|
|
Post by westendgurl on Jul 17, 2019 14:17:20 GMT
Anyone who's won standing tickets - is it best to phone, try online or just not bother?! There is no advantage to ringing, they only have access to the same website that you do, there isn't a separate booking system they have access to (from what we've been told). Getting standing tickets to the weekday matinees isn't very difficult, the evenings are tough. Thanks, yes I didn't get them today either! Unfortunately I can only do evenings, so will continue to fight it out and hope for the best. |
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 17, 2019 15:26:33 GMT
I received the invitation to be in the ballot for a chance to be in it and say a line. Aaagh I know how some of you would love that but I declined. 😳 It's way more than a line!!  I made the right decision then 😂 |
|
1,476 posts
|
Post by Steve on Jul 18, 2019 11:01:55 GMT
I enjoyed this immensely at the matinee yesterday. Sandi Toksvig gave an astonishing performance, more tonally consistent (a gentle yet probing Hercule Poirot type) than anyone else in the show. You would have thought it was completely rehearsed, so good was she, demonstrating her skill as an improviser, used to thinking on her feet. When someone is as good at appearing rehearsed as Toksvig is, it is like a time-delayed miracle, (delayed for about a second by having to absorb lines from an earpiece), and you feel dazzled and proud of their performance, but at the same time delighted when they are thrown, especially if the person being thrown is as humble and witty and gentle as Toksvig is. Some of the biggest laughs were when Toksvig addressed her lines to the wrong person (who knows if she was misdirected, undirected or simply couldn't keep up lol)!? Other huge laughs came from the rare but wonderful moments when the guest star was told to "improvise" something, moments which Toksvig responded to with aplomb being in the improvising game. So it was like Poirot, with teasing, a little corpsing, a few wry asides, and a feeling of sharing a unique bond and adventure between performer and audience. Other performances were more variable, with the best comic performance by a league given by Patrick Ryecart as the stuffed up, bumbling, blurt-out-anything-you-like-whenever-you-like, wheezing, steaming, extreme-received-pronunciation posh head of household, Digby Dangle. He gets the most natural laughs per line of anybody, bar the special guest star. The best, most appealing naturalistic performance is by Natasha Cottriall as his precise and pleasing, precious and amusing daughter, Felicity Dangle. All rehearsed performers struggled with their material somewhat due to an impreciseness of tone and insufficient characterisation. This is unsurprising given the method of conception of the piece, which was created by first writing it straight, for five days, as a genuine Agatha Christie style mystery, focused on plot over character, and then adding jokes of all varieties here, there and everywhere, in a scattershot and inconsistent way. The very best possible laughs, which rely on an interplay of plot on defined characters, (such as in "The Play that Goes Wrong" when the brittle Henry Shields gets frustrated, or the ebullient Henry Lewis is overenthusiastic, or when the whinging Jonathan Sayer grates, etc) cannot be achieved here due to the lack of characterisation, and overemphasis on plot and mystery alone. To the bare bones of a pedestrian strait-laced mystery plot are added baser less effective laughs, such as double entendres (eg My name is Watt. What? Not What, Watt, etc), sound gags (eg French windows), and lots of mugging and jumping in and out of character. The human element is key to enjoying this show, and is very much provided by the guest star, with a show a kind of psychological test of who and what they are under pressure, that allows the audience to admire their skills, and relate to the underlying personality under pressure of performing and imrovising. Sandi Toksvig made for a marvellous subject, and the overall show was a 4 star delight.  PS: Getting tickets: - I was in London anyway yesterday, and figured that it would be easier to get a £10 standing ticket for a matinee than an evening show on another day. That proved to be the case, as I got a ticket at 10.01 without a problem online. The site was sturdy, there was no Queueit, and when you click on your date after 10am, the site shows two standing areas, each of which had three tickets available to stand in the upper corners of the circle. I went for "Standing Left" because I read left to right, and saw it first, so perhaps it would be easier to secure "Standing Right," as you can only click on one or the other, and more people may click left. There was also available a "£10 Cameo Performance Ticket," which I avoided like the plague, though I suspect (in hindsight) it involved holding a telephone on your lap front row centre, which is a whole lot less embarrassing than what is required of the "lottery winner," which involves much stage time and ends with you sharing the bows(!).
