Amsterdam - Orange Tree Theatre

[showgirl]

The UK premiere of a play by award-winning Israeli writer, Maya Arad Yasur

"An Israeli violinist. Living in her trendy canal-side Amsterdam apartment. Nine months pregnant.

One day a mysterious unpaid gas bill from 1944 arrives.

Slid her an envelope right under the door and then just walked away.
It awakens unsettling feelings of collective identity, foreignness and alienation. Stories of a devastating past are compellingly reconstructed to try and make sense of the present.

The UK premiere of a strikingly original, audacious thriller."

As this has been previewing since 6 September and there are a few OT regulars here, I thought someone else might already have started a thread but I can't find one; however, I'm sure it's worth doing now.  Only c 80 mins long, no interval, so ideal in an evening slot for those not wanting too late a night.

(Btw, I'm unable to attend my booked performance tomorrow evening, Thursday 12, so my ticket is free to any takers - PM me.)

[NeilVHughes]

Am holding off for the reviews, in line with the ‘gut’ post at the moment not suitably enthused on this one, waiting to decide between this one and the Maugham play at the Jermyn St Theatre.

[samuelwhiskers]

Conflicted. The story is important and I understand why they decided to stage it (or I should say the writer had decided to write it in that style) the way they have done. Intellectually the approach was perfect for the themes of the play. But subjectively I found it almost impossible to sit through. With no actual characters on stage there was no one to connect with and I found the style confusing and difficult to emotionally engage with.

[pledge]

I found the first hour of this insufferably tiresome (and not only me - four people in total got up and left), with its alienating "meta-theatre" deconstructionist games (reminiscent of drama school exercises) which do nothing to illuminate either plot characters or situation - quite the opposite. Finally, in the last twenty minutes a genuine human story just about begins to emerge, but by then it's way too little too late. (One - admittedly elderly - gentleman near me was snoring audibly.) Self-indulgent and hugely pleased with itself, I suspect this was more enjoyable for the cast and director than for any actual audience. The applause at the end was as perfunctory as I've heard.

[TallPaul]

Based on the above, it may not be of interest to many, but this is being streamed online tonight, starting at 7.30pm.

www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk/ot-on-screen