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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 7, 2023 19:14:52 GMT
I have long thought that the BBC had too many orchestras/bands so I can see the need for a review of that.
But the BBC Singers are a unique choir and should be retained.
Lose Gary Lineker and use those savings to protect the Singers
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 4, 2023 23:16:51 GMT
Just back from a sold out Oxford Playhouse
Really uncertain as to my reaction
First impression is that I am glad not to have seen Kathryn Hunter as she would have been too present rather than playing someone more anonymous
Second I think it can stand to lose 20 to 30 minutes. It is too drawn out.
There is much to admire. But my attention did wander
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 3, 2023 20:21:30 GMT
Will it Tour? Will there be a cast recording? How high is the stage? Will Michael Ball sign my autograph? What about dogs? Will there be any nudity?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 3, 2023 14:30:00 GMT
It is a typical BK poster design. Incredibly dated.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 2, 2023 23:15:39 GMT
Stephen Fry's documentary about Willem Arondeus and Frieda Belinfante, Dutch artists, musicians and Resistance fighters on C4 is well worth a look. Almost forgotten because they were homosexual, they were fascinating characters who lived by their own rules at a time when that was almost impossible. It would make a great drama. I thought exactly the same thing. The closing shot was particularly powerful. I need to visit Amsterdam as a result.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 2, 2023 20:27:12 GMT
Ruthie? Rebecca?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 2, 2023 15:23:28 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 1, 2023 21:39:47 GMT
It is a huge novel... 800+ pages.
I have it but haven't dared start it yet!!
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 28, 2023 18:29:23 GMT
If you can stomach Dermot and Alison (personally I cant) the cast of Oklahoma are on This Morning today. I watched this and I found the performance painful. They were trying so hard/too hard to sound edgy and modern. Lots of stamping and heavy guitar strumming. But then you get glimpses of the original orchestration and the two clash horribly. I know it was only a short excerpt and it was out of context of the rest of the reworking. But I just couldn't stand it. The title number should feel celebratory not angry and agitated. *Shudder*
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 27, 2023 19:01:46 GMT
Shaw is now out of copyright. Surprised we aren't seeing a lot more
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Hercules
Feb 25, 2023 22:50:07 GMT
via mobile
Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 25, 2023 22:50:07 GMT
That is a shame as the film has some great songs
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 25, 2023 12:59:12 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 22, 2023 17:51:33 GMT
I was worried it would be AJ Odudu after the draw. I just can't watch anything she does without muting the volume.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 22, 2023 12:46:19 GMT
I shall be in France so will miss the commentary.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 21, 2023 16:33:18 GMT
That is a lot of co-productions. Not something the RSC has done much of over recent years.
Not a trend I would encourage. They are funded well enough to develop their own work fully and to tour.
They just lack the leadership and ambition.
We can only hope the new team will stop the rot.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 20, 2023 21:51:13 GMT
Yes I have to say at first I was quite interested in this when I saw it announced. If they are messing about with it I don't think I'll bother, I can't see any need for a contemporary update. It strikes me as an update to appear progressive rather than from a desire to make really good theatre. The message appears more important than the entertainment. Of course the director will claim otherwise but the blurb is so defensive that it is clear that the show has been altered quite significantly. Amazed the rights holders approved.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 20, 2023 15:03:59 GMT
I have never seen an update Shrew that works better than keeping it in the original setting. Indeed, if I were ever to direct it, I would absolutely give it a full 16th century production.
H$S is set in the world of mid 20th century America. Men dominate the workplace. Women are secretaries. Nepotism and favouritism are key to success.
The piece is very much satirical and comic in tone. It in no way approves of the status quo even if the female lead is 'Happy to Keep his dinner warm'...
You could, in theory, update it but would it be an improvement? I would argue that it is so deeply rooted in a certain era that it only truly works as a piece of you perform it as intended.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 20, 2023 11:33:23 GMT
I love the score. Some great show tunes.
However the show is predicated on a very certain world view. Yes, it does send up that sort of thinking. But it needs those ways of thinking and behaving to be there for the humour to work.
You cannot force modern sensibilities onto a show that is so rooted in the attitudes of the original setting.
