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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 16, 2016 23:30:02 GMT
New production of the Stoppard at the Menier with Tom Hollander (according to Baz)
Directed by Patrick Marber
Previews mid Sep/1st night Oct 4.
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Post by Jon on Jun 16, 2016 23:34:33 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if this sells very well for the Menier, Tom Hollander isn't a huge name but he's well known from Rev and various films and TV.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 5:39:16 GMT
I am a fan of his film work and he was excellent in night manager...may have sold it for me
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Post by mallardo on Jun 17, 2016 6:08:56 GMT
I would think the play itself - a top drawer Stoppard - would be the draw.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 8:17:10 GMT
Can't say it's hitting me as unmissable right now, but if it has a life beyond the Chocolate Factory, I'll look into it then.
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Post by peelee on Jun 17, 2016 10:19:40 GMT
Fond memories revived as an audience member of classic RSC days at the Aldwych Theatre in the 1970s, and of the wonderful John Wood playing Henry Carr.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 10:24:42 GMT
Who are the design team?
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Post by lynette on Jun 29, 2016 18:02:40 GMT
Looks v tempting.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2016 18:03:45 GMT
I wasn't convinced, but the whole cast combined tipped me over the edge. This had better be worth paying Menier prices for.
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Post by Jon on Jun 29, 2016 18:24:09 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up transferring to the West End.
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Post by djdan14 on Jun 29, 2016 19:01:36 GMT
Well they are on a good run of transfers at the moment. Everything from Funny Girl onwards has transferred in some capacity.
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Post by kathryn on Jun 29, 2016 20:33:21 GMT
I jumped on this earlier - needed a treat to cheer me up! Going to 1st October matinee.
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 29, 2016 21:50:26 GMT
Is this one of Tom Stoppard's better plays? Not pretentious tosh he normally does.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jun 29, 2016 22:37:21 GMT
I've only seen Arcadia before out of all Stoppard's plays so I'm a bit nervous in case this is over my head. I decided to book when saw Clare Foster was in the cast, as she's one of my favourite MT actresses and I haven't seen her onstage for nearly 2 years. At least the blurb says it's a comedy...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2016 7:36:39 GMT
I'm going to give this a whirl. I like some of Tom Stoppard's earlier stuff but didn't see this.
Didn't like The Hard Problem at all - totally unconvinced by the lead character and disappointed by lack of imagination about the core subject. Still, it was better than The Coast of Utopia as at least it was one play - yes, we booked all three for C of U and lived to regret it. One of those times when we should have cut our losses after the second, if not first play.
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Post by bordeaux on Jun 30, 2016 8:12:12 GMT
Is this one of Tom Stoppard's better plays? Not pretentious tosh he normally does. It depends on what you mean pretentious. I think it is his funniest play. It probably exemplifies his early work better than anything else - the mix of intellectual fireworks and great jokes. It doesn't require much outside knowledge - just that Ulysses is a difficult, modern novel, that Dada was a revolutionary art movement that arose in Switzerland in WW1, who Lenin was and that The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde. A lot of it is a clever pastiche of/series of allusions to Wildean epigrams and dialogue, alongside a debate on the role of the artist and of art. It starts with a series of limericks that may irritate or baffle, then a longish monologue before moving onto the dialogue.
Probably worth getting the programme to read up on the stuff alluded to, though.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2016 9:22:40 GMT
Probably worth getting the programme to read up on the stuff alluded to, though. Programmes at the Menier Chocolate Factory only ever give c.v.s. They never have any context essays or articles. |
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Post by bordeaux on Jun 30, 2016 11:05:28 GMT
Probably worth getting the programme to read up on the stuff alluded to, though. Programmes at the Menier Chocolate Factory only ever give c.v.s. They never have any context essays or articles. Thanks; useful to know. Ten minutes on Wikipedia, then. Dada, Lenin, Ulysses, The Importance of Being Earnest. It is a very allusive play - if you get annoyed by jokes others get and you don't (cos you don't get the reference to that Wordsworth line about the French Revolution, say), you might not like it. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2016 11:18:07 GMT
I hate a lot of Tom Stoppard for that exact reason - the smug, clever-clever references which make no sense if you don't share the arcane knowledge which he chooses to flaunt - but I actually really enjoyed Adrian Noble's RSC production starring Antony Sher when it successfully transferred to the Savoy, so I'd suggest perhaps giving Travesties the benefit of any doubt and risking a visit to the Menier.
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Post by rumbledoll on Jun 30, 2016 12:47:31 GMT
Booked front row for Nov 15. Love earlier Stoppard and I've waited long enough to see Tom Hollander on stage so can't miss it  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2016 14:05:51 GMT
Booked front row for Nov 15. Love earlier Stoppard and I've waited long enough to see Tom Hollander on stage so can't miss it Isn't he quite teeny? I guess you'd have to be in the front row or you might, quite literally, miss him. |
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Post by lynette on Jun 30, 2016 21:19:11 GMT
It's ok, you'll get it. A million miles better than his later work such as The Hard Problem. I've booked for November, run up to Xmas treat.
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Post by londonmzfitz on Jun 30, 2016 22:14:46 GMT
Booked front row for Nov 15. Love earlier Stoppard and I've waited long enough to see Tom Hollander on stage so can't miss it Isn't he quite teeny? I guess you'd have to be in the front row or you might, quite literally, miss him. Size isn't everything, Ryan. |
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Post by rumbledoll on Jul 5, 2016 15:09:50 GMT
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Post by Jon on Sept 8, 2016 18:01:51 GMT
Given the run is already sold out before they've even started performances, I wonder if a transfer is planned. It finishes in November so it could transfer to the Vaudeville which is currently the only theatre free during the Autumn or wait until early 2017 and transfer to somewhere like the Apollo after Peter Pan Goes Wrong or the Harold Pinter after Nice Fish.
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