Lehman Trilogy - NT / Gillian Lynne

[jm25]

Just picked up one of the Amex tickets for January. Only know the play by name and reputation but I'm really looking forward to it! Will be very interested to see who they cast.

[interval99]

The NT live cinema showings of this play were breathtaking brilliant in the plays construction and the story being told. Three superb performances and the original ideas of the brothers so tied in with American post civil war history. Very powerful production of a story which on paper sounds like one to miss but is very moving in the story of human endeavour and the impact when the original ideas and mission of a company are lost to the chase of the dollar.

But in a first for cinema showing which often have made me want to see the show live in a theatre, having seen the show twice in a spacious comfortable cinema seat with great view lines I just think even in a fairly comfortable theatre like the Gillian Lynne and the excitement of a live performance it just would not come across so well. Especially being stuck with the one view compared the superb direction and perfect mix of shots in the filmed version.

Will see who they cast, think it'd been some time since a play has-been put up for sale without any hint of a lead cast and who ever it is they have some mighty big shoes to fill to reach the performance levels of the original cast.

[alessia]

I've just bought tickets for this, prices are quite high but managed an affordable side stalls seat (£35), hopefully it'll be a decent view- not been to that theatre before so fingers crossed.

[Stephen]

What is so good about the play? Why do people find it so boring?

[n1david]

I was on the side of 'loved' rather than 'loathed', as you can see from my post (much) earlier in the thread.

For me what worked was the theatricality of three superb actors telling a generations-long story in a very creative way; it reflected American history demonstrating how immigrants could create financial empires and the decisions they took to get there (many of which we would now find unacceptable). I loved the long story and the way it was told; I said at the time I would love to see it again, but I'm waiting for casting news this time as I think the casting is critical.

But part of the joy of this board is how different people can see the same thing and have completely different views on it...

[mrbarnaby]

I thought this was a thrilling display of stage acting and staging. Those 3 actors were mesmerising. The music was beautiful, the set and projections wonderful.


Somehow, they took what could have been a very dry subject matter and made it incredibly theatrical.

If anyone I know said they hated it- I would CANCEL THEM IMMEDIATELY !!!

[Stephen]

I will be booking then! Thanks. Interestingly on the seating plans it looks like they have removed quite a lot from the theatre...possibly due to restrictions with the set?

[Stephen]

Also wondering about the warnings of gunshots and spinning causing dizziness. Did this affect anyone?

[hadeswasking]

Still no casting announcement? Really surprising...

[llevy453]

deadline.com/2022/11/sam-mendes-picks-london-theater-stars-for-west-end-production-of-tony-and-olivier-award-winning-hit-play-the-lehman-trilogy-1235170994/

Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay

[thistimetomorrow]

Oooh that's interesting

[alessia]

Not sure about this casting, a bit underwhelmed if I'm honest. I am still very much looking forward to it regardless

[Dave B]

They just tweeted about £25 front row seats released for entire run. Website has a warning that the stage is high and seats are suitable for anyone over 5'8. I know there is going to be a Rush (possibly NT Rush) but more than happy to book a couple for us with this.

thelehmantrilogy.com/

[hadeswasking]

Jan 20, 2023 9:47:33 GMT Dave B said:

They just tweeted about £25 front row seats released for entire run. Website has a warning that the stage is high and seats are suitable for anyone over 5'8. I know there is going to be a Rush (possibly NT Rush) but more than happy to book a couple for us with this.

thelehmantrilogy.com/

Got my seats exchanged! Was in circle before and got refunded full £10 difference. Excellent customer service.

[Dr Tom]

Having missed this on previous runs, I managed to pick up a central front row seat for the first preview yesterday. Apart from a massive queue down the street to get in, everything was smooth.

The stage is high, mainly due to a revolve on the top which raises everything still further. The view was acceptable for me at 5 foot 8 and sat fully up, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone much shorter. Due to the angles. I think that most people would want to be a few rows back.

I'd avoided this in the past as the subject matter just didn't interest me all that much. With that said, I found the first 30 minutes or so a bit slow, but this picked up later. It is three people playing many different roles, but so much of this is a narrative. You could almost take away the visuals and just be left with an audiobook.

The collapse of Lehman's Brothers comes across as almost an afterthought, as the bulk of the narrative is set much earlier.

The three new leads are all excellent. There were a few small issues with lines, but that's to be expected with a first preview. I was very impressed by Hadley Fraser, having only really seen him in musicals before.

A phone right behind me went off for about a minute before its owner was willing to turn it off. There was also a woman near me on the front row who had her phone poised under her programme and kept working out the best time to sneak it out for photos. That's people for you.

The structure on stage rotates and comes very close to you if you're at the front centre.

Started a few minutes late yesterday (maybe 19:10) and ended at 22:40, so running longer than advertised. I guess this will speed up.

Anyway, very glad I went. This isn't the type of play to me that is one to watch again during the same run, but I'm sure there are a lot of details that I'd pick up on with a second viewing. And, if you like to be close and you're fine with the high stage, the seats in the central section of the front row are excellent. I'd avoid the front side blocks as the viewing angle did not look good. I think this is too small a play to be sat in the Circle, but many will be happy there.

