350 posts
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Post by cirque on Aug 14, 2018 12:30:17 GMT
Some strong casting announced today-great to see Oliver Ford Davis back again.
50/50 parity casting is made big thing-Susanne Bertish as Agammenon should be great.Only grip is highlighting deaf actrress as this seems to shout look at us,especially when Globe already ahead.
Will look forward to this living instrument production.
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Post by learfan on Aug 14, 2018 17:33:41 GMT
Very excited by the casting for this!
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Post by Jan on Aug 15, 2018 19:34:08 GMT
Very excited by the casting for this! Care to expand ? Oliver Ford Davies excellent of course but I’ve hardly heard of the rest. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2018 19:52:23 GMT
Adjoa Andoh (Ulysses) is always good value. Daisy Badger (Helen) was a stand-out in Miss Littlewood. Desmond Barrit is a great choice for Pandarus. I very much enjoyed Amber James (Cressida) in Antony & Cleopatra. Sheila Reid's done plenty of Shakespeare before, an intriguing choice for Thersites! And a whole bunch of RSC regulars (from the last few years at least) swelling the ranks. It's definitely one of the more promising RSC casts we've had lately.
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Post by learfan on Aug 16, 2018 3:42:53 GMT
Very excited by the casting for this! Care to expand ? Oliver Ford Davies excellent of course but I’ve hardly heard of the rest. Presume that's you being funny? |
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Post by Jan on Aug 16, 2018 6:14:33 GMT
Care to expand ? Oliver Ford Davies excellent of course but I’ve hardly heard of the rest. Presume that's you being funny? Not really. I don’t like Desmond Barrit, no talent for comedy at all despite the fact they keep casting him as if he has. |
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211 posts
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Post by peelee on Aug 16, 2018 16:30:32 GMT
Troilus and Cressida, by the RSC at Hammersmith Studios, is a sentence that will disturb memories of those of us who saw it and shook our heads, clock-watched until the interval and then in a number of cases just toddled off regretting the £10 bargain price we'd each paid per ticket. Was it Steppenwolf involved in the co-production? It was dreadful to behold.
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Post by Jan on Aug 16, 2018 18:15:26 GMT
Troilus and Cressida, by the RSC at Hammersmith Studios, is a sentence that will disturb memories of those of us who saw it and shook our heads, clock-watched until the interval and then in a number of cases just toddled off regretting the £10 bargain price we'd each paid per ticket. Was it Steppenwolf involved in the co-production? It was dreadful to behold. I intervene on this traumatic subject simply to absolve Steppenwolf from blame. The Wooster Group were the culprits. At the time on their website they posted a private recording of Rupert Goold phoning them to say sadly he was having to withdraw from the production due to unexpected film commitments - the best move he ever made despite the fact his film sunk without trace. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Aug 16, 2018 22:53:31 GMT
And there was me, just managing to put that experience behind me.
#triggered
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Post by Jan on Aug 17, 2018 5:53:44 GMT
And there was me, just managing to put that experience behind me. #triggered At least now our old chum Honoured Guest has disappeared from the board we don’t have to at this point read a post from him saying it was a great production. |
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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 Aug 17, 2018 5:54:45 GMT
I did think that the RSC should have given anyone who saw the Wooster Group T&C a free ticket to this one.
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Post by theatremad on Oct 3, 2018 19:03:53 GMT
Adjoa Andoh (Ulysses) is always good value. Daisy Badger (Helen) was a stand-out in Miss Littlewood. Desmond Barrit is a great choice for Pandarus. I very much enjoyed Amber James (Cressida) in Antony & Cleopatra. Sheila Reid's done plenty of Shakespeare before, an intriguing choice for Thersites! And a whole bunch of RSC regulars (from the last few years at least) swelling the ranks. It's definitely one of the more promising RSC casts we've had lately. Looks like Des Barritt is out of the show (press release has been altered) but no mention of why. Oliver Ford davies is now Pandarus and Jim Hooper is Nestor |
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 3, 2018 21:46:47 GMT
Some strong casting announced today-great to see Oliver Ford Davis back again. 50/50 parity casting is made big thing-Susanne Bertish as Agammenon should be great.Only grip is highlighting deaf actrress as this seems to shout look at us,especially when Globe already ahead. Will look forward to this living instrument production. I promise you this deaf actress ain’t no token diversity. She is sensational. |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 16, 2018 10:35:21 GMT
Cast was good.
