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Post by kjb on May 20, 2022 10:47:49 GMT
No luck again this week for me in the PWYC lottery. I've just bought tickets for the NT Live as don't want to miss it totally (tickets selling very well for these as well so ended up in Row C)
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Post by Steve on May 21, 2022 11:09:37 GMT
Saw this Tuesday night, and concur that Jodie Comer gives a distinctively great stage performance, combining laser sharp comic timing, intelligent authoritative emphasis, and a bottomless well of feeling. An unmissable tour-de-force stage debut. The play itself is brilliantly, effectively emotive, albeit manipulative. Some spoilers follow. . . The night I went, a panel of 6 (all female) experts came out after the show to discuss the play, including defence and prosecution barristers, police and campaigners. Their response to the difficulties, of achieving justice in rape cases, was sophisticated and revealing:- (1) A policewoman pointed out that to gain a conviction, the police need to zoom out, from the he-said she-said of it all, to hone in on the overall behaviour of the accused (anybody else they discussed the case with, anybody else they interacted with, etc); (2) A defense barrister mooted a change in the law that requires men (she pointed out that "rape" defendants are always men because the rape statute requires a "penis") to verbally check that their prospective partner consents before proceeding, and not just to assume consent is given from non-verbal cues; (3) A prosecution barrister pointed out that judges already are explicitly dispelling "rape myths" (eg victims are asking for it if they dress a certain way; eg your regular sex partner can't rape you), and that more can be done to dispel such myths. Superb thought-provoking panel, but in my estimation, none of it would alter the huge hurdle our rape-crime-savvy criminal barrister protagonist faces in this case. Although her background, knowing rape law inside and out, gives her an advantage over less educated victims, it is clear that, whether or not she ultimately succeeds, the hurdle she faces getting justice is horrifically high. Because in this play, the "problem" is the "presumption of innocence" itself, the idea that even if you only believe the defendant twenty percent, you still find them not guilty, because you don't want to be sending innocent people to prison even in twenty percent of cases. Achieving "justice" in a case where a "credible" defendant claims you consented is almost insurmountable, unless you remove the presumption of innocence itself, in which case you will be consigning to prison a slew of innocent, but inarticulate and impoverished men, who simply can't afford a lawyer as good as the protagonist of this play. Although the set-up of the play is not programmed for subtle intellectual engagement, it is emotionally enthralling, and Comer made me feel EVERYTHING (I laughed and I cried)! She combined the best of every one woman acting performance I've seen into one show: like Maggie Smith, she has quick turn comic timing that elicits belly laughs; like Patsy Ferran, she delightfully and dazzlingly commits to voices and attitudes; and like Carey Mulligan, she frequently speaks with such intimate conviction and authority that you'd believe anything she says. These qualities are why the first half of this production is so funny and engaging. It is also why the second half is so moving. All in all, get a ticket to the screening if you can't get a ticket to the show, and if you can get neither, cross your fingers this gets a TV outing. A 5 star performance in a 4 star show: 4 and a half stars from me.  |
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Post by floorshow on May 21, 2022 12:17:26 GMT
Did the panel comment on the gender bias being overwhelmingly male? One of those things that is blindingly obvious once pointed out. I'm in the public sector and it's an issue but with less serious consequences to the nature of the work..
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Post by Mark on May 21, 2022 22:15:30 GMT
Having read the comments on here I was expecting Jodie to be fantastic. Well she exceeded and went beyond that and totally blew me away. What she is doing up on that stage I don’t think I’ve seen anything to compare it to. What a talent she has
I really liked the play, the staging, everything. Totally engrossed from start to finish.
I’ll be gobsmacked if she doesn’t win the Olivier.
Others in this thread have mentioned Broadway, would be a great show for Roundabout or MTC to pick up.
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Post by Steve on May 21, 2022 22:32:58 GMT
Did the panel comment on the gender bias being overwhelmingly male? One of those things that is blindingly obvious once pointed out. I'm in the public sector and it's an issue but with less serious consequences to the nature of the work.. By gender bias, do you mean in the Constitution of Courts and the number of barristers? If so, they did not specifically speak to that issue. They focused instead on the problem with "rape myths," which originate from a patriarchal perspective, no doubt, but not specifically from the make-up of the Court and legal profession, but rather which used to be pervasive in society, and hence juries, but which now, the panel suggested, judges go out of their way to dispel, explicitly, and which lawyers are less and less pushing in their arguments, as a consequence, they suggested, but on which topic, more must still be done. |
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Post by mkb on May 22, 2022 10:31:18 GMT
(What follows was a response to a comment about consent, that has vanished.)
It's also completely unrealistic to expect humans to behave like that in a sexually-charged, usually drug/alcohol-fuelled encounter.
When two people are together, the transition from flirtatious looks to full-blown carnal pleasure is a psychological dance. Non-verbal cues are, I would argue, more -- not less -- important than what is said. (From personal experience, I can think of times when I was being told "yes" but the body language said "no". It's important to be aware of the full picture.)
There is also a palpable sexual frisson from not knowing where the dance will lead, how far you each want to go. Stopping to discuss rules and parameters and strategy would be a mood-killer.
I would hate to be a youngster today having to deal with all of this new consent stipulation. Is there any evidence it is reducing the incidence of rape?
