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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2018 22:00:02 GMT
Blimey, if the only negative parsley has for a production is a vague abstract, you know it *must* be good!
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Post by peggs on Mar 17, 2018 22:20:31 GMT
I did wonder about the lack of footwear.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2018 22:52:16 GMT
I did wonder about the lack of footwear. The lack of any sort of set Really put this production at a massive disadvantage Particularly when the text refers to particular things Which are not present on stage In the end the acting does triumph But the first 20-30 mins suffer due to the crappy scrappy staging |
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Post by stevemar on Mar 17, 2018 23:44:07 GMT
This was very good indeed. Perhaps I wasn’t as moved as I hoped by Patsy Ferran’s character Alma, but her performance and that of Matthew Needham were excellent. I thought this was very original with the use of the pianos. I agree that some slow walking and microphone work might sound pretentious, but it worked and the concept did not overwhelm the superlative acting. Almeida back on track.
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Post by stevemar on Mar 18, 2018 0:57:08 GMT
Oh @theatremonkey as I was leaving today I walked past Patsy ferran just as she was saying 'someone asked why are their extra pianos?' and I didn't pause to find out if she supplied the answer 🤔 Lol, I walked past Matthew Needham today in the foyer after the matinee. All I caught was “if we transfer to the West End, she....” That snippet is of no consequence though, and probably worse than the jumbled up jigsaw featured in the play.🤭 Peggs and Theatremonkey - the answer isn’t here re 9 pianos, but some interesting information almeida.co.uk/composing-summer-and-smoke |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 9:24:09 GMT
I appreciate that I'm in a minority of one here, but I thought this was the most pretentiously dull two hours I have ever had the misfortune to sit through, enlivened only by Patsy Ferran, who is indeed a magnificent young actress. The guy next to me (youngish, mid-thirties) was nodding off throughout and I struggling to keep my eyes open. If some insane producer decides to transfer this to the West End, shirts will be lost. Still one man's meat and all that, plus we did only pay £10 for the row F bargain seats.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2018 10:18:50 GMT
Well. I thought it was really rather good. Although those people with podophobia should probably avoid it at all costs. There's nary a shoe in sight for the whole play. Although it does give the cast every opportunity to do some of their best toe acting.
Unless you count a few pianos and a couple of chairs, there's no set to speak of but it doesn't matter. The cast get to do that "let's pretend there's a door" acting which is nice. The acting is wonderful and there really isn't a bad one among 'em. Patsy Ferran rightly is getting all of the plaudits and it's quite a marvellous performance (it's really the first time I've seen her where I've considered her an 'adult') but for me the thing is stolen by Matthew Needham. I think his character arc is developed much better than Patsy's and he has the much more complex character - he's dark, sexy and a little dangerous to start with before the story takes his character elsewhere. And when he drops his voice to speak into the microphone, my goosebumps got goosebumps. Nancy Crane offers great support and Anjana Vasan successfully manages to play very different characters very distinctly.
But the real standout for the play is the sound and the lighting, especially the sound. The pianos are used to quite the most brilliant effect and there's a marvellous moment when they become fireworks which is fabulous.
And even thought it was like -20 outside, I still fancied an ice cream at the interval. Damn you Nancy Crane.
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Post by andrew on Mar 20, 2018 14:58:54 GMT
Really struggling to get seats for this. Tried the rush today but it’s basically impossible to do it on a phone, you’re told to enter a promo code of RUSH once you’re through the queue but then absolutely nothing happens, you try again and now you’re back on the almeida homepage out of the ticketing system altogether. Other than religious dedication to the website for returns, are there any other ways of getting in?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2018 15:28:39 GMT
Really struggling to get seats for this. Tried the rush today but it’s basically impossible to do it on a phone, you’re told to enter a promo code of RUSH once you’re through the queue but then absolutely nothing happens, you try again and now you’re back on the almeida homepage out of the ticketing system altogether. Other than religious dedication to the website for returns, are there any other ways of getting in? Members have access to sold out shows Dependant on level |
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 20, 2018 21:46:53 GMT
I have had limited chance to see this because of my work commitments and some slots taken up by other shows, got caught cold by this and couldn’t get a ticket completely sold out, As left it too late and been looking for a good couple of weeks, also I underestimated the demand for this, as it is obscure Williams’ play, so thought this be a easy ticket just like In A Tokyo Bar at Charing Cross. Hard lesson for me.
