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Post by lonlad on Dec 7, 2017 23:35:03 GMT
It was superb off Broadway and the cast here is even better, at least on paper, so I am very optimistic. Poots was a sensational Honey so seems to be on a bit of a roll !!
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Post by MrBunbury on Dec 8, 2017 8:27:23 GMT
Saw the first preview tonight. It was VERY strong for being a first performance. Imogen Poots is absolutely exceptional already. Norton is a little less certain, but he will get there. Great set, wonderful lighting, usual problematic blocking with sightlines from the circle though. The play itself I loved, thought it was smart and tense and unsettling. Be interested to see if the critics take to it or if they find it "too American". I agree. Very gripping and interesting play and great performance by Imogen Poots. |
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Post by bellboard27 on Dec 8, 2017 10:33:27 GMT
Saw the first preview tonight. It was VERY strong for being a first performance. Imogen Poots is absolutely exceptional already. Norton is a little less certain, but he will get there. Great set, wonderful lighting, usual problematic blocking with sightlines from the circle though. The play itself I loved, thought it was smart and tense and unsettling. Be interested to see if the critics take to it or if they find it "too American". I agree. Very gripping and interesting play and great performance by Imogen Poots. I agree also. The performance of Imogen Poots was impressive. The play is interesting and I enjoyed it, but I felt it stretched credulity towards the end. I was also not sure about the final scene. After the climactic earlier scene, it is exceptionally anti-climactic. At the time I felt quite negatively towards this scene, but must admit I am less so now! |
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Post by etceteranz on Dec 8, 2017 12:22:55 GMT
can someone tell me what they said in the last scene in spoiler tags - french isn't my forte  |
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Post by lynette on Dec 8, 2017 17:44:36 GMT
O no. French. Already have problem of other half partially deaf. Give me a break.
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Post by bellboard27 on Dec 9, 2017 8:45:05 GMT
Don't worry about the French, there's not much in it. Zack makes a few comments to Amina in French at one point. In the last scene there is very little dialogue. {Spoiler - click to view}
This is effectively Alioune apologising and Amina saying that it's not a catastrophe. |
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Post by lynette on Dec 16, 2017 14:44:25 GMT
There is a nice article about James Norton in The Telegraph colour support today. For Ryan.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2017 17:41:38 GMT
There is a nice article about James Norton in The Telegraph colour support today. For Ryan. In the meantime the Donmar have also been treating us with their Instagram this week...this sort of thing is boderline indecent. http://instagram.com/p/BcsCCJSAkbP |
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Post by tmesis on Dec 16, 2017 22:07:23 GMT
James Norton and Imogen Poots are superb in this. It's largely a two-hander and the tense 100 mins fly by. I also found the dialogue particularly natural.
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Post by rumbledoll on Dec 17, 2017 22:31:47 GMT
James Norton and Imogen Poots are superb in this. It's largely a two-hander and the tense 100 mins fly by. I also found the dialogue particularly natural. Is the running time 100 mins with no interval? |
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Post by theatrefan77 on Dec 17, 2017 23:07:58 GMT
That's correct. It's a good thing that it's not too long.
I felt that this was easy enough to watch but overall a bit meh. A bit like Heisenberg. For me both plays are a tad pretentious but they are saved by the excellent acting.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 8:56:31 GMT
I saw this on Friday night.
It is an interesting play and Potts shines throughout though I found Norton hit and miss to be honest. I didn't see the point of the landlord and his girlfriend and think it had the potential to be an excellent play if just a two hander. The last scene, for example further highlights the pointlessness of these two characters. If the play ends after the scene before it ends on a poignant note but the last scene totally detracts from it.
It received polite applause at the end which seemed to confuse/irk a couple of the cast who clearly expected something a bit more enthusiastic.
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Post by skullion on Dec 20, 2017 0:13:41 GMT
I'd agree with that, im not sure that final scene added a great deal and the audience reaction might have been more enthusiastic if it had ended there.
James Norton's flies were undone for quite a bit of the performance tonight, was that deliberate or just an old fashioned wardrobe malfunction?!
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Post by lonlad on Dec 20, 2017 0:29:54 GMT
Flies? How many does he have? :-) (He looked fully zipped last Thursday.)
