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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 9, 2023 13:12:14 GMT
I mean what's on stage doesn't resemble the Manderley of the novel, though it is set there. I'm saying the cheap staging didn't bother me, cos Lauren Jones's performance conjured the drama of Manderley for me. What does that even mean? Going to need a detailed explanation. |
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Post by Steve on Sept 9, 2023 13:28:02 GMT
I mean what's on stage doesn't resemble the Manderley of the novel, though it is set there. I'm saying the cheap staging didn't bother me, cos Lauren Jones's performance conjured the drama of Manderley for me. What does that even mean? Going to need a detailed explanation. Lol. I'm on a hot bus here in Hammersmith tying myself in knots, aren't I? What I am saying is a good performance forgives a thousand sins in my world. Manderley may not be represented well by the cheap as chips set, but the wonderful music and lead performance were mesmerising enough, on their own, that it took me on a fantastic theatrical journey, regardless. Everyone will decide for themselves what aspects of a show they value more than others. Set design as a tool of storytelling, unless it involves helicopters, chandeliers and giant beanstalks, is usually lower on my radar than script, performance and music. So I loved this show despite its crappy set, cos the ingredients I value were there in abundance.  |
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Post by anthony on Sept 9, 2023 19:01:07 GMT
Yeah I don't really get the comments about the quality of productions at Charing Cross. Granted, last time I was there was Woman in White, but I remember the staging for that being pretty amazing. A shame there aren't any videos on YouTube to see if my memory is accurate, but there are some photos on Thom Southerland's website: thomsoutherland.co.uk/shows/the-woman-in-white/36Sadly not many photos of the whole set, but you can see how atmospheric the piece looks. The lighting was amazing. Rebecca lacks all of this. The orchestra was a huge waste of money and I STILL don't understand how it still sounds PAPER THIN?! I mean it's a larger orchestra than Phantom (14), than Les Mis (14), than Wicked (17)... it's madness. Anyway, popped into Charing Cross this afternoon to buy a programme (they didn't have them Monday night!) and Melanie Bright (alt. Danvers) was in the lobby talking to people who had just seen the show's matinee. Heard her saying that she was worried that people would have booked for Rebecca to see Kara Lane and then be upset when they realised it was her. But I also heard her say that she (and the rest of the cast!) were loving performing. The people she was speaking to seemed to love it. |
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Post by woobl on Sept 9, 2023 20:08:40 GMT
Yeah I don't really get the comments about the quality of productions at Charing Cross. Granted, last time I was there was Woman in White, but I remember the staging for that being pretty amazing. A shame there aren't any videos on YouTube to see if my memory is accurate, but there are some photos on Thom Southerland's website: thomsoutherland.co.uk/shows/the-woman-in-white/36Sadly not many photos of the whole set, but you can see how atmospheric the piece looks. The lighting was amazing. Rebecca lacks all of this. The orchestra was a huge waste of money and I STILL don't understand how it still sounds PAPER THIN?! I mean it's a larger orchestra than Phantom (14), than Les Mis (14), than Wicked (17)... it's madness. Anyway, popped into Charing Cross this afternoon to buy a programme (they didn't have them Monday night!) and Melanie Bright (alt. Danvers) was in the lobby talking to people who had just seen the show's matinee. Heard her saying that she was worried that people would have booked for Rebecca to see Kara Lane and then be upset when they realised it was her. But I also heard her say that she (and the rest of the cast!) were loving performing. The people she was speaking to seemed to love it. To your point about the orchestra - from what I gather, the new 'band room' is just that - a room where the band sit. The other shows you mention are in the open pits which allows the natural acoustic to shine. When every instrument is in a room, and piped through speaker, you'll never get the same effect. Could 5 musicians or 18, but it will still sound like it's come through a speaker - no matter how much reverb you stick on in. |
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Post by amygdalopita on Sept 9, 2023 21:10:44 GMT
But I went in thinking, this is Charing Cross, the absolute bottom of the theatre pecking order. This is where you find the hungry and the desperate. I don’t think that is fair at all. Have seen some wonderful productions there - Ragtime and Titanic immediately spring to mind. I agree ! The early years of Charing Cross were magnificent….. equally all the “outside producers” have done excellent jobs in Charing cross in recent years! - it’s only the last few years of in-house productions this could possibly apply to! |
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Post by boybooshka on Sept 10, 2023 9:15:26 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards.
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Post by Planty on Sept 10, 2023 10:31:13 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards. I counted 2 hours 35 ish including the interval on Thursday evening. I was out at 22:05. |
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Post by boybooshka on Sept 10, 2023 11:01:05 GMT
Thank you.
