923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Mar 24, 2016 12:07:57 GMT
Are we not going to takeover as part of a theatreboard co-op?
Bagsy auditioning and casting the sexy actors.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2016 12:20:47 GMT
I went in with such low expectations because Rufus' reign of terror hasn't been enjoyable for me but if you liked Yael Farber's The Crucible then you will like this. Without too many spoilers it also reminded me of the recent Another Country's Good, maybe it was the Olivier staging, which I always feel is quite limited for modern sets despite its vast size, maybe it was the "innocents" abroad aspect but I would still argue the NT is not in a great place but I hope it is trying. Oh dear, I hated The Crucible and wasn't hugely taken with Our Country's Good. I was already considering returning my ticket and swapping for another night (I didn't know at the time, but it's worked out that my booking is the night before I start studying for a professional diploma, and I don't fancy getting home late and being really tired the next day). However, am now considering returning the ticket altogether... |
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Mar 24, 2016 12:50:23 GMT
I would swap/give it all up, Jean. It is a long night and I think incredibly inconsiderate of the NT to start at 7:30 and threaten at 3 and a half hour play.
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5,688 posts
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Post by lynette on Mar 24, 2016 19:27:40 GMT
I knew someone would go back as far as Wind in the Willows. I nearly said without that one please. I'm not convinced. I've been moved more in the Cottesloe now Dorfman , than moving stuff has moved me in the Olivier. Remember those miracle plays? The bloomin audience moved then!
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5,688 posts
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Post by lynette on Mar 24, 2016 19:31:14 GMT
Lots of productions have used it to excellent effect, but by phrasing it as "where the revolve actually meant something", Lynette has very cleverly set it up that she can dismiss any example offered by reiterating "yes but did it MEAN anything?".  O how little you think of me, sad face. No, I won't say that. What I'm thinking is, what does the revolve say, represent or add to our understanding? Sorry, I didn't see Linda so I probably missed some thing that did work well. I saw that mad revenge play that whirred the revolve round like a demon and that kind of worked. I think if they had spent more time worrying about the front of house facilities and the audibility inside the auditorium , for two, they would have done better than spend so much on a revolve. |
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Post by David J on Mar 24, 2016 21:09:19 GMT
Don't worry Lynette the use of the revolve here isn't going to set the world alight
It's just turning this section of a house
And yeah, if anyone liked the few minutes of watching tituba walk round in circles chanting in Faber's Crucible, there's plenty of that here on the Olivier stage
Loving the distant thrumming of drums. Very ominous
Can't deny the superb acting and writing (seeing the tour of the Sheffield Theatres Raisin in the sun I'm not surprised) but I must try and avoid the circle. Like ma Rainey there's some intimate scenes that don't belong in a big space
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117 posts
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Post by bramble on Mar 25, 2016 14:21:08 GMT
A fascinating play.Incredibly relevant. Superbly set and directed and acted.A real treat.
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270 posts
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Post by littlesally on Mar 29, 2016 23:15:13 GMT
It has been a long time since I have been so moved by a play. So powerful and beautifully staged and acted. Still relevant too.
Hope it gets the recognition it deserves on press night tomorrow.
