'Master Harold’...and the boys - National Theatre

[NeilVHughes]

One of those plays that was booked on auto pilot which then surpassed all expectations.

The early years of apartheid, three ‘friends’ spend a rainy afternoon in a cafe, Wiilie and Sam are preparing for a Ballroom Dancing competition whilst they work cleaning the cafe and Hally the son of the owner enters, initially all is bonhomie as they bicker and recall past times, the close relationship almost fatherly between Hally and Sam.

Wally hangs around in the background indicating the true dynamic, this is finally imposed with devastating emotional intensity and an act that will likely haunt Hally forever and most definitely the playwright.

A slow burner all 3 actors are excellent, only the second preview but could not fault this 100 minutes of great Theatre.

[Deleted]

First preview, second preview is tonight. Agree it's excellent though, also quite impressive how it managed to end on such a hopeful note, all things considered.

[dlevi]

Can't wait to see this , though it will be hard to top the original Broadway production with Zakes Mokae, Danny Glover and Lonny Price. And the gilm version directed by Price and featuring Ving Rhames and Freddie Higmore is pretty terrific as well. This play and The Road to Mecca are, I think Fugard's masterworks.

[Mark]

After the strong initial comments here I booked a last minute ticket for this evening. Very enjoyable, the writing is great and especially in those last 20 minutes or so when the tone changes it is quite intense.

A slightly “dodgy” accent from Anson Boon at times, but it did get better as the play went on. Was particularly impressed with Lucian Msamati.

Definitely one to see!

[talkingheads]

Are there any offers/day seats? I've never yet actually managed to see a play at the National! Also are the £15 'slips' as indicated on the seating plan very restricted view or worth it for the price?

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2019 11:50:32 GMT talkingheads said:

Are there any offers/day seats? I've never yet actually managed to see a play at the National! Also are the £15 'slips' as indicated on the seating plan very restricted view or worth it for the price?

They do day seats but I think these are the £15 slips?

Best bet might be to try for the £20 Friday Rush - an allocation of seats for every performance, released at 1PM on Friday for the following Monday to Saturday.

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/fridayrush

May not be too late for next week - there is a queue at the moment but my suspicion would be this is people trying to get Hansard tickets!

Edited to add .. just got in and there are plenty available. Depending on the performance, either rows G and H of the circle, or row P of the stalls, for £20. 

[Mark]

I was able to book a £15 front stalls seat through the website on the day. It’s worth having a check for any returns or unsold day seats that go onto there.

[showgirl]

I booked only a few days ago, having had zero interest until I read the favourable comments here. I had a choice of dates for £15 tix but paid £18 in the end as I chose a Saturday evening. Front stalls, end row D so pretty decent.

[tmesis]

This is highly recommended. As has been mentioned it's a bit of a slow burner but then it really delivers. It's bookended with two lovely songs from the great Sarah Vaughan with an understated, but very satisfying, coup de theatre at the end. (Is 'understated coup de theatre' an oxymoron? - never mind, I didn't want to perpetrate a spoiler.)

Immaculate performances all round and the end is quietly very moving.

[lonlad]

A really superb production that catapults Roy Alexander Weise to the top rank of directors. This is a deceptively tricky play in that it seems simpler and more straightforward than it is, and he and his three actors (Msamati especially) do it proud.

[bramble]

a well acted revival of this wonderful play.A must see.

[lou105]

Sept 27, 2019 15:19:52 GMT Mark said:

I was able to book a £15 front stalls seat through the website on the day. It’s worth having a check for any returns or unsold day seats that go onto there.

Agreed. I just picked up a front row pair for two weeks time, having looked a couple of times without success. 

[showgirl]

I saw this yesterday evening, having been persuaded by posts here. Certainly I can see why it has had glowing reviews and last night the applause went on for ages, many people gave a standing ovation and the cast had to do multiple curtain calls.

For me however it was simply too long at 1 hour 40 without an interval. I can see that to insert one would have broken the momentum and maybe it was my fault for booking the cheapest type of seat but ow! After less than an hour on those inhospitable seats I was sneaking looks at my watch and looking forward to escaping the discomfort. I have booked a better seat in the past if the length and reviews made it seem worthwhile (eg Small Island), but had thought, mistakenly, that I could get away with it for this.

[david]

After a lacklustre afternoon spent at the Donmar, I was hoping that this production would fair better. After watching this tonight, it certainly surpassed all my expectations. An absolutely fantastic piece of theatre with three fantastic performances from the 3 guys. The final scene with the coup de theatre I thought was very effective in what as others have said (and which I agree with) is on the face of it an incredibly straightforward play but once you get into it is actually a far more complex piece of writing.

Having originally booked a £32 circle ticket due to there being non of those sweet £20 front stalls tickets being available at the time, a bit of lurking on the NT a few weeks ago paid off and I managed to bag a £20 row B stalls seat.

A thoroughly entertaining (and thought provoking night) at the Nash with a well deserved standing ovation and many curtain calls by the cast.

[NorthernAlien]

Just seen this, this evening. I love the way Fugard takes a single aspect of Apartheid and weaves a story around it (In 'Sizwe' it's the ID Card).

Concur with others that Boon's accent is not great for the first 30 minutes or so - he seemed to be trying too hard with it. Msamati was just superb though - a real masterclass in acting.

I did feel that it felt slow in the first 45-60 minutes, but I think it needs it, so that what happens nearer the end is more emotionally devastating. And that gentle Coup de Theatre at the end is something that I suspect can only be included with the hindsight that comes from being in 2019 and knowing what happened in South Africa in the intervening time period.

I was sat in the circle, and the girl behind me was obviously very unaware of the tendency for characters to display their backsides in South African theatre set in the apartheid era - so her commentary during that bit was fun! She'd also fallen foul of the NT's 'only one very small bag rule', and was being berated by her father before-hand for having left all her valuables in the cloakroom - she was trying to explain that she didn't have any pockets (a huge problem with female clothing), and dad was honestly being a bit of a cumudgeon about it. I had two bags with me, put one inside the other and kept some of the contents of one of them in my hand as I went into the auditorium, and immeadiately divided my stuff back out into the 2 bags when I sat down. This was a good tactic, as the queue at the cloakroom after the show was huge.

I was on row H, and 6 or 7 seats next to me were all empty. Almost the entirety of rows E and F were also empty - gosh, I wonder where the ticket prices changed..

Seat frankly somewhat uncomfortable, and despite the generous rake, the world's tallest man in front of me meant I had to sit at a weird angle to be able to see the stage properly.

In summary - show good: user experience, not so much.

[jamesxxx]

Saw this last night.
This is good and today are the last performances.
Go.

James Macdonald directed a production in Manchester, Contact theatre in 1989 when was a young trainee director.
Simon Gregor played Hally.
Joseph Mydell played Sam.

It was special.