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Post by partytentdown on Sept 20, 2023 8:48:45 GMT
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1,476 posts
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Post by Steve on Sept 20, 2023 9:25:28 GMT
On Sale Dates
Patrons, Gold, Silver & Bronze Friends Tue 26 Sep 12pm
Almeida Friends Thu 28 Sep 12pm
General Public Tue 3 Oct 12pm
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628 posts
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Post by jek on Sept 20, 2023 9:35:09 GMT
My daughter always jokes that this film got her good grades in her A Levels both in History and Music as it covered the some of the ground in the relevant syllabuses. The music in the film is by the Polish jazz musician Marcin Mazecki and is quite beautiful. I've seen Mazecki in concert in London a couple of times - once at a church in Leytonstone and once at the historic Leighton House in Holland Park. On the latter occasion the director of the film, Pawel Pawlikowski, was in the audience. I can't imagine how the Almeida are going to transfer the atmosphere of the film to the stage, but I hope to get to see it to find out.
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Post by teamyali on Sept 20, 2023 10:40:21 GMT
I can’t believe they’re doing a musical of this 😭😱… I’m a huge fan of the film, and I fondly remembered the Cold War versus Roma discourse during the 2018 film awards season. They couldn’t cast Joanna Kulig for the musical (although she can speak English) but I just can’t get enough of her version of Dwa serduszka (Two Little Hearts) in jazz from the film.
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781 posts
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Post by rumbledoll on Sept 22, 2023 4:45:48 GMT
I’d take anything with Luke Thallon in it! Didn’t know he could sing though..
Remember the design for the film looked absolutely stunning on posters but never got a chance to see it.
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546 posts
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Post by drmaplewood on Sept 30, 2023 6:17:42 GMT
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406 posts
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Post by MrBunbury on Oct 3, 2023 11:15:22 GMT
Very easy booking (for once).
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Post by Mark on Oct 3, 2023 11:37:04 GMT
Also got a ticket. Selling very well.
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628 posts
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Post by jek on Oct 3, 2023 11:46:24 GMT
I too got tickets. My chosen date (mid week in December) had fairly limited seats available. Presumably the pedigree of the people involved plus love for the film is selling tickets at something of a lick.
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1,819 posts
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Post by stevej678 on Oct 3, 2023 12:05:00 GMT
Side stalls not on sale yet. Still looks to be pretty good availability on lots of dates, especially in the circle.
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4,778 posts
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Post by Mark on Dec 3, 2023 1:08:03 GMT
Three previews in. Any initial reactions?
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Post by montrealer on Dec 3, 2023 11:54:01 GMT
Saw the first preview on Thursday. Show was in pretty good shape, will surely tighten up by opening. Touching lead performances with strong supporting cast/company. The mix of traditional folk music with original music from Elvis Costello was a bit confused, without being disjunct. Not sure I'm sold on selective "piano-sync" for a character who is a composer/musician.
For those who are fans of the film: the show is not a recreation. The very strong aesthetic choices of the film elevated the story more than the theatrical/musical ones imho.
Both parts run 1h10mins, with a 20-min interval in between. Finished on time despite a slightly late start.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Dec 6, 2023 9:30:14 GMT
I really liked this. Thought the music was gorgeous and the 2 leads were fantastic (side note, had no idea Luke Thallon could sing? From where I was sat I think some of the piano playing he did was legitimately him and some was the conductor). Keen to see this again post previews.
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sky
Auditioning
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Post by sky on Dec 8, 2023 1:32:11 GMT
Loved the haunting melodies, pacing not so much. Luke Thallon and Anya Charlotra are really phenomenal actors, and their voices are very impressive too considering they mainly act (wish we could hear more of their duets). I cannot get the first and last song of Act 2 (reminds me of Dwa Serduszka/Deux Cœurs from the original motion picture soundtrack) out of my head and would kill for a recording!
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Post by Mark on Dec 8, 2023 9:34:00 GMT
I thought it was… nice? A bit slow for me personally and it sits in the kind of a play with musical, but definitely still a musical bracket. The singing was lovely though and it did keep me engaged throughout, a very subtle show.
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546 posts
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Post by drmaplewood on Dec 12, 2023 8:04:54 GMT
I went last night and given how fond I am of the film (which is only 89 mins long!) this was disappointing. The ensemble do well and there's some good singing but a lot of it drained the life out of it for me and it's far too long.
Anya Chalotra, though a great voice, was unfortunately quite wooden too to the point where a fair few people laughed at the delivery of one of her lines.
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628 posts
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Post by jek on Dec 14, 2023 10:28:17 GMT
I am in the camp of being disappointed with this. I went in having read reviews ranging from 5 stars (the i paper) to 3 stars (the Guardian). I love the film - my daughter claims that it, and the film Death of Stalin, got her the A Level grades she needed to get into Cambridge - and I love the music of Elvis Costello. In fact I remember playing Costello's I Want You, which features in the musical, on repeat at the time of a romantic break up in the mid 1980s! But somehow, despite excellent performances, this just didn't work for me. I think some of it is to do with scale. The stage felt too small for the dancing bits but somehow too big for the really intimate sections. I was also a bit cross that from row B in the circle (so not a cheap seat) bits of the action were lost as they were played out at the front of the stage. I didn't hate it but I won't be encouraging people to go and see it.
I am enjoying seeing Luke Thallon grow up. I first saw him in the Guildhall production of Crazy for You back in 2017 (so his singing ability was no surprise to me). He was such a ball of energy in that. My eldest son is one year younger than Luke and so I know just how much people mature in their early twenties. It's a real pleasure to watch.
