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Post by eatbigsea on Mar 4, 2019 1:34:19 GMT
I quite agree, but that is positively civil for DM comments. I would also note how many of them come from non-UK people, and in particular, Americans. I remember coming to the UK (I'm Canadian but lived in the US for a long time before that) and being absolutely gobsmacked that people on TV in the UK looked like, well, normal people, and not plasticised and aerobicised dolls. Olivia has got where she has by sheer, blinding talent (not that she's not pretty, she's lovely, she's just not stereotypical Hollywood). Once they see her performance, they'll come around.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 27, 2019 21:47:31 GMT
As an early aisle-seat booker, I definitely know the difference between the latecomers due to work and the latecomers for other reasons. The drink (or lack of) in the hand is usually a dead giveaway, as are the presence (or lack of) apologies. I will often be last minute because of work, drink in hand because again.. work, AND full of apologies because.. well, just because. Not everyone fits in a neat little black or white box Sorry! I meant that drink plus no apology usually doesn’t = work, and no drink plus apology usually does. A mix can have many meanings.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 27, 2019 3:29:29 GMT
In my experience the late-comers are normally the middle aged usually rushed out of work, gone for dinner, few too many wines and lost track of time. Or who have barely managed to escape from work to get to the theatre in time, because the idea of 9-5 doesn't actually exist any more. That happens to me fairly frequently (as does missing the show altogether sometimes), and although I try to book an aisle for that reason, sometimes that isn't possible and I do end up rushing in red faced, out of breath and apologetic at the last minute. As an early aisle-seat booker, I definitely know the difference between the latecomers due to work and the latecomers for other reasons. The drink (or lack of) in the hand is usually a dead giveaway, as are the presence (or lack of) apologies.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 23, 2019 13:27:22 GMT
Well, yes, technically that’s correct. But if everyone arrived bang on 7:30 (“exactly on time”) then the show wouldn’t start then, it would start much later. Theatre announcements say things like “the show starts in 3 minutes”, which is obviously a blatant lie, for a reason. The real problem is that regular theatre-goers are more likely to book aisle seats and more likely to get to their seats earlyish, and less frequent theatre-goers are more likely to be in the middle and less likely to be aware of the passage of time. So you have fretting people on the outside, and calm, blasé people casually strolling to their seats with little time to go before the show begins. I'd say that if your a regular theatre-goer and book an aisle seat, you should be prepared and somewhat expectant of people wanting to get to their seats further down the row close to curtain up. As much as you dislike it, it's as predictable as the interval ice cream. I don’t mind getting up for people - I book the aisle fully knowing that I will have to do that multiple times. It’s just a phenomenon that I’ve noticed. I think regular theatre-goers probably mind getting up less than many others, but I also think many people get slightly irritated when people who are in the precise middle of the row arrive at the last minute.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 23, 2019 5:20:41 GMT
All About Eve. Last week but I have been feeling quite zen so I didn’t complain then. We have second row dress circle, aisle seats. The two people in the exact middle of the row arrive at 7.30pm. The rest of us arrived in time so we could get comfy. When you arrive that late you don’t give anyone time to rearrange bags, coats etc after you’ve made us all stand up and move them so you can blast through. I'm sorry but I find this comment really problematic. People going to their seats at 7.30 (assuming the show starts then) isn't a late arrival, it's exactly on time. If you go earlier 'so you could get comfy' it's your choice and you should keep in mind that you will most likely have to stand up so people can go to their seats the time they're supposed to. Well, yes, technically that’s correct. But if everyone arrived bang on 7:30 (“exactly on time”) then the show wouldn’t start then, it would start much later. Theatre announcements say things like “the show starts in 3 minutes”, which is obviously a blatant lie, for a reason. The real problem is that regular theatre-goers are more likely to book aisle seats and more likely to get to their seats earlyish, and less frequent theatre-goers are more likely to be in the middle and less likely to be aware of the passage of time. So you have fretting people on the outside, and calm, blasé people casually strolling to their seats with little time to go before the show begins.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 20, 2019 21:36:53 GMT
I’m in Canada for half term and saw this feature-length documentary: It’s very good and I hope BBC’s Storyville or similar picks it up.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 18, 2019 23:52:18 GMT
A lot of the reviews from New York were similar. This is a show that audiences love, not necessarily critics.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 15, 2019 2:03:41 GMT
