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Post by Steve on May 23, 2024 5:22:22 GMT
It’s like the end of a roast dinner Just a few scraps of fatty meat, gristle and bones Not fit for a dog This made me laugh omg 😂 You just had the reaction I had when I read Parsley's review of Angela Lansbury in "Blithe Spirit," years ago on the old Whatsonstage board (now shut down), relating to her raspy "reedy" grating voice. I felt like a bad person for reading it, but I laughed my head off in shock for the sheer brazen honest disrespect of it lol. Vis-a-vis this production, I would point out that by leaving at the interval, Parsley forfeits his right to say that his putative "dog" wouldn't have enjoyed his treats in the second half.  |
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Post by jm25 on May 23, 2024 6:56:15 GMT
Unfortunately I found this to be very poor. If I hadn't seen Sunset then perhaps I'd have found the camerawork a bit more fresh and innovative - but, unlike with Sunset, it seemed to serve no real purpose in this and felt like a gimmick. The same goes for the rest of the direction, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure why Jamie Lloyd directs his actors to speak so, well, flatly and with lack of expression. To get away with that you need to have real confidence and mastery over the text and that was definitely not the case here. As others have said, I'm not convinced any of the actors really 'got' what they were saying. Tom Holland in particular seemed to be quite out of his depth with the text, and of the rest of the cast Francesca Amewudah-Rivers was probably the strongest. Incidentally, barring one lone cheer when Tom appeared on stage, it was a surprisingly well-behaved audience. The presence (and glaring eyes) of ATG staff everywhere you turned probably did help! A generous 2 stars from me. {Spoiler - click to view}
The roof scene did at least look nice. |
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Post by parsley1 on May 23, 2024 7:39:21 GMT
That was what I liked about it. It made sense of the whirlwind romance and the suicides. It could have been a really visceral ending, but instead my reaction was “oh, they’re just going to sit there, are they?” Really was style over substance. parsley1 were you on row F by any chance? The man I was sitting next to clearly was not enjoying it in the slightest and fled at the interval too. Were you end of row F?! |
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Post by marob on May 23, 2024 7:48:21 GMT
That was what I liked about it. It made sense of the whirlwind romance and the suicides. It could have been a really visceral ending, but instead my reaction was “oh, they’re just going to sit there, are they?” Really was style over substance. parsley1 were you on row F by any chance? The man I was sitting next to clearly was not enjoying it in the slightest and fled at the interval too. Were you end of row F?! Yeah, end of the row restricted view seat. Assuming it was you, thanks. I moved over into your seat when it was clear you weren’t returning and had a better view. |
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Post by parsley1 on May 23, 2024 8:22:22 GMT
Yeah, end of the row restricted view seat. Assuming it was you, thanks. I moved over into your seat when it was clear you weren’t returning and had a better view. 😅👍🏽 No worries I went for an ice cream and was home by 1600 watching desperate housewives Personally I hope Jamie Lloyd doesn’t direct anything for a while in London His style is becoming tedious and repetitive He has directed plenty of duds for his few successes And he isn’t yet in the league of Katie Mitchell He also needs to stop the stunt casting IMHO |
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1,828 posts
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Post by Dave B on May 23, 2024 11:44:16 GMT
Press night tonight. Really keen to see what tomorrow morning brings.
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Post by peopleplaces on May 23, 2024 12:05:28 GMT
Press night tonight. Really keen to see what tomorrow morning brings. Brace brace |
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3,535 posts
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Post by Rory on May 23, 2024 20:03:37 GMT
More production photos have been released.
I have a ticket booked for this but I'm just not feeling any sense of anticipation somehow. And I loved Cyrano and Sunset.
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1,217 posts
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Post by nash16 on May 23, 2024 22:13:03 GMT
4* in the Daily Fail.
“All too formulaic” says The Times. (The Arts Editor of which hasn’t decided the stars to add to Clive Davis’ review yet).
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Post by parsley1 on May 23, 2024 23:12:43 GMT
5 stars Telegraph (pisses self laughing as DC dishes out these like sweets and really can’t be taken seriously after this)
3 stars Guardian
3 stars The Stage
2 stars Independent
2 stars BBC
1 star Express
The Times not yet allocated but reads like 3 stars
And this is what people are paying £200+ for
😅
BBC:
“The star is not to blame, but this production-cum-global-event is 'lifeless'”
Independent:
“Tom Holland’s star-cross’d sad boy lover falls flat”
Express:
“Jamie Lloyd's new production with Tom Holland is absolute drivel”
Variety:
“Tom Holland-Led Production Is Hobbled by Director Jamie Lloyd’s Extreme Stylization. Ninety per cent of the play is written in verse but here the rhythm of the lines is completely broken by pauses in which energy and sense are drained away, and meaning is lost. Likewise, the exuberance of love and youth is entirely missing. One of the biggest victims of this is an undercast Mercutio (Joshua-Alexander Williams), whose character is entirely robbed of impulsive dynamism — meaning his famous, long speech goes for nothing.”
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on May 23, 2024 23:22:03 GMT
4s from Time Out and WhatsOnStage, to add to the list.
