524 posts
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Post by callum on Jan 31, 2018 16:38:43 GMT
A head's up that all of the seats in the royal circle (dress circle) are now priced at £27.75 online for tonight's performance - including the premium seats. Love dynamic pricing!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 10:21:48 GMT
Well. The title certainly tells you what to expect. It's very long. A bit too long in fact, well the second half anyway. Loved the set although I'll bet it's a bugger to polish every night. Some lovely costumes too. I do love a rolled up trouser leg. Performances are pretty smashing on the whole I thought. Lesley Manville as the heroine (I thank you) gets to waft about in some lovely frocks although I did tire of her episodes after a while. It's like going to see a Stephen Sondheim musical. You hear a tune which sounds lovely, then you hear it again and you think "OK nice" and then you hear it a third or fourth time and you're thinking "enough already!". I actually thought Matthew Beard and Rory Keenan were terrific, Keenan especially. Matthew Beard would be smashing in one of those Tennessee Williams plays where the character struggles with being a gayer, he's got lovely sad eyes and a little tattoo on his forearm which I found a thrilling distraction when his shirt sleeve rose up every now and again. Jeremy Irons was odd, I liked his performance ( couldileaveyou says it perfectly) but mostly when he was reacting to the others, particularly Lesley. His reactions were a thing of beauty I thought. Jessica Regan puts in a funny performance as the Irish maid but I thought it was funnier when Catherine Tate played it as a nurse in her TV series. I do have to say though, I don't know how they read all those books. That bookcase is extremely high and not a ladder in sight. I'll bet the books at the top are fake. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 20:12:05 GMT
Enjoyed this the other day. I'd forgotten this is the one that Moon for the Misbegotten is the sequel to. It's long but they rattle through it relatively quickly!
The monkey nests are great value for £12 or whatever I paid. Clear view of the stage, great legroom, bit uncomfortable for such a long show but you can shift around so that's OK. Plus you're in pole position for the loos at the interval (A5 for the Gents, the other side for the Ladies)
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158 posts
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Post by broadwaylover99 on Feb 6, 2018 19:44:51 GMT
Which boxes are better for this show in terms of angle and view? Any help would be very appreciated
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5,138 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 8, 2018 14:01:34 GMT
I just happened to walk along that passageway between the Wyndham's and the Noel Coward Theatres yesterday teatime. It looked like a film/tv crew had been doing something at the former. They had so much equipment, it seems unlikely they were filming a 90 second piece for the local news. Does anyone know what was going on?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2018 17:21:39 GMT
Awww bless, I see there's no Sunday show on 4th March, presumably to allow La Manville to hot foot it to Los Angeles in the morning, lose an Oscar in the evening and head back on a Monday flight for the next show on Tuesday.
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Feb 8, 2018 18:23:16 GMT
Awww bless, I see there's no Sunday show on 4th March, presumably to allow La Manville to hot foot it to Los Angeles in the morning, lose an Oscar in the evening and head back on a Monday flight for the next show on Tuesday. Fabulous - I thought she was excellent in Phantom Thread and could very very shockingly be the spoiler if Janney and Manville split the domineering mother vote. I was wondering if they’d let her go or if she’d be more like Anne Bancroft in Feud - ‘I can’t let the audiences down that have already paid for their tickets to see me, darling!’ |
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Feb 10, 2018 20:35:44 GMT
Lesley Manville was terrific in this. On the Oscars, wouldn't it be fun if she and Gary Oldman both won so she could say at the photocall 'big mistake, leaving me for Uma ...'  |
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Feb 10, 2018 20:36:22 GMT
I just happened to walk along that passageway between the Wyndham's and the Noel Coward Theatres yesterday teatime. It looked like a film/tv crew had been doing something at the former. They had so much equipment, it seems unlikely they were filming a 90 second piece for the local news. Does anyone know what was going on? Andrew Marr show tomorrow. |
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Feb 10, 2018 20:37:36 GMT
How does this compare with the Suchet production? Jeremy Irons doesn't shout as much and I found him a lot more responsive and sympathetic. A better production all round, really. |
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423 posts
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Post by dlevi on Feb 11, 2018 12:23:40 GMT
I saw this on Friday evening and thought it was tremendous, only sour note was Rob Howell's setting, I read his essay in the programme which was fascinating insofar as describing his process . The problem was that what was on stage simply didn't make sense - not the layout of the house, not the see-through walls, or the lack of a ceiling. That aside I found that in a lifetime of seeing productions of this play -maybe ten or eleven ( including film versions) I've rarely seen one so beautifully balanced. And Ms Manville especially finds both the weakness of Mary Tyrone and the fierceness of an addict. Just great!