Just got out. It was really wonderful, and the accents better than the original cast (except for Petrina Bromley, of course). A tiny bit too Irish, but generally very good. Jenna Boyd wins the accent crown for me, she was just perfect at everything she attempted. I thought Rachel Tucker sounded wonderful (and her Annette was particularly good and particularly funny) but I do prefer Me and the Sky in the original key. The one thing I would say is that I think there is a bit of a tendency to rush and not to let the lines land. Clive Carter and Nathanael Campbell were particularly good at not doing that, and they got the most laughs, along with Jonathan Andrew Hume. I think at this stage, a lot of the audience will know the show and won’t particularly laugh at the funny lines, but the new people will need a moment to digest. But these are very small quibbles, it was so so good and I do think people are going to love it. I also think I spotted Rabbi Sudak standing at the side of the stalls as I was exiting, he must have been back stage. (That article from the JC was great, but all I could think was where on earth they would have found Manischewitz in Gander in 2001 - the bottles must have been sitting in the NLC shop for 20 years.) What a lovely show, and a lovely production. {Spoiler - click to view} Oh, and I thought that it was very interesting that Nick's line was changed from "I bought her two more beers" to "I bought us two more beers." (I wholeheartedly approve of the change.)
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 14, 2019 21:37:14 GMT
Just got out. It was really wonderful, and the accents better than the original cast (except for Petrina Bromley, of course). A tiny bit too Irish, but generally very good. Jenna Boyd wins the accent crown for me, she was just perfect at everything she attempted. I thought Rachel Tucker sounded wonderful (and her Annette was particularly good and particularly funny) but I do prefer Me and the Sky in the original key.
The one thing I would say is that I think there is a bit of a tendency to rush and not to let the lines land. Clive Carter and Nathanael Campbell were particularly good at not doing that, and they got the most laughs, along with Jonathan Andrew Hume. I think at this stage, a lot of the audience will know the show and won’t particularly laugh at the funny lines, but the new people will need a moment to digest.
But these are very small quibbles, it was so so good and I do think people are going to love it. I also think I spotted Rabbi Sudak standing at the side of the stalls as I was exiting, he must have been back stage. (That article from the JC was great, but all I could think was where on earth they would have found Manischewitz in Gander in 2001 - the bottles must have been sitting in the NLC shop for 20 years.) What a lovely show, and a lovely production.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 13, 2019 16:51:31 GMT
The same has to be said of a number of musicals though. I loved Come From Away a lot more than I did Waitress but there’s a line in CFA that makes me way more uncomfortable than I ever was in Waitress. The English guy mentions the fact that it was probably the alcohol talking when Dianne says they should get married. So he goes to buy more alcohol to get her more drunk promoting the use of alcohol to get a woman to like you. {Spoiler - click to view} But at no point in Come From Away does Diane exhibit anything other than romantic interest in Nick. Yes, it was a bit creepy that he wanted to get her more drunk, thinking that was what was making her like him, but I don't think the two situations are comparable.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
I went in knowing nothing about it other than that it was a successful musical that I had skipped every time I go to New York because there's always something else I'd prefer to see. And I'm afraid I was very happy with that decision. The score was lovely, the songs were excellent and the singing generally also excellent (except for Jack McBrayer).
But I hated the book (that poor woman resident who dared to take a residency somewhere other than Connecticut, dragging her poor husband along with her and throwing him head-first into cheating on her) and I thought that Katharine McPhee had much better chemistry with Marisha Wallace than she did with David Hunter (although the whole Jim Halpert does adultery storyline left me cold from the beginning). And I don't have any children myself, but I thought I could feign interest in a doll better than Katharine McPhee did. (The less said about Jack McBrayer the better). Even though I am North American, this was much too American for me.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 12, 2019 8:34:16 GMT
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Coffee
Feb 10, 2019 19:33:29 GMT
Post by eatbigsea on Feb 10, 2019 19:33:29 GMT
Where I work there are two choices, Costa or Starbucks, and I prefer Costa. I like a caffe latte so anywhere is fine, but I like Costa because of the (very occasional) pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tart) that I allow myself. If if we are going for chains that can truly be found anywhere, honestly, McDonald’s coffee has improved by leaps and bounds. And if I’m going upmarket, Blue Bottle coffee (first in San Francisco, I think, and now definitely in New York) is just gorgeous. ETA I didn’t quite realise how much coffee I drink.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 10, 2019 18:04:43 GMT
No Tim Hortons in London, normally service industries go to London first, if you can break London you can break the rest of the country. But Tim has bucked this trend. I have been in their stores in Toronto and they’ve one in 42nd Street, New York. Not a lover of them, as they don’t do My beloved cappuccino. However they are owned by Burger King which is now American, like Costa is now owned by Coca Cola. Branding is very interesting to me. You will find Costas and Tim Hortons in many places where there would never be a Starbucks. (In St John’s (Newfoundland) for instance, driving around with a Starbucks coffee cup sends a message that you’re affluent, whereas it has no particular meaning in London as far as I am aware).
