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Post by crabtree on Apr 11, 2016 19:10:26 GMT
I've got my tickets for the cinema screening (sadly at present alone in the cinema), but just out of interest who were the tickets in the theatre allocated to? Who is the audience? No public or RSC members I think. Can't wait....it will be a special evening. I hope the screening includes the fireworks and Will's face in fire.
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Post by mistressjojo on Apr 12, 2016 2:53:41 GMT
Most of the theatre tickets were allotted to corporate sponsors, RSC big wigs, dignitaries etc.
There was a ballot for RSC members for the remaining seats - you had to apply by email.
Not sure if they've drawn them yet - I haven't heard of anyone being successful so far.
( I didn't apply as I couldn't go anyway)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2016 7:12:59 GMT
There were 3 ballots; (1) BBC be in an audience (now closed), (2) for those living in Stratford postcode CV37 and (3) RSC members. I applied for both BBC & RSC members ballots but unsuccessful. I do know a RSC member who won ticket. The BBC ballot was open to everyone.
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Post by maggiem on Apr 18, 2016 10:28:47 GMT
I've got my tickets for the cinema screening (sadly at present alone in the cinema), but just out of interest who were the tickets in the theatre allocated to? Who is the audience? No public or RSC members I think. Can't wait....it will be a special evening. I hope the screening includes the fireworks and Will's face in fire. The show is being broadcast on BBC 2, so maybe the cinema audience in the UK will be small. You will get people just turning up on the night, but I wouldn't expect big numbers. I will be watching at home. |
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Post by peelee on Apr 20, 2016 8:46:57 GMT
I know two people who have booked to watch from cinema seats, knowing that the TV broadcast will become the filmed record of the occasion.
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Post by lynette on Apr 20, 2016 10:51:09 GMT
I have mislaid my big wig but I am going to the theatre thing. Should I wave a big theatreboard banner?
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Post by peggs on Apr 20, 2016 19:13:09 GMT
I have mislaid my big wig but I am going to the theatre thing. Should I wave a big theatreboard banner? Do it Lynette! |
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Post by foxa on Apr 20, 2016 19:26:31 GMT
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Post by lynette on Apr 23, 2016 22:26:29 GMT
It was a great show in the flesh. Don't know how it comes across on the telly. We didn't know who was going to come on in which part so lots of surprises. Bonus for me was that I was sitting next to guy who played Jacques in the NT As you Like It Paul thingy. Lovely guy and his wife. Stratford buzzin'
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 23, 2016 22:35:00 GMT
Well I watched it on telly and personally, I thought it was one of the most glorious televised events there has ever been. It was so incredibly smooth (bar the opening sound issues and that you should never allow Arts Ed and Urdang students to sing in time signatures other than 4/4), all the changes were executed brilliantly and the orchestra were glorious. I've never seen such an incredible array of actors and performances completely in control, being the masters of their craft. Inspiring. Whilst being completely in awe of the command of Roger Allam, I remember most prominently seeing him as the drag queen Albin in La Cage Aux Folles (alongside Philip Quast as Georges). Don't we have the best, most versatile actors? Also, I don't think it was even "accessible" Shakespeare, it was fully realised, so truthful and breathtaking. The quality of acting, the understanding of the language; and as a thought process, I felt all scenes were completely understandable, even if you didn't register the meaning of every single sentence as it was being fired at you.
Truly impossible to pick a single highlight from the scenes, but if you had told me 3 hours ago that I'd watch a scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream with Judi Dench and Al Murray acting opposite each other (AND HUGELY ENJOY IT!), I'd have slapped you. And even though it might've been a little bit of a mess, you can't deny Rufus Hound and Henry Goodman's Brush Up Your Shakespeare as being somewhat of a show-stopper....until the 'To Be Or Not To Be' sketch, which will surely go down in history. Still cannot get over it now. Absolutely genius and possible the best 5 minutes of TV we have witnessed to date!
THANK YOU BBC Two and the RSC. A sublime, glorious and magical prime-time celebration. It may have over-run by about 20 minutes, but I could've had it over-run by hours. More of the same, PLEASE!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 23, 2016 22:43:45 GMT
Whilst I enjoyed it overall, it was very patchy in places.
