The Fear Of 13 - Donmar Warehouse

[alicechallice]

Oct 11, 2024 11:21:53 GMT parsley1 said:

Oct 11, 2024 11:04:33 GMT justsaying113 said:

Does Arifa Akbar ever really like anything? Hers must be such a miserable job!

TBH it’s better than having such low standards

Like Telegraph and Times

And liking everything

Brainlessly

I'm of the opposite thinking, I have to say - I'd rather somebody who put more emphasis on what the positives were in something. 

I've got a cinema buddy who never seems to enjoy much and it's quite draining to be around. 

 

[Jon]

Oct 11, 2024 11:04:33 GMT justsaying113 said:

Does Arifa Akbar ever really like anything? Hers must be such a miserable job!

I think it's a condition of working for The Guardian to not like anything. Marina Hyde is the same!

[keyspi]

After failing to obtain tickets during my previous roughly 58 attempts I had pretty much resigned to the idea I won't be seeing this play live.....only to randomly check Donmar's website tonight due to the multiple bumps to this thread on here.....and lo and behold .....a single ticket just waiting for me to grab it 😮😮😮

And grab it I did, I'm very pleased 😎

Thanks everyone for indirectly helping out lol

[mrbarnaby]

Well this was quite wonderful I thought.
Brody is charming, moving, captivating- I was hugely impressed
The whole cast is formidable and whilst the script is not the strongest, I found this hugely engrossing thanks to the brilliant staging, design and performances.

Can we get a poll please?
4 stars from me

[Rory]

Circle ticket for tonight on the Donmar site

[thistimetomorrow]

I liked this a lot. Adrien Brody was fantastic. I loved the added bits of singing, especially Hozier's 'Work Song'.

[raiseitup]

Does anyone know how badly restricted the 'behind the actors' seats are?

[Steve]

Oct 17, 2024 16:35:13 GMT raiseitup said:

Does anyone know how badly restricted the 'behind the actors' seats are?

I was there last night and sat in the stalls extreme sides. I could see the punters up in the circle behind the actors, and their view did not seem "restricted" as such. I would imagine it is less restricted, and more frustrating, because a LOT of the acting is directed towards the centre stalls, as you would expect.

From my side seat, I got a lot of profile in those moments, which is great and I'm used to it, but for those bits, the behind-the-stage people must have been getting the back of a head.

That said, there is plenty of staging where you would see faces up there, as the characters do move around alot. It's just you won't feel special when big moments of storytelling are addressed towards the centre stalls and circle.

Come to think of it, though, there IS a severe restriction in the action behind a pane of glass at the back of the stage, which would be geographically underneath your seat, but not visible from those seats, as there is often supporting-player action going on there (prisoner phone calls, etc). I think you could live with that as that is typically background action and the main character doesn't go there. Nana Mensah's character is sometimes there though, so not seeing that might be a bit frustrating too.

[parsley1]

Oct 17, 2024 16:35:13 GMT raiseitup said:

Does anyone know how badly restricted the 'behind the actors' seats are?

Where are these?

[Steve]

Oct 17, 2024 17:02:12 GMT parsley1 said:

Oct 17, 2024 16:35:13 GMT raiseitup said:

Does anyone know how badly restricted the 'behind the actors' seats are?

Where are these?

At the back of the stage there is a pane of glass behind which supporting players sometimes appear. These seats are above the glass at circle level.

[parsley1]

Thanks Steve

Was worried I am there but am not

Very bizarrely I forgot to add the show to my diary and subsequently missed it last week

Very grateful to the team who got me a ticket at short notice and I shall see this evening

[parsley1]

Utterly bizarre and totally odd

Like a Sunday afternoon made for TV Hallmark Channel film

The plot is very “done”

I don’t see the benefit of making it into a play

And it’s one of those shows with audience narrative

As the expense of actual dialogue and plot

Huge swathes of time are just discarded

So weird

[Steve]

Saw this last night and vastly preferred it to the one-man-narrated documentary it's based on.

The need to retain vast tracts of stuff the main character, Nick Yarris, observed in prison, fascinating stuff that doesn't particularly relate to him, holds this back from being compelling dramatically at the beginning. However, as Adrien Brody's death row prisoner develops a relationship with Nana Mensah's Jackie, an activist for the better treatment of prisoners, the story develops an emotional and dramatic dimension that vastly lifts our sense of investment in this important and compelling story.