I made one schoolboy error, which was picking Print-your-own-show-on-a-screen tickets, as this meant that I didn't get upgraded to a returned seated ticket on arrival. Of the 6 people with standing tickets, I was the ONLY one standing lol! In the second half, I did take a seat I spotted empty in the first half, so in the second half, noone was standing.
So far there have been 5 shows, and the evening shows have featured the acts that are the biggest and widest draws. They have been:- (1) Jim Broadbent - opening night (2) Gyles Brandreth - first matinee (reviewed by Billington) (3) Damian Lewis -second night (4) Sandi Toksvig - yesterday's matinee (5) Catherine Tate - yesterday night. If I was trying to see Gillian Anderson, I'd probably try for a Saturday night, as those tickets were the most desired, most expensive, and quickest sold, and probably feature the wealthiest audience willing to bid the most money for any special prizes (2 people bid £1000 each yesterday, after the show, to spend an evening at QI with Sandi Toksvig, and have a drink with her afterwards). The whole run is a Park Theatre fundraiser, so it would make sense to schedule the biggest stars for the keenest and wealthiest audiences, assuming of course that Gillian Anderson is actually available on a Saturday night and hasn't insisted on being tucked away into a matinee lol. Good luck, everyone. |
|
|
|
Post by westendgurl on Jul 18, 2019 12:37:04 GMT
Thanks for the update Steve and I'm glad the show was great! Love Sandi and I think she'd be a great one to see in this sort of show, she suits this kind of comedy. At the moment it's looking like I'll take a day off work to try for standing tickets for a matinee. Didn't get a look in again today - I tried online today but it constantly showed sold out despite constant refreshing, called yesterday etc but to no avail for evening performances. I need the people who manage to get tickets for every show to teach me their ways!1 |
|
|
|
Post by westendgurl on Jul 19, 2019 12:51:27 GMT
Finally success today and managed to get a standing ticket! Really looking forward to it, I see quite a few of the 'big hitters' have already been but can't wait to see who our detective is!
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2019 5:52:22 GMT
Going tonight. I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted to be assumed rich because I’m going on a Saturday night. I usually go to this theatre on a Saturday because it would be tricky otherwise re work and we like to eat next door first. It isn’t an elitist decision. We can’t have this kind of ‘ooo so wealthy you can afford to get such and such tickets’ on this Board. It is nonsense. Some of us budget carefully and get bargains and some of us spend more to book potential hits early and so on. We are all welcome here.
Would love to have seen Sandi, old fave of mine from Sat morning tv.
|
|
1,861 posts
|
Post by NeilVHughes on Jul 20, 2019 11:45:08 GMT
Always considered the Park as one of my cheapest Saturday theatrical haunts and definitely one of the least elitist, quite often do a matinee in the 90 and the evening at the 200 with one of their cheap margherita pizza’s in between, usually works out as less than £25 a ticket for both shows.
Did not consider this due to the random element and higher ticket price, now tempted, will maybe try for a matinee day ticket next week and leave it in the hands of the Theatrical Gods.
|
|
4,020 posts
|
Post by Dawnstar on Jul 20, 2019 11:54:37 GMT
Going tonight. I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted to be assumed rich because I’m going on a Saturday night. I usually go to this theatre on a Saturday because it would be tricky otherwise re work and we like to eat next door first. It isn’t an elitist decision. We can’t have this kind of ‘ooo so wealthy you can afford to get such and such tickets’ on this Board. It is nonsense. Some of us budget carefully and get bargains and some of us spend more to book potential hits early and so on. We are all welcome here. Would love to have seen Sandi, old fave of mine from Sat morning tv. While I'm not seeing this play, I completely agree with your general point. I earn considerably below the national average as a temp yet go to the theatre, including ROH, frequently because I'd rather spend the majority of my earnings on theatregoing than owning a car or going on lots of holidays or eating out frequently, etc. It's all about what you choose to spend your money on. |
|
1,476 posts
|
Post by Steve on Jul 20, 2019 12:52:24 GMT
Oops, didn't mean to start a class war. Sorry, Lynette. To be clear, I don't consider wealth a badge of honour or dishonour, and consider most human beings (and squirrels) to be generally wonderful, regardless of wealth or lack of it. I was just trying to help the guessing game of when Gillian Anderson will be scheduled, and I figured the pricier tickets would probably get her, since this is a fundraiser primarily, and therefore it behooves the Park to keep their biggest givers as happy as they can. Anecdotally, I remember attending a pricey Saturday night of Letters Live at Freemasons Hall, and hey presto, we got the Hiddleston/Cumberbatch motherlode! So, actually, I'm delighted when others (or myself) coughs up the big money, whether or not they are wealthy (and objective "wealth" is relative, anyway, which is why I used the term "wealthiest," a term I now substitute with the word "givingest" so as, to defuse the class war I inadvertently started lol), since the Park is a great project, and generally unsubsidised. Besides which, any audience would be lucky to have the Board Godmother, effortlessly civil and endlessly amusing, in its number! |
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2019 14:03:32 GMT
OK, Steve, thank you and apology accepted. Will be v funny if it is GA tonight!
