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Post by Dave B on Dec 7, 2022 9:40:36 GMT
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Post by alessia on Dec 7, 2022 11:53:50 GMT
Bad news :-( I know that the main theatre has been hit and miss but the downstairs space has had interesting things this year
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Post by cavocado on Dec 7, 2022 11:54:49 GMT
I have mixed feelings about this. It's been said in previous posts that, while Downstairs does a lot of brilliant new work, Upstairs has been very hit and miss recently, with some poorly chosen plays (and not all new writing either). I think maybe they needed a new direction, though sad that it's been forced by a funding cut. I hope they will find a way to continue with the good work Downstairs, and maybe some more crowd-pleasing work in the main house.
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Post by Jon on Dec 7, 2022 14:40:17 GMT
I have mixed feelings about this. It's been said in previous posts that, while Downstairs does a lot of brilliant new work, Upstairs has been very hit and miss recently, with some poorly chosen plays (and not all new writing either). I think maybe they needed a new direction, though sad that it's been forced by a funding cut. I hope they will find a way to continue with the good work Downstairs, and maybe some more crowd-pleasing work in the main house. I do think the decline of Hampstead happened towards the end of Ed Hall's tenure and Roxana Silbert was unable to stop it. I wonder who would want to take the job of AD? |
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Post by Mark on Dec 7, 2022 14:57:14 GMT
The programming recently has been rough. Memory of Water and Night Mother late last year I found very poor, and Fever Syndrome was also not great. I hope whichever direction they go in there is some better productions in the main house.
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Post by showgirl on Dec 7, 2022 15:23:56 GMT
Could someone please tell me what Dave B's post actually said? I assume from the responses that it was some bad news about Downstairs but his post is a blank space on my screen for some reason. |
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Post by TallPaul on Dec 7, 2022 15:34:06 GMT
Could someone please tell me what Dave B's post actually said? I assume from the responses that it was some bad news about Downstairs but his post is a blank space on my screen for some reason. I often have this problem too when someone posts a tweet. It's Time Out reporting that Roxana Silbert is stepping down as AD, and the theatre will no longer focus solely on new writing. |
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Post by n1david on Dec 7, 2022 15:34:42 GMT
Could someone please tell me what Dave B's post actually said? I assume from the responses that it was some bad news about Downstairs but his post is a blank space on my screen for some reason. From @timeouttheatre on Twitter: |
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Post by Dave B on Dec 7, 2022 16:38:07 GMT
Could someone please tell me what Dave B 's post actually said? I assume from the responses that it was some bad news about Downstairs but his post is a blank space on my screen for some reason. I often have this problem too when someone posts a tweet. It's Time Out reporting that Roxana Silbert is stepping down as AD, and the theatre will no longer focus solely on new writing. Ah, maybe one for the FAQ section, if you have Twitter cookies blocked (including through third party cookies) tweets show as black. I have to specifically change my ad-block and browser settings to allow embeds to load on this site and only on this site for some reason. |
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Post by showgirl on Dec 7, 2022 17:48:50 GMT
Thank you both' n1david and Dave B, both for the Hampstead info and the explanation for my being unable to see the original post. I have occasionally known this here before but never what the reason might be. |
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 7, 2022 18:15:31 GMT
It is brutal when that axe comes down. Ouf.
Feels exactly the same as Sport England does with the lottery money. It's been so successful there, a whole bunch of very serious sporting countries are trying to follow that model.
Time to regroup at .. checks notes .. Swiss Cottage.
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Post by marob on Dec 7, 2022 19:07:02 GMT
Haven’t been there in ages, but some of the stuff I’d seen there were remounts or American.
Must admit I never realised that it was supposed to have a new writing remit.
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 8, 2022 17:55:44 GMT
Not much to add except I was deeply impressed by this too. I’m not a fan of the two-hander but this, and The P word (Bush) are both exceptional examples of the type. Yet again an example of Downstairs being the best bit at Hampstead. On the way to the bus, I was also referencing The P Word, and I really don't tend to do two-handers well either, though I honestly try to make an exception around the fringe for writers not particularly established.
As everyone has commented, this is strong work from the whole group of creatives - led by writer Joe White - who, I imagine, have been on a tight budget.
Good to see a 200 strong full house offer a partial SO and, from I overheard, much praise.
We arrived to find a free - very full and informative - programme on each seat, making the journey hope quite a pleasure.
Closes on Saturday - seems to be Returns only now. 4 Jager bombs out of 5.
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Post by Jan on Dec 8, 2022 18:47:49 GMT
Haven’t been there in ages, but some of the stuff I’d seen there were remounts or American. Must admit I never realised that it was supposed to have a new writing remit. The last three things I saw there were all by Chekhov but new translations or adaptations to pretend they met the new writing remit. Obviously they knew that revivals would be more commercial. |
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 8, 2022 19:11:48 GMT
'new writing' seems to cover quite a spread, perhaps esp. for funding purposes. I noticed this work at Hampstead was given the nod (at least to workshopping) on the basis of a one-page synopsis from someone who'd had a work performed before.
Contrast that with, say, The Bush who are currently calling for full script submissions from new writers. One of them is a serious, dedicated commitment of time and resources.
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Post by stevemar on Dec 9, 2022 22:34:03 GMT
Thank you to everyone who recommended Blackout Songs.
A great play which worked well in the space. Maybe I would have liked to have seen more of the background of how they became alcoholics with more context of their families, so it wasn’t as emotional to me until the final scenes. But very sad and rather brutal nonetheless and heartbreaking relationship.
