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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 11:28:37 GMT
Fairly early on - not long after the shirt removal scene referenced above by Ryan - there was a bit of a kerfuffle and two people left. It seemed a bit strange - someone wondered if they'd been caught taking photos. I'd like it to be made clear that I was not there last night. I was not taking photos of James Norton for my shrine. I was not thrown out by Vicky Featherstone. Honest guv'nor. Or even Josie Rourke. It's too early. I haven't had my morning Gimlet yet.
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Post by oldhasbeen on Jan 5, 2018 11:41:19 GMT
Is it me or is the Donmar's website a bit rubbish, especially the on-line booking?
Apart from some poor text visibility, it's very easy to get the impression there are no tickets left for anything if you start by looking for "Bellville" then try another play name. Very poor
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Post by mallardo on Jan 5, 2018 11:55:31 GMT
Is it me or is the Donmar's website a bit rubbish, especially the on-line booking? Apart from some poor text visibility, it's very easy to get the impression there are no tickets left for anything if you start by looking for "Bellville" then try another play name. Very poor
No, it's not just you. I've pretty much given up on the Donmar because of their awful online booking page.
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Post by popcultureboy on Jan 5, 2018 11:59:44 GMT
I returned a ticket to a sold out show too, then checked with bo and they saied they weren't able to sell it. Happened twice with Donmar so far so it looks like they are not even bothered to sell on somebody's behalf when they have their money already. I have to take issue with this. To say they are "not even bothered" is really unfair. I've returned tickets to the Donmar that haven't sold in the past. When I was talking to the box office about it, they said they get little to no on the day sales, as the general perception for years and years and years has been that it's impossible to get tickets and everything at the Donmar is always sold out, so people don't bother to check on the day for anything. I only ever give tickets back for re-sale as a last resort as there is never a guarantee somebody will buy them.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 14:17:53 GMT
I've been encouraged before now to send detailed feedback of the website to the box office team. I'm REALLY lazy about emails so I never got round to it, but their current system isn't particularly user-friendly, so it couldn't hurt for as many people who can be bothered to drop them a line explaining why.
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Post by finalperformance on Jan 5, 2018 14:27:30 GMT
I would suggest you'd have better luck contacting the box office with that question rather than a discussion board...
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Post by finalperformance on Jan 5, 2018 14:29:12 GMT
I returned two tickets for 8 December to a sold out performance and am still waiting for a credit card credit to my account. What gives ? I returned a ticket to a sold out show too, then checked with bo and they saied they weren't able to sell it. Happened twice with Donmar so far so it looks like they are not even bothered to sell on somebody's behalf when they have their money already.
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Post by finalperformance on Jan 5, 2018 14:31:20 GMT
I would suggest you'd have better luck contacting the box office with that question rather than a discussion board... I contacted box office and they lied and said the performance was not sold out.I found out there were people waiting for cancellations that night.
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Post by finalperformance on Jan 5, 2018 14:33:34 GMT
Totally disgusted with Donmar Warehouse box office.A sold out performance and they claim no one bought my two return tickets.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 18:35:15 GMT
Totally disgusted with Donmar Warehouse box office.A sold out performance and they claim no one bought my two return tickets. Do you know that your tickets were re-sold - or are you presuming that they probably were and that the Donmar box office did not refund you? Or do you think that they just didn't let the returns queue know that there were returned tickets, and therefore failed to sell them on even though there were people queueing for returns? It's a strange one. I've returned tickets to sold out shows and been surprised to discover that nobody bought the ticket; sometimes the price of the ticket (at the NT for example) might have proved prohibitive as I think people in the returns queue are often bargain-hunters, and if there is a cheaper returned ticket to be had then they are more likely to go for that first. I've also returned tickets on the day for sold out shows and they have been resold and I have been refunded very quickly. It is galling to lose out - as I say, it has happened to me.
