Author Topic: What was the last play you watched?  (Read 44959 times)

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #100 on: 04 February, 2018, 10:35:20 am »
Went to see Hamilton. It really does live up to the hype.
Was slightly worried that I wouldn't know enough about US history to fully appreciate it, but you can really go in with zero knowledge and you'll be fine.
George III has the catchiest tunes ever, still humming it a day later.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #101 on: 05 February, 2018, 01:06:40 pm »
You lucky so-and-so!

I looked for tickets a few months back and the cheapest I could find were £850 p/h  :o

Kim

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #102 on: 05 February, 2018, 04:35:38 pm »
I only recently realised that Hamilton wasn't about Neil Hamilton...   :facepalm:

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #103 on: 22 March, 2018, 08:42:25 am »
The Cherry Orchard. I discovered that Chekhov actually does story and characters, and even humour, rather than just impenetrable dialogue and odd effects. The only thing that slightly grated was the pronunciation of various Russian names, which was not only "wrong" but varied from actor to actor (some went to "Harkov" others to "Karkov", some said "Pee-oht-ruh" others "Pyott", etc), but I guess that's inevitable to to some degree, most people wouldn't know what was right (I can't really claim to know the correct pronunciation, mine would sound more like Polish so wrong in a different direction), and only secondarily important anyway. I went with my son, which was great because he has a slightly different take on everything.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #104 on: 27 April, 2018, 10:29:27 am »
Half Breed. An hour-long monologue which was completely riveting, in part because the one monologueist played a few characters.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Basil

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #105 on: 15 July, 2018, 08:16:43 pm »
Forgot to mention.   Mrs B and I went to Cardiff last week to see Warhorse 1
Not impressed.   I suppose that I'd heard so many good things about it from other people that I was expecting better.
The story, which I knew, was weak and disjointed and the cast hesitant and shouty.
Maybe it's better with a more competent company, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this production.

1 Mrs B had expressed an interest in us seeing Titanic The Musical.  I absolutely refused.  We compromised.  Tickets for An Evening With Patti Smith for me and Warhorse tickets for her.  Patti won easily,  as Mrs B admitted.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #106 on: 28 September, 2018, 12:17:41 pm »
Early Doors, stage production at the Armadillo in Glasgow.  :thumbsup:
If you liked the series, you'd have really enjoyed this. Funny, feel-good stuff, but we were sat a bit far back to see expressions clearly.
The set was very clever with the pub, kitchen and living room upstairs nicely done.
The mother and the cleaner were excellent, they were the funniest.

I got tickets to see Warhorse at the same venue, so a bit disappointed to read basils notes

ian

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #107 on: 28 September, 2018, 06:49:13 pm »
You lucky so-and-so!

I looked for tickets a few months back and the cheapest I could find were £850 p/h  :o

I finally saw it the other week – after a long wait because we weren't paying stupid prices (we'd initially planned to see it in NYC, then saw how much...)

Knowing a bit of US history from the period is helpful, but not essential, the songs are very catchy and well done. On paper, it sounds like a terrible idea, but works brilliantly.

And my wife got us a box. I'm not asking what it cost, some things I don't want to know. I flinched at the price of a bottle of wine and it wasn't even fizzy wine.

Jaded

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #108 on: 03 October, 2018, 11:54:45 pm »
Touching the void

Astonishingly good. Creating space, atmosphere, despair and angst on a tiny theatrical stage.

Go and see it when it tours.

Warning: contains mild peril and big swears.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #109 on: 09 October, 2018, 11:27:53 pm »
"The Importance Of Being Earnest", a live broadcast from the Vaudeville theatre.   The critics seem disparaging, but I enjoyed it , and judging by the suppressed laughs so did the rest of the audience.


I now know far more than I ever wanted to about Mr Bunbury.....
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Jaded

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #110 on: 20 October, 2018, 07:24:36 pm »
Just seen my niece in Cerano de Bergerac at The Lyceum, Edinburgh  :)
It is simpler than it looks.

essexian

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #111 on: 27 December, 2018, 08:15:59 am »
As is a Christmas tradition in this household and in part to stop one of us from going postal with boredom, we tend to head out on Boxing Day, not to the shops and alike: hell getting stuff is what the internet is for, but for entertainment given that most (if not all) Christmas TV viewing is crap.

So, mid afternoon yesterday we followed the tradition which in previous years has taken us to see an pantomime (oh yes it did….), to the Royal Opera House for ballet, to the Alex for Spamalot and last year, to the dull fest which was Stafford Rangers V Stourbridge….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. This year’s destination was the Alex theatre Birmingham….

And talking about Birmingham, after an easy drive down the M6….no traffic queues to get off at J9 which confused us, we arrived at the end of the Aston Expressway turning off at the roundabout with the A34 to find that someone has built several hundred (okay perhaps not but it seemed that way) tower blocks around the university. It looks a right mess around there. Oh…and why block off the turn in Digbeth which takes you to the Bull Ring? It was a complete nightmare finding another way to our car park which didn’t involve long queues of traffic!