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Post by popcultureboy on Dec 20, 2017 10:17:03 GMT
I really like the last scene, the issue is it being in French will alienate people who don't understand what they're saying to each other (as highlighted earlier in the thread).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 10:50:45 GMT
James Norton's flies were undone for quite a bit of the performance tonight, was that deliberate or just an old fashioned wardrobe malfunction?! Oh stop it.  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 12:48:07 GMT
I really like the last scene, the issue is it being in French will alienate people who don't understand what they're saying to each other (as highlighted earlier in the thread). I'm not sure that the scene being in French is the problem.
Even with my GCSE (fail) French it was easy enough to understand what was happening and there isn't much dialogue anyway.
The problem for me, as outlined above, is that it follows a beautifully poignant scene which affected the audience and after which the play should have ended.
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Post by welcometodreamland on Dec 20, 2017 16:35:20 GMT
How hard is it to get tickets for this. Would like to see this after the festive period.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 16:44:26 GMT
How hard is it to get tickets for this. Would like to see this after the festive period. Most dates are showing as "limited availability" so you will have a decent pick of dates to choose from :-) |
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371 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on Dec 21, 2017 8:12:37 GMT
I'm not sure that the scene being in French is the problem.
Even with my GCSE (fail) French it was easy enough to understand what was happening and there isn't much dialogue anyway.
The problem for me, as outlined above, is that it follows a beautifully poignant scene which affected the audience and after which the play should have ended. I dunno, I think all the poignancy is in the quiet everyday nature of the final scene and how the events that led up to it are never explicitly stated. And the last line is particularly hard hitting in this context. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2017 22:51:40 GMT
Well. I think James Norton looked at me. It might have been my 'Phwoar & (Fancy A) Piece' banner.
But oh, those puppy dog eyes. That smile. Those arms. Those delicious buns wrapped in some skinny joggers. My man-o-pause went haywire.
The play goes downhill once the shirt went back on but prior to that James does some lovely lounging about on the sofa with his chest and arms out work which I think ranks among his best work to date. I was momentarily overcome. There were some other people in the play I think.
And I thank God I did my French GCSE teacher.
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Post by etceteranz on Dec 27, 2017 9:25:04 GMT
Who knew that the chemistry between James & Imogen was real....Mr. Norton seems to have a habit of dating his co-stars.....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 15:49:41 GMT
Note to self:
1. Get agent.
2. Get agent to put me in something with James Norton.
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Post by Jon on Dec 27, 2017 15:59:36 GMT
Note to self: 1. Get agent. 2. Get agent to put me in something with James Norton. The restraining order might put an end to that idea! |
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Post by jadnoop on Dec 30, 2017 22:03:12 GMT
Just stepped out of my first trip to the Donmar, and I have to say I thought this was a great little play that will likely drill into my brain over the next few days. Aside from the generally excellent acting, I thought the first half did a brilliant job of ratcheting up the tension; slowly drip feeding problems & inconsistencies in the young marriage, and twisting the initial impressions of Abby & Zack. The final payoff might have been a little silly & melodramatic, but I thought the themes of expectation, pressure, depression and above all communication were really interestingly handled. It's interesting to read here that people felt the final scene with the landlord & wife was unnecessary. For me, the issue of communication, summarised with the line (something like) "It's fine for you to be insecure, just don't let me know." was reflected in that final scene. Aside from the treatment of the wedding photobook , I also thought this scene allowed the play to end on a (minor) happy note, while sticking with the theme of communication: In French, after the initial smalltalk, Alioune says "I'm really sorry." which Amina brushes off, simply saying "It's fine" which to me seemed to suggest Zack & Abby's approach to communication. At the end though, Amina says something like "It's bad. But it's not a catastrophe." which to me seemed to represent them being in a healthier marriage, which seemed a more pleasant, fitting way to end than simply ending on the suicide+breakdown . All in all this was a solid 4 stars for me, but I wonder if an extra 15 minutes might've been useful. A quick question to anyone who's seen this before, or has the text; the direction seemed to interestingly balance what was visible, and what was hidden through doors. Is this part of the writing, or a directors choice? |
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