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Post by martin1965 on Feb 18, 2017 18:08:01 GMT
I sense that martin1965 has enjoyed a late liquid lunch today. Not at all, just enjoyed a good afternoon out, lots of laughs. Hope it does well in the WE. |
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Post by deadyankee on Feb 19, 2017 0:16:48 GMT
I sense that martin1965 has enjoyed a late liquid lunch today. Not at all, just enjoyed a good afternoon out, lots of laughs. Hope it does well in the WE. Indeed. We saw it this evening and had a great time. Thankfully amusement and fun are not yet illegal, merely frowned upon. |
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Post by daniel on Feb 26, 2017 14:02:23 GMT
Anyone know how to get the £15 front row Under 25 tickets? Can't seem to find any hits on the web. @theatremonkey?
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Post by Jan on Mar 13, 2017 13:57:09 GMT
I sense that martin1965 has enjoyed a late liquid lunch today. Not at all, just enjoyed a good afternoon out, lots of laughs. Hope it does well in the WE. Some terrible reviews for this "I didn't laugh once" ... 2* ... "a miserable evening". Obviously what is good enough for the provinces doesn't cut it with the more sophisticated London audiences, eh Martin ? |
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Post by theatremadness on Mar 13, 2017 14:21:15 GMT
I know you were trying to make a point, Jan, but I'd say it's more middle-of-the-road:
3* in Time Out, Guardian, Evening Standard, Telegraph
4* in British Theatre, BroadwayWorld UK and What's On Stage (which will be enough to market on I'm sure!)
Then the 2* I've seen is from The Stage and LondonTheatre (though both are written by Mark Shenton) - not saying that there aren't any more!
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Post by Jan on Mar 13, 2017 14:32:57 GMT
I know you were trying to make a point, Jan, but I'd say it's more middle-of-the-road: 3* in Time Out, Guardian, Evening Standard, Telegraph 4* in British Theatre, BroadwayWorld UK and What's On Stage (which will be enough to market on I'm sure!) Then the 2* I've seen is from The Stage and LondonTheatre (though both are written by Mark Shenton) - not saying that there aren't any more! The 2* I quoted was from Metro. Billington clearly didn't take kindly to them asking him from the stage to give them a 5* review. Torygraph review finishes by saying don't waste your money. Let's agree that this one has divided the critics. |
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Post by theatremadness on Mar 13, 2017 14:35:49 GMT
I know you were trying to make a point, Jan, but I'd say it's more middle-of-the-road: 3* in Time Out, Guardian, Evening Standard, Telegraph 4* in British Theatre, BroadwayWorld UK and What's On Stage (which will be enough to market on I'm sure!) Then the 2* I've seen is from The Stage and LondonTheatre (though both are written by Mark Shenton) - not saying that there aren't any more! The 2* I quoted was from Metro. Billington clearly didn't take kindly to them asking him from the stage to give them a 5* review. Torygraph review finishes by saying don't waste your money. Let's agree that this one has divided the critics. Agreed indeed! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2017 14:51:22 GMT
Oooh, fabulous! I'm going tomorrow because I love Katy Wix.
Now, I've read these marvellous reviews, I shall be calling ahead to ensure the bar is fully stocked with gin.
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Post by Marwood on Mar 13, 2017 14:56:39 GMT
I'm not going until May, and not going to bother reading any of those reviews, when it comes to comedies it is such an individual thing: I went to see The Painkiller last year and people around me were howling with laughter, while I sat there with a face on me like I was watching an extended cut of Schindlers List (possibly the worst 'comedy' I've seen on a theatre stage, and that got some pretty decent reviews)
I only paid £10 for my seat, and like Ryan, I shall also be ensuring the bar is full of gin (and also plotting a pub/bar crawl from the theatre back to the train station in case it is actually that bad)
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Post by Jan on Mar 13, 2017 15:23:01 GMT
One review suggested that GRJ was unlikely casting for this as he's so pleasant and avuncular. That doesn't quite tally with what I've heard about him in the biz.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2017 17:34:34 GMT
One review suggested that GRJ was unlikely casting for this as he's so pleasant and avuncular. That doesn't quite tally with what I've heard about him in the biz. To be fair to GRJ, he has been pretty open in the past about how he struggles with his temper. Which is not to say it's fine to get angry with people who don't deserve it - just that he's maybe not trying to appear saintly in the face of any evidence to the contrary... |
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Post by deadyankee on Mar 13, 2017 19:09:34 GMT
Oooh, fabulous! I'm going tomorrow because I love Katy Wix. Now, I've read these marvellous reviews, I shall be calling ahead to ensure the bar is fully stocked with gin. Katy Wix channels Hattie Jacques masterfully in this. I thought it was great fun. It's not cerebral but that's no bad thing. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2017 23:11:30 GMT
Oooh, fabulous! I'm going tomorrow because I love Katy Wix. Now, I've read these marvellous reviews, I shall be calling ahead to ensure the bar is fully stocked with gin. I thought it was great fun. It's not cerebral but that's no bad thing. Ha! I see what you mean, she absolutely does! 'Sykes'-era Hattie. Fabulous.  |
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Post by stefy69 on Mar 15, 2017 7:17:55 GMT
Despite the less than ecstatic reviews I am still looking forward to seeing this next month.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 18:36:48 GMT
Well. When it's funny, it's very funny but there are large parts that drag a fair bit despite the best efforts of the cast and some of it doesn't have the zip that you'd expect. Katy Wix is great but woefully underused in parts. If you've ever seen Ellie White's wonderful Princess Beatrice in 'The Windsors' then you've seen her performance here but it's so delightful that it's worth another outing. For me, Ryan Gage is the standout - he prances and dances away with the entire show.
