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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2018 17:56:41 GMT
So much has already been written about this play, so I won't retread too much old ground. What I will say, however, is the 'Foodwork' concept is the most egregious example of avarice I have experienced at the theatre. I can think of no reasonable justification for the decision to place irritating selfie-taking, self-absorbed bourgeoisie on the stage for the entirety of the play. It is a money grab, and one that completely spoiled a promising production. Well all of that may be so but without Foodwork we wouldn't have been treated to Wesley swishing around the stage in his velvet jacket looking all foxy. Every cloud. |
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Post by n1david on Mar 15, 2018 0:40:59 GMT
So much has already been written about this play, so I won't retread too much old ground. What I will say, however, is the 'Foodwork' concept is the most egregious example of avarice I have experienced at the theatre. I can think of no reasonable justification for the decision to place irritating selfie-taking, self-absorbed bourgeoisie on the stage for the entirety of the play. It is a money grab, and one that completely spoiled a promising production. Well, you can argue about the artistic decision to put a restaurant on stage, but it was the director's, so I'd like to think he understood what he was doing. In terms of being a money grab, I really can't believe it made any money for the NT. Foodwork tickets were about £30 more than top-price stalls tickets for Network, and by the time you take into account the cost of building a functioning kitchen on stage, employing waitstaff and a kitchen team (including Ryan's favourite maitre d'), building the logistics of the restaurant into the production (e.g. timing of course delivery, etc), let alone the cost of the four-course meal with drink, I suspect that the cost of provisioning the onstage restaurant outweighed any additional revenue that the NT got. As to your snide comments about the audience, well, people did take selfies before the show, but they do that in the cheap seats too. (One of the amusing things about today's Bryan Cranston platform were the NT staff pushing into the middle of rows to stop people filming the platform, despite the fact that it was being filmed for the website anyway! And they'd only paid £7...) No-one at Foodwork should have been taking selfies during the show so I can't imagine that they distracted you by doing that during the production. Self-absorbed? Well, I didn't finish my main course because I was appreciating seeing the show from a different perspective than the auditorium, so I guess I was absorbed, but not necessarily in myself. But maybe you weren't able to determine exactly the subject of my absorption from where you were sitting. So I'm interested in why you took particularly exception to people who had paid to see the show like anyone else. Given that it was the director's decision to put them there! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2018 7:42:25 GMT
One word - consumer.
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Post by Jan on Mar 15, 2018 9:34:12 GMT
So much has already been written about this play, so I won't retread too much old ground. What I will say, however, is the 'Foodwork' concept is the most egregious example of avarice I have experienced at the theatre. I can think of no reasonable justification for the decision to place irritating selfie-taking, self-absorbed bourgeoisie on the stage for the entirety of the play. It is a money grab, and one that completely spoiled a promising production. Don't think they could do much about them being the bourgeoisie as that group constitute the NTs entire audience. |
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Post by jadnoop on Mar 15, 2018 12:19:22 GMT
So much has already been written about this play, so I won't retread too much old ground. What I will say, however, is the 'Foodwork' concept is the most egregious example of avarice I have experienced at the theatre. I can think of no reasonable justification for the decision to place irritating selfie-taking, self-absorbed bourgeoisie on the stage for the entirety of the play. It is a money grab, and one that completely spoiled a promising production. Don't think they could do much about them being the bourgeoisie as that group constitute the NTs entire audience. Not true! At every performance of Network, there were a few seconds taking place outside where any passing commoners might glimpse a little of the performance. |
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Post by callum on Mar 20, 2018 23:48:31 GMT
After having seen one of the very first performances back in November, I was back tonight to see Network again for its final week. The understudy for Max was on tonight and was brilliant. All of the cast have really settled into their roles now - Dockery has a great time and Cranston really goes hell for leather. I am so glad that I got to see this performance twice for a total of £15 thanks to Entry Pass - this production very much deserves to go to Broadway (if there is a house that can equip it), and I imagine the prices over there won't be the same! I was back in the same seat as before B15 - {Spoiler - click to view}aka the seat two along from the assassin. For those that care I spotted him as soon as he entered the auditorium (he was the most overdressed) and really hammed it up! VERY exaggerated 'is this my row?' 'which seat number is this?' actions as he made his way along, and brought his own water (which he never drank). Before the play started he was buried in the free cast list (which he has probably memorised by now) and went on his phone. A few checks of twitter and WhatsApp but I did notice that the background on his phone of a young woman did look a lot like a stock photo... but who knows. Cranston was very funny tonight - while he was walking through the restaurant a lady returned to her table and he asked her 'were you looking for God? Any luck?', and also told the person next to me, who had brought with her a very large coat and a massive rucksack, as he moved passed her that the cloakroom is free! Probably more lines that are different every night in this production than in most pantomime corpsing/ad-libs... A really brilliant production though and feel fortunate to see it again before it leaves the National - solidified its 5-stars in my mind. |
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Post by maggiem on Mar 22, 2018 11:07:34 GMT
