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Post by joem on Mar 27, 2017 22:21:38 GMT
Just got my tickets and thought I would warn you good people (especially Miller completists) that over half the nights seem to be sold out already.
You wouldn't want to have to wait another fifty years to see it.
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Post by martin1965 on Mar 28, 2017 5:38:47 GMT
Haha! Got my tix ages ago, going on 15/4. Been waiting for a production for decades.
Here's hoping it will prompt productions of some other lesser known Millers.
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Post by Jan on Mar 28, 2017 5:54:33 GMT
Haha! Got my tix ages ago, going on 15/4. Been waiting for a production for decades. Here's hoping it will prompt productions of some other lesser known Millers. 22/4 for me. What a pity I will miss you again Marty. |
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Post by joem on Mar 28, 2017 8:53:49 GMT
13/4 for me, so I'll get my review in first!
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Post by PalelyLaura on Mar 28, 2017 9:53:57 GMT
Well, I'm seeing it this Sunday, so ha! :-P
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Post by joem on Apr 2, 2017 19:23:38 GMT
Well? Where's your comment on it???
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Post by PalelyLaura on Apr 2, 2017 21:49:38 GMT
Well? Where's your comment on it??? Here goes! Very impressed overall. Simple set, stark white and bare. A very large cast (impressed they all fit into the tiny Finborough). 90 mins straight through and gripping throughout. A bunch of prisoners who've all been taken off the streets of Vichy by the Nazis are waiting to undergo a 'racial inspection'. None of them really know why they're there, it's all guesswork and conjecture. Routine papers check or something more sinister? Some are in denial, others have heard rumours about death camps and incinerators in the East. All the characters react differently. The men come from all backgrounds, rich German nobleman, Austrian psychiatrist, Communist engineer, cafe waiter. But Miller manages to avoid stereotyping. Play struck me as highly modern and relevant. Would definitely like to hear others' thoughts. |
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Post by lonlad on Apr 2, 2017 22:22:35 GMT
Sounds good. There was a stunning production in New York a season or two ago Off Broadway and the play seemed eerily relevant - one assumes it has only become more so!
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Post by PalelyLaura on Apr 3, 2017 8:31:09 GMT
Definitely - I was particularly struck by the discussion surrounding Hitler's appeal to the working classes. Definite parallels with modern times. By the way, Miller completists might be interested in a production of The Ride Down Mt Morgan at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans, at the end of this month. www.abbeytheatre.org.uk/whats-on/the-ride-down-mt-morgan/ |
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Post by bee on Apr 10, 2017 8:29:17 GMT
I thought this was tremendous, wonderfully acted by a great cast and surprisingly thought-provoking, given that the subject matter has been covered many times before. The Electrician character, a socialist who assumes he has the support of the working classes but doesn’t seem to know them at all, could be a member of Momentum, and the discussion about how the Nazis were able to succeed because “decent” people couldn’t believe that civilized people would behave in such a way, is reminiscent of the rise of Trump in the US (obviously that’s a rather unfair comparison – or at least I hope it is).
As martin1965 said, we really could do with seeing more of these rarely produced works by Miller (and others). Full credit to the Finborough for digging this gem up.
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Post by Snciole on Apr 12, 2017 14:57:51 GMT
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Post by joem on Apr 14, 2017 2:32:56 GMT
It is quite a feat to fit thirteen actors into the tiny stage at the Finborough. More than this, it is also a feat to hold the audience when very little movement is possible - the action takes place entirely in a crowded waiting-room. But this timely revival manages that, and more.
Miller's language hooks you in and quickly develops the theme of how an individual can behave in the midst of horror. Does the mere fact of survival when others are bing murdered imply some sort of moral collaboration? How do we square obedience to the rule of law when the law has been corrupted to incorporate the legal murder of innocents?
Insofar as its politics is concerned, Miller was no prophet - if he was he wouldn't have married Marilyn - so there is no point in crediting him with a vision of our times. He wrote about what he knew, his present and his immediate past, and if there are any echoes beyond the immediate fact of the rounding up of Nazi victims, they lie in the racism which was still being practised in the US as he wrote. We can draw parallels with current scenarios but those parallels are ours, not Miller's. It is not a preachy type of play, ultimately he seems to suggest that it is only through individual acts of heroism that humanity can be saved rather thn by any ism.
