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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 1, 2018 20:54:58 GMT
Think of the cosplay opportunities. Alexander Hamilton in kinky boots?
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 1, 2018 18:57:54 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 1, 2018 8:48:37 GMT
Well, there’s the report that @ryan is the love child of @parsley but that might not be fake. Of course I give it no credence.
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 1, 2018 8:40:31 GMT
The whole Ben Franklin thing is something that every child in America knows from their time at school. I only know it because I watch too many American teen dramas! I'm sure it would go over the heads of a lot of people here, that and also because it sometimes gets swallowed up in the fast lyrics. Indeed. It was his work on electricity that got him elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Anyone interested in his life should visit his house just round the corner from Charing Cross station www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/default.htm
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 1, 2018 8:22:23 GMT
Great to see this excellent production again. For me to rebook a show after seeing it is as rare as hens teeth, but after visiting the Almeida I immediately booked for the Harold Pinter. Now I’ve got it recorded as well - brilliant!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 28, 2018 12:31:18 GMT
All this talk of eating before shows has made me wonder if we’ve ever had a thread on best places to eat near each theatre. The website hotdinners did a great post on best family friendly restaurants that aren’t dreadful tourist traps near major tourist spots (https://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Hot-Dinners-recommends/great-restaurants-to-take-kids-out-to-in-london?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=180327&idU=3) (apologies, I have not worked out how to do nice embedded links in posts on a mobile device) I’ll start the thread if there’s interest. In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to moderate a restaurant Internet forum, so I will do my best to reign in my more opinionated, obsessive tendencies. Probably a good time to resurrect this thread: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/1566/best-show-eateries ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) And also link to the bad behaviour posts on vomiting in theatres!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 28, 2018 8:16:58 GMT
I’m sure convenience for diners determines much ROH timing. Usually a 7.30 start, but earlier for longer productions. However, short productions seem to start later. For example, From The House of the Dead started at 8 pm, but I would have preferred getting home earlier!
I visit Belgium quite a lot and start times often tend to be 8 pm. I’ve seen this with operas ending at 11.30 pm, which seems a bit late for many mid week audiences.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 27, 2018 10:32:15 GMT
Now, I know some people have trains or buses to catch, and I know that you don't always know the length of productions when you book them, but it you think you're going to have to leave in the last five minutes - the emotional climax of something like, say "Summer and Smoke" in a small theatre like the Almeida, why don't you have a quiet word with an usher at the interval about finding somewhere else to watch the show, rather than going back into your seat at the interval, thus requiring half a dozen people stand to let you out, disrupting most of the stalls and surely being noticeable to the actors, just at the point which arguably defines the whole play. Exactly. Once at the Orange Tree Theatre the production started late as the lift got stuck with a disabled person in it and it took a little time to free them! I had another appointment afterwards and asked FOH for a different seat after the interval so I could slip out of a door without disturbing anyone if needed before the end (which I had to).
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 25, 2018 22:19:13 GMT
Just looking at booking for this and the £20 tickets for front row seem a steal, but is it really a problem sitting there? will it be too close to appreciate it? The front row seats are good as the stage is a bit high but they are further back so you can see everything very well and feel very much part of it with actors walking around.Sometimes however you may not get the whole spectacle of the show and how they interweave the film for some scenesbut it did bit distract from my enjoyment at all. I would recommend the centre block rather than the sides as the row is curved and the sides are a little closer to the stage as well as being a bit to one side for the view (especially the far ends of the rows).
