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Post by lynette on Aug 17, 2021 22:34:46 GMT
Starting new thread for this play specifically because it will be travelling and at the Barbican. Saw it this evening and enjoyed. Pathos was allowed to enter in with difficult relationship of the married Antipholus; some good visual jokes ; attention paid to the very funny parts with minimal but very effective adlibs from Dromio of Syracuse; Adriana is pregnant ( the actress is pregnant in fact)and this actually works very well. Fabulous yoga! Well, I would recommend for family outings, taking auntie and if you can’t face another panto before Xmas. The open air theatre has more of a Regents Park vibe than Globe vibe and despite my concerns will be a very good addition to the theatrical spaces in Stratford in the summer. I didn’t work out the interval situation so maybe go to the loo beforehand and taken in your own refreshments. It drizzled a little and they have those cover you all up macs made out of sustainable materials or whatever is ok these days. I thought the audience was definitely the double jabbed crowd with a few teenagers and actually one babe in arms who left after half an hour. But you can’t start too young, can you?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2021 11:30:32 GMT
Starting new thread for this play specifically because it will be travelling and at the Barbican. Saw it this evening and enjoyed. Pathos was allowed to enter in with difficult relationship of the married Antipholus; some good visual jokes ; attention paid to the very funny parts with minimal but very effective adlibs from Dromio of Syracuse; Adriana is pregnant ( the actress is pregnant in fact)and this actually works very well. Fabulous yoga! Well, I would recommend for family outings, taking auntie and if you can’t face another panto before Xmas. The open air theatre has more of a Regents Park vibe than Globe vibe and despite my concerns will be a very good addition to the theatrical spaces in Stratford in the summer. I didn’t work out the interval situation so maybe go to the loo beforehand and taken in your own refreshments. It drizzled a little and they have those cover you all up macs made out of sustainable materials or whatever is ok these days. I thought the audience was definitely the double jabbed crowd with a few teenagers and actually one babe in arms who left after half an hour. But you can’t start too young, can you? Thanks for posting this Lynette, as I was thinking about grabbing a ticket before it closes seeing as I’m not too far from Stratford-upon-Avon. Was slightly disappointed to see that Miles Jupp wasn’t doing this as he had been announced before the pandemic, but nonetheless it sounds like a great production anyway. |
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Post by londonpostie on Aug 24, 2021 11:56:53 GMT
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Post by Jan on Aug 24, 2021 12:50:03 GMT
Its a long time since I paid anything other than £10 for a RSC Barbican stalls seat via a day ticket. If you can get there at 10am there’s no reason ever to book in advance, they’re just not that popular any more. |
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Post by londonpostie on Aug 24, 2021 12:51:27 GMT
Good to know!
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Post by Jan on Aug 24, 2021 16:08:48 GMT
Normally you end up with a £10 day seat in the most expensive section in the stalls which is where they’ve sold the fewest tickets. Even for a “sold-out” date they still keep some back for day seats. I think the last RSC show I booked in advance there was the Simon Russell-Beale “Tempest”in 2017. Many of their productions there you wouldn’t want to pay more than £10 for anyway - that awful Romans season for example. |
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Post by Dave B on Aug 24, 2021 16:34:41 GMT
This is also featured in the 'London Theatre Week' offers at the moment in case anyone wants to lock in seats. On most of the usual ticketing websites.
