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Post by Phantom of London on May 5, 2018 23:03:38 GMT
Saw this yesterday and another great example why not to bolt at the interval, as the play really picked up, before the interval it was excurating.
3 Stars
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on May 6, 2018 12:38:58 GMT
I think the marketing has been woeful as well. I want theatres in general to take risks, as said earlier successful plays will take th hit for those less so but I also think that you need to push these plays harder than the new Alan Bennett or Jim Broadbent in a Martin McDonagh play to fill the space. The truth is new writers won't bother with The Bridge if the Almeida, NT or even local pub theatre can market their plays better and get people in.
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Post by showgirl on May 6, 2018 13:46:53 GMT
It will also be damaging for new writers, both in terms of confidence and reputation, if they're initially hailed as the next big thing, yet when they progress from pub theatres and fringe venues, it's too great a step and their first work in a larger space with a higher profile is a flop. Mike Bartlett and James Graham seem to have made the leap successfully but others may need more nurturing or to make slower, more gradual progress, via medium-sized spaces.
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Post by barelyathletic on May 8, 2018 11:02:00 GMT
This was totally frustrating. Barney Norris can write. His last two plays were engaging and had merit. Here, he sets up every target, takes aim and then misses all of them. Every element of this is predictable from act one, but those elements should then at least provide a satisfactory pay-off. In a better play that would happen. Here every single dramatic setup is totally fudged in Act two.
It's very obvious that The Bridge does not have a dramaturg. I find it difficult to believe that none of the professionals involved remained unaware of the play's fatal problems during rehearsals.
The characters are all totally unbelievable, in their motivation and in their relationships, especially Claire Skinner's mother. She tries her best with what she's got but she's horribly miscast. By the time we got to her totally undeserved act two self-pitying monologue, I was screaming internally to be let out of the theatre.
Ophelia Lovibond and Ukweli Roach both do what they can with the paper-thin material they are given. Sion Daniel Young is the play's saving grace. As in Killology, he totally holds your attention when he's on stage. An absolute star in the making. Just a pity that so few people will see him in this. Or, maybe that's a good thing. He deserves so much better. A real dud of a play.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2018 22:23:21 GMT
Dreadful reviews
I was right
Yet again
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2018 23:08:10 GMT
Dreadful reviews I was right Yet again So, by that yardstick, you’re admitting that you were wrong about ‘The Writer’ then. |
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3,558 posts
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Post by showgirl on May 9, 2018 4:00:51 GMT
Actually Libby Purves (Theatrecat) has given it 4 stars (or her equivalent) - though I do find her reviews quite generous generally. However, the British Theatre Guide, without rating this, also sounds quite encouraging.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 7:47:52 GMT
I think the marketing has been woeful as well. I want theatres in general to take risks, as said earlier successful plays will take th hit for those less so but I also think that you need to push these plays harder than the new Alan Bennett or Jim Broadbent in a Martin McDonagh play to fill the space. The truth is new writers won't bother with The Bridge if the Almeida, NT or even local pub theatre can market their plays better and get people in. In this climate I think writers are happy to have their plays on anywhere. Most writers would be over the moon if they got the green light from Hytner. |
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 7:47:59 GMT
Seems to be around 2 to 3 stars for most. Personally I wouldn't be throwing a word like "dreadful" around unless the two star reviews were the best ones. "Distinctly average" seems far more accurate.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 8:32:40 GMT
Only seen the TO so far but was a positive 3*.
Seeing this next week, but the interview on WOS (I think) with B Norris was interesting - I know Hytner is a bit of an evangelist for young writers not getting stuck in the studio ghetto and writing for the big stages, so even if Norris hasn't quite managed it with this hopefully it will be a good positive stretching experience that gets him a step further.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 14:38:09 GMT
I shall be seeing this tonight. I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to most - Ophelia Lovibond or an interval madeline.
I'm wearing pink shoes today. I'm looking scrumptious. Say hello if you see me. I'm happy to wave. Unless I'm doing something illegal of course, in which case I'd rather stay "on the down low" as the kids say.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 14:39:52 GMT
Only seen the TO so far but was a positive 3*. Seeing this next week, but the interview on WOS (I think) with B Norris was interesting - I know Hytner is a bit of an evangelist for young writers not getting stuck in the studio ghetto and writing for the big stages, so even if Norris hasn't quite managed it with this hopefully it will be a good positive stretching experience that gets him a step further. “Positive 3*” Like Lavish primark |
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 10, 2018 17:17:37 GMT
Enter the code MASTERCLASS when selecting seats for any of the remaining performances and tickets are £10 each (seems to apply to the £90 premiums too). Nice  |
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Post by n1david on May 10, 2018 18:15:52 GMT
Enter the code MASTERCLASS when selecting seats for any of the remaining performances and tickets are £10 each (seems to apply to the £90 premiums too). Nice Thanks! Given the cool reviews I'm much happier paying £15/ticket for this than the £50/ticket I did have - I'm getting £15 for the Premium seats for late in the run with this offer, but I'm happy to return my existing tickets for credit and take a punt whilst paying less. |
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 10, 2018 20:14:19 GMT
Enter the code MASTERCLASS when selecting seats for any of the remaining performances and tickets are £10 each (seems to apply to the £90 premiums too). Nice Thanks! Given the cool reviews I'm much happier paying £15/ticket for this than the £50/ticket I did have - I'm getting £15 for the Premium seats for late in the run with this offer, but I'm happy to return my existing tickets for credit and take a punt whilst paying less. Yes it actually looks like the premiums are £15 and all others £10 with that offer |
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Post by Marwood on May 12, 2018 17:03:39 GMT
I saw this this afternoon and was rather impressed. I thought all of the cast were good, in particular Ophelia Lovibond and it engaged my attention thoughout (I can’t see why anyone would find anything excruciating unless they had a psychotic hatred of Fleetwood Mac). Also: the lack of onstage farming, surely no one expects to see a tractor being driven round on stage, a cow being milked or someone digging up spuds? The erm ‘rustic’ smell being sat down the front was enough for me.
