397 posts
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Post by altamont on May 9, 2018 11:54:16 GMT
Oh, and a tip for anyone doing the multiple-device thing and doesn't want the pain of actually booking on your phone - if you get it to email you your place in the queue, you can access your phone queue place from a PC. I never thought of that! Thanks for the tip - hopefully I'll remember next time |
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1,502 posts
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Post by foxa on May 9, 2018 13:21:54 GMT
Was 900th or something at 10 a.m. Then had to go out so lost my place. Just went in and got not good seats for both shows (my favourite £20 seats were gone - guess I'm not the only one to have spotted them.) So got 2 £20 circle seats for Aristocrats and 1 £10 seat for Measure for Measure. Very, very little left in the stalls - almost always a lonely seat on the side.
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Post by Jan on May 9, 2018 15:53:11 GMT
Was 900th or something at 10 a.m. Then had to go out so lost my place. Just went in and got not good seats for both shows (my favourite £20 seats were gone - guess I'm not the only one to have spotted them.) So got 2 £20 circle seats for Aristocrats and 1 £10 seat for Measure for Measure. Very, very little left in the stalls - almost always a lonely seat on the side. At 10:00 when booking opened I had a choice of stalls seats for M4M, blocks of 4 available in the normal public booking area of the stalls. I was flexible on dates though. I’ve never failed to get tickets for anything at the Donmar ever without being a member - you do need to get in at the start of booking though. |
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1,087 posts
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Post by alicechallice on Jun 19, 2018 23:24:01 GMT
More on Measure for Measure in the Guardian Vdcni is correct - So I guess something like the first half is set in 1604 with the roles the "traditional" way round then after the interval we're in 2018 with the genders swapped? Just watched an interview with Hayley Atwell where she confirmed this as the way it is being done. She also said that Josie Rourke had cut out the "problem" contained with the problem play. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 20, 2018 6:36:45 GMT
If Josie Rourke thinks that M4M is a problem play because of one particular plot element or moment, then she doesn't understand what is meant by a problem play when it comes to Shakespeare.
That is a deeply troubling report and I hope that it is something that was badly expressed during the interview.
It worries me when a director is seemingly heading in a very wrong direction. It does audiences and the play a disservice when someone appears to fundamentally not understand the text they are seeking to stage.
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1,054 posts
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Post by David J on Jun 20, 2018 13:05:58 GMT
If you’re not even going to attempt to address one problematic element then why even bother doing this play
Pretty cowardly really. You could have ended your tenure with a defining interpretation of this play, Josie, and what you’ve teased so far sounds like your tiptoeing around the plays issues
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Post by Jan on Jun 20, 2018 14:11:27 GMT
If you’re not even going to attempt to address one problematic element then why even bother doing this play Pretty cowardly really. You could have ended your tenure with a defining interpretation of this play, Josie, and what you’ve teased so far sounds like your tiptoeing around the plays issues I wonder what problem she’s cut out ? For me the big problem that a director needs to solve is the motivation of the Duke, including in the last scene. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 20, 2018 14:47:18 GMT
The bed trick is only going to work if Isabella and Mariana have the same genitalia. I think Angelo will surely be able to spot the difference even with the lights off...
The play is problematic because of how it straddles tragedy and comedy not because of any one particular strand. It is hard to believe that Isabella will marry the Duke but other productions have resolved that from within the text.
It gets a lot more difficult to believe the presence of oppressive laws about pre marital sex when same sex marriage is also ok(if you have a Male Duke and Male Isabella)
I will be staying well clear of this
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2018 15:10:51 GMT
The bed trick is only going to work if Isabella and Mariana have the same genitalia. I think Angelo will surely be able to spot the difference even with the lights off... Well someone's clearly never read some of the more fascinating catfish tales of our time. Though they are extremely rare, there are cases of people successfully pretending to be someone of a different gender, even in the bedroom. If you're manipulative enough, with tales of previous accidents requiring the use of bandages (and also resulting in a need to have the lights off because of feeling so insecure about the scarring), and your partner has no reason to doubt you, there are ways to impersonate someone with different genitalia. If I weren't at work, I'd dig out some of the articles, but I'm sure you understand I'm reluctant to invite awkward conversations with IT by googling specifics. But catfishing aside, HONESTLY, have none of you heard of the suspension of disbelief? Why not see the play first before declaring whether or not it works?  |
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Jun 20, 2018 15:23:41 GMT
The bed trick is only going to work if Isabella and Mariana have the same genitalia. I think Angelo will surely be able to spot the difference even with the lights off...
Really? Please tell me more because - with the lights off - that's definitely a test I would not pass. I'd be too excited at just being there.
