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Post by andromedadench on Sept 11, 2020 20:26:29 GMT
Even though i actually saw her on stage only once - in a rather underwhelming production of The Cherry Orchard, in Chichester in 2008 - Diana Rigg played a huge part in my taking interest in British theatre. As we were under all sorts of embargos in the early 90s, including cultural ones, our Tv stations took to digging up old TV shows as they couldn't always get hold of the new ones, which resulted in the first re-run of The Avengers since they were shown in the 60s and I became obsessed with both the show and Diana Rigg. Not only did she look like the whole 60s fashion and style had been invented just for her, but she had such a fabulous comic timing and a knack for silliness that fit the show so well - I've never seen someone who could pull such ridiculous faces yet still look gorgeous. And The Avengers were unlike any other show I'd seen before, i tried to get some schoolmates into it but couldn't really explain what kind of show it really was (a parody of the action/spy/sci-fi genres? or just a bit of 60s irreverent stylish fun loosely shaped into episodes with ridiculous plots? who knows) But I loved it so much that I even got hold of a pair of my mum's 70s orange flannel pyjamas and tried to alter them so as to get an emmapeeler and then tried to go to school wearing it... Anyway,a little later, I discovered that the Belgrade British library had issues of Plays&Players you could read for free and that's how I discovered she was a theatre actress as well, so I made sure to read every issue of the magazine that reached the library and, along the way, got more and more interested in British theatre, even though, at the time, I didn't really think I'd ever be able to actually make it to London, and when I finally did over a decade later, and actually got to see Diana Rigg on the stage, to say I was in a bit of happy shock would have been an understatement. Looking back, I'm a bit sad I was totally ignorant of the Uk theatre customs such as stage dooring, so I never thought of trying to meet her and get my programme signed. I only have this photo of yours truly as a souvenir:
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Post by andromedadench on May 4, 2020 17:55:05 GMT
Just finished Frankenstein. Great production and I loved the staging and lighting. The rest however... The first 30 minutes was like torture as was the last 30 minutes. I did think the middle hour was great though. I didn't like B.C as the monster AT ALL. So over the top, I just couldn't get on board. He never felt like a real character, just a performance. Miller was good as the doctor I thought. Some VERY ordinary performances elsewhere though. The direction was off quite a bit too. Apparently you can't achieve any sort of drama without people standing screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. I'm sure it was different live, but it felt very meh in this format. Losing the big 'moment' of the show probably doesn't help. Am gonna watch Miller's turn as the monster tomorrow, but even just flicking through it he looks MUCH better than B.C. This is, more or else, how I felt about it. I watched the first version and found some parts agonisingly dull or too obvious or gratuitously loud, but it was overall entertaining enough and the two principal actors evidently put in a lot of effort into the roles, but I can't say I've found it particularly memorable other than visually. I tried to watch the other version, but was just bored to death and ended up just skipping to some scenes to compare the performances. I don't know, it's not that i think it's bad, it's just that I had way too high expectations for some reason.
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Post by andromedadench on May 1, 2020 12:48:00 GMT
That's why I think the Australian version is actually worse . The acting was stronger in London and the cast better fitted the story of people being stretched by an impossible dilemma. But the new versions also made the disconnect between the circus/showground and the main plot worse. The answer may have been to bin the Girys, and build up the new exotic American characters. They went the wrong way and cut much of the material originally there for Fleck and the other American newcomers. Better to have built up the exotic American performers , and let them do the dastardly deed? Regurgitating the Girys just added extra cast and diffused the idea of a spectacular new setting.
That still leaves the basic problem that the story builds and builds a difficult dilemma- and then avoids resolving it- leaving the audience around me sitting there stunned, in full what the flipping heck happened then, mode. I'd like to believe it was the darned YouTube algorithm that pushed me down the trash hole of watching the parts of the freshly uploaded London version and I get what you mean about the acting, however, I think the fact that the actors are aspiring to some kind o realism makes matters even worse as the material demands a total suspense of any vestige of logic or common sense or rational thinking or sobriety... To me, the Australian version seems the only way to present this: go big, go all out, attack all the senses with the outrageous production design to the point of making it a health hazard and go for the big 'Dirty Dan and Angie Having a Row Behind the Bar' energy in Phantom/Christine interactions, so that the audience is dazed and incapacitated to ask themselves what on earth they're watching. The London production gets the additional minus points from me for that Christine-robot which I now vaguely remember reading about at the time but have (understandably) forgot about since and which, even in the tough competition of shockers this show consists of, takes the biscuit as the biggest 'I have so many questions but I'm afraid to ask them' moment. All that being said, I still think LND has an entertainment value. Not for the right reasons, but watching it is not something I regret (till the day I dieeeeeeeee) I'm just kind of sad such a genuinely catchy score didn't end up in something better.
