Patriots – Almeida / Noel Coward Theatre

[Jon]

Saw the play tonight and found it fascinating. I admit I know nothing about recent Russian history and so was going in cold. It's a good insight into how the Oligarchs were able to put Putin in power but also how easy it was for a kingmaker like Boris Berezovsky to fall from grace.

Tom Hollander was excellent was Berezovsky as is Will Keen as Putin who transform from bumbling deputy mayor to the most powerful man in Russia, Luke Thallon as Roman Abramovich was good as well.

The front row seats are great value at £20, you only miss a scene or two which is played to the back of the set but everything else is play front and centre.

Very mixed audience tonight, quite a few Russians and the normal well heeled crowd.

[joem]

I would concur with the previous post. Although the plot is basically 90% culled from historical events - or their differing interpretation by various players - this is indeed a fascinating account of a time of turmoil in Russia and the former Soviet Union which, sadly, has us wondering about what-ifs and what-might-have-been if things had been handled differently.

Morgan has chosen to call this play "Patriots" and give it a slant which considers different forms of patriotism. In making his selections, the playwright has given us his version of a set of truths for dramatic effect and, whilst probably much closer to the truth than (say) Shakespeare's Macbeth, undoubtedly Berezovsky's patriotism and sense of purpose have been exaggerated to create a tragic hero from a rather more shabby real figure. He needs to be heroic so we can contrast him with the cold, calculating amoral or faux moral Putin.

It did not feel overlong in any way, difficult to see what could be cut without mutilating the play, and the solid ensemble performances are topped by a strong one from Will Keen and a towering one from Tom Hollander; at times a mountebank, at times a shaman showing the art of the possible with his mathematical notions of infinity. Excellent staging, good use of lights, sound, music, multi-media - the whole kaboodle. Goold and Maria Friedman have delivered a pretty stunning production.

Quibbles: if you are going to do a play where the actors should be speaking in a foreign language in British regional accents you must have ALL the characters following the rule, else have them all speaking English with "appropriate" foreign accent. Second (stronger) quibble - and this is for the audiences and not the production team - this is NOT pantomime! You DO NOT hiss the villain at a curtain call in serious theatre! It's the actor you are booing, not the character.

[joem]

May 29, 2023 23:21:40 GMT kit66 said:

Maria Friedman?

Freudian slip there....make it Sonia.

[theatrefan77]

This was as good as at the Almeida. Will Keen is excellent reprising his Olivier winning performance. Tom Hollander and Luke Thallon also great.

[edi]

I liked it a lot. First part kept my attention better, but for me it was a joy to watch

[eatbigsea]

Really enjoyed this, beautifully written with excellent performances from Will Keen and Luke Thallon, and Tom Hollander with a really outstanding performance. A couple of minor quibbles - there is no Nobel prize in Mathematics, and they had the judge wearing a barrister’s wig (why do they always do this?) I do understand that we shouldn’t boo excellent actors providing superlative performances, and of course I didn’t, but it did feel very odd to be applauding “Putin.”

[Rory]

I saw this tonight and enjoyed it very much. Propulsive staging and Tom Hollander and Will Keen were superb. I was in Row H in the stalls but I would recommend booking a seat in the dress circle as the staging is raised.

[theatremiss]

I was late to the party with this one, but I saw it tonight and really enjoyed it. Great performances from Hollander and Keen. I was in front row DC and the view was perfect.
On a side note, is Hollander wearing a bald cap or has he had the center of his head shaved?

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

I liked but didn't love this tonight. It was well acted but it felt longer than it was and I thought it didn't live up to the potential of what should have been really thrilling material. It also felt a bit like characters were included/mentioned just for people to have someone to point at and acknowledge as a public figure they recognised from real life. My friend described it as like the easter eggs included in Marvel movies for comic fans except it's Russian political figures. Maybe that's just an unfortunate side effect of it being such recent history that the major players are still so prominent, but it felt laboured like they were making sure you noticed. It certainly wasn't bad but it also didn't do anything to leave a big impression either.

