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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 21:50:27 GMT
Also seeing this Friday (up close from front row) so will see how they all rate!
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Cuttin It
Jun 1, 2016 21:42:10 GMT
via mobile
Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 21:42:10 GMT
Thanks. It's been on my list - just getting the right day to go.
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 19:42:47 GMT
Please A civil war has a profound effect on people Not YMBBT Get a grip You cannot know what has a profound effect on anyone other than perhaps yourself. Your posts here can have a profound effect - I believe they are the basis for a whole religion on an island in Micronesia.
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 14:36:29 GMT
We are all under arrest for bringing the theatreboard into disrepute. It's a fair cop!
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 14:19:15 GMT
There's a carpet? Spoiler!
Actually, I'm still amazed at skill of whoever flew that helicopter around the Prince Edward Theatre night after night without hitting anything or anyone!
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 12:44:50 GMT
Anyone catching this? I booked for its visit to the Southbank later this month. In fact I booked in February 2015 (I then asked for leave in June/July for it, only to realise that the dates were 2016 and not 2015 - so I've been a while waiting for this!). I did think this would be a week immersed in Wagner (for good or ill), but have broken it up with a booking to Into the Woods part way through - somewhat of a change!
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 12:25:57 GMT
I'm sorry, but to me he is an attention seeker. OMG - this thread must be just pandering to his ego!
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 1, 2016 11:40:25 GMT
Thanks for that reminder. I have booked a front stalls £15 ticket for Monday 13th June. Intrigued by the decidedly mixed reviews but at £15 it's a bargain! depends on what your hourly worth is if you don't like it 3 hours of your time wasted including travelling etc. possibly more then even going for free can be distressing if the show is bad enough I would not go to this even if you paid ME now (having seen only the first half) Well, I've seen the whole show and it is worth £15 and it's not a waste of one's time (but I am not an enthusiast for it either). However, front stalls is a bit of a look-up, as the set is built up on the existing stage.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 31, 2016 21:02:35 GMT
More precisely in this case: you can enjoy somethings without it being perceived by someone else to be of quality. However, whether it is of quality and what your perception of it is, may be quite different things.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 31, 2016 20:54:05 GMT
What has Cameron done to the theatre since Miss Saigon has closed? Polishing his lamp hoping for something magical to pop out?
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Post by bellboard27 on May 31, 2016 12:27:38 GMT
You are right - it is really odd. Apart from this year's panto, there is nothing advertised at the theatre, just events at other locations. Also their last press release was in October. The place hasn't closed for refurbishment has it?
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Post by bellboard27 on May 31, 2016 12:24:59 GMT
I was there last night and the point of the nudity stumped me also - including why have they now put their pants on?!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 31, 2016 12:22:51 GMT
I suppose if necessary this thread could be merged with the one on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 30, 2016 8:41:28 GMT
If you are interested, the Globe Theatre is something different London has to offer - its season ends in mid-October, but by then it might be a bit chilly!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 29, 2016 8:51:43 GMT
Noticed that there was already a thread on this play - could admin team merge the threads?
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Post by bellboard27 on May 29, 2016 8:14:07 GMT
Yes, being moved was lucky! Even from the middle of the stalls looking up at the surtitles was a bit of a neck strain! Fortunately it was not needed for quite a lot of this production.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2016 22:51:00 GMT
Also Threepenny Opera on Friday! Before this a return to Guys and Dolls, Dr Faustus and a couple of visits to the Royal Ballet
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2016 22:33:11 GMT
I caught the last performance tonight. Sarah Kane’s play is not a bed of roses and Venables’ score and the voices enhance the text. I’m not surprised this has got good reviews. There are some issues, but overall it is great seeing the boundaries being pushed like this.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2016 22:26:29 GMT
I've got 2 weeks till I catch it, which will be just after press night, so the reviews will be entertaining!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2016 22:16:10 GMT
Go dressed as Nick Hytner and keep grumbling and saying 'I should come back'.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 28, 2016 22:08:31 GMT
I also caught the matinee. However, my reaction was quite different. The dancers are indeed good and while some of the choreography is a bit repetitive, there are some good touches, such as the first transformation. However, my main issue is with the story. Why take a great gothic horror with masses of dramatic potential and turn it into a terrible story of a put upon florist? Just as serious drama arose, it would be punctuated with a funny turn breaking up the flow of the story. For example, after Hyde first kills we were subjected to Jekyll judging a flower competition where the guys brought on their increasing large (phallic) flowers followed by the girls with their (I kid you not) nicely trimmed little bushes! Overall, it was all too much “feed me, Seymour” for me.
The opening post wanted this to surpass Frankenstein – some hope! And as for challenging Matt Bourne – not with this, I’m afraid.
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Post by bellboard27 on May 27, 2016 9:07:03 GMT
I quite enjoyed this, but I can see it is definitely a marmite play. Listening to the audience at the interval I heard one elderly couple saying that they only understood some of it and had heard nothing worth laughing at. In contrast a couple of women behind me who did not normally go to the theatre praised the set and said they hadn't laughed so much in ages. Further, if this is the sort of thing going on at the National, they would book again (hopefully they don't do this randomly or they might get a shock!).
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Post by bellboard27 on May 25, 2016 9:16:16 GMT
Anyone been to this ROH production at Lyric Hammersmith? I am not going till the last performance (where I have been bumped off my cheap front row seat to something better due to production changes). Having recently seen Cleansed at the national and given that ROH is not shy on controversial staging, an opera based on a Sarah Kane play is an interesting prospect!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 25, 2016 9:08:33 GMT
Have also booked a preview. That week is Opera North's Ring Cycle week on the Southbank which I am at, so taking a break from 19 hours of Wagner seems like a good idea to me!
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Post by bellboard27 on May 24, 2016 10:54:06 GMT
I enjoyed this. The voices were great. The design for the first half was brilliant and mad. The opening scene had the whole chorus arranged on four levels as a huge wood carving slowly coming to life. We had Oedipus meeting his father at a road junction peppered by road works for familiar from the M25 – indeed as he gets angry, Oedipus starts throwing the traffic cones. When he encounters the Sphinx, this turns out to be a mad woman sitting in the cockpit of a wreck of a WWII plane, which springs to life as he approaches. The second half is more dramatic and serious and the design shifts to something more sombre, avoiding distraction from the story.
The opera itself is a mixed bag. It adds to the Greek source material – indeed it has a positive ending. Some of the music is excellent, but at other times it drags. The audience reaction at the end was positive. George Hall in The Stage gave it 2 stars. I can understand his criticism of the opera (but do not share it), but he describes it as visually unrewarding. For this he should poke out his eyes and wander the ROH blind like Oedipus until he sees the light.
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