The acting was mostly very good - a distracting tendency from a couple of actors to ham it up, especially when the focus should be elsewhere. Word of advice: terror can be conveyed by stillness as much as by trembling and shaking. The proof is that the straight-through ninety minutes performance in the crowded and not especially comfortable benches is not onerous.
Full house, what a nice thing to see in a fringe theatre.
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Post by martin1965 on Apr 15, 2017 17:18:28 GMT
My first visit to this tiny theatre and if they keep programming like this i will be back!
How the flip has this play by the premier post war american writer remained neglected for so long?
A large cast (for a fringe venue) give their all in a taught 90 minutes. Only downside the somewhat unwelcoming atmos when i entered the pub. Still nobody's perfect. Recommended☺
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Post by Jan on Apr 18, 2017 8:05:14 GMT
My first visit to this tiny theatre and if they keep programming like this i will be back! . Only downside the somewhat unwelcoming atmos when i entered the pub. Still nobody's perfect. Recommended☺ For more than a decade the Finborough has had programming like this, for part of the year they do a season of neglected classics, and for the rest of the year seasons of new plays and musicals. I have seen rarely-produced plays there by Gorky, T.W.Robertson, William Saroyan, J.B.Priestly, R.C.Sherriff, Robert Bolt and James Bride and I by no means go to all their productions. Odd you felt unwelcome in the pub - probably they thought you looked like a trouble-maker. I imagine, just like in the past, it will close down in due course - other than the theatre audience there is not much custom in that area. |
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Post by martin1965 on Apr 18, 2017 11:53:45 GMT
My first visit to this tiny theatre and if they keep programming like this i will be back! . Only downside the somewhat unwelcoming atmos when i entered the pub. Still nobody's perfect. Recommended☺ For more than a decade the Finborough has had programming like this, for part of the year they do a season of neglected classics, and for the rest of the year seasons of new plays and musicals. I have seen rarely-produced plays there by Gorky, T.W.Robertson, William Saroyan, J.B.Priestly, R.C.Sherriff, Robert Bolt and James Bride and I by no means go to all their productions. Odd you felt unwelcome in the pub - probably they thought you looked like a trouble-maker. I imagine, just like in the past, it will close down in due course - other than the theatre audience there is not much custom in that area. Haha! That was the impression i was given, it was like the beginning of American Werewolf in London! I wondered how they survived as a pub, cant be that busy. Oh i know about their programming an i monitor their website but im afraid none of the authors you mention interest me |
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Post by Jan on Apr 22, 2017 19:14:48 GMT
The acting was mostly very good - a distracting tendency from a couple of actors to ham it up, especially when the focus should be elsewhere. I thought this was good. A perfect piece for this venue (as it is almost entirely static). The acting was a bit uneven as you would expect for a cast of 13 on the fringe but generally good. However, I agree that one actor in particular was over-acting terribly the whole time, even when not speaking, drawing attention away from where it should have been - really that is a failure of direction and I am surprised it has been allowed to continue - rather uncharitably I kept hoping he'd be the next to be taken away by the SS. |
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Post by joem on Apr 22, 2017 21:15:42 GMT
The acting was mostly very good - a distracting tendency from a couple of actors to ham it up, especially when the focus should be elsewhere. I thought this was good. A perfect piece for this venue (as it is almost entirely static). The acting was a bit uneven as you would expect for a cast of 13 on the fringe but generally good. However, I agree that one actor in particular was over-acting terribly the whole time, even when not speaking, drawing attention away from where it should have been - really that is a failure of direction and I am surprised it has been allowed to continue - rather uncharitably I kept hoping he'd be the next to be taken away by the SS. Yes! I had the same uncharitable thought! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2017 22:49:15 GMT
The acting was mostly very good - a distracting tendency from a couple of actors to ham it up, especially when the focus should be elsewhere. I thought this was good. A perfect piece for this venue (as it is almost entirely static). The acting was a bit uneven as you would expect for a cast of 13 on the fringe but generally good. However, I agree that one actor in particular was over-acting terribly the whole time, even when not speaking, drawing attention away from where it should have been - really that is a failure of direction and I am surprised it has been allowed to continue - rather uncharitably I kept hoping he'd be the next to be taken away by the SS. Thoroughly enjoyed the play - despite the discomfort of the Finborough bench squeeze. Agreed about the unevenness of the performances, with a couple of very keen and over-cooked performances emoting all over the place and unbalancing the production. Thought PK Taylor as the actor, and Edward Killingback as the nobleman were excellent though. |
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Post by edmundokeano on Apr 22, 2017 23:44:43 GMT
My first, but not last, visit to the Finborough tonight. A lovely theatre and can't wait to get back.
