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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 22, 2024 8:48:27 GMT
The stage looks very high, I saw a photo on Instagram. Obviously due to the show using a revolve- so be warned.
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Post by Being Alive on Jan 22, 2024 11:38:21 GMT
If TodayTix aren't doing rush I'll probably opt for standing - annoying it's back of the balcony though and not back of the Royal Circle as it was for Prima Facie and A Little Life...
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Post by andrew on Jan 22, 2024 14:19:14 GMT
If TodayTix aren't doing rush I'll probably opt for standing - annoying it's back of the balcony though and not back of the Royal Circle as it was for Prima Facie and A Little Life... Standing is on both of these levels always. If you can’t see the Royal Circle it’s either sold out or not on sale yet. |
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Post by iwanttix on Jan 23, 2024 10:00:21 GMT
I didn't really have an urge to see this, but when they announced the £10 front row tickets for the previews I couldn't resist giving it a go! I've no idea what it's about, for a tenner I'm willing to find out 🤣
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Post by iwanttix on Jan 25, 2024 16:25:32 GMT
I didn't really have an urge to see this, but when they announced the £10 front row tickets for the previews I couldn't resist giving it a go! I've no idea what it's about, for a tenner I'm willing to find out 🤣 Well I've just had an email basically saying that now they've built the stage, they won't be using row a so I've now been moved to row D. Cant complain as it's probably a better view now! |
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Post by stevemar on Jan 25, 2024 17:27:00 GMT
Which row were you in? Is (or was) row B front row as have tickets for that row.
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Post by iwanttix on Jan 25, 2024 18:40:16 GMT
I was in row A so assume that row B would now be front row
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jan 27, 2024 17:22:59 GMT
Well. First preview tonight.
The Ferryman (x2 with the cast changes) followed by Jersusalem I have watched before so feel like major FOMO if I don't see this one by Jezz Butterworth.
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Post by Marwood on Jan 27, 2024 18:51:34 GMT
No programmes in yet (although there are cast lists available) and a planned running time of three hours and twenty minutes according to the people on the door.
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Post by Rory on Jan 27, 2024 19:29:48 GMT
No programmes in yet (although there are cast lists available) and a planned running time of three hours and twenty minutes according to the people on the door. Wow, that's a long one! Dying to hear some feedback for this. |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jan 27, 2024 20:33:01 GMT
No programmes in yet (although there are cast lists available) and a planned running time of three hours and twenty minutes according to the people on the door. Wow, that's a long one! Dying to hear some feedback for this. I'll post my thoughts after I've been to see this on Monday evening. |
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Post by rumbledoll on Jan 27, 2024 22:42:41 GMT
I loved it tonight! Nothing grips you by the throat just as much as Jez’s plays.. the revolve is there for a reason and works perfectly for dividing scenes in time and actors movement.
The cast is excellent all around but the young girls were the highlight! I like a bit of song and dance too, so to have that joy in a play that shade of dark is really rewarding.
I guess this show will trigger some more than the others and on different levels, I related to it as a sister myself.
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Post by rumbledoll on Jan 27, 2024 22:51:20 GMT
Also there are two intervals (so it’s a proper III Act play) and it didn’t feel long. An earlier start time helps as well.
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Post by theatre22 on Jan 27, 2024 22:56:06 GMT
What time did it finish this evening?
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Post by lou105 on Jan 27, 2024 22:59:43 GMT
10.10 from a 7 pm start. There is an interval and a pause
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Post by Stephen on Jan 27, 2024 23:03:59 GMT
I remember the *pause* during Ferryman and the ushers trying to keep everyone seated. It was punishing.
