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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2018 8:27:05 GMT
They're still officially the RNT as far as I can tell, it's just not commonly used in the general branding, presumably to try sounding more accessible and less posh.
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Post by bellboard27 on Jul 24, 2018 8:49:39 GMT
Yes, in their Annual Accounts it states "Registered Office & Principal Place of Business: The Royal National Theatre", etc. and the auditor's report formally refers to it as the RNT. In every other communication, the NT does not use it.
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Post by lynette on Jul 24, 2018 10:42:23 GMT
Just returned two nice tix for this on Thursday. I don’t know how booked they are but if anyone is desperate they should be available now. Stalls row G
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Post by RedRose on Jul 24, 2018 11:44:21 GMT
The production photos look not very promising. I think I will happily return my ticket for October.
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Post by lynette on Jul 24, 2018 13:17:17 GMT
I did rebook for the end of the run in October when no doubt we shall be beset by hurricanes
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Post by Marwood on Jul 24, 2018 17:36:36 GMT
Was going to go and see this next week but have changed to September, not in a mood to travel anywhere in this weather let alone sit in a theatre so hopefully it will have cooled down a bit by then.
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Post by profquatermass on Jul 25, 2018 11:35:45 GMT
Did anyone see The Chairs with Richard Briers and Geraldine McEwan? Apart from Godot it’s the last absurdist success I can remember in the West End, must be twenty years ago. Rhinoceros is good but difficult to stage well for obvious reasons. Whenever we get a classic absurdist or expressionist play nowadays I see people slagging off the writing, do the plays not mean anything today? Are we too used to realism? Can actors act them? I thought Machinal was let down by some pedestrian acting, for example, it needs more extremes, greater caricatures, at times it felt like I was watching Ibsen (for me, that’s not a good thing!)
The Royal Court staged Rhinoceros about ten years ago - starring Benedict Cumberbatch, no less. I remember it as working well. The problem with the Theatre of the Absurd right now is that the metaphor is no match for reality. What could be more absurd than Trump?
Rhinoceros at the RC was terrific. But then, with a full-size rhonoceros, Cumberbatch, Jasper Britton and lots of nudity, it couldn't really fail Exit the King is spamming my FB feed non-stop but it was completely full when I saw it. I suspect there will be bargains to be had near the end of the run tough |
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Post by MrsCondomine on Jul 25, 2018 14:13:36 GMT
I am so tempted to see this because of Rhys Ifans in a long wig, makeup and robes. Something about that does things to me. Also Adrian Scarborough  And edited to mention a comment on TimeOut - "After the disaster last year that was Don Juan in Soho, Patrick Marber must be pleased to have struck form again by collecting a perfect cast and a disciplined production which helps to wipe away that low point in his career." (From someone called Hannah G) Who - what - where? Don Juan was a disaster? That's news to me, I was in hysterics through a lot of it. Maybe my apparent idiocy means I'll REALLY enjoy Exit the King  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 14:42:53 GMT
On the one hand, I love Indira Varma and Adrian Scarborough and I'm intrigued by the reports of how the drum revolve is used towards the end, but on the other hand, I could return my ticket now and just pretend it never happened.
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Post by crowblack on Jul 25, 2018 15:00:50 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit.
But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it?