Looks like it has become a word of mouth hit and sold out tonight.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Dec 10, 2022 10:05:22 GMT
'new writing' seems to cover quite a spread, perhaps esp. for funding purposes. I noticed this work at Hampstead was given the nod (at least to workshopping) on the basis of a one-page synopsis from someone who'd had a work performed before. Contrast that with, say, The Bush who are currently calling for full script submissions from new writers. One of them is a serious, dedicated commitment of time and resources. I’m not exactly disagreeing, but most theatres do that - have open script windows to find and engage with new talent, but commission based on who they already have relationships with. Hampstead do a full script submission every year too, and the Bush have also commissioned plays on the basis of a short pitch. That’s fairly standard. Having said that Hampstead is pretty much in free fall right now. Everyone’s quitting, commissioned work is on pause, no one knows what’s happening. Hi There’s a big industry open letter coming out soon in support of new writing at Hampstead. |
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Post by Jan on Dec 10, 2022 21:22:59 GMT
At this point with no subsidy Hampstead should be less concerned with what “the industry” want and more concerned with what their audiences want. Their recent history suggests that this isn’t 100% new plays. Is there an unsubsidised venue anywhere in the country that does mostly new plays ?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 10, 2022 21:27:44 GMT
I would be interested to see how many plays that originated at the Hampstead that have gone on to a transfer/future professional production over the past 5/10 years
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Post by showgirl on Dec 10, 2022 21:37:00 GMT
I think the audiences Downstairs have consistently shown that new plays are exactly what they do want and I'm not the only one here to remark that the standard in the smaller space has been far more reliable than Upstairs. Obviously the programming in the main house has to be far more mixed for commercial reasons but I do hope they don't have to mothball Downstairs.
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Post by chameleon on Dec 10, 2022 22:19:28 GMT
I'm clearly in the minority on 'Blackout Songs' - I liked the first 15 minutes, the acting was great, but then it kept going round in the same circles, the question on hand - keep the addiction, have a wild time, and destroy yourself/each other, or lead 'tedious' clean lives, is a very familiar one from 'trainspotting', and there was nothing to make me care about either of the protagonists, so after a while I just wanted it to be over. But downstairs has been a great resource for writers - they've dared to experiment, and sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not so good, but it's a small investment, and there's usually something interesting about every play..
Nobody seems to have solved the problem of making upstairs work yet. It's quite an unforgiving theatre with a big stage and a relatively small auditorium, and it seems to diffuse energy from the play rather than focus it. The audience who pay for the more expensive tickets seem much older, whiter, richer, and more conservative. Somehow they've never managed to create the same buzz that the similarly sized (but somehow better shaped, and maybe better sited) Almeida manages - and the plays mostly seem a little tame (perhaps this is an issue of the taste of the producer, Greg Ripley Duggan, who has been there consistently across Ed Hall and Roxana Silbert's tenure - though he does seem good at raising money). Maybe what's needed is to do bolder new work (perhaps bolstered by bigger names as actors and directors) and try to draw audiences from further afield - if they can get their funding back. Without funding, I don't see a way to keep the place alive.
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 10, 2022 22:47:10 GMT
I'm clearly in the minority on 'Blackout Songs' - I liked the first 15 minutes, the acting was great, but then it kept going round in the same circles, the question on hand - keep the addiction, have a wild time, and destroy yourself/each other, or lead 'tedious' clean lives, is a very familiar one from 'trainspotting', and there was nothing to make me care about either of the protagonists, so after a while I just wanted it to be over. Did you have a free programme on your seat? It would have helped you understand the circles.
As it's finished I'll mention it is primarily a memory piece with an emphasis on something called Korsakoff Syndrome.
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Post by Jon on Dec 10, 2022 23:43:50 GMT
I would be interested to see how many plays that originated at the Hampstead that have gone on to a transfer/future professional production over the past 5/10 years Off the top of my head the transfers from Hampstead from the last 10 years were Chariots of Fire, The Judas Kiss, Good People, Sunny Afternoon, Di and Viv and Rose and Mr Foote's Other Leg. I'm excluding Caroline, or Change because that was at the Minerva at Chichester. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 11, 2022 0:01:27 GMT
The Judas Kiss was a revival having been premiered in 1998.
So yes, it did transfer from the Hampstead but it wasn't new writing in 2012
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Post by showgirl on Dec 11, 2022 5:08:02 GMT
re the Upstairs space: while I appreciate that views are personal, I'm really surprised and disappointed to hear that some people dislike it as it's probably my favourite medium-sized space as an audience member. I've always been able to book seats at a reasonable, if not cheap price; have tried various locations (though always on the aisle); if your chosen seat allows for a quick exit so you don't get stuck in a queue, the supply of toilets is adequate and as others have noted, there is plenty of seating in both foyers for early arrivals, though seats upstairs are those high stools and I prefer a standard one. Plus, for me, access by public transport far more convenient than at other venues mentioned in comparison, eg the Almeida, as it's on the Jublilee Line with the station almost on the doorstep; reasonably served by buses and a short walk or 1 stop north on the tube, Finchley Road offers the Metropolitain Line as well as the Jubilee and the Overground is only a little further up. Also, for those with a little time to spare and/or shopping to do, the supermarkets near Finchley Road tube are useful.
Of course I'd travel anywhere within reason for the right play or show but taking the overall audience experience into account, this is why Hampstead is not only my favourite venue of that size but also one of my top venues overall and somewhere I always enjoy visiting, whereas in other cases I'm more ambivalent or even reluctant.
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