Set was good.
Quite liked the concept.
But Jesus Christ this play is awful. It felt excruciatingly long. And I honestly didn’t give a monkeys about most/all of the characters.
Fair play to the RSC for doing it, but not my cup of tea. 3/5
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 16, 2018 21:09:42 GMT
Well, so sorry about that because I think it is a brilliant play, up with Measure for Measure. I’m seeing this prod later, November and hoping for the best. How was the deaf actor?
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 16, 2018 23:38:48 GMT
Well, so sorry about that because I think it is a brilliant play, up with Measure for Measure. I’m seeing this prod later, November and hoping for the best. How was the deaf actor? Good. The cast were all good. I just didn’t like the play - I think I was slightly hindered by the fact I’d read up a bit, and the friend I’d gone with told me a totally different ending to what actually happened, so we were both thoroughly confused. |
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Post by learfan on Oct 17, 2018 3:10:06 GMT
Well, so sorry about that because I think it is a brilliant play, up with Measure for Measure. I’m seeing this prod later, November and hoping for the best. How was the deaf actor? Im going to the 3 Nov matinee, cast alone is a reason to book. |
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 17, 2018 20:16:12 GMT
There on 9 th
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354 posts
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Post by lichtie on Oct 21, 2018 20:27:41 GMT
Not sure what to make of this - a typical Doran workman-like production, but a bit lacking. The cast are good Oliver Ford Davies and Adjoa Andoh in particular, and Sheila Reid very enjoyable take on Thersites too). The gender switching that got lots of attention originally actually plays out perfectly well. The Mad Max riff fits in well with Glennie's music but isn't actually used much beyong endlessly calling a shipping container a tent - but it also doesn't get in the way. I think here the problem is I just don't think much of the play itself. I wonder if Shakespeare had a bad experience with the Illiad at school...
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3,075 posts
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Post by david on Oct 23, 2018 22:21:54 GMT
From cinema listings, it looks like there is an RSC live event scheduled for Nov 14th for the production.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 0:07:15 GMT
From cinema listings, it looks like there is an RSC live event scheduled for Nov 14th for the production. Thanks for the reminder. I have a vague feeling I might try and see if I can switch my “Summer and Smoke” tickets for a different evening, I quite want to see this. |
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1,003 posts
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Post by David J on Oct 28, 2018 15:59:54 GMT
Well this is a tough one.
On the production side I thought this was brilliant.
Of all people Gregory Doran shows Rufus Norris how to do post apocalyptic Shakespeare right. This is the first time in a while that he pulls his finger out and put some effort into this
The setting feels convincing with Doran taking the time for world building with the walls of Troy and the Greek tents. The costumes are nicely stylistic, part Greek-part mad max. There’s some great imagery used in this especially in the ending battle scenes.
And I loved the music here. Then again I seem to have an affinity for forboding percussive music since The Histories. But it fitted with the setting, was nicely atmospheric, loud and energetic at times.
The casting is mostly great. Gavin Fowler was very convincing as the idealistic Troilus and I enjoyed watching him change over time. Oliver Ford Davies is Oliver Ford Davies but it suited the role of Landarus
The gender changes were convincing in a world where rhyme and reason has gone in this never ending war. I was looking forward to seeing Adjoa Andoh and she doesn’t disappoint as a fiery Ulysses. She delivers the order soliloquy magnificently
The only miscast was Sheila Reid. Bless her because I loved her performance as Gower in Pericles but she does not convince as the vile mouthed Thersites. And whilst the Sam Wanamaker suited her little voice she was inaudible at times in the RST
The problem...the play is a 3 hour slog
As mentioned above the characters are not that interesting, the writing doesn’t sparkle and the action is unenaging following the some of the least interesting events of the Trojan wars. This is also where Shakespeare tries to be cynically satiric and tragic but fails to achieve both at the same
So yeah, 5 years after the terrible Wooster Group production I have finally seen brilliant production of Troilus and Cressida
I’m just hard pressed to recommend seeing the play itself
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 29, 2018 9:02:03 GMT
Shakespeare 'fails' does he? Challenging words. iPads at dawn in the chip shop opposite the RST.