Highlight for me was McKellan's speech from Sir Thomas More - an actor completely in control of his craft with a speech that most in the audience would not know and he had them spellbound.
Rory Kinnear was very strong as Macbeth - I would be very keen to see him tackle the full role
Al Murray did surprise - which is always good to see.
The Hamlet sketch was good - I just didn't buy the full performance of the speech that followed - it didn't feel real at all. Very studied and not coming as a series of thoughts that Hamlet was giving voice to for, perhaps, the first time.
The opening (Tonight from West Side Story) was frankly a mess - out of time and poorly sung by the students. They did not shower themselves in glory - sadly. And surely the RSC could have found a different Juliet - Mariah Gale is far, far, far too old to play her.
I could have done without the Hip Hop and the Jazz band. And I certainly could have done without the Tavern scene being played from the RSC DVD version. If Sher couldn't make it, it is find to have an evening at the RSC without him.
It was lovely to see Pippa Nixon and Alex Waldmann back together for a joyous moment from As You Like It. They really should be back at Stratford soon.
Allam as Lear - that has to happen soon as well.
These events are always a mixed bag - but there was still much to enjoy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 23:22:16 GMT
I enjoyed it too as well!
I agree with the above that "Tonight" from West Side Story was a bit shambolic, but nice to see a song from it performed.
My highlights were Rory Kinnear and Anne Marie Duff in Macbeth, which I agree with they should do the full play now!
Rufus Hound and Henry Goodman were good in "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", despite the lyric fluff up and the dragged out finish with the quick change (I haven't seen Kiss Me Kate so not sure if that was because of the context of the or something)
Al Murray and Judi Dench were brilliant! I always thought Murray's stand up persona was very theatrical, so was great to see him doing a brief acting part.
Likewise the "To be or not to be" sketch with Tim Minchin and co. was funny, as was Paapa Essiedu's soliloquy in the end. Must say I did find it funny/odd how Benedict Cumberbatch only was there for that part! Would have thought he'd do some sort of acting part as well, is it because he hasn't performed at the RSC before?
But overall a very good event, reminded me a lot of the NT50 broadcast but with more variety.
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Post by lynette on Apr 23, 2016 23:27:39 GMT
Agree the To Be sketch was super.
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Post by anniel on Apr 23, 2016 23:28:11 GMT
Having watched this on the telly, I really enjoyed it.
I agree that Rory Kinnear was excellent as Macbeth. The extract was really tense. He's such a clear verse speaker - he makes it seem very modern.
Loved loved loved Rufus Wainwright. It was just beautiful.
A really enjoyable night in.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 23:36:51 GMT
I enjoyed it in the cinema ar y scrin fawr. I preferred to see the whole thrust stage with the audience watching, mainly the dance and musical items, rather than the close-ups on performers, mainly the Shakespeare scenelets. The Royal Ballet pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet must have been incredible in the theatre, and wouldn't it be marvellous if members of the Royal Ballet got out of the Royal Opera House from time to time to perform in different settings and locations, like tonight? Rufus Wainwright seemed to best win over the Stratford audience, and I agree that the To Be or Not To Be sketch was absolutely fantastic. I'm clearly not a musicals expert because I didn't notice anything wrong with the West Side Story opener. I liked least the Berlioz operatic duet, partly because the foreign language made it even less comprehensible than normal Shakespeare. Seeing the spoken-acted Shakespeare excerpts, I wish I could appreciate Shakespeare but I really can't. However, I do think it was an exceptionally well chosen programme in detail and totality, and it has hopefully really boosted the RSC's profile amongst the wider public. I scanned the audience to spot a consumer of jelly babies, but couldn't identify anyone likely to be Lynette.
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Post by peggs on Apr 24, 2016 0:05:52 GMT
oh great this is on iplayer, your comments have wetted my appetite.