[ArbitraryGibberish]

I also was there in the front row last night. It was definitely a good value; at 6’ I felt like it was an amazing view but it was constant looking up, so not fully comfortable (especially for such a long show)

I’ve heard so much about this that I was excited to finally see it. I feel like I understand both those who love and hate it but fall just below loving it myself. It surprised me by keeping me engaged the whole time. At each interval I wondered how this kind of storytelling could sustain interest in the rest of the show but it always did. Wasn’t quite as amazing as I expected because I felt it didn’t fully connect until literally the final moments; it was just interesting previously.

A few stumbles over lines as to be expected for a first preview, but all three in the cast were great. Hadley Fraser was the standout for me.

I was in a great seat to get to appreciate Yshani Perinpanayagam, the pianist, fully playing a little character in the scene where attention is drawn to the piano being played.

[ceebee]

Well this really is rather splendid. I had no expectations, though have never not liked a Sam Mendes production. This blew me away. I absolutely loved it. Is it eligible for awards with a new cast? Blooming well should be. Well worth spending your hard earned pounds on - "we give them money they haven't got to buy things they don't..." ("need" murmured the audience). For that moment alone it was theatre magic - positive affirmation of the bond between audience and players.

[jm25]

I rather enjoyed this! Wasn’t expecting the “tell, don’t show” approach but it really worked for me.* I suppose that’s the only way you can tell a story which spans so many years - but I still felt very involved in the individual moments that it did choose to focus on. Superb performances from the cast.

Went in feeling a bit trepidatious about the run time, but actually I thought this went by pretty quickly! Having two certainly intervals helped.


*Can’t say the same for the idiot in the audience who, just as the curtain started to go down at the end of the first part, shouted at the top of his lungs, “When does the play start?” before adding “I’ll read it on Wikipedia.” Classy…

[frauleinsallybowles]

Can anyone who has seen this recommend a good row for seats for book? I'm looking at stalls row D (4th row) but not sure how high the stage is?

[ceebee]

Jan 29, 2023 23:06:53 GMT frauleinsallybowles said:

Can anyone who has seen this recommend a good row for seats for book? I'm looking at stalls row D (4th row) but not sure how high the stage is?

You'll be fine. I was in Row E on Thursday and it was a perfect view, though some of the video effects might be triggering if you are vulnerable to flashing lights.

[londonpostie]

Something has come up - anyone want to go to this tonight? One ticket only. £20.00. Stalls row N, towards the side.

It's a 7PM kick off, a good tube station is Holborn. Message me or leave a post here.

[Nelly]

I saw this last night and was incredibly impressed with it. I also managed to catch Ravi Aujla's cover debut of Emmanuel (only found this out afterwards), it was seriously impressive that he was so polished, I wonder how many understudy rehearsals they have had.

Nigel, Hadley and Ravi were mesmerising. I really loved the concept, it all worked so well together and the 3hrs 20mins which I was initially a little bit worried about flew by.

One gripe, I really didn't get the part at the end where

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
a whole load of people walk on and gather round a boardroom table. What was that meant to symbolise if anything? It kind of took me out of the moment.

I can understand why this wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. 

[thistimetomorrow]

Feb 24, 2023 14:56:55 GMT Nelly said:

I wonder how many understudy rehearsals they have had.

i know they had a cover run earlier this week!

[Dave B]

We saw this last night. My second time, first for herself. I saw it in the Piccadilly back in 2019 shortly after I had moved back to London and started going to the theatre again. I was way up in the gods but I loved it and I'd never seen anything like it before and as it happens, it was the catalyst for joining here (so you can blame them!) after finding this thread. So I was thrilled when it came back and even more thrilled when those £25 front seats appeared.

We duly sat in them last night and while missing a slight impact from the projections, they are otherwise fantastic. The sound is so good and we were so close that it was the second act before I realised there were speakers in the stage and that they weren't just all giving a masterclass in projecting.

Disappointed on arrival to find that Michael Balogun was off, I thought him fantastic in Death of England - Delroy and was looking forward to seeing him in this however Ravi Aujla was excellent, really great performance and really charismatic, a huge presence. Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay are great, Fraser really shining in the third piece where he is more to the front.

It was more noticeable to me this time how they gloss over the collapse of the bank during 2008, it's suggested at the start but then only slightly touched on. Thinking about it on the way home, I realised that it's not actually a part of the story being told here which essentially ends in the 90s when the Lehman family are no longer involved. The company itself is just a framing device for the family and immigration etc so by the 2000s it's almost irrelevant.

Thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

100% recommend those £25 front row seats (and I see a bunch still available as I ponder a return visit), other than loosing some of the projections impact - the rest is totally fine and the closeness makes up for it. I think I prefered the first time around for SRB and for the original impact but a second visit was more than worthwhile.

[Dave B]

Feb 24, 2023 14:56:55 GMT Nelly said:

One gripe, I really didn't get the part at the end where

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}a whole load of people walk on and gather round a boardroom table. What was that meant to symbolise if anything? It kind of took me out of the moment.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}It's the 2008 finance collapse when the institution itself declares bankruptcy, when everyone loses their jobs and the place effectively closes. This picture is in the programme and while the family are no longer involved, it's the end of the institution.