So hoping and encouraged by rumours this could transfer, I know Theatre availabilty is poor but could slot in after Quiz/King Lear/Consent or the Ambassador seems a good bet too.
Got lucky with the King LearQuiz transfer which I missed in Chichester.
Everything crossed.
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Post by popcultureboy on Mar 21, 2018 8:11:35 GMT
I would imagine that's being explored, but it might be stymied by the lack of an available house. The Gielgud, Wyndhams, Coward, Duke of York's, Pinter, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Apollo, Duchess, Lyric, Vaudeville, Ambassadors, none are immediately available. WAIT. Trafalgar Studios 1 isn't programmed after Grinning Man closes on 14th April, which is a week after Summer & Smoke closes at the Almeida. I wonder........ Given that Grinning Man has extended for three weeks now, whatever happens to this, it isn't coming straight in. But then it took Mary Stuart over a year to come in after its Almeida run, so I won't rule anything out. Luckily I have tickets for this Saturday afternoon and am VERY excited about seeing it. |
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Post by Rory on Mar 21, 2018 9:01:51 GMT
It could still go in after 5th May. I think Matthew Needham is filming something in April once the Almeida run ends.
I'd say either this or Caroline, or Change are potential contenders for Trafalgar Studio 1 if nothing else is programmed.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2018 9:31:20 GMT
Finally blogged an opinion, for those interested. On a transfer, weren't the Trafalgar talking about a re-model, to make it an "in the round" place? If not, it would not be bad in the space, I think. Not if you're sat behind one of the pianos . . . |
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Post by peggs on Mar 21, 2018 12:25:57 GMT
Finally blogged an opinion, for those interested. On a transfer, weren't the Trafalgar talking about a re-model, to make it an "in the round" place? If not, it would not be bad in the space, I think. Not if you're sat behind one of the pianos . . . I reckon if you sat behind the right piano, there's a fair bit of piano climbing, I wondered if they had steps on the other side 🤔 and more importantly maybe that is where the ice cream can be found?! |
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Post by jasper on Mar 24, 2018 19:27:54 GMT
Saw this this afternoon. I have caught it in its two previous incarnations, with Pike and under the arches in London Bridge. It has moved on from the last version. No balloons, but lots of pianos. Liked the main leads and the production worked well. Having the female lead as a young woman (I think that was the intent and nothing to do with me seeing everyone as young these days) worked better than an older Pike. I think Williams had been reading Freud as women are hysterical and religion is a neruious in this play. Do not understand why they had no shoes, maybe hobbits in disguise. They had a notice warning of haze and the smoking of real cigarettes. I wondered what unreal cigarettes would look like. The pianos reminded me of the the old Julian and Sandy line 'a miracle of dexterity at the cottage upright.' Also a hanky was dipped into a jug of water and later two actors poured some water from it and drank it. Is that hygienic I thought, what about their vocal cords?
The worst thing was the constant coughing. It was throughout the performance, clearing of the throat, stifled coughs and maybe a few death rattles. two people left from the middle of the aisle during the performance. They left one before the interval and one after. Most distracting for me, do not know about the actors. I do not know if the coughing was connected to the smoking or if I was in a seat where the coughing was easily heard.