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Post by andromedadench on May 1, 2020 12:46:58 GMT
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Post by andromedadench on May 1, 2020 11:11:25 GMT
Watched it last night with my parents. I saw it live and really enjoyed it so I was really happy when the NT announced that it was part of the NT at home scheme and I wanted my parents to see it! They were a bit tentative but they hugely enjoyed it! Read them a synopsis before we watched so even if they weren’t sure on what was being said, they'd at least have a rough idea of what was going on. I still maintain, as I thought at the time, that far too much of the comedy is really overplayed. Olivia especially, it just seems really out of character. But I actually think, on the whole, I enjoyed it more re-watching it. It's a great play and this is a very good, accessible production which looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous. Whilst Tamsin Greig also overplays some of the comedy, she really really nails it and it's a show-stopping performance. Her final scene gave me goosebumps. Can't wait for Frankenstein. This is exactly how I felt about her performance. Overall, despite not feeling particularly up to watching another version of TN, I ended up enjoying this production immensely. It's fun and joyous without any of the 'modernised' aspects feeling forced, including the gender reversals of Malvolio and the Fool. Loved Soutra Gilmore's design as well. I didn't know any of the younger actors, and some were truly extraordinary - especially the actress playing Viola. The only weak link for me was Tamsin Greig's performance until the end scene, which is such a sudden change of tone, and rightly so as the prank played on Malvolia is nothing short of sadistic. But beofre everything turns grim, I found Malvolia's scenes unfunny to the point of being irritating. In fact, TG's mannerisms reminded me so much of Jennifer Saunder's brand of physical comedy (and I'm not exactly a big fan of hers). But overall, this was probably the best production of TN I've seen so far apart perhaps from an Indian one, staged Bollywood style.
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Post by andromedadench on Apr 26, 2020 13:47:28 GMT
*I can't take 'Under A Moonless Sky' seriously since I saw a video which pointed out that the lyrics of the song were a badly written description of a sexual encounter! As for 'Love Never Dies' - I don't think the song works in a higher key. Christine sounded screechy on the higher notes, and the song didn't really feel like the 'big moment' song. Under A Moonless Sky is so catchy, I can't stop listening to it even though I do wish I couldn't hear the lyrics, they're really 'Springtime for Hitler' bad I especially lose it at '..I was no longer SHY'
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Post by andromedadench on Apr 25, 2020 21:53:18 GMT
I have the DVD and somehow ended up watching the whole thing on YouTube again last night. Was pleasantly surprised again by how much I love the score. I've had "look with your heart" in my head for over 20 hours now (It's amazing the songs of ALW that I love and stick with me from each of his shows are the underrated ones of those scores: Woman in White - Trying not to notice; Aspects - There is more to Love; Sunset - well I love almost every minute of that, but Girl meets boy's melody can become an ear worm; Phantom - Twisted every way) Anyway its funny just my sharing it on facebook and I got 20 comments saying they never knew there was a sequel to Phantom. I laughed to myself thinking how around the World Premiere that this was something they were almost denying trying to say it's a stand alone piece. The story is a bit weaker but in this production it flows better. I've tried to watch bootlegs of the Original production (especially when people ask why that wasn't recorded) and while it was kind of cool to see the prologue with Coney Island come to life, after that, wow does it drag. I hated all the coney island stuff in the original, but in the Australia production it works. Perfect example Meg and Madame Gyrie's "Mother did you see" in the original was lost to me - but in Australia - musically and dramatically is beautiful. BTW - the Meg and Gustave in Australia are really fantastic - This is the only production I've seen so can't compare, but I do agree it's really well staged as it does flow smoothly and I easily watched it in one sitting despite the nonsensical story, and the actors do an excellent job considering what they have to work with. I also loved the little boy and Meg here.
