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Post by alessia on Feb 8, 2024 7:02:04 GMT
Not entirely surprised at the reviews. I think 3 stars is v harsh. I agree with timeout (again!), 4 is a right.
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Post by andrew on Feb 8, 2024 7:25:58 GMT
I think a lot of older people just don't know when their phone is on silent or not. Oh, please. I'm 73 and perfectly capable of putting my phone on silent, or DND, or airplane mode or even turning the darn thing off to prevent it from bothering people (including myself). And I'm not unique among my friends. (My pet peeve is smart watches that spring to life with every movement of someone's arm.) Not going to be baited into a young vs old argument but nomatter what generation you are, the first three modes you mention are exactly the problem; it’s usually alarms (which break through all 3) or phone calls from contacts (which break through DND) that make phone noise during a show. I wish everyone would just turn the thing off. |
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Post by stevemar on Feb 8, 2024 8:06:30 GMT
5 stars - Financial Times, The Stage. 4 stars - Telegraph, Evening Standard, What’s on Stage, Time Out. 3 stars - Guardian, Independent. Per above, I thought this was 4 stars, and clearly was out of step with the majority here. Glad I went before the reviews, as there are as always far too many spoilers in some of them (which is why I only glance at them preshow these days). The FT review is a good read though. Reminded me of the best of Steve’s reviews ;-) - www.ft.com/content/e78cc386-2bb5-416b-bd81-a80a69025573 |
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Post by stevemar on Feb 8, 2024 8:07:34 GMT
It’s weird. Even the 4 star reviews read like 2 or 3 stars Perhaps when a playwright has attained a particularly high level of success, people become hyper-critical. Maybe even just to make themselves seem a little more "edgy" by not following popular opinion. Of course critics are entirely subjective, but with the body of work of Jez Butterworth, I think people may have been expecting another 5 star hit. So, arguably some would have been harsher, but others reverential. I think the reviews are generally fair. I was actually nervous posting my 4 star review given the raves here, and did think critics would generally rave too.. |
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Post by parsley1 on Feb 8, 2024 8:47:21 GMT
I 100% agree with her quote “As a portrait of complicated sisterhood, Beth Steel’s wedding drama Till the Stars Come Down, at the National Theatre, has so much more soul and spirit” And noted this myself in terms of parallels with the two plays which have both opened within a short space of time There is NO doubt Jed Butterworth is an amazing playwright But he isn’t an efficient storyteller by any means It is all often rather stretched on for my liking And the balance between characters and actual plot can be off |
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Post by parsley1 on Feb 8, 2024 8:50:04 GMT
3 stars from The Times
ES refers to his plays as “flawed masterpieces”
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382 posts
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Post by stevemar on Feb 8, 2024 9:00:18 GMT
I 100% agree with her quote “As a portrait of complicated sisterhood, Beth Steel’s wedding drama Till the Stars Come Down, at the National Theatre, has so much more soul and spirit” And noted this myself in terms of parallels with the two plays which have both opened within a short space of time Yes, I was going to quote you but you got there yourself! At least it’s good we have two excellent plays centered on women/sisters to compare and contrast. And, like you, I saw them within a few days of each other. |
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Post by budd on Feb 8, 2024 13:27:10 GMT
People are always so pressed by Arifa's reviews, when they never even go past the star rating. It's bizarre. She says where she finds it falling short, it's not arbitrary. You don't have to agree with her, but the 'again with the three stars' is so childish.
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Post by takeabow on Feb 8, 2024 13:50:14 GMT
People are always so pressed by Arifa's reviews, when they never even go past the star rating. It's bizarre. She says where she finds it falling short, it's not arbitrary. You don't have to agree with her, but the 'again with the three stars' is so childish. Not pressed, just observant. Of course people read past the star rating. This assumption is not worthy of being labelled “childish”. It’s a board of opinions not a playground. |
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Post by budd on Feb 8, 2024 14:21:03 GMT
Calling it 'outrageous' that someone has written a review that aligns with their star rating, and implying that doing so amounts to her being unworthy of her job, is pretty pressed.
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Post by greatauntedna on Feb 9, 2024 15:48:21 GMT
How long is act 1?
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Post by harry on Feb 9, 2024 15:55:27 GMT
I think they’re all roughly the same length, sort of 50min-ish. Maybe the first one is slightly longer, say an hour. But it feels like 3 pretty equal chunks. |
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Post by sph on Feb 9, 2024 16:08:26 GMT
There's always going to be one or two critics to disagree with, but that Guardian critic does seem somewhat impossible to please and lukewarm towards basically everything.
I would absolutely call this a 4 or 5 star show though. The three hours flew by and it was well written and acted. It might not have been the intense religious experience (so I'm told) of his other plays, but it was bloody good! I laughed out loud a good few times too, which I actually don't do that often at the theatre.
