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Topic: The Theatre Thread

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Team DaMo
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RPLovesIpswich wrote:
Also realised that Ellie Kendrick is also in Gloria. She played Allison in Being Human. All roads lead to Being Human!!

 

I nearly said that when I went away and looked up the play but assumed you'd have noticed - perhaps Colin Morgan was distracting you! She did a Radio 4 afternoon drama recently and it took me ages to place her, I guess it's more difficult from just a voice. Actually, it's still available for the next eight days if anyone's interested: Slipping Through Time



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Molonian
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I'm seeing Hamlet in Newcastle on the Tuesday night, Maghat, really looking forward to it.

Watched Salome with NTL on Thursday and came away not sure about it all - since then I've been unable to stop thinking about it and Brigid and I are hoping for an encore performance as we would both like to see it again. There were only 6 people in the cinema though, including us. All I can say is that it was different to anything g I've seen before with some very string performances, movement more choreography than anything else, beautiful background Arabic type singing and the actors seemed to recite their lines rather than just speaking. I came away shell-shocked. Apparently it's had dreadful reviews and won't say I loved it but it was mesmerising.

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Oooh snap - we're going on the Tuesday too! We've also just got tickets for The Wipers Times in October which might make the gap to February seems shorter by breaking it up a bit!

I couldn't say why but the info about Salome didn't grab me enough to make me want to go - I guess perhaps the trailer made me think it might be more style than substance. Not that trailers are always a good guide to what to expect. I haven't seen reviews but I tend to ignore them for the most part in any case, I'd rather decide for myself. A shame that audience numbers were that low, Ellie - I'm guessing it makes Encore showings less likely too.

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Since both of us (my stepmother and me) enjoyed the NTLive performance so much, we have the plan to look at more plays.

Unfortunately there is nothing for us at the moment. Maybe next year.

 

But I see you have to wait until February too.

Maybe we just go to the cinema to watch a movie.  biggrinbiggrin



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Thought I'd write a few words about the play Gloria that I went to see at the Hampstead Theatre, although it finishes tonight so it's unfortunately too late for anyone to go and see it!

I actually went to see this twice because I enjoyed it so much the first time. It's a lovely small theatre so you get a good view. I sat closer to the stage the second time which was brilliant. Also because it's a small theatre the tickets were much more reasonably priced!

It's a really timely play about the media and the commodification of tragedies. The first half is really funny revealing the horrible, ambitious bitching and backstabbing in the office of a New York magazine. Colin Morgan was hilarious as hungover Dean (the second time I saw it he had so much energy!) and Kae Alexander was brilliantly bitchy as Kendra. Then things take a very dark, distressing turn. Even though I had read a spoiler it was still very shocking, particularly the second time I saw the play because it was right in front of me.

The second act deals with the aftermath of tragedy and how the survivors deal with their experience while the world has moved on to the next tragedy. Dean and Kendra are competitively trying to market their books about the events of seven months before but Dean is struggling to come to terms about what happened. Colin Morgan was superbly moving in this scene and I wanted to rush up on stage and hug him when Dean has a panic attack! You discover later that Dean never has his book published but you never find out why - has he changed his mind and wants to get on with his life or did he take his own life as he hints at.

The final part of the play is two years later and in LA a TV company want to make a series out of what happened. Bo Paraj was brilliant in this part as Loren who was also dealing with what happened in act one and finally following his dream of studying law and ends up temping at the TV company to get some money. He's trying to make positive changes in his life but is broken down by the way his lived experience and the trauma of everyone involved that day has become something to sell for entertainment. Colin Morgan is hilarious as the stroppy IT guy in this scene.

Colin Morgan and Bo Paraj were both incredible in this. Their performances were in turns hilarious and deeply moving. The play was brilliantly well-written with lots of sharp, clever lines with humour and tragedy all rolled together. Very thought provoking theatre. I was thrilled to see Colin Morgan on stage because I'm a huge fan but the whole cast were wonderful. Apart from Bo Paraj the actors all play 2 - 3 different characters a device the writer has used to great effect to demonstrate the inevitable way life goes on but also nothing changes. The other cast were Sian Clifford, Ellie Kendrick and Bayo Gbadamosi.

