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Post by crowblack on Sept 5, 2022 11:12:30 GMT
Glad they're NT Live-ing it because the train strikes and general Avanti ticketing and scheduling chaos mean I'm not going to be able to make my booked date.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 14, 2022 9:59:34 GMT
STILL no Avanti train tickets on sale for this Saturday or any of the coming weekends. My mum has had an op rescheduled for Sat so I'm going to have to cancel my theatre ticket, but for everyone else, the Avanti sh**-show especially at weekends is surely impacting everyone who wants to visit theatres and shows from the North West of England to London (and anything else at weekends!).
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Post by mikey on Sept 14, 2022 21:47:54 GMT
Saw the first performance, it was very good. I thought better than the Old Vic production. Started at 7.35 and finished 10.35. Very impressive stage design!
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Post by frankubelik on Sept 16, 2022 7:02:44 GMT
The design is the only good thing about this but even that feels misplaced. Much of the text was inaudible (from the fifth row stalls) and most actors lacking the necessary gravitas for this piece. Largely miscast and a complete misfire for me. The National has really lost its way.
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Post by catcat100 on Sept 16, 2022 8:02:30 GMT
Very much enjoyed this last night. First time I've seen the play and totally enthralled by it. Excellent acting, stage design and choral singing added extra atmosphere. Perfectly audible from 3rd row of circle for me.
Additionally, had a look at my smartwatch stats this morning and apparently my stress levels increased considerably during the play, which didn't happen when I saw Grease in the afternoon. Now I have absolutely no idea how it calculates stress but maybe the play did something right to induce that increase.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 16, 2022 11:09:16 GMT
Very impressive stage design! I did see someone - audience not actor - tweet that it looked like the actors were finding it slippy from the 'rain' so wonder if that will change - weren't actors injured from falling on the sloping stage in Jane Eyre? |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 16, 2022 16:10:53 GMT
What is so amazing about the set?
It has never struck me as a piece where the scenery was hugely important.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 16, 2022 17:24:53 GMT
What is so amazing about the set? It has never struck me as a piece where the scenery was hugely important. There are a couple of clips on Twitter (taken pre-show) showing a square / three sided curtain of rain around the stage for reasons someone will hopefully explain! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 16, 2022 17:39:19 GMT
Poll added. Please vote when you’ve seen it.
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Post by catcat100 on Sept 16, 2022 17:50:02 GMT
Don't want to say to much but I think its the whole staging that works really well, its a fairly simple dark set but works with the whole of the large stage. Less is definitely more here.
The use of lighting, rain, smoke and sound build up the atmosphere and tension. It effectively moves your attention from front to back even though action is at the front to highlight storyline.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 16, 2022 18:34:25 GMT
Is it set in the period?
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Post by catcat100 on Sept 16, 2022 18:52:35 GMT
yes, set in Salem, late 1600's
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2022 19:35:51 GMT
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Post by mkb on Sept 16, 2022 23:08:42 GMT
This is a play I had to study for English Literature O-Level, so I approach it with expectations set in my formative years. I still have hopes of seeing the definitive take on The Crucible one day. This one isn't bad, but it's not quite there for me. There are some five-star performances, but the production suffers from some poor directorial choices and from self-indulgent set design.
The three-sided wall of rain must have taken a significant chunk of the budget but serves no purpose, other than to test the balance of the cast on the sloping stage. It's not even used during the play. The downpour happens only before Act 1 commences, during a scene change after the script references the wind, and, iirc, briefly at the interval. The poor souls in the four extreme seats of stalls row B have to wear ponchos throughout, the rest of row B may get the odd speck, and row A is off-sale as a result. Such profligacy!
The dark and distant rear of the stage is occasionally lit to reveal scenes that run concurrently with the action in the foreground. Unfortunately, the view of the rear is almost entirely impeded by the cast and props in the latter, for, I would hazard, the front third of the central stalls seats. I was in a cheap row C seat sold as restricted view, but I would not be happy if I'd paid full price in rows D, E or F.
Among the cast, Brendan Cowell and Matthew Marsh shine, as the best interpretations I've seen of farmer John Proctor and Deputy Governor Danforth, respectively.
The production held me rapt, but the final scene did not trigger emotions like it should.
Four stars.
Act 1: 19:33-20:55
Act 2: 21:17-22:31
An earlier report on here says the first preview ended at 22:35. The response of the NT was, the following day, to reduce the advertised running time from the originally estimated 2:55 to 2:50. Go figure! Why are some theatres so hopeless at giving up-to-date accurate information, while others are so good?
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Post by cavocado on Sept 17, 2022 9:59:40 GMT
Sort of. The costumes, scenery and props are neutral 'olden days' - long dresses that looked more Victorian, Proctor's clothes could have been mid-20th century, a bit of a mix, but not in a way that felt jarring or inappropriate, and it's still Salem in the 1690s, not moved to another place or time. I liked the design a lot, reminded me a little of the recent Almeida Macbeth e.g. when we see tableaux lit at the back of the stage to flesh out what's being discussed in a scene - very filmic. Someone mentioned these tableaux might not be visible from all seats - not sure, but I was 2nd row of one of the side sections of the circle and could see and hear everything. The lighting was beautiful, and the rain on stage worked brilliantly - gorgeous and created an oppressive atmosphere. Not sure I'd want to sit in the 2/3 seats at either end of the front row who had to wear plastic ponchos throughout. Mostly very good performances, and three hours went past very quickly. 4 stars from me. Hopefully I will see it again later in the run. |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 17, 2022 11:31:44 GMT
Since this play is a much admired classic it is with trepidation that I have to say I was bored (very) by last night’s performance. Clocking in at 3 hours it really outstays its welcome. I didn’t like the tricksy pointless rainfall - I’m sure it came at considerable expense which would have been better spent on the actual set. After filling The Olivier stage handsomely for Jack Absolute we’re back to the default position for this space ie. a no set set.