Anyway, arriving at the theatre to collect our tickets from the Box Office: we had only had the decision to attend three days earlier, the bloke in front of us was buying a ticket. CBH looked at me and I at her with the: “I bet he sits next to us” look. Well, she was half right as he sat in front of us. The reason for our look…. This gent smelt of urine so much so that people noticed as he walked by them. Then, when we got to our seats, CBH was sat next to “Billy Big Balls.” Why is it that some men are unable to sit with their legs closed? I am a man and I can. Its really irritating that some people take up other people legs space just because they don’t give a damn. We moved to a couple of empty seats as soon as the lights went down to get some fresh air and leg room.

Onto the play… “Benidorm” with five or six of the cast having starred in the long running TV series.

As we had arrived just before the start of the show we did not get to read the shows posters but I imaging the following: “A 107% hit” The Express, “Brave Brits getting one over on foreigners in the sun. I laughed so much I brought back up my sangria ” The Mail, “Tits, tits and more tits” The Star, “Not a laugh a minute, a laugh a second” The Sun and “A gritty in-depth exploration of working conditions in an overseas hotel” The Guardian….are things the posters would not have said. Instead, if I had been writing a review….er….then I would have used words like: “Mostly filler with little killer,” “some poor acting not helped by a poor script,” “They forgot to write a book to base this play on as what plot it had a two year old could see coming,” “two hours long...too long by two hours,” “the ice cream during the break was nice,” “Trainspotting in the rain at Sugarloaf is more fun” and “don’t bother unless you really, really, really, really don’t have anything else to do.

Yes, we enjoyed it……not. Not one of our best decisions but hey, what did we expect?

Kim

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #112 on: 27 December, 2018, 03:02:51 pm »
And talking about Birmingham [...] It was a complete nightmare finding another way to our car park which didn’t involve long queues of traffic!

This is, I reckon, the whole point in Birmingham.

(Blocking off that turn in Digbeth is IIRC somehow related to the pseudo-pedestrianisation of Ladywell Walk and the top of Hurst Street.  Traffic flows or something.  As a cyclist it's a small improvement, as you can nip up the pedestrian crossing past the barriers, rather than having to go up the hill or filter through a perpetual traffic jam.)

Jaded

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #113 on: 29 December, 2018, 11:09:26 pm »
A Christmas Carol at Bristol Old Vic.

It is rare that a production at the Old Vic fails to please, and this was no exception. Scrooge was outstanding, there were jokes and audience participation, and a sort of steampunk design streak that went from monochrome to colour as the transformation takes place.

A notable addition was Bob Cratchit being played by a deaf actress. Signing, translation and her being given her cues visually was great to see.

I hope I haven’t spoilt the story.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #114 on: 15 March, 2019, 02:55:19 pm »
A Play About a Bank Robbery by the Mischief Theatre Company’s touring company, at the Aylesbury Waterside.

Apart from the surprise of it being set in Minnieapolis, with the consequent American accents (which for some reason my wife sometimes struggles with, despite spending 6 weeks a year in Chicago for th3 last few years) it was enjoyable farce. 
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

PaulF

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #115 on: 29 March, 2019, 05:54:05 pm »
Macbeth at the Watermill in Newbury. Initially ay went as a “duty” because it’s my son’s GSCE text butch thoroughly enjoyed it. A modern take on the story with many of the traditionally male roles being played by women and vice-versa with a great musical accompaniment.

If you’re local I’d definitely recommend.

Sniper68

  • It'll be Reyt
Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #116 on: 18 April, 2019, 01:47:51 am »
Bought my daughter Hamilton tickets for her 16th in Feb 2017.The tickets were for March 18 so she was actually 17 when we saw it.I was dreading it but it was very good.
We then went to see “Everybody’s talking about Jamie” at the Lyceum Sheffield...not for me but she enjoyed it.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #117 on: 18 April, 2019, 06:14:04 pm »
A live cinema relay of David Hare's "I'm Not Running". I had high hopes as I like his stuff usually, but they were sadly dashed: it was tedious, wrongheaded, and preachy, and oddly set in a present day with no mention of Brexit. I should have read the reviews before I decided to go, but at least I only paid cinema prices.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #118 on: 19 April, 2019, 01:21:02 am »
We saw that a while ago at the National - a good production, but not a very good play.

More recently, Downstate (National) - difficult, emotional, thought provoking. Treads a fine line, balancing portraying child abusers, their victims and those dealing with them as all flawed but still human.

A German Life (The Bridge) - an hour and a half of Maggie Smith. She was always going to be good. Astonishing how shut-not-shut the eyes of someone who just happens to be Goebbels' secretary can be.

Follies (National) - sparkling, dazzling, bitter-sweet. A fab, fab production - but I still don't like musicals that much.

Shipwreck (Almeida) - New York liberals trapped by a snowstorm, with Trump as a brooding shadow over the whole. Better than that makes it sound, but still 'interesting' rather than a theatrical classic.

