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Post by Jan on Oct 23, 2016 19:07:25 GMT
Pre-WW-I is a good setting for LLL - normally (and I was expecting it here) the last thing you hear are the distant explosions from the Somme (which of course in reality could be heard from Southern England). Best production I have seen was the Trevor Nunn NT one where he explicitly had WW-I battle scenes at the beginning and end - he also turned it into even more of a musical comedy by having all four of the suitor's poems set as songs (it was cross-cast with the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes). From what I recall at least 2 of the other 3 RSC productions I have seen were set in the same period, maybe all 3 were(1984 Kenneth Branagh/Roger Rees, 1991 Simon Russell-Beale/Ralph Fiennes, 1994 Dan Massey). Only saw the 1990 Terry Hands production of those three and it had a victorian setting as i recall. Yes looks like it based on this link - you can check the other productions here too www.photostage.co.uk/gallery/love-s-labour-s-lost/1437/1442/383/0/love-s-labour-s-lost-rsc-1993-94-95.html |
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Post by foxa on Dec 16, 2016 9:38:47 GMT
Caught the matinee of LLL at the Haymarket yesterday.
It was a very pretty production. It's set in Edwardian England, shortly pre-WW1 (as mentioned above). My son said it had the feeling of a ballet production which can be revived anytime over a few decades using the same costumes and sets (and both were very attractive) but different casts.
There was a blandness to the performances. Ed Bennett was clearly the best of the men - you felt a bit relieved when he was on. Most of the acting was competent, but nothing particularly exciting or inventive or touching or romantic. I did think the dancing in disguise scene was genuinely funny and there was some charming staging in the rooftop scene. It whiles a way an afternoon and I could imagine it being a pleasant Christmas outing if you wanted something safe.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2016 11:42:11 GMT
Excellent reviews for these
Some critics seem to give a rating for each whilst others an overall
Seems to be much as the original RSC reviews 4/5 stars all round
I predict a rush of ticket sales over the next few weeks
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Post by Jan on Dec 20, 2016 12:35:52 GMT
Excellent reviews for these Some critics seem to give a rating for each whilst others an overall Seems to be much as the original RSC reviews 4/5 stars all round I predict a rush of ticket sales over the next few weeks Although one review did start by mentioning the eye-watering ticket prices. |
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Post by profquatermass on Dec 20, 2016 13:26:20 GMT
Excellent reviews for these Some critics seem to give a rating for each whilst others an overall Seems to be much as the original RSC reviews 4/5 stars all round I predict a rush of ticket sales over the next few weeks Although one review did start by mentioning the eye-watering ticket prices. Unsurprisingly there are huge swathes of empty stalls seats shown on the Haymarket website and a fair amount of papering going on |
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Post by kathryn on Feb 3, 2017 23:25:45 GMT
Saw Loves Labours Lost tonight, having never seen or read it before. It charmed me, though it's definitely a slighter piece than Much Ado.
I'm wondering if the songs are in the original text, or added?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2017 20:29:53 GMT
Completed the pair, with "Much Ado" on Saturday afternoon. It's the stronger of the two, as everyone says, but I think you need to see the pair for the full effect. Deliberate or faked? After the Tree scene, where Benedick comes downstage centre and blows talc into the audience: on Saturday he first dropped a mix of spit and talc onto some poor chump in the front row. Then he appeared to inhale some of the dust and couldn't speak, standing there with his pop-eyed gurn as the audience started laughing. He silenced us with a hand gesture, took a swig of sherry, rolled it around his mouth, paused, then went on with the show. Dunno, from the gurn onwards felt like one of those "fake going wrong" moments to me. Was it? That didn't happen when I saw the show a couple of weeks ago. I had booked to watch Love's Labour's Lost the night before I saw Much Ado but got stuck in a meeting, and am now wondering if it's worth bothering to get a cheap ticket to see it this week or next given it seems I've already seen the better of the two? |
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Post by Jan on Feb 7, 2017 7:45:16 GMT
Completed the pair, with "Much Ado" on Saturday afternoon. It's the stronger of the two, as everyone says, but I think you need to see the pair for the full effect. Deliberate or faked?
