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Post by altamont on Aug 17, 2018 23:24:43 GMT
It’ll take me a day or so to put down my thoughts on this - but for the moment - if you are in the front couple of rows at either side, be prepared for a bit of stage blood splashing. I suspect they will start having rugs available as they did for the Duchess of Malfi
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Post by lynette on Aug 19, 2018 14:34:39 GMT
O dear.
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Post by altamont on Aug 19, 2018 15:43:37 GMT
There's certainly not as much blood as the recent Duchess of Malfi - but it is very dark, very intense. Jude Owusu fine as Tamburlaine but didn't fully convince me that he could conquer so much of the known world, but it was only the second preview. Much of the rest of the cast take on multiple roles which can get a little confusing. It is very long - first part 1 hour 35, second part 1 hour 30. I'd imagine there could be some trimming. I wasn't familiar with the play before reading the programme synopsis, which takes up two pages rather than usual couple of paragraphs - there are a lot of kings and governors to depose and a lot of territories to conquer. I found the second part more interesting than the first... in the first half, conquering and killing is pretty much all that happens, in the second, Tamburlaine's fallibility comes more to the fore, and Marlowe's religious views (or lack of them) are more prominent. And throughout, the blood is chucked around in buckets to signify a character's death, or it drips and splashs down the plastic screens at the front of the stage I would recommend this - it's not subtle and you need to have a strong stomach at times. |
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Post by lynette on Aug 19, 2018 15:54:47 GMT
I’ll be careful what I eat. I’ve seen a couple of times before. Some great lines I remember.
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Post by learfan on Aug 19, 2018 16:28:28 GMT
There's certainly not as much blood as the recent Duchess of Malfi - but it is very dark, very intense. Jude Owusu fine as Tamburlaine but didn't fully convince me that he could conquer so much of the known world, but it was only the second preview. Much of the rest of the cast take on multiple roles which can get a little confusing. It is very long - first part 1 hour 35, second part 1 hour 30. I'd imagine there could be some trimming. I wasn't familiar with the play before reading the programme synopsis, which takes up two pages rather than usual couple of paragraphs - there are a lot of kings and governors to depose and a lot of territories to conquer. I found the second part more interesting than the first... in the first half, conquering and killing is pretty much all that happens, in the second, Tamburlaine's fallibility comes more to the fore, and Marlowe's religious views (or lack of them) are more prominent. And throughout, the blood is chucked around in buckets to signify a character's death, or it drips and splashs down the plastic screens at the front of the stage I would recommend this - it's not subtle and you need to have a strong stomach at times. Depends on your pov, but that is isn't that long. We knew from the 1pm mats and 7pm eves it wasnt a two hour job. As well as the main house project, the RSC seem to be going through the Marlowe canon. Which is fine by me. Only two to go. Looking forward to this in October. |
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Post by lynette on Aug 19, 2018 23:23:23 GMT
Question? Would Marlowe's work get the attention it does over his contemporaries if he hadn’t been killed young? The romance of his life and mystery of his death make him one of those characters we love. But he wrote some real tosh. Certainly he could write the big speech as in Dr Faustus but basically that play is an excuse for mild porn and violence and The Jew of Malta is excruciatingly awful. Tamburlaine has a couple of cracking speeches and is interesting for its being the precursor to the more polished blank verse of WH. I’m sure all were box office gold. I think we have fallen into a rut of Marlowe being the only 'other' guy who we know.
