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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2017 8:01:20 GMT
Annie Baker's John and the Tricycle co-production of The Great Wave have both been announced for the Dorfman early in the new year, but there was never any public hint of how the NT would "fill the gaps" in the Dorfman through the autumn return of Barber Shop Chronicles.
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Post by jadnoop on Aug 31, 2017 11:15:28 GMT
Annie Baker's John and the Tricycle co-production of The Great Wave have both been announced for the Dorfman early in the new year The NT/Tricycle might have missed a trick scheduling it for next year. I would have imagined that putting it on during, or straight after, the recent Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum might have made sense, especially since the play appears to be based on an existing play. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2017 11:32:18 GMT
the 'new run' was previously announced to start 29 Nov, but will now start 20 Nov. Still can't see them on the NT site. Odd. Booking opened at noon! It's now a straight run from 20 Nov to 9 Jan. I've booked! They exist! |
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 30, 2017 0:51:18 GMT
I was never greatly interested in seeing this, hence missing this first time round.
But seeing it on several critics top 10 lists whetted my appetite. Liked elements of this and found it mildly enjoyable, struggled a bit with the diction though. But for me the real champion is the show brought in a diverse audience into the National, which is always great to see.
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Post by Snciole on Jan 5, 2018 11:14:02 GMT
I thought this was great. I loved the scene where the character is deciding between the black woman and the white woman with characters ribbing him and not believing him. It can feel too long and repetitive and it was clear that a lot of the white audience just did not get it (and why they thought they would is another discussion but I am glad they were so open minded). As a BME female I am glad to see theatres-big and small- taking on black male narratives and showcasing some new and underused acting talent.
It has what a lot of NT productions haven't had in the last few years-energy. I think Follies and BSC have given their respective theatres a bit of life that was lacking before. You can do serious and worthy topics/stories without boring the audience to death.
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Post by TallPaul on Oct 12, 2018 14:02:31 GMT
After first visiting the US and Canada, Barber Shop Chronicles will tour the UK in spring 2019, including Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Sheffield.
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Post by jadnoop on Jan 17, 2019 12:53:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2019 15:49:41 GMT
Also visiting Royal Exchange, Manchester 7th - 23rd March. |
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Post by david on Feb 8, 2019 19:13:16 GMT
Also visiting Royal Exchange, Manchester 7th - 23rd March. Thanks for the info. Just booked a seat for the 16th evening performance. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2019 19:30:44 GMT
Also visiting Royal Exchange, Manchester 7th - 23rd March. Thanks for the info. Just booked a seat for the 16th evening performance. All good. Turns out this is getting a bit of a tour in the run up to the Roundhouse run. Dates as follows: Tuesday 12th Mar - Saturday 23rd Mar Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Wednesday 3rd Apr - Saturday 6th Apr Curve Theatre, Leicester Thursday 2nd May - Saturday 18th May Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Wednesday 22nd May - Saturday 1st Jun Sheffield Crucible Thursday 18th Jul - Sunday 25th Aug Roundhouse Theatre London |
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Post by david on Mar 16, 2019 22:49:22 GMT
Watched this tonight at the Manc REX. A really good night at the theatre tonight. A very slick production with what has to be one the best bits of preshow entertainment for a show to get the audience warmed up. Also a big thumbs up for the lighting design used and the musical interludes inbetween the scenes.
Overall a really well written and acted play with plenty of humour and some great one liners mixed in with a more serious and challenging examination about both cultural and individual identity which definitely provided food for thought.
Having a read through previous posts in this thread about people’s thoughts about the production, I would agree with those who found the diction at times an issue. I must admit, I did have an issue here, but this didn’t really hamper my enjoyment of the play. Also, I would have liked to have gotten to know the characters a little better, so maybe fewer of them maybe would have helped in allowing a bit more time to allow this to happen.
Worth watching if you can get a ticket. Running time 2hrs 15mins with no interval. 4*
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Post by crowblack on Mar 22, 2019 0:35:39 GMT
Caught it tonight and enjoyed it, really lively with a very packed, enthusiastic house, and they were filming it too.
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Post by crowblack on Mar 22, 2019 12:24:36 GMT
Btw, they had several cameras capturing the 'in the round' staging so maybe there'll be a public release of the recording, as they've done previously with Maxine Peake's RX Hamlet and Don Warrington's RX Lear.
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Post by Stephen on Jul 18, 2019 13:41:33 GMT
Going to book this at the Roundhouse. Could anyone comment on the £15 restricted view seats?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 9:10:32 GMT
Didn't get round to seeing the original National run of this, caught it yesterday at the Roundhouse. Enjoyed it a lot although it felt a bit lost in that huge barn of a venue, which wasn't particularly full (although this was a mid-week matinee). A lot of young people there who were really engaging with it.
Got my tickets through the National Friday rush - £20 for row D in the stalls.
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Post by jadnoop on Aug 11, 2019 9:20:09 GMT
Finally got round to seeing this and, as noted by @xanderl I did feel it might have been more effective in a smaller venue, and there were a fair few empty seats when I went (Saturday).
However, this was exciting, energetic, funny, and touched on hugely important topics, I thought this was great. I also felt this play brilliantly balanced the connectedness between the scenes in the different locations; linked enough to provide the narrative and thematic threads, but not so joined as to feel contrived.
