My Beautiful Laundrette - Curve and Tour

[HereForTheatre]

I really enjoyed this. I thought i would and i did. For me, the two leads, Jonny Fines and Omar Mailk give outstanding performances and i really bought into their relationship. I enjoyed the music by the Pet Shop Boys, which is mainly used during set changes and then a full song at the end of each act. Nice use of lighting and a good and clever set.

That said, there are some issues. One of which is mentioned above and that is that the studio theatre seems too open. The sides of the stage are just exposed and an open space with lights, speakers, cables and props and not only that but it means you can see the actors leaves through the doors, which seems a bit distracting and takes you out of it a bit and so at times looks a bit messy. I can't really see why they couldn't cloth of box off the wings a bit as that would also draw you into the actual set and action more and make it seem more intimate. I was in the blacony and up there the sound was a bit dodgy.

Not the plays fault but today at the matinee we had two quite large school groups in, which i thought was a bit surprising but anyway, and what that meant was that any time there was a swear word, or gay kiss, or gay touch, or bit or shirtlessness, or dramatic moment then in unsion these school kids would react, loudly, with various oooh and ahhhhs and giggles accordingly. It was very distracting and cheapened the show and took me out of it and i very much wish i'd not been at this particular performance. I mean great that these kids are being exposed to theatre and a play like this and actually to be fair a lot of them seemed to enjoy it and buy into it but still, it's not great to be in the audience with.

I note there doesn't seem much interest in this but i'd encourage people to give it a go if you can get to one of the venues. It's scarily relevant and at the core is what i found to be a very touching gay relationship story.

[HereForTheatre]

I wanted to add to the above something i appreciated a lot about this show (and i assume the film was the same) was that despite having a central gay relationship the word "gay" was never used, in fact, there was never anything at all mentioned about their sexuality and what kind of relationship they had and it was just never a big deal in the show. It was just what it was, the relationship was what it was and they were just who they were. How many LGBT shows actually do that? I think it's rare that when a show includes a gay relationship that somewhere in there, there isn't some kind of drama around them coming out or being conflicted or in denial or at the other end of the coin where it's some massive deal that the characters are gay and that's all they are about. I really just liked that about this show.

[HereForTheatre]

Also here is a teaser trailer

[ruggerlad]

I really enjoyed this overall, thought the staging was great loved the lighting design of the show.

I had one major bug bear the show lack the intense passion that leads to the characters over coming what they don't like in the other.
Very chaste closed mouth kiss and for me the most memorable scene in the film of them having sex when his uncle and mistress come to see the laundrette is lost entirely,
With a gay director I was surprised this was such a damp squib of a moment.

On leaving for the interval I spotted Neil Tennant in front of us as we went to the bar, very amiable to chat to and signed my programme for me. On going back in it turned he was sitting right behind me.

Quite the added value experience

[showgirl]

My sister and I saw this at the final performance in Cheltenham on Saturday evening and agreed that by the end we had quite enjoyed it, but it was a very slow burn and for me the huge hurdle was the most bizarre and unnatural dialogue - if you can call it that. I can barely recall the film - other than thinking that it too was unrealistic in the behaviour it depicted - but many of the characters in this version didn't so much speak to each other or converse as make peculiar pronouncements, a propos of nothing in particular and apparently not aimed at anyone around them either - most alienating. It was like an inferior Joe Orton play and we surely can't have been the only people puzzled by this?

The cast certainly gave it their all so at the end we were probably applauding the performances and production more than the play. Another aspect which also made us uncomfortable, but far more so, was the reaction of a few audience members (apparently some extremely drunk men) who wolf-whistled when the two male leads kissed at the end of the first act. Honestly, is that something to wolf-whistle these days, and during a play in which the central relationship is that of a same-sex couple? The same people were equally obnoxious at the end and in the foyer afterwards - we couldn't get away fast enough.