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Post by andromedadench on Apr 25, 2020 17:23:54 GMT
Just watched it and it's somehow even weirder that I thought it would be - the plot is mind-boggling, the lyrics are beyond terrible, but I'm so pleasantly surprised by the score, it's really lovely. Yet I can't get over how bizarre the book is - it's part Mexican TV soap, part kitchen-sink drama and part bad fan-fiction.
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Post by andromedadench on Oct 24, 2019 11:30:44 GMT
I saw a (terrible quality) bootleg video of the London production, albeit with the second cast (Jo Riding and Rosemary Ashe from the first cast, plus Rebecca Thornhill, Josefina Gabrielle and Clarke Peters), and despite the poor video quality, I enjoyed it a lot. The overall silliness, witty, high-energy choreography, some good belting numbers... what's not to love? It felt as a show that doesn't take itself too seriously, so I don't really see it as either sexist or a story about female friendship and loyalty, but rather like a wild, slightly rude romp - kind of like an extended version of that Midsummer Night's Dream scene when everyone starts showing their most embarrassing, horny, animalistic sides - with its only purpose being to entertain.
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 22, 2019 11:14:58 GMT
"Weirdest Audience Behavior Ever", they say, although the "Perhaps" suggests they know that no matter what story they tell there's bound to be someone who can top it. Let's face it, it would need to involve an octopus and a lawn mower just to be in the running. Some years ago, I bought a garden gnome at the Columbia Rd flower market and then went straight to see a show with the gnome in tow.
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 16, 2019 9:23:46 GMT
Hmmm, to be honest, I find my own "issues" very underrepresented in theatre and would love to see more of them. Sometimes, when things do come close to RL experiences, I actually appreciate seeing them represented and the writers' takes on them give me fodder for thought or at least a feeling of "I'm not alone". This especially resonates with me from 15 or so years ago when I started suffering from panic attacks but didn't have a clue what was happening. Without any idea who to turn to and scared to death, unsure whether I was dying or going mad but convinced I was doomed in one way or another, I kept plodding on even though everything felt increasingly scary and difficult, including the things I used to enjoy the most like going to theatre. Two shows from that period that soothed my soul were Harold & Maude and Eling. I had seen the film version of Harold and Maude some years before but I remembered it as a bizarre piece about a kinky old lady and an even weirder boy. So this was the first time I realised what it was about and it felt so soothing that I may have even cried a little. this production was all the more moving as the leading actress, whom I'd always loved, was terminally ill and in interviews openly talked about coming to terms with this being her last role and with death. I saw Eling a couple of years later, now diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder but still feeling terribly confused by it and lonely in my troubles, so seeing a character with the same issue came as the one of the best theatre-related shocks in my life. I saw the play at least a dozen times and many years later met the actor who played Eling and it turned out he was experiencing the same problems at the time. When it comes to 'too close for comfort' theatre experiences, I can only think of one instance of feeling seriously triggered by a show, even though it was due to the staging rather than the subject matter. I went to see Julius Caesar at the Bridge (with a cheap, standing ticket, obviously) and it was all a fantastic experience until the war scene that was staged as a sudden black-out, air-raid sirens, detonations, blasts, stage-assistants shoving us left and right in the dark and I was suddenly back in 1999 but, after calming down a little, I thought well, if I could survive the real thing, I can survive a stupid theatre-show, but decided to pay attention to trigger warnings in future. Otherwise, I really loved this production.
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Post by andromedadench on Feb 22, 2019 15:57:34 GMT
I land at Heathrow today at 17.40. I'm supposed to pick up a rush ticket at 19.15. I've moved my seat to as close to the door as possible, I'm planning on running, I'm sort of freaking out a bit. Wish me luck! I landed at Heathrow on Tuesday, and got from plane to the bus station in 20 minutes. Hoping for similar luck for you! With a non-EU passport, just trying to convince the immigration officer that you have no illegal intentions lasts 20 minutes. The queuing is never less than an hour and a half in my experience. However, you do get a chance to answer trick questions such as 'But why did you have to come to the UK to watch theatre shows? Aren't there any theatres in your or some other country?'
