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Post by david on Dec 22, 2019 0:19:30 GMT
As the 1st show in my London theatre pre-Christmas visit, it was certainly an interesting watch as the famous chess tournament between the title characters is played out against the backdrop of the Cold War and the mistrust and paranoia between the former USSR and the U.S. enters the sporting arena and impacts on both Spassky and Fischer as the chess tournament becomes a metaphor for wider political events.
Spassky (played by Ronan Raftery) and Fischer (played by Robert Emms) are like chalk and cheese. Spassky comes across as is a more reserved and thoughtful individual, whilst Fischer is a petulant self-absorbed man who comes across as a completely horrible character. As the tournament progresses on stage, the stresses and strains impact on the two men as the conspiracy theories and accusations of cheating are thrown between the two men.
I was sat in B8 of the stalls and had a great view of the play. Today Tix are doing cheap tix for this play (the auditorium wasn’t full at the matinee). I only wish I had found them before purchasing my ticket, as I could of got the seat at half the price I paid.
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Post by joem on Jan 4, 2020 22:14:06 GMT
Went to see this as I had a vague memory of the shenanigans which went on at the time. The subject is interesting but I'm not sure it comes across that well.
Yes, the Cold War by proxy nature of the game is depicted but I didn't feel it went deep enough beyond the exposition and Spassky, in particular, was not a very well rounded character.
To the question: how do you make a play about a world championship in a game/sport which is played at a sedate pace flow dramatically, the answer here is "with difficulty". The shadowboxing outside the arena is well documented but when the games start the play, necessarily, moves into dumb-show and projections thus making the central part of the drama what is most glossed over.
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Post by lynette on Jan 6, 2020 11:23:40 GMT
I’ll be honest, I thought Chess was about the same thing and had a couple of decent tunes in it. Different game/time?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 6, 2020 11:53:33 GMT
Chess was very much inspired by this particular pairing - even though the plot is very different. The conflict between East and West, the introvert and the extrovert, the different playing styles - all very much the same.
However Chess does also serve to show how near impossible it is to make a stage drama out of chess. Some good Swedish tunes are not enough to make it a good musical.
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Post by lichtie on Jan 7, 2020 15:13:16 GMT
Interesting attempt, but it's at least 30 minutes too long for the rather insubstantial subject matter, and never quite manages to make the matches exciting despite flashing lights and sound effects. They could probably have dropped most of that completely given the real drama is backstage as it were.
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Post by joem on Jan 7, 2020 20:24:25 GMT
I’ll be honest, I thought Chess was about the same thing and had a couple of decent tunes in it. Different game/time? Chess was partly inspired by this. Isn't it overdue a revival? I thought the boys from Abba were going to move into musicals big time when they succeeded with this but, oddly, it ended up being a one-off. |
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Post by Dr Tom on Jan 7, 2020 20:41:26 GMT
I thought the boys from Abba were going to move into musicals big time when they succeeded with this but, oddly, it ended up being a one-off. They might have had one or two more. Sometimes long running musicals defeat me, but for some reason I keep thinking "Who's your daddy?" |
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Post by tmesis on Jan 11, 2020 19:03:57 GMT
Act one drags somewhat but I was really engaged after the interval. Robert Emms has the meatiest part as Fischer but Ronan Raftery is quietly very impressive as Spassky. It's very effectively directed with some interesting choreographic moves to heighten the tension between the two rivals.
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Post by orchidman on Jan 13, 2020 0:31:45 GMT
A play about a chess match that doesn't think its audience will have any actual interest in the chess, but also a play about the Cold War that thinks the audience will be more interested in a symbolic chess match than any other aspect of the Cold War you could write a play about. So it's a misfire.
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Post by Dave B on Jan 15, 2020 23:16:16 GMT
This afternoon's matinee was about 4/5 full downstairs with upstairs closed. I'd really just echo what people have said above, it is overlong and struggles to really do anything with the actual games of chess.
Robert Emms does a great manic Fischer and I was very taken with Ronan Raftery's Spassky, much quieter and understated and then, in moments, not at all. I enjoyed watching them a lot.
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