I saw Edward Bennett in a Victorian comedy at the Orange Tree where the text said the actors had to improvise a different last scene every time - maybe he's got a taste for it. |
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Post by crabtree on Feb 7, 2017 8:37:16 GMT
Oh no, please do try to see Love's Labours Lost; it really is beautiful, a great mixture of laughter and sadness. And the twist in its' tail always hits hard. Can't wait for the same teams' Twelfth Night later this year.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 7, 2017 12:14:27 GMT
I haven't seen the Much Ado (don't feel like I need to see it again) but I'm really glad I saw LLL. It's very funny and charming.
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Post by Jan on Feb 7, 2017 14:02:28 GMT
LLL is produced quite infrequently. It might be years before another one comes along.
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Post by Peach on Feb 7, 2017 16:44:11 GMT
I recall thst Ed Bennett did something similar when I saw the show before Christmas, theatremonkey.
I enjoyed it. The two leads seem older than when it played at the RSC which gave it a kind of last shot at love feel. I missed Michelle Terry as she gave Beatrice a fire that Lisa Dillon lacked but the actor playing Claudio has matured into the role nicely.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 17:44:59 GMT
The rooftop scene in LLL is worth the ticket price.
Ed Bennett in MAAN is glorious. Lisa Dillon not so much, there's a touch of the poor man's Angela Thorne about her.
Lovely set. Especially when it turns into the church during MAAN.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 7, 2017 20:07:39 GMT
I am guessing that these productions have matured since I saw them in Stratford. LLL was by far the better production at that time - a real joy from start to finish. Much Ado was almost crass in comparison - very broad approach to the comedy and almost zero effort put into making sense of the post-war setting (other than the costumes)
I would happily revisit LLL were it not for the fact that I am in the middle of casting it and don't want to view any other productions until mine is over.
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Post by skullion on Feb 7, 2017 20:30:51 GMT
Completed the pair, with "Much Ado" on Saturday afternoon. It's the stronger of the two, as everyone says, but I think you need to see the pair for the full effect. Deliberate or faked? After the Tree scene, where Benedick comes downstage centre and blows talc into the audience: on Saturday he first dropped a mix of spit and talc onto some poor chump in the front row. Then he appeared to inhale some of the dust and couldn't speak, standing there with his pop-eyed gurn as the audience started laughing. He silenced us with a hand gesture, took a swig of sherry, rolled it around his mouth, paused, then went on with the show. Dunno, from the gurn onwards felt like one of those "fake going wrong" moments to me. Was it? I can't remember exactly but he did something similar when I saw it the weekend before last, maybe just somehthing he throws in every now and again. |
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Post by argon on Feb 7, 2017 21:33:10 GMT
Completed the pair, with "Much Ado" on Saturday afternoon. It's the stronger of the two, as everyone says, but I think you need to see the pair for the full effect. Deliberate or faked? After the Tree scene, where Benedick comes downstage centre and blows talc into the audience: on Saturday he first dropped a mix of spit and talc onto some poor chump in the front row. Then he appeared to inhale some of the dust and couldn't speak, standing there with his pop-eyed gurn as the audience started laughing. He silenced us with a hand gesture, took a swig of sherry, rolled it around his mouth, paused, then went on with the show. Dunno, from the gurn onwards felt like one of those "fake going wrong" moments to me. Was it? I can't remember exactly but he did something similar when I saw it the weekend before last, maybe just somehthing he throws in every now and again. I will second that I saw it during Xmas and the same thing happened as above. It may have initially been a faux pas that received just a strong audience reaction, he chose to put it in from time to time. |
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Post by peggs on Feb 7, 2017 22:22:39 GMT
I preferred LLL, it was a new play for me and all just clicked together rather beautifully, I found MAAN, a play that I love, a little too forced at times when it came to the comedy, especially this particular scene which I'd have preferred dialled back quite a lot. That said I do own them both on dvd but do sometimes skip the whole Christmas tree bit as being just too silly.
