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Post by Being Alive on Jan 28, 2024 10:53:01 GMT
How's the view from the standing at the back of the balcony going to be? It's pricy and no sign of a TodayTix rush yet so just weighing up options
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jan 28, 2024 13:12:41 GMT
Thanks for all the feedback everyone - really excited for tomorrow now. And two breaks sounds perfect (even if one isn't a full interval).
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Post by harry on Jan 28, 2024 13:30:44 GMT
How's the view from the standing at the back of the balcony going to be? It's pricy and no sign of a TodayTix rush yet so just weighing up options I imagine you’d miss a bit of atmospheric descending of stairs (from the mid-stalls they seem to ascend forever and certainly beyond my view - lou105 might be able to advise on just how high they go from the view at the front). There’s a landing at the top of the first flight of stairs that runs around the back of the set where a tiny bit of background action takes place but nothing that I’d count as “missing out”. Because of the way the set works, by necessity all the proper action is played on the front half so I’d have thought you’d be very distant and high up but not actually have a restricted view. If you don’t consider it a spoiler, the official Twitter has reposted someone’s picture of the set from what looks to me like the front of the upper circle so you can get a sense of what I’m talking about and take an educated guess at how much more of the top you might lose. |
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Post by lou105 on Jan 28, 2024 13:38:37 GMT
The stairs go as high as you can see pretty much. But it's symbolising the rest of the building and, as was said, atmospheric descent more than having lots of action in view. Who decided the character who opens the play should come down a flight of stairs carrying a big basket?!
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Post by n1david on Jan 28, 2024 14:12:19 GMT
It's great to hear of a new play that seems to have come to the stage fully formed and getting great reports. There's been so much dismal new writing over the last year or so that this sounds really refreshing. I'm not going until late next month and given the quality of a lot of recent stuff the long duration and early start time was concerning, but I'm really looking forward to it now. Thanks for the reports.
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Post by nottobe on Jan 28, 2024 15:20:47 GMT
Are they doing rush tickets for this or au other cheaper tickets. I am wanting to see this but like lots of shows a good seat is a bit too much for me. Do theatre's even do day seats since COVID?
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202 posts
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Post by harry on Jan 29, 2024 10:31:53 GMT
The stairs go as high as you can see pretty much. But it's symbolising the rest of the building and, as was said, atmospheric descent more than having lots of action in view. Who decided the character who opens the play should come down a flight of stairs carrying a big basket?! Very conscious that most people know nothing and may not want to so being prudent with spoiler tags: {Spoiler - click to view}
That basket takes on a significant purpose by the end of the play, so I think the choice for that to be the opening of the play was completely deliberate. |
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Post by rumbledoll on Jan 29, 2024 13:44:24 GMT
One comment about the sound at the first night. Maybe it was just me but some of the lines spoken a casual dialogue were not clearly heard from where I was sitting in Stalls D21. I know I’m not a native speaker, but I have a lot of experience listening to Northern dialect so I can’t blame it on that.. never had the same issue in this particular theatre before so it makes me wondering if this was technical or it’s just me getting old  |
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Post by sfsusan on Jan 29, 2024 23:33:50 GMT
Maybe it was just me but some of the lines spoken a casual dialogue were not clearly heard from where I was sitting in Stalls D21. I had the same trouble in Row O of the stalls, but as an American, I think it was the Northern accents that had me wishing for closed captioning. I'm not sure I missed anything important, but I didn't catch half of the jokes of the fast-talking boarder. (In fact, I thought much of the dialogue was rushed, but that could have just been the same issue with the accent.) I'll be curious to see what others say about the play. I just wish the rest of the play had the emotional depth and impact of the final scenes. The performances by the four sisters (both older and young) were very good, but overall I didn't find the play as engrossing as either The Ferryman or Jerusalem. |
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 30, 2024 7:56:19 GMT
Whereabouts in the north are we talking?
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Post by lou105 on Jan 30, 2024 8:30:45 GMT
Whereabouts in the north are we talking? Blackpool |
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Post by dlevi on Jan 30, 2024 10:27:32 GMT
This is pretty major. Beautiful performances from the very large cast, and forget being concerned about the running time - it zooms by. While I have questions as to the timeline of the events in the play ( and the characters do as well) it allows all of us something to debate after the show. Jez Butterworth's writing is full humanity , wit and at times poetry that whatever vaguries exist don't really matter . Sam Mendes's fluid and detailed staging is a joy to behold. While it lacks the punch of The Ferryman, it makes up for it in scenes and climaxes of extraordinary quiet power. I cannot wait to see it again.
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5,138 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 30, 2024 13:47:47 GMT
Whereabouts in the north are we talking? Blackpool Thank you. I was half expecting it to be Watford! 🙂 |
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Post by theatregoer22 on Jan 30, 2024 19:26:15 GMT
So I ended up liking, but not loving this.
Much of when we saw the three/four sisters together was good - the singing/dancing great (even if I hadn't heard of the Andrews sisters or Jonny Mercer the singer before) the quieter scenes moving and the sibling dyanmic fascinating to watch.
However, some of the humour wasn't to my taste, none of the male characters seemed to add anything and the older Joan was such a caricature it was ridiculous.
But all in all an interesting play that I'm glad I've seen.
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Post by bigredapple on Jan 30, 2024 19:26:54 GMT
Still no sign of a lottery for this, and I can't afford the full price tickets
Anyone got info on if there will be one?
