The Man in the White Suit - Wyndham’s

[longinthetooth]

I saw it this afternoon. Thought the first half mildly amusing, but the second half really funny. Stephen Mangan works incredibly hard throughout. As others have said, it might be better to be further back for the dance scene, but I was in the third row and saw almost all of it. One thing I didn't like, though, was the amount of cigarettes being smoked (I suppose smoking being a lot more prevalent in the 1950s). I can't stand the smell, and a lot of it did seem to be wafting into the front stalls.

[Phantom of London]

I was there this afternoon too, you can snag front row seats for £22 on the Delfont Mackintosh website.

A lot of money has been spent on this, with great set and costumes - however this reminded me of a third rate One Man, Two Guvs. A couple of laughs out moments, if you have seem The Ladykillers or Bertie and Wooster then you can see Sean Foley’s fingerprints over this. However the humour seemed more forced than intelligent and was very much end of the pier.

This certainly ain’t the marvellous Ladykillers.

2 Stars

[sf]

Oct 1, 2019 22:31:53 GMT musicalmarge said:

I saw this tonight and LEFT IN THE INTERVAL!!!

What total nonsense. What a dreadful comedy!

I saw it tonight and did likewise. And the last time I walked out of a show, I think, was about fifteen years ago.

[Mark]

Oct 19, 2019 19:49:43 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Saw it this afternoon. Agree with Steve that it was beautifully staged and it's 3 stars from me too.

It kicked up a gear from about 10 minutes before the interval until the end. Before that, the jokes demanded speed but the direction didn't provide it. As a result you had too long to think about whether the lines held up well enough for their age. If only they played it a lot faster I think they would have got away with far more.

Other problem was the characters were all sketched in, which made it hard to relate to most of them as they didn't have long enough to get to know them.

If you can adapt your mindset to that of a 50s audience (I had by the end) there is something to be had from it. Not for full price, but I liked it more than "Groan Ups" anyway.

Oh, and I agree you need to sit either off to the sides or at least 4 rows back to see that dance bit.

Oh monkey I was there too and missed you (not that I’d know how to find you, anyhow)
I was sat second row, and actually I could see the dance bit good enough. I thought elements were clever but ultimately it just fell a bit flat. The staging was 5*, one of the best sets I’ve seen for a West End play. I agree it needed to be faster and act two was funnier.
Not sure I’ll be recommending this one though, I think there is much better things to be seen at the moment.

[n1david]

Closing early, 7 Dec.

[Mark]

Oct 29, 2019 10:11:24 GMT n1david said:

Closing early, 7 Dec.

Always a shame to see something close up early, but it was quite an ambitious run length for this one.
I wonder what, if anything, will take the Wyndhams for the festive season

[Rory]

Very sorry to hear this and am getting a vibe that a few West End plays are struggling. I'm sure this Brexit uncertainty is not helping things.

[Phantom of London]

Oct 29, 2019 10:43:21 GMT Mark said:

Oct 29, 2019 10:11:24 GMT n1david said:

Closing early, 7 Dec.

Always a shame to see something close up early, but it was quite an ambitious run length for this one.
I wonder what, if anything, will take the Wyndhams for the festive season

If something does go in and I hope it does as I don't like empty theatres, always awful seeing this when in New York especially after Tony Awards and Christmas. It would only be limited to a 6 week run, as Leopoldstadt is beginning. Wyndham is the priemier playhouse in a prime location.

Just thinking Prism, My Beautiful Laundrette & The Watsons could all head in, however I would've thought The Watsons would want a longer run. 

[Rory]

I would like The Watsons to have a proper run.

[TallPaul]

My money is on something for the little ones and/or a comedian who isn't in panto.

[Rory]

I'd say Delfont Mackintosh would give diamonds to get PWB back with Fleabag to fill this unexpected six week gap!

[Phantom of London]

Great call for a comedian coming in, perfect for a emergency filer.

Another good call for Fleabag doing a limited run again, falls in above category.

[NeilVHughes]

Quick question, is December/Christmas a guaranteed seat filler for Theatres?

With Office Parties / Family get togethers etc, we may be out more but in more social situations.

Sure they must have something in their back pocket (hopefully not another Christmas Carol) as no matter what, you wouldn’t want a dark theatre on the run up to Christmas and a comedian would be the easiest at short notice.

[theatrelovely]

Oct 29, 2019 13:21:59 GMT Phantom of London said:

Great call for a comedian coming in, perfect for a emergency filer.

Another good call for Fleabag doing a limited run again, falls in above category.

It will be a comedian but it’ll be Jason Manford in Curtains, going in for 5 weeks I’ve heard. x

[Jon]

Oct 29, 2019 11:58:26 GMT Rory said:

I'd say Delfont Mackintosh would give diamonds to get PWB back with Fleabag to fill this unexpected six week gap!

It’s very unlikely they’d get Fleabag back, I suspect she’s done with the character for now.

[Rory]

There is no way this theatre will be dark over Christmas. Thankfully any free slots in the West End fill up pretty quickly now. Even Miles Jupp took over here for one week. By the way, speaking of comedians, Frank Skinner is going to the Garrick for 5 weeks after Noises Off which isn't extending beyond 4th Jan.

[Jon]

Oct 29, 2019 13:44:54 GMT Rory said:

There is no way this theatre will be dark over Christmas. Thankfully any free slots in the West End fill up pretty quickly now. Even Miles Jupp took over here for one week. By the way, speaking of comedians, Frank Skinner is going to the Garrick for 5 weeks after Noises Off which isn't extending beyond 4th Jan.

