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Post by maggiem on May 27, 2020 14:49:39 GMT
Hello!
I couldn't find a previous thread for this here, so I wanted to know what you all thought of this play.
I wasn't able to see this at the NT, but I did see it on it's original NT Live broadcast, and later on at the Lowry when it was on tour. As I was 11-15 years old at the time of the original events, it was fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes-at-Westminster view of how it all went down.
I learned about things like "pairing" to ensure parity in the house votes and the terrible consequences of it's being withdrawn. The ending, even though I know the actual history, was so moving, as it showed the personal toll on everyone.
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Post by lynette on May 27, 2020 14:53:31 GMT
Loved this in the Cottesloe, was it, when saw it. A breakthrough, back to proper plays, no preaching but packing the proverbial. Hope it goes down well tomorrow.
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Post by basi1faw1ty on May 27, 2020 19:35:16 GMT
Saw this at the Olivier, and then for NT Live, and enjoyed the broadcast especially so much, I had to revisit it at the archive. Many well known former and current MPs went to see it and sang its praises. (Didn't see any when I was at the Olivier though.)
Emotional, funny, clever, just fabulous. Love how James Graham wrote this play without any sort of political bias, and just presented these politicians as actual human beings. I mean... There's a reason why it's in my current avatar. That, plus I have a thing for Charles Edwards 😳
My only concern now is, will the profanity be censored? It is quite sweary; I counted at least 13 f-bombs in the playtext.
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Post by floorshow on May 27, 2020 22:56:38 GMT
Was a huge fan of this at the Cottesloe, didn't see it after it moved - did it lose the audience being seated in the house?
I do remember Rupert V being very good value for money, jostling the backbenchers as we toddled about during the interval.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2020 5:29:21 GMT
Does anyone know if the filmed version is from Olivier or Cottesloe?
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Post by basi1faw1ty on May 28, 2020 6:13:20 GMT
Does anyone know if the filmed version is from Olivier or Cottesloe? It's the Olivier version, where Reece Dinsdale replaced Philip Glenister as Walter. |
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Post by TallPaul on May 28, 2020 9:02:21 GMT
Was a huge fan of this at the Cottesloe, didn't see it after it moved - did it lose the audience being seated in the house? In the West End, and on tour, it was possible to book to sit onstage, on the benches, with the bar open pre-performance and again during the interval. I won't spoil it for anyone new to the piece, but *that* line delivered by the MP for Redditch must surely be the best line in any play, from any era, and it wasn't even written by John Godber. 🙂 Bravo James Graham. I hope it's not censored. |
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Post by bordeaux on May 28, 2020 10:14:14 GMT
One of the benefits of seeing it as NTLive was seeing Emma Freud interview Ann Taylor, who appears in the play, in the interval. There was also a toe-curling interview with James Graham in which Freud repeatedly refers in wonder to Graham's youth.
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Post by floorshow on May 28, 2020 13:15:54 GMT
One of the benefits of seeing it as NTLive was seeing Emma Freud interview Ann Taylor, who appears in the play, in the interval. There was also a toe-curling interview with James Graham in which Freud repeatedly refers in wonder to Graham's youth. I once saw Emma Freud booed by the entire top deck at the Palladium, deservedly so  |
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Post by frosty on May 28, 2020 14:28:21 GMT
I once saw Emma Freud booed by the entire top deck at the Palladium, deservedly so Ooh why? What happened? |
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Post by floorshow on May 28, 2020 15:00:17 GMT
I once saw Emma Freud booed by the entire top deck at the Palladium, deservedly so Ooh why? What happened? She was hosting the Al Pacino thing a few years back and during her (very stilted) conversation she managed to tell Pacino that anyone not sitting in the stalls was too cheap to buy good seats. I paraphrase but it was an instant and satisfying response - we booed in the stalls too |
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Post by David J on May 28, 2020 16:14:01 GMT
Oh Emma Freud was getting increasingly annoying during the time she did the introductions, getting all "I'm SO excited to see this". During one of her last stints she was interviewing somebody (the artistic director?) about what's coming up and when he finished she did a little jig with glee that she didn't notice the guy going off camera and she awkwardly called him back to answer one more question
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Post by lynette on May 28, 2020 20:51:51 GMT
I had wanted to see this again for a while so v glad they showed it tonight. Lots to enjoy in the the detailed direction - her getting the £20 out of her purse - and the fab scene at the end when Labour asks for the pair, really good stuff and lots to laugh at now, jokes the contemporary audience obviously didn’t see but we see differently now with the recent election and so on. Clever Mr Graham.