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 10, 2019 17:46:44 GMT
There used to be a Tim Horton’s in the Spar on Haymarket but it has now closed. I do think that Timmies is a triumph of marketing (and sugar), but it is a godsend when you are in any rural place in Canada.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 10, 2019 14:21:46 GMT
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 3, 2019 12:19:20 GMT
Someone mentioned Billy Elliott earlier on and I had forgotten about it. It was one of those musicals, Lion King included, that I wanted to see but not in my must see list so never actually got around to seeing it. Then recently it was shown on TV and have to say it really bored me. I think I even fast forwarded a couple of bits. Glad I didn't pay to see it. Also went to see The Fantastics when it was in London a few years ago. I had read about it being the longest Broadway show etc so thought it must be something special but it wasn't and I just found it very odd indeed. Even Clive Rowe couldn't save it for me. Oh I so agree about The Fantasticks. And I also loathe Pippin. The level of schmaltz in both is much too high for me. And Hand to God. The puppet sex was funny, but the rest left me cold.
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Post by eatbigsea on Feb 1, 2019 9:27:16 GMT
But, like, you know its not fiction right? You know its created from hundreds of hours and hundreds of pages of interviews? with these people? So it's all true that they actually were that nice? I'm a little confused as to what the problem with that is... Yeah I know it's not fiction and I've been to Canada so I know they are lovely, but their niceness just began to get on my nerves, it was too much, someone in that town must have been peeved off that thousands of people descended on their tiny community! I needed some balance, everyone was just so unrelentingly nice and understanding and open minded and generous it became unbelievable to me. The thing about Newfoundland (I’m from there, albeit St John’s, which is “town” as opposed to “bay”) is that you can’t piss off your neighbours because historically you would have literally needed them for survival, and that has persisted as a cultural trait. So people really are that nice, at least outwardly. There can be a fair amount of passive aggression if you live there for a long time, there are undercurrents under the surface. But none of that would have been apparent after a few days, even an intense and stressful few days. I'm so pleased people are loving the show. Can’t wait to see it here. (And the thing about the moose? 100% true. If you’re lucky enough to see the moose in time to stop your vehicle, you stop and wait, and if you’re not lucky enough to do that, you’re toast).
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Post by eatbigsea on Jan 26, 2019 12:00:52 GMT
they seem similarly less confused/confusing. There's a similar one in the i but negative. It did use a word which sprung to mind when I read the synopsis and saw the photos - "fanfic". It's taking a pre-existing text/characters and an iconic star and sticking them in what in fic terms is a PWP scenario. (The Inheritance is basically a modern AU Howards End slash fanfic too. We are in the era of super-deluxe fanfic, it seems. I'm not complaining, but maybe we should call it what it is? I think it's a fascinating phenomenon, though it's interesting that both these 'overground', 'respectable' examples are by men, not its prime originators, women.). That is a great point.
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Post by eatbigsea on Jan 25, 2019 9:32:55 GMT
I don’t think standing ovations per se are bad behaviour, but it does annoy me when people stand up to leave before the curtain call is over and put on their coats, blocking my view. This happens a lot at Covent Garden and is both annoying and I feel embarrassed. If it’s 11:00, fine, but if it’s 9:15, there will be other trains. Have to admit I do leave during the curtain calls at the Royal Opera sometimes. Largely because they can go on for about 20 minutes - last time I was there I nipped out after the first set of bows from the full cast, went to the loo, queued to collect my stuff from the cloakroom, and could still hear the applause going on as I left the building. That’s just Opera/ballet tradition. In Germany they’d just be getting going after 20 minutes. I can live with it if people nip out (as I’m sure you do), it’s the people who stand up and linger, leisurely putting on their coats, not applauding and blocking my view that really get on my nerves.
