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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2018 12:18:45 GMT
I thought this was OK. The staging is clever with the Inspector and kids located in 1945 and the house and family in 1910 - highlighted Priestley's intentions. Not sure about the acting, the Inspector was naturalistic but the family edged towards 2-dimensional caricature, not sure if that was intentional or the result of short rehearsal time for the tour. Biggest disappointment was the big stage effect with the house - very feeble - probably because it has been hyped in every review of the production for the last 25 years. Diana Payne-Myers is in this, she has been in a lot of the revivals and tours of the play and she's now 90 years old. Good for her. Anyway, overall, a good 3*. The cast, apart from Goole, are directed to use an expressionistic acting style, so very much the archetypes and exaggeration of emotion, gesture and such that might register as cartoon like. After twenty five years it may be that it has coarsened, as is usually the case with such productions being restaged for that long. I’m with Brook, thinking that productions have a shelf life of a few years maximum before they become a memory of a memory of what they started out as. No matter how much they try not to, it’s inevitable. When I saw it with Kenneth Cranham what must be have been about 25 years ago (!) the house collapse was pretty dangerous, so much so that a dinner plate landed by my feet (I was on the front row). With a touring production I imagine, again, that it’s a shadow of the effect that existed originally. |
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Post by Jan on Oct 7, 2018 14:09:33 GMT
I thought this was OK. The staging is clever with the Inspector and kids located in 1945 and the house and family in 1910 - highlighted Priestley's intentions. Not sure about the acting, the Inspector was naturalistic but the family edged towards 2-dimensional caricature, not sure if that was intentional or the result of short rehearsal time for the tour. Biggest disappointment was the big stage effect with the house - very feeble - probably because it has been hyped in every review of the production for the last 25 years. Diana Payne-Myers is in this, she has been in a lot of the revivals and tours of the play and she's now 90 years old. Good for her. Anyway, overall, a good 3*. The cast, apart from Goole, are directed to use an expressionistic acting style, so very much the archetypes and exaggeration of emotion, gesture and such that might register as cartoon like. After twenty five years it may be that it has coarsened, as is usually the case with such productions being restaged for that long. I’m with Brook, thinking that productions have a shelf life of a few years maximum before they become a memory of a memory of what they started out as. No matter how much they try not to, it’s inevitable. When I saw it with Kenneth Cranham what must be have been about 25 years ago (!) the house collapse was pretty dangerous, so much so that a dinner plate landed by my feet (I was on the front row). With a touring production I imagine, again, that it’s a shadow of the effect that existed originally. Interesting - thanks for that. Still worthwhile reviving it for the GCSE audience though even if it is a shadow of its former self. It is unusual to have theatre production revived for such a long period - more common for musicals and commonplace for operas. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2018 16:33:46 GMT
Yes, and in this case the Daldry production seems to be ubiquitous to the extent that people may assume it was written to be peformed this way. Anyone aware of any professional productions which aren't the Daldry one in recent years?
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Post by Jan on Oct 7, 2018 19:14:54 GMT
Yes, and in this case the Daldry production seems to be ubiquitous to the extent that people may assume it was written to be peformed this way. Anyone aware of any professional productions which aren't the Daldry one in recent years? Not aware of any - though there was a TV version quite recently I remember. It used to be a staple of the amateur dramatic scene which is where I first saw it 50 years ago but I believe amateur productions have been banned by the rights holders since the Daldry version has been touring. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Oct 7, 2018 19:23:53 GMT
As I have said before, it is time for another professional revival to happen. Iconic as the Daldry version has been, it is time for other directors to take this piece and try to make it new again. Most will fail to find a way that persists beyond the first run. One may hit on a way that can hold the stages of the UK for a decade or more. But people should be allowed to try.
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Post by justfran on Nov 2, 2018 22:04:53 GMT
Does this production have an interval?
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Post by showgirl on Nov 3, 2018 5:39:40 GMT
Why, please, do people ask questions and never say "please?"
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Nov 3, 2018 9:21:37 GMT
Why, please, do people ask questions and never say "please?" It looks weird.... but mainly time. Thank you |
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Post by Jan on Nov 3, 2018 9:39:23 GMT
Why, please, do people ask questions and never say "please?" I think it’s because postings here are classed with emails and conventional letters, rather than spoken conversation where those sort of niceties are more usual ? |
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Post by justfran on Nov 3, 2018 12:59:10 GMT
Why, please, do people ask questions and never say "please?" Sorry if it came across in any other way, I was just meaning to ask a simple question about the production and I don’t actually know of anybody who says please with every question they ask (whether in writing or out loud). Was there a purpose to your post other than to be rude? |
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Post by Backdrifter on Nov 4, 2018 20:32:02 GMT
If it had said "Does this production have an interval, please?" it would look very odd to me. It would also read like the way foreign characters in 70s sitcoms were made to speak.
"Thanks in advance" might work, I suppose, or "Can anyone please tell me..." but to me, if anything it'd come across as a bit ingratiating. As it stands I don't find it rude or terse.