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Post by mkb on Feb 9, 2024 18:59:18 GMT
It may be heresy to say it out loud around these parts, but not only was I underwhelmed (and a tad bored occasionally) by Butterworth's latest, but the flawed predecessor at this venue (Lyonesse) was the more engaging and enjoyable watch for me.
The actual story here is quite slight and has been covered many times. It's stretched to over three hours by dialogue that doesn't always sound authentic, despite good performances, and the daughters and mother do not have a lot to say that makes them interesting. It's melodrama but with the melodramatics largely removed. Peripheral characters threaten occasional interest but vanish before they have chance.
If this were a new writer, I would be keen to see how they would develop, but being from an experienced hand, it falls short of expectations.
Three stars.
Act 1: 19:03-20:00
Act 2: 20:21-21:04
Act 3: 21:09-22:05
(Friday 2 February)
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Post by justfran on Feb 10, 2024 13:00:13 GMT
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Post by aspieandy on Feb 10, 2024 19:27:01 GMT
Not sure about this. Quite a lot to sink in first. Apropos of very little, at one point I wondered if Joan (eldest)ever met Ruth (The Homecoming) in a Heathrow departure lounge, and shared a chat and a drink. <SPOILERS AHOY!!>
<SPOILER> thoughts; Joan fulfils the mother's ambitions for the girls (mother perhaps living through them vicariously) but then she sacks off her own new 6-month old back at the ranch in Blackpool (didn't want to see her mother, gifted the virgin sister her own child). Full circle. Fwiw, I felt mother wouldn't have allowed the bedroom acoustics had it been one of the other girls. Also, mother had already popped upstairs with comedy guy in order to 'hear his news'. We weren't told how the money was acquired for Seaview, and very little about men (a man) in the past.
Quite the decision to give yourself 5 females, as children and adults - to write.
</SPOILER>
Also, such interesting crossovers with the Pinter (at the YV). |
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Post by seasider on Feb 10, 2024 23:30:10 GMT
I saw this this afternoon and really enjoyed it. The acting is superb but as someone who used to live in Blackpool it was the story and particularly the social commentary that really spoke to me. I was a bit concerned about the length but it really didn’t feel like three hours and held my attention throughout. Five stars from me.
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Post by dillan on Feb 12, 2024 10:23:03 GMT
Managed to get a rush ticket and seeing this tonight (got stalls row D for anyone wondering what seats they’re offering).
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Post by dillan on Feb 12, 2024 23:08:58 GMT
Wow, this was incredible! Acting was 5/5, loved the story and never once felt bored - the 3 hours flew by.
I loved the set and the long staircase too. It was great to see such fantastic female talent dominate a play.
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Post by rumbledoll on Feb 13, 2024 9:19:29 GMT
Managed to get a rush ticket and seeing this tonight (got stalls row D for anyone wondering what seats they’re offering). Was it easy to get one? |
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Post by dillan on Feb 13, 2024 12:36:53 GMT
Managed to get a rush ticket and seeing this tonight (got stalls row D for anyone wondering what seats they’re offering). Was it easy to get one? Yep, joined the countdown and as soon as it lets you buy tickets, I clicked it straight away - I would say try and be quick but if you have the countdown up and ready to click as soon it goes to 0 seconds, hopefully you'll be able to grab one! |
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Post by solotheatregoer on Feb 14, 2024 18:56:04 GMT
Very talented cast and performances all round but predictable plot that lacks any mental stimulation. I was on second row and the stage is very high but manageable.
Three stars.
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Post by amyja89 on Feb 15, 2024 1:18:24 GMT
Caught the Wednesday matinee of this. Grand total of £19 thanks to TodayTix rush and some credit I had built up on the app! Dress Circle B1, perfectly good view. Overall I really enjoyed it, though I didn’t find myself as affected by the third act as I had anticipated. {Spoiler - click to view}
I think Joan’s return fell a little flat, and her character was a bit caricature-ish compared to the other sisters. In recent(ish) months I’ve seen Dixon & Daughters and The House Of Bernada Alba at the National, and though Hills is certainly the more ‘entertaining’ experience, I do think the other two plays tap a little deeper into the mother/daughter/sister trauma of it all.
I understand the decision to leave elderly Veronica off screen, but I was aching for a final confrontation! |
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Post by theatrelover97 on Feb 15, 2024 11:24:35 GMT
Is this selling bad. Haven't been able to resell my tickets on a well known reselling website as I am not been able to arrange things so that I can go to the performance I brought for. Even at a heavy discount to what I paid for them.
(My inability to be allowed to most of the shows I have brought for recently has cost me dear and is why I am only buying for subsidised theatre now where I can get a return/resale/credit easily.)
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Post by aspieandy on Feb 15, 2024 11:59:38 GMT
Booking open until the middle of .. June. Literally 100,000 seats put up in one tranche.
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