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Post by Polly1 on Jan 5, 2018 18:44:04 GMT
I have twice (some time ago) returned tickets for sold out shows to the Donmar and not been refunded. I don't know the circumstances of course but it's odd it seems to happen at this theatre much more than any other. It has certainly made me a bit more wary of buying tickets but I guess they aren't concerned.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 19:03:59 GMT
Thought this was a pile of sh*t
Zero tension
Or Excitement
Stupid plot
No interval to leave in
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Post by nash16 on Jan 5, 2018 23:12:55 GMT
Thought this was a pile of sh*t Zero tension Or Excitement Stupid plot No interval to leave in Yep. Pretty damn disappointing. Wonder if the Donmar chose it or Norton got to pick it?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 23:31:24 GMT
Thought this was a pile of sh*t Zero tension Or Excitement Stupid plot No interval to leave in Yep. Pretty damn disappointing. Wonder if the Donmar chose it or Norton got to pick it? He is such a bland Actor Like a blank canvas The play is too stupid Neither a Comedy nor thriller Nor mystery It’s just weird And unsatisfying
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Post by Ade on Jan 5, 2018 23:34:23 GMT
Saw this tonight. It had a handful of moments that felt like there was something decent lurking in the text but it just didn’t all hang together very well. Liked Poots, Norton was OK.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 23:36:19 GMT
Saw this tonight. It had a handful of moments that felt like there was something decent lurking in the text but it just didn’t all hang together very well. Liked Poots, Norton was OK. It lacked any atmosphere Which was the downfall for me Like Almeida and Twilight And Hampstead and Cell Mates This is a weird choice to programme Over festive holiday period All these plays are devoid of any entertainment
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2018 23:37:44 GMT
Thought this was a pile of sh*t Zero tension Or Excitement Stupid plot No interval to leave in Yep. Pretty damn disappointing. Wonder if the Donmar chose it or Norton got to pick it? I liked Bug But again it was all about Kate Fleetwood And her crazed partner/ex husband I forget which Norton was very much the background
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Post by demelza on Jan 7, 2018 1:47:25 GMT
Saw Belleville this afternoon with a friend. Went in not really knowing much about the plot but we both enjoyed it well enough although to be fair, James Norton could read the yellow pages and I'd be entertained!
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Post by mallardo on Jan 7, 2018 9:14:04 GMT
I saw it last night and liked it, a strong intelligent piece with credible characters and a steady drip of revelations that kept me intrigued. Norton and Poots are both tremendous, Poots especially, an amazing instinctual actress always vividly in the moment. This is only her second stage role (after Virginia Woolf) yet what a natural creature of the stage she is.
Norton has, in some ways, the more difficult role - and he is cast against type. Zack, as written, would seem to be, let's say, a less physical guy. He's the furtive type, a liar constantly juggling stories and being caught out. But Norton, to his great credit, finds the truth in him and he plays those what-do-I-do-now moments brilliantly.
I also liked the second couple, Malachi Kirby and Faith Alabi. Their final scene, if something of a anti-climax, felt absolutely necessary to the resolution of the play.
Robert Longhurst's staging gets it just right, particularly in the intense action moments played on a knife edge (so to speak), chaotic but controlled. And Tom Scutt's set is perfection.
Yeah, I enjoyed it.
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Post by lynette on Jan 13, 2018 22:21:54 GMT
I enjoyed it too if enjoy is the right word here. I liked the guess work, what is going on here? Not difficult to come up with the answers but it was nicely done. Good acting, from all four of them. I can 7nderstwnd why some people as above didn’t like it. How anyone can say nothing happens I don’t know. Plenty happens. I think if you were going to study American drama you might be tempted to include this as counterpoint and update to Virginia Woolf and others.
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Post by nialld on Jan 15, 2018 13:30:43 GMT
Did anyone get standing tickets for this production? Didn't get any Klaxon tickets this afternoon so think that might be my only option, just wanted to see if people thought they were worth it?
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Jan 15, 2018 15:06:07 GMT
Worth a go I think if you're OK to stand for 90 minutes - you should get a good view, and if there are any spare seats just before the show starts the ushers usually upgrade standing people to the vacant seats. I've seen this happen even at supposedly sold-out performances. So worst case scenario, you have to stand, best case scenario, you've paid £10 for a top-price stalls seat
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 15, 2018 22:07:14 GMT
What a load of rubbish this was.
