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Post by lynette on Feb 7, 2020 22:04:54 GMT
Anyone seen this yet? Getting a few good vibes on twitter. I have booked cos I like him (and have a soft spot for his dad) I thought he was really good in that two hander which went back and forth a while back.
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 7, 2020 22:10:30 GMT
I was supposed to go tonight but my flu turned for the worst today so I didn't go after hacking my way through Musik last night. I hope I can get another seat later in the run, but something tells me this one is gonna sell out  |
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Feb 8, 2020 9:41:04 GMT
I was supposed to go tonight but my flu turned for the worst today so I didn't go after hacking my way through Musik last night. I hope I can get another seat later in the run, but something tells me this one is gonna sell out There's only 4 or so days that aren't sold out already unfortunately so it seems the Friday rush will be your (and my) only option. From the clips on Twitter it looks really good so I'd love to see this on a Saturday evening but I'm not hopeful of my chances especially since I'm trying to rush for Albion for the last couple Saturdays of February so I'll only have one chance for this depending on which date I book for that. |
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Post by kathryn on Feb 8, 2020 10:20:11 GMT
Went last night.
Rafe does an amazing job. Really interesting approach to mixing the political and the personal - there were a couple of things that just felt a little too on-the-nose for me, but on the whole it was poignant and thought-provoking.
There were a few empty seats scattered around so if it’s showing sold out I would suggest checking for returns.
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Post by Forrest on Feb 8, 2020 10:48:02 GMT
I saw it in previews and thought Rafe Spall was wonderful: the amount of emotion and energy he put into it was incredible. There was not a moment in the hour and forty minutes when he was standing still, and he went through so many emotional highs and lows on that night, that I felt exhausted simply from watching him. It also struck me what a beautifully daunting position he was in: since the audience is all around him, and there are all these subtle interactions, he immediately sees how they respond and is forced to adapt quickly each night. In a one man show, there is literally nothing to hide behind. But he also did struck me as such a clever and sharp actor, that I would actually love to see the performance again just to witness him do that. (It reminded me of Tom Mothersdale's Richard III during one of the performances in Manchester, when I saw what I still believe to be the best example of communicating with an audience ever, when he went to unbelievable lengths playing with his character to respond to the fact that most of the audience were children. It was pure stage magic.) The text itself, I thought, is a little... too long. And it struck me as maybe trying to catalogue too many issues: it felt like it wishes to be all-encompassing, but occasionally it felt slightly repetitive. kathryn is right that some people might find it a bit on the nose. I didn't, possibly because I am not English, so I felt more like an observer (actually, being Croatian I found humour in a few moments many others probably didn't), although the story they tell isn't really foreign to me either, it's just that some specific circumstances are different. It did seem really clever how they used a personal story clashed with a story of a nation to explore how lost and potentially misguided its character is at both levels, personal and political, and how these condition each other, even if we are often not fully aware of it. It is a smart piece of writing. Do catch it if you can, though. Spall truly dazzles in it. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 8, 2020 20:17:54 GMT
I hope I can get another seat later in the run They added about 20 seats during previews, and seats always seem to drop at the Dorfman days before. Good luck. Yeah there have been a heap go on sale today for certain performances next week, I just don't want to risk it again so soon in case I am still sick |
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Post by n1david on Feb 12, 2020 12:02:50 GMT
I thought this was pretty remarkable - Rafe Spall's performance is truly exceptional, driven from the first word. Very effective audience interaction (not participation) which must be difficult to blend with the very dense script.
As a play, it drifts off to the end for me, there's a plot inflexion which didn't really work for me, but the sheer energy, anger and language for the majority of the play was masterly.
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 12, 2020 18:17:48 GMT
I really really liked this, and his performance must surely be ab early contender for Best Actor. He literally doesn't stop moving or talking from start you end and the time flies by.
Like the poster above there was one subplot which maybe stretched the plot a little too far for me, but don't let that put you off if you can get a ticket.
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Post by theatrelover123 on Feb 12, 2020 19:12:16 GMT
Saw it last night. 5 star performance. 3 star play.
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Post by asfound on Feb 13, 2020 8:25:56 GMT
Concur with most here - the performance was great, but I thought the the play itself was only decent. Rafe Spall is full of energy a lot of fun, the dense script interspersed with an almost stand-up comedy style rapport and banter with the audience, along with some pretty funny meta references. I was worried he would lose his voice at some points.
But I kind of think it's guilty of something that is actually brought up during the play when he is ranting about "liberal lefties" not understanding people like him, in that it sometimes felt quite patronising and inauthentic. One reveal towards the end did not ring true to me at all and despite one of the themes being confusion, from that point on the storytelling aspect and characterisation came across quite confused and muddled.
