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Post by Jon on Apr 5, 2023 14:00:57 GMT
Not paying £30 for the back of the uppermost tier. #WithdrawRSCFunding This isn't Twitter, no need for a hashtag. |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Apr 5, 2023 15:40:30 GMT
Very disappointing pricing (more expensive than Orlando and Bonnie and Clyde) so I guess I won't be booking a ticket in advance after all.
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Post by Jon on Apr 5, 2023 15:48:42 GMT
I suppose the producers are confident it'll be a sellout like it was in Stratford.
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Post by sam22 on Apr 5, 2023 16:59:29 GMT
I suppose the producers are confident it'll be a sellout like it was in Stratford. If anyone is looking for Stratford nows the time to look. About six dated have tickets available now, limited but until recently was showing as fully sold out. Annoyingly I can't make any of the dates free! |
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Post by Jan on Apr 5, 2023 17:31:41 GMT
I suppose the producers are confident it'll be a sellout like it was in Stratford. There is no downside to pricing high on advance sales whether they think it will sell out or not - you maximise your profit from the enthusiastic advance-bookers safe in the knowledge you can dump any unsold seats later at lower prices via "special" promotions and TodayTix and other outlets. The RSC have done that for years at the Barbican and venues like @sohoplace and the Harold Pinter do it too. If they get lucky (@sohoplace Medea) they never have to reduce them. Another variant is that they only allow booking of the less good (but still expensive) seats when booking initially opens and the early bookers get lumbered with those, the better seats are then magically "released" well after booking opens - the Almeida used to be keen on that tactic. |
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Post by sam22 on Apr 5, 2023 18:18:24 GMT
I suppose the producers are confident it'll be a sellout like it was in Stratford. If anyone is looking for Stratford nows the time to look. About six dated have tickets available now, limited but until recently was showing as fully sold out. Annoyingly I can't make any of the dates free! Update, nearly every single date now has a handful of tickets to book! |
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Post by lynette on Apr 5, 2023 21:43:35 GMT
Was waiting to see what The Swan was going to open with before booking for the RST, worth a visit and will now pair with Cymbeline to make a day of it. What about the Birthday weekend? See you there? |
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Post by lichtie on Apr 13, 2023 15:45:12 GMT
Haven't had time to post this before, but I saw this last week. Overall I'd say the paper 3* reviews are about right. I've never read the book, but I did quickly skim through to see whether what I'd seen had similarities and it seems to. It focusses on Agnes and her inner voices (though poorly realised through ghostly voice-overs drifting about). The main issue with the staging is perhaps that they've tried to be too faithful so we end up with lots of bitty scenes, which they feel compelled to keep doing little scenery changes for. This could have been handled in a better fashion to keep the flow going, and some parts could have been dropped entirely. It also means that there's no real sense of impact in some impoirtant scenes because they're rushed through - in particular the closeness of Judith and Hamnet is never really built up enough to make it really matter. On the plus side, the cast are very good. And the revamped Swan is lovely.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 13, 2023 17:09:11 GMT
lynette unable to make Stratford that weekend, preference would be to see it in the Swan so will keep a lookout for returns in the next few weeks.
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Post by lynette on Apr 23, 2023 22:42:15 GMT
lynette unable to make Stratford that weekend, preference would be to see it in the Swan so will keep a lookout for returns in the next few weeks. Sorry you didn't make it this weekend. The Swan now a tad more comfortable with individual seats , not that bench stuff. It was a pleasant afternoon in the theatre but this play does not light my fire. Note, I haven't read the book and people who had said it was very different to it. It was chronological. It went through Will’s life from boyhood, meeting Agnes ie Ann Hathaway, the marriage, the babies, Will’s going to London and becoming one of the greatest writers in the Western canon, the death of Hamnet. The play should have been called ‘Agnes’ because it is about her. She has healing powers and mystically hears and sees the dead. There is no ‘arc’ for her; she remains the same except for overwhelming grief. The other persons in Will’s life are sketched in: a sister, a baby brother, a dead sister and his daughters, a grumpy one and a mystic one. Hamnet is presented as a clever chap who loved and was beloved of all. His mother, Mary Arden, an important person imo, gets a few lines about her family and losing the money but his father is shown as a violent bully. Nuanced, not. Whether this will be a ‘hit’ coming to London, I can’t say but I think it would be a shame if it is taken as definitive, believed to be what happened. I think to sum up, it is plodding, repetitive ( two screaming birth scenes ) and unhistoric, lacking in dramatic power or development, clunky in the use of ‘poetic’ language and Shakespearean cliches. ( Burbage is always a large, no nonsense action man, isnt it?) Let us know what you think, Neil, when you have seen it. I also saw Cymbeline. Different kettle of fish. |
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Post by circelily on Apr 24, 2023 5:39:10 GMT
It genuinely amuses me to hear back from non-readers. The fun thing about the novel it is that it is about Shakespeare's wife, rather than his son or the bard himself. A magic realism riposte to the second best bed justifiers.
