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Post by alessia on Oct 16, 2024 9:51:29 GMT
Can someone check in on Arifa Akbar - ***** indeed- does she ever give 5 stars...I remember one instance and that was The Doctor I am seeing this tonight, looking forward to it but I never really agree with her reviews. |
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Post by Steve on Oct 16, 2024 11:43:50 GMT
it’s a fundamentally silly play — overreliant on coincidences and with characters that don’t make any choices, stripping the play of any stakes. But the production doesn’t do itself any favours. Given that everyone knows the story and ending, a modern production can’t rely on the big reveal as a reveal at all: you’ve got to fundamentally rework the play to embrace the audience’s knowledge, really leaning into it and finding the tension somewhere else. This production does that to an extent, making constant knowing jokes about parents/children/sex, but it doesn’t fully commit. So you’re left with a play where the central conceit doesn’t work, but nothing else has been offered to fill its place. It is an odd play, in that most of us know what happens in the end. But then, so did most of the Greeks. I think this production is mesmerising and devastating, and that Icke has done for Oedipus what he did for the Oresteia, and for Hamlet in its staging, in that he finds the core of the play and makes it work for now. Mark Strong and Lesley Manville are peerless, and the whole ensemble zings along with them, especially June Watson and Michael Gould. Some spoilers follow. . . For the Greeks, this play certainly wasn't "over-reliant on coincidences," since Apollo makes every event happen (which Oedipus explicitly addresses in the original text). This was for the Greeks about acknowledging the awesome power of the Gods, and the helplessness of human beings in the face of them. It is true that Oedipus doesn't deserve or earn his fate, in the original text, as he is simply the victim of his father's crimes against Apollo, whose whole line Apollo resolved to destroy. And in that sense, this story is nothing like Shakespeare's tragedies, where leading characters have agency and bring about their own fates, although of course, even in Shakespeare, agency is only a privilege of the leading character ("as flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods" says supporting player, Gloucester in Lear). Oedipus is similarly just collateral damage in other people's drama: Apollo's vendetta against Laius. But this horrific story still resonates because all of us can be collateral damage. Every day on the news, whole families are horrifyingly killed because they live next door to someone targeted for death, or we could simply just get run over on the street. We don't always control our fates, and like for the Greeks, there is disillusioning humility, clarity and power in contemplating this through storytelling. Icke's genius is that he makes Oedipus the ultimate liberal trying to fix society. Like Obama, his birth certificate is challenged by fear mongering xenophobes, and like Obama, Oedipus resolves to resist "fear beats hope" politics. Icke's Oedipus isn't just hopeful, he's truthful, and resolves to investigate himself. Icke's Oedipus believes in tolerance and the speech Icke gives to Strong about Oedipus's love and understanding for his son, Polynices, is heartfelt liberalism at its most compassionate and appealing. Icke's Oedipus embodies the philosophy of the Beatles and now: "Love is the only thing that matters in the end," he says in Strong's softest yet most authoritative tone. June Watson's Merope speaks in wonder of her son's legendary "emotional intelligence." And then Icke takes this loveable, good-natured, caring father and all round decent liberal man and lets the ancient Greek noose ensnare him in such a terrifying and inexorable way, against a ticking clock, that you get a sinister tingling that maybe everything we believe in just might be a house of cards after all. Maybe there is some supernatural power controlling our fates, even if it isn't the alienating Apollo who Icke sensibly cuts from the text, and maybe our best hopes won't be enough to save us. It's chilling theatre. This production is devastating, and devastatingly acted, to the tune of 5 stars. An Oedipus for our time. I agree with Arifa Akbar for once, and that's as confounding as this unmissable production.  |
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 16, 2024 22:19:34 GMT
In fairness to AA
This is a triumph critically but see if it helps tickets shift
Guardian 5 stars
FT 5 stars
Independent 4 stars
ES 4 stars
London Theatre 4 stars
The Stage 4 stars
Time Out 4 stars
I News 4 stars
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187 posts
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Oct 16, 2024 22:22:29 GMT
It seems to have sold pretty well so far - and there are no rush tickets or offers to be had (apart from under 30 tickets).
I notice they've even increased prices in light of these reviews.
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Post by lookingatthestars on Oct 16, 2024 22:28:01 GMT
It seems to have sold pretty well so far - and there are no rush tickets or offers to be had (apart from under 30 tickets). I notice they've even increased prices in light of these reviews. Yes, I had my eye on the 'Green' seats in the front row earlier today for a date in Nov. They were £55 each. I needed to check some travel plans and when I returned to book the seats they had jumped to £62.50. Alas, I was not quick enough. It's only £7.50, but it does all add up. |
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Post by alessia on Oct 17, 2024 5:14:02 GMT
I am glad I found the post about the front row seats when I did. Went last night and thought this was excellent. I particularly loved Leslie Manville's performance, I always liked her but this was something else. At times she made me forget that she was acting. so natural. Theatre was full and people standing up at the end.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 17, 2024 7:04:18 GMT
Hopefully this will get a proshot as I don't fancy a nosebleed seat or remortgaging
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Post by nancycunard on Oct 17, 2024 8:43:12 GMT
It seems to have sold pretty well so far - and there are no rush tickets or offers to be had (apart from under 30 tickets). I notice they've even increased prices in light of these reviews. There’s only eight under 30 tickets per show and I was told by the box office staff last week that they’ve mostly gone — the earliest I could get one for was 29th November! |
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 17, 2024 10:41:39 GMT
holy smoke, I looked at my stalls ticket for this and it's gone up four fold. Not seen that before. Can't be healthy.