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Post by raiseitup on Feb 12, 2018 11:39:42 GMT
Does anyone know if Lesley Manville is planning on attending the Oscars? I'm booked to see this on 6th March and don't want to miss her!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2018 11:50:12 GMT
Does anyone know if Lesley Manville is planning on attending the Oscars? I'm booked to see this on 6th March and don't want to miss her! I would guess that she was attending. There is normally a Sunday performance except on 4th March, which is presumably to allow her to go to the ceremony. There isn't usually a show on Monday so I would guess that means that she will fly back on 5th March to be ready for the performance on Tuesday 6th. |
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Feb 12, 2018 21:23:34 GMT
My review:
Eugene O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical play comes to the West End in another lengthy production, this time starring Jeremy Irons as ageing actor James Tyrone, and Lesley Manville as his morphine-addicted wife, Mary.
A claustrophobic set lined with books and lights moves the plot forward as first, we see Mary Tyrone in recovery, happy and calm, but soon realise she is in her own reality of dope heaven (or hell). In Manville’s hands the role takes on both the fierceness and deceit of an addict, along with the weakness of the wife and mother who ‘once fell in love with James Tyrone, and was so happy’.
Irons is a theatrical Tyrone, every inch an actor and never a glimpse into the real man. He baits his sons – the shiftless Jamie (Rory Keenan) and the consumptive Edmund (Matthew Beard) – and yet can’t control even the level of whisky in the bottle he keeps on the table. He sees the girl within his wife, but can’t reach her.
The twisting hands, the trailing wedding dress, the lying on the bed with eyes open, the drifting, the drinking, the moments where just for a minute or two Mary Tyrone is happy again. It’s all about her, and the moments where Manville is absent from the stage drag, just a little, in a heart to heart between Irons and Beard where the latter just can’t catch the tragedy of the character.
Keenan, though, is good, filled with self-loathing and self-destruction, on a spiral of disappointment by seeing addiction and disgust all around him. He has his father’s name and perhaps, his weakness too. There’s nothing but a downward spiral for all of them, in this raw and broken world where everyone lies and no one can face what’s really going on around them.
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 13, 2018 16:25:30 GMT
Apparently on TodayTix they have been doing the thing where even if you don't win the front row lottery they offer you 27£ tickets for stalls/dress circle.
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4,779 posts
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Post by Mark on Feb 19, 2018 17:52:56 GMT
I was in box 4 yesterday afternoon - £25 about an hour before the show so a bargain.
A slow burner, but I did really enjoy it, and particularly I found the acting to be so engaging. Lesley Manville putting in a wonderful performance,
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3,303 posts
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Post by david on Mar 11, 2018 19:56:06 GMT
Caught this at today’s matinee. As Mark stated, it’s a slow burner, but it worked for me. Having the opportunity to see Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville was an absolute treat. If I had to choose, it was LM’s overall performance that won me over, going from comedic to heartache so quickly. She owned the stage every time she was on there and it was. an absolute privilege to watch her and JI at work.
AT 3hrs 20min it could have done with another interval rather than just the 1 as there is so much stuff to take in and being so full on at times,it may have been better to have split it up more.