I imagine the Garrick has something lined up for February hence why Frank is doing a run for a few weeks.

[Rory]

Oct 29, 2019 13:48:10 GMT Jon said:

Oct 29, 2019 13:44:54 GMT Rory said:

There is no way this theatre will be dark over Christmas. Thankfully any free slots in the West End fill up pretty quickly now. Even Miles Jupp took over here for one week. By the way, speaking of comedians, Frank Skinner is going to the Garrick for 5 weeks after Noises Off which isn't extending beyond 4th Jan.

I imagine the Garrick has something lined up for February hence why Frank is doing a run for a few weeks.

City of Angels we think?

[NeilVHughes]

Another question, with the popularity of comics and the relatively cheap staging (1 person / no set) is there an opportunity that more periods in the West End traditional theatres will be released for comedians to have short runs between the usual plays and musicals?

[mrbarnaby]

Oct 29, 2019 14:14:10 GMT NeilVHughes said:

Another question, with the popularity of comics and the relatively cheap staging (1 person / no set) is there an opportunity that more periods in the West End traditional theatres will be released for comedians to have short runs between the usual plays and musicals?

Comedians have had short runs at tons of west end theatres for years... this is nothing new. The Wyndhams and Vaudeville have been particularly popular for comedians to play.

[youngoffender]

The Butterfly Lion, transfer from Chichester where it ends a sell-out run on 15 Nov? Great reviews to support it, and perfect non-panto holiday fare.

[theatrelover123]

Nov 1, 2019 13:37:53 GMT youngoffender said:

The Butterfly Lion, transfer from Chichester where it ends a sell-out run on 15 Nov? Great reviews to support it, and perfect non-panto holiday fare.

The Man in the White Suit finishes on 7 December.
Curtains starts 13 December.

[djp]

Oct 21, 2019 13:48:28 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Glad you could see the dance, Mark . I was in my usual Q seat, perfect for this, in fact. There are better shows on, true, but I think the critics were a trifle harsh.

They  are the  wrong audience -  Liberal, politically correct,  metropolitan . When i went, the audience was much older than the average west end one and not  inclined to dredge the depths of the subject's politically correct interpretation. They seemed to really like  it . Which isn't surprising given its got a very good cast , it has a clear political/economic message that doesn't need any amplification, and was a major film.

The stalls looked full for a midweek matinee - though upstairs was sparse  - when i went. If its got a problem selling , its because no one much under 50 will recall the name or  film, and it doesn't pontificate enough for the PC/woke/extinction  generations. Might do better on tour - Bromley, Woking, or Richmond might love it - given the age profiles you see there.

That said its probably 10 minutes short on the story telling, some jokes go on to long, and its effort to be PC, means that the role of the left wing unions in the  films is lost  onto the , somewhat out of context , character of one worker. That undermines the ke,y class conflict defaults to Union and  bosses conspiracy,  theme. They  might look too at the potential for the musical side - they have the odd male song which looks abit odd, and looks odder when they don't use the female MT talent they have there at all.

Curtains is fun, with a decent plot, a few good songs and some good singers , and some more good singers left with nothing to sing. But I expect the  critics won't like an old murder mystery, much more than they like 50s comedy or understand 20th century politics.

[intoanewlife]

Nov 4, 2019 23:20:14 GMT djp said:

Oct 21, 2019 13:48:28 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Glad you could see the dance, Mark . I was in my usual Q seat, perfect for this, in fact. There are better shows on, true, but I think the critics were a trifle harsh.

They  are the  wrong audience -  Liberal, politically correct,  metropolitan . When i went, the audience was much older than the average west end one and not  inclined to dredge the depths of the subject's politically correct interpretation. They seemed to really like  it . Which isn't surprising given its got a very good cast , it has a clear political/economic message that doesn't need any amplification, and was a major film.

The stalls looked full for a midweek matinee - though upstairs was sparse  - when i went. If its got a problem selling , its because no one much under 50 will recall the name or  film, and it doesn't pontificate enough for the PC/woke/extinction  generations. Might do better on tour - Bromley, Woking, or Richmond might love it - given the age profiles you see there.

That said its probably 10 minutes short on the story telling, some jokes go on to long, and its effort to be PC, means that the role of the left wing unions in the  films is lost  onto the , somewhat out of context , character of one worker. That undermines the ke,y class conflict defaults to Union and  bosses conspiracy,  theme. They  might look too at the potential for the musical side - they have the odd male song which looks abit odd, and looks odder when they don't use the female MT talent they have there at all.

Curtains is fun, with a decent plot, a few good songs and some good singers , and some more good singers left with nothing to sing. But I expect the  critics won't like an old murder mystery, much more than they like 50s comedy or understand 20th century politics.

Jesus...

[cherokee]

I thought this was very weak I'm afraid: nothing to do with it being PC. (Was it even?) Just that it wasn't funny. I don't think I've seen such leadenly directed and executed physical comedy in my life. Whole slapstick sequences passed by with the audience silent: the extended fight in Act 2 being the worst offender. Stephen Mangan seemed miscast to me: only managing to maintain the Northern accent briefly. It clearly wanted to be the next 'One Man Two Governors' even down to the live band, but I'm afraid I found the whole thing excruciatingly joyless. The critics were spot on.