213 posts
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Post by peelee on Jul 25, 2017 17:04:16 GMT
Jim Cartwright's first play, 'Road', was first staged in 1986 at this same location, and now here comes a lively revival of this modern classic which has just started its run and is previewing at the Royal Court. It has a good cast that puts energy and feeling into a play with energy and feeling and something to say. It is set along a road in a northern town whose inhabitants are struggling to survive, and for all the change that may have occurred since the crisis-torn 1980s, enough change hasn't occurred in the decades since for this play still to be worth mounting.
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Post by Marwood on Jul 25, 2017 17:13:30 GMT
I have a code from the Royal Court for £10 off the front stalls seats, will wait for a few (hopefully positive) reviews before committing to booking this.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 17:22:00 GMT
I've not encountered this play before, but I enjoyed the production. Nice direction (is the movement section at the end in the text, or was Tiffany just unable to keep it in any longer?), excellent performances. I think the play itself is going to be where opinion divides. Very vignettey.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 17:51:19 GMT
I've not encountered this play before, but I enjoyed the production. Nice direction (is the movement section at the end in the text, or was Tiffany just unable to keep it in any longer?), excellent performances. I think the play itself is going to be where opinion divides. Very vignettey. Unable to keep it in! If it's staged to Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness, at least he's using the original's music. The play is one that stood out, for me, back in the eighties. Being from a working class Northern upbringing myself it reflected a way of life that I knew well and the poetry that Cartwright brought to it had the intelligence and creativity that I always felt was there, however stifled by government's dismissal of them/us. The major change is that it was originally a promenade production, so you get to sit down this time. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2017 11:51:13 GMT
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524 posts
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Post by wiggymess on Jul 28, 2017 16:35:41 GMT
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213 posts
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Post by peelee on Jul 28, 2017 17:16:18 GMT
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1,477 posts
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Post by Steve on Jul 29, 2017 23:03:22 GMT
Saw this tonight, and (eventually) loved it. After oodles of poetic telling in the first half, the play pays off with some transcendent showing in the second half. Some spoilers follow. . . Back in Thatcher's eighties, while Adrian Mole was making his comically ambitious life plans, the less deluded working class folks in "Road," in Lancashire, were making plans as far ahead as seemed possible: for the night. The immediacy of the concept, involving characters, living for the moment, looking for a buzz, is at first stunted by poetic speeches by these characters, who all live on the same Road, about their lives. There is so much telling, and so little showing, that it's difficult to engage, despite the production design directly connecting us to the stage by a flight of stairs, and despite Lemn Sissay's narrator speaking directly to us. Two Alan Bennett style monologues did hit home in the first half: one by Mark Hadfield's old soldier, remembering better days, and an even better one by June Watson's old dear, putting her face on. The moment she remembered the curve of her mother's white hair, now echoed by her own hair, was so well performed by Watson that I welled up. But by and large, the first half, while poetic, doesn't really connect with the audience. It does however set up a terrific second half, in which two vital set pieces prove so unforgettably, electrically alive, that the magic of theatre gathered myself and my companion up, and left us tingling with that feeling of discovery and excitement you get when a show really pays off. One such magical moment involves a phenomenal Michelle Fairley, on a drunk date with Mike Noble; and the other involves Noble again, on a double date with a dreamy Dan Parr, a fierce Liz White, and her hilariously obliging and clueless sidekick, played by Faye Marsay. These scenes were so involving, and so thematically resonant, that even the obligatory (and utterly apt) playing of the music of Elbow felt earned and just right, rather than some mere storytelling shortcut. Whatever you do, do not leave this show at the interval. The second half pays off brilliantly. 4 stars  |
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213 posts
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Post by peelee on Jul 30, 2017 16:40:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2017 18:05:03 GMT
Plus Billington - www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jul/30/road-review-royal-courtThis is one of the most accurate, and beautifully written, portrayals of Northern working class life from the period of its industrial disintegration. The production is one that raises questions about its audience, however. Within the text there is the potential for them to be brought into the reach of its anarchic warmth and to be made complicit in its its despair, something that does not let the viewers off the hook. I think Tiffany's production subverts that well, in comparison with the original production, but that it is somewhat lost on a Royal Court audience, who may feel politically in tune but are allowed to remain sociologically distant. By presenting it as though in a gallery or museum, with the safety of the actor/audience divide in place, the characters (from my viewpoint a representation of myself) are observed too remotely. Great performances, powerful language but those watching need to be made to feel 'a greater part of/threatened by' it. They need the fear of someone asking 'who are you laughing at?' or the trepidation of being cajoled into something with a 'come on, it's just a bit of fun'. The north/south divide - someone near me found the idea of chips and gravy hilarious. Having suffered southern chippies for decades, who look flummoxed if you ask for chips and gravy, can I point out that this is the only way to eat chips, with thick, brown, gravy. Everything else is a poor substitute..... |
