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Post by lynette on Oct 28, 2016 14:30:15 GMT
I'm not at all surprised. This had "aiming for a transfer" written all over it. What's wrong with the Apollo? (Apart from when the ceiling fell down, granted!) I've been there several times in the last year & thought it was quite a nice theatre. My laugh out loud for the day! Take an umbrella. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 14:51:45 GMT
I'm not at all surprised. This had "aiming for a transfer" written all over it. What's wrong with the Apollo? (Apart from when the ceiling fell down, granted!) I've been there several times in the last year & thought it was quite a nice theatre. The stalls are fine and I've had a good time in one of the boxes before now, but the auditorium has a helluva curve. Once you go above the stalls, if you're off-centre - and I'm not talking all the way off to the side, just a few seats off-centre - in the upper levels, you're going to miss out on a *significant* chunk of stage. I mean, look at how many seats TheatreMonkey has coloured red: www.theatremonkey.com/APOLLOstalls.htm Plus I seem to recall the very top level is somewhat vertiginous, wooden benches, and safety rails galore. I'm just happier when I don't have a need to see whatever show is on there. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 28, 2016 15:02:50 GMT
^ Ah, right. I've always sat stalls & never further back than row K so that would be why I haven't had any problems with it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 15:11:35 GMT
Plus I seem to recall the very top level is somewhat vertiginous, wooden benches, and safety rails galore. I'm just happier when I don't have a need to see whatever show is on there. Isn't that layer now closed, with a new false ceiling below it? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 15:14:25 GMT
I wouldn't know, I heartily dislike the theatre so haven't been there for a while.  I can't consider it any great loss if that level is out of action, but you do still need to be wary of being off-centre on the remaining non-stalls level(s?). Best do a Dawnstar, stick with the stalls. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2016 19:12:13 GMT
I too am a fan of rear stalls in this theatre. Like the rear stalls at the Wyndhams, you may not be able to see every detail of actors' faces, but you get a perfectly decent view from there. Given that prices are a wee bit steep for this, and the £20 'bargain' ones are the seats where people seem to be saying you can't see anything, I reckon I'll be holding out for the inevitable reductions on rows T to X once the run gets going...
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Post by lynette on Nov 12, 2016 23:43:42 GMT
Is this the current thredd for this? Nobody else gone yet?
Well, sorry if am duplicating. Will check later.
Brilliant play, better than I remember it. Brilliant performances, Oli award for Tom in the bag....well, should be nominated. Freddie Fox, what a little scorcher of a performer, eh?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 0:07:13 GMT
I reckon Freddie Fox steals the entire thing from everyone while they're in it and there ain't a thing they can do about it but stand back and watch it happen.
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Post by Polly1 on Nov 13, 2016 0:27:44 GMT
Bumping this thread for Lynette, perhaps someone could merge?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 6:27:05 GMT
Merged.
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Post by lynette on Nov 13, 2016 20:06:02 GMT
Thank you....Wos too tired to sort! |
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Post by londonmzfitz on Nov 17, 2016 10:34:18 GMT
I've returned my ticket for Saturday night (last performance at the MCF) as I'm a sick bunny. Heads up in case anyone wants it.
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Post by lynette on Nov 17, 2016 15:30:08 GMT
I've returned my ticket for Saturday night (last performance at the MCF) as I'm a sick bunny. Heads up in case anyone wants it. Thoughtful of you to give a heads up. Hope you are better soon and can rebook. |
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 10, 2017 23:43:55 GMT
I saw it tonight at the Apollo and it was absolutely fantastic, I loved every minute of it. It's a masterful play and the whole cast is outstanding. A special nod to Freddie Fox who not only delivers a great performance, but looks absolutely stunning with his hair back to its natural colour. One of the most satisfying theatrical experiences I had in a long while.
