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Post by londonpostie on Aug 20, 2019 16:21:29 GMT
Cast announced, few crackers among them. No idea what to expect from these 4 short works performed together, other than, well, Caryl Churchill.
Three week run (Wed 18 Sep - Sat 12 Oct). Booked already. Have you?
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Post by andrew on Aug 21, 2019 3:08:46 GMT
Always exciting to see Toby Jones in something.
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Post by Forrest on Sept 11, 2019 19:28:24 GMT
Hi everyone! It seemed somehow appropriate for my first entry on this forum to be in this thread, since I am really excited about seeing the title production. I'm relatively new to London, just moved to the city recently, and am really enjoying seeing everything I can, theatre wise.
Tickets already booked for this, slightly embarrassed to admit it, but for a few nights. I'm looking forward to seeing Toby Jones and Sule Rimi on stage for the first time (I've read only fantastic reviews for the latter's work, sadly just missed "Sweat" by a few weeks), and the fact that James Macdonald is directing can only be a plus. I've seen a recording of his production of Annie Baker's "John" (at the National Theatre Archive) and absolutely loved it, and "The Night of the Iguana" at the Noel Coward Theatre, which I found really enjoyable, and I'm admittedly not the biggest T. Williams fan.
But my absolute selling point for this is Tom Mothersdale. His Richard III for Headlong was my definitive theatre highlight of the year so far. I've seen it during the Bristol previews and then later in Manchester, and thought it was overall wonderfully done, but found his performance in particular absolutely captivating, incredibly enjoyable to watch and totally haunting. Also, having seen it more than once, I was amazed by how confidently he played with the character to adapt to different audiences, what was truly a delight to watch. So I am really looking forward to seeing him in this.
Don't really know what to expect, though, since the Royal Court isn't keen on revealing too many details, and this will also be my first time seeing anything Caryl Churchill has written on stage.
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Post by Latecomer on Sept 11, 2019 22:02:22 GMT
Welcome Forrest! I loved Tom Motherdale in Richard III too! He was fab wasn’t he! Hope you enjoy and happy posting!  |
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Post by Jan on Sept 12, 2019 5:55:26 GMT
Yes I thought he was very good in R-III too. I saw it at Ally Pally which is a somewhat problematic venue but his charisma and stage presence was enough to overcome it.
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Post by Forrest on Sept 12, 2019 7:04:44 GMT
Thank you for the warm welcome Latecomer! Also, glad to hear I'm not the only one looking forward to seeing Mothersdale back on stage (and who enjoyed Richard III). |
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Post by Marwood on Sept 12, 2019 11:49:29 GMT
I’m seeing this in two weeks time, mainly for Toby Jones.
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Post by peggs on Sept 12, 2019 16:26:15 GMT
Welcome @forrest good to get some new enthusiastic musings on the board.
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Post by Forrest on Sept 13, 2019 9:45:59 GMT
Welcome @forrest good to get some new enthusiastic musings on the board. Thank you! I most certainly don't lack the enthusiasm, but am nowhere near the theatre expert most people on here seem to be. Will try to keep up! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 11:52:03 GMT
If anyone (like me till just now!) hasn't booked yet, they seem to have released a few seats in row A of the stalls for quite a few dates including previously sold out ones. These are Band B so £32 - a lot of non sold-out dates previously only had £49 tickets further back available.
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Post by Forrest on Sept 13, 2019 12:18:35 GMT
If anyone is an RC Friend on here (pretty sure that's the case), they also seem to have released some Advance Monday tickets in the same category (row A) for all 3 consecutive Mondays.
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Post by Marwood on Sept 13, 2019 13:28:16 GMT
They’ve added an extra row of seats so row A is now second row - I (and I’m assuming many others) have asked to be moved to the new front row (BB) which is why these are now showing on sale.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 15:14:29 GMT
Welcome @forrest good to get some new enthusiastic musings on the board. Thank you! I most certainly don't lack the enthusiasm, but am nowhere near the theatre expert most people on here seem to be. Will try to keep up! There aren't as many experts as it might appear, there's definitely a reasonable number of people who just speak really confidently.  Enthusiasm is always welcome though! |
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Post by foxa on Sept 19, 2019 16:28:33 GMT
No one seen this yet? I'm going tomorrow.