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1,475 posts
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Post by Steve on Mar 30, 2016 23:37:21 GMT
Saw this tonight. Brilliant play, brilliant production! The start was inauspicious, mingling seemingly inconsequential chitchat, little showing, much telling and declaiming. But as the play progresses, the Olivier's great revolve marks time on the characters like a ticking clock, a silent Woman (Sheila Atim) mysteriously staggers her way round it, waiting for her day, and everything pays off. EVERYTHING. By the end, it felt like the definitive play about colonialism, a great African play, albeit written by an American, a staggeringly powerful piece of theatre. With African "terrorists" (represented by Sidney Cole's Peter) engaging in one set of extreme activities, and the Colonial regime (represented by Clive Francis' Major Rice) engaged in another set of extreme activities, it is for Danny Sapani's Tshembe Matoseh to hold the centre, a man with compassion for all human beings, a rational cultured man, who yearns to spend time with his white wife and his son in England "watching telly." He is a pacifist by nature, but he is justifiably the angriest pacifist ever seen on stage. Fully aware of the tragedies building around him, compassionate for all the players, he roars his righteous anger at all these characters with a knowing sadness and a fiery conviction that is simply electrifying. Sapani, underused on the same stage in the McCrory Medea, gives the performance of his LIFE! A performance that deserves recognition. James Fleet, as a mission Doctor, Willy Dekoven, gives a tremendous mirroring supporting performance to Sapani's, in that Dekoven is equally burdened by a full understanding of, and compassion for, the mixed motives of everyone around him. Like Renoir said, everyone has their reasons, and playwright, Lorraine Hansbury gives all her characters their justifications, creating an incredibly rich and complex tapestry, as motivations strain and pull against each other, building to an inevitable explosion. Gary Beadle convinces us that his character, Tshembe's brother, Abioseh, collaborates with the colonials out of a place of love and compassion. Tunji Kasim demonstrates how Tshembe's other brother, Eric, spirals into anger. Elliot Cowan skillfully shows the flowering of his righteous reporter's limited worldview. Anna Madeley does the opposite, showing us how a character's understanding of the world can wilt. Sian Phillips' oldtimer poignantly loses her bearings. As the Colonial master, Clive Francis is gripping, expressing his love for the African hills, all he can remember, and frightening in his insistence on the "sacredness" of white blood. Sidney Cole's "terrorist," Peter, is equally frightening in his devotion to ends by whatever means. There are so many views, so many characters, all understandable, that we are put into the same dilemma as Sapani's Tshembe amd Fleet's Doctor, in that we are made to feel the full tragedy of the consequences of colonialism. The production finds an electric aliveness in balancing all these characters, to the extent that as in the best theatre, you are left with the feeling that ANYTHING can happen, and when it does, it feels utterly unpredictable, then with hindsight completely inevitable. So yes, this starts off slowly, but it builds to one of the most earned, intense, memorable and disturbing climaxes imaginable. This is another triumph for Rufus Norris' National Theatre after the equally terrific "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." My eyes are opened to the imperatives and consequences of colonialism, as never before. 5 stars!  PS: Running time 2 hours, 50 minutes (beginning at 7:10pm, ending at 10pm). |
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Mar 31, 2016 8:34:29 GMT
So are they starting it earlier than advertised? I am of the belief everyone should be in their seat at least 30 minutes before but unless an email has gone out (plus letter and phone calls for the luddites) it will cause a lot of anger.
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Post by Ruby Sue on Mar 31, 2016 8:39:11 GMT
Last night was Press Night so it started at 7pm, the rest of the time it starts at 7:30pm.
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923 posts
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Post by Snciole on Mar 31, 2016 8:56:42 GMT
I am so on the theatre ball  |
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Mar 31, 2016 9:32:06 GMT
Had to book a matinee due to length but reviews are brilliant!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 10:11:06 GMT
After returning my ticket (due to scheduling clash) and swithering over whether I could be bothered to rebook, last night I crumbled and got a £10 preview offer ticket for next week. If The Crucible pacing is anything to go by, I may still hate it, but hey, at least I'll only have spent £10 for the privilege of being bored.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 10:27:25 GMT
I'm feeling very hopeful about this one; slightly regret booking for a Thursday rather than Friday night but I never get anything done on a Friday anyway... It's nice to get some energy back at the NT, it's felt a bit forlorn recently (to me, anyway).
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3,557 posts
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Post by showgirl on Mar 31, 2016 16:02:04 GMT
I saw better deals but as I wanted a matinee, I had to wait until later in the run. So annoying always to have to wait until after PN for even one measly matinee.
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660 posts
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Post by Oleanna on Mar 31, 2016 23:47:14 GMT
This is really something else.
A remarkable production of a great and important (hate that word normally but relevant here) masterpiece of 20th century theatre.
Farber has a style that's all her own and uses it to overwhelming effect here. The performances are all absolutely on point too.
The script could easily be preachy but is, instead, questioning. And not just your usual "pause for thought" questioning, but soul-wrenching questioning.
One of the most complete things I've ever seen at the National. Best viewed from the front of the stalls.
One thing that should be noted for future viewers: the production does contain a very sudden and very loud gunshot.
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213 posts
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Post by peelee on Apr 4, 2016 10:04:47 GMT
This is a really good production of a fascinating play. Congratulations to everyone involved.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 8:53:29 GMT
This was stunning, absolutely superb, and I speak as someone who was grumpy about the three hour running time and 7.30pm start! It didn't feel long at all and I could happily have taken more - length was totally justified since the play and production is thorough, detailed, rounded, complex - often extremely uncomfortable in as well, but in a good way. Superb staging and acting. Nice to see the theatre full - this really deserves an audience.