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Post by anthony on Sept 10, 2023 11:07:05 GMT
Apologies for being that person, but to those of you who have already seen it what is the running time? Website currently states 2hours 15mins but that seems a little short. We have tickets for a Sunday matinee in a few weeks and are trying to work out if we could fit something else in afterwards. I counted 2 hours 35 ish including the interval on Thursday evening. I was out at 22:05. Interesting - we got out just shy of 22:30 on Monday. It did start about 5 minutes late, but still. Suggests they've cut something because there weren't any pauses (I remember because we were irritated at missing the 22:28 train we usually get!) |
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Post by BVM on Sept 10, 2023 11:53:59 GMT
Has any musical on this forum ever had the one star vote in the lead? Or is this a first?
Wild....
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 10, 2023 14:04:32 GMT
Friend of mine is there now and says they canceled the matinee.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 10, 2023 14:05:53 GMT
Friend of mine is there now and says they canceled the matinee. Maybe they are painting the set? |
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 10, 2023 14:07:41 GMT
Friend of mine is there now and says they canceled the matinee. Maybe they are painting the set? LOLOLOLOL He said “technical problems”. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 10, 2023 15:38:47 GMT
Maybe they are painting the set? LOLOLOLOL He said “technical problems”. The white curtains got stuck |
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Post by anthony on Sept 10, 2023 16:55:15 GMT
To be fair, it genuinely wouldn't be surprising if the set has broken... The set is also so badly fitted that every scene change, it is damaging the floor, so eventually, the set will just be swinging around on its hinges as a result...
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Post by nick91 on Sept 10, 2023 17:27:43 GMT
After seeing it on Thursday I must say it is such a wasted opportunity. I really hope this isn't the only West End production of Rebecca, otherwise it would be extremely sad.
Positives: music (no doubt it is just awesome), Richard Carson (for me the perfect Max), Lauren Jones (so good) and the guy playing Ben (sorry, didn't catch his name but was brilliant).
Negatives: lyrics (the translation works but is very mediocre, sometimes silly), the venue itself (hearing trains during quiet solo performance of I was so bad), direction (no invention and some bad choices), of course stage and costumes (OMG this is the ugliest show I've ever seen in London - if you don't have the money to do a proper staging, don't do the opulent historical Rebecca! The stage is so impractical and ugly that it hurst. The costumes don't even fit the actors. I've never thought I would "judge the book by its cover" so much but in this case the staging is bringing the whole performance down massively).
Average: Melanie Bright as Mrs. Denvers - not particularly bad but definitely not amazing. She looks far too young for Mrs. Denvers (aka someone who has been taking care of other adult woman since her childhood) which pretty much supports the vibe of a student production. Her voice and acting is fine but not enough for Mrs. Denvers (in my opinion one of the best female roles ever written). It is kinda hard to understand the personality and motives of her Mrs. Denvers (and I also blame a director for this).
Overall: if you know and love Rebecca, don't punish yourself with seeing this. If you are not familiar with Rebecca, don't go there either, she deserves better introduction.
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Post by toomasj on Sept 10, 2023 19:30:41 GMT
This is going to sound very snobby, so “trigger warning” I guess?
I’m of a certain old-school that believes standards are set by your peers in life. You’ll get the occasional nutty outlier, but generally if everyone sits quietly and politely in a high end restaurant, the patterns of behaviour repeat. That said, it only takes one or two boisterous people to completely change the atmosphere of a room - in practically any context.
I apply this same logic to theatre.
The second people find excuses for very poor plays/musicals/shows, it empowers others to do what they can get away with and know that people will see it (and pretend they like it) anyway because that’s the norm.
Sometimes shows, producers, directors, designers and yes - occasionally performers - deserve a good verbal shoeing to keep them honest and maintain the most basic of standards. This goes double for expensive shows, whether they are fringe or West End.
We live in a world now where the most average of run-of-the-mill performances from a 10th cast on a phoned in Monday night routinely get a standing ovation, solely thanks to the goodwill from the audience and the material performed - completely ignoring quality, effort or value.
Sometimes a show needs to come along where people unanimously say “enough is enough”.