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Post by harry on Jul 31, 2017 17:37:44 GMT
Completely in agreement with Steve. The first half takes a bit of getting into. The highlight is June Watson's monologue. There are other great moments e.g. I loved the moment when Mike Noble as the skinhead breaks free of the box and suddenly feels a whole lot more threatening but for me the final scene of Act 1 in particular goes on a bit long. The second half is really wonderful. The brilliant Michelle Fairley gets more to do including the best single scene of the night (with the soldier) and another very funny scene with Mark Hadfield. The final 15mins or so of the play are sublime and incredibly moving, art triumphing over poverty, hardship and unfair circumstance, even if only for a brief moment. Plenty of tears were being surreptitiously wiped away as the lights came up. Well worth a look and as Steve says, whatever you do, do not leave this show at the interval. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 19:47:47 GMT
It was so exciting
And such a stimulating exposition
Of complex characters
Speaking such bountiful and expressive words
With direction rivalled only by the oscars in its scope
That for the first time in 25 years of going to the theatre
I fell asleep in the first half
And pissed myself
So had to leave at the interval
What a shame
I wonder what Shakespeare would have made of this play
Probably sh*t himself at the amazing writing skills of the playwright
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 19:56:23 GMT
Seriously though
If I took anyone I know
To this
Would get smashed in the face
And wouldn't blame them if they never went to the theatre again
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:00:45 GMT
Summat, summat's never gonna change. [family motto, Parsley]
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:12:09 GMT
Told you so.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:15:48 GMT
It's a bit like saying "Oh that dog sh*t won't taste very nice" Hardly premonition exquisite |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:28:13 GMT
It's a bit like saying "Oh that dog sh*t won't taste very nice" Hardly premonition exquisite Thank you for making it clear just how much you despise people of my upbringing and location. It would be interesting to find out what the reaction would be, if you went there and tried your comments out in situ. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:36:51 GMT
It's a bit like saying "Oh that dog sh*t won't taste very nice" Hardly premonition exquisite Thank you for making it clear just how much you despise people of my upbringing and location. It would be interesting to find out what the reaction would be, if you went there and tried your comments out in situ. Get over yourself The play is crap and that is what my reference was to Not to people And its badly written And offers no social views on anything If it offered a proper social commentary I would be moved and engaged People swearing and shouting Is not interesting I have seen many films and plays About people with many different social backgrounds Which were moving and affecting As they are written and staged properly The playwright does the subject matter no favours By offering these caricatures cardboard cutouts It makes the stereotypes worse than ever |
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95 posts
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Post by herculesmulligan on Jul 31, 2017 20:39:42 GMT
Left in the interval. Just wasn't feeling it at all. Totally didn't grip me in any way.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:42:34 GMT
Left in the interval. Just wasn't feeling it at all. Totally didn't grip me in any way. Apparently Beyoncé comes on in the second half I am at home watching eastenders Offering a f*** load more social commentary in 3 seconds Than "road" could ever manage |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:43:55 GMT
You mean the play that was voted 36th best play of the 20th century in the NT's end of century poll?
The dialogue is both accurate in its reflection of northern speech and heightened with its poeticism. If you can't figure out the social commentary within the play, then you really weren't trying very hard.
I could name real life versions of about three quarters of the characters, I doubt that they thought of themselves as 'stereotypes'.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:46:04 GMT
You mean the play that was voted 36th best play of the 20th century in the NT's end of century poll? The dialogue is both accurate in its reflection of northern speech and heightened with its poeticism. If you can't figure outbthe social commentary within the play, then you really weren't trying very hard. 😂😂😂😂 36th Were you also told coming second in sports day was good And 50% was a high mark The same NT Who have comissioned and staged Common and Mosquitoes 😂😂😂😂 |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:50:06 GMT
And the same list which features
Private lives
And
Angels in America
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:50:29 GMT
And our country's good
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 20:50:49 GMT
And run for your wife
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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