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Post by rumbledoll on Feb 11, 2017 10:13:06 GMT
Wonder why they decided to let Freddie have his natural sunny locks rather than keep the original look from the play (I belive it's specifically mentioned there that Tzara is dark-haired)
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 11, 2017 10:21:09 GMT
Yeah, they changed the line to include Fox's blonde hair, but in the pics outside the theatre he's still dark-haired, like Tzara was
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2017 10:23:08 GMT
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Post by synchrony on Feb 11, 2017 22:52:17 GMT
Is this one of Tom Stoppard's better plays? Not pretentious tosh he normally does. I went to see this tonight. I thought the performances were great, but the play was sooooo boring. Agree pretentious tosh. What was the point of it? I hated it. I liked the "oh Gwendoline, oh Cecily" scene though. Maybe because it's a song. This once again teaches me to stick to musicals ;-) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2017 23:02:23 GMT
Is this one of Tom Stoppard's better plays? Not pretentious tosh he normally does. I went to see this tonight. I thought the performances were great, but the play was sooooo boring. Agree pretentious tosh. What was the point of it? I hated it. I liked the "oh Gwendoline, oh Cecily" scene though. Maybe because it's a song. This once again teaches me to stick to musicals ;-) Oh dear sister I SO agree It's a play to be admired And respected Don't you know Just like Donald Trump |
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Post by lonlad on Feb 12, 2017 2:22:52 GMT
Comparing TRAVESTIES to Donald Trump is so perverse and preposterous that it defies analysis - and doesn't need further comment.
This is actually a glorious production of a difficult play - MUCH better than the previous RSC one with the dreadful Antony Sher.
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Post by moelhywel on Feb 12, 2017 10:13:06 GMT
Well I'm doing a double Stoppard at the end of March with this in the evening and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the afternoon. Given that they both refer to other plays I may be well and truly confused by the time I get my train home! I've never seen either play before either so don't even know what to expect.
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Post by bordeaux on Feb 12, 2017 21:45:56 GMT
Comparing TRAVESTIES to Donald Trump is so perverse and preposterous that it defies analysis - and doesn't need further comment. This is actually a glorious production of a difficult play - MUCH better than the previous RSC one with the dreadful Antony Sher. Couldn't agree more with your first comment. Couldn't agree less with the second. Sher was just as good as Hollander in my view, if not better. |
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Post by bordeaux on Feb 12, 2017 22:04:30 GMT
Is this one of Tom Stoppard's better plays? Not pretentious tosh he normally does. I went to see this tonight. I thought the performances were great, but the play was sooooo boring. Agree pretentious tosh. What was the point of it? I hated it. I liked the "oh Gwendoline, oh Cecily" scene though. Maybe because it's a song. This once again teaches me to stick to musicals ;-) What does 'pretentious tosh' mean? Does it mean that talking about art, language, theories of art, the point of art, the damage done to art by politics, is intrinsically pretentious? That no one should be talking about these things? In other words the author was talking about things that were beyond you and so you feel aggrieved and a need to lash out? Or do you mean that these are legitimate subjects for treatment in a play but that Tom Stoppard doesn't have the knowledge or artistry necessary to make them into a satisfying play, with the implication that he's not able to create something that is intellectually up to your level?
The point of it is to make you laugh, to delight you (with the brilliant pastiche of Wilde, amongst other things), to make you think about issues relating to art and its functions, to admire the author's cleverness (he's a young man showing off a bit), to give you an entertaining evening in the theatre. It is a hymn of praise to Oscar Wilde and James Joyce and their views of art. The young Stoppard was trying to create something light and witty and yet also worthwhile and serious in a British theatre culture which was almost comically political in the sense that left-wing politics dominated so many of the plays of the period.
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Post by synchrony on Feb 12, 2017 22:36:04 GMT
The point of it is to make you laugh, to delight you (with the brilliant pastiche of Wilde, amongst other things), to make you think about issues relating to art and its functions, to admire the author's cleverness (he's a young man showing off a bit). [/p][/quote] Your latter comment is a big reason why I thought it was pretentious. Throughout, I remained more conscious of the playwright shouting "look how clever I am!!!" than of the play or characters themselves. And a playwright showing off is no more appealing to me than any other kind of show-off. I feel similarly about authors who are more interested in drawing their readers' attention to their 'clever' writing style than allowing them to be lost in the story. But, as I said, I thought the performances were excellent. |
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Post by bordeaux on Feb 12, 2017 23:46:37 GMT
Thanks for your reply, Synchrony. In today's Observer Tom Hollander says he studied the play at A level and he and his classmates found it rather pretentious but coming back to it at the age of 49 was impressed by its 'bravura'. It all depends on whether you like bravura or not - I can see why one wouldn't, though I like it myself on the page, on the stage or the football field. To be honest Hollander refers to it as 'dick-swinging bravura', which is not an attractive phrase. I don't like 'dick-swinging' but it suggests Hollander thinks there's something very male about that sort of showing off.
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I can't consider it any great loss if that level is out of action, but you do still need to be wary of being off-centre on the remaining non-stalls level(s?). Best do a 