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Post by maggiem on Aug 20, 2018 14:48:50 GMT
It is very long - first part 1 hour 35, second part 1 hour 30. I'd imagine there could be some trimming. So, add 20 mins for the interval, and we're looking at about a 4:20 to 4:30 finish? That's just about okay for getting a 5pm train back to Birmingham, then. I would think the performance time will tighten up as everyone gets used to playing it (I'm remembering The Crucible at the Old Vic here). |
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Post by Jan on Aug 20, 2018 14:58:05 GMT
Question? Would Marlowe's work get the attention it does over his contemporaries if he hadn’t been killed young? The romance of his life and mystery of his death make him one of those characters we love. But he wrote some real tosh. Certainly he could write the big speech as in Dr Faustus but basically that play is an excuse for mild porn and violence and The Jew of Malta is excruciatingly awful. Tamburlaine has a couple of cracking speeches and is interesting for its being the precursor to the more polished blank verse of WH. I’m sure all were box office gold. I think we have fallen into a rut of Marlowe being the only 'other' guy who we know. That is a fair point. He gets undue attention compared with Thomas Middleton for example. I’ve always found The Jew of Malta good fun though. |
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Post by altamont on Aug 20, 2018 15:02:39 GMT
It is very long - first part 1 hour 35, second part 1 hour 30. I'd imagine there could be some trimming. So, add 20 mins for the interval, and we're looking at about a 4:20 to 4:30 finish? That's just about okay for getting a 5pm train back to Birmingham, then. I would think the performance time will tighten up as everyone gets used to playing it (I'm remembering The Crucible at the Old Vic here). Yes, we were out at about 4.25. The programme states 2.55 plus interval so they are aiming for a little shorter |
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Post by learfan on Aug 20, 2018 15:31:27 GMT
Question? Would Marlowe's work get the attention it does over his contemporaries if he hadn’t been killed young? The romance of his life and mystery of his death make him one of those characters we love. But he wrote some real tosh. Certainly he could write the big speech as in Dr Faustus but basically that play is an excuse for mild porn and violence and The Jew of Malta is excruciatingly awful. Tamburlaine has a couple of cracking speeches and is interesting for its being the precursor to the more polished blank verse of WH. I’m sure all were box office gold. I think we have fallen into a rut of Marlowe being the only 'other' guy who we know. Maybe, Always helps to have a small body of work of course. Middleton certainly deserves more attention, Marston too. |
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Post by bgarde on Aug 22, 2018 7:31:53 GMT
Running time last night was 3 and a half hours including the interval.
This was a flawed production and while I'm glad I saw it, I felt it lacking in some regards. I thought casting was mostly only adequate and because of this, I wasn't drawn in to the psychology and motivations - for me it really dragged by the end. Coupled with that are the fact that the actors pull double duty with characters, sometimes flippantly, so I struggled to connect. By the end, there were so many kings, conquests and revenge that it began to feel very monotonous. Some trimming of those last sections would help tighten it overall. This felt like theatrical penance for having such a light, frothy time at Merry Wives.
Blood. I was in the front row (had a nice offer for teacher/£10 tickets) and naively wore a white shirt. Had blood spots all over my shirt, and some in my hair. Was tipped off that they give you a complimentary drinks voucher for your troubles - which they did on request and given contact details if it doesn't come out. I didn't mind, it's all a bit of fun. However if it were a matinee and I had plans after, or was on holiday without a washer, etc. - seems trivial but not really ok. They should have warned and given a Malfi blanket.
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Post by lynette on Aug 24, 2018 13:09:53 GMT
I’ve been reliably informed that some rejigging has gone on and now no splattering will happen.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2018 13:22:02 GMT
Seeing this next week thanks to £10 friday rush but have booked a few rows back  |
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Post by kathryn on Aug 24, 2018 14:04:06 GMT
I'm now seeing it Monday evening, thanks to Friday rush and cheap off-peak train fares/some hotel points. Am also sitting a few rows back.
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Post by lynette on Aug 24, 2018 19:59:13 GMT
Wear white. Test the system!
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Post by kathryn on Aug 27, 2018 23:01:59 GMT
A few people on the front row definitely got sprayed tonight! But only at the back end on the stage - they were a bit unlucky I think.
We lost a few people at the interval - not sure whether that was down to the (literally) buckets of blood or the Marlowe. Can you believe he managed 2 complete plays of this? And the second was a genuine sequel, because the first was such a hit.
Always good to be reminded that Shakespeare’s contemporaries were producing hits that really don’t fit with modern notions of drama and character development at all. Clearly the original audience were getting something different out of this kind of play than I did, anyway.
