A Mirror - Almeida / Trafalgar Theatre

[rumtom]

If anyone has a ticket for sale please let me know! This completely bypassed me.

[Rory]

The Almeida's site says more tickets will go on sale when the set is in. Worth keeping an eye out.

[rumtom]

Aug 12, 2023 9:06:22 GMT Rory said:

The Almeida's site says more tickets will go on sale when the set is in. Worth keeping an eye out.

That's good to know, I'll keep checking back, thanks Rory!

[Rory]

Aug 12, 2023 9:20:34 GMT rumtom said:

Aug 12, 2023 9:06:22 GMT Rory said:

The Almeida's site says more tickets will go on sale when the set is in. Worth keeping an eye out.

That's good to know, I'll keep checking back, thanks Rory!

Yeah, says from 14th August so look out on Monday.

[solotheatregoer]

Aug 12, 2023 9:06:22 GMT Rory said:

The Almeida's site says more tickets will go on sale when the set is in. Worth keeping an eye out.

Oooh, thanks for the heads up!  I'm a huge JLM fan so desperate to get tickets to this.  Fingers crossed!

[solotheatregoer]

I called the Almeida this morning. There is currently one returned ticket available for the 16th August in the stalls but they also said they will be releasing more tickets for all dates either today or tomorrow. I can't make the 16th, otherwise I would have taken it. Just thought I'd mention in case it worked for someone else.

The woman I spoke to said there is a dress rehearsal today and that they are still building the set.

[rumtom]

Aug 14, 2023 10:34:28 GMT solotheatregoer said:

I called the Almeida this morning. There is currently one returned ticket available for the 16th August in the stalls but they also said they will be releasing more tickets for all dates either today or tomorrow. I can't make the 16th, otherwise I would have taken it. Just thought I'd mention in case it worked for someone else.

The woman I spoke to said there is a dress rehearsal today and that they are still building the set.

Thank you. I called but they said it's already gone and there's nothing available at the moment.

[solotheatregoer]

Aug 14, 2023 13:34:57 GMT rumtom said:

Aug 14, 2023 10:34:28 GMT solotheatregoer said:

I called the Almeida this morning. There is currently one returned ticket available for the 16th August in the stalls but they also said they will be releasing more tickets for all dates either today or tomorrow. I can't make the 16th, otherwise I would have taken it. Just thought I'd mention in case it worked for someone else.

The woman I spoke to said there is a dress rehearsal today and that they are still building the set.

Thank you. I called but they said it's already gone and there's nothing available at the moment.

The website now has one ticket in the stalls showing as being available on Monday 21st August if that works for you.  I need one for the 18th so fingers crossed the new seats are released soon. 

[NeilVHughes]

Tickets released/available across the run.

[rumtom]

I saw this tonight (row C - circle. Great view, comfy seats, limited legroom) and loved the theatre of it (I mean I loved the theatre of the whole experience. I also love theatre generally and the Almeida theatre). I won't go into any detail as it was all part of the experience not knowing what you're walking into but I was gripped for the whole 2 hours (no interval, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned).

It was slick; the dialogue was sharp, funny and natural - and it didn't talk down to the audience. A common problem, I find, with political/dystopian plays.

It reminded me of Brave New World and of Jafar Panahi, and I'm sure a lot more things to a lot of other people, but overall I was very impressed and having seen The Effect earlier in the day, I came away thinking this was the much better of the two.

JLM was very impressive but I thought the rest of the cast were strong too.

[partytentdown]

2 hours no interval? Better start my bladder training now.

[mrnutz]

Aug 17, 2023 9:18:55 GMT partytentdown said:

2 hours no interval? Better start my bladder training now.

Ugh. GIVE ME AN INTERVAL.

[alessia]

Really looking forward to this. I am pro no interval, the speedier the better for me. I find that the breaks just tire me out and I want to go home, especially if it's an evening performance.

[Rory]

Very little feedback on social media about this so far.

