371 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on Feb 8, 2017 9:53:45 GMT
HG: The NT Medea with Helen McCrory. Also outrageously modern with supposedly unmodern material. Which also didn't really work. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2017 12:21:03 GMT
That's subjective though, I thought it worked very well and could equally present my opinion as bald fact if I were that way inclined.
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1,081 posts
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Post by andrew on Feb 8, 2017 12:26:35 GMT
"Outrageously modern" is a phrase I wouldn't say was applicable to either Medea or Hedda Gabler. Especially Medea.
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5,690 posts
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Post by lynette on Feb 8, 2017 19:31:43 GMT
Medea was one of the best productions I've seen in the Olivier. Dunno why I said 'outrageously'; maybe I was recalling reactions at the time.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2017 8:53:32 GMT
Medea was one of the best productions I've seen in the Olivier. Dunno why I said 'outrageously'; maybe I was recalling reactions at the time. Really? Goodness. One of the best? Ever? Wow. Well I'll give it this. It was certainly better than that abominable mess at the Almeida with Kate Fleetwood. |
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141 posts
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Post by Mr Crummles on Feb 9, 2017 18:00:53 GMT
Medea was one of the best productions I've seen in the Olivier. . I agree, and remember being so surprised that Helen McCrory never got nominated for the Olivier. I would have given her the award that year. |
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117 posts
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Post by edmundokeano on Feb 10, 2017 8:48:45 GMT
Medea was one of the best productions I've seen in the Olivier. Dunno why I said 'outrageously'; maybe I was recalling reactions at the time. Really? Goodness. One of the best? Ever? Wow. Well I'll give it this. It was certainly better than that abominable mess at the Almeida with Kate Fleetwood. That really was a disappointment....
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Feb 11, 2017 10:20:06 GMT
That's subjective though, I thought it worked very well and could equally present my opinion as bald fact if I were that way inclined. I thought the NT Medea was superb personally but not presenting that as a fact. Just shows how we all have different tastes, as with this Hedda. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2017 10:24:59 GMT
No, you all have the same taste (mine). But most of you just haven't realised it yet.
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2,389 posts
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Post by peggs on Feb 12, 2017 17:38:22 GMT
I'm coming out in favour of this, my expectations were practicually floor level, was most excited about meeting up with friend and getting my hands on cursed child programme than going to see play but whilst I took quite a while to warm to this by the end i was in some sort of shocked starring state (and gloriously splashed in tomato juice). I found the approach really quite different to my previous Hedda's, not sure the modern staging, use of wide open set etc. but the different portrayal of Brack and Tesman. This Brack was threatening from the start, I found his 'change' quite plausible as he seemed so creepy, sinister. Had forgotten to look out for and missed the funny walk, but i remember stuff Spall has done on tv when he was evil and menacing and for me he can really do this. Tesman was not the usual sort of head in the clouds husband i've seen before, he knew how unhappy his wife was and wasn't so happy himself, again this worked for me. Ditto liked Sinead Matthews. Love Ruth Wilson, yes she was pretty unappealing from the off but so obviously unhappy, i felt for her, was horrified by the closing net on her.
Direction wise tick from me as a different way of doing this great play, i loved the great wash of flower scent when they all went flying and the sparseness of their apartment. Front row was harrowing at the end, all that sort of torturous tom juice, there seemed all these new awful possibilities about what Brack might be ready to demand from Hedda.
Possibly their gunfire notice should have contained splash warning for front row and firing pistol bits flying out and hitting audience though i admit for me this gloriously added to my experience, i do like to feel involved!
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Feb 12, 2017 23:12:19 GMT
I'm coming out in favour of this, my expectations were practicually floor level, was most excited about meeting up with friend and getting my hands on cursed child programme than going to see play but whilst I took quite a while to warm to this by the end i was in some sort of shocked starring state (and gloriously splashed in tomato juice). I found the approach really quite different to my previous Hedda's, not sure the modern staging, use of wide open set etc. but the different portrayal of Brack and Tesman. This Brack was threatening from the start, I found his 'change' quite plausible as he seemed so creepy, sinister. Had forgotten to look out for and missed the funny walk, but i remember stuff Spall has done on tv when he was evil and menacing and for me he can really do this. Tesman was not the usual sort of head in the clouds husband i've seen before, he knew how unhappy his wife was and wasn't so happy himself, again this worked for me. Ditto liked Sinead Matthews. Love Ruth Wilson, yes she was pretty unappealing from the off but so obviously unhappy, i felt for her, was horrified by the closing net on her. Direction wise tick from me as a different way of doing this great play, i loved the great wash of flower scent when they all went flying and the sparseness of their apartment. Front row was harrowing at the end, all that sort of torturous tom juice, there seemed all these new awful possibilities about what Brack might be ready to demand from Hedda. Possibly their gunfire notice should have contained splash warning for front row and firing pistol bits flying out and hitting audience though i admit for me this gloriously added to my experience, i do like to feel involved! I'm genuinely not being facetious - sitting in the front row this week, will my clothes be safe?! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 23:13:37 GMT
Best not to wear any, if you want to be on the safe side.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 23:59:45 GMT
Your clothes will be safe. The tomato juice is very directed. You might get hit by flowers but there didn't seem to be any lilies or anything else that would cause a terrible stain.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 11:42:12 GMT
Mixed feelings about this. Just from an aesthetic point, I thought it was absolutely beautiful - almost designed to make amazing production photos!