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 24, 2018 13:22:39 GMT
I see the Jersey Boys tour Twitter is promoting a quote from the Sunderland Echo - “I dare you not to ..., sing along to each and every number”. If I bought a ticket on the strength of that, I might be a bit surprised to be told to keep quiet.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 24, 2018 8:41:58 GMT
When it comes to self-service machines the ones that scare the crap out of me are the self-checkouts in supermarkets. I've never used one and hope I never will. I hear them solemnly intoning things like "Unexpected item in the bagging area" and it always seems to me there's an implied "...you gormless Tw*t" on the end of every statement. I'm not entirely sure what gorms are but I'm damned if I'm going to be accused of not having any by a mere machine. I’d quite like the machines to be programmed like Caroline Aherne’s checkout character from the fast show: Wholemeal bread. Trying to keep regular? Free range eggs. Just like ordinary eggs but with bits of sh*t on them.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 20, 2018 15:55:51 GMT
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Chess
Mar 20, 2018 15:39:49 GMT
Post by bellboard27 on Mar 20, 2018 15:39:49 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 20, 2018 15:34:58 GMT
"What time does the 2.30pm matinee start?" Well?
Don't leave us in suspense!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 18, 2018 13:26:42 GMT
There are some on this Board who, when they don’t like a production, get quite wound up about it. Most of the time, when a production does not click for me, I tend to feel bored and disengaged – deflated more than anything else.
Very rarely I have a different reaction. I saw this yesterday afternoon and gave myself time before posting to allow a bit of space to check my reaction.
After quiet reflection I have concluded that I hated it. I mean I really hated it. Viscerally hated it. I physically reacted to it - muscles clenching, heart rate rising. At some points I had to close my eyes and do breathing exercises to calm down (I could not leave without disturbing people).
Is it meant as a parody (only Jim Sturgeon managed an accent that was not a caricature)? A poor man’s 39 Steps? If so, even that doesn’t work. If it is not a parody, then it is a travesty.
I went in in a good mood and liked the build up before curtain up, so all was set for an enjoyable afternoon. But it was not to be. I think the initial trigger was when Beverly Rudd first opened her mouth as Beryl. Everything about her performance made me want to vomit. By the end, with her last scene, I ended up closing my eyes and putting my fingers in my ears to try to blot her out. But it is not just her.
Clearly, my reaction is different to many others (both in the audience and on this Board). And I am happy for that. Maybe I'm the only one!
Afterwards I wandered through the snow to The Great Wave. Not the greatest production, but at least I had a positive end to the day.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 18, 2018 12:21:08 GMT
I found this interesting, but not as interesting as I was hoping for, but happy I went. The acting was variable in quality. I also felt there were some lost opportunities to explore North Korean and Japanese culture further.
The stage looked quite high. I was in the circle, but I wonder what view from the front row of the stalls is like. There are lighting effects that are projected onto the stage floor (which would not be visible from at least the front rows of the stalls), but these are not important as the lighting effects occur on the rest of the set.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 17, 2018 10:53:18 GMT
No, it can be luck. I was in the side slips for Burt Bacharach, and the mix was perfect. I love those seats (I like a nook). Almost always my first choice in the RFH. The world is divided into those who prefer nooks and those who prefer crannies. One day we may see eye to eye, but I fear it may be a long time yet.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 16, 2018 8:34:01 GMT
The Sarah Kane Theatre. Each seat comes with a sick bag.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 15, 2018 23:36:16 GMT
ALW already has a theatre named after him in London.
Not West End, though.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 15, 2018 22:41:53 GMT
That went down rather well!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 14, 2018 23:00:03 GMT
Was at a production at a drama school this afternoon. Behind me sat a father and son. In later conversation it transpired that the father was an actor who had been at the drama school and the son was to audition.
When they first sat down the son was keen on his hat. “Take it off”, said the father. “I don’t want to”, came the reply. “When you are in a theatre with me you will show respect. Take it off.” It came off.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 14, 2018 22:52:44 GMT
Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Great view from the front circle.
I must admit that I found the costume for the washing machine surprisingly fetching.
Yessss Sireeee!
I was planning a cold shower when I got home, but have decided that any soap bubbles would be unnecessarily distracting!
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 13, 2018 10:50:51 GMT
This was interesting, but did not grip me. The cast perform it well (Jack Shepherd standing out for me). My other half, however, really liked it.
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 13, 2018 10:29:28 GMT
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 13, 2018 10:27:02 GMT
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