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Post by lynette on Aug 25, 2021 17:04:01 GMT
Its a long time since I paid anything other than £10 for a RSC Barbican stalls seat via a day ticket. If you can get there at 10am there’s no reason ever to book in advance, they’re just not that popular any more. Good advice except what on earth are you going to do from 10am to the show time round there? Go on, surprise me. |
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Post by Jan on Aug 25, 2021 17:17:40 GMT
Its a long time since I paid anything other than £10 for a RSC Barbican stalls seat via a day ticket. If you can get there at 10am there’s no reason ever to book in advance, they’re just not that popular any more. Good advice except what on earth are you going to do from 10am to the show time round there? Go on, surprise me. I go home. 30 minutes. |
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Post by lynette on Aug 26, 2021 16:34:32 GMT
Good advice except what on earth are you going to do from 10am to the show time round there? Go on, surprise me. I go home. 30 minutes. So it’s all round to yours for lunch then. Great. |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Sept 5, 2021 12:04:41 GMT
An enjoyable day in a warm and busy Stratford Upon Avon. As lynette hinted there is definitely a Panto feel and all the humour was wonderfully extracted and am looking forward to seeing again in December as yesterday there was 8 cast changes due to the usual but at least the RSC have invested in the understudies if not anything else. Will be interesting if the outdoor Theatre becomes a more permanent summer fixture. |
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Post by lynette on Sept 5, 2021 12:33:21 GMT
An enjoyable day in a warm and busy Stratford Upon Avon. As lynette hinted there is definitely a Panto feel and all the humour was wonderfully extracted and am looking forward to seeing again in December as yesterday there was 8 cast changes due to the usual but at least the RSC have invested in the understudies if not anything else. Will be interesting if the outdoor Theatre becomes a more permanent summer fixture. I think it will. They can store the theatre and/or rent it out to be erected elsewhere. I think they need to clean up the entrance area and the queuing to get in a bit. But otherwise when you are inside, as it were, it has a lovely view and ambience. Meet up next summer then, if not before? 🥂 |
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Post by cavocado on Sept 5, 2021 12:50:02 GMT
Will be interesting if the outdoor Theatre becomes a more permanent summer fixture. Yes, indeed. I was/am a bit anti, but I think an outdoor venue could add to what the RSC has to offer in future. I prefer to stay overnight and see a couple of plays if I'm going to Stratford, and would happily stretch that to 3 or 4 plays per trip... In the meantime, until Greg Doran rediscovers his empty theatres, I've booked to see this at the Barbican. |
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Post by Jan on Sept 7, 2021 7:06:19 GMT
The RSC don’t do enough productions for the money they get and the problem isn’t lack of theatres. In Stratford they have the RST, Swan, Courtyard, Other Place and this outdoor one. In London the Barbican and I suppose the Pit if they wanted it. It is very likely further outdoor productions will simply be at the expense of indoor ones.
Surprised ACE allowed them to completely abandon any attempt to do a reasonable number of new plays by closing the Other Place.
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Post by cavocado on Oct 28, 2021 7:29:07 GMT
I got an email earlier in the week to say the date I booked for this was cancelled (21 Dec). I thought they were shooting themselves in the foot by giving an automatic refund and not offering an option to rebook, which I'd have been happy enough to do. Seems I was right as I've just paid £30 less on Todaytix for the same seats on a different day.
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Post by Jan on Oct 28, 2021 9:29:50 GMT
I got an email earlier in the week to say the date I booked for this was cancelled (21 Dec). I thought they were shooting themselves in the foot by giving an automatic refund and not offering an option to rebook, which I'd have been happy enough to do. Seems I was right as I've just paid £30 less on Todaytix for the same seats on a different day. Did they indicate why it had been cancelled ? |
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Post by cavocado on Oct 28, 2021 10:03:21 GMT
I got an email earlier in the week to say the date I booked for this was cancelled (21 Dec). I thought they were shooting themselves in the foot by giving an automatic refund and not offering an option to rebook, which I'd have been happy enough to do. Seems I was right as I've just paid £30 less on Todaytix for the same seats on a different day. Did they indicate why it had been cancelled ? They didn't given any explanation, but, looking at the schedule, they have cancelled most Mondays and Tuesdays from late November until Christmas, so I'd guess weekday sales were poor. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 28, 2021 16:31:42 GMT
I wonder if the RSC realises how irrelevant it has become outside of Stratford-Upon-Avon... Not so long ago, this show would have filled the Barbican easily - looking at the seating plans online, the RSC is really struggling to shift seats. RSC needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom - it's being outmuscled by smaller, more agile, less bureaucratic, less cumbersome organisations.
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Post by Jan on Oct 28, 2021 17:08:30 GMT
I wonder if the RSC realises how irrelevant it has become outside of Stratford-Upon-Avon. I don't think they care. For many years they have regarded London as merely somewhere they transfer a few of their most mainstream shows for economic reasons. Ironically plays they haven't transferred from the current cycle - like Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens for example - have had to have short runs in the smaller Swan in Stratford as they are not popular there but historically the same plays have done quite well on large London stages (RSC and NT). The overall result of this strategy is they have no core London audience left at all. Their commitment to provincial touring and seasons has been similarly reduced. Their Newcastle season used to include their full Stratford season in two theatres 8+ plays - what is left of that now ?. |
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Post by ceebee on Oct 29, 2021 9:41:37 GMT
I wonder if the RSC realises how irrelevant it has become outside of Stratford-Upon-Avon. I don't think they care. For many years they have regarded London as merely somewhere they transfer a few of their most mainstream shows for economic reasons. Ironically plays they haven't transferred from the current cycle - like Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens for example - have had to have short runs in the smaller Swan in Stratford as they are not popular there but historically the same plays have done quite well on large London stages (RSC and NT). The overall result of this strategy is they have no core London audience left at all. Their commitment to provincial touring and seasons has been similarly reduced. Their Newcastle season used to include their full Stratford season in two theatres 8+ plays - what is left of that now ?. Which begs the question, what is left of the RSC now? When I was training, I aspired to work there. I'm not sure today's emerging talent has the same hunger or goal. I used to love the RSC but am.now somewhat indifferent and frustrated by the lack of vision and ambition. |
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Post by cirque on Oct 29, 2021 11:03:54 GMT
All this RSC talk is very sad....i,too,longed for RSC-they were the beacon of theatre for me.The brave work and radical direction.