This is one of my favourite plays and I don't like it when Hedda is played as too 'nice' or sympathetic - she is bored out of her brain and stultified in a society that doesn't know what to do with intelligent women, so of course she's in a foul mood and not particularly affectionate towards the husband who is probably less bright than she is. So I loved Ruth Wilson's performance in isolation from the production, and I also thought the other performances were very strong and interesting - done quite differently from other productions I've seen in somecases, which felt fresh.
What I thought was missing though is a strong sense of why Hedda is so bored, fed up and self-destructive; Ibsen's proto-feminism seems to have disappeared almost completely. Without it, Hedda comes across as a terrible attention-seeking brat or someone with a diagnosable mental illness.
I really liked this and I think it's a strong, valid take so no complaints at all; but for me it misses what's driving the whole dynamic of the play.
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 13, 2017 20:53:43 GMT
End of act one and I'm really enjoying it so far, I didn't find Ruth unsympathetic at all. Also, I didn't remember it to be so ironic.
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2,848 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 13, 2017 22:54:36 GMT
Yeah, I liked it. I liked it so much that I was very surprised to see that some people didn't come back for act two. I thought Ruth was great and so was the rest of the cast (I wasn't crazy about Aunt J). I remember Sinéad Matthews from Evening at the talk house, she was the only good thing in it, isn't it incredible how much her voice sounds like Bernadette Peters'?
I really liked the direction, I liked how everybody slowly turned against Hedda in the last few minutes, it was very effective. I went to see it with very low expectations and ended up loving it.
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2,389 posts
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Post by peggs on Feb 14, 2017 17:26:05 GMT
I'm genuinely not being facetious - sitting in the front row this week, will my clothes be safe?! You'll be fine, you might get hit by a flower but that's a rather sweet smelling experience, the tomato flick was only as I was directly in front of the actors when it occurred, sort of downwards action rather than spraying out and bathing the front row and in truth it hit my shoes and a wee sprinkling on trousers, am sure it will come out now problem, looks very watering. So fear not I was being a tad dramatic. |
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524 posts
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Post by callum on Feb 14, 2017 18:50:08 GMT
Ha, thank you Peggs! Looking forward to it!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2017 23:09:06 GMT
wee sprinkling on trousers, am sure it will come out now problem No, urine leaves a stain. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2017 10:29:18 GMT
Research into the use of mordants in the dyeing industry. I hope.
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2,389 posts
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Post by peggs on Feb 15, 2017 14:29:10 GMT
wee sprinkling on trousers, am sure it will come out now problem No, urine leaves a stain. I guess I asked for that Honoured Guest, I think such an occurrence might have dampened by view considerably. |
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5,690 posts
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Post by lynette on Feb 15, 2017 16:25:21 GMT
Yeah, I liked it. I liked it so much that I was very surprised to see that some people didn't come back for act two. I thought Ruth was great and so was the rest of the cast (I wasn't crazy about Aunt J). I remember Sinéad Matthews from Evening at the talk house, she was the only good thing in it, isn't it incredible how much her voice sounds like Bernadette Peters'? I really liked the direction, I liked how everybody slowly turned against Hedda in the last few minutes, it was very effective. I went to see it with very low expectations and ended up loving it. Actually I can understand people leaving. It is a play that depends on your knowing or feeling that disaster for Hedda looms big. And they didn't really achieve that. |
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1,046 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Feb 25, 2017 14:56:47 GMT
Just seen that Entry Pass members can buy Circle tickets to the NT Live dress rehearsal for this, at 2pm on the 8th of March. Looks like none of the tickets have sold yet - just nabbed myself the centre of the front row!
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489 posts
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Post by djdan14 on Feb 28, 2017 7:02:33 GMT
Has a tour been announced for this? It's just been announced to be playing Hull when the New theatre reopens in November.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 10:19:05 GMT
Has a tour been announced for this? It's just been announced to be playing Hull when the New theatre reopens in November. Think you might be onto something... Just announced here also... www.thelowry.com/event/hedda-gabler1Unlikely that Ruth Wilson, Rafe Spall and Kyle Soller will be packing their suitcases I imagine? |
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