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Post by peggs on Feb 8, 2017 12:47:59 GMT
Thanks Peggs, I didn't know it was on DVD - and with Flora "Once" Longhurst-Spencer too. Another sale, later today. Happy to encourage the theatre spending, makes me feel better about myself 
Are you a Flora fan? I liked her in this, otherwise only seen in the Globe titus.
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Post by theatremad on Feb 12, 2017 18:32:55 GMT
Saw Love's Labour's Lost last night again, and loved it. However seemed to miss the famous long word from Costard, has this been cut for the West End?
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Post by Cheryl on Feb 28, 2017 8:02:07 GMT
The brilliant pairing of Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado about Nothing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket is on until March 18, so there is still time to grab tickets --TKTS usually has them so it's a bargain too. The productions have been wafting around for a while but somehow I came to them very late. Both are stunning to look at, set and costume-wise and the music is a joy too. As a solid Stratfordian, I particularly appreciated the plundering of Marlowe's Come Live for the theme tune.
LLL has never been one of my favourites -- is it anyone's?-- but the eve of WWI setting puts heart into what can seem a daft story and, equally, WWI adds depth to the always entertaining Much Ado.
Direction is by Christopher Luscombe, who can do no wrong in my eyes, I confess. As an actor, he was the only one who made the somewhat tiresome Shakespeare clowns actually funny and was indeed particularly good as Moth in an erstwhile LLL. As a director, he clearly sees nothing wrong in making the most of humour whilst not losing sight of what the play is actually about. Had I known he was the directing these I would have gone much sooner and I am now looking forward very much to his Twelfth Night in the next RSC season. His Nell Gwynn is touring and is also a real pleasure.
Of the two I preferred LLL, not something I would ever have anticipated. That said, I took a teenager to Much Ado and he chortled his way through it as well as re-enacting the Christmas Tree eavesdropping scene, at intervals, for the next week. Both productions are brisk at under two hours and a half hours with an interval but the cuts have respected the language. Full reviews on my blog, in case you are interested!
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Post by bellboard27 on Feb 28, 2017 8:17:02 GMT
Erelong threads will merge, methinks.
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Post by Cheryl on Feb 28, 2017 9:44:45 GMT
Is there a thread already?? I couldn't find one and I did ask Admin -- apols!
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 1, 2017 15:53:03 GMT
Does the RSC get subsidy? This set must have cost them a fortune! Also the Theatre Royal Haymarket must have a much deeper stage than I thought it had. Very impressive when the whole room moved backwards under the arch. In interval of LLL.
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Post by Jan on Mar 1, 2017 16:10:48 GMT
Does the RSC get subsidy? This set must have cost them a fortune! Also the Theatre Royal Haymarket must have a much deeper stage than I thought it had. Very impressive when the whole room moved backwards under the arch. In interval of LLL. Yes they get a big subsidy but you wouldn't know it from their ticket prices. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Mar 2, 2017 16:45:03 GMT
Yes, big subsidy, but they got a lot of use out of this set. Yes, I gather from the programme that it has played at Chichester as well as the original Stratford-Upon-Avon run, and I guess they're getting 2 plays out of the one set too. I've never seen, nor even read, Love's Labour's Lost before so went in knowing very little about this & really enjoyed it. True, I found the "clowns" tedious at times but I find them so in all the Shakespeare comedies I've ever seen so that's me disliking his style rather than any fault of this production. I loved the scene set on the roof - is the teddy bear an homage to Brideshead Revisited? The scene with the "Russians" was hilarious! I found the last scene unexpectedly moving, especially when {Spoiler just in case given recent complaints}
the men came back onstage in WWI uniform. The music was really good. I thought the song Moth sang in Act 1 sounded decidedly Novello-ish so was amused when reading the programme afterwards to see that was exactly what the composer intended. The song in the last scene was lovely. I wish the RSC would release a cast recording as I'd love to hear it again - it's currently annoyingly haunting me just on the edge of memory. I need to work out when I can fit Much Ado in before the run ends as I now really want to see that too. As for ticket prices, I got the last day seat, less than an hour before the start of the show, and it was only £10. B1 stall & row B is currently the front row. While the view was a bit obstructed by furniture during some scenes, I still think for £10 it was an absolute bargain. |
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