Just discovered that Colin was rushing off after the show each night to do filming (I presume he was also filming during the day too) and was doing 16 hour days. Even more impressed now by the energy and commitment he put into his performance. How do you work on two different scripts and characters and give them both your all?! 

-- Edited by RPLovesIpswich on Saturday 29th of July 2017 02:25:26 PM



-- Edited by RPLovesIpswich on Sunday 30th of July 2017 01:23:07 PM



-- Edited by RPLovesIpswich on Sunday 30th of July 2017 01:24:32 PM

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Sounds intriguing Rosie, glad you enjoyed it so much! I really must try harder to get to new theatre, I've got stuck in a real "classics" rut. Write ups like yours remind me that there really is good new writing out there and unless we go and see it there will be no new "classics" in the future!

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Wow, Rosie, this is a great report. I notice how enthusiastically you are. I must say I do not know Colin Morgan. But he has already done a lot. 

It looks in such a way that it is not almost possible to get still tickets for King Lear in Chichester.

So I will go at the middle of August in my hometown to the event „ Shakespeare in the park“. This takes place every year in summer for one week in our big park and is a little tradition. Indeed, I was not yet there. I only start with theatre.

I hope the weather becomes a little better, because it takes place only in good weather.biggrin



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Thank you Maghat and Sana! To be honest I only went to see it because of Colin Morgan but I'm really glad I went. It was such a good play and was very well-received. And I was really glad to get to see Colin who really is a phenomenal actor. He's rather like Damien in the way he completely takes on a character so that you forget that it's him.

The Shakespeare in the Park sounds wonderful Sana. I hope you get good weather.

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I've looked on the internet. I remember the face. I just do not know where I've seen him. Merlin maybe ?? Definitely in The Fall. From Merlin I've only seen 1 or 2 episodes.



-- Edited by Sana on Monday 31st of July 2017 03:18:30 PM

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Oooh, Shakespeare outdoors is a summer tradition for lots of towns here too, Sana! Do you know what play they'll be doing? It's often a comedy because those tend to play well outside, I think.

My first outdoor Shakespeare was A Midsummer Night's Dream in Lancaster's Williamson Park in 1987 - Andy Serkis was early in his career and played Lysander! The Duke's Theatre still does a summer promenade performance in the park but I don't live there any more. Hope your "Shakespeare in the Park" is as much fun as I remember my first one being!

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I thank you. aww
Yes, it will be "Much Ado About Nothing". Gladly I wanted to see Richard III or, like you "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but these days I have no time. It would have been funny if my first play had been the same play you have seen.



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Oh, Much Ado... is fun, the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is great! If you don't mind "spoilers" there's a lovely little clip of Sam West and Katherine Parkinson doing a scene from the end of the play here - I think it was filmed for the Shakespeare walk that was set up along the bank of the Thames for the four century celebration. If you'd rather keep the whole thing a surprise though, watch it after you've seen the play live!

Let us know how you get on, I hope it's fun! Is the performance in English or a German translation?



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It's totally a pity. My Shakespeare in the park was canceled. It is raining the whole time. 
What a bad summer.
Maybe I go to the theater in winter.


-- Edited by Sana on Friday 18th of August 2017 06:40:59 PM

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Sana, I'm so sorry about that, it's a real shame. Outdoor theatre is a wonderful experience - but is dependent on the vagaries of weather, unfortunately!

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Oh what a shame, Sana! I suspect open air performances all over northern Europe have been affected this summer - the actors must be so disappointed as well, all that rehearsal effort and no audiences to show it off to!

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Yes, that is really a pity. However, it is so, that when it rains, the performance takes place in the theater. So it's a pity, but not quite so bad. The theater does not have so many seats and I had only a “beautiful weather ticket”.
So this is on my list for next year.smile



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Well, went to see the RSC "Hamlet" on Tuesday and absolutely loved it. The adaption (in Denmark still but with a modern African tribal setting) worked really well. It also showed how you can make very little scenery work well. The acting was superb - Paapa Essiedu was absolutely perfect as Hamlet, one of the best I've seen. The only jarring note were Rosencransz and Guildenstern, who were played by women. To me, this altered the dynamics between the three of them - especially when one of them jumped up at Hamlet, wrapping her legs around his waist! They also didn't seem to have much personality - although that could just have been in contrast to others in the cast, who were really dynamic.
All in all, one of the best nights out I'd had in ages. We had great seats, too; spot on in the centre of the stage, three rows from the front - just out of spitting range! I picked up a leaflet about a production of "Brighton Rock" which just happens to be on during the weekend of my birthdsy, and yesterday my daughter informed she'd bought tickets for my birthday so 'yay'!