[HereForTheatre]

On the two above posts, i agree that the intimate and physical moments between the two leads were quite chaste and with regards to the scene of the characters having sex, i rather expected that the window would light up or whatever and we actually see what the characters were doing behind there but unless i was just sitting in the wring angle and didn't see it, it didnt. Surely that was an obvious thing to do. But apparently not.

I also agree that some of the dialogue was plain weird and very much so seemed to just often be directionless pronouncements.   I mean i never saw the film so i assumed that was just what the film was like?

That said i still really enjoyed it and think i'm going to see it again in Birmingham. Funnily enough one of the reasons i want to do this is to have another go without the audience spoiling it, so it seems it's a bit a theme with this show that the audience are a bit too audible with their reactions!

[david]

Had a visit to the now refurbished Leeds Playhouse for today’s matinee performance. The newly refurbished theatre looks great with plenty of bar and cafe space to rest up pre and post show. Having been to the Playhouse a fair few times when I was living in West Yorkshire, ironically, today was my first visit to the Courtyard Theatre within the Playhouse.

Having purchased a row B stalls seat for £14, I have to say this was excellent value for money (being up close to the stage without any sightline restrictions and having a brand new seat as part of the refurbishment was a bonus). I certainly I would sit here again for future productions.

As for the production itself, I loved the staging and lighting used and the use of the music by the Pet Shop Boys and the performances of Jonny Fines and Omar Malik were ones I really bought into this afternoon as Johnny and Omar. Thankfully we didn’t have anybody ruin the more intimate moments between the two guys or when they took their shirts off.

Certainly it was a worthwhile trip across the Pennines to see this production (even if they didn’t have any or had run out of programmes today 😡. Though we did get a free cast list).

[Deleted]

I went this afternoon too. I didn't enjoy it at all, felt it was really dull and soulless, and there was zero chemistry between the leads. Quite a lot of the dialogue was really clunky, and apart from the daughter, I had no idea why any of the characters were doing and saying what they did.

I was sitting in the side circle and hated the new seats. They're all diagonally placed with hardly any leg room and are really awkward to manoeuvre into. My friend is slim and found it awkward, I'm fatter and was really uncomfortable. Also you end up sitting behind each other. I found the stalls audience really distracting too as they were really quite lit up and were very visible from above throughout. The ushers were up and down constantly in the stalls, no idea what was going on but it was really distracting.

Overall I was very disappointed. Oh well.

[Deleted]

I've sat in these seats before, and they used to be in a long line next to each other and were far better spaced. Much too cramped now, I wouldn't sit there again (especially as apparently stalls front is cheaper! We paid £19!)

[david]

Oct 19, 2019 23:09:02 GMT @elanor said:

I've sat in these seats before, and they used to be in a long line next to each other and were far better spaced. Much too cramped now, I wouldn't sit there again (especially as apparently stalls front is cheaper! We paid £19!)

I was going to book one of those £19 seats for Piaf next year. Based on your info, I might spend a bit more and get a stalls seat instead.

[Deleted]

Oct 19, 2019 23:16:50 GMT david said:

Oct 19, 2019 23:09:02 GMT @elanor said:

I've sat in these seats before, and they used to be in a long line next to each other and were far better spaced. Much too cramped now, I wouldn't sit there again (especially as apparently stalls front is cheaper! We paid £19!)

I was going to book one of those £19 seats for Piaf next year. Based on your info, I might spend a bit more and get a stalls seat instead.

I'd add that I'm 5'2 and my friend is maybe 5'4, and we both found the seats really tricky. If you're any taller than us then I imagine you'll have to fight to get your legs in.

[david]

Oct 20, 2019 9:39:27 GMT @elanor said:

Oct 19, 2019 23:16:50 GMT david said:

I was going to book one of those £19 seats for Piaf next year. Based on your info, I might spend a bit more and get a stalls seat instead.

I'd add that I'm 5'2 and my friend is maybe 5'4, and we both found the seats really tricky. If you're any taller than us then I imagine you'll have to fight to get your legs in.