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Post by punxsutawney on Sept 10, 2023 19:40:22 GMT
This is going to sound very snobby, so “trigger warning” I guess? I’m of a certain old-school that believes standards are set by your peers in life. You’ll get the occasional nutty outlier, but generally if everyone sits quietly and politely in a high end restaurant, the patterns of behaviour repeat. That said, it only takes one or two boisterous people to completely change the atmosphere of a room - in practically any context. I apply this same logic to theatre. The second people find excuses for very poor plays/musicals/shows, it empowers others to do what they can get away with and know that people will see it (and pretend they like it) anyway because that’s the norm. Sometimes shows, producers, directors, designers and yes - occasionally performers - deserve a good verbal shoeing to keep them honest and maintain the most basic of standards. This goes double for expensive shows, whether they are fringe or West End. We live in a world now where the most average of run-of-the-mill performances from a 10th cast on a phoned in Monday night routinely get a standing ovation, solely thanks to the goodwill from the audience and the material performed - completely ignoring quality, effort or value. Sometimes a show needs to come along where people unanimously say “enough is enough”. I'm very much of the opposite belief in a lot of ways, but I couldn't agree more when it comes down to the arts and especially theatre. We have a point as a society where people are almost afraid to be seen as anything but adoring of a production. I think that people should be respectful at the show and once it finishes, there's no need to talk negatively and reactively in areas where people involved with the show might hear it, but there is absolutely no need for the odd, standing ovation culture that seems to have been cultivated. Not every show deserves that fawning reaction, in fact most do not, and there is nothing disrespectful about simply applauding instead. The same applies to reviews and online discussion - there are a lot of critics and spaces who seem afraid to be honest about the shortcomings of shows. How often do you see a WOS review go below 3 stars, for example? Sometimes shows deserve to be criticised from top to bottom, but there is a certain culture which has been cultivated by some that suggests that is disrespectful or rude. I'd say it's part of the choice you make when you release your work to the world. Nobody is obligated to like it, or stifle their critique. |
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Post by bobbievanhusen on Sept 10, 2023 20:25:18 GMT
Your logic is off.
i read it thinking it was about audience behaviour, but its about the shows themselves?
People can like different things for different reasons. You dont like a play/musical/show, fine, but why cant someone else enjoy it for what it is?
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Post by adamkinsey on Sept 10, 2023 20:53:26 GMT
I've witnessed a lot of amateur theatre over the years - some exceptional, some very good, some average, some awful. Just as with professional theatre. However I have never seen the worst amateur village hall fiver-a-ticket-to-include-a-drink mob have a set as naff as this.
Absolutely atrocious.
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Post by mattnyc on Sept 10, 2023 21:12:06 GMT
I've witnessed a lot of amateur theatre over the years - some exceptional, some very good, some average, some awful. Just as with professional theatre. However I have never seen the worst amateur village hall fiver-a-ticket-to-include-a-drink mob have a set as naff as this. Absolutely atrocious. STOP IT THIS JUST MAKES ME EVEN MORE EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEKEND!! |
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Post by Planty on Sept 10, 2023 22:31:31 GMT
I was there today. The show was cancelled about 20 minutes before the start time due to technical issues. I’m sure that whatever it is, it must have been serious. I understand that yesterday they had a couple of understudies on, so maybe there’s something to do with that too.
The very last minute cancellation was pretty mad, the staff however seemed in good spirits and dealing with the chaos pretty well. Some people got quite angry at the front of house/box office staff, which seems very unfair to them considering there’s nothing at all they can do about what happens backstage.
In particular a woman who shouted and demanded to speak to the manager, as if the manager could just put the show on at her request. I myself work as front of house and have been through this kind of situation, so thought this would be a good opportunity to remind theatre goers to be kind to the front of house staff. You anger will probably not make your message reach the right people. It’s probably more constructive to send an email/letter to the producers/managers/board members.
Having seen the show earlier this week, I was quite sad to see it cancelled today, but they did offer to exchange my ticket to a different date.
I have to agree with one of the earlier comments. Yes, the set is pretty terrible, but the story, the music and the performances are so beautiful that it is easy to ignore the background.
For anyone wondering wether to go or not I’d say: if you know and love the music, definitely do not miss it.
If you know nothing about it, listen to the German soundtrack and you’ll probably fall in love with the music and book your tickets.
I’m of the opinion that if this run goes relatively well, they might get a transfer or it might motivate someone else to do it better.
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Post by Planty on Sept 11, 2023 21:20:41 GMT
Was anyone there tonight? If so, what did you think? I heard there were quite a few understudies on because of cast illness. I wonder if yesterday had anything to do with that.
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Post by lilgirlbigcity on Sept 11, 2023 21:26:10 GMT
A friend who knows someone in the cast mentioned something about the set breaking and them having to rebuild the whole thing?! (Maybe they'll make it better...)
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 11, 2023 21:39:24 GMT
....what was there to break?!
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