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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 16, 2020 10:44:45 GMT
Any idea if there will be more venues added? I mean Manchester!! I'm sure they won't miss a city like Manchester out. It's difficult to know what's going to happen in general at the moment, i imagine it won't be starting when it's due to anyway.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 16, 2020 9:34:24 GMT
Good news about Cinemas but they are a lot easier to operate, financially as well, under these limitations than theatre, so it remains to be seen if anything will be learned from them re-opening or it paves the way for theatres. I doubt it.
What i do hope though is that theatre and the cinema companies work together to programme theatre productions on the big screen because there is no doubt that it would be a better experience watching a musical or play at the cinema, on the big screen, with others around you, than on a laptop or tv screen. At least it's kinda half way there.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 16, 2020 8:19:13 GMT
I think I should just point out that Oliver Dowden doesn’t hold the purse strings, it the Chancellor. From a source involved in some of the conversations my understanding is that now that Dowden understands the intricacies of how the theatre industry actually works (after sitting down with Sonia Friedman, amongst others) he has done quite well at making the case to the Chancellor. As he mentioned in the Standard a deal is in the pipeline. However my source implies they are waiting till the review in early July on possibly when theatres may reopen, so that the exact size and period that a support package is in place can be agreed. There is also conversations going on about other industries that will be slow to reopen for example nightclubs and how a package could be all encompassing. My worry about any scheme is will the money trickle out to all the subcontractors that support theatre industries. It will be all well and good if the buildings and production companies survive, but if there are no scenic workshops, lighting and sound hire or theatrical marketing agencies left, getting a show open is going to be tricky. It also seems to me that one of the trickiest issues to overcome is if the government chose to extend the income support schemes for theatre freelancers, how do they identify who actually works in the theatre industry? I was going to say the same thing. I would also maybe point out he's the got the culture, media and sport brief, he's not a Theatre minister, his job covers every aspect of all those industries. There's no use people getting miffed every time he's talking or dealing with something other than Theatre as if that should be his only focus. That said, there is no reason why he can't be talking more about it. One interview on the subject seems a little weak.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 15, 2020 8:52:04 GMT
Book of Mormon is offensive and in the light of Black Lives Matter should be cancelled and taken off stage. If it was so problematic why would so many of the black community have agreed to take part in the show? Think about the number of black actors who have worked on it over the years. Half the cast are black. I think it's difficult for the black lives matter movement to come out against a show many of their own community were more than happy to be a part of and advertise. The audience, in my experience, has also been very diverse the times I've been to see it. But if anyone wants to now discuss the individual topic of which shows are problematic because of BLM further can i ask that another thread is made or it's taken to the relevant thread in GD, rather than hijacking this thread with replies that are off topic.
Cheers.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 13, 2020 10:57:20 GMT
The way that younger people have realised they have power now has been a breath of fresh air, especially as government has sidelined youth at the expense of older voters for years. A few weeks ago - ‘young people don’t die from this virus, we have to let young, healthy people go about their lives and help to save the economy’. Then - lockdown relaxed and younger people find out that they own the streets because this virus frees them, compared to the older cohort who have been consolidating their power through voter ‘bribes’. Now - ‘you weren’t supposed to use your freedom to protest about things you cared about! Dammit, you’re supposed to be propping up the economy so I can maintain my comfy lifestyle! Makes you weep......(with laughter) The young are free to a distance of two metres and gatherings of 6 people. Not free to "own the streets" and gather in the thousands. Also the economy needs to be propped up by those able for the interest of everyone, not just those with a comfy lifestyle. You may notice that it's theatre workers, shop assistants, airport and airline staff, car engineers and other low paid jobs that are being lost, not those with a "comfy lifestyle".
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 13, 2020 6:50:34 GMT
So people are being called out for not speaking out and supporting the movement but also being called out now when they do, with judgements about how authentic it is or as it was called the other day "performative empathy"? It seems that people can't win in many cases. If people are supporting your cause, whatever it is, and are offering help and solidarity and actually doing something, just accept it and be grateful.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 11, 2020 12:18:03 GMT
I think I want theatres to be a bit more open about their situations.
Social distancing is not going to go away. Theatres and producers must know by now if they can and will be putting shows on and opening theatres with those restrictions or if it's not viable. If it's not viable they should come out and say that and make clear they will only be re-opening when social distancing is no longer needed, rather than announcing random 1 or two months extensions to their closures when it's clear that nothing is going to change and it will keep just getting extended.