I would still recommend it - there are aspects of Michael's state of mind that are genuinely interesting and could well have something pertinent to say about the state of the nation even though I didn't particularly recognise it - but the performance and staging outshines the script.
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Post by nash16 on Feb 15, 2020 17:02:29 GMT
Off yesterday.
Off today.
NT refusing to give info as to who will play it this morning.
Also saying no to both exchanges (I’ve never heard of this before) or refunds.
Cary Crankson stepping in and added to the website.
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 15, 2020 17:27:31 GMT
Yikes! How are they getting away with no exchanges or refunds?
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Post by intoanewlife on Feb 15, 2020 21:10:37 GMT
Usual reason, you book for the play, not the actor. Oh I thought he meant the performances themselves had been cancelled. |
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Post by crowblack on Feb 15, 2020 21:37:03 GMT
Usual reason, you book for the play, not the actor. As a matter of interest, how does that work with things like the upcoming Emilia Clarke 'The Seagull' or other plays where the advertising is all centred around a star name and the ticket prices are, rather cynically I think, unusually high because they know some fans will pay silly money to see their TV or film favourites in the flesh? |
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Post by lynette on Feb 15, 2020 23:35:47 GMT
O dear. Is this a flu thing, a broken bone, or what? Supposed to be seeing on 7th March and I did book it for him. I won’t bother if someone else. Sorry.
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 15, 2020 23:45:37 GMT
Was there this afternoon.
Told Rafe wasn't performing due to illness. I thought the understudy was good, but I didn't enjoy the show really.
It felt like lots of ideas that hadn't totally been formed together...
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Post by popcultureboy on Feb 16, 2020 0:37:58 GMT
Off yesterday. Off today. NT refusing to give info as to who will play it this morning. Also saying no to both exchanges (I’ve never heard of this before) or refunds. Cary Crankson stepping in and added to the website. Imagine the no to exchanges was due to the run being sold out so they don't have anything to exchange people to. And if you start giving refunds for one person, you have to do it for everyone. And it likely would be everyone. Rafe was back on this evening and judging from how scratchy and hoarse he was, it's clear whatever he got ill with affected his voice and he could do one show but not two. For being still under the weather, he didn't dial down his performance one iota. An absolute frenetic masterclass in a play which is not a masterpiece. A confused midsection lets it down. |
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Post by nash16 on Feb 18, 2020 8:43:28 GMT
UPDATE:
Apology email from the NT for member of staff refusing an exchange.
Refund given on the ticket I subsequently booked for tonight.
Looking forward to seeing the show finally with Rafe.
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Post by zackpolanski on Feb 18, 2020 10:07:22 GMT
I saw this performance in previews and very much agree with much of what is being said.
The performance was amazing. The commitment, energy and sheer power of the performance is worth seeing alone.
I feel less enthused about the script than even some of the more critical comments. I thought the 'twist' poor and unnecessary and I felt it wasn't saying anything new that we don't hear parroted on Politics Live or Question Time.
I want a play that's exploring a political or social issue to take me somewhere new - and it just didn't.
Nevertheless, still worth seeing for the memorableness of the performance alone!
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Post by crowblack on Feb 18, 2020 12:34:29 GMT
It's the play, not the person, unlike Broadway I can't see this position continuing, with those shows that are clearly geared to pulling in a particular, named TV/film star's fanbase rather than fans of the play. |
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 18, 2020 12:56:02 GMT
Would be great if they found a way around it, I agree crowblack. Maybe we'll have 'ordinary' tickets, premium tickets and 'star' premium tickets that come with a money back guarantee? |
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Post by crowblack on Feb 18, 2020 13:28:20 GMT
Would be great if they found a way around it, I agree crowblack. Ian McKellen, when incapacitated for King Lear, did a talk instead, so that's one option! I can't help feeling the rest of the cast would feel rather miffed though, if that became the norm to satisfy fans (when I saw King Lear, some audience members turned up in full Middle Earth costume!) |
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Post by crowblack on Feb 18, 2020 15:36:55 GMT
And seriously on the costumes?! Yes, very hippy-Hobbit-wizardy with rainbow cloaks and everything, which was rather cheering given the slate-grey deluge London was enjoying that day. |
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Post by alexandra on Feb 26, 2020 13:31:05 GMT
Where do I want to sit for this, please? Pit (short end) or sides?
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Post by noboiscout on Feb 26, 2020 14:48:30 GMT
Where do I want to sit for this, please? Pit (short end) or sides? Best seats are what they call the 'bar seats' which are down in by the runway/stage. Unless you are concerned about actor's spit.. Have seen it twice now and wouldn't want to sit elsewhere in the theatre. |
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