CrinklyLion

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #119 on: 17 May, 2019, 02:58:08 pm »
I realised yesterday evening that my recent theatre attendances have consisted of 3 musicals and two Shakespeares.  That's almost as many Shakespeares and probably more musicals than I had watched in the 45-odd years preceding.... anyway:

Hadestown on its penultimate day at the National.  Glorious.  Go to New York and watch it on Broadway tomorrow if you can - I would if I could.  And I say that as someone who doesn't really like musicals.

The Comedy of Error's at York Theatre Royal - done as one of the RSC's 'my first Shakespeare' series of productions.  I loved it, and so did the SmallestCub, for whom it was indeed his first Shakespeare.

Wise Children, also at the Theatre Royal.  More musicals... bloody amazing show, and I scored a couple of the cheap seats for a fiver each!

Kinky Boots at Leeds Grand.  Good fun, but not a patch on any of the above.

Then last night, The Tempest performed by the Handlebards at the Merchant Adventurers Hall - a place I first visited, as I told the SmallestCub, when I worked as a wine waitress there when I was temping, 25 years ago.  Venue just as beautiful, fabulous performances and an extremely inventive production.  The Cub's review was "excellent, and hilarious!" and now he wants to go and see the Boys troupe performing Much Ado, and go and see them do an outdoor show somewhere too.  Highly recommended.

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #120 on: 19 May, 2019, 10:06:47 pm »
Hadestown on its penultimate day at the National.  Glorious.  Go to New York and watch it on Broadway tomorrow if you can - I would if I could.  And I say that as someone who doesn't really like musicals.

Brilliant, wasn't it? Orpheus visits the underworld via a 20s speakeasy - and you always know he'll never be reunited with Eurydice ...

Went to see The American Clock at the Old Vic at least partly because it was the same director. Again, a luminous, illuminating production. I thought it gained more than lost by splitting the central family into three sets of parallel lives, but you could see why its an Arthur Miller that doesn't get produced very often ...

Small Island at the National last week. Beautifully staged, with Hortense's brittleness and uptightness lapsing sometimes into an all too real nastiness. I wonder if some of the critics are right to cavil that this novel gets an adaptation by a white writer and a production by a white director, and it's not as good as Michael Billington reckons in the Guardian, but it's a powerful, emotional piece. Must read the book now.

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #121 on: 20 May, 2019, 07:43:44 am »
Brilliant, wasn't it? Orpheus visits the underworld via a 20s speakeasy - and you always know he'll never be reunited with Eurydice ...

Utterly brilliant.  I first encountered Anais Mitchell as a 'random pick' gig several years ago and have been listening to songs from the original Hadestown album since then.  It's a fascinating journey it has been on... I took  a couple of friends along and the next day we went for a trip to the seaside and I played them all the different recordings of "Why we build the wall" I could find, including the Billy Bragg one.  I really loved the way that the show felt like a real ensemble performance, rather than the stars+chorus more typical of musicals - and the band were splendid.  It seems to have nimonations and awards coming out of its ears since the move to Broadway.

ElyDave

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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #122 on: 22 June, 2019, 09:06:51 am »
bunked off work early yesterday, to head down to London to see A Comedy of Errors at the Globe.

two firsts for me there, having not been there and not familiar with that play. Loved the Globe as a venue even while trying to peer around a post. Didn't know any of the cast, all 8 of them, but it was a great experience, though less rowdy than back in the bards day of course. 

only slightly marred by some bloke who seemed to be finding different bits to everyone else funny, and letting us all know very loudly
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #123 on: 31 July, 2019, 11:35:11 pm »
"Measure for Measure" broadcast from the RSC at Stratford.  I understand that it will be on at the Barbican later in the year.   Well worth catching if you can.


Not a play I had any pre knowledge of, but very enjoyable, with excellent performances of the Duke/Friar from Antony Byrne, who must be one of RSC's hardest working actors, I've seen him in 3-4 different plays, and Lucy Phelps as Isabella, the virtuous novice nun at the centre of the plot.


https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/lifestyle/review-measure-for-measure-rsc-stratford-on-avon-13966/


https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jul/08/measure-for-measure-review-royal-shakespeare-theatre-gregory-dorant
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Re: What was the last play you watched?
« Reply #124 on: 18 October, 2019, 11:12:24 pm »
'A Midsummer Nights Dream" broadcast from the National Theatre at The Bridge.     https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/a-midsummer-nights-dream-review-1


Absolutely fantastic, though a tad long.  The audience was in stitches at the roll reversed love play between Oberon & Bottom.   It got a 12A rating for some reason. 


Excellent cast especially David Moorst as Puck.  And oh, those faeries.... :D


http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/media/video/ntlout35-a-midsummer-night-s-dream/CK03N-wKOTk


https://peterviney.wordpress.com/stage/a-midsummer-nights-dream-bridge-2019/

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