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Ooh, I’d forgotten you were there on Tuesday Ellie, I could have flicked popcorn at you by the sound of it (five rows back, slightly off centre)!


I agree, fabulous production and Paapa Essiedu has just about the best Shakespeare delivery I’ve ever heard, really natural! I hope we see much more of him in future (he’s good in radio drama, too). We saw the broadcast version of this production in 2016 and really enjoyed that, this just confirmed that there’s an extra dimension when you manage to see it live.


R & G should have been one man, one woman but one of them was the understudy on the night (I think it was Guildenstern but confess I, like the characters of the play, tend to conflate the two characters so couldn’t swear I’ve remebered the right way round!) so they both ended up being women. The announcement of the substitution was easily overlooked, the only thing I saw was a sheet of A4 taped up just by the door we went in through.


Hope Brighton Rock is good, I read the novel recently and was amazed how contemporary it feels - you really wouldn’t place it as a pre-war novel I don’t think.

-- Edited by Maghat on Sunday 25th of February 2018 06:29:12 PM

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It sounds like you both had a brilliant time, Ellie and Maghat. It certainly sounds like an interesting interpretation of Hamlet.

Reminds me that I need to start looking at what theatre trips I want to do this year! I think Colin Morgan is in Friel's Translations at the National Theatre this year.

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A friend of mine told me of a little trick she does when going to a London theatre. She buys the cheapest tickets, then looks for the corporate groups and watches to see where they are sitting. She says lots of them just stay drinking at the bar rather than watch the play. She just wants till the last minute then boldly walks in with a group and sits in an empty seat. She's been doing this for over twenty years. We agreed it was a good thing to do for the sake of the actors - filling an otherwise empty seat in view of the stage so the actors don' t feel unwanted! I don't think I would have the courage to do this and would in fact just wend my way to sit in the Gods, but it did made me wonder if anyone else had done this - or would be willing to give it a try!

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Sneeky, but ingenious Ellie! Not sure I would have the guts to!

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Molonian
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I could never do such a thing. I would not have a quiet minute until the last second and could not concentrate properly (hm, maybe that's not the right word, but I think you know what I mean).

I had that from the other point of view. A friend and I came last in the cinema. But we had reserved tickets. And the best in the whole cinema. When we arrived, other people sat on the seats and they had to go now. Now the whole cinema was almost full and the two did not get any seats next to each other. They then had to sit completely outside. I was sorry, but they took the risk and it did not work out.




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Yesterday my daughter, Brigid, and I went to see a production of "Brighton Rock" at the Northern Stage in Newcastle. It was excellent! Oddly enough, the thing we both appreciated (as well as the excellent acting, set, etc) was the costumes - when Rose took her dress off she was wearing a slip, when Pinkie removed his shirt he was wearing a vest. A small thing, but it really added to placing it in time. No nudity (seen too much of that in stage recently). The cast were part of Pilot Thaatre, a touring company based in York. Apparently they aim for the younger audience (!) but as someone slightly outside that criteria i don't think it matters what age you are. It was a fairly small cast, all but those taking the parts of Rose, Pinkie and Ida playing multiple roles, but it worked really well. All I can say is, if it's in your area go and see it, you'll enjoy it.

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That certainly sounds like a great production of Brighton Rock, Ellie. Getting the costumes right really makes a difference in terms of a period setting.

All this reminds me that I should go to my local theatre more often. It get annoyed with myself when people are raving about a play in the local area that either completely passed me by or I forgot that I wanted to see it!

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Went to Northern Stage last Saturday for a production of Othello. It was really good, although they had tweaked it to fit in a more modern setting (Othello was a Christian in name only, to protect himself). The cast were all perfect for their roles.
It was amazing that it was the professional stage debut of Victor Oshin, who played Othello - he seemed so professional and carried it off with ease. His range of emotions was excellent.

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