After having seen one of the very first performances back in November, I was back tonight to see Network again for its final week. The understudy for Max was on tonight and was brilliant. All of the cast have really settled into their roles now - Dockery has a great time and Cranston really goes hell for leather. I am so glad that I got to see this performance twice for a total of £15 thanks to Entry Pass - this production very much deserves to go to Broadway (if there is a house that can equip it), and I imagine the prices over there won't be the same! I was back in the same seat as before B15 - {Spoiler - click to view}aka the seat two along from the assassin. For those that care I spotted him as soon as he entered the auditorium (he was the most overdressed) and really hammed it up! VERY exaggerated 'is this my row?' 'which seat number is this?' actions as he made his way along, and brought his own water (which he never drank). Before the play started he was buried in the free cast list (which he has probably memorised by now) and went on his phone. A few checks of twitter and WhatsApp but I did notice that the background on his phone of a young woman did look a lot like a stock photo... but who knows. Cranston was very funny tonight - while he was walking through the restaurant a lady returned to her table and he asked her 'were you looking for God? Any luck?', and also told the person next to me, who had brought with her a very large coat and a massive rucksack, as he moved passed her that the cloakroom is free! Probably more lines that are different every night in this production than in most pantomime corpsing/ad-libs... A really brilliant production though and feel fortunate to see it again before it leaves the National - solidified its 5-stars in my mind. Hi Callum I saw it 6 weeks ago and then got lucky with a front row stalls ticket for yesterday's matinee. Didn't get ambushed by Bryan coming into the audience, but he was sitting on the edge of the stage almost in front of me when he did the final speech. To see his whole performance close up was a privilege. I could really concentrate on the stage acting and not the images on the big screen. The scene where he is trying to find the words for his first, pyjama-clad broadcast is still moving, as I was willing him to find the words, and the hesitations seemed to go on for longer than I remember it first time. Other performances felt more powerful too. When Hackett has a go at Max and fires him was intimidating enough from the balcony, but to be sitting right in front of it, I thought Tunji Kasim was really going for it. If I'd been Max, I would have legged it! It was also fun getting a closer view of the "just-another-day-at-the-office" antics in the control booth, while Beale is making his suicide threat on camera. Contrast that with the studio camera crew (and could you tell the actors from the NT stage crew? I couldn't!) and the scene was even funnier.
I hope that this gets a Broadway production, maybe perhaps without the on-stage restaurant? |
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Post by crowblack on Mar 22, 2018 11:53:39 GMT
front row stalls ticket for yesterday's matinee. We finally got to see it yesterday afternoon too, centre of row D so very up close and personal. We loved it - I took my brother who doesn't often go to the theatre and he was blown away by it. It's years since I've seen the film so luckily I couldn't remember the plot, and this felt very timely throughout, wth the weekend's news stories maybe giving it an extra fillip this week - I booked this months ago and worried that it might not feel fresh this late in the run, but it was very lively. I normally prefer small studio productions rather than whizz-bang stuff, but this was stunningly well done and stylistically felt appropriate throughout. |
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Post by maggiem on Mar 22, 2018 12:38:35 GMT
front row stalls ticket for yesterday's matinee. We finally got to see it yesterday afternoon too, centre of row D so very up close and personal. We loved it - I took my brother who doesn't often go to the theatre and he was blown away by it. It's years since I've seen the film so luckily I couldn't remember the plot, and this felt very timely throughout, wth the weekend's news stories maybe giving it an extra fillip this week - I booked this months ago and worried that it might not feel fresh this late in the run, but it was very lively. I normally prefer small studio productions rather than whizz-bang stuff, but this was stunningly well done and stylistically felt appropriate throughout. Yes! When he mentioned "the Russians" it got a really big laugh, didn't it. |
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Post by Mr Crummles on Mar 22, 2018 22:03:54 GMT
After having seen one of the very first performances back in November, I was back tonight to see Network again for its final week. The understudy for Max was on tonight and was brilliant. All of the cast have really settled into their roles now - Dockery has a great time and Cranston really goes hell for leather. I am so glad that I got to see this performance twice for a total of £15 thanks to Entry Pass - this production very much deserves to go to Broadway (if there is a house that can equip it), and I imagine the prices over there won't be the same! I was back in the same seat as before B15 - {Spoiler - click to view}aka the seat two along from the assassin. For those that care I spotted him as soon as he entered the auditorium (he was the most overdressed) and really hammed it up! VERY exaggerated 'is this my row?' 'which seat number is this?' actions as he made his way along, and brought his own water (which he never drank). Before the play started he was buried in the free cast list (which he has probably memorised by now) and went on his phone. A few checks of twitter and WhatsApp but I did notice that the background on his phone of a young woman did look a lot like a stock photo... but who knows. Cranston was very funny tonight - while he was walking through the restaurant a lady returned to her table and he asked her 'were you looking for God? Any luck?', and also told the person next to me, who had brought with her a very large coat and a massive rucksack, as he moved passed her that the cloakroom is free! Probably more lines that are different every night in this production than in most pantomime corpsing/ad-libs... A really brilliant production though and feel fortunate to see it again before it leaves the National - solidified its 5-stars in my mind. I think we saw it on the same day. I had seen a very vibrant and impressive performance of Hamilton the previous evening, and I feared that Network might perhaps suffer in contrast. But it was quite the opposite. All that I remember from my recent London theatre trip is Network. I thought the last ten minutes were stunning with an amazing coup de théâtre in the end. This production in my opinion managed to surpass the original picture in terms of impact and I found the last speech, very movingly delivered, incredibly wise and relevant. |
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Post by stevemar on Mar 24, 2018 11:55:12 GMT
I didn’t post way back in January when I saw this. I loved Bryan Cranston’s performance and many of the director’s tricks on this production. However, whist clever, I do think there were perhaps deliberately too many distractions (guess that was the point). There was much to admire with the screens, live transmissions but superfluous restaurant. So overall, whilst enjoyable, I was probably out of step with the majority here, even though it was a solid 4 stars for me.
