471 posts
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Post by mistressjojo on Apr 28, 2017 8:30:42 GMT
Stay by the front doors. You must be the first. Thanks mallardo , thought it would be busier. The box office is through the first set of doors on the right as you face the theatre. I seem to remember it does have Box Office on the glass. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 8:46:03 GMT
Saw this on Wednesday night and must say I really enjoyed it. At points it was hysterically funny, some of that may have been the pre show margaritas but. I digress. I kind of sensed that some of the laughter around me was of the nervous uncomfortable sort and the charge for the exits by some audience members at the end certainly indicated it's not for everyone.
I thought the acting was phenomenal. Sophie Okonedo is a force of nature, I can't wait for her Mother Courage (someone organise this now please) and Damian Lewis was also excellent. Archie Madekwe playing the son in his stage debut also impressive but wears the largest most glaringly white trainers in this hemisphere which is slightly distracting.
I did leave thinking but what does it all mean?? Searching for metaphors and allegories. Maybe there aren't any. Mr Albee does seem to like the animal motif with the giant lizards in Seascape. However if the a play about goat sex had been written by a nobody as opposed to a multi award winning highly respected author towards the end of his career would the reception have been different? Answers on a postcard please.
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Apr 28, 2017 8:59:42 GMT
It's been weeks, but I still think about that baggy sweatshirt that Archie Madekwe has to wear. Do they really think a gay boy would wear that bin bag?
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 9:55:50 GMT
Well, day seat queue experience (cc @theatremonkey): arrived at 8:30, first one there. Next came at 8:45-ish, then just after 9am, then about 9:20. Only the four of us were there when box office opened, which was through the doors at the front (a 'day seat queue here' sign might've been helpful). I guess you could've showed up at 10 and still got tickets but who knows. Will check back tonight after the performance.
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2,480 posts
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Post by zahidf on Apr 28, 2017 10:23:04 GMT
Well, day seat queue experience (cc @theatremonkey ): arrived at 8:30, first one there. Next came at 8:45-ish, then just after 9am, then about 9:20. Only the four of us were there when box office opened, which was through the doors at the front (a 'day seat queue here' sign might've been helpful). I guess you could've showed up at 10 and still got tickets but who knows. Will check back tonight after the performance. They only have 8 tickets per show, so doubtful alas. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 11:22:45 GMT
I must say, I rocked up at about 7:15pm a few days ago looking swanky, showing off the cheekbones, giving the box office a bit of a wink and a smile and nabbed myself a stalls ticket for £25. Don't know if that's normal or just pot luck because it was a quiet night though.
Result.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Apr 28, 2017 11:28:50 GMT
I "rock up" late - quite a lot and get single seats cheap. Of course (like Ryan) it helps if you are gorgeous and charismatic!!
The prices for this are extortionate, and a lot of availability. It cannot be everyone's cup of tea.
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 22:56:12 GMT
Well, I thought this was tremendous. Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo can do no wrong and both were at the top of their game. Really blistering, like WAOVW, against supposed liberal values, whom Albee would've imagined, I suppose, to compose most of his audience. Deliciously dark but also challenging in the most rewarding way. An amazing set too, and those £5 day seats might be the best bargain in London at the moment! I might have to side with Billington on this and say five stars!
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Post by d'James on Apr 28, 2017 23:00:31 GMT
Well, I thought this was tremendous. Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo can do no wrong and both were at the top of their game. Really blistering, like WAOVW, against supposed liberal values, whom Albee would've imagined, I suppose, to compose most of his audience. Deliciously dark but also challenging in the most rewarding way. An amazing set too, and those £5 day seats might be the best bargain in London at the moment! I might have to side with Billington on this and say five stars! Where does one get these five pound tickets of which you speak? The Box Office itself? What time-ish? |
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Apr 28, 2017 23:18:14 GMT
Day seats alas - check the previous page for my experience.
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330 posts
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Post by RedRose on Apr 28, 2017 23:28:02 GMT
I was too lazy to get out of bed this morning so tried my luck turning up at 19:00, got last front stall seat for 25 £ - row J - that's usually Premium seats - had great fun, not only because of the great bargain of a seat without much effort. The audience generally enjoying it very much tonight.
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1,046 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Apr 29, 2017 22:06:25 GMT
Nabbed a student standby ticket for the matinee today and absolutely loved it. After seeing Virginia Woolf a few weeks ago, this only reinforced the genius of Albee - truly a master of writing material which is utterly hilarious and yet darkly serious. Sophie Okonedo was the stand out for me - Scene Two belonged entirely to her - and I thought Archie Madekwe really came into his own in Scene Three. Damian Lewis was very good, but I felt didn't quite deliver the full potential of the role.
The one thing I didn't get was the walls - what was the point? Clearly some sort of artistic decision that is meant to symbolise something, but it went over my head. I think it would've worked better with a static set like the current production of Virginia Woolf - the material is so good that you can just let the actors do their job, I didn't see the need for embellishments like that.
