Kai gives a very convincing wild, edgy and unpredictable performance as Alan Strang. A completely convincing portrayal of the stable owner by Keith Gilmore. A likeable and believable Jill (the girlfriend) by Norah Lopez Holden. The whole production nearly stolen, though, by Ira Mandela Siobhan as Nugget - the lead horse. A tremendous physical portrayal with huge stage presence both as the horse and a young arrogant horseman.
I was less satisfied with Zubin Varla as Dysart (yes I know he has just been nominated for an Olivier Award for Fun Home). I thought his portrayal was a little superficial - I didn't feel his pain. Less convincing too were Syreeta Kumar and Robert Fitch as Alans parents - although the roles are little cartoonish, but I think you have to find the truth in the characters.
I liked the portrayal of the horses (only missing the metal hoofs and heads initially) although with a small company of only 8 I missed the stable scenes when Alan is surrounded my horses staring at him. These images so central to the horses watching and the subsequent blinding. But the big pay off with how this production was staged was the sexual attraction and eroticism between Nugget and Alan throughout.
A brief word about the nudity. In previous productions Jill is naked with Alan too. It worked perfectly well here though as she isn't really "there".
Edited to add. A huge shout out to the staff at Stratford East Theatre from the box office to the ushers who were fabulous - friendly, helpful and welcoming.
4 stars for the show and 5 stars for the theatre staff!
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 5, 2019 11:36:31 GMT
Not really bad behaviour but.... On a rare (?) visit to the theatre last night I had a seat in the centre of a row. The row was already full - 15 minutes before the curtain! As I edged along the row an elderly woman reluctantly and huffily stood up and said to me "if you had arrived 5 minutes sooner I wouldn't be sat here". Quick as a flash I smiled and said " that's true and if you had arrived 5 minutes later I would have already been seated". Miserable old (insert word of choice).
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 4, 2019 12:01:24 GMT
This doesn't surprise me as it has huge popular appeal. Friends of mine who almost NEVER go to the theatre astonished me the other evening when they said they had already seen it and loved it. It does not appeal to me at all! As they rarely go to the theatre they don't mind forking out £100 plus a ticket as its once a year (if that). I spend much more per annum seeing many shows and simply wont pay that sort of money.
The success of it is that it has hugely popular characters that the audience love and are invested in over a long period of time from the TV.
The same applies to the hugely successful tour of the comedy show Benidorm - which is doing tremendous business on tour. The characters are loved.
It is show BUSINESS after all!
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 4, 2019 10:51:40 GMT
Prior to her problems during Funny Girl her work ethic was very professional. As far as I know she rarely missed a show during runs of Little Shop, Flare Path, Hedda Gabler, Legally Blonde.
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 3, 2019 12:35:45 GMT
I don't want to see the boys have a flop in the West End I don't want to see boys flop anywhere to be honest!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 28, 2019 22:31:04 GMT
Do we anticipate technical difficulties at the London Palladium?
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 28, 2019 22:28:56 GMT
Can she sing this? Not a great career move I wouldn't have said! She must be being paid shed loads of cash!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 12:53:53 GMT
Josephine Barstow
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 12:52:22 GMT
Good to see the company press/PR department doing such an excellent job TheatreTwittic !
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 12:43:46 GMT
Always wondered if actors go on the dole when they are not working Some do - some don't. The benefits system makes it very difficult to sign on and off for short periods I understand. Regarding ensemble pay - as has been pointed out - this is gross pay. The artist has to pay an agent at least 10% of this, and of course put aside tax monies. The biggest issue is the unemployment rates. A pantomime may only be for say 5 weeks. A tour or WE contract is typically for 12 months for a musical - a godsend to a jobbing performer. This can be followed though by a long period of unemployment! This is especially true if you have been working abroad or on a cruise ship for 6 months - you can come back to the UK and find you have been forgotten about - even by your agent!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 11:29:08 GMT
Not bad behaviour as such, but it does annoy me, when a party of (say) four return from the interval (after going to the loo, bar etc.) and instead of waiting for their entire party to return and then re-enter the row together, return to their seats ONE AT A TIME disturbing people 4 times instead of just once! Couples do it too - perhaps they need some time apart - especially after watching Company!!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 11:12:49 GMT
The equity minimum pay grades are quite complex in that they vary depending on whether it is WE (commercial or subsidised) and touring and the size of venue (seating capacity). Added on to this are other payments, dance captain, understudy payments, lines/small roles etc. It will be the role of the artists agent to negotiate their individual fees but it is safe to say that producers will only pay the minimum required as simply demand for jobs simply outstrips supply.
So if Actor A is cast in the ensemble but their agent wants more money for them than the minimum offered by the producer, the role will go to Actor B and so on!
Minimum rates can only be negotiated upwards if the actor has a unique ability which in the producers eyes no-one else can deliver. Top of the bill "names" and stars agents can negotiate high sums as these performers are unique and the producer needs the "name" to sell the show. This is where there is often HUGE discrepancy between actors pay onstage between the ensemble (who can do most of the work) and the star who does far less!
Pantomime is the biggest example of this when the "star" can be on say £10k (or considerably more) per week and an ensemble member of the cast being paid £700.