|
|
2,742 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by n1david on Jul 20, 2019 17:07:56 GMT
I am going next Saturday, closing night and should be able to work out from a process of elimination who I will be seeing beforehand...
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2019 17:22:04 GMT
Think I know who it is tonight. I’m in the cafe next door and person of interest has just been in and out accompanied by a theatre person. Not telling. 🤪
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 20, 2019 20:54:29 GMT
Tonight John Bishop. Funny anecdotes during and in the q&a raised extra £650 for drink with him after photo etc.
The play could be tightened up. But not bad.
|
|
|
|
Post by westendgurl on Jul 21, 2019 16:31:50 GMT
I thought this was good fun. A little on the long side, but when the Inspector finally arrives (ours was Neil Morrissey) things liven up. Love the concept and I was glad to finally get a standing ticket. Ended up getting a seat because some people left when the celebrity was revealed!!! All in all a good fun night out and I'd recommend.
|
|
|
|
Post by partytentdown on Jul 23, 2019 6:23:35 GMT
Last night was Gillian Anderson
|
|
212 posts
|
Post by l0islane on Jul 23, 2019 12:42:20 GMT
Last night was Gillian Anderson Yay, I managed to see Gillian (and I don't have to go to any more performances!!), she was hysterically funny. I've seen this 'play' quite a few times now and I've really enjoyed the concept and I'd love to see them do something similar again. The only thing that niggles me slightly is {Spoiler - click to view}it's clear they have prepared the actors to a certain extent for the ' improvised' moments in Act 1 where 1) they have to perform a poem or song and 2) where they have to explain how they solved their biggest case. Gillian had prepared cards last night and other actors have mentioned in the Q&A that they've been told to prepare something Why not just let them genuinely improvise? It would make it a lot more fun, it doesn't matter if they screw it up or it makes no sense or whatever, all the actors I've seen in the play have messed up scenes or broken character and several times things have just descended into chaos, that's the whole point of it! Next time they should have the courage of their convictions and the whole thing should be genuinely unseen and unrehearsed. That being said it's for charity and it's a whole lot of fun so I won't grumble too much! |
|
2,742 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by n1david on Jul 27, 2019 22:41:24 GMT
Well at closing night tonight we got Adrian Dunbar and I have to say I think we really lucked out. Did a phenomenal job with a couple of truly remarkable moments. Enormously funny - yes, it's messy, it's scrappy, the "play" as it is doesn't really hang together and has its longeurs, but the energy created in a small space by a talented actor being asked to perform at their limits was hugely enjoyable.
I think tonight's actor was genuinely unprepared for the show - Adrian had flown in from Belfast arriving just an hour before the show and I genuinely don't think there was any preparation in advance.
The co-creators said in the Q&A that this might have another life somewhere else, and that there might be something else with the same format to follow. I suspect it's something where the impact lessens as it's repeated, but at this stage I think it's a fairly genius concept - but very much as a charity fundraiser rather than as a real play.
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jul 29, 2019 21:25:26 GMT
It is very good for fund raising. Interesting that the funniest people have not been the expected. Am i right in saying that the actors have done best? So lots of actors please for the second series. And Sandi T again whom I would love to have seen.
|
|
1,476 posts
|
Post by Steve on Jul 31, 2019 23:06:18 GMT
It is very good for fund raising. Interesting that the funniest people have not been the expected. Am i right in saying that the actors have done best? So lots of actors please for the second series. And Sandi T again whom I would love to have seen. I suspect to be funny in this sort of thing you have to to humble and act the part the best you can, roll with the moments, even and especially if the script makes you the butt of the jokes.