Awful play
Awful set
James Norton displaying no charisma at all. Anyone placing bets on him being the next Bond should see this and then that’ll stop them.
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Post by lynette on Jan 18, 2018 22:40:12 GMT
Not only was the nude scene surplus to requirements tho she was shlepped out of the bath...it didn’t make sense to me that she bothered to cover up in her own home. Most would just stay naked, no?
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Post by katurian on Jan 18, 2018 22:48:55 GMT
Agree with theatremonkey about the performances being better than the play. Imogen Poots particularly has a fantastic sparking presence that makes her character seem more interesting than she is for much of it (and later, lifts her from being a flakey cliche). In fact the very first scene with her and the neighbour is, unfortunately, the best in the play, because she feels the most vivid and interesting as a character, with the script promising much. All the stuff with the father and the sister, I kept expecting it to add up to more, even at one point wondering if it would turn out neither existed or something (I mean, it wouldn't have been a stretch with the other melodrama going on!) but... I feel I just didn't get it, or more that there wasn't much to it to get. I also agree with the problem of backstory revelations rather than development. It's very odd, in that a lot of the potential developments that are set up seem forgotten or thrown away in the end. Eg, the toe scene! In the end, it doesn't impact anything, it doesn't set off a chain of events or signal anything about the character we didn't already know, and she's very drunk at the time, anyway. The next time we see her, her foot is bandaged and... it's never referred to again. Much like the nudity, it feels thrown in for the shock value and not for any particular development of character or point. Or the baby monitor being left behind to... no real consequence at all. To me the script is the root of the problem. It focuses on two main characters who don't make sense, whose situation doesn't really make sense, and who descend into histrionics it's hard to care about. There's something about it that feels quite dated. Like if I'd been told it was 30+ years old I'd probably go 'oh, that explains a lot'. I found the performances/production engaging enough, but overall it didn't do anything for me.
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Post by mallardo on Jan 18, 2018 23:23:53 GMT
The nudity - such as it is - is motivated. She's dragged from a bath after having the bathroom door broken down and struggles to cover herself up because she's basically being assaulted by her husband - or so it must seem to her. Nothing gratuitous about it.
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Post by bellboard27 on Jan 19, 2018 10:52:16 GMT
to cover herself up because she's basically being assaulted by her husband Ah, I took it another way, that the door was being broken down out of concern for her welfare, and that his handling of her should have involved wrapping her in something to keep her warm as he rescued her. Hence she should have left the bathroom wrapped in a towel at the least. I pondered this for a while and agree with Monkey. While the nudity is perfectly in keeping with the story, if he had emerged from the bathroom carrying her in a towel it would also be consistent and have had no impact on the story. I sat centre of front row of the circle and got a very clear view! Pleasant enough though that was, I wondered if it was necessary.
As an aside, I saw this right at the start of previews and given that the issue of nudity had not been raised in this thread until very recently (yet Norton's shirt coming off had!), I had begun to wonder if the production had changed. Cleary not!
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Post by mallardo on Jan 19, 2018 10:53:13 GMT
to cover herself up because she's basically being assaulted by her husband Ah, I took it another way, that the door was being broken down out of concern for her welfare, and that his handling of her should have involved wrapping her in something to keep her warm as he rescued her. Hence she should have left the bathroom wrapped in a towel at the least.
Yes, but his concern came in the form of a commando raid on the bathtub - her shocked response was to struggle and he couldn't wrap her up. It all played for me and, in fact, I thought it was well staged to protect whatever modesty was available to her under the circumstances.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2018 11:02:36 GMT
I think the nudity was completely gratuitous personally.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2018 11:10:41 GMT
^Who the hell are you and what have you done with @ryan ? Ha! I know! I'm saying it and even I don't believe it! I'm very disappointed that the director chose to make Mr Norton stop at the shirt though. Jolly bad form.
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