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Post by happysooz2 on Jan 30, 2024 23:13:21 GMT
Asking for a friend 😹 Does Laura Donnelly play the mum and Joan? |
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Post by callum on Jan 30, 2024 23:17:02 GMT
A monumental play to stand alongside the great works of the last 15 years. A bit like Gypsy crossed with Hangmen!
An elegy to our mothers and how we can’t escape what they gave to us whether good or bad - they’re always… ‘upstairs’.
Laura Donnelly in a completely bravura turn, and another standout from Leanne Best. Exquisite stage design, lighting and music.
I grabbed one of two seats in Dress Circle Box C, with the other unsold giving me a private box for £39! Oddly there were three chairs in the box but strongly recommended with only a minor restriction.
Don’t want to reveal anything else as I benefitted from going in 99% blind, but this feels like another massive hit.
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Jan 30, 2024 23:27:09 GMT
Asking for a friend 😹
Does Laura Donnelly play the mum and Joan? Yup… unless Mum went home before the curtain call!  Would potentially also spoiler tag this |
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Post by dlevi on Jan 31, 2024 10:09:35 GMT
A monumental play to stand alongside the great works of the last 15 years. A bit like Gypsy crossed with Hangmen! A hilarious and perfect description!! |
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Post by barelyathletic on Jan 31, 2024 10:51:43 GMT
Another terrific piece from Jez Butterworth. If it's not quite as rich as Jerusalem or The Ferryman (though it has similarities to both). it still does what it sets out to do magnificently. As others have said there are echoes here of Gypsy and family dramas such as The Memory of Water, but it feels fresh and vital and is wholly engaging, with wonderful performances across the board (the young cast are exceptionally good). Every one of the women has their moment and they each tear up the stage, making the most of some of the best dialogue you'll get in a new play.
If the men here are more in the background and less centre stage who's complaining? It's brilliant to see a play that feels so focussed on mothers, daughters and sisters and so surprising when you remember it's written by a man. But Butterworth certainly knows how to write fully rounded, memorable characters and this cast and director revel in that.
The set is dark and impressive, though perhaps it doesn't quite capture the overpowering heat of that hot summer of 1976, and the period feel in both time settings feels subtle, almost muted. But it works, and perhaps a too stereotypical look to the piece would have undermined the drama.
Three hours flew by and this feels like a real event. A new play from a playwright at the top of his game and a cast and director to match. Brilliant stuff.
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Post by alessia on Feb 1, 2024 13:23:44 GMT
I went to see last night and spent most of the journey home and this morning reflecting back on it. Did I love it as much as Jerusalem, no-But the latter touched me on a personal level so I was not expecting this other work to do the same or not to the same extent. (It seems strange perhaps, as a woman, to say that I had more of a visceral reaction to Jerusalem than to this one with a story all revolving around sisters and daughters- could be bc I have no sisters and no children? anyway).Having said that, I think The Hills will be hard to beat for my top 3 plays of 2024.It's just excellent from every point of view and the 3 hours flew by. I could have sat there for another hour and not noticed.I don't want to spoil anything but will say that to me this was like taking Little Women out of Victorian Massachussetts and putting them in 1950s-1970 Blackpool. The acting was incredible, I don't even want to single out anyone because they were all as good as each other, including the young girls. I want to see it again if I can to pick up on more details. and I will definitely buy the text when available as the strong northern accent was a bit too much for me at times and i missed out on jokes. I look forward to reading the press reviews.
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Post by sfsusan on Feb 1, 2024 21:43:46 GMT
(even if I hadn't heard of ... Jonny Mercer the singer before) He was primarily a songwriter and lyricist, responsible for some of the classics in the Great American Songbook (including The Hills of California, but also Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses, Skylark, Days of Wine and Roses). He does have a fun album* called 'Two of a Kind', singing duets with Bobby Darin. *kinda like a large CD** made of pressed vinyl **kinda like a large DVD for music rather than video |
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Post by matty on Feb 1, 2024 23:00:36 GMT
Thoroughly enjoyed this tonight. As others have said, the 3 hours flew by. Every cast member delivered an outstanding performance. Even better was that my ticket in the Royal circle (row for on the Central aisle) was cheap and had a fantastic view. Not sure I quite got used to all the people standing behind and next to me though
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Post by happysooz2 on Feb 2, 2024 11:02:12 GMT
I found this very affecting, and it keeps resurfacing a couple of days later. The play is already very finely balanced, with exquisite performances all around (although I think all of the modern male characters need a bit longer to bed in.) It will only get better. Can’t believe what good shape it’s in already. The singing was a lovely surprise. Made up for the lack of babies, rabbits, chickens and fire onstage. The time flew by but I do think the longer interval comes at the wrong point, much too soon, just an hour in. Thematically, I could make an argument that each of the sisters is a different trauma response archetype, but that feels a little too on the nose. Ultimately, this is a play about families, who stays, who leaves, and trying to escape the past.
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Post by theatregoer22 on Feb 2, 2024 22:38:42 GMT
(even if I hadn't heard of ... Jonny Mercer the singer before) He was primarily a songwriter and lyricist, responsible for some of the classics in the Great American Songbook (including The Hills of California, but also Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses, Skylark, Days of Wine and Roses). He does have a fun album* called 'Two of a Kind', singing duets with Bobby Darin. *kinda like a large CD** made of pressed vinyl **kinda like a large DVD for music rather than video Thanks, when his name came up all I could think of was the politician, which took me out of things briefly. |
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