Shame the theatre was probably only a third or so full - if it had more famous names in the cast it would have had more people attending.
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3,040 posts
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Post by crowblack on May 19, 2018 20:22:52 GMT
return my existing tickets for credit Is hat do-able at The Bridge? I've been able to shift dates but I wasn't aware they refunded - they didn't when I couldn't make it to London for Young Marx. I didn't look at this thread before seeng it (which I did today) - I had a £25 cheap row D side of centre stalls which was fine, but I wish they'd turned the lights up so see could see the actors' faces! Will add more thought after I've been next door to hoover up remains of royal wedding party food/drink. |
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Post by foxa on May 19, 2018 22:00:37 GMT
Had a very civilised afternoon at the Bridge Theatre today. Lovely walk beforehand with lots of people enjoying the weather, the fountains and the recording of 'Funny or Die' taking place about a minute away. The theatre wasn't particularly busy, but it wasn't ghostly quiet either. All the staff we spoke to were super helpful and pleasant (and I liked that the bar staff had a sign saying all tips this week were going to a mental health charity.) No loo queues. Theatre was spotless, light and airy. We enjoyed a plate of madeleines and pots of tea at the interval.
The play wasn't great. At times I was engaged - but overall thought it was frustrating. I kept seeing glimpses of other plays (the dead crow made me wonder if we were heading towards 'The Seagull' territory, the threat of law enforcement made think of 'A View from the Bridge') and sometimes there were hints of a better play in this one. A big problem was the mother character (Claire Skinner) - I really couldn't make any sense out of her. She is ferociously unsympathetic - which is okay - but I didn't understand why she was the way she was. She mentions once that she has been working, but she never seems to do anything. Aside from occasionally listening to music or flicking through a magazine or glancing at her laptop - or for one embarrassing bit, a little 'dancing' - she just does nasty/manipulative. I don't think her idea of running an Air Bnb at the farm is a winner given that her garden lounger was virtually resting against a huge unsightly oil pipe - it makes her seem unhinged to even consider it. The playwright seemed to dislike the character with such intensity, it was as if he was working out some unresolved hatred for her so that he couldn't present anything redeeming. The character of Pete was a bit of a relief because at least he took productive action from time to time and he and Olivia Lovibond have a good scene at the end of the first act.
I know some people said they thought it was a Brexit play (and Brexit was mentioned once) but I'm not sure I got that. Was it about clinging to the past? I think the playwright was making a point about people who just get stuck in their own unhappiness. Mr Foxa didn't demand to leave and quoted a few lines he liked afterwards, and we both liked the set and lighting, so not a disaster, more just a bit baffling.
As a side note, has anyone eaten anything beyond the madeleines here? I thought the menu looked tempting.
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Post by n1david on May 19, 2018 22:00:43 GMT
Yes, it’s essentially the same policy as the NT. Return them early enough and they’ll credit your account less £2 per ticket. They just add the credit to your account and it shows as available next time you’re booking, so there’s no faffing around with credit vouchers like the NT. No cash refunds though and I think it must be 48 hours in advance. ( foxa got in before me but this in respect of the q by crowblack about returning tix) |
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Post by crowblack on May 19, 2018 23:40:18 GMT
Thanks! I am too inebriated to add my reviewy thoughts tonight, having hoovered up aforementioned neighbour's party cava dregs, but Foxa sorry to miss you, I was the puzzled looking scruff with round specs. |
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Post by foxa on May 20, 2018 9:16:52 GMT
Sorry to have missed you, crowblack. I was the one enthusiastically eating madeleines. Looking forward to your review!
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Post by crowblack on May 20, 2018 11:10:04 GMT
Sad to say I agree with barelyathletic and foxa above. It was really frustrating, in that it's good to see new writers given a big platform and there are the bones of a good play in there, but this wasn't it. It felt underwritten and slackly directed - you kept wanting them to speed it up a gear or two. Scenes and revelations that should have packed a punch didn't. I don't know much about the writer's background but one of the most glaring problems was the lack of any sort of rural atmosphere: with all the swanning around, wine glasses in hand, tealights and M&S nibbles it could just as well have been set at a north London garden party and about a family firm of solicitors. I think the warning signs set in early with the dead crow - you'd think none of them had set eyes on a dead animal before. Characters and relationships were unconvincing and inconsistent, though the brother and sister were strongly played, which for me was the production's saving grace.
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Post by foxa on May 20, 2018 19:32:12 GMT
Ah - I just had a thought about another possible influence on the play: Glass Menagerie. Overbearing mother, damaged son and daughter, plus gentleman caller, inability to escape the past, 'abandoned' by father, money problems....
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Post by talkstageytome on May 20, 2018 21:02:26 GMT
Foxa I thought the exact same thing funnily enough! (Slightly more specific comparisons in spoilers.) {Spoiler - click to view}
Great minds 😉 |
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Post by foxa on May 20, 2018 21:17:56 GMT
Ah - snap. While I was watching it I was thinking more Chekhov/Miller but today thought Williams. So slower on the draw than you!
{Spoiler - click to view}
Like Chekhov, there were people stuck in a decaying place that someone else wants to buy and characters with yearnings that they can't fulfil... Then I thought it was gearing up for more a Miller ending - I thought the mum was going to call the police/oil company in order to destroy the relationship between Lou and Pete as Eddie does to ruin the relationship between Catherine and Rudolfo, But nah.
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