[shownut]

Jun 10, 2023 23:32:41 GMT juicy_but_terribly_drab said:

I liked but didn't love this tonight. It was well acted but it felt longer than it was and I thought it didn't live up to the potential of what should have been really thrilling material. It also felt a bit like characters were included/mentioned just for people to have someone to point at and acknowledge as a public figure they recognised from real life. My friend described it as like the easter eggs included in Marvel movies for comic fans except it's Russian political figures. Maybe that's just an unfortunate side effect of it being such recent history that the major players are still so prominent, but it felt laboured like they were making sure you noticed. It certainly wasn't bad but it also didn't do anything to leave a big impression either.

I agree with your post.

Caught it Tuesday night and while the second act had some merit following a meandering and sometimes confusing first act, I would have liked it more if both acts had cut between 10-15 mins out. 

[keyspi]

Jun 10, 2023 23:32:41 GMT juicy_but_terribly_drab said:

I liked but didn't love this tonight. It was well acted but it felt longer than it was and I thought it didn't live up to the potential of what should have been really thrilling material. It also felt a bit like characters were included/mentioned just for people to have someone to point at and acknowledge as a public figure they recognised from real life. My friend described it as like the easter eggs included in Marvel movies for comic fans except it's Russian political figures. Maybe that's just an unfortunate side effect of it being such recent history that the major players are still so prominent, but it felt laboured like they were making sure you noticed. It certainly wasn't bad but it also didn't do anything to leave a big impression either.

I saw this on 27 May during the preview period and I pretty much felt the same after. At the time I attributed this to it being only the second day of staging, however it seems to be the case in the long(er) run.

I quite enjoyed Hollander's and Keen's performances, but didn't really find the rest noteworthy.

Not even going to start on the (intentional?) selection of accents for this

Overall, I enjoyed the play but felt a bit let down due to the contrast between all the grandiosity it was advertised with and the final product not meeting (my) expectations.

Would still recommend seeing it.

[solotheatregoer]

Really enjoyed this last night. Thought it would be a bit dull but actually I found it really engaging and easy to follow. Agree it could be 20 mins shorter as some parts did drag on a bit and the lack of Russian accents was a little distracting.

Also pleasantly surprised to see Evelyn Miller in a production again. Last time was when I saw Cyrano at BAM. Tom Hollander was outstanding as usual as were the rest of the cast.

Well worth a watch.

[Dr Tom]

I saw this from the front row last night and thought it was excellent. I hadn't read very much about the play in advance, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but all very gripping.

The front row has a lot of leg room, but there's a section of the stage that extends in front of the middle block of seats. I expect that the view is slightly easier off-centre. With that said, no complaints about the view. I was less keen on my immediate neighbours, who I presume were a Spanish family, several of whom spent almost all of the show looking at their (thankfully dimly lit) phone. Somehow the ushers could not see this, but it must have been visible from the stage.

Having a maths background, I found the mathematical links interesting, but the attempts of the actors to write maths on the blackboard were rather dodgy. I think I know what they wanted to write, but what they actually wrote was something different.

Almost wish I'd caught this at the Almeida now, but glad I got to see the transfer.

[ncbears]

22 June. Seat B3 in Royal Circle. Slight restriction of stage left. Three Stars. I wish Caryl Churchill had written this instead.

[capybara]

I got a rush ticket to see this on Tuesday and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it.

For the most part, it was intriguing and Hollander was captivating as Berezovsky.

I don’t know if it’s because I knew the background reasonably well in advance but just always felt like it was about to catch alight and then never quite did.

That being said, it’s still a solid piece on this subject. Worth seeing for £25 for sure.

Three stars.

[dlevi]

I had seen this at the Almeida and enjoyed it - not great but not bad, so when I was offered a ticket from a friend I happily went to see it again. And I fled at the interval. What had a kinetic theatrical energy at the Almeida felt staid and tired at the Coward. Tom Hollander was terrific but everyone else seemed to be walking through it and the gimmicky noisy transitions between scenes were just that: gimmicky and noisy. There were plenty of empty seats so I have to wonder if it will be able to fill out its run. This is just one of those times where maybe they shouldn't have made the transfer. The play is like an illustrated Wikipedia entry.

[bram]

A very watchable performance from Tom Hollander. An interesting rather than exciting play. Well presented and acted.