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Post by lynette on Apr 24, 2023 18:38:10 GMT
Ahem, I’m not a non reader. Just haven't read this novel. I’m glad you are amused. Seems I am right that the play is about the wife and should be titled as such.
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Post by alexandra on Apr 25, 2023 15:19:10 GMT
Don't dig in Lynette, the title is fine even though Agnes is the main character. Non-reader meant you haven't read the book I think. It's marvellous; don't let your non-enjoyment of the play put you off reading it.
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Post by lynette on Apr 30, 2023 22:42:00 GMT
Not diggin in, though not sure what you mean by that. I might well read the book as many have praised it. But good books do not always make good plays. Imo, it isn’t a good play. It’s a docudrama 😁
The title isn't alright is it? The play has to be about the son to be so titled. It isn't. And it isn't about the son making his father into who he became, by having similar name to a Danish Prince. That is just silly. Diggin in enough for you?
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Post by alexandra on May 1, 2023 9:17:20 GMT
Not diggin in, though not sure what you mean by that. I might well read the book as many have praised it. But good books do not always make good plays. Imo, it isn’t a good play. It’s a docudrama 😁 The title isn't alright is it? The play has to be about the son to be so titled. It isn't. And it isn't about the son making his father into who he became, by having similar name to a Danish Prince. That is just silly. Diggin in enough for you? Not sure what your last para means. Are you saying the play IS about what you say it isn’t about? Otherwise what’s the point of saying it isn’t about that? It also isn’t about Martians landing - that would be silly too. You are excluding an awful lot of play titles if the play has to be all about the title in your prescriptive world. Cymbeline for one. Hundreds more. A resonant connection is enough for me. Or, actually, whatever the writer wants to call it. |
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Post by Cleo on May 6, 2023 16:54:56 GMT
I saw this at today’s afternoon matinee; it was beautifully staged and acted, and an emotional response to Hamnet’s death from many audience members. I have read the book and felt it was a very good adaptation. Appreciated the improved seating.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 5, 2023 10:21:56 GMT
Does not even open until 30 September but just extended by six weeks until Feb 17th. Must be selling okay.
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Post by lynette on Sept 5, 2023 11:27:34 GMT
Not diggin in, though not sure what you mean by that. I might well read the book as many have praised it. But good books do not always make good plays. Imo, it isn’t a good play. It’s a docudrama 😁 The title isn't alright is it? The play has to be about the son to be so titled. It isn't. And it isn't about the son making his father into who he became, by having similar name to a Danish Prince. That is just silly. Diggin in enough for you? Not sure what your last para means. Are you saying the play IS about what you say it isn’t about? Otherwise what’s the point of saying it isn’t about that? It also isn’t about Martians landing - that would be silly too. You are excluding an awful lot of play titles if the play has to be all about the title in your prescriptive world. Cymbeline for one. Hundreds more. A resonant connection is enough for me. Or, actually, whatever the writer wants to call it. Sorry, Alexandra, I didn’t get back to you sooner. I can see my comments are rather convoluted. What i mean is that calling the play Hamnet is trading on the name of the Play Hamlet. This play, Hamnet, attempts to show how WS was inspired by his son, the son’s tragic death and thereby became the brilliant playwright we know he became. |
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Post by cirque on Sept 17, 2023 17:32:28 GMT
EW in Sunday Times says she was disrupter at RSC and doubts with new AD s if there will be ant disruption. I think destroyer is a more appropriate label. She has taken RSC to depths where new AD team can’t get the company out of mire until her planned seasons come to a close.They have no real authority over the EW planning cycle. Why give page time to EW ….she has left and the RSC in time will be better for it. Not just yet.