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Post by Marwood on Jul 25, 2018 15:02:40 GMT
Never mind Rhys Ifans, Indira Varma and Adrian Scarborough - Derek Griffiths!  (although I wasn't excited enough to pay more than £15 for the privilege) |
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Post by bellboard27 on Jul 25, 2018 15:38:13 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit. But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it? I think we are having to work our way through all the works of Florian Zeller before we are allowed to see anything else. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 15:46:45 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit. But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it? Excellent point, Crow. We could add global theatre to that. We see very little Theatre from around the world. I think culture would be all the richer for it. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 15:48:41 GMT
The Barbican's usually the go-to for international theatre but it is a shame they seem to have committed to bringing the bad Ivo Van Hove shows over alongside the good ones.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2018 15:56:58 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit. But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it? Places like the Barbican and the Gate used to be reliable but less so recently, especially with the RSC seemingly blocking out the main Barbican stage aa they used to decades ago. I’d much prefer if they decamped into the West End and the lost productions from Europe (and beyond) returned. I can go to see English surtitled productions in Berlin or Amsterdam nowadays, I hope these continue and Europe, at least, doesn’t give up on us. |
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Post by bordeaux on Jul 25, 2018 17:38:58 GMT
The Barbican's usually the go-to for international theatre but it is a shame they seem to have committed to bringing the bad Ivo Van Hove shows over alongside the good ones. Weren't the bad ones (Obsession and Antigone) originated at the Barbican? The one I really want to see is his adaptation of Visconti's The Damned. It's a Comedie Francaise production, just been on in New York. |
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Post by crowblack on Jul 25, 2018 18:08:49 GMT
Barbican's usually the go-to for international theatre That was the only place that really sprung to mind, and when they're on they're only fleeting - nothing like the long runs of new and old American plays that the YV and Almeida keep having. |
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Post by showgirl on Jul 25, 2018 18:18:36 GMT
The Ustinov Studio (Bath) has produced work by a couple of German playwrights recently: Martin Wegner and Daniel Kehlmann, but so many theatres could do so much more. Some American work is fine but it seems to be the default for any new plays not originating here and whilst there may be a lot to choose from, plays from the rest of the world - and elsewhere in Europe in particular - go unseen.
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Post by Jan on Jul 25, 2018 18:28:01 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit. But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it? The Brexit claim is just rubbish. The RSC and NT have always throughout their entire history massively under-represented European plays (both classic and contemporary) and European directors. However the NT has a continuous programme of USA work despite the fact they aren’t in the EU so that doesn’t seem to be a barrier. The Barbican and YV have been the most notable promoters of European theatre though even the latter has now switched to USA programming. |
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Post by peggs on Jul 25, 2018 18:49:31 GMT
On the one hand, I love Indira Varma and Adrian Scarborough and I'm intrigued by the reports of how the drum revolve is used towards the end, but on the other hand, I could return my ticket now and just pretend it never happened. Those are entirely my thoughts too @baemax |
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Post by profquatermass on Jul 25, 2018 18:56:40 GMT
A more general question, I keep reading London theatre-makers lamenting the loss of cross-pollination with European theatre post-Brexit. But where is it now? Apart from a couple of revivals of Genet, a few days of Ostermeier and the endless revivals of Art, where are all these European plays and practitioners? The Young Vic, Almeida, NT etc. showcase loads of American plays (the YV rarely seems to do anything else) but I'm not aware of anything similar being brought here from the continent. Is it there, and I'm just missing it? The Brexit claim is just rubbish. The RSC and NT have always throughout their entire history massively under-represented European plays (both classic and contemporary) and European directors. However the NT has a continuous programme of USA work despite the fact they aren’t in the EU so that doesn’t seem to be a barrier. The Barbican and YV have been the most notable promoters of European theatre though even the latter has now switched to USA programming. A few Christmases ago the NT had Emil and the Detectives and From Morning to Midnight running concurrently in the Olivier and Lyttleton. There was also the Captain of Kopernik and The Hour we Knew Nothing Of. Plus endless Chekhov, Ibsen, Greek tragedy etc etc. In the past few years I can remember offhand Damned by Despair, The Threepenny Opera, Hedda Gabler, Philistines, The Suicide, the Red Barn etc etc. Is there some sort of quota for European theatre and how does it compare to the quota for African or Asian theatre? |