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Post by popcultureboy on Mar 24, 2018 23:08:11 GMT
The worst thing was the constant coughing. It was throughout the performance, clearing of the throat, stifled coughs and maybe a few death rattles. two people left from the middle of the aisle during the performance. They left one before the interval and one after. Most distracting for me, do not know about the actors. I do not know if the coughing was connected to the smoking or if I was in a seat where the coughing was easily heard. I was there this afternoon too and holy effing eff the coughing, the endless endless coughing. It was like watching it in a fricking TB ward, it was SUCH a joke. I'm glad it wasn't just me being driven out of their mind by it. I loved the production though. It is a real masterclass in taking a not particularly outstanding play and crafting something truly exceptional out of it. And Patsy Ferran is on her way to becoming the next Dame Judi Dench, I think. Her performance is complete perfection and deserves to win every award it possibly can. Having not been that fussed by Needham previously (probably due to him being in two Almeida duds), I thought he was lovely here and had nice chemistry with Ferran. Now that Trafalgar 1 has something else booked in, the earliest I think any house is available is June (the Ambassadors, which would be a great fit for the show I think). It will surely come in at some point. |
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Post by Rory on Mar 25, 2018 0:15:25 GMT
Either Ambassadors or else Duke of York's after King Lear, I'd say.
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Post by popcultureboy on Mar 25, 2018 8:04:37 GMT
Either Ambassadors or else Duke of York's after King Lear, I'd say. Or Trafalgar 1 after Killer Joe. Both the Duke of York's and Trafalgar 1 have had recent Almeida transfers which looked better in their spaces than in Almeida. |
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Post by lichtie on Mar 25, 2018 9:11:24 GMT
I saw this yesterday matinee. Glad I was upstairs as heard no coughing... Ferrari completely inhabited the character in every sense. Standout performance. Needham was fine. The rest functional, didn't intrude, but some of the doubling of the roles meant they ended up as fairly anonymous generic southern. Fortunately didn't diminish from the overall. Minimal staging worked well I thought, though not sure about the full semi circle of pianos, since they rarely needed even half for the music/sound effects. I guess the bare feet was an attempt to make the cast southern, but both superfluous and mildly distracting I felt.
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Post by foxa on Mar 25, 2018 14:32:22 GMT
Was there at the evening performance on Saturday - the coughers must have cleared out by then.
I thought this was absolutely wonderful.
Seeing it in the same week as 'Macbeth' at the National was instructive.
The director of this, Rebecca Frecknall, treats the script (which some have dismissed as a water-downed, schematic version of Williams' themes seen in 'Streetcar') with such respect, heart and insight. The semi-circle of pianos works beautifully, both for creating the soundscape of the play and as levels upon which the actors perch, walk, observe, but also as a symbol for Alma's love of the arts (she is a music teacher, she leads a book group.) And without spoiling the effect, the pianist at the end of the piece is used incredibly well. Ferran and Needham are the focus of the production and have, as mentioned above, excellent chemistry. Their nuanced, intricate reactions to each other hold you throughout. Williams' rarefied women can seem the stuff of parody, but Ferran's Alma is so touching and raw - as if all her nerve-endings are exposed. The other casting is excellent, with Anjana Vasan (who plays Rosa/Nellie) being a particular find - especially when she belts out a blues number. All the elements of the show, the music, the lighting, the set, the staging, serve to mine and reveal the play.
I hope it does transfer - I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Post by peggs on Mar 25, 2018 16:55:11 GMT
foxa what a wonderful review, I agree with you entirely though could not articulate it anywhere near as clearly as you.
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Post by andrew on Mar 27, 2018 12:46:58 GMT
Snagged a rush ticket today, much easier on my laptop this time. Next week, I'll be back.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2018 13:03:44 GMT
Snagged a rush ticket today, much easier on my laptop this time. Next week, I'll be back. Which site did you use? I’ve been looking on Today Tix and cannot see anything. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2018 13:20:06 GMT
Which site did you use? I’ve been looking on Today Tix and cannot see anything. The Almeida website release an allocation of rush tickets every Tuesday at 1pm for performances in the following week. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2018 13:28:26 GMT
Which site did you use? I’ve been looking on Today Tix and cannot see anything. The Almeida website release an allocation of rush tickets every Tuesday at 1pm for performances in the following week. I swear that joining this site might be the most expensive decision of my life. |
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