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Post by parsley1 on May 23, 2024 23:29:49 GMT
I pity those who see this and think it’s Shakespeare
For most of the audience I bet it will be their only experience of the playwright
Dark times
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on May 23, 2024 23:37:06 GMT
I am not a fan of this Shakespeare. Was feeling a bit … ‘oh damn maybe I should have booked.’ Thank goodness for Theatreboard. Don’t regret it |
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Post by parsley1 on May 23, 2024 23:40:18 GMT
I am not a fan of this Shakespeare. Was feeling a bit … ‘oh damn maybe I should have booked.’ Thank goodness for Theatreboard. Don’t regret it I grew up next to the RSC This is hands down the worst staging of a Shakespeare play I have ever seen Butchered and meddled with And it’s the worst R&J even worse than the appalling Lily James one You have missed nothing |
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Post by marob on May 24, 2024 0:16:03 GMT
An updated Elizabethan text, starring a hot young British Hollywood star, opens to mixed/poor reviews at the Duke of York’s… History repeating itself?
There’s a piece in the programme gushing over his style and approach to the classics, but it omits to mention that the style came about partly after the hostile reaction to Doctor Faustus.
Are we likely to have another change of direction (so to speak) or would the success of Sunset mean he’ll keep on doing more of the same?
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7,059 posts
Member is Online
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Post by Jon on May 24, 2024 0:21:29 GMT
An updated Elizabethan text, starring a hot young British Hollywood star, opens to mixed/poor reviews at the Duke of York’s… History repeating itself? There’s a piece in the programme gushing over his style and approach to the classics, but it omits to mention that the style came about partly after the hostile reaction to Doctor Faustus. Are we likely to have another change of direction (so to speak) or would the success of Sunset mean he’ll keep on doing more of the same? I think Jamie Lloyd should keep the stripped back approach but drop the cameras and handheld microphones unless it's necessary for the production. |
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Post by nash16 on May 24, 2024 0:36:01 GMT
An updated Elizabethan text, starring a hot young British Hollywood star, opens to mixed/poor reviews at the Duke of York’s… History repeating itself? There’s a piece in the programme gushing over his style and approach to the classics, but it omits to mention that the style came about partly after the hostile reaction to Doctor Faustus. Are we likely to have another change of direction (so to speak) or would the success of Sunset mean he’ll keep on doing more of the same? I think Jamie Lloyd should keep the stripped back approach but drop the cameras and handheld microphones unless it's necessary for the production. One can’t help but feel though (aside from the fact people forget Lloyd took his “original ideas” from European directors, eg van Hove, Ostermeier, etc) that if you’re going to strip everything back, and we’re mainly talking set and sense of place, then the acting better be superlative (and in this case the verse speaking en point). When this is lacking to a disturbing degree, as here, I certainly won’t be paying to watch his productions. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 24, 2024 5:13:05 GMT
He probably won’t care about these reviews- so may continue with his usual tricks, but as a few reviewers said- it’s all become a bit clichéd and predictable now. He’d be wise to switch it up.
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Post by parsley1 on May 24, 2024 6:22:26 GMT
I think Jamie Lloyd should keep the stripped back approach but drop the cameras and handheld microphones unless it's necessary for the production. One can’t help but feel though (aside from the fact people forget Lloyd took his “original ideas” from European directors, eg van Hove, Ostermeier, etc) that if you’re going to strip everything back, and we’re mainly talking set and sense of place, then the acting better be superlative (and in this case the verse speaking en point). When this is lacking to a disturbing degree, as here, I certainly won’t be paying to watch his productions. I would be interested to know the acting backgrounds and education and training of the cast in detail I doubt it would have Judi Dench quaking in her boots |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 24, 2024 6:28:49 GMT
So now Tom Holland has to limp through this dud until August. Bet his team are in crisis talks. What’s the betting he’ll do a Taron Egerton style bail-out?
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Post by BVM on May 24, 2024 7:18:59 GMT
So now Tom Holland has to limp through this dud until August. Bet his team are in crisis talks. What’s the betting he’ll do a Taron Egerton style bail-out? So if he mega famous?! I’d honestly never heard of him before this. But then I don’t watch many films! Who are his fanbase?! |
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Post by marob on May 24, 2024 7:35:14 GMT
So if he mega famous?! I’d honestly never heard of him before this. But then I don’t watch many films! Who are his fanbase?! He’s the current Spider-Man, having starred in 6 (I think? Or 7?) big superhero movies. This should have been his triumphant return to the West End having started as a stage Billy Elliott. Fanbase skewed more towards young(ish) moviegoers rather than your typical theatre crowd. |
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Post by Rory on May 24, 2024 7:44:29 GMT
So now Tom Holland has to limp through this dud until August. Bet his team are in crisis talks. What’s the betting he’ll do a Taron Egerton style bail-out? It's completely sold out so far from a dud in commercial terms. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 24, 2024 7:47:10 GMT
So now Tom Holland has to limp through this dud until August. Bet his team are in crisis talks. What’s the betting he’ll do a Taron Egerton style bail-out? It's completely sold out so far from a dud in commercial terms. I meant from the critical reaction perspective. |
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Post by marob on May 24, 2024 7:52:40 GMT
In terms of commercial success his most successful production would be what? The Commitments musical?
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