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Post by lou105 on Jan 27, 2024 23:06:59 GMT
I remember the *pause* during Ferryman and the ushers trying to keep everyone seated. It was punishing. It's listed as a re entry point but they kept the lights low |
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Post by Marwood on Jan 27, 2024 23:16:30 GMT
In the absence of a programme, I wasn’t sure what time period this was supposed to be set in (going by some of the comments the latter day parts are set in the mid 70s) and it took until the second act to put things into place: to tell the truth, I only had a vague idea about what this is about prior to sitting down to watch it and the first half an hour or so were the total opposite of The Ferryman (I never saw Jerusalem and the price of tickets on its last run out me right off it) and the first half an hour or so seemed like some generic TV programme set in the North like Where The Heart Is or Peak Practice so it took me a while to get involved with the characters but it then builds and builds and I was impressed by the end (it never seemed to drag):the last few scenes are a punctuation of the whole music scene of the American West Coast being some kind of artistic dream with a big portion of Me Too thrown in as well. I won’t say anything more as I could easily go into spoiler territories but I really liked the performances and singing from the younger generation of girls playing the sisters and I was impressed that for a play running well over three hours, there was no obvious flubbing of lines on its first performance.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 27, 2024 23:22:58 GMT
The advertising blurb is a very specific about the summer of 1976.
I remember walking across a dried up reservoir. It was a hot, dry summer with drought conditions over most of the UK
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Post by Marwood on Jan 27, 2024 23:29:56 GMT
The advertising blurb is a very specific about the summer of 1976. I remember walking across a dried up reservoir. It was a hot, dry summer with drought conditions over most of the UK I only saw that the new play from Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes was going on sale in October last year and seeing the mad rush there has been for the previous plays, I just booked a ticket and left it at that (I was in Vegas at the time tickets went on sale, it was done unholy hour when I booked it) but sometimes it’s good to see shows only knowing the bare minimum of what it’s about, only who write it and/or who produced it. |
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Post by lou105 on Jan 28, 2024 0:54:48 GMT
I got a row B seat when someone here posted that they were going for £39.50, and then row A was taken out, so I was front row. How often do you get to sit front row for the first public performance of a new play? Exciting!
I was happy with the view (I could generally see ankles upwards when people were standing and I'm not tall). Occasionally people got "lost" behind bits of set, and I suspect this would affect the centre of the row more, as there was a table and chairs right at the front. There are staircases going very high up but they are more symbolic and you don't need to watch much up there at all.
This play very much centres on the female characters, older and younger, with the men largely as foils or comic relief. The young girls were very strong, with their harmony singing, as well as the portrayal of the beginnings of each adult sister's character. From the adults Laura Donnelly will be up for awards I'm sure but I enjoyed Helena Wilson's performance too. I don't want to say too much but I came away thinking about shared experiences and memories which look different to each person - and how we pass on our mess to the next generation.
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Post by harry on Jan 28, 2024 1:57:27 GMT
It’s a long evening but strangely didn’t feel so - 7pm start time helps and a slow but intense burn with Jez Butterworth’s usual mix of humour, tragedy and dark edge. It isn’t quite the riotous spiritual bacchanal of Jerusalem or the explosive blend of politics and romance of The Ferryman but something in a more minor key, perhaps a little more slight.
Not a dud performance in there. Laura Donnelly gets to show real range - crisp sharp precision and then burnt-out lethargy, but it really is beautifully played across the board. It’s by no means a musical but some lovely harmony singing - Ophelia Lovibond has a truly terrific singing voice. The youngsters are all great and everyone in the cast gets at least one moment to shine.
So I think they’ve got another hit on their hands. It’s 3 acts and split like The Ferryman with an interval between Acts 1 & 2, and then a couple of minutes with the house lights at half while they reset the stage between Acts 2 & 3. If I had any comment, I’d have swapped them and done the proper interval in the second gap as the end of Act 2 is so strong and sort of the clarifying moment around which the whole thing revolves, whereas at the interval I couldn’t quite tell what it was or where it was headed. I was enjoying the characters and the writing but plot-wise it kicks into gear later on. To the point where I was caught quite off guard by how emotionally affecting the final scenes are.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 28, 2024 9:22:36 GMT
Simply cannot wait to see this.
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Post by mrnutz on Jan 28, 2024 9:41:54 GMT
I'm in for the matinee next Sat!
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Post by harry on Jan 28, 2024 10:08:49 GMT
One final thing for anyone seeing it in the next week or so - it was in extraordinarily good shape for a first preview. I’m sure there will be tweaks as always but the press could have reviewed last night and it would be getting really good notices.
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