91 posts
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Post by gazzaw13 on May 15, 2017 7:54:59 GMT
Agree with lonlad. I saw this on Broadway and was underwhelmed. It starts well and you hope that it's going to turn into a highly charged power play. Unfortunately it goes round and round and gets nowhere. One of those plays that thinks it'e very clever but actually isn't.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 11:23:28 GMT
David Oakes is very pretty and was good in Shakespeare in Love but in his TV stuff he seems to revert to smug 'smell the fart' acting. Oh, I thought he was really rather lovely in 'Victoria'. |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 11:47:03 GMT
I'll always remember when David Oakes popped up in an episode of Ripper Street as a seemingly lovely young gentlemen who shockingly turned out to be a sex-trafficking villain. I'm sure for some people it was a surprise when he turned out to be a bad un but, c'mon, it's DAVID OAKES. It wasn't THAT surprising.
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on May 15, 2017 12:04:28 GMT
I'll always remember when David Oakes popped up in an episode of Ripper Street as a seemingly lovely young gentlemen who shockingly turned out to be a sex-trafficking villain. I'm sure for some people it was a surprise when he turned out to be a bad un but, c'mon, it's DAVID OAKES. It wasn't THAT surprising. True! Watching shows with him is like "oh, here comes David... someone will get tortured/raped/dismembered...". He has a great stage presence though. I loved his tongue-in-cheek Marlowe in "Shakespeare in Love" a few years back. |
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115 posts
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Post by Peach on May 15, 2017 13:07:54 GMT
David Oakes is very pretty and was good in Shakespeare in Love but in his TV stuff he seems to revert to smug 'smell the fart' acting. Oh, I thought he was really rather lovely in 'Victoria'. 🤔💨 |
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115 posts
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Post by Peach on May 15, 2017 13:11:21 GMT
True! Watching shows with him is like "oh, here comes David... someone will get tortured/raped/dismembered...". He has a great stage presence though. I loved his tongue-in-cheek Marlowe in "Shakespeare in Love" a few years back. [/quote] Now that doesn't bode well for series 2 of Victoria. |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 21:11:19 GMT
True he has become a bit typecast on tv but he does those roles so well. Loved him in Pillars of the Earth and i think he was in The White Queen too. No one does historical evil bastard like him haha
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193 posts
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Post by demelza on May 23, 2017 1:55:32 GMT
True he has become a bit typecast on tv but he does those roles so well. Loved him in Pillars of the Earth and i think he was in The White Queen too. No one does historical evil bastard like him haha He was! He played George, Duke of Clarence - not quite evil, more of the tin foil hat troupe! |
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99 posts
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Post by emilytemple on Aug 8, 2017 12:30:05 GMT
I have a chance to see this . Look at the diagrams I'm torn between cents in eat RowT in stalls or maybe seat in Dress Cirlus (Row G seat 4)
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5,138 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Aug 8, 2017 12:42:46 GMT
I have a chance to see this . Look at the diagrams I'm torn between cents in eat RowT in stalls or maybe seat in Dress Cirlus (Row G seat 4) "In 1972, a crack commando was sent to prison by a military court for a crime he didn't commit. This man promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government he survives as a soldier of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him....maybe you can hire @theatremonkey." |
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1,970 posts
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Post by sf on Aug 30, 2017 0:09:45 GMT
Just booked G4 in the dress circle myself - a steal at £15.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2017 6:12:43 GMT
Just booked G4 in the dress circle myself - a steal at £15. Thanks for that, I hadn't realised there were some bargain seats for this! I had dress circle G4 for The Goat - it was sold at second price for that one, so £15 is a bargain. The view was fine, missing a tiny bit of the side of the stage, although I did have a problem with a tall guy sitting in front of me so had to duck my head about. I sat near the back of the stalls (row R) for Death of a Salesman and near the back for the Libertine (can't remember the row) - again, view was fine if distant. Both options would be great value for £15 I think! On the other hand, really doesn't seem to be selling well at all so other options may become available later. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2017 21:21:56 GMT
This was excellent tonight. Didn't know the play but thoroughly enjoyed it. Out by 9.10pm tonight - straight through, no interval. Dormer & Oakes both equally brilliant, Dormer especially!
Plus, a stunning set design by Rob Howell.
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 9, 2017 15:50:54 GMT
I won the lottery, row P of the stalls... I'm glad that for once I won't sit in the excruciating front row of this chamber of torture. Will report back
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5,796 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 9, 2017 19:46:49 GMT
Didn’t fancy this at all before it after hearing a few great reports from Friday/Saturday I’m gonna have to go
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Oct 12, 2017 10:15:58 GMT
In a ramshackle rehearsal room on a stormy night in Manhattan, auditions for a stage adaptation of the Sacher-Masoch novel Venus in Fur have concluded. The adaptor/director, Thomas, is unhappy. He can't find his leading lady. But then, through the skylight comes a sudden flash of lightning and there she is - a final candidate. Her name is Vanda, coincidentally (or not) the name of the character in the play. She has brought costumes. She seems to have memorized the script - but how did she get the script?
