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Post by lynette on May 26, 2024 10:34:52 GMT
I think we know what they are don’t we, but not the dates.
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Post by andrew on May 29, 2024 21:18:07 GMT
Saw ‘English’ tonight, I thought it was really quite good. At times sweet, at times funny, sometimes heartfelt. I thought there were some interesting ideas in here about language and identity. About halfway through I thought this was going to be basically perfect. Ultimately towards the end I didn’t think the writing quite nailed explaining its characters thoughts or their motives and it held it back from being 5 stars, but a solid 4 and some terrific performances to be seen. I see it’s heading to the Kiln now, would be worth catching.
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Post by talkstageytome on Jun 7, 2024 14:11:51 GMT
Has anyone seen the trailer for Kyoto? Intriguing!
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Post by zahidf on Jun 11, 2024 9:03:08 GMT
Buddha of Suburbia (22 October to 16 November 2024) and Midsummers night dream (3 December 2024 to 18 January 2025) transferring to Barbcian
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Post by theatrenerd on Jun 11, 2024 10:00:14 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 11, 2024 10:20:56 GMT
A somewhat underwhelming announcement
I appreciate they won't have had the development time to find their new Les Mis or Matilda but the lack of a big new family show is a shame. Recent years have not been blessed with memorable pieces, but the company has a great track record in this area and it would be fantastic if that was to return.
The Red Shoes is a pretty gruesome tale in the original so is a bold choice for a family audience. Perhaps that is why it is in the Swan rather than the main house. But it doesn't have feel of a Wendy and Peter Pan in terms of broad appeal.
Also interesting to note to our two big subsidised companies are both offer ballet related fare over the festive period.
David Edgar has written some strong plays for the RSC over many decades and it feels a shame that his latest will be in the very limited capacity TOP. It may well have been his choice to write a smaller scale piece for an intimate setting. But the Swan where his work often sits, it absolutely an intimate space. We shall have to wait and see on that one.
Following on from my guarded excitement over the first season announcement from the new leadership, this feels a bit more cautious and a little more pedestrian. Hopefully there is good stuff planned for the rest of 2025
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Post by theatrenerd on Jun 11, 2024 12:28:20 GMT
A somewhat underwhelming announcement I appreciate they won't have had the development time to find their new Les Mis or Matilda but the lack of a big new family show is a shame. Recent years have not been blessed with memorable pieces, but the company has a great track record in this area and it would be fantastic if that was to return. The Red Shoes is a pretty gruesome tale in the original so is a bold choice for a family audience. Perhaps that is why it is in the Swan rather than the main house. But it doesn't have feel of a Wendy and Peter Pan in terms of broad appeal. Also interesting to note to our two big subsidised companies are both offer ballet related fare over the festive period. David Edgar has written some strong plays for the RSC over many decades and it feels a shame that his latest will be in the very limited capacity TOP. It may well have been his choice to write a smaller scale piece for an intimate setting. But the Swan where his work often sits, it absolutely an intimate space. We shall have to wait and see on that one. Following on from my guarded excitement over the first season announcement from the new leadership, this feels a bit more cautious and a little more pedestrian. Hopefully there is good stuff planned for the rest of 2025 Evans and Harvey did confirm on the announcement that there are musicals underway and will be part of their time, just not one ready to go yet. |
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Post by Jon on Jun 11, 2024 12:30:51 GMT
It just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining to have a Christmas musical or show ready at the drop of a hat.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 11, 2024 12:59:44 GMT
It just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining to have a Christmas musical or show ready at the drop of a hat. It wasn't a complaint. That is just twisting my words. It was a comment understanding how the timelines would have been tight and that I hope to see big family shows in the future. |
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Post by Jan on Jun 11, 2024 13:13:06 GMT
David Edgar has written some strong plays for the RSC over many decades and it feels a shame that his latest will be in the very limited capacity TOP. He also has a new play at the Orange Tree in September called "Here in America" about a meeting between Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller. I would imagine if either of them is a success they could transfer somewhere bigger. Several of his plays started at TOP - Destiny, Pentecost, The Prisoner’s Dilemma. I suppose this time it's just a pragmatic decision about how much demand there might be in Stratford for a new political play in the middle of Winter. |
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Post by lynette on Jun 12, 2024 18:23:27 GMT
Me, I love a political play in the middle of winter.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 25, 2024 22:46:23 GMT
Just back from Kyoto.
A rather surprising and thrilling piece of theatre.
Lots of energy. Lots of humour. Lots to think about. And brilliant central character.
Deserves to be seen more widely.
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Post by bordeaux on Jun 26, 2024 5:46:55 GMT
Has anyone seen the Merry Wives of Windsor which got such great reviews? Five stars from Arifa Akbar in the Guardian!
