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Post by cavocado on Nov 12, 2021 16:00:35 GMT
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Post by bordeaux on Nov 13, 2021 7:40:55 GMT
That's a pretty good line-up in my view. I've enjoyed everything I've seen by Zeller and he can do serious (The Father, The Son) and hilarious (The Truth) equally well. I've never seen anything by the other two, but Roy Williams is certainly on my radar.
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Post by tw on Nov 19, 2021 10:02:24 GMT
Booking has opened 30 mins early for those who want to skip the queue for tickets
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Post by drmaplewood on Dec 15, 2021 9:47:42 GMT
www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/toby-stephens-gina-mckee-paul-mcgann-the-forest_55550.htmlCasting has been unveiled for Florian Zeller's new play The Forest, premiering in February. Zeller, who received a variety of awards for the film version of his hit play The Father, will return to the London stage with a new tale about the demands of family, career and sexual desire. Leading the cast are Toby Stephens (Lost in Space), Gina McKee (Bodyguard), Paul McGann (Doctor Who) and Angel Coulby (Merlin). They are joined in the cast by Millie Brady (Roadkill), Silas Carson (Phantom Thread), Finbar Lynch (Indecent), Sakuntala Ramanee (Romeo and Julietr) and Eddie Toll (Stephen). Director Jonathan Kent will be joined by designer Anna Fleischle, lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, sound designer Isobel Waller-Bridge, casting director Lotte Hines and associate designer and costume co-designer Jasmine Swan. Kent said today: "Zeller's mysterious and fascinating new play is unlike anything he's written before and, in fact, unlike anything I've ever directed. It demands all the creative and inventive talents of the remarkable company of actors we've been lucky enough to assemble."
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Post by talkingheads on Dec 15, 2021 9:48:18 GMT
Booked immediately. Love McKee and McGann. |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Dec 15, 2021 9:49:45 GMT
Same here, booked for early Feb, impressive cast.
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Post by cavocado on Dec 15, 2021 11:11:58 GMT
I was already looking forward to this, but what a great cast!
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Post by stevemar on Dec 15, 2021 11:56:55 GMT
Thanks for this - booked, lots of seats left
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Post by drmaplewood on Jun 30, 2022 14:46:10 GMT
I was sure there was a thread for the original run of Folk but I can't find it for the life of me.
Went to see it this week at the start of its second run and it was in fine shape indeed. Simon Robson had Covid so Gary Yershon, the music director, stood in instead with script, his first acting sting for 31 years but was very good!
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Post by alessia on Jun 30, 2022 14:56:04 GMT
I've booked for Folk and will go see it in a couple of weeks. I look forward to it...more than the Fellowship which has had quite poor reviews, sadly. Real shame as I loved Death of England and had high expectations.
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Post by Dave B on Jul 3, 2022 8:11:40 GMT
We saw Folk on Monday and yes, surprised there isn't a thread. Still had Simon Robson and the rest of the cast. Sat right next to Nell Leyshon and Roxana Silbert who was furiously scribbling away. I was a bit surprised by this given it's a return with the same cast and crew but anyways.
Enjoyed it a lot, given some of the shows I've seen in the main space at Hampstead recently, I am a bit lost as to why they didn't move Folk up there for this run. It was selling out last time even before the Oliver nom and it was full on Monday.
Very enjoyable, the cast are great and I'm glad it has made a comeback.
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Post by alessia on Jul 6, 2022 11:32:07 GMT
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Post by barelyathletic on Jul 6, 2022 11:57:04 GMT
I loved Joe White's Mayfly at the Orange Tree a few years back so am definitely keen to see Blackout Songs. And very excited to see Mary after the fabulous James Plays. A very strong season all in all. Intriguing. |
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Post by imstillhere on Jul 6, 2022 14:57:49 GMT
A play written by Richard Eyre?
Because that's exactly what a New Writing theatre needs...
Bless Roxana Silbert. She couldn't programme her way out of a paper bag. It really feels like Hampstead Main stage are often stuck with the plays no other theatre would take.
Hampstead Downstairs as usual looks better.
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Post by alessia on Jul 10, 2022 5:48:07 GMT
We saw Folk on Monday and yes, surprised there isn't a thread. Still had Simon Robson and the rest of the cast. Sat right next to Nell Leyshon and Roxana Silbert who was furiously scribbling away. I was a bit surprised by this given it's a return with the same cast and crew but anyways. Enjoyed it a lot, given some of the shows I've seen in the main space at Hampstead recently, I am a bit lost as to why they didn't move Folk up there for this run. It was selling out last time even before the Oliver nom and it was full on Monday. Very enjoyable, the cast are great and I'm glad it has made a comeback. I saw Folk yesterday afternoon, I thought it was wonderful. I would rate this as one of the best shows I have seen this year so far. All the four actors are brilliant, particularly Mariam Haque- every time she sang she drove me to tears. I loved every interaction she has with Simon Robson-who is just so believable in the role. It was lovely to see Sasha Frost again, she was great in Persuasion. I can understand why it is not moved to the upstairs theatre, as for me it needs a smaller, more intimate space where the audience is close or even in the same space as the actors. I also think that the set design is perfect as it is and it would struggle to be adapted to a larger space. |
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Post by jek on Jul 23, 2022 6:55:34 GMT
I went to see Folk last night - having tried and failed to get tickets for the earlier run (I was haunting the website for returns to no avail). I loved it - so clever in its considerations around patriotism and ideas of Englishness, but wearing its learning very lightly. And Mariam Haque has the most beautiful of voices. I do hope it gets further outings. With the week long extension to its run I see there are some tickets available. To anyone considering seeing this I would say don't hesitate to book.