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Post by Steve on Mar 18, 2017 13:15:05 GMT
For my taste, enjoyable broad comedy, but not dark enough, and the jokes are hit and miss panto. Like a mid-ranking Carry On movie. Some spoilers follow. . . The mention of Katy Wix parroting Hattie Jacques had me wondering which Carry On members the others were channeling. Griff Rhys Jones must be a less camp Kenneth Williams, as he's uber-haughty with a side of snide, Ryan Gage is Charles Hawtrey with a lisp, as he's prissy, meek and accident prone, Matthew Horne is Kenneth Connor as he's pompous but under Katy's cosh, and of course Lee Mack is Sid James, 'cos he's doesn't give a flying fig about any of it. Basically, the whole thing is a stage version of a bad Carry On movie, and it would have been better if it had starred the actual Carry On cast, because then the audience would have known they were going to a bad Carry On show, and could have got suitably drunk ahead of time. And I really do recommend getting drunk if you're close to the stage, as this cast, following Moliere's fourth-wall-breaking pattern (but also because most of them are comedians) really like looking you in the eye when they're telling you jokes. And this puts you, the audience, in the exhausting role of compassionate carer for the comedians who are trying very hard to please: straining to laugh even when not amused out of social compunction. Of course, if you are lucky enough to be a sociopath, you will be able to stare into the eyes of Griff Rhys Jones, as he turns his comic energy up to one million to get a laugh out of you, and look back stoneyfaced and uninterested without a pang of guilt. But normal people will look into his elastic gurning face and gurn right back out of courtesy, and it is this pretending to laugh that gets so wearing. For this reason, it's best to have a seat in the rear, or alternatively to be blotto, so that such social anxieties don't blight your enjoyment. Because there is in fact alot of fun to be had from the 2 out of 5 jokes that work. I'm not surprised that Ryan, in particular, would find draggy patches in this show, as I'm struck that Ryan's effortless off-the-cuff comedic remarks on this board achieve a hit rate at least double this effortful show (ie 4 out of 5 jokes are funny). The show is effortful because those comedians are working so hard to make comic lemonade out of comedy lemons. But when the jokes work, they work. The best two performers are Lee Mack and Ryan Gage for completely different reasons. Lee Mack plays the comedy, but his shoulder-shrugging affability means you laugh BECAUSE the jokes are bad, ie he's in on it with you laughing at how bad the play is, so it's hilarious. Ryan Gage makes no eye contact with the audience, and plays the character, a character so defined in his lisping, bumbling, campness, that he can say any line whatsoever and translate it into something else that is surprising and wacky. These two performances are great. In fact, all the comedians do a decent job but without enough sufficiently funny material. For my taste, Moliere works best if it's both broad and dark. This is broad but too light, the Keira Knightley Misanthrope was dark but not broad, whereas Marcus Gardley's reworking of Tartuffe at The Tricycle, "A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes," being both broad and dark in tone, had me in stitches throughout (as Lucian Msamati's evangelist Tartuffe hit that broad dark cruel comic note that was genuinely edgy rather than panto light, like this show). So here's the thing. Two out of every five jokes hitting can make for a great evening as long as the three out of five jokes that miss cause you no distress. Drink it up, I say, unless you are an alcoholic, in which case, sit at that back! Or a sociopath, in which case, sit anywhere you want. 2 and a half stars.  |
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Post by Sotongal on Mar 18, 2017 17:02:19 GMT
Watched this at Richmond Theatre and it was great fun.
The cast work really hard, the gags fire out at speed though some can be missed and it can seem pantomime-y at times, (it certainly didn't remind us of Carry On films)but it is enjoyable and the cast seem to be enjoying it, too. And it's well cast, they are all good in their roles.
We sat in the third row of the Stalls and quite liked the close proximity of the cast breaking the fourth wall and engaging now and then with the first few rows but there were one or two grumpy people who had the looks on their faces that they found it an affront to their theatre going experience.
We go to London theatre and regional theatre a lot and enjoyed it (certainly more than The Painkiller which was killed by Branagh's lack of any comedic bone in his body).
It's a comedy - go and embrace it!