You have Julian Bird saying that no theatre can operate with the 2m rule or even the 1m rule yet you have theatres only announcing closures until August and you have theatres still having shows on sale for September onwards and theatre still encouraging people to buy tickets for Christmas shows and the like.
I see no reason why theatres cannot tell us here and now whether, when they they are allowed to open (in a covid safe way), they will be doing so and their shows will be going ahead, or not. They must know.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 11, 2020 7:54:00 GMT
So I'm posting on the forum again, because pandemic. I just noticed that there is a thread about BLM / Protests / George Floyd. Can someone be kind enough to give me an executive summary of what's happening here because I don't feel like reading 8 pages worth of racism and/or performative empathy (some of you that I know are alright though and speak the truth). Also, a list of racists would be greatly appreciated. It might be an idea, if you are wanting to post and join in with the community again, to not start by suggesting your fellow board members are likely either racist or just feigning empathy. You appear to have decided what the forum and it's membership are like beforehand. For information, there was only one problematic poster involved in any of these discussions and that person was dealt with. I can't though predict how many posts you will deem "performative empathy", though I guess a lot if that is the idea you are going in with.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 10, 2020 12:12:13 GMT
Though Julian Bird seemed to make it clear yesterday no theatres think a 1m rule would be financially viable to operate with either, so i'm not sure what difference it makes in the context of Theatre.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 10, 2020 11:35:00 GMT
Well no other country seems to think reducing it to one metre is "too soon" given it was never that in the first place. WHO have made clear that 1m is safe the whole time. All this out cry from opposition politicians and members of the public acting like it's dangerous and playing with peoples lives is absurd and quite clearly only political.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 8, 2020 8:25:45 GMT
I've been listening to it over the last few days and it's brilliant. Though I have to say I prefer Danny Macs voice compared to the actor on the recording.
This is better than the Broadway recording for sure. It has much more personality and the accents with the folk orchestrations make it beautiful to listen to.
It just makes you feel warm and happy.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 6, 2020 19:35:00 GMT
1,000's of white people on a beach = all good 1,000's of people of colour marching for equality and change in the streets = bad At least they're trying to do something to make the world a better place after all this. We should've been protesting about Cummings 2 weeks ago and now as predicted it's already forgotten. Well who's said that 1,000's of people on beaches is "good" exactly? And no, we shouldn't have been protesting about Cummings, or indeed anything, weeks ago because hundreds or thousands of people gathering and not social distancing for any reason is not good and is irresponsible to encourage. These people, and those supporting it, will not have made the world a better place if in a few weeks time they find they have killed people, or find themselves ill or dead themselves, through their own reckless and dangerous actions. I'm quite confident i'm on the right side of the argument by not supporting thousands of people assembling on the streets, shouting and sweating all over each other during a global pandemic that is still killing hundreds of people a day.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 6, 2020 13:32:59 GMT
Various protests around the country today and of course over the last few days. I understand the strength of feeling, i understand and support the message we are trying to get out and the cause we are standing up for, but gatherings like this are just about the most reckless thing anyone could do at this current time. We already know the R rate is around or over 1 in some places. We have had to find new ways of doing just about everything in life, and that should include how to protest too. This is not clever. There is also an irony i find in all this in that all these protests are standing up for black lives and yet we know that the BAME community is far more susceptible to this disease, so thousands of people gathering on the streets, often not two metres apart, often not even wearing face coverings, is in a way going against the very message we are trying to get across. Again i repeat, this is not about saying that we shouldn't protest or speak out, it's saying we've have had to find new ways of doing everything, i don't see why the rules go out the window just so we can protest in a normal way. This is about protests for any cause, not just this one. I'm talking about protests in a general sense.
If this is going to happen they at least need to be far more organised and safe than most of the pictures i'm seeing. Maybe there is a way that protests can still happen in a traditional way even with the social distancing in place, but that's not what i'm seeing is happening on the whole.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 5, 2020 7:43:54 GMT
Excited to listen to this. I will never forget feeling a little unmotivated to go, walking into a pretty much empty Haymarket Theatre in Leicester with basically only the cast of The Color Purple, which was playing down the road at Curve, for company, and wondering if this whole thing was going to be a damp squib. Well it turned out to be one of the highlights of the year and just one of the most intimate and magical shows I've watched. Certainly the music and the talented cast performing it, both vocally and of course, as musicians, were a massive part of that and it was gorgeous. I feel like as time has gone on I've only appreciated it more.