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Post by floorshow on May 22, 2022 13:49:15 GMT
Did the panel comment on the gender bias being overwhelmingly male? One of those things that is blindingly obvious once pointed out. I'm in the public sector and it's an issue but with less serious consequences to the nature of the work.. By gender bias, do you mean in the Constitution of Courts and the number of barristers? If so, they did not specifically speak to that issue. Exactly that, thought that was very well written and naturalistic as an observation on her entry to the room, far better than the voir dire monologue which broke the spell a little for me. |
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Post by jm25 on May 22, 2022 23:52:16 GMT
I've had the very good fortune of seeing this twice now. Was in the dress circle the first time and loved it, and was front row of the stalls the second time round and loved it even more. Jodie Comer's simply mindblowing, isn't she? A real generational talent. Had never sat front row before but was really taken aback by how immersed in her performance I was the second time round. It was probably the most powerful experience I've ever had in the theatre and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
Have booked to see the cinema screening in July and I'm looking forward to that. I've not seen many one-(wo)man shows before but a lot of the power and energy from the performance seemed to stem from her connection with the audience. Not just the powerful final monologue but a lot of the humourous lines from the first half too. Will be interesting to see how well that translates on screen. Does anyone know if it's being filmed in front of a live audience? Or are they doing a special recording without anybody in?
Also saw that they're doing an extra matinee this week featuring Jodie's understudy. I'd have loved to see it to see it as I'm really curious about how much would change with a different actor - but unfortunately 3pm on a Tuesday's not great as far as my work schedule is concerned! Would be keen to hear what other people think, though.
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Post by budd on May 24, 2022 19:02:01 GMT
Did anyone catch the understudy this afternoon?
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Post by theatrelover123 on May 24, 2022 21:28:05 GMT
Did anyone catch the understudy this afternoon? Why? Did she fall? <ah bum tush> |
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Post by margoc on May 25, 2022 20:40:25 GMT
Did anyone catch the understudy this afternoon? I did!! She was amazing, she gave a different spin on Tessa, slight changes to the script those only being where Tessa came from they switched it to Newcastle as Dani is from that area. A few people after the show were miffed as it wasn't jodie but Dani finally getting her chance on stage was unmissable. Suzie Miller was in the audience also I was sat not to far from her in the dress circle. |
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Post by budd on May 25, 2022 21:02:21 GMT
Did anyone catch the understudy this afternoon? I did!! She was amazing, she gave a different spin on Tessa, slight changes to the script those only being where Tessa came from they switched it to Newcastle as Dani is from that area. A few people after the show were miffed as it wasn't jodie but Dani finally getting her chance on stage was unmissable. Suzie Miller was in the audience also I was sat not to far from her in the dress circle. Good to hear. Understudies going in for a one-person show often sounds like the most daunting thing to me, so I'm always curious. |
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Post by marob on May 26, 2022 15:17:00 GMT
Proving to be annoyingly elusive this. Any time the website shows a link to book for tickets there’s never anything actually available on the seating plan.
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Post by wiggymess on May 26, 2022 15:35:11 GMT
Proving to be annoyingly elusive this. Any time the website shows a link to book for tickets there’s never anything actually available on the seating plan. Would suggest another route to try for a ticket would be Twickets - occasionally they pop up on there. Very legit site and you're only able to sell for face value, but I expect they go quickly on there too so worth setting up an alert (but you'll have to be quick once you get it!) If you search on twitter you can see that some have popped up this week. Good luck! |
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Post by shambles on May 27, 2022 23:35:56 GMT
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Post by mattnyc on May 27, 2022 23:47:37 GMT
I saw this tonight and guarantee if I’m lucky to live to 100, I’ll still be raving about her performance.
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Post by shambles on May 30, 2022 15:41:56 GMT
Jodie Comer is magnetic every second she is on stage. It's a shame she had to give up that Ridley Scott movie to continue with this, but I'm glad because seeing her live was great and she delivers everything that I thought Amy Adams would also do. I really liked the set design and the way she has to inhabit it. Quite liked the soundtrack too. The play is a bit too didactic though and ultimately very surface level, despite all the emotion it allows the lead.
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Post by shady23 on May 31, 2022 22:31:06 GMT
I saw this tonight and it is certainly one of the best performances on a stage I have ever seen.
For one person to keep the audience enthralled for 100 minutes is no mean feat but Jodie Comer does that and more.
It was an astonishing performance.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Post by kjb on Jun 1, 2022 9:39:47 GMT
Still no luck on the lottery for the this week  |
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Post by pomegranate on Jun 9, 2022 13:49:21 GMT
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Post by jm25 on Jun 9, 2022 14:47:18 GMT
Fantastic news! So glad that this will be reaching an even wider audience. Hope that she doesn’t soften her accent for the transfer - not that it’s especially strong in the show.
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Post by lonlad on Jun 9, 2022 15:12:34 GMT
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Post by A.Ham on Jun 9, 2022 15:13:45 GMT
That’s amazing news. Go Jodie! 🙌🏻
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Post by joem on Jun 9, 2022 15:26:32 GMT
How about a transfer to a bigger theatre in London?
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 9, 2022 16:58:41 GMT
How about a transfer to a bigger theatre in London? What this would lose in a much bigger venue is huge - leave it as it is |
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