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Post by Sotongal on Mar 21, 2017 21:23:21 GMT
I'm not going until May, and not going to bother reading any of those reviews, when it comes to comedies it is such an individual thing: I went to see The Painkiller last year and people around me were howling with laughter, while I sat there with a face on me like I was watching an extended cut of Schindlers List (possibly the worst 'comedy' I've seen on a theatre stage, and that got some pretty decent reviews) I only paid £10 for my seat, and like Ryan, I shall also be ensuring the bar is full of gin (and also plotting a pub/bar crawl from the theatre back to the train station in case it is actually that bad) I agree re The Painkiller, but interestingly both plays are written/adapted by Sean Foley. Did people like The Painkiller more because Sir Ken was in it and it was a Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production? (He was workaday with the physical comedy). Or do they hate The Miser more, even if they haven't yet seen it, because the word 'pantomime' was used in some of the reviews when 'farce' might have been a better description? I'd say, it's got a good cast and it's a comedy. Embrace it and enjoy it! |
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Post by Jan on Mar 22, 2017 7:40:17 GMT
I'm not going until May, and not going to bother reading any of those reviews, when it comes to comedies it is such an individual thing: I went to see The Painkiller last year and people around me were howling with laughter, while I sat there with a face on me like I was watching an extended cut of Schindlers List (possibly the worst 'comedy' I've seen on a theatre stage, and that got some pretty decent reviews) I only paid £10 for my seat, and like Ryan, I shall also be ensuring the bar is full of gin (and also plotting a pub/bar crawl from the theatre back to the train station in case it is actually that bad) I agree re The Painkiller, but interestingly both plays are written/adapted by Sean Foley. Did people like The Painkiller more because Sir Ken was in it and it was a Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production? (He was workaday with the physical comedy). Or do they hate The Miser more, even if they haven't yet seen it, because the word 'pantomime' was used in some of the reviews when 'farce' might have been a better description? I'd say, it's got a good cast and it's a comedy. Embrace it and enjoy it! Pantomime and farce are entirely different. Farce is mostly plot-driven and pantomime is mostly character-driven. The reviews I saw mentioned grotesque broad-brush playing of some characters in this - so describing those elements as pantomime seems fine. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 11:04:49 GMT
I think The Painkiller was intended to be a farce, but it was just one of the most horrendous experiences I've ever had in a theatre in actuality.
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Post by Sotongal on Mar 22, 2017 11:39:09 GMT
I agree re The Painkiller, but interestingly both plays are written/adapted by Sean Foley. Did people like The Painkiller more because Sir Ken was in it and it was a Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production? (He was workaday with the physical comedy). Or do they hate The Miser more, even if they haven't yet seen it, because the word 'pantomime' was used in some of the reviews when 'farce' might have been a better description? I'd say, it's got a good cast and it's a comedy. Embrace it and enjoy it! Pantomime and farce are entirely different. Farce is mostly plot-driven and pantomime is mostly character-driven. The reviews I saw mentioned grotesque broad-brush playing of some characters in this - so describing those elements as pantomime seems fine. Briefly, there is a plot though - The Miser is fanatical about protecting his wealth and is trying to matchmake his son and daughter to people they don't want to marry as they are in love with others. I'd say it was maybe a bit more like a Restoration comedy and the original Moliere was written about the time they were popular in the UK, though called a comedy. And not everything has to be 'worthy', some things can just be fun. I agree it it seems to have polarised the critics and audiences. People either seem to have loved it or hated it. But as I said earlier, it's got a great cast and it's fun, so for anyone going, just embrace it and enjoy it! Have to add that some people are quite snobby about pantomime, but if it entertains people and gets people/kids interested in going to the theatre and then progressing to more sophisticated productions of whatever genre then that is a fine thing. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 11:41:12 GMT
And if it puts other people off ever going near a theatre for the rest of their life?
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Post by Sotongal on Mar 22, 2017 21:04:43 GMT
And if it puts other people off ever going near a theatre for the rest of their life? You could say that about a bad first experience of anything! But then, it might just be a good one! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 23:28:08 GMT
Anyone seen this from the £25 stalls seats? Did you miss much? (Trying to decide whether it's worth stepping up to a £35 reduced from £65 instead.)
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Post by bee on Apr 5, 2017 6:16:44 GMT
Anyone seen this from the £25 stalls seats? Did you miss much? (Trying to decide whether it's worth stepping up to a £35 reduced from £65 instead.)
I was in one of these last week, E21 I think, end of the row, on the left. There's a bit at the start where Lee Mack sits at a harpsichord and does some visual stuff which seemed to be very funny, but I didn't see any of it. That's the only part I can remember where you were really missing out on something.
As to the play, it was OK. Back in the mists of time I saw a production of this with Tom Courtenay, and in that you actually felt a little sorry for Harpagon when he realises his money has been stolen. In spite of his selfishness and greed you had a sense of what a devastating loss it was for him, and you were somewhat moved by his plight. This production on the other hand, doesn't try for any of that pathos nonsense, it's only interested in getting laughs, and to be fair it does that quite well.
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