The moment of mystery is subverted as soon as she opens her mouth. Despite her dramatic entrance, it turns out she's a ditzy wanna-be actress with a thick New Yawk accent and Thomas wants no part of her. But she's persistent and tough and when she speaks the lines from the script her voice and everything else about her transforms. And it's not long before an audition scene becomes a complete read through and things begin to change on both levels. The relationships of the play bleed into the relationships in the room and vice versa. A play about private domination and submission graduates into a power struggle between genders.
If it sounds ominous and heavy, it's not. David Ives is a wonderful writer and he keeps things just light enough. It's very funny and, to me at least, intensely intriguing. The supernatural element never quite goes away because Vanda herself remains unclassifiable. And Patrick Marber - whom I'm beginning to think is a better director than playwright - provides a clear and inventive production. Rob Howell's set is sensational.
Then there's the cast. David Oakes is very good as Thomas, pompous and defensive at first but metamorphosing under Vanda's spell into something quite different. And Natalie Dormer? It's her play and she takes full charge of it. Whether as the cynical fast-talking New Yawker or as the elegant seductress/dominatrix of the Sacher-Masoch world she fully commands the stage. She has both Thomas and us in the palm of her hand. Of course it doesn't hurt that she looks stunningly hot in her black leather basque and heels, her blonde mane cascading. I was sitting in the front row and to say I was transfixed by her would be a severe understatement.
Actually, I'm hoping that my visceral response to Ms Dormer has not affected my view of the play. I don't think so. I think it's as good as it seemed to be. The audience was certainly with me. There was a huge collective roar of appreciation at the curtain call.
Final verdict: loved it. LOVED her.
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2,480 posts
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Post by zahidf on Oct 12, 2017 11:08:55 GMT
I wonder if the recent Wesenstein stuff makes this a bit more topical?
I'm seeing it tomorrow, looking forward to it!
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2,677 posts
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Post by viserys on Oct 12, 2017 20:55:17 GMT
Just back from this. Can only echo mallardo‘s words - great stuff and Natalie Dormer gives the performance of a lifetime. Theatre seemed pretty full, too and the audience ate it up.
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Oct 12, 2017 21:13:33 GMT
Ohh. I'm seeing this on Saturday and am getting overly excited, having read your thoughts, guys.
But, referring to the "Victoria (and Abdul)" thread - have you spoken German to Mr O, Viserys?
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Oct 12, 2017 21:25:58 GMT
I saw it a couple of days ago and I liked it. Strong beginning, it lingers a bit when you see where it's going, not very subtle in its aim, but absolutely enjoyable. The set is wonderful, I was expecting them to start singing the last act of La bohème at any minute. Dormer is brilliant, the best performance of her career so far and a real star-turn performance (if she weren't one already). She's truly fantastic in this, I hope she will do more stage work soon.
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2,677 posts
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Post by viserys on Oct 14, 2017 6:11:42 GMT
Ohh. I'm seeing this on Saturday and am getting overly excited, having read your thoughts, guys. But, referring to the "Victoria (and Abdul)" thread - have you spoken German to Mr O, Viserys? Unfortunately I did not. I had no idea where the stage door of the Haymarket is/was and I was quite tired after a day of travelling, so I headed back to the hotel immediately. Plus, the poor chap is getting such a kicking every evening, I didn‘t want to add to his misery  |
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Oct 14, 2017 18:29:48 GMT
It's brilliant. Wonderfully acted, sexy, fast-paced, very funny and bitter at times (in light of recent Weinstein news...). Natalie Dormer is absolutely delightful and charismatic - I must confess I didn't expect such a powerful performance. Oakes is also great - television's favourite villain/nasty brother he may be, but he's a fab comedy actor (and a strikingly beautiful creature, obviously). That said, some people in the audience giggled when he (well, his character) said "I am Borgia".
In short - I loved it.
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2,480 posts
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Post by zahidf on Oct 16, 2017 11:06:35 GMT
I thought this was great for the most part, though it did fall apart a little near the end. Dormer was excellent though, worth it just to see her.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2017 19:42:21 GMT
As much as i hate to ask, has anyone been to the stage door? wouldnt usually bit tempted with this cast
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Oct 17, 2017 7:12:27 GMT
As much as i hate to ask, has anyone been to the stage door? wouldnt usually bit tempted with this cast I have. I usually avoid this kind of entertainment because I'm horribly shy but I went to say hello to David on Saturday (to be honest, I didn't care much about Natalie Dormer - sorry - but she seemed lovely and kind to everyone who wanted to take a selfie or tell her they love her or whatever). The queue was MASSIVE - I remember the good old days of "Shakespeare in Love" when I was the only person waiting after the show... - but still, it was nice. |
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