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Post by kate8 on Jun 26, 2024 9:42:42 GMT
Just back from Kyoto. A rather surprising and thrilling piece of theatre. Lots of energy. Lots of humour. Lots to think about. And brilliant central character. Deserves to be seen more widely. I hope this will transfer. Maybe the Kiln will host it after the English transfer doing so well. |
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Post by Rory on Jun 26, 2024 11:23:43 GMT
Just back from Kyoto. A rather surprising and thrilling piece of theatre. Lots of energy. Lots of humour. Lots to think about. And brilliant central character. Deserves to be seen more widely. I hope this will transfer. Maybe the Kiln will host it after the English transfer doing so well. I can see Sonia Friedman bringing this somewhere |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 26, 2024 11:37:05 GMT
Needs a reasonable sized stalls to cope with the staging. But it absolutely needs to be seen outside of Stratford.
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Post by Jon on Jun 26, 2024 11:45:28 GMT
Needs a reasonable sized stalls to cope with the staging. But it absolutely needs to be seen outside of Stratford. Could be one for @sohoplace if Nica Burns wanted to bring it in or maybe the Lyric Hammersmith if they play around with the stalls. |
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Post by lynette on Jun 28, 2024 21:04:36 GMT
Just back from Kyoto. A rather surprising and thrilling piece of theatre. Lots of energy. Lots of humour. Lots to think about. And brilliant central character. Deserves to be seen more widely. What he says… I’m not usually one for an ‘issues’ play, the word ‘relevant’ sends me running, but here it is for one thing, not shoved down yr throat and then also something that has layers and can be applied to other situations. It reminded me of the play about the Oslo treaty which managed to bring out something of the characters of the personnel. Here we have definite characters too. Shout out to the newbie actor playing the rep of the island nations. She has potential for sure. I wasn’t going to go, fearing a rant, but I’m glad I did. |
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Post by lynette on Jun 28, 2024 21:12:55 GMT
Has anyone seen the Merry Wives of Windsor which got such great reviews? Five stars from Arifa Akbar in the Guardian! Yes, we really enjoyed it. The surprise of having a contemporary setting no longer applies because we saw the great ‘hairdresser’ prod of recent times RSC and we expect it now but this one has a few jolly moments. They nail the big jokes with aplomb, the physical humour and the verbal. If anything I felt Ford was a little lacking, but then I saw the great Ian Richardson play the part back in the day and tbh that was utterly brilliant. So all in all, I recommend. Falstaff who recently did a stint in Dear England as a football official person, is one of the better Falstaffs I’ve seen in this play. He really conveys the air of a man moving for necessity from one world, the court, to try his charm in another and not being up to it. Delicious. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 28, 2024 21:49:02 GMT
Just back from Kyoto. A rather surprising and thrilling piece of theatre. Lots of energy. Lots of humour. Lots to think about. And brilliant central character. Deserves to be seen more widely. What he says… I’m not usually one for an ‘issues’ play, the word ‘relevant’ sends me running, but here it is for one thing, not shoved down yr throat and then also something that has layers and can be applied to other situations. It reminded me of the play about the Oslo treaty which managed to bring out something of the characters of the personnel. Here we have definite characters too. Shout out to the newbie actor playing the rep of the island nations. She has potential for sure. I wasn’t going to go, fearing a rant, but I’m glad I did. It's clear that Joe and Joe as writers are passionate about the issue of climate change but they make a really dull process (international negotiations) into something dramatic and very funny. It has the energy of a classic farce with some very modern touches The punctuation section is dazzling |
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Post by lynette on Jul 1, 2024 11:59:49 GMT
Yes indeed the punctuation section ever so clever. All about language and then how people do actually communicate. Layers…
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Post by bordeaux on Jul 12, 2024 7:54:54 GMT
Another vote for Kyoto from me. It really should transfer. The writers and directors have done a brilliant job turning a series of environmental conferences, which climaxes with Kyoto, into something thrilling, funny and provocative. Having the narrator as a US oil lobbyist is a superb idea and Stephen Kunken gives a magnificent performance.
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Post by kallyloo on Jul 13, 2024 20:05:40 GMT
Has anyone seen the Merry Wives of Windsor which got such great reviews? Five stars from Arifa Akbar in the Guardian! Absolutely phenomenal for a Merry Wives (bearing in mind the play is Shakespeare writes Carry On). Fantastic acting, Falstaff and Slender and the vicar are all amazing to name a few. Played as high farce with a tremendous set (the sofa which lowers failed for 5 mins to everyone’s anticipation, so Falstaff appeared to resounding applause. The second half is the strongest and it really finishes well. Hugely recommend if you don’t mind Elizabethan stereotypes, which don’t seem to have changed in over 400 years. |
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Post by lichtie on Jul 16, 2024 20:13:06 GMT
Merry Wives is played strictly as farce - very enjoyable, but I think overall the previous outing here was better balanced. Siubhan Harrison appeared to be corpsing a bit midstream though... Hodgkinson caught the right tone for this Falstaff really well I thought.
Kyoto is definitely worthy of a transfer - though perhaps they might trim the "epilogue" slightly as it dragged on a bit. Up to then it was excellent.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jul 16, 2024 20:54:35 GMT
I didn't mind the wife having a long speech at the end of Kyoto. It gave her the opportunity that villains are also human. Which is necessary for balance
It could be trimmed by a minute or two but it needs a certain weight to serve the drama.
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