I thought the production did well to lean into the repetitive and cyclical nature of the plot, and to liven it up with the inventive use of fake blood. Clever use of costuming and props to suggest that the cycle of violence is ongoing. I quite enjoyed the first act - but the second one dragged. It felt like we were just waiting for the big T to get his comeuppance, and the more extreme he gets the more you long for it.
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Post by mallardo on Aug 27, 2018 23:52:02 GMT
I'm curious, is Tamburlaine portrayed as lame, either by Marlowe or by this production? His name, a nickname, is usually translated as Timur the Lame because he was badly crippled by battle injuries.
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Post by cirque on Aug 28, 2018 9:15:15 GMT
Thrilling ,intelligent work.So pleased to find an RSC on top form after a long while of rather lack lustre work.Maybe just me but think Tamburlaine represents a very different RSC.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2018 10:08:24 GMT
Well it's Michael Boyd directing, which makes your post a rather damning indictment of the entire Doran era so far.....
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Post by johng on Aug 28, 2018 10:26:38 GMT
Perhaps only "a very different RSC" in the sense that this is a transfer of the 2014 production in New York. Nothing wrong with that but equally nothing to do with the RSC
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2018 12:20:40 GMT
Looks like we had a bit of a theatreboard outing there last night! Thought this was great. The lengthy running time didn't drag for me - presumably a full text version of both plays would be more like 6 hours so the pace felt very fast. Although I did hear one of the RSC staff saying to someone on the way in when asked how long it was "It starts on Thursday evening and you get out by Sunday" Did notice that the young boy who was pouring quite a few of the buckets of blood about came out wearing spectacles for the curtain call so not surprised there was some stray blood! The Kindle version of the Penguin Classics edition of Marlowe's complete plays is £2.99 at the moment so I bought that instead of a programme! There are probably cheaper (or free) versions but this is very nicely formatted with active links from the text through to the footnotes. Nice to see the RSC giving over their exhibition space to a local amateur artist incidentally! www.rsc.org.uk/exhibitions/mad-king-fat-knight |
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Post by kathryn on Aug 28, 2018 13:12:33 GMT
Looks like we had a bit of a theatreboard outing there last night! Hmm. Were any of you the tall chap on his own on the aisle in row H on the ground level? I was in H44 next to the pillar. Had a nice chat with him in the interval and got a theatreboard vibe but didn’t ask if he was on here. |
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Post by lynette on Aug 28, 2018 13:38:55 GMT
Looks like we had a bit of a theatreboard outing there last night! Hmm. Were any of you the tall chap on his own on the aisle in row H on the ground level? I was in H44 next to the pillar. Had a nice chat with him in the interval and got a theatreboard vibe but didn’t ask if he was on here. You gotta ask! On the lines of..do you know, or I always check on..etc. Mind you a bit sad if we only suspect people on their own! (Don't start, we've had that going to Theatre on your own thread. ) |
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Post by learfan on Aug 28, 2018 15:09:30 GMT
Hmm. Were any of you the tall chap on his own on the aisle in row H on the ground level? I was in H44 next to the pillar. Had a nice chat with him in the interval and got a theatreboard vibe but didn’t ask if he was on here. You gotta ask! On the lines of..do you know, or I always check on..etc. Mind you a bit sad if we only suspect people on their own! (Don't start, we've had that going to Theatre on your own thread. ) How about "are you now or have you ever been?" |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2018 17:32:17 GMT
Hmm. Were any of you the tall chap on his own on the aisle in row H on the ground level? I was in H44 next to the pillar. Had a nice chat with him in the interval and got a theatreboard vibe but didn’t ask if he was on here. Busted! Yes, that was me . Now wondering what gave me away as a theatreboard type - possibly when I turned round to glare at the person rustling sweet wrappers behind us? Lucky we didn't ignore each other and both belong in the "nice person in the next seat" thread rather than the "bad behaviour" thread! Good to (sort of!) meet you |
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