141 posts
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Post by blobble84 on May 9, 2023 21:59:13 GMT
Annie Baker's 'Infinite Life' to the NT (Dorfman) towards the end of the year?
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 10, 2023 15:24:51 GMT
has it been announced?
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1,081 posts
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Post by andrew on May 10, 2023 16:15:28 GMT
I think if you're posting a rumour it would be good form to either post where it came from or provide a bit more substance from your own involvement with it.
But also I want this so bad, please let it be true.
EDIT: ok I've seen more info now I'm happy, EXTREMELY happy, queen baker returns
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1,828 posts
Member is Online
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Post by Dave B on May 10, 2023 16:34:36 GMT
I think if you're posting a rumour it would be good form to either post where it came from or provide a bit more substance from your own involvement with it. But also I want this so bad, please let it be true. EDIT: ok I've seen more info now I'm happy, EXTREMELY happy, queen baker returns Surely by the logic if your initial post, you now should be adding the 'more info' here for the rest of us... right?  |
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2,478 posts
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Post by zahidf on Nov 26, 2023 0:05:04 GMT
First preview tonight!
Around 1 hour 50 min no interval
Was very funny in places. Some black out scenes a little long and people nodded off.
Was interesting and fun overall with good acting. But not as good as the Flick
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1,217 posts
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Post by nash16 on Nov 26, 2023 1:12:44 GMT
The first preview was on Wednesday of this week, wasn’t it? First preview tonight! Around 1 hour 50 min no interval Was very funny in places. Some black out scenes a little long and people nodded off. Was interesting and fun overall with good acting. But not as good as the Flick |
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Post by pledge on Nov 27, 2023 10:08:49 GMT
Profound, complex, subtle and in some ways (intentionally?) unsatisfying, this will definitely warrant/require a second visit...
One grumble; half the performances are (again, intentional?) piano-pianissimo. Theoretically this should force the audience to listen harder...but the effect is spoiled if sat next to (as I discovered too late) one of those strange people who laughs aloud at every single line, whether appropriate or not. (Why do they do that???) As a result I reckon I missed about 20% of the dialogue. Fingers crossed for next time.
Standing ovation as usual, but in this case perhaps slightly more justified than most...
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406 posts
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Post by MrBunbury on Nov 28, 2023 11:07:02 GMT
Profound, complex, subtle and in some ways (intentionally?) unsatisfying, this will definitely warrant/require a second visit... One grumble; half the performances are (again, intentional?) piano-pianissimo. Theoretically this should force the audience to listen harder...but the effect is spoiled if sat next to (as I discovered too late) one of those strange people who laughs aloud at every single line, whether appropriate or not. (Why do they do that???) As a result I reckon I missed about 20% of the dialogue. Fingers crossed for next time. Standing ovation as usual, but in this case perhaps slightly more justified than most... I agree with your points. I saw it last Wednesday and I found it fascinating, but there were moment when I could hardly hear what the actors were saying (and I was in the stalls). I was near someone who thought it was a farce and laughed every ten seconds, which did not help to hear. |
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Post by prefab on Nov 29, 2023 12:12:06 GMT
I loved it, but I got lucky seeing it on Friday night with a rapt audience. I am glad that I slept well the night before though, because between the dim lighting and the prolonged silences, I can imagine some audience members drifting asleep. Still, I thought it did a brilliant job of transporting you to the headspace of these characters dealing with chronic pain and the low energy that comes from fasting, experiencing time differently. It's one of the few 90+ minute plays I've seen where the lack of an interval makes perfect thematic sense.
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Post by partytentdown on Nov 29, 2023 13:33:17 GMT
Quite enjoyed this but felt like it was maybe just 10 mins too long - people were starting to shuffle and a I spotted a few people nodding off. I counted 3x couples who left in the first half or so (making quite a racket in the middle of quiet scenes).
Mysteriously a large bit of black fabric fell from above the stage in the middle of one scene. It was one of the night scenes so it wasn't very obvious but it wasn't mentioned and at some point someone grabbed it and took it off with them. I assume this wasn't intended?!