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1,280 posts
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Post by theatrefan77 on Apr 29, 2017 22:14:27 GMT
Damian Lewis was out for the evening performance today. Anybody saw his understudy? If so could you please let us know your thoughts?
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18 posts
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Post by bamaboy on May 4, 2017 6:42:51 GMT
What do the walls do?
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1,046 posts
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Post by jgblunners on May 4, 2017 6:45:05 GMT
The side walls move back after the first scene, making the room slightly bigger for the second and third scenes, before closing in again at the end.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 14:10:47 GMT
Tried my luck turning up 30 minutes before the matinee but the box office person obviously didn't like the look of me as the best they could do for a cheapskate was restricted view for £30 so I didn't bother
Looked to be plenty of availablility so obviously they prefer empty seats
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Post by partytentdown on May 8, 2017 12:45:47 GMT
I must say, I rocked up at about 7:15pm a few days ago looking swanky, showing off the cheekbones, giving the box office a bit of a wink and a smile and nabbed myself a stalls ticket for £25. Don't know if that's normal or just pot luck because it was a quiet night though. Result. Can any box office insiders tell us how this generally works... do producers give the BO staff a sense of what price is acceptable to go down to, or is it the free reign of whoever is on the desk if seats are empty? |
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on May 8, 2017 15:12:02 GMT
I have absolutely no idea how this works. I do this a lot though (never with genuinely busy or sold out shows) and I would say I am successful 80% of the time. You have to have a back up plan and be prepared to walk away however. I will try my luck with this as I do want to see it but not at those prices!
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4,970 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on May 8, 2017 16:26:10 GMT
I have absolutely no idea how this works. I do this a lot though (never with genuinely busy or sold out shows) and I would say I am successful 80% of the time. You have to have a back up plan and be prepared to walk away however. I will try my luck with this as I do want to see it but not at those prices! Are you quite sure we aren't related? |
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Post by Kenneth_C on May 10, 2017 7:59:24 GMT
Saw this last night, and found it to be a very fine production of a terrific play. It's my second encounter with The Goat, or Who is Syvia? after first seeing it several years ago in a small theatre in L.A. At the time, I had no idea what I was about to experience and remember stumbling out of the theatre afterward in something of a daze. The current production didn't have quite that impact, but that could be largely due to my familiarity with the material. Cannot fault the actors, at all. The one thing I didn't get was the walls - what was the point? Clearly some sort of artistic decision that is meant to symbolise something, but it went over my head. I think it would've worked better with a static set like the current production of Virginia Woolf - the material is so good that you can just let the actors do their job, I didn't see the need for embellishments like that. The one issue I had with this production was the set. It's gorgeous, but - not only do I not understand the point of the walls - I think the design is completely wrong for the play. It is far too warm and "rustic", making Martin's search for a residence in the country (and the epiphany he experiences while there) somewhat groundless. I think a more modern, Manhattan-penthouse-type set, serves the piece better. |
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Post by Phantom of London on May 11, 2017 21:20:37 GMT
This was so awful, course, stomach churning and thought provoking that I kind of loved it, well on the train home and cannot stop thinking of it, I am really conflicted. I don't get shocked, but a couple of times I had to look away in disgust. However you feel that the director wanted this to happen, so great acting gave a touch of authentic realism, but really you know or hope this is in the abstract.
Cannot decide if this should be a 1 Star or 5 Stars, still gathering my thoughts, or trying to makes sense of something that really didn't cross my mind until this evening, but have you ever met my friend Portia, she has beautiful eyes and that suggestive look, she is actually a sow.................
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4,970 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on May 13, 2017 18:12:53 GMT
Just thinking that they could have done a different version of this, by which I mean The Chicken, or who is Sylvia.
With Damian Lewis saying the immortal lines "Fair Is Foul, and Foul is Fair".
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524 posts
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Post by callum on May 13, 2017 20:03:16 GMT
The Pig, or Who is Sylvia? starring David and Samantha Cameron.
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on May 20, 2017 8:01:38 GMT
I thought Damian Lewis was phenomenal in this hugely difficult role. I believed him in every moment which, under the circumstances, is the highest praise.
I felt at times as if he were channelling Gene Wilder in that other bestiality piece - the one that came first - the vignette in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex in which Wilder, a psychiatrist, falls for a sheep brought to his office by a troubled patient. I wonder if that film was on Albee's mind while he was writing this? Wilder's character was named Doctor Ross - and Ross is the name of Martin's friend in the play. Coincidence? |
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Post by PalelyLaura on May 20, 2017 16:56:16 GMT
Dayseated for the matinee today. Got there at 8.25 and I was 5th in line. The guy at the front had caught a 5.30 bus to London to get tickets for him and his wife as a surprise for her which I thought was really sweet. Overheard lots of theatre discussion including plenty of praise for theatremonkey!
Really enjoyed the play, more than I thought I would and more than I did Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Great acting from all involved. Surprisingly funny but definitely tragic.
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