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Post by learfan on Aug 21, 2018 16:28:07 GMT
I see Bill Kenwright is reviving this early next year. Anthony Andrews is in the cast,i know of it and will probably go but did anyone here see the premiere at the National in i think 1984?
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Post by adolphus on Nov 27, 2018 17:10:26 GMT
Just received an email about this happening next spring.
Has anyone seen it? I've always heard mixed things about it. Adpated from a play by Molnar with songs composed by Andre Previn
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Post by showgirl on Nov 27, 2018 17:24:52 GMT
Interesting if it's the touring production also visiting Chichester & Guildford (& Malvern?) & from which Griff Rhys-Jones withdrew - I thought to be replaced by Anthony Andrews. If so, this version seems to have had a chequered history even before opening.
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Post by TallPaul on Nov 27, 2018 17:25:17 GMT
Yes, this is a Bill Kenwright tour which, as usual, opens in Windsor, and ends in Cambridge in April.
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Post by learfan on Nov 27, 2018 18:03:14 GMT
Yep, saw this on the YA Guildford site months ago, even started a thread. Not quite the starry cast first promised but a rare enough revival.
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Post by bramble on Nov 28, 2018 10:52:10 GMT
Its a very tedious play
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Post by showgirl on Nov 28, 2018 11:56:25 GMT
Oh dear - maybe that explains why it appears so rarely - not even when Stoppard appeared to be having a bit of a revival a couple of years ago. Still, as I don't recall ever seeing it and the Guildford matinees are already very full, for me it's a case of book now or risk missing out.
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Post by Mark on Feb 7, 2019 13:49:33 GMT
I’ve made it down to Windsor to see the matinee today so will report back!
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 7, 2019 14:29:31 GMT
Is Anthony Andrews still in this? I understood it was then meant to be Gryff Rhys Jones, and now it will be John Partridge?
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 7, 2019 14:32:38 GMT
A bit of Stemp for you!
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Post by Mark on Feb 7, 2019 16:56:19 GMT
Cast:
John Partridge
Matthew Cottle
Issy Van Randwyck
Simon Dutton
Charlie Stemp
Rob Ostlere
First visit to Windsor Theatre royal, quite a cute little venue! The play was pretty poor I must say, unlikable characters and a really thin plot. That said, Charlie Stemp steals it every time he came onto the stage, he’s very likeable as the goofy butler.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 7, 2019 17:06:13 GMT
Cast: John Partridge Matthew Cottle Issy Van Randwyck Simon Dutton Charlie Stemp Rob Ostlere First visit to Windsor Theatre royal, quite a cute little venue! The play was pretty poor I must say, unlikable characters and a really thin plot. That said, Charlie Stemp steals it every time he came onto the stage, he’s very likeable as the goofy butler. I love how this was sold as AN ALL STAR CAST with MORE EXCITING BIG NAMES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Joke |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2019 17:14:05 GMT
From that list, Charlie is the only one that brings any excitement. I can't stand John Partridge.
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Post by showgirl on Feb 9, 2019 4:40:49 GMT
I've seen a rave review (though admittedly from the local press and we know they tend to over-praise) of the Windsor run.
Btw, the thread title does seem a little unbalanced, given that there are 6 in the cast, some of whom are arguably better-known than the young person singled out - and that the playwright himself is more celebrated and has had a far longer career than all of them.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2019 12:43:24 GMT
I think it just goes to show how well liked Charlie is that any show he is in, he is the one people want to talk about.