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1,476 posts
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Post by Steve on Nov 30, 2023 19:06:01 GMT
Saw this last night and LOVED it. Don't expect drama. Expect a slice of life. As with much Annie Baker, the drama is not in the fabric of the work, but hides, almost invisibly, in the seams. All the actors are terrific. Some spoilers follow. . . The play is about six people (four older women, one middle aged woman, one middle-aged man) coping with pain and illness. They lie on comfortable deck chairs, at a health resort, engaging in idle conversation, sharing stories of ailments, sharing tips on coping, sometimes lying in silence, in varying combinations. The health resort seems to rely on calorie reduction as a principal means of coping with pain, a kind of "cleansing" which didn't strike me as a great idea, but what do I know? Pain is so debilitating that whatever works for you, do it! If anybody is the main character, it's definitely Christina Kirk's middle-aged Sofi, who broke my heart by exuding a perpetual, weary, silent, uncomplaining agony so convincingly, that I could almost feel her pain myself. By contrast, Mia Katigback's Yvette has by far the most ailments, but seems strangely preternaturally cheery, and the dissonance is funny, which is the source of a plurality of the laughs in this play, although the play resembles neither comedy nor drama, but real life. Like Caryl Churchill's "Here we go," in which Patrick Godfrey's old man was wordlessly dressed, undressed, dressed, undressed by a carer, this play is a sobering reminder of how fragile we are, how much our quality of life is determined by our capabilities and health, regardless of our hopes and dreams This play is less reductive than Churchill's, finding something worthwhile in talking with fellow sufferers, although whether community is a mere distraction from, or a partial cure to, pain, is in the eye of the beholding audience, as there is nothing didactic about anything that happens. Marylouise Burke is immensely endearing as the helium-voiced Eileen, a Christian who steps away from "dirty" conversations, but compassionately makes herself available to others. And in their own ways, Christine Nielsen's Ginnie (the talky one), Pete Simpson's Nelson (the private one) and Brenda Pressly's Elaine (the avoidant one) are all equally well-characterised and wonderful in their own ways. So if you don't mind seeing a show with no perceptible plotting, no perceptible motivation to entertain (it's all in the seams), and you want to contemplate your own fragility and what's worthwhile in life, then this is your play. I'd give it 4 and a half stars.  |
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Dec 2, 2023 10:06:24 GMT
What's the pit rake like for this? I'm looking at row B or C? Otherwise row L or front row circle but worried that might be a bit far back.
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1,476 posts
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Post by Steve on Dec 2, 2023 12:53:51 GMT
What's the pit rake like for this? I'm looking at row B or C? Otherwise row L or front row circle but worried that might be a bit far back. Rake looks fine to my eye. Rows B and C eye lines are above stage level, and far back enough that you have a good view of everybody on their deck chairs. |
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628 posts
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Post by jek on Dec 2, 2023 17:29:28 GMT
This is a play I valued rather than enjoyed. I shall be thinking about it for some time. I should say that the subject matter was quite close to the bone as I am a woman in her sixties whose body requires almost as much maintenance as our Victorian terraced house! The themes around ageing don't get explored enough but at points I felt they would be better considered by a playwright older than 42. I say that as an Annie Baker fan. I didn't see The Flick but loved John (also starring Mary Louise Burke) and enjoyed parts of the Antipodes. I found the audience reaction a bit strange at points - finding poignant stuff hilariously funny. Also an elderly woman (aged about 80 I would say) a few seats from us in the gallery snored through the whole performance. She was attending by herself and so had no-one to nudge her awake.I felt very worried for her as people were laughing and talking very loudly about her as they left (she could clearly be heard in other parts of the auditorium). In a play which takes a compassionate look at ageing it struck a sour note.
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1,970 posts
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Post by sf on Dec 2, 2023 19:26:15 GMT
Saw it this afternoon. Fascinating, gripping, beautifully written and directed and designed, nowhere near as naturalistic as it first appears, and something I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Was it a fun afternoon at the theatre? No, though it is occasionally very funny. It is very good indeed, but it is not an easy ride. It's also not something everybody is going to enjoy, so do your homework before you buy a ticket.