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4,974 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 11, 2018 20:17:33 GMT
My review: Eugene O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical play comes to the West End in another lengthy production, this time starring Jeremy Irons as ageing actor James Tyrone, and Lesley Manville as his morphine-addicted wife, Mary. A claustrophobic set lined with books and lights moves the plot forward as first, we see Mary Tyrone in recovery, happy and calm, but soon realise she is in her own reality of dope heaven (or hell). In Manville’s hands the role takes on both the fierceness and deceit of an addict, along with the weakness of the wife and mother who ‘once fell in love with James Tyrone, and was so happy’. Irons is a theatrical Tyrone, every inch an actor and never a glimpse into the real man. He baits his sons – the shiftless Jamie (Rory Keenan) and the consumptive Edmund (Matthew Beard) – and yet can’t control even the level of whisky in the bottle he keeps on the table. He sees the girl within his wife, but can’t reach her. The twisting hands, the trailing wedding dress, the lying on the bed with eyes open, the drifting, the drinking, the moments where just for a minute or two Mary Tyrone is happy again. It’s all about her, and the moments where Manville is absent from the stage drag, just a little, in a heart to heart between Irons and Beard where the latter just can’t catch the tragedy of the character. Keenan, though, is good, filled with self-loathing and self-destruction, on a spiral of disappointment by seeing addiction and disgust all around him. He has his father’s name and perhaps, his weakness too. There’s nothing but a downward spiral for all of them, in this raw and broken world where everyone lies and no one can face what’s really going on around them. Could this be classified as a memory play, just like Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie? |
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Mar 13, 2018 9:55:00 GMT
Possibly, Phantom. It isn't narrated as such but does make much of what the characters reflect on from the past.
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Post by Snciole on Mar 21, 2018 10:44:44 GMT
Manville is great but I found the play and production very dull. I felt every second of those 3hrs 20 and they started late!
There is space in theatre for traditional productions such as this but putting aside my own issues with Eyre as a director and O'Neill as a playwright all the performances were appropriate. Matthew Beard isn't my favourite actor but I warmed to him after this.
Irons is all over the place-odd accent and his diction at the beginning was terrible.
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1,081 posts
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Post by andrew on Mar 21, 2018 22:08:20 GMT
This needed something done about Act 4. I got through Act 1 and 2 fine, Act 3 I was content with, then everyone just kept talking and talking and talking and going outside for a bit then coming back in for a bit and being drunk and fighting and making up and being angry again and making up again. I would say some judicious editing could have helped a lot. Everything else about it was quite good I thought (except as Snciole said, Jeremy's awful awful accent...)
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371 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on Mar 21, 2018 23:53:48 GMT
Irons has a throwaway line which explains his accent and diction choice in the VERY LONG HOUR when Manville is absent in the second half, which made me forgive his performance retrospectively. There's a reason why this tends to have the hour long act when Mary is not on stage trimmed down, and while in the right hands that hour can be gripping stuff, here I don't think the hands are quite right....
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 21, 2018 23:55:53 GMT
I'd like to see it again even just for Manville's final five minutes, but I'm not sure I can survive the rest of the second part again.
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1,081 posts
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Post by andrew on Mar 22, 2018 11:11:41 GMT
I'd like to see it again even just for Manville's final five minutes, but I'm not sure I can survive the rest of the second part again. I couldn't tune back in again to this having lost the will to live a bit in the preceding hour. I was too fidgety to really get gripped by her final moments. Which is a shame. Maybe she could just do a little YouTube video for us all so I could look in again? |
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Post by Snciole on Mar 22, 2018 16:01:32 GMT
Irons has a throwaway line which explains his accent and diction choice in the VERY LONG HOUR when Manville is absent in the second half, which made me forgive his performance retrospectively. There's a reason why this tends to have the hour long act when Mary is not on stage trimmed down, and while in the right hands that hour can be gripping stuff, here I don't think the hands are quite right.... I can see why Irons has taken those many accents on but ultimately Scar from The Lion King comes off most of all (Did Tyrone tour in Africa  ). Do other actors portray James Tyrone with such a mid-Atlantic accent? |
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