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Post by Jan on Oct 29, 2018 12:21:07 GMT
Troilus and Cressida was John Barton's favourite play. I have seldom seen a bad production of it (notwithstanding the Wooster Group farrago and a terrible original pronunciation one at the Globe) and all the others were either very good (eg. Trevor Nunn's Christian/Muslim one) or brilliant (eg. Michael Boyd's set in 1970s Belfast and Howard Davies' set during the Crimean War). Lynette: do you remember the Sam Mendes one in the Swan with Simon Russell-Beale at his brilliant best as Thersites ? I think a play that has had so many excellent productions must have some merit.
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Post by learfan on Oct 29, 2018 12:42:15 GMT
Im going Saturday, im looking forward to it but it will have to go some to trump that 1990 production. God im getting old!
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Post by learfan on Nov 3, 2018 19:55:55 GMT
Wow, loved it at today's matinee. Adjoa Andoh was amazing as Ulysses. What a thrill to have Suzanne Bertish back. The Mad Max set worked well. Music superb. Shame it has such a short run, only a fortnight to go. Recommended.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Nov 4, 2018 0:43:12 GMT
What a pleasure. Apart from the post apocalyptic setting there was very little else to get in the way of the play, letting the text carry the play, the least you can expect but very rarely get with the popular plays a the Director has to to do his/her thing. And the text, god Shakespeare was having fun, as close to linguistic jazz you can get, the interplay, rhetoric and just plain fun with words was exceptional. All the ensemble cast were excellent, the puppet master Ulysses pulls the strings, a petulant Achilles is played and Pandarus brings the levity as he plays cupid, his introduction to the main players was a comic masterclass. As learfan says only a short run, well worth the effort to see a little performed Shakespeare play, if it ever makes its way to London would see again in an instant. |
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Nov 4, 2018 14:41:30 GMT
O goodie.
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5,586 posts
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Post by lynette on Nov 10, 2018 0:08:46 GMT
I still like this play. War, sex, betrayal, satire, what's not to like? Casting women as some of the main usually male characters changed the angle a bit for me. I don’t think that making women actors act like men is helping the cause so to speak. They shouted their way though this. Yet there are other women on the stage who are being the usual regular gals in floaty dresses. So you are either a wimp or a warrior. But actually Shakespeare wrote three women in this play, Helen, powerless hostage, Cassandra to whom nobody listens and Cressida who is absolutely up front and honest and then has to play the game to survive. It is a man's world and a terrible, foolish, violent one. Cressida is something new, different even from say Juliet or Beatrice. She is the moral heart of the play. And she is crushed. Yes, maybe WH did have a bad experience with his Greek class. If you've been to the grammar school in Stratford it is quite understandable.
Super set, remarkable music. Good performances all round even with the shouting. Oliver Ford Davies really good. He speaks the text naturally but with the beats all in the right places, a masterclass. A bit long....could have benefited from a cut here and there. Nobody would have noticed, Greg.
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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 Nov 10, 2018 18:36:54 GMT
Enjoyed this, nice to finally see a proper RSC production of it rather than the terrible Wooster Group production. Only previous production I'd seen was the Cheek By Jowl one which I've just realised was 10 years ago.
Very long - apparently it's Shakespeare's third longest play. And it goes on for over three hours then just seems to stop.
The RSC was surprisingly empty - don't think I've seen this many empty seats for a weekend matinee of a Shakespeare. Quite a few empty seats in the stalls, and the side blocks of the upper circle were very sparsely populated so I wondered if people had been upgraded to the stalls. I guess that justifies their decision to only do a short run? Upside of this was that I got a top price seat for £10 in the Friday Rush to replace my restricted view seat.
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