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Post by david on May 28, 2020 21:13:58 GMT
It was really great to revisit this fantastic production tonight. Having originally seen this during its run at the Garrick with some of my family (who are very picky at what they will go and watch in a theatre but anything political is a winner), we all agreed that James Graham had written a really enjoyable play ( with some real laugh out loud moments) and along with a great ensemble cast and the use of the live band made for an enjoyable afternoon at the theatre. Out of all the plays that James Graham has written so far, This House is his best.
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Post by Forrest on May 28, 2020 21:44:35 GMT
I love James Graham's writing - I thought the dialogues were clever, witty, intricate and superb - but the persistent pretentiousness of Herrin's directing simply doesn't do it for me. (I don't like neither the need for grandeur nor the idea of good acting that all his works I've seen share.) Had this been directed by someone else, I could have loved it. (Goold maybe? My mind kept imagining this done in the quirky style of Ink, and it would have been superb.) This way it was alright. But in my eyes, sadly, in this version it failed to live up to the full potential of the brilliant text.
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 29, 2020 6:23:06 GMT
I wasn't too keen on Vincent Franklin and maybe after a week of Dominic Cummings I'm not sure if I wanted more politics but still it was good and great it was free.
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Post by lynette on May 29, 2020 17:59:49 GMT
I thought it was directed by Hytner. ?
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Post by theatremadness on May 29, 2020 18:11:34 GMT
I thought it was directed by Hytner. ? Jeremy Herrin! |
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Post by Forrest on May 29, 2020 18:23:48 GMT
lynette, it's definitely Jeremy Herrin, and I am pretty certain of this because - for me - this was part fun, part The Visit kind of agonising, for many of the same reasons. :) I am being a bit hard on him, I know, he's done a solid job. But he likes his theatre very theatrical in an old-Hollywood sort of way (it's a silly reference, but that's what it evokes for me), and to me it all feels a bit over-everything: over the top, over-pronounced, over-acted, over-done... It's a good production. I just think it could have been even better in different hands.
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Post by danielwhit on May 29, 2020 18:29:02 GMT
Really enjoyed this when I saw it in person, and very glad to have the chance to finally relive it on screen. Splendid production - and transferred to screen better than a lot of the NT Lives do. Possibly because the stage was a series of small sets, effectively.
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Post by NeilVHughes on May 29, 2020 18:29:10 GMT
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Post by David J on May 29, 2020 20:34:48 GMT
I find Jeremy Herrin a great ensemble director. Much Ado, Wolf Hall, People Places and Things, Uncle Vanya, Junkyard - I noticed in every production how he gets the best out of everyone, not just the leads. Even in small productions like The House they Grew Up in and The Nether the acting is top notch
If the acting is a bit broad and stylised I think its called for here because many of the cast members are doubling up as multiple MPs that many younger audience members don't even know (I certainly didn't). They all were switching accents and characteristics and every character they played stood out.
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Post by lynette on May 30, 2020 18:26:19 GMT
lynette , it's definitely Jeremy Herrin, and I am pretty certain of this because - for me - this was part fun, part The Visit kind of agonising, for many of the same reasons. I am being a bit hard on him, I know, he's done a solid job. But he likes his theatre very theatrical in an old-Hollywood sort of way (it's a silly reference, but that's what it evokes for me), and to me it all feels a bit over-everything: over the top, over-pronounced, over-acted, over-done... It's a good production. I just think it could have been even better in different hands. Sorry, my bad. In person, as it were is wasn’t so overdone. Or didn't seem to be. There is a certain convention I think with political dramas to have this over ness. We don't see actual impersonations of the real people but we need to have the persona pushed a bit so we can identify. |
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Post by basi1faw1ty on May 30, 2020 20:28:56 GMT
Re-watching this production just reminded me of the sheer number of cracking jokes there are in it. The Redditch needles, the manmade fibres line, the "Which war?" bit, the breastfeeding MP, and the one that absolutely floored me was Chelmsford and the Shadow Arts (or indeed any time Chelmsford appeared).
Also Jack counting his winnings at the end was surely, absolutely 100% an ad-lib.
Gosh I love this play. Shame it had to take A PANDEMIC to get it to us.
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Post by Forrest on May 31, 2020 12:08:43 GMT
Sorry, my bad. In person, as it were is wasn’t so overdone. Or didn't seem to be. There is a certain convention I think with political dramas to have this over ness. We don't see actual impersonations of the real people but we need to have the persona pushed a bit so we can identify. Oh, my comment wasn't meant to be an 'invitation' for an apology, not at all! :) (I'm sorry if that's what it came across as.) I also think you - and David J - have both raised absolutely valid points: in terms of the play perhaps needing to be a bit over-done, because a) it's (kind-of) an ensemble piece and b) because it's also an attempt to get us into the skins of so many characters to get us to relate. I think in this case, with me, it's just a matter of taste and personal preference regarding a director's style more generally. But that's something I should not get into here. |
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