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Post by andromedadench on Jan 8, 2019 22:47:19 GMT
PSA: Bette Midler only has one D in her name. There's nothing middling about Bette Midler
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Post by andromedadench on Dec 30, 2018 11:43:40 GMT
Seeing a surprisingly good production of Grease in Belgrade in 1995 (everything else I had see before and long after that one at our only MT theatre was pretty awful) and also noticing for the first time that absolutely ridiculous Phantom of the Opera song video with Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley, thinking ''what ON EARTH is this???'' and getting a bootleg CD the next day (this was in 1996 or so) and my interest was finally cemented after watching Cabaret on TV during the NATO bombing in 1999, when I first realised what a brilliant and intricate genre musical is - narrative, songs and dancing all working together to tell a story. Before that I kind of thought that musical and dancing numbers were but amusing intermezzos which didn't impress me half as much as this realisation. So I blame it on a serendipitous half-amateur production of Grease, ALW's (and Sarah Brightman's) POTO work being weird, kitschy, over-the-top yet strangely fascinating, and Bob Fosse, Kender and Ebb being geniuses.
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 19, 2018 21:25:30 GMT
You can search the shows here by the date link
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 19, 2018 21:23:01 GMT
Haven't been to Italy in quite a while, but I use this site for news on Italian theatre scene. It's in Italian only but you'll manage (I can try to help ishould you get stuck). Teatro.it
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 17, 2018 12:06:25 GMT
In fairness, there's not a *lot* of difference when you consider that concern trolling is a thing, and people will say "I'm just WORRIED about you" as though that's supposed to make it okay for them to call you fat like it's an insult and imply that you're a weak lazy person with no self control. People are all built differently, and if they're not one of your VERY nearest and dearest, then their weight is OFF the table for discussion. Indeed. Concern trolling is very much a thing and not only online. Throughout my adult life my weight has fluctuated from underweight to overweight via everything in between, and I've never even gone to any extremes in either direction, yet my family is apparently filled with such paragons of physical and every other perfection that there's always been one relative or another to berate me about my weight 'out of concern' (if I was overweight) or to praise me for finally looking presentable again (once I'd go back to a lower weight). My favourite moment was when a random elderly great-aunt who hadn't seen me in a while approached me at my grandma's FUNERAL and addressed me by my sister's name. I corrected her to which she just raised her eyebrow and said 'No, no, you CAN't be! Andromeda is the fat one!'' (And I was very underweight at the time due to not being able to eat as a result of severe anxiety and had spent over a year unable to leave the house on my own due to agoraphobia and was anything but healthy or happy and would have much rather been obese. But at least my looks didn't insult my great-aunt's aesthetics) I have no idea why people are like that but they are and it seems it's nothing new. Shrug.
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Post by andromedadench on Sept 14, 2018 8:51:04 GMT
Very pleased by this, too. I started to watch Mary Poppins (the movie) many years ago and found it so twee and saccharine that I turned it off after 20 mins. So I somehow never got around to watching the stage version wherever it turned up. Last year I gave the movie another go and suddenly liked it quite a bit, so the announced revival was welcome news to begin with and now with this casting I'm really glad I waited this long. I adored Charlie in Half a Sixpence and am glad we got him back here. Hah, I used to find it somewhat unsettling, even a little scary as Mary (or at least Julie Andrew's version of the character) and Mrs Banks seemed way too cold and emotionally detached for Balkan standards, where if a child is not daily smothered in vigorous displays of love by the parents, grandparents, aunts etc. it's basically considered negligence. (And this lasts until the child is well into their middle age)
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Post by andromedadench on Aug 20, 2018 15:59:54 GMT
Harvey Fierstein took over from Molina in that New York production and was the least convincing father of teenage girls I've ever seen on stage...... I fled at the interval, bored beyond all measure. Saw the most recent revival with Danny Burstein and really loved it. Fully expect the Menier to cast Marcus Brigstocke and Lara Pitt Pulford again. Harvey Fierstein As Tevye? Oy Vey, that must have been really ‘unique’. Going on previous Menier casting, we may see one or all three Strallens as Tevye’s daughters( or Clare Foster perhaps as Tzeitel) Maureen Lipman as Fruma Sarah, Jenna Russell as a Golde, Damien Humbley as Motel and in his debut stage role, David Babani As Tevye. All three Strallens as the daughters (+ rewrite the book to add more daughters should more Strallen sisters emerge in the meantime) and Bonnie Langford as a gender-blind Tevye.