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Post by andrew on Sept 19, 2019 19:25:05 GMT
Also going tomorrow, potentially with a spare ticket if anyone wants to PM me...
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Sept 19, 2019 21:34:56 GMT
Extremely weird but interesting.
Not sure about the circus acts.
Three short plays before the interval, one long one after.
Frankly didn’t think much of the shorts but they all built together.
The final piece, Imp, is excellent.
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Post by Forrest on Sept 19, 2019 22:21:06 GMT
samuelwhiskers, I'm both dying to ask for more details and at the same time don't want to know. I'm going on the 23rd and simply cannot wait! (Should have gotten a ticket for an earlier performance too, yes, because the suspense is killing me.)
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Post by Steve on Sept 20, 2019 10:51:55 GMT
Saw this last night, and it's a brilliant and unforgettable night, culminating in a one-hour play, "Imp" that is my instant favourite Caryl Churchill play for being entertaining, illuminating, and beautifully expressed in equal measure. There are echoes of Pinter and Beckett, but the play is distinctively Churchill, and I think "Imp" is one of the best new plays I've ever seen, one that seems to describe all the world in a living room, with Toby Jones and Deborah Findlay lending it so much hilarity and humanity, that I feel it is unlikely you will ever get a chance to see this play with a better cast, even if you are young!
Some spoilers follow. . .
The first half is three short plays, with two circus performers (a juggler and an acrobat) filling the time during set changes. The circus performers are useful to fill the time, and also to counterpoint the dreadfulness of human behaviour described by the first three pieces, suggesting the yin and yang of human accomplishments.
(1) Glass - There used to be a children's show called "Bagpuss," in which inanimate objects on a mantelpiece, powered by the love of a child, would come alive at night to tell stories and repair broken things. This play is like Caryl Churchill firing bullets through Bagpuss, as the actors embody mantelpiece ornaments, only for the insecurity and destructiveness of broken Britain to ravage them. As a concept, it's neat and mean, and the actors, in particular Patrick McNamee as an optimistic vase and Rebekah Murrell as "Glass" are affecting. The story seems to borrow from Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince," no amount of borrowed sadness or unhappy realism can shatter the towering love embodied in "Bagpuss!"
3 stars.
(2) Kill - Stephen Fry has recently been touring a 7 and a half epic of storytelling, "Mythos," venerating and embodying Greek myths. But everything he tells in 7 and a half hours, Churchill hilariously savages and decimates in 15 minutes, ripping those Greek myths to absolute shreds. And the sheer genius of the piece, is in the perspective: a droll Tom Mothersdale embodies all the Greek Gods, and insisting he doesn't exist, and that human imagination is responsible for the whole shebang, he matter-of-factly retells every violent and bloody and horrible thing the Greeks made up. If this were a University debate: it's Oxford (Churchill) 1, Cambridge (Fry) nil! This is a peerless short piece, and Mothersdale's comic timing rocks!
4 and a half stars.
(3) Bluebeard's Friends - Evil people in history, including prominent Nazis, have liked classical music and art, and had friends, and it especially hurts to know evil people have pretensions to art and affection, when we look to both for some small salvation. Bluebeard's friends, friends of a monster, Bluebeard, are an easy target for Churchill, in the wake of his death. But what makes this great is the way Churchill expands the whole concept of Bluebeard's friends to incorporate familiar concepts of modern life, like commerce and marketing, as well as how she digs deep into the ways we deny or admit complicity, and how opportunism often trumps values. It's often a gruesome piece (blood warning), images are striking and indelible, and thanks to a fantastic ensemble (Sarah Niles, Sule Rimi, Toby Jones and Deborah Findlay), there are some shockingly funny line deliveries: shocking how funny the deliveries, and funny how shocking the lines!
4 stars.
(4) Imp - is a one hour play, following the interval. It is the climax of the evening, and I think it is one of the best pieces Churchill has ever written, despite or perhaps because of her age. Through a Beckett type set-up, involving one set, two lonely characters, and two frequent visitors, Churchill seems to describe everything about human life: Survival, Shelter, Food, Companionship, Careers, Staying Sane, Getting through the day, Reproduction, Jealousy, Affection, Enmity, Temperament, our interaction with Great Art (from Shakespeare to the Greeks), and most importantly, Superstition and Religion, which is where the titular "Imp" comes in, and which brings that primitive charge you get in plays like "Jerusalem," that also address the primitive and superstitious.
