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Post by jojo on Nov 5, 2023 21:16:04 GMT
Ah yes, those RADA actors, that need that break so much more. It does seem weird to make a feature of it. I'm all for established stars supporting the next generation, and showing a bit of favouritism to your old drama school is perfectly natural, but what were they trying to achieve? If it really were about giving recent RADA graduates a chance to be seen, why the high ticket prices? Prices which are defended by people insisting the graduates already have West End experience after all. So what's the point? Or was the hope to have everyone raving about how brilliant the cast was - "all RADA graduate you know" - therefore raving about how great RADA is? If this were a lesser known drama school it might make sense, especially if it were one of the non-London ones, or the cast were all National Youth Theatre graduates, or exclusively from state schools. I think there's no doubt that some reviewers revel in the opportunity to bring a big name down a peg or two, but it can work the other way. And while Brannagh's ego may be bruised, he'll be fine. I feel sorry for the younger cast, but again it's mainly a hit to their egos. They're still getting a lot of great experience, and casting directors won't hold it against them. I think Ken's a decent actor and a decent director, but I share the popular opinion he shouldn't do both at the same time. I wonder if directing recent graduates who may feel grateful for the opportunity, rather than experienced actors more willing to exert their own opinions, turns it into the perfect navel gazing storm. |
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Post by parsley1 on Nov 5, 2023 22:04:49 GMT
It’s the worst King Lear I have seen
An actor taking on Lear, Macbeth, Hamlet
Is taking on a challenge which needs to be done with eyes wide open
And an awareness of legacy
Ben Wishaw did something different with Hamlet
Branagh offers no new insights with Lear
Even as a traditional attempt the verse speaking is at odds
Appallingly so
I think I have seen the following Lears:
Corin Redgrave
Jonathan Pryce
Derek Jacobi
Timothy West
Glenda Jackson
Ian McKellan
Simon RB
Branagh is at the bottom of the pile for me both as a Lear and as a production
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Post by ceebee on Nov 6, 2023 0:03:14 GMT
Motion parsed.
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Post by nash16 on Nov 6, 2023 0:24:53 GMT
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Post by teamyali on Nov 7, 2023 15:51:43 GMT
Tonight’s performance cancelled. Yikes! If this is illness-related we can understand, but if it is related to the poor reviews, uh huh. (I still can’t believe that Kenneth Branagh is on his flop era.) http://instagram.com/p/CzWYougy-Xp |
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Post by erik24601 on Nov 7, 2023 15:52:16 GMT
Another (very late) cancelled performance this evening.
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Post by mm75 on Nov 7, 2023 16:06:43 GMT
Tonight’s performance cancelled. Yikes! If this is illness-related we can understand, but if it is related to the poor reviews, uh huh. (I still can’t believe that Kenneth Branagh is on his flop era.) http://instagram.com/p/CzWYougy-Xp I doubt this is anything to do with reviews .. everyone everywhere is getting sick right now .. |
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Post by parsley1 on Nov 7, 2023 18:53:32 GMT
I doubt this is anything to do with reviews .. everyone everywhere is getting sick right now .. People please have your flu and or Covid jabs if eligible |
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Post by theatreliker on Nov 7, 2023 20:38:49 GMT
Is he doing another Poirot?
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Post by demelza on Nov 8, 2023 12:08:07 GMT
Is he doing another Poirot? A Haunting in Venice did well at the Box Office compared to how much it cost to make (I think it recouped?) so I'd imagine that Disney will want a fourth one |
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Post by David J on Nov 8, 2023 12:42:15 GMT
Is he doing another Poirot? A Haunting in Venice did well at the Box Office compared to how much it cost to make (I think it recouped?) so I'd imagine that Disney will want a fourth one That's not certain. So far it has made more than $120 million and with a supposed budget of $60 million, but that doesn't factor in the share cinemas take from the box office and the marketing. General rule of thumb is a movie has to make 2.5x its budget to break even so Haunting in Venice has to make roughly $150 million. Maybe it will eventually get over the line with streaming but its not a good outlook for the Poirot series. And Disney is a bit strapped for cash at the moment, though they have been making some costly decisions lately It's telling when Haunting in Venice was clearly aiming for a younger demographic who are into horror movies, which probably turned off some of it's key older demographic. And given the strikes it will be a while before we see another Poirot movie. |
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Post by demelza on Nov 8, 2023 13:12:42 GMT
Potentially no fourth then unless it does unprecedentedly well on digital! At least that could give some time to rework King Lear before it goes to New York next year
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Post by Jan on Nov 8, 2023 15:52:20 GMT
Have won the lottery for Monday, so there is hope if you're looking for affordable seats. I just won it too. How exciting, assuming it’s actually back on next week. |
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Post by rumtom on Nov 8, 2023 18:53:47 GMT
Have won the lottery for Monday, so there is hope if you're looking for affordable seats. I just won it too. How exciting, assuming it’s actually back on next week. How strange.. I just won it too! I even had the box office calling me to make sure I was booking. |
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Post by Sotongal on Nov 9, 2023 12:29:34 GMT
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Post by mm75 on Nov 9, 2023 14:57:45 GMT
Wow due to the canx re sickness I guess more shows being put on and reasonably priced I will be going back again .. |
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Post by sara1333 on Nov 11, 2023 11:17:21 GMT
If anyone is interested- I have a ticket listed on the noticeboard for next Tuesday.