Also I don’t know if it was because of the pointless precipitation but it was freezing cold throughout in row F of the stalls.
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Post by callum on Sept 17, 2022 19:55:29 GMT
Saw this last night… booked a Row B (as another poster mentioned, actually front row for this production) seat, only for Box Office to email me the next day about being in the splash zone and giving me Row J aisle stalls seat as a free upgrade - result! Think they must have been house seats as Samira Ahmed was sat a few seats along.
Enjoyed the play a lot and a solid four star production. Did not perhaps feel as moved as I should have done, but enjoyed all of the performances and Miller’s superb writing shone through.
I do however have to mention the audience… firstly lots of inappropriate laughter at mentions of Satan, Lucifer, witchcraft etc and secondly lots of popping of cans and rattling of ice cubes. If Imelda was there her head would have exploded! Wish NT bar would stop selling cans (or pour them out for customers) as they were going off right throughout the show and at pivotal moments! I am strongly considering getting a hard of hearing headset next time to try and block all of this out!
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 18, 2022 0:51:19 GMT
Saw this tonight and I'm afraid I can't give it more than 2.5/5 (3 in the poll)
I thought the production design was really nice and there were some great performances, but as a whole I found it incredibly frustrating, especially the direction.
My biggest gripe was that I would estimate there was probably less than 5 minutes across 3 hours that I wasn't constantly looking at someone's back on stage.
For the first 20 minutes, the 2 lead characters in the scene marched onto the stage and then stood with their backs to the audience while delivering their lines. I was so frustrated I was very close to standing up and asking if they would please turn around! I mean, you're setting up a 3 hour play, why is your back to the audience while doing so? It almost drove me insane.
They have that massive stage full of dead space at the back, with everyone crammed up the front. Move everyone back and turn them around so they are facing the bloody audience. This would also eliminate the constant mopping/drying of the stage.
Anyways...
The positives.
I liked the staging and I actually liked the rain. Though I would've only used it within the body of the play (where it was actually used 3 or 4 times) not left it running all the time during entering and intermission.
I liked the 'singing' and it was used to great effect in some parts, but completely ruined the scenes where the children were 'losing it' and completely took you out of the manic-ness of the scenes because it drowned out the dialogue and performances of the kids which is very important to the story.
I liked the use of the very back of the stage in different parts (the end of Act 1 was particularly effective) but as mentioned above the blocking is ridiculous and there's no excuse for it.
Has the director never actually watched it from the audience I wonder?
I thought all of the kids were great and most of the adults were pretty good...but some of side characters need some work.
Personally I much preferred Ivo's Broadway version on every single level I'm afraid.
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Post by crowblack on Sept 18, 2022 9:12:40 GMT
Has the director never actually watched it from the audience I wonder? I had to return my tickets for this weekend and am now definitely going to wait for the NT Live for this - only seeing the backs of their heads is more bearable when you're paying £20 for a cinema ticket rather than £70 plus £150 on trains plus the Covid risk! The Antipodes at the National was one of the most frustrating theatre experiences I've had - I was sitting in the stalls and half the cast had their backs to me the whole time and I never even saw the face of one of the 'star' actors, who was sitting at the head of the table - the whole thing could have been sorted easily by using a revolve. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 18, 2022 9:56:16 GMT
They've shifted Press Night from this week to the 28th.
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 18, 2022 13:18:29 GMT
Has the director never actually watched it from the audience I wonder? I had to return my tickets for this weekend and am now definitely going to wait for the NT Live for this - only seeing the backs of their heads is more bearable when you're paying £20 for a cinema ticket rather than £70 plus £150 on trains plus the Covid risk! The Antipodes at the National was one of the most frustrating theatre experiences I've had - I was sitting in the stalls and half the cast had their backs to me the whole time and I never even saw the face of one of the 'star' actors, who was sitting at the head of the table - the whole thing could have been sorted easily by using a revolve. It's only the 3rd preview and clearly by pushing press night back is an admission that there are problems. These are pretty dumb mistakes though that should've been picked up earlier. |
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Post by theoracle on Sept 18, 2022 21:32:06 GMT
I’m surprised by the reception this is getting on here. It’s one of my most eagerly anticipated shows for sure and I’ve been struggling to get rush tickets for this the last two weeks. I would’ve thought Lyndsey Turner would’ve done wonders with this considering the huge reception Under Milk Wood received. I was also really looking forward to seeing Fisayo Akinade return to the National Theatre as well as to see Erin Doherty’s Abigail which from the trailer I’m hoping to be pretty riveting. Will share my thoughts once I see it
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Post by intoanewlife on Sept 19, 2022 0:55:32 GMT
I’m surprised by the reception this is getting on here. It’s one of my most eagerly anticipated shows for sure and I’ve been struggling to get rush tickets for this the last two weeks. I would’ve thought Lyndsey Turner would’ve done wonders with this considering the huge reception Under Milk Wood received. I was also really looking forward to seeing Fisayo Akinade return to the National Theatre as well as to see Erin Doherty’s Abigail which from the trailer I’m hoping to be pretty riveting. Will share my thoughts once I see it I thought they were both excellent x |
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Post by Jan on Sept 19, 2022 9:27:01 GMT
Haven’t seen this yet but the comments on the staging remind me of the Katie Mitchell “Three Sisters” where for one long scene those in the Circle could only see the legs of the characters who were sitting at a table. Hytner had to intervene and eventually de-platformed Mitchell for this type of direction.
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Post by mikey on Sept 19, 2022 11:40:14 GMT
There was no visibility problems for me on first night performance from left side of the stalls. No actors facing backwards etc
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