Mark Gatiss in The Madness of George III - Nottingham

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

Now this is a bit of casting I can get excited about this morning. May even poodle on back to my old home to see it!

[stefy69]

Love to see it move further south, a great play !

[TallPaul]

Is this a 'leak' or a 'leak'? Adam Penford wasn't supposed to reveal his first season until Monday.

Unless they change their pricing structure, Nottingham Playhouse have some really good seats for just £10.00, duck.

[Deleted]

I think it's a 'leak' rather than a leak, I get the impression that Baz is privy to scoops as long as he waits until a certain date. There have been times when I've already known his news weeks in advance but he hasn't published it until just before an official announcement. (And these are scheduled announcements, so I don't think his spoilers are forcing the theatres into announcing the rest of their seasons. Just acting as little PR boosts for the forthcoming official announcements.)

[Deleted]

Yeah isn't it a generally accepted thing that most of Baz's 'scoops' are scheduled to just pip the official word? In this case I'm sure Gatiss already being known will pre-empt a bit more interest in the rest of the season for example.

Eh Duck?

[TallPaul]

Almost everyone working in the subsidised sector must abhor everything the Daily Mail stands for, until they're trying to get free publicity and sell tickets for their shows, duck.

[martin1965]

Will be interested to see full season on Monday

[TallPaul]

Adrian Scarborough has now joined the cast as Dr Willis.

The run has also been extended by five performances.

[david]

I wonder if this tour after Nottingham? I enjoyed Mark’s performance in Boys in the Band when it came up to Salford on tour.

[NeilVHughes]

Booked a midweek matinee, tickets are so cheap (£26.50 Full Price and start at £6) and if I book my train tickets in advance will work out cheaper than the West End.

Great play, great cast it would be rude not to.

[sherriebythesea]

I haven't been there before. What seats would you recommend?

I can't believe all the exciting theatre I'm going to see on my Oct/Nov trip. And it is thanks to all of you that I've heard about them and have been able to secure tickets.

[TallPaul]

Apr 7, 2018 18:44:21 GMT sherriebythesea said:

I haven't been there before. What seats would you recommend?

If you like sitting towards the front, then the closer the better. Personally, I'd go for row A if still available on your date(s) as the first 3 or 4 rows of the Playhouse aren't steeply raked.

If you prefer to be a little further back, then avoid the extreme sides of the stalls. They are sold as restricted view for a reason.

The box office staff will be very impressed when they read your address!

[sherriebythesea]

Thank you for the information. There were a few nice A seats available but couldn't get one due to the "that would leave a single seat" message. So I have B13, 2nd seat off aisle and just have to hope no one too tall sits in front of me.

I hadn't planned on going to Nottingham but it looks like, besides the play, that there is so much there to keep me busy for a nice long day there.

[TallPaul]

Apr 8, 2018 15:04:59 GMT sherriebythesea said:

Thank you for the information.

Pleased I could help. That's one of the great things about this 'family' of ours, and it was nice to be @theatremonkey for once (though I kept wanting to scratch myself in strange places!). If you want to know anything else about your visit, between now and then, just ask.

Apr 8, 2018 15:04:59 GMT sherriebythesea said:

"that would leave a single seat" message.

That's really annoying, which has also caught me out at the Playhouse in the past. I appreciate theatres want to maximize their income, but chances are, that single seat would also be booked by another single theatregoer.

Apr 8, 2018 15:04:59 GMT sherriebythesea said:

just have to hope no one too tall sits in front of me.

It wont be me. I'm always in the cheaper seats!

Apr 8, 2018 15:04:59 GMT sherriebythesea said:

I hadn't planned on going to Nottingham but it looks like, besides the play, that there is so much there to keep me busy for a nice long day there.

With a population of circa 320,000, Nottingham certainly punches well above it's weight, that's for sure. I'm always impressed when I visit.

[david]

Apr 8, 2018 9:07:59 GMT TallPaul said:

Apr 7, 2018 18:44:21 GMT sherriebythesea said:

I haven't been there before. What seats would you recommend?

If you like sitting towards the front, then the closer the better. Personally, I'd go for row A if still available on your date(s) as the first 3 or 4 rows of the Playhouse aren't steeply raked.

If you prefer to be a little further back, then avoid the extreme sides of the stalls. They are sold as restricted view for a reason.

The box office staff will be very impressed when they read your address!

I’ve just bought myself a row L £25 ticket for the sat 10th nov matinee. Thanks for the seating info Paul, much appreciated! 

All I need now are the cheap train tickets from Liverpool!

[TallPaul]

Apr 10, 2018 21:02:03 GMT david said:

I’ve just bought myself a row L £25 ticket for the sat 10th nov matinee.

Good choice. Last row of the lower stalls (if that makes sense), so you are right at the top of the rake, and have nobody sitting directly behind.

