202 posts
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Post by harry on Feb 11, 2020 13:33:11 GMT
This play asks some big questions. Like "why is the best piece of work the Royal Court have produced in years hidden in a 9:30pm slot?", and "why is such a fantastic new play running for only 1 week?"
But in all seriousness, my goodness this is thrilling. Only 45min but a total experience; so emotionally engaging. Totally theatrical yet without any pretension. Alistair McDowall is a wonder and has found the perfect conduit for his genius in Kate O'Flynn giving the performance of her career so far. Every slippery thought delivered with total clarity.
And the sniffy 3-star reviews I read this morning are so wide of the mark. Yes there's no great surprise or twist, yes the character's an ordinary white northern woman living a pretty unexceptional life. That's exactly why it's so full of pathos, humour, nostaligia and sypmathy. I've rarely heard an audience so silent or engaged from the moment she walks onstage to the final breath.
If you have any spare evening this week I urge you not to miss what will surely go down in theatre history as one of the all time great one-person short plays.
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546 posts
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Post by drmaplewood on Feb 11, 2020 17:45:11 GMT
Saw the matinee this afternoon, really terrific. Booked on the strength of O'Flynn's name and she delivers a complete masterclass from the start. Standing ovation at the end, do try and see it if you can.
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2,054 posts
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Post by Marwood on Feb 11, 2020 19:16:32 GMT
Cheers for the heads up - I’m going tomorrow.
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Post by Forrest on Feb 11, 2020 20:35:10 GMT
I'm not sure if I should thank you*, all three: I really, really want to see this, have been wanting to since it was announced, but have also been trying to be financially reasonable.
Now I'm simply going to have to buy a ticket. :)
*Just kidding, of course: Thank you! :)
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1,861 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Feb 11, 2020 20:41:28 GMT
Getting Sea Wall vibes about this, seeing it Saturday.
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2,054 posts
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Post by Marwood on Feb 12, 2020 22:30:21 GMT
Saw this tonight, certainly a bravura performance from Kate O’Flynn: I’m not sure how much of this was improvised by her and how much was as originally scripted: yes it’s ‘only’ 45 minutes but good Lord that was a lot of stuff to memorise. I can see why it is only going such a limited run (she is sitting in a chair for the duration but it still must be exhausting to remain focussed for the duration), it was just a shame seeing the amount of empty seats in the theatre for this performance.
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1,133 posts
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Post by Stephen on Feb 12, 2020 23:15:43 GMT
Saw this tonight, certainly a bravura performance from Kate O’Flynn: I’m not sure how much of this was improvised by her and how much was as originally scripted: yes it’s ‘only’ 45 minutes but good Lord that was a lot of stuff to memorise. I can see why it is only going such a limited run (she is sitting in a chair for the duration but it still must be exhausting to remain focussed for the duration), it was just a shame seeing the amount of empty seats in the theatre for this performance. It's all scripted with the single writer's note at the beginning that it should be spoken quickly. |
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2,054 posts
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Post by Marwood on Feb 13, 2020 15:05:52 GMT
Saw this tonight, certainly a bravura performance from Kate O’Flynn: I’m not sure how much of this was improvised by her and how much was as originally scripted: yes it’s ‘only’ 45 minutes but good Lord that was a lot of stuff to memorise. I can see why it is only going such a limited run (she is sitting in a chair for the duration but it still must be exhausting to remain focussed for the duration), it was just a shame seeing the amount of empty seats in the theatre for this performance. It's all scripted with the single writer's note at the beginning that it should be spoken quickly. It was the sheer volume of words that are spoken that made me wonder how close she keeps to the script: sure the first 5 minutes or so are baby babble so there is some leeway to change the performance slightly depending on her mood, but as the protagonist gets older, there is no let-up in the speed of delivery and it was impressive how Kate O’Flynn managed to maintain that speed of delivery without flubbing any lines, stuttering or tripping over the words or just losing the plot. |
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