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Post by coco on Dec 14, 2023 17:45:34 GMT
I saw this at today’s matinee. Though I’m not a fan of the movie, I have to say the musical made me love the movie more, an unexpected outcome. The added plots are totally unnecessary and dragged the musical. And one thing good about the movie is that it’s very implicit, and the musical is quite the opposite, and not in a very good way, at least to me.
And it’s a bit strange that they don’t care about the accent at all, either Polish or French, which actually makes it so British.
Though the songs are good, sometimes I feel a disconnection between the traditional folk songs and the added ones in the musical, pulls me out of the show a lot.
Actually, I think if I hadn’t seen the movie before, I could enjoy the musical more, because it stands on its own. But once I compared this to the movie, it’s second-class, a bit cheesy and cliche.
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Post by showgirl on Dec 14, 2023 19:05:04 GMT
Going next week but though I did see the film, I'm amazed that anyone can even remember it, let alone in sufficient detail as to compare it to this - it was 5 years ago, for goodness' sake! This does sound a bit long (and slow, or "languorous" to put it more politely, as some reviews have), but whatever I think when it comes to it, it has nothing to live up to for me.
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Post by rumbledoll on Dec 15, 2023 21:11:44 GMT
I am enjoying seeing Luke Thallon grow up. I first saw him in the Guildhall production of Crazy for You back in 2017 (so his singing ability was no surprise to me). He was such a ball of energy in that. My eldest son is one year younger than Luke and so I know just how much people mature in their early twenties. It's a real pleasure to watch. Isn’t he wonderful? I fell in love with his acting on the spot while seeng Leopoldstadt, he nailed both characters that could not be more different and just made we weep in the end.. What a discovery I thought, and since then I try to see him in things.. such a shame he’s not extended his talent onto tv and films just yet.. Wish for more chances to watch him perform! Looking forward to this though.. didn’t know he could sing! Wondering, is there any footage from that Crazy for You maybe? |
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Post by nash16 on Dec 15, 2023 22:28:11 GMT
I am enjoying seeing Luke Thallon grow up. I first saw him in the Guildhall production of Crazy for You back in 2017 (so his singing ability was no surprise to me). He was such a ball of energy in that. My eldest son is one year younger than Luke and so I know just how much people mature in their early twenties. It's a real pleasure to watch. Isn’t he wonderful? I fell in love with his acting on the spot while seeng Leopoldstadt, he nailed both characters that could not be more different and just made we weep in the end.. What a discovery I thought, and since then I try to see him in things.. such a shame he’s not extended his talent onto tv and films just yet.. Wish for more chances to watch him perform! Looking forward to this though.. didn’t know he could sing! Wondering, is there any footage from that Crazy for You maybe? I was lucky to see him in Crazy For You, and the fact he could tap dance like a dream, as well as act that well... Also heard that he has little to no interest in TV/film. He loves theatre, and wants that to be his home. So refreshing. Great actor. |
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Post by Being Alive on Dec 16, 2023 17:11:50 GMT
Oh I really loved this.
It's subtle, largely quite subdued and (in the end) quietly devastating.
Two leads were fantastic (god Luke Thallon is charismatic isn't he!) and gorgeous arrangements of all of the music, with fabulous voices delivering them.
It's very 'Girl From The North Country' in terms of the type of musical it is, but that works for me and I thought it was really moving - would happily see it again.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 17, 2023 11:27:41 GMT
I thought this was wonderful.
Everything worked for me. I loved the pacing, the fluid direction, the ‘distressed’ look of the design, (The Almeida has such great atmosphere for any production.)
Musically it was very evocative - the mixture of Polish folk and Elvis works like a dream.
A really talented cast with great chemistry between Anya Chalotra and Luke Thallon. Luke is such a special actor - he appears to underplay Wiktor but then artfully sucks you into his undemonstrative orbit so you’re hanging on his every word.
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Post by matildaswinton on Dec 17, 2023 12:34:05 GMT
Was there Friday night… sadly, this wasn’t for us. We left at the interval. There seemed to be a lot of moments begging for applause, which never came. To us, it was actors doing their best with something that just didn’t feed enough. An interesting story that needed to be told differently.
By the way, we were extremely bothered by the herbal cigarettes smoked for nearly the entire length of the first half. The smell in the circle was unbearable, and that kind of thing has never bothered me. But it seemed like certain characters were directed to ALWAYS be smoking. At one point, something like 5 different characters were smoking at the same time. It was not comfortable to breathe.
Again, these were only our thoughts, thought it did seem most of the general opinion was the same… someone at the interval said, “That was the half? It felt like a whole night!”
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Post by coco on Dec 17, 2023 15:04:14 GMT
Was there Friday night… sadly, this wasn’t for us. We left at the interval. There seemed to be a lot of moments begging for applause, which never came. To us, it was actors doing their best with something that just didn’t feed enough. An interesting story that needed to be told differently. By the way, we were extremely bothered by the herbal cigarettes smoked for nearly the entire length of the first half. The smell in the circle was unbearable, and that kind of thing has never bothered me. But it seemed like certain characters were directed to ALWAYS be smoking. At one point, something like 5 different characters were smoking at the same time. It was not comfortable to breathe. Again, these were only our thoughts, thought it did seem most of the general opinion was the same… someone at the interval said, “That was the half? It felt like a whole night!” I agree with the cigarette. I sat at the second row in stalls, and I remember during my visit, in the second half, one person in the circle even left the auditorium to cough. I have sent an email to Almeida to complain about this, as to my mind, they don’t have to use so many cigarettes. But they haven’t replied to me yet. |
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