If it's still the NT production then as I recall, no there's no interval.
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Post by Jan on Nov 5, 2018 6:51:52 GMT
If it had said "Does this production have an interval, please?" it would look very odd to me. It would also read like the way foreign characters in 70s sitcoms were made to speak. "Thanks in advance" might work, I suppose, or "Can anyone please tell me..." but to me, if anything it'd come across as a bit ingratiating. As it stands I don't find it rude or terse. If it's still the NT production then as I recall, no there's no interval. Yeah, no interval, ran about 2hrs in Wimbledon I think (a bit longer than they advertised anyway). |
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Post by justfran on Nov 5, 2018 22:10:21 GMT
Thank you both for the answer 😊
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Post by Jan on Nov 6, 2018 7:25:12 GMT
Thank you both for the answer 😊 You're welcome. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2019 12:42:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2021 11:12:12 GMT
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Post by Jan on Dec 10, 2021 12:29:40 GMT
It will tour for as long as it stays on the GCSE syllabus. Worth a look if you haven’t seen it. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2021 13:38:21 GMT
It will tour for as long as it stays on the GCSE syllabus. Worth a look if you haven’t seen it. I saw it at the Birmingham Rep in 2019, this time it's going back but to the Alexandra - which is no surprise as it's a larger capacity and I think it sold the Rep out, as you say lots of GCSE students were there. I had been meaning to see it for a while before then as I loved studying it at school and this production/interpretation was very interesting compared to the film versions, and what I could only expect previous productions were like. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 10, 2021 15:06:17 GMT
Firstly my own assumption here and that is the original director Stephan Daldry who done a magnificent job on this play and in a nutshell it is a brilliant piece of theatre. I would have thought Stephen would have earned more royalties from this than any other of his shows, including Billy Elliot.
Looking at the tour schedule, the dates have only been announced for ATG so far, with massive gaps in the schedule, so I expect a lot more dates to be added soon. If a West End playhouse is in need of filling and I am mindful they're in short supply, this is a great candidate to go in and fill, it will always put bums on seats.
I am so ready to see this again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2021 16:23:49 GMT
Firstly my own assumption here and that is the original director Stephan Daldry who done a magnificent job on this play and in a nutshell it is a brilliant piece of theatre. I would have thought Stephen would have earned more royalties from this than any other of his shows, including Billy Elliot. Looking at the tour schedule, the dates have only been announced for ATG so far, with massive gaps in the schedule, so I expect a lot more dates to be added soon. If a West End playhouse is in need of filling and I am mindful they're in short supply, this is a great candidate to go in and fill, it will always put bums on seats. I am so ready to see this again. Mayflower Southampton (1 to 5 Nov) and Yvone Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (22 to 26 Nov) have also been announced. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 10, 2021 21:36:39 GMT
It’s a 30 year old production though. Last time it went round that effect at the end was extremely clunky. I wouldn’t go back to see it again until someone does something different with it.
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 12, 2021 12:49:48 GMT
Firstly my own assumption here and that is the original director Stephan Daldry who done a magnificent job on this play and in a nutshell it is a brilliant piece of theatre. I would have thought Stephen would have earned more royalties from this than any other of his shows, including Billy Elliot. Looking at the tour schedule, the dates have only been announced for ATG so far, with massive gaps in the schedule, so I expect a lot more dates to be added soon. If a West End playhouse is in need of filling and I am mindful they're in short supply, this is a great candidate to go in and fill, it will always put bums on seats. I am so ready to see this again. Mayflower Southampton (1 to 5 Nov) and Yvone Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (22 to 26 Nov) have also been announced. There is a 2 month gap between Aylesbury and the next tour date in Richmond, those dates are going to be filled and I expect those dates will be filled by the independent touring houses. On a side note, I don’t know why they don’t announce all dates at once and touring websites can be pretty poor, the official Inspector Calls website only has one date showing. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2021 13:52:08 GMT
Mayflower Southampton (1 to 5 Nov) and Yvone Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (22 to 26 Nov) have also been announced. There is a 2 month gap between Aylesbury and the next tour date in Richmond, those dates are going to be filled and I expect those dates will be filled by the independent touring houses. On a side note, I don’t know why they don’t announce all dates at once and touring websites can be pretty poor, the official Inspector Calls website only has one date showing. More dates on the website now, but as you say still gaps showing so maybe they're still finalising some venues. I imagine they may be some of the ones that the tour didn't get to in March 2020 i.e. Cardiff, Cambridge, Glasgow, Sheffield, Dartford, Sunderland and Leicester. www.aninspectorcalls.com/tour-dates |
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As far as I can see it was Priestley's final writing credit, although it has a slightly old-fashioned air so possibly had been stuck in a drawer for some time - most of the other episodes of "Shadows" were quite grittily contemporary, unlike this one. Anyway, I remember watching it at the time and this didn't bother me. Of course I had no idea who the writer was, as a 9 year old.
