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Post by david on Feb 9, 2019 9:27:21 GMT
I’ve booked to watch this at the Liverpool Playhouse in early March.
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Post by eliza on Feb 9, 2019 21:39:47 GMT
I'm going when it comes to Brighton in June. I quite like the book but didn't think it worked in the film version because you quite clearly saw things that weren't clear in the book. I'll be interested how they manage it on stage.
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Post by ensembleswings on Feb 9, 2019 22:15:19 GMT
Caught this in Southampton tonight. Really enjoyed it, it’s been a few years since I read the book (and in all honesty it’s not exactly fresh in my mind) and I’ve never seen the film so I’m not the best to comment on how well it translates onstage.
I do feel like it will work better on the smaller stages though, it seemed a little lost on the Mayflower stage.
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Post by david on Mar 11, 2019 23:28:58 GMT
Just got back from watching it tonight at the Liverpool Playhouse. Overall, a good play though I thought Act 1 was the weaker of the two parts and was a bit of a slog to get to the interval. Though Act 2 more than made up for it with plenty of tension and psychological drama from the characters.
I thought the staging of it on the small stage at the Playhouse was very effective in helping to get that tension and drama across to the audience. I don’t know if you would get that same feeling on a larger stage such as at the Salford Lowry where it will be playing shortly. The use of the special effects/VT for the train where well done. Though whoever was in charge of handling the smoke/dry ice machine in the theatre wings needs to be sacked. We were all choking in the stalls at the start of Act 2 with too much smoke/dry ice.
While it is a dark story, I’m glad there where a few humorous moments sprinkled into the plot just to lighten the mood. The detective at the start of Act 2 got some gallows humourous lines which where a nice touch.
Performance wise, there aren’t any weak links within the cast and Sam Womack as Rachel Watson gives a credible performance. Though I thought the performances were much stronger in Act 2 as the tone of the play shifts into more darker areas.
Worth a watch if you can get a cheap ticket.
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Post by partytentdown on May 20, 2019 9:20:21 GMT
Transferring to the Duke of York's in July
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Post by Mark on May 20, 2019 9:29:13 GMT
Transferring to the Duke of York's in July Duke of York's seems to be getting all the shows at the moment. Yet still nothing for the Pinter. |
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Post by Rory on May 20, 2019 10:01:33 GMT
I'm surprised nothing has been announced yet for the Harold Pinter. I wonder if Shadowlands or This Is My Family could come up from Chichester.
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Post by Rory on Jun 13, 2019 21:56:07 GMT
Saw this tonight. It's average. Nice enough staging, strong sound design by the Ringham brothers and I thought Sam Womack was good. But very am-dram style acting from some of the cast let it down. It's fine as a 4 week filler but it's not really West End standard.
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Post by xanady on Jun 17, 2019 7:16:15 GMT
^Yes feels more like a touring show but I guess Womack will sell tickets
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Post by marob on Jun 17, 2019 22:00:54 GMT
Agree with the above, this was an enjoyable enough couple of hours, but completely unremarkable. I can't help feeling it's a bit crappy that some of the actors are being recast for the West End run, especially as Oliver Farnworth is billed on the poster.
I've always found it weird that no matter how realisically it's presented people always seem to laugh at alcoholics. Must be awful for the actors.
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Post by eliza on Jun 25, 2019 6:25:02 GMT
Enjoyed this, much more than I enjoyed the film. I agree it wasn't particularly stand out but it was worth going. I thought the way they handled the flashbacks was good.
I felt it wasn't quite as suspenseful as I'd have hoped. This might just be because I already know the plot and knew what was coming.
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Post by edi on Jul 31, 2019 6:04:45 GMT
I saw this last night and I thought it was a very enjoyable play.
The best bit for me was the way they staged it and used lighting to do the flashbacks in time. I was really sceptical first as I couldn't imagine how the book can be told on the stage but it was all very cleverly done.
I knew the story but other half didn't and he couldn't guess who's done it until the end.
If I can criticise it, it would be that the "bad" person didn't become menacing enough once they were "discovered" . I remember when I red the book the final parts were scary but on stage the bad person didn't fill me with dread.
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Post by Dr Tom on Jul 31, 2019 21:50:42 GMT
Saw this tonight and thought it worked well as a psychological thriller. I’m not familiar with the book or film to compare it.
The theatre was packed and everyone well behaved. I sat second row centre for £20 thanks to dynamic pricing. A bargain. The front row is very close with a bad angle, but from the second row you could see it all. The set is the perfect size for the stage as well.
A fast moving play, some nice twists and at 2 hours 15, this doesn’t overstay its welcome. Samantha Womack was excellent as well. Yes, it’s summer filler, but good to see something new to the West End that’s going to draw crowds for a few weeks and leave people satisfied.
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