Brody is charisma personified, and Mensah consummately bridges the gap between us and him.

Some spoilers follow. . .

The difference between this show and the original documentary is threefold:-

(1) Scenes with other prisoners are enacted rather than merely narrated, which is more immersive and dramatic;

(2) The time structure is more interesting in its presentation, jumping around in time as and when necessary to increase intrigue; and

(3) The character of Nana Mensah's Jackie, who was omitted from the documentary and whose identity is still disguised here, adds an emotional connection to the material that builds to something intensely moving.

As the rotten policeman who arrested Yarris, and also as the reluctant Christian lawyer who represented Yarris, Michael Fox really brings it, oozing entitled sleaze in the former role and entitled self-absorption in the second.

Meanwhile, the whole ensemble duck and dive usefully and effortlessly between multiple roles of guards and prisoners.

But it is Adrien Brody's embodiment of the will-to-live under horrendous circumstances, his gift for storytelling, and his slow-bonding and with Mensah's Jackie that make it all add up to something.

The moment this clicked for me as a drama was when Mensah's Jackie takes a risk and gives this death row inmate her phone number. Mensah makes you feel the danger and Brody makes you feel the breakthrough, and it all started working for me right there.

Anyway, it's an astonishing story and this is a great dramatic way of telling it. And Brody burns up the stage in his London debut in an immersive, emotive and unforgettable way.

4 and a half stars from me.

[mrbarnaby]

Oct 17, 2024 17:40:34 GMT parsley1 said:

Thanks Steve

Was worried I am there but am not

Very bizarrely I forgot to add the show to my diary and subsequently missed it last week

Very grateful to the team who got me a ticket at short notice and I shall see this evening

Your people spoke to their people? 🤣

[TallPaul]

Oct 12, 2024 7:34:52 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Can we get a poll please?

Poll now added,as you asked so politely. 🙂

[alessia]

I agree with Arifa Akbar on this one, the best thing is Adrien Brody and it feels like the play doesn't make the most of his acting skills- until the very last ten minutes. I also didn't feel there was any chemistry between him and Nana Mensah. Even the wedding day felt a bit forced and cold. Overall I enjoyed it but mostly for Brody.

[BurlyBeaR]

Ticket on the Noticeboard for tonight 23/10

[andrew]

Oct 23, 2024 9:41:04 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Ticket on the Noticeboard for tonight 23/10

Now sold - thank you so much

[Mark]

Exceptional. Such great writing and Adrien Brody giving a top class performance. Don’t miss it.

[hamletothello]

I loved this. The staging was fantastic and the quick costume/set changes were stunning. Brody is a compelling, nuanced performer and it was a thrill to see him so close. I never once felt it dragged as the exposition was interspersed beautifully with dramatic reconstructions. It was a great combination of good writing, inspired direction and top-quality acting. Nana Mensah and the ensemble were all fantastic too. This is certainly one of my top theatre experiences this year.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}What happened to the dog in the final scene? According to the script, a dog runs onstage: 'Nick bends to pet the dog ... His dog licks his face. Nick is innoncent again, almost childlike. Nick and his dog leave the theatre together, heading out into the real world as it unfurls before them, with all its unlikely possibilities'. This would have been a lovely touch!

[Dave B]

The real Nick Yarris in the audience this evening - a very emotional curtain call.

[theatre22]

Has anyone bought a standing ticket for this? The view isn’t always great with standing at the Donmar eg Private Lives so just wondered what it was like with the staging for this show.

[iwanttix]

Saw this last night and thought it was brilliant. I loved the staging and how the space was used. Performances were brilliant and I felt really amongst the action sitting in the area inside the walkway.

[greenandbrownandblue]

Received email from Donmar saying Adrien Brody won't be performing on 15 and 16 November. I know these things happen, but bit annoyed as he was the main reason I booked for this. Is it still worth seeing without him?

[andrew]

Oct 31, 2024 16:47:14 GMT greenandbrownandblue said:

Received email from Donmar saying Adrien Brody won't be performing on 15 and 16 November. I know these things happen, but bit annoyed as he was the main reason I booked for this. Is it still worth seeing without him?

In the same boat, just if it saves anyone the time phoning up the box office will not yield you any help. I'm pretty gutted. I feel like it's one thing turning up and someones sick on the day and you shrug your shoulders and deal with it, it's a whole conundrum if you booked entirely on the basis of the actor and you know 2 weeks ahead they're not going to be there.