I always think it is a nice gesture when I hear that the star of the pantomime takes the entire cast, crew and band out for a meal one evening as a token of appreciation of how hard they all work.
Actors on tour usually arrange their own "digs". They are given a touring allowance on top their salary. Having known actors on tour they invariably say that this does not cover the entire cost.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 23, 2019 7:50:00 GMT
This reminded me (for some odd reason) of a TV series in the 70's called Rock Follies about the ups and downs of a girl band and starred Rula Lenska, Julie Covington and Charlotte Cornwell! I remember rather enjoying it! This will be nothing like it and sounds like a downmarket Dreamgirls!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 21, 2019 23:55:42 GMT
Gillian Anderson for All About Eve currently?
But the stars of the Palladium panto will be a on a high salary - Julian, Dawn/Elaine - only for 5 weeks though, although they work hard for it with up to 12 shows a week!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 21, 2019 9:48:36 GMT
nash16 I completely agree with your comments. I saw the show last week. I made a New Year resolution to be kinder and took on the mantra "if you've nothing good to say, it's better to say nothing at all". I couldn't find anything good to say about this so I kept quiet. I too nearly left at the interval but stuck it out. I thought it was too "American" too sweet and "nice" (awful word). I put it down to the fact that I am simply not the target audience for this - the last time I said that was for The Girls and look what happened to that! I await the reviews with interest.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 20, 2019 18:35:58 GMT
Does Richard come with the book for perfect bedtime reading?
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 20, 2019 10:40:10 GMT
Well a quick check on the ENO website and virtually NO tickets have been sold for this! Ticket prices in the stalls and Dress £125 £75 £65 £50 - more at weekends top price £150.
Show opens in a couple of months - end of April. I love musical theatre but the choice of show does not appeal and the casting of Kelsey Grammer is underwhelming. I saw him in the musical Big Fish at The Other Palace and his performance was very average IMO and his name could not even sell out that small venue!
The producers must be having sleepless nights after constantly refreshing the booking website and seeing the lack of sales!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 20, 2019 10:03:26 GMT
The stage door these days sounds a nightmare for performers. Good for him for being honest and up front about it and trying to deal with it in a mature way. No doubt he will come in for more flack though.
Regarding the suitability of the show for teenagers, when I saw the show I was sat behind a woman with two young teenage boys (I presumed her sons). Clearly she had bought tickets for the show in order to "educate" them a little! Her efforts were clearly wasted, however, as they were clearly disengaged, sniggered, fidgeted and bored throughout. A very sharp reality check that there is still a long way to go with "acceptance".
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 20, 2019 7:50:54 GMT
What do you think it will be like for a person seeing follies for the first time . Im seeing it tomorrow so hopefully it might improve ! It's not a show for everyone. It's not a huge crowd pleasing musical that some might expect it to be, but it's still a great piece of writing.
I hope you enjoy it!
I personally love the show of course and I hope you enjoy it. However, it isn't what a casual theatre goer might expect. Titled Follies I think folk expect some kind of Ziegfeld Follies / Sunday Night at the London Palladium! One guy at the bar with his wife asked the barman if they could order interval drinks, and on being told there was no interval gasped "No interval? Two and a quarter hours without an interval!" I think his evening was ruined right there!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 19, 2019 0:14:32 GMT
It's a bit like a horse race isn't it with 4 big musicals opening virtually simultaneously - 9 to 5, Come From Away, Only Fools and Horses and Waitress! So lets open a book on which will run the longest? Can anyone understand odds?
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 19, 2019 0:02:39 GMT
This is a show that audiences love, not necessarily critics. Yes, that happened with another flop - Les Miserables.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 18, 2019 22:46:03 GMT
Yes, theatre tickets are far cheaper than drinking in a WE bar all night! Everyone has their own priorities, quite rightly, on how they spend their money.
I rarely see anything I don't like and enjoy simply because, I too, research and evaluate the show before booking, because of the cost. I am now old enough to know what I am likely to like or not! I also know that I am unlikely to enjoy a show sat at the back, straining to hear and see. The sad thing is that I used to "take a punt" on plays and shows because I could get a cheap good seat - if I enjoyed it - great, if I didn't - well it only cost me £10/£15! Not prepared to do this for £60 plus though!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 18, 2019 17:53:50 GMT
I don't know the breakdown of WE audiences but it would be interesting to know what percentage are tourists (the pound is low - so tickets seem cheap to visitors) and one off yearly visits for special occasions - birthdays etc. when price doesn't matter if you're spending £200 or more on a pair of tickets just once a year
or
regular theatre goers, say, who go to the theatre every week - probably Londoners and people on this board.
Clearly this will affect what folk are prepared to pay. If tourists and one off visitors make up the largest percentage of the audience I can't see the prices coming down anytime soon. The sad thing is that the people on the stage and crew are not benefiting from these price hikes as I am sure the salaries have not gone up at the same level as prices!
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 18, 2019 13:35:56 GMT
I think this could be a surprise hit. It hasn't had a WE run before, it is a well known song/film, it is light entertainment, has a couple of "names" in the cast, and it will be popular with the coach party trade and tourists. The 2 and 3 star reviews wont affect bookings at all.
Waitress across the road at the Adelphi on the other hand...…….
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