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Post by andromedadench on Aug 15, 2018 22:36:39 GMT
At the Lion King after Circle of Life, about 10 minutes into the show, the boy behind me turned to his mum and asked 'Is the show finished?' I had a high school classmate who lived in a village quite away from Belgrade, so he had never been to the theatre before the school sent us en masse to see The Mousetrap. When the curtain fell down on the first act (and the dead body) and the lights went on for the interval, he got up to put on his jacket and sighed: Well, this was a little rubbish, wasn't it? They didn't even try to solve the case! This is still the first thing that comes to my mind whenever The Mousetrap is mentioned.
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Post by andromedadench on Aug 15, 2018 22:21:33 GMT
I. HATE. MULAN. There, I said it. I'm an even worse extremist: The Little Mermaid was the last quality cartoon Disney company made. Everything that came after it has been rubbish.
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Post by andromedadench on Jul 2, 2018 10:58:39 GMT
She was a fab lady indeed. I always keep forgetting how much she and Maria Bjornson contributed to the ingenuity of the original POTO production.
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Post by andromedadench on Jun 19, 2018 17:10:12 GMT
Riding and Dee don't look similar to me. But even if they did the implication here is that Riding is not enough of an actress to play a role she's not type cast for. I'm pretty sure that's not the case and that she'll be a brilliant Sally. Indeed. The only similarity I see is that they're both blond, otherwise they look nothing alike. And I think I'd actually prefer this cast to the original one.
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Post by andromedadench on Jun 4, 2018 16:43:27 GMT
I my (relatively modest - by this forum's standards) experience, British theatre-goers are a very nice, affable and considerate bunch of people. Most of my London theatre trips have been solo, so I'm always happy when someone strikes a conversation as I find it difficult to go a whole day without talking to anybody and also like to compare my own impressions about the show with someone else's. Or just share a random joke with someone. Also, on many occasions, fellow audience members have been very kind and understanding - bringing me the bag and jacket I left behind after leaving mid-show due to a panic attack or chasing after me to give me the garden gnome I forgot under my seat. On another occasion, I let a fellow agoraphobic have my aisle seat as the poor man was obviously in agony and dying of embarrassment, so I got to sit with his wife and share with her tips and tricks on managing panic and agoraphobia in theatre. Although my favourite stranger on whose kindness I depended was a lovely usherette lady at the Watermill Theatre who took pity on me after I recounted her my misadventures around Newbury - getting lost, wandering into a golf course, then into a gutter and finally getting caught in a shower without an umbrella - so she waited for me after the show and gave me a ride to the train station. So, if anyone knows a Pauline from the Watermill, send her all my love. Also, as of last year, I realised I've started recognising people I spotted in the audience at other shows. There's a couple I first noticed at the pie-shop production of Sweeney Todd, mostly because one of them is always so fabulously dressed and styled and has the most infectious laughter.
I love and miss British audiences quite a lot.
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Post by andromedadench on May 27, 2018 13:35:01 GMT
His understudy is fabulous, for anyone free to go to these dates! He is, indeed!
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Post by andromedadench on May 12, 2018 22:05:35 GMT
I voted for Moldova's homage to Feydeau.
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Post by andromedadench on May 8, 2018 18:54:45 GMT
I like alcohol and I like theatre, but my possibly unpopular opinion is that the two don't go well together. Ice cream is a great idea, though.
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Abba!
Apr 27, 2018 19:09:19 GMT
Post by andromedadench on Apr 27, 2018 19:09:19 GMT
This was my favourite poster I had on my bedroom wall. My Mum thought I fancied Frida... lol. Over to the right Mum! Both my mum and I had girl crushes on Frida
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Post by andromedadench on Apr 26, 2018 21:49:48 GMT
Jeremy.
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Post by andromedadench on Apr 26, 2018 21:47:42 GMT
I feel like I was seeing a different performance, I liked Lulu. 😂😂 My parents saw the show a couple of weeks ago (I got them the famous A1/A23 seats) and the first thing my mum told me was how much she loved the ' actress playing the diva lady'. I'm also not sure why on earth I know who Lulu is and my mum does not...
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