I’m 5’7 so I’ll think I’ll splash the cash and get a stalls seat.

[Dr Tom]

Saw this last night in Coventry. I've no recollection of ever having seen the film.

This was performed well, perhaps a bit dated now, but it is of its time. The audience was excellent, all behaved. The only real "oooh" moment was people reaction to the spit scene. It seemed fairly full.

The Belgrade isn't that big a theatre and is well-designed, so decent views all around. I was on the front row (excellent value at under £10, but this is also one of the cheapest regional theatres). The stage is low, although you are inches away from it and the stage is wide, so some people may prefer to sit further back. It does also mean a lot of the front row get wet at the end when the cast channel their Singin' In The Rain style enthusiasm.

I didn't spot any programmes (they may have been there somewhere), but we did get a cast list on entry, which is always appreciated. All the leads were on and I didn't spot a weak link in the company.

Afterwards, there was a Q&A. Lots of questions. A huge amount centred on the relevance of the play today and how, although the word "Paki" is less likely to be shouted in the street, there are still cultural barriers and challenges in the wider world. The audience reaction was discussed, with the different ways audience respond to two men kissing etc. A lot of school groups have been to see the play. Neither Jonny nor Omar (the leads) had seen the film before workshopping and Jonny still hasn't seen it (Gordon has of course, as he starred in it). They consider the play better developed than the film. In the film, the female characters were afterthoughts, here they are more rounded, as a result of the cast workshopping the play and being actively involved sharing ideas during its development. Most of the dialogue and the scenes from the film are still there, but they have been rearranged a bit.

The only slight downside of staying for the Q&A was chaos on the railway afterwards, but I got home eventually.

This comes recommended. It isn't perfect, but works as it can with the source material. You can well imagine what the reaction to the film would have been like in the 1980s. Coventry is a perfect venue, but if you miss it, the tour concludes in Birmingham next week (no idea why they chose two venues so close together). And, as a bonus, both Jonny and Omar have been working out and look good with their tops off, if that's your sort of thing!

[Deal J]

I was at the Saturday matinee in Coventry. I was impressed with the scenery and lighting given it was in the B2 studio rather than the main house.

I asked the staff and it seems they aren't selling programmes, just giving out the cast lists. A shame really, as I like to collect the programmes and there weren't any biogs of the cast.

I really thought I'd enjoy this, but I too found a lot of the dialogue rather clunky. I thought there was a believable chemistry between the leads, but I was surprised there wasn't any major showdown - I thought the family found out about the relationship and disapproved, although maybe that's me wrongly remembering the film.

The new Tennant/Lowe material was great and they used quite a lot of the PSB back catalogue too. Nice little nod having a little poster of PSB in the background of the set.

[theatreian]

Enjoyed this when I saw it this afternoon at the Birmingham Rep. Thought it was well produced and some of the themes seem to be unfortunately familiar in todays Britain. Still a well acted and performed piece enhanced by the Pet Shop Boys snippets.

[Deleted]

Saw it tonight at Birmingham Rep, not having seen the film in many years it was an interesting story to revisit. The two leads were excellent and to see Gordon Warnecke as Papa was a great bit of casting. The prolific use of the P-Word may have been a bit uncomfortable for some audience members but it was to highlight the racism of some of the characters and the time.

Having Asian Actress Balvinder Sopal playing a far right Neo Nazi female was certainly colour blind casting and a stretch although she was excellent in the role and also in her other role as Omar's Aunt. Cathy Tyson playing an Asian in a headscarf and glasses kept reminding me of one of Meera Syal's many comedy characters.

[42ndBlvd]

Archive recording being streamed on the Curve's site on September 2 6PM until the theatre is able reopen.

[HereForTheatre]

Excited to be able to see this again. I've since familiarised myself with the film a bit more and so it will be interesting to see this again having now watched bits of the film.


Though having seen that I instantly know the play was far more chaste than the film, which was a surprise to me.