Now,I think,they will agree Education is the core and the shows/seasons add on's to the development of Royal Shakes Community-it virtually states this in programme .
If RSC is to come back as theatre,the entire top level needs to go...Whyman,Doran etc.........it cannot change with them at helm and board ,i suspect,engineered to support.
If they wish to become a full education operation,they must state this and stop claiming to be 'where theatre begins'......the work is poor generally and i see no hope of change as even Henries will be community driven productions.
Bring Godwin back from US or drag Goold screaming out of Almeida or-impossible-invite Icke to propose a policy.Triumverate of Icke/Warner/Goold would cause eruptions on Avon but,my God,think of the work.Many,I speak to in the industry,do not want to work at RSC...feel there is no company and the policy is led by education dept.
I think they do have ambition and Whyman is clear on this-but it is away from high quality,exciting,radical production towards education,social justice and community.
They have no role in London-Globe does the work on a better scale and has built a loyal following.
No pleasure in this-RSC was magnificent. It is a pale shadow of what has been and,I fear,never will again.
If it was a Football Club-management would be let go immediately and fans given the chance to see the team rebuild.Alas,we have no such system and we watch 'end of days'.
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Post by cavocado on Oct 29, 2021 11:05:19 GMT
Which begs the question, what is left of the RSC now? When I was training, I aspired to work there. I'm not sure today's emerging talent has the same hunger or goal. I used to love the RSC but am.now somewhat indifferent and frustrated by the lack of vision and ambition. I feel exactly like this. Times have changed, but they need to reinvent themselves far more ambitiously. I would love to be looking forward to a couple of days in Stratford as I used to, visiting all the theatres, often seeing the same actors in very different roles, excited about what the season's productions would be like and the actors who were in them. Now they just don't generate that level of excitement after too many dull productions, which is really sad. If people on a board full of enthusiastic, regular theatregoers aren't keen to go their productions, then who is? |
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Post by Jan on Oct 29, 2021 11:11:09 GMT
I don't think they care. For many years they have regarded London as merely somewhere they transfer a few of their most mainstream shows for economic reasons. Ironically plays they haven't transferred from the current cycle - like Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens for example - have had to have short runs in the smaller Swan in Stratford as they are not popular there but historically the same plays have done quite well on large London stages (RSC and NT). The overall result of this strategy is they have no core London audience left at all. Their commitment to provincial touring and seasons has been similarly reduced. Their Newcastle season used to include their full Stratford season in two theatres 8+ plays - what is left of that now ?. Which begs the question, what is left of the RSC now? When I was training, I aspired to work there. I'm not sure today's emerging talent has the same hunger or goal. I used to love the RSC but am.now somewhat indifferent and frustrated by the lack of vision and ambition. They say actors now aim for TV/film roles and aren't interested in 2-year RSC contracts which is no doubt true but partly because they've made the 2 year contracts so unattractive - before 1-year of that was guaranteed to be in London with higher visibility to agents and casting directors, now it could be all in Stratford except a few weeks elsewhere if you're lucky. Of course the NT also switched from an ensemble company in rep to stand-alone productions running in a block but they make that work by bringing in top outside directors and star names, RSC don't even do that, who was the last real true star name who appeared there ? Again their withdrawal to Stratford must make it harder to attract them but my suspicion is they haven't even tried, I think Doran's been happy to stay in his comfort zone and use junior directors and mostly unknown actors and keep the potentially difficult characters away - for example it seems odd that Robert Icke has never directed for them. Or Simon Stone, or Ivo van Hove, or Yael Farber. |
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Post by cirque on Oct 29, 2021 11:32:55 GMT
or jamie lloyd or katie mitchell since the 90's or rebecca fraknell or sally cookson....
all would bring a new perspective.
i think it is time for national debate on this topic...with ace/media/rsc/shakespeare lovers/critics etc.
policy needs to be clarified......yes,i too,will not be visiting stratford under current leadership.
preach...preach....arrogance and nothing much else.
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Post by lichtie on Oct 29, 2021 12:32:32 GMT
Actually the power structure of the RSC seems to have shifted somewhat anyway. Or have people not noticed that the executive director's name (Catherine Mallyon) pops up a lot in their public plans. I get the impression she's on the cautious end of the bean counters...
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