August: Osage County

[Phantom of London]

With going to see Bug this week, which received favourable reviews today.

I also saw Superior Donuts a couple years back at the Southwark Playhouse.

i haven't always watched plays and started watching musicals, so sadly missed August: Onsage County, which played the National Theatre, but only by mistake, as it was a late substitution for a Alan Bennett play, which he was behind schedule and with Charles Isherwood of the New York Times calling it the best play ever. I so regret missing this.

i even seen and met the great Tracey Letts when he was in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe and that was one for the ages.

i wonder if London will get a revival of this? Can this be done on the fringe or regionally or does it need a big budget?

[Deleted]

It's Osage, not Onsage.

[lynette]

Whatever , it was very meh

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2016 0:20:10 GMT Phantom of London said:

i wonder if London will get a revival of this? Can this be done on the fringe or regionally or does it need a big budget?

I saw the Steppenwolf production in the Lyttelton but a drama school production in a smaller theatre was also good, and it was preferable to see a family drama in a more intimate theatre, at closer quarters. The play does require excellent actors in every part who know each other very well, which is a forte of Steppenwolf and a feature of a good drama school, but personally I'd avoid a fringe production which might very well have uneven casting. The scale of an off West End theatre, such as Hampstaed or Almeida, would be enticing if they could manage good casting throughout the large cast. This play would soon become dull and pedestrian without sparkling performances from everyone.

No helicopters or alien spacecraft to dent the budget.

[Phantom of London]

Really Meh, intriguing tell me more?

Really take the point on the importance of great casting for this one, so might make this an impossible project for a 4-6 week run, maybe the National could do a revival in time, like they are doing with the Angels in America.

[Deleted]

I remember loving this at the NT when I saw it but the film was truly dreadful; casting definitely important but I think the presence of a live engaged audience was a big factor as well - without that, the film just fell flat.

[lynette]

I think I felt at the time that it was no more than soap opera standard, like an American Archers! And wasn't it very long?

[mallardo]

The movie has damaged its reputation but it remains a great play. A great long play.