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Post by zahidf on Nov 11, 2023 16:49:47 GMT
Meh this wasn't very good. The acting felt very Rote and didn't feel the tragedy
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Post by westendboy on Nov 12, 2023 12:10:32 GMT
I booked a ticket to see this back in June, mainly to see Branagh live on stage. I enjoyed his film version of 'Hamlet' from 1996 a lot, so I was enthusiastic to see him perform Shakespeare live. I was also not too familiar with 'King Lear', having not seen or read it before, so I was hoping to get a thrilling first proper performance of this play. Even when all the less than positive reviews came in, I still went in on Thursday evening with an open mind and waited to give my own judgement. Coming out of the Wyndham's 2 hours later, I think the reviews weren't without reason to dislike this production.
This was honestly a very disappointing experience for me, almost bitterly! For me the two main issues with this production I had were how they adapted 'Lear' and the performances;
As someone who hadn't seen, or read, 'King Lear' before, I could barely follow the plot half the time. I think this was due to them cutting a potentially 3-4 hour play to 2 (with no interval I mind you) that made me miss the tragedy of the piece. I might have to just read the full text, or watch a better performance to fully understand and appreciate it.
Now as for the performances, this is probably where I had the most issues with. As we know, the majority of the cast, bar from Branagh, are all RADA graduates and I could honestly tell that they were from their performances. I'm not trying to say this in a condescending way, but more of that they all need a bit more time and experience. Some performances were decent, whilst others were not so good. It also didn't help that they were all noticeably younger than Branagh, despite some of the characters being supposedly the same age as Lear.
Speaking of Branagh though, I honestly found his performance to be the weakest out of everyone in the cast. Putting his age aside, I just couldn't believe him as Lear. Most of the time, his performance just felt very 'performey' and I couldn't take him seriously throughout. There were times where I think his intention was to be serious in specific moments, but they just turned out to me more unintentionally funny. But during the ending, my god, it was the most over the top, unbelievable acting I had ever seen. He was hamming it up more than a ham sandwich! As others have pointed out, Branagh is a very good actor. I liked him in 'Hamlet', even if he did 'ham' it up a bit there, but he's proven to bring believable performances, such as in 'Tenet', so it was honestly a let down to see him bring a less than stellar performance.
Overall, a mighty disappointment, not much else to say. At least 'Backstairs Billy' last night was better.
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Post by sb61 on Nov 15, 2023 20:09:58 GMT
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Post by nash16 on Nov 15, 2023 21:16:33 GMT
He scoured the length and breadth of the RADA foyer, and then forgot to direct them all. 🙄 |
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Post by sb61 on Nov 15, 2023 22:12:41 GMT
He scoured the length and breadth of the RADA foyer, and then forgot to direct them all. 🙄 Read the article it says how good they are .. |
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Post by nash16 on Nov 15, 2023 22:21:42 GMT
It’s baffling, isn’t it? Is she a friend of Ken? Read the article it says how good they are .. |
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Post by zahidf on Nov 15, 2023 22:33:57 GMT
I feel they would have benefited from a less high profile west end role overall.
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Post by hannechalk on Nov 16, 2023 11:20:04 GMT
I doubt this is anything to do with reviews .. everyone everywhere is getting sick right now .. People please have your flu and or Covid jabs if eligible I had both, and guess what? |
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