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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2016 14:48:29 GMT
Saw this yesterday. I have seen a few plays where I thought I knew what the message was but didn't like the play. With this I quite enjoyed watching it, but just don't really understand what it was trying to convey.
The plus points for me were: great set and background street noises; use of lighting (really, really black theatre for scene changes); excellent performances (I love Linda Bassett in anything); some very good one liners and nice singing interlude.
But I am glad it was only an hour, as I found it frustrating that the bits I was really interested in - the back stories to the characters - went nowhere. Yes, I got the idea that despite their ordinary conversation other things were going on, but I wanted to know more. Why did she murder her husband, why was she terrified of cats, why was she depressed, and what was all the rage about that didn't show in the character.
I found Linda Bassets lone passages amusing but baffling, as if I'd suddenly moved to another play.
I can cope with theatre that doesn't have a beginning a middle and an end, though probably prefer it when they do, so perhaps this is the problem. Yet I feel that I was on some level being hoodwinked into trying to see something that wasn't there in the first place.
Did spend a happy half hour pre play watching two excellent guitar playing buskers and wandering round the food market near Sloan Square, so quite a good day regardless.
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Post by harrietcraig on Jan 4, 2017 0:31:55 GMT
Long-time lurker in New York here, reviving this old thread to thank everyone who posted for helping me make up my mind about whether to get a ticket for this when it comes to the Brooklyn Academy next month. The prices here are ridiculous: the best seats are priced at $90 (about the equivalent of £72, at the current exchange rate). I had been toying with the idea of getting a ticket in Row P of the orchestra (stalls) for $50 (about £42), but after reading this thread, decided even that was too much.
No disrespect intended to the opinions of those who loved the play. The posts on this thread, even the less-than-glowing ones, make it sound sufficiently intriguing that I would be tempted to give it a try if prices were more reasonable, but at these prices ... no.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 8:38:16 GMT
Long-time lurker in New York here, reviving this old thread to thank everyone who posted for helping me make up my mind about whether to get a ticket for this when it comes to the Brooklyn Academy next month. The prices here are ridiculous: the best seats are priced at $90 (about the equivalent of £72, at the current exchange rate). I had been toying with the idea of getting a ticket in Row P of the orchestra (stalls) for $50 (about £42), but after reading this thread, decided even that was too much. No disrespect intended to the opinions of those who loved the play. The posts on this thread, even the less-than-glowing ones, make it sound sufficiently intriguing that I would be tempted to give it a try if prices were more reasonable, but at these prices ... no. Bloody hell those prices! The play is good but at 55 mins it really isn't worth $90! Or even $50! Couldn't u volunteer as an usher and go see it for free? (Then quit obviously coz at those prices the theatre don't give a f***) |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 9:05:45 GMT
Long-time lurker in New York here, reviving this old thread to thank everyone who posted for helping me make up my mind about whether to get a ticket for this when it comes to the Brooklyn Academy next month. The prices here are ridiculous: the best seats are priced at $90 (about the equivalent of £72, at the current exchange rate). I had been toying with the idea of getting a ticket in Row P of the orchestra (stalls) for $50 (about £42), but after reading this thread, decided even that was too much. No disrespect intended to the opinions of those who loved the play. The posts on this thread, even the less-than-glowing ones, make it sound sufficiently intriguing that I would be tempted to give it a try if prices were more reasonable, but at these prices ... no. Every time I go to NY, I feel fortunate to be living in London - theatre prices there are unbelievably obscene. |
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Post by schuttep on Jan 4, 2017 9:27:27 GMT
Escaped Alone is, as I'm sure you all know, returning to the Royal Court for a few week' run later this month.
Someone must like it (I did).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 16:12:57 GMT
I fundamentally disagree with the idea that short plays should cost less than long plays. I have never ever ever looked at a 3+ hour running time and thought "wow, I paid the same amount for a 130 minute play the other day, this is a real bargain!". Also it could be a really slippery slope if producers get it into their heads that people want to pay less for shorter plays, we could end up with nothing but over-priced four hour "epics" that could've told the same story much more efficiently and beautifully (and far less boringly) in 70 minutes. But all that said, £40ish for the lowest priced ticket for *anything* is a bit extreme. I did love Escaped Alone, but for minimum £40, I'd want something more like a lavish musical with a huge ensemble.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 16:19:41 GMT
I don't disagree with you there- I'd much rather something be short and good than long and feel I'd at least got 'value for money'however I would say that I think anything sub the say 70-80 minute mark I personally would struggle with paying a lot for. To me it feels a bit like paying the same for a 30 minute tv episode at the cinema as you would a full length feature (my solution there being you'd put two or more tv episodes on the same bill and could with 2 or more short theatre pieces, as many theatres do)
So I *would* feel a bit cheated if I only got say 50 minutes of 'entertainment' for £50 ...but as you rightly say a minumum of £40ish for anything and I'd feel a bit cheated.