[Steve]

Saw this tonight and LOVED it.

For me, it's an excellent, mischievous and Brechtian play about creativity, identity, and what it means to express yourself in a totalitarian environment. Jonny Lee Miller is perfect casting.

Some spoilers follow (but not too much lol) . . .

First of all, although you get an order of service on your seat, detailing the wedding service of "Leyla and Joel at Almeida Hall," I'm not going to talk about that. That's part of an ingenious Brechtian framing device, which throws you out of the play, as Brechtian devices deliberately do, but which is so well done that it doesn't come across as distracting and didactic, as such devices often do, but playful and exciting instead. Saying any more about that would be too spoilery.

So the main body of the play features Jonny Lee Miller as Theatre Censorship Czar, Celik, who sees himself as an enlightened fellow, a cut above your run of the mill monster. Celik wants to save talented innocents, such as Michael Ward's nascent playwright, Adem, from getting chucked into the gulag for inadvertently insulting the State. He's going to channel Adem's productivity, such that Adem produces good work, but doesn't get himself cancelled. . .

I recall seeing "Frankenstein" at the National 4 times, twice with Lee Miller as the Monster, and twice with Cumberbatch as the Monster. I chose to take family and guests to the Lee Miller monster version because Jonny Lee Miller humanises monsters, and I found that the more moving version, with Cumberbatch playing the cerebral Frankenstein utterly and tragically brilliantly opposite him. Where Cumberbatch's Monster had been terrifyingly Borg-like, building himself calculatingly and incrementally into a frightening weapon of revenge, Lee Miller's monster was an aching howling wounded cry of flailing human anguish.

There's no doubt that if you are the head of theatre censorship in a totalitarian state, you are a monster, but once again, Lee Miller makes us care about this monster. At his core, Lee Miller's Celik is like an excited child, infectiously wanting to play at theatre with all and sundry, trying to ignore the truth about what he really is.

This is undoubtedly a play of ideas, as my mind was racing for the full two hours duration: I thought of that Russian Newsanchor who bravely suddenly announced on Russian state TV that she wasn't going to pretend that the "Special Military Operation" wasn't a war any more, and promptly got herself cancelled; I thought of how important writing and legacy is to Katurian in the play "The Pillowman;" I thought of the 1420 YouTube channel interviewing Russians on the Streets of Moscow, and how 95 percent of them answer "Oh, I'm not a political person. I don't know anything about politics;" I thought of Ann Dowd's utterly astonishing portrayal of Aunt Lydia in the TV version of "The Handmaid's Tale," in which Dowd is at once the most loathsome tyrannical monster, yet somehow, somewhere, some part of her wants to think she's doing the right thing; I thought of Tom Hollander's calm and calculating Berezovsky, thinking he could mollify the worst of Putin in the Almeida's "Patriots;" I thought of Martin Crimp's "The Treatment," in which a Hollywood screenwriter's vision is twisted by degrees, substituting BS for truth; I thought of Complicite, and how they demonstrate the power of manipulating storytelling, for good or for ill, especially in their adaptation of "The Master and Margarita" and that thing where we had to wear earphones and they told us countries were just stories we tell ourselves (lol); and I thought of how in Nikita Mikhalkov's Russian version of "Twelve Angry Men," he changes the ending to suggest that the power of the glorious State is much more important than the rights of any impertinent individual.

And that's what this play does: it makes you think while Jonny Lee Miller puts a human backbone behind it.

I felt that Geoffrey Streatfeild's conceited character, Michael Ward's truthful character and Tanya Reynold's conflicted character also brought heaps of humanity, humour and stakes to the table, providing Lee Miller with terrific support

There was a speech that Streatfeild had that felt a little too explanatory, like the denouement of Psycho, where too many loose ends are tied up, but it's just a niggle.

All in all, I felt Sam Holcroft has crafted a terrific play and this cast do it justice. 4 and a half stars from me.