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Post by lynette on Apr 24, 2016 0:42:56 GMT
HG I had the jelly babies with me in my bag for the interval. Didn't dare pop one while the show was on. Obviously I'm the dazzlingly gorgeous woman there in the audience but I was facing front on to the stage so not in any clear tv angled shot.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 6:45:22 GMT
Sound issues aside the opening was still pretty poor, except Maria who I thought had a great voice. Also Juliet in the balcony scene I didn't get the performance at all.
However the rest of it was outstanding, and I understand why people may not like certain sections (im not a hip hop fan myself ) but I loved how it showed how diverse shakespeare is and how he has influenced so many aspects of art and culture
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 8:28:05 GMT
I'm laughing so hard at this thread. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad people enjoyed it, and we all like different things. But personally, I saw this on TV and I thought it was terrible. It was like 'let's prove Shakespeare's relevant and accessible' 101.
The way you show Shakespeare is relevant and accessible is to have skilled actors perform his work well. But here they seemed almost embarrassed by the fact they had to involve actors at all. You'd get about two minutes of people like Simon Russell Beale, Ian McKellen, Harriet Walter or Paapa Essiedu, and then it would be back to hip hop, jazz (God! So much jazz!), or some number from a musical (and why choose people who can't hold a note to open the show?!).
Opera and ballet were lucky to get a look in, I'm surprised they weren't considered too elitist alongside Shakespeare's plays...
On the plus side, the Hamlet skit was hilarious.
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Apr 24, 2016 8:58:44 GMT
Yeah I was a bit underwhelmed. Preferred the Complete Walk in London today and thought the highlights there dwarfed the RSC show.
I wasn't a fan of the Hamlet skit where 'Prince Charles stole the show from Dame Judy'
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Post by theatremiss on Apr 24, 2016 9:24:44 GMT
Underwhelmed is the word I'd use too. West Side Story was awful. I absolutely loved Duff and Kinnear in the Macbeth scene; please let this happen for real at the NT. Dench and Murray was funny and I have no idea how Dench kept a straight face during the scene. The Hamlets were brilliant until Charles ruined it and the complete final speech which I thought was bland. McKellen as ever superb. So ups and downs for me I'm afraid and I'd been so looking forward to this. It wasn't the NT at 50 that's for sure
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Apr 24, 2016 9:30:53 GMT
Yeah Duff and Kinnear in Macbeth was my favourite. I'll sign the petition to get this on at the National. And ok, I was enjoying the Hamlets until Charles intervention. Why?
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Post by loureviews on Apr 24, 2016 9:33:53 GMT
The iPlayer version appears to be 35 minutes short of what was shown as it massively ran over.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 9:55:30 GMT
Loved Rufus Wainwright, anyone else going to see perform the Sonnets album on Tuesday?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 9:59:14 GMT
Yeah Duff and Kinnear in Macbeth was my favourite. I'll sign the petition to get this on at the National. And ok, I was enjoying the Hamlets until Charles intervention. Why? Well. I'm happy for you that you appreciated the Macbeth. I perked up when Anne-Marie Duff appeared as Lady Macbeth but Rory Kinnear switches me off. Prince Charles is the longserving President of the RSC and also a real Prince, like Hamlet, so it was doubly apt that he appeared as he did, and it was also a good way to end the skit which might otherwise have petered out or ended a bit randomly with yet another thesp. Ian McKellen in Thomas More sounded impressive but I couldn't take in any content and just heard the familiar mannerisms of Ian McKellen. Judi Dench, I thought, was used very well, as both a celebration and a send-up of her also-familiar talents. Well played, Dame Judi! Very game of you! The Shakespeare close-ups, I guess, may have been better suited to domestic tv than to the vast cinema screen. I adore Harriet Walter but her Cleo last night seemed a bit too much of a tribute to the Carry On version. We should have had Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey impersonators as her two maidens. I think the broad variety of the performers was excellently chosen. The Arts Ed students earned their place as representatives of the next generation of young professionals at the outset of the fifth century of Shakespeare's influence after his death, and as a well-earned treat after their stoic attendance at weekly classes led by Mark Shenton. Similarly, the community performers in the following Ages of Man masque. |
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