A word to the wise, if I may, about entering the auditorium and taking your seat: there is unusually congestion at the central stalls door, so it's much easier and quicker to use the somewhat hidden side doors - right for seats 1 to 17, left for 18 to 34.

Apr 10, 2018 21:02:03 GMT david said:

All I need now are the cheap train tickets from Liverpool!

I don't want to teach you how to suck eggs, so I assume you know there are direct trains betwixt Liverpool and Nottingham. Unfortunately they run via Sheffield, but we can't have everything! And because of the strange way train journeys are priced, it's cheaper to travel from either Warrington or Widnes.

[david]

Apr 11, 2018 13:28:42 GMT TallPaul said:

Apr 10, 2018 21:02:03 GMT david said:

I’ve just bought myself a row L £25 ticket for the sat 10th nov matinee.

Good choice. Last row of the lower stalls (if that makes sense), so you are right at the top of the rake, and have nobody sitting directly behind.

A word to the wise, if I may, about entering the auditorium and taking your seat: there is unusually congestion at the central stalls door, so it's much easier and quicker to use the somewhat hidden side doors - right for seats 1 to 17, left for 18 to 34.

Apr 10, 2018 21:02:03 GMT david said:

All I need now are the cheap train tickets from Liverpool!

I don't want to teach you how to suck eggs, so I assume you know there are direct trains betwixt Liverpool and Nottingham. Unfortunately they run via Sheffield, but we can't have everything! And because of the strange way train journeys are priced, it's cheaper to travel from either Warrington or Widnes.

Thanks for the advice Paul.


Regarding the trains, I never thought about travelling from Warrington or Widnes. I will have a look on trainline tonight! I'm definitely going to set up an e-mail ticket alert for the cheap tickets so I don't miss out!

[lou105]

Just had an email from Vue saying this is having a live cinema screening on 20 November- wasn't expecting that!

[TallPaul]

Apr 19, 2018 11:28:54 GMT lou105 said:

Just had an email from Vue saying this is having a live cinema screening on 20 November- wasn't expecting that!

Exciting news indeed for the Playhouse.

When they extended the run, they only put on public sale the performances from Wednesday to Saturday. It all now makes sense!

[TallPaul]

[maggiem]

Apr 19, 2018 11:28:54 GMT lou105 said:

Just had an email from Vue saying this is having a live cinema screening on 20 November- wasn't expecting that!

I've been checking my evening work schedule, as I normally work until 7 pm on Tuesdays, BUT NOT THAT WEEK!

I'm going to see it at Cineworld Leigh.

[Deleted]

Very glad for the cinema broadcast, not least because it saves me a return to Nottingham (I lived there for 4 years give me a break)

Also I now have a slightly Pavlovian response to the Playhouse in that it makes me feel slightly nauseous- last time I was there I had spent 3 hours on the train in the grips of a horrendous stomach bug. Let’s just say I didn’t get the job I was there to interview for...

[AddisonMizner]

I went to see this last night. I was going to hold off posting, as it was only the second preview, but thought I would share my thoughts anyway as it is in such great shape.

Firstly, Mark Gatiss was STUNNING! I really didn’t realise what an incredible actor he is. The stage was electric everytime he entered. He gives an extremely physical performance, and must have been exhausted afterwards. His charting of the decline of George III, and then his eventual “recovery” was extremely nuanced. Ticks that he had whilst “mad”, continued even after he was “recovered”, so that even the scratching of his neck became a dramatic impulse. I will certainly be following his work more closely now.

The rest of the cast were excellent in their various roles, and the whole play was delivered with attack and energy. As I said, for a second preview it was extremely punchy and slick. Adrian Scarborough as Dr Willis was an imposing presence.

It really is a great play. It was really funny, and this humour was really brought out in the direction of the piece with lots of physical comedy. I am still laughing about a sequence in which George and his son have a fight, as well as a moment when two of George’s servants are putting on his socks. Bennett’s sentence construction, and his prominent use of alliteration is also very funny. However, it was ultimately very moving as well. There were certain moments in the piece for me where I had tears in my eyes, and more than a few goosebumps.

The staging and set were beautiful, made up of a series of wooden panels that revolved to show the different rooms of the palace. The use of lighting and music (lots of Handel) were also clever and gorgeous. In the last moment of Act 1, I literally had goosebumps as the whole production seemed to have a perfect synthesis of performances, direction, staging and music. That will indeed stay with me for a long time.

I think the critics are going to love this. If you can, come to Nottingham to see it. If not, see the NT Live as it is really a performance not to be missed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up transferring as well.

[NeilVHughes]

Thanks for the review AddisonMizner

Whetted my appetite for my last out of London trip this year on the 15th, only there for a few hours but looking forward to revisiting Nottingham for only the second time since I graduated in the early 90’s.