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Post by foxa on Nov 19, 2016 15:59:01 GMT
Going to see this tonight. royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-children/Only 3 in the cast, but since they are Francesca Annis, Ron Cook and Deborah Findlay it seemed worth a punt. Lucy Kirkwood wrote Chimerica, which I didn't see, but read and thought it was good. But, as I recollect, folks hated NSFW - which I also didn't see. Anyway, will let you know what I think.... |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2016 17:30:50 GMT
Please do! I have high hopes for this, drugging loved Chimerica
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Post by bingomatic on Nov 19, 2016 18:30:02 GMT
Oh ! Please include running time ! Just so I can set expectations for my wife. She's not had much luck at the RC recently (Hope, Unreachable) so I'm hoping this one will turn it around.
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Post by foxa on Nov 19, 2016 22:32:50 GMT
Show report (preview)
Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes - no interval
Nudity/Dogs: Nope
Programme/Playscript: The usual bargain £3
Acting: Excellent- with Annis, Cook and Findlay how could it not be? Cook was perhaps a tiny, tiny bit miscast, but he's such an intelligent actor - lots of good stuff.
Premise: Three retired scientists meet after a long time....Something bad has happened....
Warnings: Signs warned of smoking and some scenes performed in the dark. There was a bit of smoking, but no scenes really in pitch dark, so don't know if there was a change.
Odd thing: Fight director listed - must have been a very easy job.
Take away: What's worth living/fighting for?
Audience: A noisy walk out about a half hour in and a bit of coughy/sneezy/dropping cups kind of audience. At end, warmly received but no standing ovation.
Tip: If you can sit close, do - the performances are nuanced. Not sure they would have same impact at a distance.
This is done in a startlingly realistic set and there is a lot of eating, chopping, the aforementioned smoking...plenty of sub-text between the characters, a terrific speech by Annis, really liked the first scene. For me, it lost its way about 2/3s of the way through and struggled with tone. However, my SO who tends to hate things, liked it (except for one bit of what he took to be the message which he found depressing). I gave it 3* - 3-1/2 * and he says it's a 'worthy' 4*.
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Post by foxa on Nov 20, 2016 10:11:09 GMT
Discussed this further with SO over our morning bagels and he makes a good argument for the take away message being about inheritance.
Also notes that the playwright is in her 30s and characters in their 60s, so possibly some exploration of generations - what they've done; what they expect.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 12:51:02 GMT
Are there any coup D theatre thingys? I like a good thingy
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Post by foxa on Nov 20, 2016 14:08:42 GMT
;-) Given it's Miriam Buether as designer I had expected a bit more coup de theatre- I saw an early preview (part of their First Look thing) and there were two technical bits which I rather thought were meant to be more amazing than they were, so I wonder if that will develop.
Note: got an email today from the Royal Court as part of First Look asking for comments - I rambled on a bit. Can't imagine what they'll make of it.
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Post by drmaplewood on Nov 22, 2016 7:01:38 GMT
Liked this a lot last night, quietly haunting and wonderfully nuanced. A few bits didn't work (thought the dance went on for too long) but it didn't grate massively. Would recommend.
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Post by bellboard27 on Nov 22, 2016 19:19:34 GMT
;-) ]Note: got an email today from the Royal Court as part of First Look asking for comments - I rambled on a bit. Can't imagine what they'll make of it. [ They will probably ask you to submit a script. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2016 19:39:14 GMT
^ or just stage your email "as is" in the theatre upstairs. I'd go see it |
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Post by caa on Nov 22, 2016 22:26:11 GMT
Saw this last night, I liked parts of it. It seemed like the author was trying to be in one sense realistic almost as if they were trying to write a Carol Churchill play, but then got side tracked and got it bloated. Also Ron Cook didn't seem right in his role but others would probably disagree with me.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 23, 2016 5:08:26 GMT
^ or just stage your email "as is" in the theatre upstairs. I'd go see it Furthermore, it'd probably transfer and win an award! |
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Post by drmaplewood on Nov 23, 2016 10:43:15 GMT
This is a (admittedly very boring) tangent, but have the Royal Court improved their soundproofing? I remember in the past being able to hear the tube trains quite clearly but that seems to have vanished?
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Post by barelyathletic on Nov 28, 2016 17:16:12 GMT
Wonderful reviews generally but it's not booking well. I guess it's just not very seasonal. The Court seems to struggle with their December productions generally. Looking forward to seeing it though on the 13th, but wondered if anyone else had a view?
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Post by showgirl on Nov 28, 2016 17:17:39 GMT
Will let you know after we've seen it on Dec 10th! Quite happy with what I've read so far, though 2 hours is a bit long to go without an interval.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 17:50:08 GMT
I rather liked it. It felt just long enough without an interval. Nicely played and nice to see that Deborah Findlay is rather generous with the amount of ingredients she puts in a salad.