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Post by Jon on Sept 17, 2023 17:37:53 GMT
EW in Sunday Times says she was disrupter at RSC and doubts with new AD s if there will be ant disruption. I think destroyer is a more appropriate label. She has taken RSC to depths where new AD team can’t get the company out of mire until her planned seasons come to a close.They have no real authority over the EW planning cycle. Why give page time to EW ….she has left and the RSC in time will be better for it. Not just yet. We get it, you hate Erica Whyman. The fact Hamnet has extended six weeks already probably is a dagger in the heart to the usual suspects. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 17, 2023 19:09:37 GMT
Hamnet is selling because of the novel, not the director.
The Stratford reviews were not stellar. But the book is loved by many hence why it has sold.
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Post by alexandra on Sept 17, 2023 21:28:58 GMT
“Sorry, Alexandra, I didn’t get back to you sooner. I can see my comments are rather convoluted. What i mean is that calling the play Hamnet is trading on the name of the Play Hamlet. This play, Hamnet, attempts to show how WS was inspired by his son, the son’s tragic death and thereby became the brilliant playwright we know he became.”
Still nonsense I’m afraid, Lynette. The play is called Hamnet because it’s a dramatisation of the book called Hamnet. And it’s a marvellous book which earns its title; I cannot recommend highly enough that you read it. You may feel that the play doesn’t work and/or doesn’t do justice to the book; I felt it was a decent stab at dramatising the book, and enjoyed it in its own right. Either way, to call it something else would have been like calling the adaptation of Wolf Hall “Cromwell” because Wolf Hall hardly featured in Hilary Mantel’s novel.
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Post by lynette on Sept 17, 2023 22:47:34 GMT
“Sorry, Alexandra, I didn’t get back to you sooner. I can see my comments are rather convoluted. What i mean is that calling the play Hamnet is trading on the name of the Play Hamlet. This play, Hamnet, attempts to show how WS was inspired by his son, the son’s tragic death and thereby became the brilliant playwright we know he became.” Still nonsense I’m afraid, Lynette. The play is called Hamnet because it’s a dramatisation of the book called Hamnet. And it’s a marvellous book which earns its title; I cannot recommend highly enough that you read it. You may feel that the play doesn’t work and/or doesn’t do justice to the book; I felt it was a decent stab at dramatising the book, and enjoyed it in its own right. Either way, to call it something else would have been like calling the adaptation of Wolf Hall “Cromwell” because Wolf Hall hardly featured in Hilary Mantel’s novel. It reminds me of those rip off products that just change one letter of a name or slightly change the font or the face of a caterpillar cake to pass off as the original..it seems to me that whereas the book is of itself a novel and as you say, good ( other people have recommended to me to) making it the title of the play that the RSC puts on in Stratford is leading punters up a misleading path. |
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Post by richardh on Sept 18, 2023 12:35:15 GMT
Hamnet is selling because of the novel, not the director. The Stratford reviews were not stellar. But the book is loved by many hence why it has sold. I agree. I saw it in Stratford and thought it was ok but nothing more. Part of its success there in my opinion was due to the popularity of the book and the fact that it re-opened the much-loved Swan theatre after its enforced closure during the pandemic and the building works. After that for me EW's programming for the rest of the Swan season fell off a cliff, and was promoted more on the RSC website than the main house Shakespeare productions were, which seemed almost to be an afterthought. I feel sorry for the new joint ADs and really do wish them well. You have to really hunt on the website to see much mention of them yet - there has been no mention in any Patrons' mailings of them as far as I can remember and all the press still is linked to EW. They are in charge but almost invisible so far. In last week's tribute to the retiring Catherine Mallyon they said they were "preparing to announce their first season". It can't come soon enough for me. |
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Post by petrichor on Oct 8, 2023 8:21:23 GMT
I saw the matinee of this at the Garrick yesterday. Thought it was perfectly fine! I've not read the book, though have now got up to Chapter 4 on the audiobook. I must say, lots about the play makes better sense in the context of the novel (even after just 4 chapters!) and with more understanding of what O'Farrell is up to in her writing. It's a tricky book to adapt - jumping timelines, jumping narrators etc. and I don't think it's anywhere near as successfully done as Chakrabarti's 'Life of Pi'. Some really good performances, some weaker performances - very much a 3.5 stars for me.
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