I would have loved to have seen John Bishop, a comedian so massive that he plays the O2 Arena (16,000 people) on his tours, in that I would have been fascinated to see if he could squash his comic instincts, and ego, and refrain from doing impromptu stand-up bits to get the audience onside, and just "enjoy" the ride lol?
As for Sandi T, if she's available, it was clear in her slightly embarrassed, eye-rolling, teeth-gritted, yet pliant post-performance interview that they would be easily able to twist her malleable arms to do the sequel to this show. Apparently, it will be an all new story and they will try to get all the people who performed this time back again. Sandi T would definitely appear if she has a free slot. |
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Aug 1, 2019 18:05:22 GMT
We saw John Bishop. One thing they didn’t prepare him for was the level of volume. He was too quiet and hesitant and a few minutes practice with the ear thing and mike would have helped a lot. I’m not deaf but we were sitting at the side and when his back was to me I couldn’t hear him at all. My OH who is partially deaf took the loop thing but still found him inaudible. His stage craft was lacking, he didn’t hold the stage well until the cast moved to place him in the centre. His impro spots were weak, one a funny, unrepeatable joke and the other one a political jab at Boris Johnson which in this context was inappropriate ( especially as this theatre had gained its political colours with the Boris play earlier in the season) And the aggressive nature of this political jab was unnecessary and he had to apologise for it afterwards. The Park is supported by all sorts and he was wrong to assume a political stance. In fact the audience’s response was muted. He did have a go with the dancing and he did look very uncomfortable but I was disappointed.
However, an experiment well worth repeating especially with this theatre’s very supportive punters.
|
|
|
|
Post by vickyg on Jan 10, 2022 15:37:11 GMT
This will be back from 9th Feb to 12th March. From Instagram it looks like the same premise and a number of the same guests/celebrities.
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Jan 10, 2022 17:57:00 GMT
It was ok when I saw it last time round but not overwhelmingly so. Nice dinner beforehand maybe and with old friends , it would make a nice evening. Note, the place next door isn’t the wonderful Lebanese restaurant it used to be despite being still the same name, the cottage. Go round the corner and the original people are there , good food.
ps they ask you to put on masks just before a play starts so catches all those nonmaskers, very good idea.
|
|
212 posts
|
Post by l0islane on Feb 10, 2022 16:07:43 GMT
I got a standing ticket for the first night of this yesterday, the detective was Jonathan Pryce. I really enjoyed Whodunnit 1 but I've got to say I wasn't really won over by the sequel. It was only the first performance so hopefully they'll edit it down a bit but the setup (before the celeb comes onstage) was really long, I didn't look at my watch but I would say it was at least 40 minutes before they came on stage, and honestly without the celebrity it's just a mildy amusing, daft play. So many of the jokes and situations were repeated from Whodunnit 1. It was slightly late starting but the first half came in at nearly 90 minutes! The second half was more enjoyable with some funny moments but it finished at 10.30pm which was tough going for those of us standing up! It's for charity so I don't want to criticise it too much, I think if you didn't see the first Whodunnit you'll enjoy this version because all the jokes will be fresh but if you saw Whodunnit 1 I think you'll find Whodunnit 2 an inferior show. In my totally non-expert opinion they should cut it down to 90 minutes, have the celeb onstage from the beginning and not let them bring on notes they've prepared earlier for the 'improvised' bits. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood - I think standing up for 3 hours (with an aborted fire evacuation included for good measure (apparently due to the smoke machine!)) made me grumpy!! |
|
|
|
Post by thistimetomorrow on Feb 11, 2022 10:59:51 GMT
how was the standing room for this show? Is there something for you to lean on and is the view good? |
|
212 posts
|
Post by l0islane on Feb 11, 2022 14:55:22 GMT
how was the standing room for this show? Is there something for you to lean on and is the view good? Yes standing room is good, there's basically three of you on each side of the theatre, there's plenty of room and you're at the front of the circle with a bar to lean on. The view is totally unobstructed. |
|