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Post by merrilywereadalong on Dec 3, 2023 6:57:18 GMT
What's the pit rake like for this? I'm looking at row B or C? Otherwise row L or front row circle but worried that might be a bit far back. Rake looks fine to my eye. Rows B and C eye lines are above stage level, and far back enough that you have a good view of everybody on their deck chairs. Going with a friend on Monday and we are Row A in the pit. Just so I'm adjusting my expectations, will we be missing THAT much? I don't mind a high stage or looking up but wondering how much gets cut off |
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Post by matildaswinton on Dec 3, 2023 8:22:21 GMT
Rake looks fine to my eye. Rows B and C eye lines are above stage level, and far back enough that you have a good view of everybody on their deck chairs. Going with a friend on Monday and we are Row A in the pit. Just so I'm adjusting my expectations, will we be missing THAT much? I don't mind a high stage or looking up but wondering how much gets cut off Last night we sat in A14 and A15… I’m convinced they were the best seats in the house. Tons of legroom and eye level above stage. Perfect for this very understated piece. |
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Dec 3, 2023 8:27:35 GMT
Is Row A the rush seats?
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Post by matildaswinton on Dec 3, 2023 8:30:04 GMT
This is DELIGHTFUL! First time seeing an AB play live although I love reading her work. Deep and affecting, but everything comes off with a light touch. Felt like grown-up theater. MLB was so touching. It’s a privilege to see actors of a certain age tread the boards. Audience really into it. Closer the better to see every nuance and not miss any dialogue.
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Post by matildaswinton on Dec 3, 2023 8:30:45 GMT
They’ve been going for 30 on the website, and then day of sometimes drop to 20. |
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1,345 posts
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Post by tmesis on Dec 3, 2023 23:22:11 GMT
It’s OK - not as good as The Flick but way better than John and The Antipodes (which was dire.) The numerous scenes in near darkness are unnecessary and tiresome and the huge pauses in the final scene between the bloke and the younger woman stretched credulity (I realise that ‘awkwardness’ is here shtick but maybe I’ve just had too much of it.)
Can’t fault the tip top performances though.
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1,470 posts
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Post by mkb on Dec 4, 2023 0:41:03 GMT
I caught Friday night's performance and was underwhelmed. This was my least favourite of the four Annie Baker plays that have graced the Dorfman. It begins promisingly enough, but then despondency sets in when you realise there is nothing more. The same could be said for the life of lead character Sofi, who is in regular physical pain and has not been happy for some years. Whether those two things are connected is unclear. For a play to work when it is driven by dialogue rather than narrative development, one has to be invested in the characers and interested in what they have to say. One's natural tendency to empathise with people in distress and despair is sorely tested here. Sofi is the sort of person you would make an excuse to depart from should she engage you in conversation. Occasionally she will say something off-the-wall bonkers to pique your interest, but mainly she is dull and a mood-dampener. Some of the other characters show signs of being far more interesting, but none is explored satisfactorily. The performances are all beautifully realised, but I'm afraid I have no idea what Annie Baker was trying to say here. The ending seems to hint at something profound, but in reality amounts to no more than the idea that being disconnected from others is what causes human pain, but leaves it dangling unrealised. Three stars. One act: 19:35-21:24 (9 minutes longer than advertised, and meant we nearly missed our train. Apologies to cast and audience who we had to disturb by leaving at the onset of the curtain call. It continues to frustrate me that the National is incapable of publishing their actual running times.) |
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Post by dlevi on Dec 7, 2023 9:22:24 GMT
A beautiful play. Annie Baker's world is tiny and more detailed than Chekov's - and often just as affecting. Nothing is wasted and so much is left of unsaid but when a company of great actors commits to her world it's simply wonderful. Clearly not for everyone, the woman next to me ( after the show) asked : why didn't they talk more? and why didn't they speak louder? I tried to explain it to her - but she was having none of it. Having been through a similar situation where one is sharing confidences with strangers whom one will never see again, Ms Baker captured that awkwardness perfectly. There is a quiet profundity to her plays and her people which I adore. A serious play for serious theatergoers.
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Post by prefab on Dec 8, 2023 14:13:26 GMT
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Dec 10, 2023 15:16:56 GMT
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