On the flip side, for those of us who travel for theatre, how does anyone feel about comparative length of something vs how long you travel? Personally I won't travel to London say for a 90 minute play, because I just can't reconcile 2-6 hours travelling for 90 mins in the theatre. Obviously most of us group our performances anyway, but it struck me as a different kind of 'value for money' there too.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 16:27:38 GMT
I've made the two hour drive to Bristol for a 90 minute play before now, though if I'm travelling for a single play, I generally prefer it if the journey there is shorter than the overall running time. I'm not so strict with myself as to want my total journey time to be equal to or less than the overall running time, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to have your limits.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 16:42:20 GMT
I've made the two hour drive to Bristol for a 90 minute play before now, though if I'm travelling for a single play, I generally prefer it if the journey there is shorter than the overall running time. I'm not so strict with myself as to want my total journey time to be equal to or less than the overall running time, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to have your limits. Yes that's how I think of it...I'm not SO strict that I'll rule something out based on that BUT if I can't get a reasonably priced train (HA!) and it's a bus journey to London for 1 show...well it has to be a bloody good show regardless and if it was less than 90 minutes I'd probably reconsider the 7 hour round trip... |
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Post by showgirl on Jan 4, 2017 18:11:06 GMT
I try to fill a day, i.e. a film, then matinee, then evening show, so if one of the theatre events is shorter, I'd obviously prefer it to be the evening one, both to allow an earlier journey home and to avoid a longer gap between performances.
That works in London but in some other places I regularly visit for theatre (Chichester, Eastbourne, Guildford, Watford) it's hard, or impossible, to fit in a film first as either there is no cinema or no film I want to see or not early enough.
So on those days I'm usually resigned to seeing just the one thing but treat it as a day out instead - it helps that most of them are nice places with other attractions, e.g. art galleries, museums - but unlike others above, I wouldn't want to make a day of it just for a short play - I'd expect it to last a couple of hours at least to justify the travel (and bear in mind my local TOC is Southern, so the play needs to compensate for the dire travelling experience!)
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Post by harrietcraig on Jan 4, 2017 22:52:44 GMT
I've made the two hour drive to Bristol for a 90 minute play before now, though if I'm travelling for a single play, I generally prefer it if the journey there is shorter than the overall running time. I'm not so strict with myself as to want my total journey time to be equal to or less than the overall running time, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to have your limits. It's funny that you say that, because I almost said in my original post that another reason (besides price) why I was reluctant to get a ticket is that the Brooklyn Academy is a 45-minute subway ride from where I live, and I didn't want to spend an hour-and-a-half of travel time to see a play that runs under an hour. I guess I'm spoiled by the fact that it's a 10-minute subway ride from where I live to Times Square. Anyway, it's good to know that other people take the same factors into consideration. Also, I should clarify that the $50 ticket price I mentioned isn't the lowest price for Escaped Alone at BAM. There are also tickets available for $40 (obstructed view orchestra), $45 (front balcony), and $30 (rear balcony), but it's a big house (capacity 837), and the $50 seat I was thinking of was as far back as I was willing to go. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 8:38:41 GMT
Yes re: travelling, if it's a place I can have a 'day out' (or at least 'nice lunch') then especially for a matinee I'm less worried- and/or if I have one particularly short play in a weekend of theatre-ing, but when you factor in expense and travel time I'd be lying if I said I'd never rejected a play because it's only an hour. Obviously for plays closer to home I'm less stringent given I can get to my local theatres in about 20 minutes! (or from work I can get to one in less than 2 minutes)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 14:38:32 GMT
The Weather Factory (National Theatre Wales / Fevered Sleep)
A theatrical installation in a house which you may explore for twenty minutes
In Penygroes in Snowdonia, a four hour drive of 165 miles from home
Except it was late December 2010, the worst day of winter weather for decades
So the roads were all known to be impassable when it was time to set off
Except the M5 / M6 route of 103 additional miles (which had a seven-hour delay, as it turned out)
So I walked on the train from Cardiff to Bangor, instead of attempting to drive
And towards the end of the first hour, the man with the door key phoned from NTW to say he couldn't travel on his own street so it was cancelled today
But I continued to Bangor because I'd paid for my rail ticket and I hoped I could maybe see it tomorrow
And at Bangor all buses were cancelled for the day because of the snow and ice
So I shared a taxi to Caernarfon where all available accommodation was expensive for me
And there was no guarantee that I could be admitted to The Weather Factory the next day anyway
Although the lady in the tourist information centre said that Penygroes was a delightful six mile walk away
So I returned home the same night.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 14:43:12 GMT
The Weather Factory (National Theatre Wales / Fevered Sleep) A theatrical installation in a house which you may explore for twenty minutes In Penygroes in Snowdonia, a four hour drive of 165 miles from home Except it was late December 2010, the worst day of winter weather for decades So the roads were all known to be impassable when it was time to set off Except the M5 / M6 route of 103 additional miles (which had a seven-hour delay, as it turned out) So I walked on the train from Cardiff to Bangor, instead of attempting to drive And towards the end of the first hour, the man with the door key phoned from NTW to say he couldn't travel on his own street so it was cancelled today But I continued to Bangor because I'd paid for my rail ticket and I hoped I could maybe see it tomorrow And at Bangor all buses were cancelled for the day because of the snow and ice So I shared a taxi to Caernarfon where all available accommodation was expensive for me And there was no guarantee that I could be admitted to The Weather Factory the next day anyway Although the lady in the tourist information centre said that Penygroes was a delightful six mile walk away So I returned home the same night. Well that's what you get for going to the North 
(I once did a convoluted and ill advised Cardiff-Stratford Upon Avon-Bangor theatre road trip)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 14:47:21 GMT
A few days later, NTW blogged a pop-up link, active for a few hours only, to a video of someone's visit to The Weather Factory. So I did get to experience it in this reduced format.
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