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Post by foxa on Jul 23, 2022 14:12:11 GMT
Thanks for the positive review of this - I have tickets for the Thursday matinee, but actually didn't know much about it.
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Post by Steve on Jul 28, 2022 16:28:24 GMT
I agree with everyone in the thread about "Folk," currently playingin Downstairs: it's wonderful! It's set to run until the 6th August, and it deserves its own thread if it gets another revival. If you imagine a tender heartfelt version of Pygmalion, with added folk music, you won't go far wrong. Some spoilers follow. . . Like Pygmalion, an educated older man educates a smart younger woman, to the point where she outgrows him Unlike Pygmalion, the younger woman is an absolute wallflower, and for me, this is the key to why this play is so affecting: Mariam Haque's Louie is so introverted, has such low self esteem at the beginning of the play, is so deprived of education, and Haque is so convincingly tentative and withdrawn, that it's an absolute delight to see her come out of her shell, as this sophisticated older man teaches her about how music is written. She in turn teaches him folk songs, that she learned from her mother, so that he can preserve them. Cecil Sharp's very real record of English folk songs is a treasure trove to this day, inspiring songwriters like PJ Harvey and Laura Marling. The play is not only moving, it has a rich seam of themes, all of which are interesting and thought-provoking, from the purpose of music, to the importance of memory, who we remember, why we remember, whether gypsy songs are "English," whether folk music can bolster an English nationalism, and on and on. Simon Robson is excellent as Sharp, kindly and self-serving all at once, but it is Haque's wallflower becoming something more that really stirs the heartstrings. 4 and a half stars from me.  |
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Post by Jan on Jul 28, 2022 17:17:51 GMT
A play written by Richard Eyre? Because that's exactly what a New Writing theatre needs... Their commitment to new writing has always been a bit approximate, in the 5 years 2013-18 I saw three separate plays by Chekhov there. That's a good thing in my book - there are far too many new writing theatres. |
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Post by foxa on Jul 28, 2022 19:41:50 GMT
Just chiming in with the positive takes on 'Folk' - really glad to have caught it this afternoon. We were in the front row, so incredibly close to the brilliant acting (spot-on casting.) I didn't know any of the actors before but all were very good with, as Steve suggests, Haque being remarkable in a very demanding role. I don't want to spoil it for anyone yet to see it, but the way some of the actors meet the musical demands of the roles is stunning. For me, the first half was pretty much perfect and there was just a bit of dip in the second half. One of my favourite things I've seen post-pandemic. |
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Post by greenswan on Jul 30, 2022 8:06:29 GMT
Chiming in with the general delight with Folk - managed to snag a ticket yesterday. The music is very affecting, the actors great and the exploration of being English, appropriation vs appreciation, gender and class relations very nuanced and masterful. First deserved standing ovation in a while.
If you can get one of the few remaining tickets or a return - definitely go for it.
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Post by tmesis on Jul 31, 2022 12:22:11 GMT
Folk is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time and, like Big Big Sky, more evidence that Hampstead’s best, most engaging productions are Downstairs. The production (simple but so effective) and performances were spot on. The story of ‘simple’ folk gaining wider national exposure for an artistic endeavour reminded me of Pitmen Painters - one of my absolute favourite plays of the last 20 years - and the arc of the play had a similar satisfying and moving effect. Pitmen Painters was a play that started off small but then, quite rightly, grew hugely in its exposure and this deserves a comparable future.
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Post by showgirl on Jul 31, 2022 13:56:26 GMT
It was certainly worth seeing and the comparison to The Pitmen Painters (which I had totally forgotten; surely a revival must be due?) is apt. I'd read a review saying the writer did not see how anyone could match up to Simon Russell Beale as Cecil Sharp in the radio version, which I hadn't heard, but I thought Simon Robson was fantastic and I'm always impressed when actors can play a musical instrument as well as act, never mind combining the two skills in one performance. I did think it dragged very slightly after the interval and unlike everyone else, I did not like the music, but then folk is my second least favourite musical genre - after jazz, which I absolutely detest - so it would have been a bit much to expect this to convert me.
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Post by paplazaroo on Sept 1, 2022 10:11:22 GMT
Just got the marketing email about The Snail House by Richard Eyre and came here for a wee grumble!
Sir Neil Marriot had a ‘good pandemic’, becoming familiar to millions from his TV appearances as a government medical advisor, and he is now rewarding himself with a lavish birthday party.
But, amidst the oak panelling, the champagne and the silver service, his family are at one another’s throats again, and he thinks there’s something familiar – and somehow unsettling – about one of the catering staff…
I mean I know it's practically law for writers to do a posh family party with underlying secrets drama (didn't they just have one at the Hampstead with Robert Lindsay?) but this sounds stale. I'd expect something a bit more original from the bloke who once ran the NT
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Post by alessia on Sept 1, 2022 10:19:59 GMT
Yes I've just seen the email- must say I'm not tempted by this at all. The one by Florian Zeller was also about a posh (French) family.
Unless reviews are excellent I won't book- there are so many other great things to see this autumn.
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