[Someone in a tree]

I found this be some bullet points of history and not to have much depth . Not a terrible night of theatre though, I'm just glad I didn't pay top wack

[Mark]

Broadway bound this season now that a theatre has opened up!

[teamyali]

Broadway transfer now confirmed…Barrymore Theatre, previews starting April 1.

Will Keen and Luke Thallon are transferring, but Tom Hollander sadly won’t. His role will be played by Michael Stuhlbarg. I’ve checked that Tom is also starring in the upcoming anthology miniseries Feud (created by Ryan Murphy), in which the second part is about Truman Capote and the New York socialites (Tom is playing Truman). Feud is set to premiere in a few days in the US and it’s expected to be an awards player for the Emmys.

Check out Patriots Broadway website here: patriotsbroadway.com/

Hopefully I get to check this out. Stuhlbarg has been in great stuff as well, the one I remembered was in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man.

[Jon]

Jan 22, 2024 14:18:31 GMT teamyali said:

Broadway transfer now confirmed…Barrymore Theatre, previews starting April 1.

Will Keen and Luke Thallon are transferring, but Tom Hollander sadly won’t. His role will be played by Michael Stuhlbarg. I’ve checked that Tom is also starring in the upcoming anthology miniseries Feud (created by Ryan Murphy), in which the second part is about Truman Capote and the New York socialites (Tom is playing Truman). Feud is set to premiere in a few days in the US and it’s expected to be an awards player for the Emmys.

Check out Patriots Broadway website here: patriotsbroadway.com/

Hopefully I get to check this out. Stuhlbarg has been in great stuff as well, the one I remembered was in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tom Hollander had an scheduling conflict that meant he couldn't do Patriots on Broadway. 

[Rory]

Jan 22, 2024 14:18:31 GMT teamyali said:

Broadway transfer now confirmed…Barrymore Theatre, previews starting April 1.

Will Keen and Luke Thallon are transferring, but Tom Hollander sadly won’t. His role will be played by Michael Stuhlbarg. I’ve checked that Tom is also starring in the upcoming anthology miniseries Feud (created by Ryan Murphy), in which the second part is about Truman Capote and the New York socialites (Tom is playing Truman). Feud is set to premiere in a few days in the US and it’s expected to be an awards player for the Emmys.

Check out Patriots Broadway website here: patriotsbroadway.com/

Hopefully I get to check this out. Stuhlbarg has been in great stuff as well, the one I remembered was in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man.

He was terrific as the father in Call Me By Your Name.

[theatreyank]

Jan 22, 2024 14:42:38 GMT Jon said:

Jan 22, 2024 14:18:31 GMT teamyali said:

Broadway transfer now confirmed…Barrymore Theatre, previews starting April 1.

Will Keen and Luke Thallon are transferring, but Tom Hollander sadly won’t. His role will be played by Michael Stuhlbarg. I’ve checked that Tom is also starring in the upcoming anthology miniseries Feud (created by Ryan Murphy), in which the second part is about Truman Capote and the New York socialites (Tom is playing Truman). Feud is set to premiere in a few days in the US and it’s expected to be an awards player for the Emmys.

Check out Patriots Broadway website here: patriotsbroadway.com/

Hopefully I get to check this out. Stuhlbarg has been in great stuff as well, the one I remembered was in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tom Hollander had an scheduling conflict that meant he couldn't do Patriots on Broadway. 

[theatreyank]

Feb 6, 2024 14:57:33 GMT theatreyank said:

Jan 22, 2024 14:42:38 GMT Jon said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Tom Hollander had an scheduling conflict that meant he couldn't do Patriots on Broadway. 

Scheduling conflict perhaps, but he just recently became a father, so I am also thinking did not want to be away from home for four months. A part so many reviewers said he was born to play and did so magnificently so I would think SFP would have resolved a sched conflict in his favor if he wanted to do it. That's why I'm thinking new fatherhood might be the only thing to keep him away from this. Could not wait for this to come to the US with him so extremely disappointed, despite Stuhlbarg's gifts. TH excellent as Capote, by the way. I guess the UK has to wait a little longer to see it.