Patriots – Almeida / Noel Coward Theatre

[couldileaveyou]

Peter Morgan switches from British Royals to Russian oligarchs in world premiere of play Patriots, directed by Rupert Goold. Tom Hollander stars as Boris Berezovsky with Will Keen as Putin; also starring Yolanda Kettle and Luke Thallon

[mikey]

This sounds awesome! I hope I can score tickets when they go onsale.

[zahidf]

Was easy enough on membership

Though the restricted view seats have gone up in price to £15.00

[vernongersh]

phew. glad I am a member. looks like seating is scarce for the dates I was looking at. got great seats.

[Jan]

May 27, 2022 1:46:26 GMT vernongersh said:

phew. glad I am a member. looks like seating is scarce for the dates I was looking at. got great seats.

I'm always suspicious about the Almeida, I'm not sure they don't hold some seats back for public booking. 

[Dave B]

Usual 'restricted' view seats for £10. That'll do.

[showgirl]

May 30, 2022 14:27:06 GMT Dave B said:

Usual 'restricted' view seats for £10. That'll do.

Same here and anyway, wasn't able to check while at work and RV tix were all that were left when I looked just now.

[l0islane]

In case anyone needs to plan trains etc, I went tonight and the sign said running time 2hrs 50mins but it was 10.30 when we came out.

It felt rather like an enjoyable Russian history lesson but I couldn't necessarily see its purpose as a play. I also need to do some googling to figure out how accurate the history lesson was!!

Oh also we had booked B27 and B28 stalls (restricted view) and when we arrived they said those seats had been removed and we were upgraded to central stalls, unrestricted view, so if you've booked those seats you may get a sneeky upgrade!

[Steve]

May 27, 2022 5:52:18 GMT Jan said:

May 27, 2022 1:46:26 GMT vernongersh said:

phew. glad I am a member. looks like seating is scarce for the dates I was looking at. got great seats.

I'm always suspicious about the Almeida, I'm not sure they don't hold some seats back for public booking. 

They definitely do hold some back for public booking, and I would think it would be wrong if they didn't. Any organisation that takes public money should hold some tickets back for public booking, I think.

[Dave B]

[Mark]

Thought this was good overall. As mentioned above it’s basically a history lesson of Russian politics post 1991. Act one took an age to really get going anywhere but pretty smooth after that. Act two was definitely stronger. A few stumbles over lines and some definite tightening to be done.

Loved the design, great use of the space.

Late letting people in tonight - was listed as 1:15 for each act, although both closer to 1:10, although with a 10 minute late start and a slightly extended interval meant we were out by 10:25

[wannabedirector]

Saw this tonight and thought it was excellent. Am a sucker for a political play (of everything I’ve seen post pandemic the only new play that tops this for me is Best of Enemies, so you can see my leanings) and I thought this was well written and staged. Cast are generally very good and the nearly three hours (ran to about 2:50 tonight) flew by.

[orchidman]

I have absolutely no idea why Peter Morgan would take time out from his lucrative job on The Crown to do this. It's not a patch on Frost/Nixon and who is it for? If you have any interest in Russian politics you will learn nothing, nor gain perspective or insight; if you have none why would you buy a ticket?

Feels like a first draft in every respect, the dialogue never sparkles, the staging choices are uninventive, the storytelling is plodding.

They might be able to tighten it up a bit before press night but fundamentally Berezovsky's story does not work as a dramatic narrative. Would be very disappointing to see it transfer to the West End on its current merit.

[vernongersh]

I opted out of seeing this after these initial first takes on the board.

[alessia]

I saw last night. I thought the first act was better than the second, or at least it held my attention more. Each character was perfectly cast, Tom Hollander is a great actor indeed. Shout out to the two actors playing Abramovich and Putin too.
I had little idea about Berezovsky's life and role in Russian politics, so I feel that I've learned something- if you also go without much knowledge I recommend you read the programme beforehand, it is essential to be able to understand what is going on.

I do think it's too long and I struggled a bit in the second half, but audience seemed to have loved it.

I only paid £10 as the seat was supposed to be behind a pillar but in fact it was nowhere near, and for stalls second row side, it was an amazing bargain.

[Jon]

Will be interesting to see if it gets a transfer given the run is nearly sold out.

[Forrest]

I found this to be a great example of Goold returning to form after The (dreadful!) 47th. It had all the signature quirkiness and fast-paced dynamic, and was also an interesting condensed lesson in recent history and a well written play. It - which I appreciated - didn't slip into parody: there were moments of humour sprinkled throughout, but that wasn't the main intention. The actor playing Putin in particular avoided portraying him as a caricature we all know that he is, which was quite refreshing after the said Old Vic play and "A Very Expensive Poison" that I quite disliked. Great performances from all of the cast, too.

Overall, I really quite enjoyed it. I'd love to return and bring my partner along, as I think he would enjoy it too (he's hardly a theatre buff, but has developed quite an interest in the rise of Putin and Russian politics since the war broke out earlier in the year), so it's quite a bummer that it's sold out.

[Jon]

Just noticed that Sonia Friedman is involved with Patriots, that suggests that if it does have a further life, she'll be one of the commercial producers.

[austink]

Went to this today and am a bit of a mess after having worked in Russia for a period so probably hit me more than most. Is more nuanced than many people are expecting. Looked great and brilliantly acted but a but of a slow burn.

[bordeaux]

I enjoyed this enormously. Brilliant performances, witty dialogue, a vivid recent history play with relevance for today. This is an interesting perspective from a friend of Berezovsky's.

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/15/patriots-peter-morgan-play-boris-berezovsky-russian-view

[budd]

I enjoyed this. The set design is quite brilliant and there's both ugliness and beauty to it, but thankfully the play came to an end just as it was about to outstay its welcome on my eyes.

But this is mostly a showcase for the actors who are firing on all cylinders. You never get any sense of a distinct voice of a playwright. It's engaging, but not much more.

[austink]

Went to this yesterday and very much enjoyed it. As someone who used to work in Russia, it does a good job at distilling a specific moment in time. It does slightly look clarity as it goes along but brilliantly acted. Will Keen as Putin does steal the show.

[Jon]

@sohoplace would be an ideal home for a transfer of Patriots.

[Rory]

Jul 21, 2022 10:44:20 GMT Jon said:

@sohoplace would be an ideal home for a transfer of Patriots.

According to an article in The Stage, the first two shows will be produced in-house, and the third will be with an outside company.

[Jon]

Jul 21, 2022 11:28:01 GMT Rory said:

Jul 21, 2022 10:44:20 GMT Jon said:

@sohoplace would be an ideal home for a transfer of Patriots.

According to an article in The Stage, the first two shows will be produced in-house, and the third will be with an outside company.

I don't think it rules out a transfer down the line but interesting that @sohoplace is producing its own shows.