Toby Jones and Deborah Findlay play cousins, who live together, and have dome so for so long as to always speak their minds. This latter quality allows the pragmatic Jones and superstitious Findlay to cut through so many issues so quickly, in such a humorous way.
I won't spoil the plot, but the Jones - Findlay double act is one of the best and most entertaining and most rewarding I've ever seen on stage!
As long as you don't hate Pinter and Beckett at their most comedic, you must GET A TICKET!
5 stars! Highlight of the Year!
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Post by drmaplewood on Sept 20, 2019 10:53:34 GMT
Hoping to get lucky with the Monday rush, sounds promising!
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Post by Marcus on Sept 21, 2019 8:08:48 GMT
I went last night to see this - my first trip to the Royal Court.
I will be honest I don’t feel I fully understood the first three shorts before the interval. Glass was really intriguing and I could have done with it being longer and more developed. Churchill was very well acted and I loved the balance of noir with human, but apologises I have no clue what murders they were discussing or if it was all fiction.
Imp after the interval made me realise I wasn’t losing my mind as I felt I connected and aligned with what was happening.
The cast were brilliant and every play had something that intrigued me.
The circus acts whilst pleasant seemed rather odd to me.
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Post by foxa on Sept 21, 2019 10:49:12 GMT
Big ideas explored in a spare, entertaining way.
Very well cast, with Tom Mothersdale and Deborah Findlay being the stand outs for me - but everyone was good.
Glad we bought the script - interesting to see it on the page. For example, no lines are assigned to specific characters in 'Bluebeard' and the interjections for the boy are listed as possibilities and not set to be uttered at a particular point during the God's monologue in 'Kill.'
We had managed to get the last two seats for the performance: middle of Row A in the Balcony. I'm 5'7 and the legroom is restricted - any taller than me and I think you might suffer BUT the view was perfect - I suspect better than some of the pricier seats, especially as two of the four pieces were played on raised platforms.
So thumbs up from me.
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Post by andrew on Sept 21, 2019 12:01:43 GMT
Seem to have been amongst the other hundred TB members last night, me and my friend oddly felt a little less connected to Imp than the first three. It didn't help that I was overheating (t's September?!?!) in the circle throughout Act 2, but I didn't feel like I got much out of it, aside from some great moments with Toby Jones.
On the other hand I really enjoyed the first three, I agree that Glass should have been slightly longer and more fleshed out because I was really intrigued and enjoying it. It does help to quickly google Bluebeard before you go if you haven't heard of the tale, in particular I liked the comedy and relevance of the group rationalising and attempting to empathasise with someone who is clearly awful, I was reminded of some of the online commentary recently about Mugabe. 'Kill' feels like less of a play and more like a performed poem, credit has to go to Mothersdale for what must be an incredibly difficult to memorise monologue.
And I was struck in each part by the brilliant design, I really enjoyed the black hole of the stage and these incredibly simple sets just existing, floating in the middle of it all.
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Post by Stephen on Sept 21, 2019 12:12:25 GMT
There was some real celeb royalty in last night... Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson. Glad there was theatreboard royalty there too to balance it out!
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Post by crowblack on Sept 22, 2019 10:11:37 GMT
Seem to have been amongst the other hundred TB members last night Oh gosh, I was there on Friday too! Sadly I was a bit dazed (four hours plus in a no frills train with unexpected train change to standing room only for extra added joy, after a fairly sleepless week) but really enjoyed it. I wasn't alert enough to spot theatreboarders or Hollywood types but did sit on the table next to Churchill through dinner beforehand. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 22, 2019 15:33:19 GMT
We had managed to get the last two seats for the performance: middle of Row A in the Balcony. I'm 5'7 and the legroom is restricted - any taller than me and I think you might suffer BUT the view was perfect - I suspect better than some of the pricier seats, especially as two of the four pieces were played on raised platforms. I was in row C stalls which was great, though yes, I think for this production front circle might be even better! |
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Enthusiasm is always welcome though!
