The Last King Of Scotland - Crucible Sheffield

[BurlyBeaR]

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GILES FODEN
ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY STEVE WATERS

'He is the sickness and you maintain that sickness'

Idi Amin is the self-declared President of Uganda. When Scottish medic Nicholas Garrigan becomes his personal physician, he is catapulted into Amin's inner circle. A useful asset for the British Secret Service, is Garrigan the man on the inside, or does he have blood on his hands too?

The first adaptation of the award-winning novel that inspired the Oscar-winning movie, The Last King of Scotland is an electrifying thriller about corruption and complicity.

Use the promocode SCOTLAND50 before Sat 24 August to book up to four tickets on selected performances.*

50% off tickets on performances between Fri 27 September and Wed 2 October (excluding Tue 1 October). Offer is available on price bands A-C and on these selected performances only. Cannot be used on tickets already purchased or in conjunction with another offer.

[showgirl]

Damn, already booked due to having to align with train & hotel reservations. Don't tell me it's not selling well, with that cheerful scenario?!

[TallPaul]

Although any offer from Sheffield Theatres is to be welcomed, only the 2 Oct performance is after opening night, so it's perhaps not as generous as it seemed on first reading. Call me old fashioned, but previews should be half price already!

I do wonder if, after the success of Standing and then Pi, Crucible audiences are holding off booking because they think it can't possibly be three in a row.

[BurlyBeaR]

I assumed it was 50% off the preview price. If not, that is indeed very cheeky of them.

[TallPaul]

Aug 23, 2019 11:09:19 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

I assumed it was 50% off the preview price.

It is, but at £40, £32 and £22, preview prices are the same as non-preview prices...which are also £40, £32 and £22!

[david]

I’ve booked a £15 front row seat for a Saturday matinee. 

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2019 11:30:55 GMT TallPaul said:

Aug 23, 2019 11:09:19 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

I assumed it was 50% off the preview price.

It is, but at £40, £32 and £22, preview prices are the same as non-preview prices...which are also £40, £32 and £22!

Sheffield's prices have gone up a lot in the last couple of years. I get a lot of leaflets through screaming about SPECIAL OFFERS and PRICE DISCOUNTS but in the small print, it's only on the previews, or very limited numbers of performances.

[joem]

Any news if this is touring? I am trying to fit this and My Beautiful Laundrette in Leicester into the same day.

[TallPaul]

Public dress rehearsal tonight. I'm sure it will get shorter, but at the moment it's *quite* long.

I've been to the ballet over the square, and then for a pint. I'm now on my way home at 10.25pm, and it's still not turned out!

[showgirl]

Sept 26, 2019 21:24:02 GMT TallPaul said:

Public dress rehearsal tonight. I'm sure it will get shorter, but at the moment it's *quite* long.

I've been to the ballet over the square, and then for a pint. I'm now on my way home at 10.25pm, and it's still not turned out!

Oo-er!  Having had to leave "Steel" at the interval (so frustrating and my first ever visit to what I still think of as the Crucible) as I was staying elsewhere and worried about getting back, I risked booking a whole weekend in Sheffield to see this and Reasons To Stay Alive.  Already the latter has opened to disappointing reviews so however long this is, I hope it doesn't turn out to be another mediocre production.

Plus the weather forecast is awful when I was hoping to do some walking and it's turning out an unexpectedly expensive trip as my sister was supposed to be joining me but she's doing jury service and her case is over-running so now I have no-one to split the hotel bill with.  However, I'm sure Sheffield is worth it (she says hopefully).

[joem]

Overlong play despite it cutting out huge swathes of the original novel including most of the storyline concerning the Scottish doctor protagonist Nicholas Garrigan (Daniel Portman) except for where it impinges on Idi Amin's which makes it difficult to empathise with or understand the character's motivation.

Starts off energetically and Tobi Bamtefa gives a charismatic performance as the preposterous, but murderous, Amin but the second half drags interminably and is badly in need of supporting narrative plots to give variety to the play.

[showgirl]

Last night it was down to a very tight 2 hours 30 minutes: 1 hour 15 for each act with a 15-minute interval; we were leaving at 10 pm.

To my relief I wasn't the least drowsy and the play held my attention throughout. I'm not sure it's an entirely successful adaptation but I have to applaud Sheffield Theatres for trying (large cast, too: 15 if I counted correctly) & could see this fitting equally well in other spaces, eg the Olivier, the main house at Chichester or the Rose, Kingston. It would be good to see the production having a longer life, too.

[david]

Just had a look at the theatre diary. I'm off to watch this next Saturday. I've booked a front row seat. Are there likely to be any sight line issues? Thanks

[TallPaul]

So pleased your trip wasn't a complete washout, showgirl, despite the weather!

I don't know what time you're arriving on Saturday, david, but Sheffield Theatres is participating in Fun Palaces this weekend. Some events, including tours, can be pre-booked via the website, if you wanted to see if anything takes your fancy.

[showgirl]

Sept 29, 2019 15:33:07 GMT david said:

Just had a look at the theatre diary. I'm off to watch this next Saturday. I've booked a front row seat. Are there likely to be any sight line issues? Thanks

No sightline issues that I'm aware of; not that much in terms of furniture and what there was, was to the rear or half-way back.  More backdrops so far as I recall, and I sat in two different areas:  side stalls first act, centre stalls second act (moved with consent of duty manager due to persistent seat-kicker.)

[david]

Sept 30, 2019 11:02:51 GMT TallPaul said:

So pleased your trip wasn't a complete washout, showgirl , despite the weather!

I don't know what time you're arriving on Saturday, david , but Sheffield Theatres is participating in Fun Palaces this weekend. Some events, including tours, can be pre-booked via the website, if you wanted to see if anything takes your fancy.

Thanks for the info. I've had a quick look on the website and the Adventure playground sounds like fun. Though I don't think the FOH staff would take too kindly to me running amok in the foyer! I might have a look at the Beekeeper thing as well (especially if there is  free sample tasting of the honey).

[showgirl]

PN last night: 4 stars from The Stage and Whatsonstage.

[david]

I attended yesterdays matinee. Tobi Bamtefa and Daniel Portman really were very good in their roles as Idi Amin Dada and Nick Garrigan respectively. Overall for me, act 2 was the better act both in performance and drama as their relationship plays out during the atrocities committed by Armin. For a £15 front row side stalls seat, I certainly got value for money here. A worthwhile trip to Sheffield. 

[david]

Just had a look at the production company website DLAP entertainment. It lists this production going to the WE and Broadway as well as an international production once the Sheffield run has finished.

[showgirl]

Though it might have saved me a trip to Sheffield (of which I made the most despite the weather), I'm glad to hear that this will have a longer life. As well as being worth seeing in its own right, this kind of big, bold programming is increasingly rare and also needs and deserves support.

[grannyjx6]

I'm seeing it Wednesday. It's not the normal sort of stuff I see, but thought I would give it a whirl. It doesn't seem to be selling too well, so I've bought next to cheapest tickets and might move to the more expensive ones if I can. ;-)