423 posts
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Post by schuttep on Oct 21, 2024 9:58:40 GMT
I like Ibsen but not Peer Gynt - too long, too episodic, too disjointed and too tedious.
I like Shakespeare but not A Midsummer Night's Dream - some silly characters (the Mechanicals) and some horrid characters (particularly Oberon and Titania).
Only 2 plays out of 2256 theatre trips to date, so not too shabby!
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Post by Jan on Oct 21, 2024 11:12:26 GMT
Never a fan of George Bernard Shaw. I imagine Shaw would be very annoyed to be called tedious. He loved provoking strong reactions, and often succeeded. Fellow playwright Henry Arthur Jones called him “a freakish homunculus germinated outside lawful procreation.” Israel Zangwill said “The way Bernard Shaw believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many people believe in no God at all.” There are lots of funny quotes about and from Shaw here: Funny theatre quotes, quips and insultsI think Shaw is a terrible old windbag and I rarely go to his plays but seeing this photo of him makes me like him a bit more in some strange way (enhanced photo credit @stuarthumphryes).  |
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858 posts
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Post by duncan on Oct 21, 2024 12:11:19 GMT
If it wasn't for GBS we'd never have got "The Worst Journey in the World" which is one of the great books about exploration actually written by someone who was there so he's alright in my book.
.....Oscar Wilde on the other hand
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Post by Jan on Oct 21, 2024 12:28:04 GMT
If it wasn't for GBS we'd never have got "The Worst Journey in the World" which is one of the great books about exploration actually written by someone who was there so he's alright in my book. I can recommend the recent non-fiction book "Madhouse at the End of the Earth" by Julian Sancton in which Amundsen is a leading character rather than just a name that appears at the end of an account of Scott's expedition. |
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1,135 posts
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Oct 21, 2024 13:25:44 GMT
I never need to see The Duchess of Malfi, or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (especially if played by posh Brits trying to sound southern) ever again.
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5,716 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 21, 2024 15:20:05 GMT
Tbh I could manage without seeing Romeo and Juliet again.
What irritates me at the moment is this so called ‘reimagining’. What does this mean? Usually it means ‘ruining’
So with this new production of TIOBE at the NT what will happen? It is probably one of the few perfect plays, every word in place, small cast, three simple sets, you’d think a theatre’s dream show. Why ‘reimagine’ it?
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Post by crabtree on Oct 21, 2024 15:23:11 GMT
I could survive without Beckett I'm afraid....
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Post by cavocado on Oct 21, 2024 18:34:32 GMT
Mostly I think other people's 'tedious classics' are exactly my cup of tea, with a few exceptions. But I agree with Lynette about 'reimagined' versions - it's fine if I like the writer doing the reimagining, but otherwise I groan when I see that word.
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 21, 2024 23:12:18 GMT
Chekhov
Ibsen
Coward
O’Neill
Williams
Beckett
Pinter
All tedious and repetitive and lacked quality control
Hare
Stoppard
🤢
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Post by adamkinsey on Oct 22, 2024 7:34:44 GMT
My list would almost match Parsley's except I'd swap Shakespeare for Chekhov. I can only stand about three plays by Willy whereas I do enjoy almost all of Chekhov's when they're done well.
I'd add in all the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Les Mis, Wicked, Six and Blood Brothers from the musical theatre side.
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531 posts
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Post by wiggymess on Oct 22, 2024 12:08:19 GMT
Chekhov Ibsen Coward O’Neill Williams Beckett Pinter All tedious and repetitive and lacked quality control Hare Stoppard 🤢 Who do you like? |
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 22, 2024 12:22:11 GMT
Chekhov Ibsen Coward O’Neill Williams Beckett Pinter All tedious and repetitive and lacked quality control Hare Stoppard 🤢 Who do you like? Shakespeare Rattigan Miller Shaw Wilde Shepard Albee Mamet Moliere La Bute Wilson Strindberg Kane Simon Stephens Annie baker Churchill Nottage Pirandello |
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Post by hannechalk on Oct 24, 2024 10:44:16 GMT
I think it will be a long time till I venture towards the Scottish play and A Midsummer Night's Dream again.
Seen it too many times now.
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Post by chadexx on Oct 24, 2024 15:47:48 GMT
A telling quote about GBS from Peter Nichols' wonderful Private on Parade : 'That Bernadette Shaw - what a chatterbox!"
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