The thing that struck me most about the whole thing was just how lovely the voices of the three actors are. They're all very musical.
Anyhoo, Francesca Annis looks frankly glorious for 70 and she also gives probably the best performance too - it's really quite a marvellous one. But Deborah Findlay and Ron Cook are wonderful too.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 28, 2016 19:18:05 GMT
Whatever my eventual view of the play, it will make a nice change to have a cast who make me feel young!
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Post by couldileaveyou on Dec 10, 2016 18:18:20 GMT
Saw the matinee today and loved (most of the) play... at times I felt like it was trying a bit too hard, but ultimately it's very very good. Francesca Annis is really excellent and her two collegues are very very good too.
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Post by Latecomer on Dec 10, 2016 18:26:53 GMT
I knew I should have remembered to wear my badge today! I was there too! Really enjoyed this...some of the lines were great....felt Ron Cook was a bit miscast.....interesting ideas all melded together. I too wear sunscreen Even on rainy days (in case it clears up, factor 50) and arrive ereywhere at least 15mins early.....hmmmm Oh and great on stage salad preparation!  |
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Post by lolli on Dec 10, 2016 20:42:11 GMT
Saw it today too - really excellent performances, and a thought provoking play
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Post by showgirl on Dec 11, 2016 6:33:53 GMT
OH and I saw it yesterday evening and were both distinctly underwhelmed; disappointing in view of the many good reviews we had read. Not sure what the play was trying to say, but it took far too long not saying it; 1 hour 50 is too long anywhere without an interval; OH found none of the 3 characters sympathetic (I didn't particularly like any of them but didn't consider any really unlikeable; we agreed that Ron Cook did not convince as a supposed former physicist and indeed I didn't think Deborah Findlay did, either.
Would struggle to give it even 3 stars, and we are both in the age group you would suppose most likely to relate to this play.
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Post by RudyGrey on Dec 11, 2016 7:18:50 GMT
I agree that it all took a bit too much time: there were a handful of moments I couldn't help but doze off. But still it kept me eager to know how the story would develop. A bit dissappointed that the bottomline was of a rather simplistic pessimism.
In the end it's the performances that stuck with me, especially the two actresses, who surprised me with their versatility and warm voices.
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Post by Latecomer on Dec 11, 2016 16:13:15 GMT
Ok, some more thoughts on the play with spoliering so as not to spoil it! I really enjoyed seeing it.... {Spoiler - click to view}
Can't help feeling that Ron Cook was completely miscast, although he had a good attempt at the part and his scene where he tells wife that the cows are actually dead was brilliant....but really....the way he smoked a cigarette...sexy? And he'd been so sexy that 2 women (and more) were fighting over him? Sorry Ron, I just don't buy it!
I loved the performances of the women and thought they were great at portraying the different characters...slightly alarmed that I may just be one of them...what with the sun tan cream and organising and all that, but what lovely poetry in some of the words..."that woman holds up the world" or something like that... As usual plays make a poor stab at science...just a brief mention about wave power here and no real explanation of why/if the world really had almost come to an end beacuse of one nuclear accident, but decided that really that wasn't what the play was all about - it was about three things in my eyes....the older generation taking responsibility for ruining the world (or at least not making a better attempt at running it well!), what we are to do about people living for ever and wanting everything, and the lack of independance of the next generation and their refusal to grow up and sever the links (perhaps a bi-product of the fact that we are all living so long and we seem to have the power/money so naturally children are reliant on us? Plus we treat them so well and make life so cosy at home why would they want to leave?)
Thought it was fascinating and like Chimerica I liked the fact that she wrapped it all up with a "story"...love triangle!
Plus does that not have to be one of the best play openings? A woman just standing there with blood dripping from her nose?!!!
In the end I was a tad dissapointed that all the "newcomer" wanted was to take our scientists out of retirement...I thought it would be far more exciting than that...but this was a far more slow burn play...and I'll be thinking about it for some time to come...and perhaps trying to want less! |
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Post by Latecomer on Dec 11, 2016 16:16:01 GMT
Oh and DO NOT read any newspaper reviews of the play if you are planning to go (and I recommend you do!) ...they mostly give away the whole plot!
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Post by showgirl on Dec 11, 2016 17:02:47 GMT
We had read lots but didn't feel it spoilt anything. I'm sure my OH would grasp any plot anyway but I am always grateful for pointers in advance, just in case I can't follow something on the day. It wouldn't have been an issue for this play but it can be very distracting trying to work out what's going on, or is meant to have happened, and if you're not careful you then miss something else.
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