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Post by david on Feb 9, 2019 22:44:20 GMT
I think it just goes to show how well liked Charlie is that any show he is in, he is the one people want to talk about. You’ve got the next WE musical there Daniel - Everyone’s Talking About Charlie. |
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Post by alicechallice on Feb 10, 2019 0:06:34 GMT
I think it just goes to show how well liked Charlie is that any show he is in, he is the one people want to talk about. You’ve got the next WE musical there Daniel - Everyone’s Talking About Charlie. Music and lyrics by Elton John and starring Daniella Westbrook! |
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Post by showgirl on Feb 10, 2019 5:04:21 GMT
I think it just goes to show how well liked Charlie is that any show he is in, he is the one people want to talk about. It depends what you mean by "people". I am someone who always wants to talk primarily about the play or show. The whole cast is obviously a factor as may individual members be, but there are so many aspects which together make up the whole: author, director, producer, cast, design etc - let's not forget this. |
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 10, 2019 8:54:31 GMT
I don't care about who is in the show. There should CONSISTENCY and RULES about how ALL the threads are named! It should include the title of the production and the theatre location AND THAT'S ALL. They need to be specific and relate to the discussion. No random questions. Nobody's names. No spelling or grammar mistakes. Imagine how brilliant the threads would like in a row if they were all consistent? Eh? Eh? Or is my OCD out of hand?  |
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 12, 2019 16:02:48 GMT
Anyone knows the running time please?
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 12, 2019 16:19:57 GMT
Anyone knows the running time please? Approx 2 hours including the interval. |
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Post by showgirl on Feb 14, 2019 15:47:50 GMT
I've just read 4 reviews of this revival of the lesser-known play by the well-known Tom Stoppard: 3 from Chichester and 1 from Windsor. They were all lukewarm and though there were no star ratings, 3 of them read like 2-star reviews and 1 like a 3-star one. The consensus seemed to be that the issue was with the material, not the production.
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Post by drowseychap on Mar 7, 2019 0:54:57 GMT
Saw this in Malvern tonight surprisingly quite full 3/4 full I would say .... I really wanted to like it more ... I’d say 2.5/3 stars ... the set was pretty impressive for a BK production
Cast all good mathew cottle is always great value great comic timing .... Jon partridge works hard maybe a little too hard ? Should take a leaf from Mathews book .... and he really try’s to outdo Charlie in the finale tap routine .... 🥰🥰🥰Charlie What’s not to love such a dream boat ... the play comes to life when he’s on stage ... he’s really the star of the night great comic timing too ..... really the cast are better than the material .... I’d love to see them all in a funnier play maybe an ackbourn ? Or even a farce noises off don’t dress for dinner type play came away thinking 🤔 yep an enjoyable night but no desire to sit through it again unless Charlie was in his swim suit longer 🤣
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Post by showgirl on Mar 15, 2019 4:54:49 GMT
I saw this yesterday in Guildford (the matinee had sold out some time before but only after plenty of reviews from earlier tour dates were available, so people neither rushed to book nor were deterred by the mixed reviews) and had a great time. It's definitely a case of the production being better than the material, but I can't imagine it being done better and it seemed to go down very well. The cast also seemed to be having fun though whether that was actually the case I don't know, but the audience certainly did.
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Post by zephyrus on Mar 18, 2019 12:09:01 GMT
Saw this in Guildford last week. A very ropey, insubstantial, lightweight (and not especially funny) play. I'm not surprised that it isn't revived very often.
The actors are all performing in different styles, which left me with the impression that they all think they're appearing in totally different plays. Given how terrible John Partridge was in that tour of La Cage a couple of years ago, it's astonishing that he is even worse in this, and gives an execrable "performance" that is almost unbearable to watch, all teeth and flounce, whilst Charlie Stemp goes all-out on the perkiness front, and pitches his acting at the level of a children's TV presenter jacked up on Sunny Delight. (Incidentally, I remain puzzled by why Charlie Stemp would bother to drag himself round the provinces in a play like this. With his CV full of leading roles in major musicals in the West End (and on Broadway) what does he gain by knocking himself out doing this schlock 8 times a week in Guildford, and Leeds, and Lord knows where else?)
Rob Ostlere's character barely makes an impression, which is somewhat unfortunate as the whole "plot" of the play revolves around his (unconvincing) relationship with an actress, in this case played by Issy van Randwyck who is, for some reason, about 25 years older than he is. The best performance of the evening comes from the ever-dependable Matthew Cottle.
The worst section is in the second Act when all the actors are frantically running around the stage to indicate that the ship is caught in a storm. I presume this is meant to be comic, but the stony silence from the audience in response to the scene was almost surreal. As the full auditorium emptied at the end, the audience trudged out in grim silence, as if they'd just been to a funeral, rather than a light and frothy comedy.
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