As for the play, an interesting play which deserves to be on stage a lot sooner than the 50 years since the last professional performance.
Some good performances in there but, as said above, one performance was so bad it took something away from the evening. I'm amazed that his career has reached this far and it was definitely the worse acting I have ever seen on a stage.
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Post by Jan on Apr 23, 2017 8:09:52 GMT
.... definitely the worse acting I have ever seen on a stage. That is a bold claim. Interestingly another candidate that immediately occurred to me was also in a Phil Willmott production. I blame him really, a quick "Tone it down a bit love" during rehearsals would have surely done the trick. |
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Post by edmundokeano on Apr 24, 2017 7:41:49 GMT
.... definitely the worse acting I have ever seen on a stage. That is a bold claim. Interestingly another candidate that immediately occurred to me was also in a Phil Willmott production. I blame him really, a quick "Tone it down a bit love" during rehearsals would have surely done the trick. I don't want to sound snobby here but I haven't seen much fringe theatre - mainly only plays at the established theatres - so although I have seen some performances which don't hit it with me, the chances of me seeing someone as bad as this "actor" are quire remote.
That said, the Finbourogh is a respected fringe theatre and located in London which means it should be possible to have enough people audition to avoid casting someone so bad. However, it does remain possible that the director asked for the performance to be like that which asks many questions about themselves!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2017 10:15:54 GMT
Isn't it the case that the director's work ends on press night? So this may be an unfortunate case of performance drift over time with no official structure to check it? (Haven't seen it).
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Post by Jan on Apr 24, 2017 10:16:36 GMT
That is a bold claim. Interestingly another candidate that immediately occurred to me was also in a Phil Willmott production. I blame him really, a quick "Tone it down a bit love" during rehearsals would have surely done the trick. I don't want to sound snobby here but I haven't seen much fringe theatre - mainly only plays at the established theatres - so although I have seen some performances which don't hit it with me, the chances of me seeing someone as bad as this "actor" are quire remote.
That said, the Finbourogh is a respected fringe theatre and located in London which means it should be possible to have enough people audition to avoid casting someone so bad. However, it does remain possible that the director asked for the performance to be like that which asks many questions about themselves!
What I tend to notice on the fringe is that many of the same actors circulate around the fringe venues but are never seen at established theatres - as they are not noticeably better than other fringe actors it suggests that a bit of an old-boy's network in place. The same is true of directors, Phil Willmott pops up at several fringe venues but never anywhere of higher status. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2017 10:21:25 GMT
What I tend to notice on the fringe is that many of the same actors circulate around the fringe venues but are never seen at established theatres - as they are not noticeably better than other fringe actors it suggests that a bit of an old-boy's network in place. Are you talking specifically about the unfunded fringe? Maybe those fringe regulars are in a position to survive without income from their acting? Maybe they have partners in secure, well-paid employment, for example? |
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Post by Jan on Apr 24, 2017 10:22:39 GMT
Isn't it the case that the director's work ends on press night? So this may be an unfortunate case of performance drift over time with no official structure to check it? (Haven't seen it). I think it depends on the director. For example Katie Mitchell is notorious for seeing many/all performances during the actual run and issuing notes on a daily basis. Other directors may do this only a few times during the run and make adjustments (it notoriously happens in long-running musicals where sometimes performers get fired as a result of lazy performances). At the other extreme, for the Trevor Nunn Old Vic "Richard II" there was some casting issue when it transferred to a festival in Germany and Nunn said "Not my problem, it's nothing to do with me anymore" as the production had apparently been handed over entirely to the assistant director. |
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