Would encourage people thinking about returning their tickets due to the length to give it a go - I've rarely overheard so many positive comments from the audience on the way out. It's also not as long as I feared - I made it to Waterloo station by not long after 10.30pm, so could be worse.
Also impressed by Olivier cloakroom staff - I find this new NT policy about not being able to take in a bag bigger than an envelope really annoying, but they were very efficient about returning things.
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660 posts
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Post by Oleanna on Apr 8, 2016 10:23:12 GMT
Also impressed by Olivier cloakroom staff - I find this new NT policy about not being able to take in a bag bigger than an envelope really annoying, but they were very efficient about returning things. When I went, I didn't realise that you queue from the left hand side of the cloakroom after the show to get your coat/bags returned. I marched straight into the right hand side and got my possessions back straight away. As I said, I had no idea until I came back out and saw the amount of (now angry) people queueing on the left hand side. Also of note: this is a rare example for me of a long play where, by the end, I would have quite happily sat there and watched another hour or two. So engrossed was I in the characters. The same thing happened the night before at Long Day's Journey Into Night in Bristol. (I thought doing a marathon of Long Day's, Ma Rainey and Les Blancs in 24 hours would have been mad - but I recommend it!) |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 11:08:54 GMT
Also impressed by Olivier cloakroom staff - I find this new NT policy about not being able to take in a bag bigger than an envelope really annoying, but they were very efficient about returning things. When I went, I didn't realise that you queue from the left hand side of the cloakroom after the show to get your coat/bags returned. I marched straight into the right hand side and got my possessions back straight away. As I said, I had no idea until I came back out and saw the amount of (now angry) people queueing on the left hand side. That was a perfectly acceptable mistake to make - it was very unclear what was queue and what was just people hanging around! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 14:50:54 GMT
When I went, I didn't realise that you queue from the left hand side of the cloakroom after the show to get your coat/bags returned. I marched straight into the right hand side and got my possessions back straight away. As I said, I had no idea until I came back out and saw the amount of (now angry) people queueing on the left hand side. A rather different situation, but there is some research [citation needed] that suggests that people are far more likely to allow you to jump a queue if you give a reason, even if the reason makes no sense. In the experiment people used excuses like "Sorry, but I need to be at the front" or similarly meaningless justification for their actions, and the mere fact of engaging others in the queue made objections less likely. It would of course be quite wrong of me to suggest that people try this out with this particular cloakroom, so I won't. Oh no. Absolutely not. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 18:22:28 GMT
Overall, I found this a moving and sometimes terrifying play. If Danny Sapani isn't on the Best Actor list for the Oliviers next year, then we're either in for some stonking performances still to come, or something suspicious will have happened... But the more I thought about it afterwards, the more I felt the story didn't quite hang together. It didn't seem likely to me that Tshembe would have such strong feelings about his country so quickly, having travelled so far and so widely for so long, and built a firm family unit elsewhere. And I was totally baffled why (major spoiler ahead - really, don't click if you don't want the ending revealed) {Spoiler - click to view}
he stabbed his brother at the end. Purely because of what he represented? For selling out Peter? Either way, it seemed a bit drastic to me for a man who seemed to consider family so important. The fact I didn't even consider all of this until later is testament to the power of the acting, of course. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 18:32:27 GMT
The bag rule is slightly daft. I have seen people bring in bags of shopping and occasionally small pullalong suitcases to theatres before, which is clearly ridiculous - though I can't say I ever noticed it at the National. So I understand making people leave that sort of thing elsewhere. But the NT have an odd definition of 'large bag'.
I discovered last-minute yesterday that I'd have to work from home today, meaning I had to take my laptop in its case to the theatre with me last night. I made it in with the bag in hand, but possibly only because the security man spotted a guy in front of me (with a smaller bag) and made him put it in the cloakroom, so he didn't have time to spot me. The bag fitted fine under my seat, and it came with me at the interval so there was no risk of people tripping at any point, or (from my point of view) nicking it.
I assume if I had had to leave it in the cloakroom, it would be very much 'at owner's own risk'?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 18:53:38 GMT
Only stopped once with a bag at the National, told that it was too big I folded it in half (it's a floppy bag) and they said 'oh, that's okay then'.
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