587 posts
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Post by Polly1 on Jul 20, 2018 11:07:49 GMT
This looks interesting, good cast. Any tips on seating, I've never been to this theatre? Definitely won't be going for the cushions!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2018 13:37:17 GMT
The cushions aren't that bad, I think they've got bigger ones now and have started placing them pre-emptively in the space rather than having it as a complete free-for-all. If anyone here does decide to go for cushion seating, you'll want to get into the auditorium as soon as it opens and bagsy your space asap, because the regulars aren't very gracious about sharing the space.
As for the actual seats; the ones on pit level aren't raked. Front row's fine, because you're looking over the cushion sitters, but I wouldn't take anything that's not front row (DD in the middle, CC on the sides), or the extreme ends (AA and BB) with nothing in front of them. I often take the extreme ends because they're cheaper, and it is a thrust stage, so it theoretically doesn't affect your view too much, but that can obviously vary depending on the set.
The seats on the stalls level are raked. I don't think it's a very steep rake, but I've only sat in row A, which nicely sets you above the pit level seats, so I'm honestly not sure what it's like to sit in rows B to D. There is a barrier in front of row A, which they reckon can restrict leg room for the very tall, but as I'm not very tall, I've never had any issues with it!
I don't actually know what it's like up in the circle and upper circle, but I don't think I've ever seen anything there that's sold so well that I couldn't get a decent pit/stalls level seat or a cushion, so I wouldn't worry about it really.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2018 14:19:53 GMT
What's the pay like and do I get nap times?
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3,485 posts
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Post by showgirl on Jul 20, 2018 18:55:18 GMT
The front row of the circle has a great view but cramped leg-room; the stalls are much better in that respect. I prefer the back row of the stalls as they're raked towards the rear and you have a wall behind you, but this (and the circle) is the most expensive area and wherever you sit, the experience suffers (imo) from the large gap between the stage and the audience - even when there is a good number of people in the cushioned space. Also the theatre is generally just a little too large for the audiences it seems to attract, so that and the big gap make it hard to create intimacy and rapport.
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Post by theatremad on Sept 29, 2018 22:56:16 GMT
Saw this today.
Deffo feel Art of Success is the better of the two plays. Talk of the Town isn't a bad play just doesnt gel.
Very simply played on with the only big set piece being a large canvas.
Bryan Dick is excellent as Young Hogarth, and Sylvestra La Touzel does well in both.
More thoughts to follow
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211 posts
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Post by peelee on Oct 4, 2018 15:39:18 GMT
We've got tickets for this on Sunday though booked them without knowing there might be problems of a practical nature. As it's now not that new a theatre, it's a shame that problems of comfort, spacing, etc., haven't been seen to. Presumably audience members can bring cushions for their comfort.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2018 21:18:24 GMT
Well. Some thoughts:
1. Keith Allen could quite possibly be the worst actor I've seen in some time. He could have been reading the phone directory for all the effort he made.
2. Mark Umbers steals the show as David Garrick.
3. When did Susannah Harker turn into Caroline Quentin?
4. Did anyone count how many times the cast effed and blinded? I tried using a counter but got RSI half way through.
5. Does Jack Derges have the sexiest eyebrows in London's (almost) glitzy West End?
6. Did Bryan Dick's feet tattoos hurt?
7. Bryan Dick looks filthy. In a good way. I bet he knows his way around a boudoir.
8. Did they use PowerPoint for the projections? They are very clever. I struggle to add a slide to a presentation let alone create houses.
Kingston is a schlep and a half although the delightful lady in the box office upgraded my ticket to a better seat which was probably one of the best seats in the house so I'll forgive them. I may put her forward for an MBE.
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294 posts
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Post by dani on Oct 10, 2018 10:30:27 GMT
1 and 3 made me laugh. I'm curious too about 6, as I saw his feet in Great Apes. If you try to find out more and google "Bryan Dick tattoos" you don't really get what I was looking for!
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211 posts
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Post by peelee on Oct 11, 2018 18:44:51 GMT
Good fun. A nice idea to revive the original play, about young Hogarth, with characters Henry Fielding and Robert Walpole also in the thick of the often bawdy action. It brought to mind brilliant history, The London Hanged, by Peter Linebaugh, and publications about the poverty and the knocking-shops in the streets around Covent Garden. The more recent play, The Taste of the Town, is set decades later and includes not just the now much older though still ribald painter but the likes of David Garrick and Horace Walpole. Knickers-off in the first play, two blue-stockings taking tea and in conversation with the painter's relatives in the second production.
There is much laughter, admittedly though potty-mouthed dialogue will appal some, though it's made up for with some droll local references and theatrical in-jokes that maintain the intention of amusing theatregoers. I got an email reminder today that this pair of plays, Hogarth's Progress, is due to run for another week or so. There are some very good performances to savour. The set design is simple, yet thinks big in setting the context of those times and as if these are painterly canvases there to conjure up atmosphere.
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