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Post by lichtie on Mar 24, 2018 17:42:26 GMT
Just saw this, thought it was great staging. The subplot with Dockery and Henshall is less interesting, but I'm not sure that is down to the actors (and yes I've seen that others feel differently!), so much as having to run that subtext on the same stage, where it all feels bit flat. Overall though one of the best I've seen for a while.
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Post by Ade on Mar 25, 2018 7:46:52 GMT
I saw this at yesterday’s matinee and have to say it fell very flat for me. Everything just felt a bit, well, overdeveloped. If you’d told me this was a Rufus Norris production i would have believed it because of the amount going on and the lack of focus. The plot itself felt very underdeveloped though. At no point did I feel anything for any of the characters, and some key moments just seemed to fizzle along when they should have been real moments of tension.
I didn’t mind the performances themselves but there was nobody who particularly stood out as being exceptional. All in all I’m glad I saw it, but it goes on the disappointing pile for me.
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Post by peggs on Mar 27, 2018 19:23:53 GMT
Bit slow commenting as saw last week. Had booked as people are here were excited, I haven't seen Breaking Bad so didn't have that draw in. Loved the set, the visuals, the smart camera work. Was sat front row so was able to switch off from the screens a fair amount and focus on the actual people in front of me and I did enjoy in that somewhat hair standing up on neck way the closeness of the main man sat right in front of me on the edge of the stage. It seemed alarmingly pertinent and of now. The peripheral stories seemed somewhat unnecessary and underdeveloped but not sufficiently to bother me and I was impressed by the cast. Less so by the diner who'd opted for on stage dining and then felt the need to talk nearly all the way through it to his partner even when acting was going on right in front of him, even wondered if he was a plant to start with he seemed so cavalier about being on stage. I wasn't full on wowed but was glad to have seen it.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 8, 2018 16:02:25 GMT
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Post by callum on Aug 8, 2018 20:05:00 GMT
Am wondering if they’ll still dare to do the outdoors section
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Post by joeinnewyork on Dec 15, 2018 23:24:57 GMT
Saw it on Broadway this afternoon, and found it wonderful by and large. I've never seen "Breaking Bad" and know Bryan Cranston only from "Seinfeld," which obviously didn't prepare me for his great performance here. I thought Tony Goldwyn came across as too young for Max; he's such a good actor, though, that he'd won me over by the end, but the equally youthful Alyssa Bresnahan as his wife couldn't pull the heart strings the way Beatrice Straight did so memorably in the movie (garnering her a Best Supporting Actress award for what I believe is the shortest Oscar-winning performance ever). The main weak link in the cast, I thought, was Tatiana Maslany, who's sexy but doesn't have Faye Dunaway's glamour or charisma. The Broadway transfer retains the onstage restaurant, BTW, as well as the outdoor sidewalk scene.
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Post by callum on Dec 16, 2018 1:04:32 GMT
Wow I can't believe they were brave enough to do it! Are there barriers? Is the 'surprise guest' still in the audience?
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Post by joeinnewyork on Dec 18, 2018 12:30:17 GMT
I didn't get the impression that there were any barriers; random pedestrians seemed to be walking right by the actors. And yes - assuming we're talking about the same thing  - the audience is joined at one point by a "surprise guest." |
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Post by latefortheoverture on Dec 24, 2018 16:37:21 GMT
Do we think there's any chance of this transferring back to the nash or even to the WE?
Is the bway run limited or open-ended?
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Post by joeinnewyork on Dec 25, 2018 15:14:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2019 23:11:19 GMT
Just saw this on Broadway. I love van Hove's work, but this production was boring AF.
The only moments when it had any sort of a pulse was when Cranston was speaking, but even he could not save it.
The book was awful and the side plot of the relationship between the head of news and the ambitious entertainment producer was laughable. A handful of times the video projections greatly added to the overall effect of the show, but at the end it all was much ado about nothing.
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- the audience is joined at one point by a "surprise guest."