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Post by eatbigsea on Jan 24, 2019 18:45:39 GMT
"To top it all, they jumped to their feet at the end and I couldn’t see the curtain call." Yes, standing ovations are bad behaviour, though most people on this board seem to think you're horrible if you don't like being made to miss the finale/curtain calls because other people stand up in front of you. I don’t think standing ovations per se are bad behaviour, but it does annoy me when people stand up to leave before the curtain call is over and put on their coats, blocking my view. This happens a lot at Covent Garden and is both annoying and I feel embarrassed. If it’s 11:00, fine, but if it’s 9:15, there will be other trains.
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Post by eatbigsea on Jan 21, 2019 9:21:45 GMT
Fortnum and Mason offer a savoury tea where the scones are savoury and the fancies (patisserie equivalent) are savoury as well. You still get cake at the end. It’s my favourite afternoon tea anywhere.
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Post by eatbigsea on Jan 20, 2019 23:54:39 GMT
Well, I agree pretty much entirely with nash16's review (I never thought I would be pleased to hear Kesha's Tik Tok along with the other mindless pop used, but it came as a blessed relief from the dialogue that had gone before). Blanchett is amazing, but I thought the material was poor and repetitive (and not remotely shocking). My friend, however, loved it. He said that the set seemed to be designed to look like pr0n, which does make sense, given the garage setting and the cheap-looking costumes (other than the corsets) and deliberately ill-fitting wigs. He also compared it to industrial music, where it sounds harsh and seemingly the same all the time, but there are subtle changes going on that your subconscious mind registers. That was all too deep for me, and I just couldn't stand any of the dialogue between Blanchett and Dillane. I did love Jessica Gunning and thought that her scene with Blanchett was by far the best thing in the play.
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Post by eatbigsea on Dec 30, 2018 15:03:59 GMT
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Post by eatbigsea on Dec 24, 2018 15:12:27 GMT
1) Company 2) The Lehman Trilogy 3) Ring Cycle (ROH) 4) Sweat 5) Chess
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Post by eatbigsea on Dec 19, 2018 6:38:26 GMT
Oh, i thought this was just phenomenal. I’m really surprised that Oslo beat it to the Tony (although even more pleased that A Doll’s House Part 2 didn’t win, because that would have been an utter travesty) and not surprised at all that it won the Pulitzer. It was a beautifully constructed play, tackling complex American issues of race, class, deindustrialisation and nationalisation. It made me despair for both that country and this one, because I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. And the acting was great. Some minor accent wobbles, but overall very good.
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Post by eatbigsea on Dec 14, 2018 8:56:10 GMT
I had no idea that anyone outside of Newfoundland had heard the word “Newfinese,” let alone would use it in a foreign newspaper. Mind blown. (“Newfoundland English” is more correct.) As for the review, talk about damning with faint praise.
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Post by eatbigsea on Dec 6, 2018 9:47:51 GMT
Thank you, that was fascinating. The discussion of subsidised theatre spending in Ireland was very frank and interesting. I wish I could see it at the Abbey, but I’m sure it will be great at the Phoenix.
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Post by eatbigsea on Nov 3, 2018 15:25:50 GMT
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Post by eatbigsea on Oct 20, 2018 1:32:46 GMT
I'm glad you asked!! Is that why Nessie is there? to whip her feather duster round a bit between acts... I wasn’t intending to cause a stir. Merely to point out that the majority of the nursing of those dying of AIDS was done by women, as was most nursing in the 1980s. If the house had been as it was presented, he couldn’t have done all of the caring himself for all of the people who came to it, and it would have been likely that at least a portion of the rest was taken care of by women. ETA: I haven’t seen part 2 yet, so perhaps I shouldn’t comment, but from what I understand, VR’s character was initially unsupportive of her son. If there is erasure in these plays, it is of the many women who were unconditionally supportive of the men in their lives who were affected, and for whom they cared.
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