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Post by Jan on Jun 20, 2018 15:34:16 GMT
The bed trick is only going to work if Isabella and Mariana have the same genitalia. I think Angelo will surely be able to spot the difference even with the lights off... Well someone's clearly never read some of the more fascinating catfish tales of our time. Though they are extremely rare, there are cases of people successfully pretending to be someone of a different gender, even in the bedroom. If you're manipulative enough, with tales of previous accidents requiring the use of bandages (and also resulting in a need to have the lights off because of feeling so insecure about the scarring), and your partner has no reason to doubt you, there are ways to impersonate someone with different genitalia. If I weren't at work, I'd dig out some of the articles, but I'm sure you understand I'm reluctant to invite awkward conversations with IT by googling specifics. But catfishing aside, HONESTLY, have none of you heard of the suspension of disbelief? Why not see the play first before declaring whether or not it works? I agree in general we should wait and see it before commenting but in this case the director seems keen to discuss and explain it all in advance for some reason. |
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5,690 posts
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Post by lynette on Jun 20, 2018 16:22:07 GMT
I have one word- why?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 20, 2018 16:37:08 GMT
The bed trick is only going to work if Isabella and Mariana have the same genitalia. I think Angelo will surely be able to spot the difference even with the lights off... Well someone's clearly never read some of the more fascinating catfish tales of our time. Though they are extremely rare, there are cases of people successfully pretending to be someone of a different gender, even in the bedroom. If you're manipulative enough, with tales of previous accidents requiring the use of bandages (and also resulting in a need to have the lights off because of feeling so insecure about the scarring), and your partner has no reason to doubt you, there are ways to impersonate someone with different genitalia. If I weren't at work, I'd dig out some of the articles, but I'm sure you understand I'm reluctant to invite awkward conversations with IT by googling specifics. But catfishing aside, HONESTLY, have none of you heard of the suspension of disbelief? Why not see the play first before declaring whether or not it works? It is not credible to ask an audience to suspend disbelief to that extent. Yes, it is possible but not in a way that would be communicable to an audience. You can't rely on them to Google it. I just find the whole project misguided and nothing they have said seems to help dispel those doubts. There is much to be said about a gender reversed M4M. But it has to be properly conceived and executed. |
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Post by Boob on Jun 21, 2018 19:00:44 GMT
There is no need for discussion. The director can’t direct for toffee, so...
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Post by Jan on Jun 22, 2018 5:57:42 GMT
There is no need for discussion. The director can’t direct for toffee, so... I remember someone (you ?) said exactly that towards the start of her reign - her keenness to explain to us in advance how clever she's been in this production isn't a feature of good directors. |
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Post by Boob on Jun 22, 2018 10:38:27 GMT
I most probably did. To be fair, I thought her production of The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar was absolutely glorious. Nothing has got anywhere close to matching that since (or before).
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3,040 posts
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Post by crowblack on Jul 30, 2018 13:55:14 GMT
Aristocrats' running time is approx 2 and a half hours at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2018 17:47:14 GMT
This isn’t the first time that a director (or writer) has experimented with gender swapping roles. Some years ago there was a play at the RC written by a young writer where the first act took place in a hotel room and centred on the relationships between a man and a younger woman. In the second half the first act was repeated word for word but with a woman and a younger man.
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3,533 posts
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Post by Rory on Jul 30, 2018 19:10:27 GMT
This isn’t the first time that a director (or writer) has experimented with gender swapping roles. Some years ago there was a play at the RC written by a young writer where the first act took place in a hotel room and centred on the relationships between a man and a younger woman. In the second half the first act was repeated word for word but with a woman and a younger man. Scarborough with Daniel Mays? |
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Post by Jan on Jul 31, 2018 8:19:10 GMT
They have emailed me saying they are releasing “additional” tickets for this in September. So, all their loyal supporters who bought tickets when booking opened and had a very limited choice of poor seats, that was deliberate, they were preventing us seeing the true availability. I’ve noticed this at the Almeida too, when I’ve been a priority member there I’ve invariably ended up with worse seats than when I’ve not been a member and booked later.
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5,690 posts
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Post by lynette on Jul 31, 2018 10:11:51 GMT
I think you are right, Jan. since becoming a supporter I’ve never sat in the seats I’ve wanted at the Donmar. A kind of reverse loyalty is going on. But I did call the office once to get tickets for something quite sold out and they gave me two good seats.
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Post by Jan on Jul 31, 2018 10:33:29 GMT
I think you are right, Jan. since becoming a supporter I’ve never sat in the seats I’ve wanted at the Donmar. A kind of reverse loyalty is going on. But I did call the office once to get tickets for something quite sold out and they gave me two good seats. Same at the Almeida, if you phone you get better seats than on-line, including on the day booking opens. For the RSC at the Barbican you get a bigger choice of seats by turning up at the box office rather than booking on line. I suspect the NT also attempts to offload poor seats on their members. |
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Post by jadnoop on Jul 31, 2018 12:18:52 GMT
I think you are right, Jan. since becoming a supporter I’ve never sat in the seats I’ve wanted at the Donmar. A kind of reverse loyalty is going on. But I did call the office once to get tickets for something quite sold out and they gave me two good seats. Same at the Almeida, if you phone you get better seats than on-line, including on the day booking opens. For the RSC at the Barbican you get a bigger choice of seats by turning up at the box office rather than booking on line. I suspect the NT also attempts to offload poor seats on their members. I don't know about the Donmar, but for the NT I agree that it can be frustrating when great (and cheap) seats are held off for the public booking. However, I don't think it's fair to describe this process as simply attempting to 'offload' the bad seats to members. Members pay to support the NT, but so does the general public. This imo the organisation has a duty to support greater access to the wider public, especially when they might not be in the position to pay a membership fee. |
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Post by Jan on Jul 31, 2018 17:16:37 GMT
Same at the Almeida, if you phone you get better seats than on-line, including on the day booking opens. For the RSC at the Barbican you get a bigger choice of seats by turning up at the box office rather than booking on line. I suspect the NT also attempts to offload poor seats on their members. I don't know about the Donmar, but for the NT I agree that it can be frustrating when great (and cheap) seats are held off for the public booking. However, I don't think it's fair to describe this process as simply attempting to 'offload' the bad seats to members. Members pay to support the NT, but so does the general public. This imo the organisation has a duty to support greater access to the wider public, especially when they might not be in the position to pay a membership fee. I don’t think ANY subsidised theatre should allow anyone to buy priority booking. |
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Post by crowblack on Jul 31, 2018 17:42:21 GMT
I don’t think ANY subsidised theatre should allow anyone to buy priority booking. Agreed - there was fuss a week or so ago about that private theatre group bookable for rich people but any booking system that allows the rich to snap up the best seats before anyone else is just as exclusive. |
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