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Post by Steve on Jul 25, 2018 20:39:00 GMT
Saw this tonight, and loved it. Felt like the children's TV show I always wanted to see, but which my parents hid from me. Some spoilers follow. . . Everyone's the King or Queen of their own life, and everyone makes an exit, so there's definitely something universal in a show about a King given 68 minutes to live. This definitely feels like the episode of Blue Peter, where they addressed the meaninglessness of everything, but which my parents fastidiously hid from me, cos it would be too brutal for a sentimental mind. It really feels like my child self got to watch a show belatedly, and came out feeling exceptionally gratified, as if the blindfolds were removed. Meanwhile, my adult self was undoubtedly moaning that the show is all too obvious, and the jokes aren't funny enough. But as it happened, I found my child self completely in charge, and I loved every minute of it. As the regally important self we all imagine we are, Rhys Ifans was marvellously entitled one minute, sentimental the next, then narcissistic, then self aggrandising, then playing the martyr, just about nailing every every phase of human self-assertion of meaning in an otherwise empty void. Well, not empty, because a mother figure (aka first wife), Indira Varma is there to keep things real, in her wonderfully blase, assured and tongue-in-cheek way. And there's Adrian Scarborough, perfectly cast, as an affirming best friend type, who knows all your weaknesses, but keeps them from you most of the time. And Amy Morgan as a second wife, always telling you what you want to hear. And your underlings, too, telling you one thing to your face, and another behind your back. The whole ensemble were wonderful, and the coup de theatre at the end a success, for me. Most others there tonight agreed that the stark production and child-friendly emoting of the actors were terrific, but where I thought the play was also terrific, others thought it was terribly simplistic and flawed. But then our deaths are terribly simplistic and flawed, and our child selves do need to be told this information in this child-friendly way, even in hindsight. So, overall, I thought this was wonderful, and I can't help wondering if I'll think of this play on my deathbed, for good or for ill. 4 and a half stars.  Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. |
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Post by nash16 on Jul 25, 2018 22:17:39 GMT
Also there tonight.
The child inside wanted it to be joyous and manic and mad, but instead, after a sort of exciting start, and Rhys' appearance, it sort of flatlined and even the people behind who were laughing from the first line "because it's a comedy, we shall laugh at everything" gradually (thankfully) quietened.
It does its job, but it's the repetition that kills it. The pace is too steady. It should, of course, be philosophical, but what Marber's production is missing is the mania and the effortless comedy these plays require. It all feels very placed and, at times, too laboured (the "physical comedy" moments especially).
Indira Varma won the night for us. Especially a brilliant repost to the King and his second wife.
It's not bad by any means. But it is increasingly monotone.
And if that's a "coup de theatre" at the end and an awe inspiring use of the drum, I worry. It's a lovely moment, but it comes after a lot of hard work and doesn't feel early.
I think it would have been more successful in the directing hands of someone else. But who?
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Post by Jan on Jul 26, 2018 5:20:10 GMT
The Brexit claim is just rubbish. The RSC and NT have always throughout their entire history massively under-represented European plays (both classic and contemporary) and European directors. However the NT has a continuous programme of USA work despite the fact they aren’t in the EU so that doesn’t seem to be a barrier. The Barbican and YV have been the most notable promoters of European theatre though even the latter has now switched to USA programming. A few Christmases ago the NT had Emil and the Detectives and From Morning to Midnight running concurrently in the Olivier and Lyttleton. There was also the Captain of Kopernik and The Hour we Knew Nothing Of. Plus endless Chekhov, Ibsen, Greek tragedy etc etc. In the past few years I can remember offhand Damned by Despair, The Threepenny Opera, Hedda Gabler, Philistines, The Suicide, the Red Barn etc etc. Is there some sort of quota for European theatre and how does it compare to the quota for African or Asian theatre? Norway and Russia aren’t in the EU so I’m not accepting Ibsen and Chekhov as being under threat from Brexit. |
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Post by profquatermass on Jul 26, 2018 8:35:25 GMT
You talked about an under-representation of plays from Europe, not the EU. But I'm still interested in what that representation should be? And surely the lack of plays from the Commonwealth is far more noticeable
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(although I wasn't excited enough to pay more than £15 for the privilege)