Not much more to say, except that I’m very tempted to go again.
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Post by NorthernAlien on Aug 11, 2019 20:09:28 GMT
Having missed this on every previous possible occasion when I could have got to it, I finally saw this at The Roundhouse yesterday at the matinee performance.
I paid £15 for a 'Restricted View' ticket, in Row G of the stalls. It was not restricted at all, IMO, but I think if I had been in either of the two seats immediately to my right that it might have been a different story. I was also expecting to be a lot further away from the stage than I actually was, from when I'd looked at the seating plan.
I thought it was superb - and that level of energy is something I'd like to be able to bottle! The pre-show with the dancing really helped everyone get in the mood, and there was lots of selfies being taken whilst people sat in the barbers chairs. Someone in the audience had a birthday, so we all sang to her before the show started properly. In terms of the show, it took me a bit to figure out the connections between the various characters in different shops, and to realise that the whole thing happens in the course of one day. I was fine with the patois (I'm a white, middle-class woman, from The North), sure, there were some bits I didn't catch, but I'd say the same on the way out of any Shakespeare. You could understand the sentiment from the physicality portrayed in the acting. Given the connections across shops, I thought the whole thing was exceptionally carefully plotted, in terms of when we were able to realise the connections. I ordinarily wouldn't have much interest in a show with an all male cast, but the themes they're discussing here, and the setting, meant that I was willing to tamp down my internal militant feminist tendencies(!). I think it's really unusual for a production to show men talking to each other in the way these men do, and that was really refreshing.
I too am tempted to go again, although an impending holiday may mean I can't fit a return visit in before this run closes. Reading the rest of the thread, there's a suggestion it's been recorded for NT Live - have I missed it on there as yet, or is it still to come?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2019 20:28:48 GMT
Don't think it's been done on NT Live - there are some tour dates to follow the Roundhouse -
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
26 - 28 September 2019
Oxford Playhouse
9 – 12 October 2019
Eden Court, Inverness
16 – 19 October 2019
Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST) Campus
13 – 16 November 2019
Leeds Playhouse
20 – 23 November 2019
Edinburgh Lyceum
23 October – 9 November 2019
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Post by NorthernAlien on Aug 12, 2019 13:53:46 GMT
Don't think it's been done on NT Live - there are some tour dates to follow the Roundhouse - Leeds Playhouse 20 – 23 November 2019 A possible trip over the hills in my future then. Thanks @xanderl |
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Post by intoanewlife on Aug 18, 2019 14:20:28 GMT
Saw this last night and loved it. Great play, amazing cast, so much energy.
I wouldn't worry about getting there too early for the 'pre-show'.
It was still going way beyond 8pm last night and the dancing etc went on until about 8:15.
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Post by duncan on Oct 31, 2019 10:24:19 GMT
Saw this last night.
The London scenes are interesting and intriguing until the reveal near the end when the A plot descends into sub-EastEnders nonsense. But for me the big problem is that the African scenes just aren't as interesting, it starts well enough with the comical knockabout of having a fast looking haircut but by the time we've got to a drunk I don't know diddly about telling us about his schooldays I've stopped caring.
With the links between the shops it reminded me of Cloud Atlas but without the emotional heft of that work as we outside of London we really don't get much of an insight into the characters.
1hr 45 with no interval for the main play but there is around 20 minutes of pre-show "work" happening on stage with members of the audience being taken up for a fake haircut.
….and in what world would Chelsea v Barcelona be played at 12:30 UK time?
An entertainingly flawed 6/10
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Post by Forrest on May 14, 2020 22:51:26 GMT
Dusting off an old topic to say that I've just seen this streamed by the NT and absolutely loved it!
I found it sweet, fun, I loved the scene changes, I loved the movement and the music (even though it's not my kind of music at all), the creative use of space, the characters, the acting... In fact, I enjoyed it so much, that I only later realised that the end was a bit cheesy - it never occurred to me while I was watching it, because everything just made sense.
Also, I am pretty certain, having seen Sule Rimi in this, too - that I have a second-favourite English stage actor now. That man is simply amazing in everything, isn't he?!
As a special bonus, I love how they played with the joke at the end...
(Also, I see a long visit to the NT archive in my post-coronavirus future, to catch up on everything Sule Rimi and Bijan Sheibani related that I can. Something to look forward to!)
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Post by theatremadness on May 14, 2020 23:57:30 GMT
Halfway through it and it's one of the best plays I’ve seen in a long time. This is one of the only pieces of theatre I’ve seen during lockdown that has translated really, really well to the screen. The energy was bursting through the screen and the acting is absolutely incredible and you can sense the energy from the audience too. Maybe that has something to do with it translating well on screen. And the fact that this was an archive recording makes that all the more impressive. So grateful to the NT and all involved for this!!
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2020 7:44:13 GMT
Fabulous fabulous play - so glad the NT dug it out. Didn't work as well on screen as some others, maybe because it was filmed for archive not broadcast, but great to have the reminder of how good it was.
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Post by tmesis on May 15, 2020 10:39:18 GMT
I didn't watch it since I endured it at The Nash when first produced. It bored me rigid - really don't get the love for this.
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