PS: Tonight, the running time was 2 hours, 5 minutes straight through, beginning 5 minutes late and concluding at 9:40pm. I had plenty of time to catch my last train at 10:40pm.

[rumbledoll]

What Steve said!
A brilliant piece, being from Russia makes it even scarier.. Hope it will have a life beyond Almeida cause this an essential story to be shared.

[thistimetomorrow]

I really enjoyed this! Initial reaction was that this gave off similar vibes/themes to 'That Is Not Who I Am' at the Royal Court (but so much better) and 'The Pillowman' (but without all the excessive gore), but it really is a lot more than that. The 2 hours didn't feel like 2 hours at all and the actors were all great.

[nottobe]

I saw this last night and was very excited to see something I knew nothing at all about. I’ll try not to spoil it but there might be a few minor things.

I found this to be an entertaining political thriller. The set up for the wedding was exciting and they have done well to make a good atmosphere. The play itself is an interesting look at art censorship and why we make and see theatre. I was also surprised just how funny this was. At moments it felt like a political Noises Off.

Johnny Lee Miller was the highlight for me as just has a great stage presence and plays his part very well. I hope he returns to the London stage sooner than his previous ten year gap. I also particularly liked Tanya Reynolds as she carried a lot of the humour in the play and again has such a great presence. The other performances I liked but they didn’t stand out as much for me. 

For me the play play was well written and an entertaining piece however I personally was expecting a bit more of e bite. The few things I saw before coming made me think it might be a bit more punchy in talking about real countries. It is  called A Mirror and they talk about political plays holing up a mirror to society however I feel this sort of doesn’t hold a mirror up to our world as it seems a lot of fiction. 

I would give it a 4 out of 5. It is entertaining and acted very well but I personally I wanted a but more punch.

[solotheatregoer]

Fully agree nottobe. I saw this on Friday night and I would say it was one of the best productions I have seen this year. So glad I finally got to see the outstanding JLM on stage. I had only seen Tanya Reynolds in Sex Education so I knew of her ability to do comedy roles but I thought she was great in this. I also enjoyed the audience participation element, which runs the risk of coming across as a bit gimmicky but not here.

I was surprised to see some empty seats (I counted 10) despite the night showing as sold out and after I struggled to get a ticket. It was my first time at the Almeida and the seats were probably the worst I have experienced in terms of leg room. I loved how intimate the theatre is though and really wished I had a chance to see Streetcar here instead of at the Phoenix. I think it would have been a completely different experience.

[partytentdown]

I've just returned a single ticket for tonight if anyone is looking.

[Rory]

Seats on sale for both performances on Saturday 2nd September

[partytentdown]

They seem to have just released a handful of tickets for basically every performance, if anyone is looking.

[iwanttix]

Aug 22, 2023 16:39:01 GMT partytentdown said:

They seem to have just released a handful of tickets for basically every performance, if anyone is looking.

Thanks for that, I just booked a ticket for this in a couple of weeks.

[theatremiss]

I see it has been mentioned a 2hr straight through? I only ever do a Sat matinee at the Almeida as my brain just loses all sense of direction it getting to and from the venue. I am going to a midweek evening show and always panic I’ll get lost and waste time getting to Waterloo. If this comes down at 2130hrs I will be giving a sigh of relief as I have masses of wiggle room to panic and still get my train.

[rumbledoll]

Aug 23, 2023 6:45:56 GMT theatremiss said:

I see it has been mentioned a 2hr straight through? I only ever do a Sat matinee at the Almeida as my brain just loses all sense of direction it getting to and from the venue. I am going to a midweek evening show and always panic I’ll get lost and waste time getting to Waterloo. If this comes down at 2130hrs I will be giving a sigh of relief as I have masses of wiggle room to panic and still get my train.

Finished at 21:38 when I went and it was a very early preview with a small delay, things should tighten up as they roll. Queue for the loo is a long one though...