You know, i'm hoping that this does get a nod at the Oliviers.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 3, 2020 11:00:46 GMT
I have only seen Jamie once, but used to listen obsessively to most of the cast recording, so I do like the songs. Where it really lets itself down is the end of the first half, I was expecting so much more and I went into the interview thinking the show was cheap. The second half rescued it for me, but first half is definitely weak. I completely agree with you on this one! I saw the show during its Sheffield run, and we said that the close of Act 1 was one of the weakest parts of the show, just didn't have the impact that it should have! So when it was transferring I was hoping that that some changes would be made to improve it, but sadly not! How would they manage to get the actor into full glam drag for a big reveal though in that short time? That's why it's only a projection/video, because the logistics don't work out. Though i suppose you could then say well then it should be written in a way that he's off stage for 10 minutes or something then.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 2, 2020 14:01:29 GMT
Season 2 is underrated personally. S1 is "tighter" overall but S2 had a lot more going on. A stage version has been murmured about for years, and this recent announcement doesn't really seem to have moved anything on much from the one we had years ago - we already knew the choreographer from Smash was still attached, for example. I think the only new news is a definite confirmation that this is effectively a SMASH musical rather than Bombshell. It makes more sense though, as Smash is a property with a following and Bombshell was a show-within-a-show. This way they can probably repurpose existing scripts and storylines without having to figure out an actual script to a Marilyn Monroe Musical. The only thing that feels a little off would be how much life they expect this to have? Is it a limited time musical to ensure the cast is the same as the TV show? Will people who haven’t seen the show go and see it? You make a good point. On the face of it, it sounds exciting bur in reality its not going to be what people are expecting or a true reunion/revival of the show on stage. Many of the original cast either won't do it, can't do it, or are now to old for their original roles. And the thing is with TV shows especially its the cast that really makes a show and brings it to life. Who would be ever be interested for example if Friend's came back on TV but with none of the original stars? It wouldn't be Friend's and will this really be Smash?
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 2, 2020 10:15:33 GMT
I don't know what is pointing to that. At the moment it seems quite clear a lot of theatres are actually working towards opening up in some capacity in November.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jun 2, 2020 5:46:38 GMT
Piers tweeting that not a single Tory MP will now go on the Breakfast show...he says he will ‘take any of them’....his style is rambunctious and uproarious for sure,but Tory politicians should be able to stand their ground and fight their corner or they will be seen as spineless.... The point of MP's and especially Government ministers going on shows like that is to answer questions and explain their decisions and policies, if they are not given a chance to get a word in edge ways and just blasted with a constant tirade from a man who likes the sound of his own voice and actually clearly doesn't really have any interest in what they are saying and just wants a controversial moment so twitter and facebook blows up about it, then good for those MP's and the Government for refusing. So would I and in fact I would have stopped them going on there far earlier. They did well to stick to sending spokespeople on there for so long.
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 31, 2020 15:09:02 GMT
If you look at the creative team i think the above sounds about right. They don't seem to have thrown a big budget broadway creative team at it, it feels like it could be something more intimate and creative.
I guess the jury will be out on what way they should go with it until we have seen it.
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 29, 2020 12:12:46 GMT
This was such a lovely show, i went in with rather small expectations and came out with it being one of the highlights of last year. There's something special about it. One of the biggest highlights was the music and the sound of the cast singing it, so very happy to have this recording coming.
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 19:09:28 GMT
Great, because tbh i always had more interest in the show and general story than the actual musical they were making, so this suits me better than an actual Bombshell musical. I think they could incorporate some aspects of season 2. I know it's wildly unpopular but i loved season two, i loved a lot of the songs from Hit List but mainly the reason was Jeremy Jordan
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 9:29:56 GMT
Comfortable with? Reducing the distance limit or going back to the theatre? Well the former informs the latter, so both. I don't see what is uncomfortable about following the advice of the World Health Organisation and the distance limits adopted by many other countries, all of whom of course have better statistics than we do even with our more cautious social distancing measures. In that case, as long as theatres are sticking to those safe distancing measures and offer all the other safeguarding measures like potential mask wearing, hand gel and increased cleaning procedures, then i don't have a problem with them opening and attending, no.
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 9:13:33 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with? I don't understand. The virus hasn't gone away. We have the highest death rate in the world. How can anyone be comfortable with this Comfortable with? Reducing the distance limit or going back to the theatre?
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 8:22:21 GMT
What's the hell with that statue that comes alive in Mary Poppins and then does ballet all the time? And why does he always have a weird voice? So irritating. I dread his scenes in that show.
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 7:58:29 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with?
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