"The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide...

[n1david]

Nov 23, 2016 14:22:57 GMT couldileaveyou said:

Just got my email. Do you remember when theatres used to have understudies? Good times, good times.

Have to agree with HG. We were disappointed that our matinee was cancelled, but at least it was earlier in the run so managed to squeeze in another show. But having seen it, understand that the physical and verbal choreography (if that's a thing) would have made it very difficult for an understudy to step in and fit in.

[showgirl]

I got clobbered by the cancellation yesterday, too; know they can't help it, or the short notice, but it was so frustrating as I had set aside a big chunk of my day - given that the performance was due to last 3 hours 30 - and had no contingency plan in place. Though oddly, as I was emerging from the tube to collect my ticket, I suddenly thought "I hope it's not cancelled", which isn't something that normally occurs to me, so maybe I had unconsciously recalled that some previous performances had been.

Of course as the sold-out run ends on Saturday there was no chance of re-booking, nor any help from the theatre re giving priority for returns to those who lost out yesterday, but realistically they had enough to do with 2 cancelled performances (as it was a matinee day) and there would have been an overwhelming demand to re-book.

Had a brainwave and asked if there were any seats for the matinee downstairs (Kiss Me, which I was due to see at Saturday's matinee), and first they said it was sold out, then found me a ticket after all. However, that was both short and disappointing and left me 3 and a half hours to fill before the evening play I'd booked, whereas had I seen iHo, I'd have had a more reasonable gap of 2 hours. So I will probably never see this play now, but I do hope that for other forthcoming main house productions, Hampstead Theatre has some understudies!

[Deleted]

Cancelled tonight too - just announced on Twitter

[talkstageytome]

Oooh I so nearly booked this when a spare ticket came up for tonight. Glad I didn't now. Although I'd still love to see this show. Hopefully it gets out on somewhere else in the next few years.

[martin1965]

Crikey! So glad i saw this earlier in the run. Dont see how they cant have understudies👎

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2016 5:12:55 GMT showgirl said:

I do hope that for other forthcoming main house productions, Hampstead Theatre has some understudies!

They cannot afford to employ understudies.

[Phantom of London]

Cost of understudies is one thing and with tight budgets makes it improbable, also a understudy has to learn 2/3 roles which for this show would be impossible, due to length of show, so would mean they would have to learn so much script and without practising the role would also make it very hard to remember.

I reckon this could end up in the West End?

Perhaps a flu injection should be part of their employment contract.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2016 13:13:19 GMT Phantom of London said:

I reckon this could end up in the West End?

Tamsin Greig is straight off to the NT.

[Phantom of London]

okay thanks, didn't know that, but might have to wait until her run finishes or recast the role.

[adolphus]

So how much would an understudy have cost vis a vis the refunds they have had to issue for the last three, possibly four sold out shows? Sorry can't buy poverty pleading for the Hampstead theatre which is otherwise so professional- at the box office they hardly cared that people have made considerable effort (and cost beond the tickets) to see a rarely performed play

[Polly1]

I really don't think it is a matter of cost for this play, I just think the nature of it makes it impossible for an understudy to come in to the split second timing of all the dialogue. I'm sure Hampstead are far from happy at the situation.

[adolphus]

Granted. But a major theatre might guess that staging a five hander with no understudies in lurgy season might be risky

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2016 23:14:46 GMT adolphus said:

So how much would an understudy have cost

Silly question. The alternative is to have a team of understudies rehearsed and ready to cover all the parts. It would be slightly bonkers of a theatre to only prepare an understudy for one of the parts.

[Deleted]

I mean, there's the possibility of having an Acting Stage Manager, who is a stage manager but by virtue of having been at all the rehearsals and following along on book and also being skilled in acting would be the best placed to step in with a book in such an emergency. It would be a fairly clumsy arrangement though, as you'd presumably only have one so would have to decide the age and sex in advance, running the risk that you'd be sending on a 20-something lady to read in a grandfather or similar. Also acting stage managers are a bit of a bygone thing, people tend to be an actor *or* a stage manager these days as they are two very different disciplines. Also also I don't know how forgiving a typical Hampstead audience would be of such an arrangement.

Is IHO a five hander? I thought there were eleven in the cast?

[Polly1]

Yes, there are 11 in the cast, all bar one very extensive and complicated roles. I suppose Katy Stephens who is (inexplicably and sadly) only in one scene, could have covered Tamsin Greig but no way could someone have read in with a book. I guess Hampstead must have just been prepared to take the risk of putting it on without understudies and unfortunately, the gamble failed. But although some people have been disappointed (I know I would have been), many more people have been given the opportunity to see this fine production by their decision to stage it.

Incidentally, at Nice Fish, there are understudies listed in the programme for all parts apart from Mark Rylance. I imagine they would expect so many exchange requests if he's not on that it would be easier to cancel.

[Deleted]

It can absolutely kill some plays to have such lowgrade cover. A prime example was the infamous Lyttelton John Gabriel Borkman, discussed at great length on the old board, which was one of the most harrowing theatrical evenings of my lifetime, for all the wrong reasons, and where later performances were cancelled following the diabolical shows with Vanessa Redgrave's official understudy.

[Deleted]

Having seen the play, I don't think an understudy or someone with a book could step in to be honest. The dialogue is so fast and reactive, with lots of talking over each other (particularly in one extended scene) that I imagine someone who hasn't really rehearsed intensively would slow the thing down so much that it would kill the play and it would lose any impact.

It would be like Jayne Torvill falling ill minutes before 'Bolero' and Christopher Dean having to go on with Betty Calloway.

[alnoor]

I am seeing it tomorrow matinee and will be travelling from Manchester. Let's hope the show goes on.

[showgirl]

Nov 25, 2016 12:47:25 GMT alnoor said:

I am seeing it tomorrow matinee and will be travelling from Manchester. Let's hope the show goes on.

Good luck for tomorrow but unlike me, you might want to have a contingency plan.  As the matinee is earlier than most, you'd have time to scoot into the West End and grab something else or try the booth - or have a film/gallery/museum lined up.

[alnoor]

Yup my contingency plan involves The Dresser, Buried Child or a good stalls returned ticket for Amadeus

[lonlad]

Is the play happening tonight? I have rebooked for tomorrow afternoon.

[oxfordsimon]

There is nothing on the HT twitter feed to indicate that it isn't happening.

I have a long-standing booking for tomorrow night - so really hoping I don't have to cancel. I will be leaving it as late as possible to head into Oxford just in case...

[talkstageytome]

Is the play text available to buy anywhere?

[showgirl]

I also managed to re-book after much checking the website, and it has meant re-jigging my entire day, but in advance this time, so I sure hope today's final two performances go ahead... Shame about the films I had booked but at least I will have those to see instead should today's performances be cancelled, and I can see the films another time but who knows if/when this play would come round again,

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2016 16:10:34 GMT talkstageytome said:

Is the play text available to buy anywhere?

I think they are expecting it to be available in the new year.