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Oct 17, 2024 11:35:14 GMT
I annoyingly didn't book the under 30s tickets when they went on sale earlier this year and when I went to try and grab one this week there were barely any left at all!
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Post by nancycunard on Oct 17, 2024 12:17:10 GMT
I annoyingly didn't book the under 30s tickets when they went on sale earlier this year and when I went to try and grab one this week there were barely any left at all! I called them and the box office were really helpful with finding availability for me — might be easier than trawling through online |
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Post by greenandbrownandblue on Oct 20, 2024 13:06:43 GMT
Email to say Lesley Manville isn't going to be on for the evening show on 9 November. Just spotted this on the website, just as I was about to book for 16 November evening: At the evening performance on Saturday 9 November, Tuesday 12 November and Saturday 16 November, the role of Jocasta will be played by Celia Nelson. |
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Post by lynette on Oct 21, 2024 9:48:17 GMT
Phew, going on a Friday. I hope she is ok. Otherwise a bit rum to miss shows when people book especially for her.
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Post by duncan on Oct 21, 2024 10:20:03 GMT
Nobody should EVER book specifically for an actor - that way lies disappointment.
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 21, 2024 13:08:24 GMT
Nobody should EVER book specifically for an actor - that way lies disappointment. But it's a fact of life people do... |
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Post by lynette on Oct 21, 2024 15:10:57 GMT
Nobody should EVER book specifically for an actor - that way lies disappointment. But it's a fact of life people do... I understand that. I have huge faith in actors to do the job regardless of fame. But this time I did book for her because she is a favourite on tv and screen but I have not seen her on the stage. |
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Post by zahidf on Oct 21, 2024 15:29:18 GMT
But it's a fact of life people do... I understand that. I have huge faith in actors to do the job regardless of fame. But this time I did book for her because she is a favourite on tv and screen but I have not seen her on the stage. Yeah Also, tickets arent cheap: people are paying for the starrier actor in the role, right or wrong |
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 21, 2024 15:47:50 GMT
If a new play, the cast can be indicative of the strength of the work. The cast annoucements for Giant, for example, helped heighten anticipation, and vitually sold out the run. Donmar another, etc.
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Post by Jon on Oct 21, 2024 18:29:00 GMT
The fact it's those three dates makes me wonder if it's she has a prior commitment she can't get out of.
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Post by jake on Oct 21, 2024 19:12:27 GMT
But it's a fact of life people do... I understand that. I have huge faith in actors to do the job regardless of fame. But this time I did book for her because she is a favourite on tv and screen but I have not seen her on the stage. Fingers crossed. Disappointment is an occupational hazard of theatregoing, actors being only human. I've had my share of it - most recently when Harriet Walter couldn't play Bernarda Alba at the performance I booked. I'd done more than just book, of course; I'd taken a whole day and paid £60+ for a 400-mile round trip on the strength of Walter's renown (well, not just on that - I'd seen her as Linda Loman and thought she'd be perfect for BA). But what can you do? You can't expect someone to work when they're ill. It gets a bit more fraught when people double book and leave ticket holders disappointed. I'd booked ticket, travel and hotel for Lisa Dwan in No's Knife at the Old Vic and was furious when I was informed my performance had been cancelled because she had decided to do filming in Ireland. Tbf, the Old Vic management were profusely apologetic and gave me a house seat for any production of my choice; but I'll never book to see Dwan again. I hope you get to see Lesley Manville. I've seen her four times and she's my absolute favourite actor. Her performance as Helen Alving is the most magnetic thing I've ever seen on stage. But even LM wouldn't get me the audience for Robert Icke again! |
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Post by alexandra on Oct 23, 2024 11:05:45 GMT
Stupendous. Two masters at the top of their game, and that’s just the actors.
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 23, 2024 17:58:44 GMT
June watson indisposed
She is an amazing actress and I hope she is okay
But I wonder if she should take a rest
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 23, 2024 20:51:04 GMT
It’s all hand wringing melodrama of the worst kind
And unfortunately
The already incredulous Greek tragedies
Which are always brimming with ridiculous excess to start with
Morph into a ridiculous pantomime with the audience bored rigid for the inevitable “reveal” which here failed to even get one gasp and took an age to reach
It always a shame when the audience are that far ahead of the main characters
And by this directors insistence on always “modernising” them
I wonder if Icke has a game he plays with these works like forcing the square shaped piece into the triangular slot ramming it so hard all the edges are chipped off and it becomes unrecognisable and mutated
Totally irrelevant to its source material
In any case his work is rarely original
It’s always a bastardised and worse version of something else
This was particularly like an early Von Hove cast off
For me this sort of piece is pointless and without merit
There were many parallels with The Other Place
In terms of directorial and adaptation weaknesses
Perhaps for the current generation of directors and undemanding and unknowing audiences
These are thrilling events
For those who studied the classic works (and I wonder how many current theatre goers have read those texts)
They are mere passing trifles and lazy at best
I seem to say this quite frequently
But the acting, writing and themes on show in this sort of venture
Are better executed in Eastenders
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 23, 2024 20:55:27 GMT
On TodayTix, I just saw £70 front row restricted and £28 back-of-beyond so ... it's something.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 26, 2024 11:48:05 GMT
Single stalls ticket available for todayI've injured myself. Can't make it to the matinee at 2.30pm. If you can offer face value of £25 that would be handy, current dynamic price is north of £100 Wyndham's is next door to Leicester Square tube - if you can make it drop me message (will need your email). Just messaged you! I am at a loose end before this evening's Donmar show |
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