Anyone Can Whistle was a very different type of show and more able to handle the 'modern' approach of the director.
You don't need to revise it to show the problems of sexism in the workplace, the issues around corporate culture, why nepotism is a bad thing and so forth.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 19, 2023 23:22:33 GMT
What's the difference between a 'playtext' and the script of a play? I've tried Googling the answer but the sites I've looked at seem to use playtext and script interchangeably and primarily focus on the difference between 'script' and a 'play'. So a playtext is the formal version as agreed by the writer. The script may well not quite match. A performer may go in rehearsals "I don't think my character would say mother, she would say something more casual like mum" and so change it for that specific run (even on a brand new work) but the published version may be what the writer really wants. Not necessarily I recently worked on the first revival of a script. We signed the rights contract to perform as written... We were lucky to have contact with the author and he came to a rehearsal. Turns out that the published version was not the version they performed. The script had to go to print before the end of rehearsals and so some sequences were edited and some cut completely. So we were the first to stage some of the script. So much depends on when the script is delivered to the printers...
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 19, 2023 18:56:27 GMT
I think it is closer to being a jukebox show than any other form of musical theatre.
It is taking existing songs and fitting them into a new script.
There is no denying that the songs were created for the TV show so were original for that. But there is no hint that this will feature anything other than the existing tracks rather than new compositions.
We shall see. But I am still struggling to see the rationale behind it.
Perhaps I need to listen to some of the music
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 18, 2023 13:06:51 GMT
I am somewhat perplexed by this as a choice of project. It is only a show that will be known to people in their late 50s and older. And whilst I know that is an age group that has traditionally been seen as the core audience for Chichester, is there enough love left for a TV programme that finished well over 40 years ago? Nostalgia is all very well but as someone who is too young to have any memory of the original, what is there to convince me to pay this more attention? I am open to being convinced - just slightly sceptical I understand your scepticism but jukebox musicals based on music from the 60s do very well so why not the 70s too? Of course the critical difference may prove to be that this was a short-lived UK phenomenom only but it is in the smaller Minerva and as you say, likely to appeal to the core CFT audience. I have fond memories of the tv show and certainly intend to book. Jukebox shows tend to be based on truly successful bands/singers with a back catalogue of songs that have, in some way, become classics. I don't honestly believe that Rock Follies fits into that category. There may be enough fans to fill a smallish theatre for a short run but it strikes me as a very brave piece of commissioning. If it were on a streaming service so that new audiences could get a taste of it, that would certainly help. But it isn't out there at present.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 17, 2023 14:28:54 GMT
I want to see acting celebrated. That means acknowledging the best of the best each season.
The number of gender neutral roles and performers is currently tiny.
To do away with gendered awards at this point would reduce the opportunity for actors to win recognition from 4 categories to 2. That is not something I can support or welcome. It is a disproportionate response.
The recent Brit Awards shows the risks involved in doing that.
So let's add more categories even if the non gendered categories are small in terms of nominees and may not get awarded each year for a while.
But let us celebrate the majority as well as the minority.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 17, 2023 0:59:46 GMT
I am somewhat perplexed by this as a choice of project.
It is only a show that will be known to people in their late 50s and older. And whilst I know that is an age group that has traditionally been seen as the core audience for Chichester, is there enough love left for a TV programme that finished well over 40 years ago?
Nostalgia is all very well but as someone who is too young to have any memory of the original, what is there to convince me to pay this more attention?
I am open to being convinced - just slightly sceptical
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 15, 2023 20:31:49 GMT
Another sad loss
Many iconic screen roles and a few forays onto the stage
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 12, 2023 15:39:44 GMT
Just look at the uproar at the Brit Awards and their move to a genderless Best Artist leading to an all male shortlist.
Given the way world drama over the centuries is biased towards male characters, it would be very possible to see all male shortlists for some acting awards.
I would not like to see a reduction in the number of awards being available as that is likely to disadvantage female actors more than their male counterparts.
So perhaps adding in a third category for acting is the only fair way forward. But we probably are some way off having enough trans/NB roles/actors for there to be sufficient competition. That may well change and could be unfair until the balance shifts but we shouldn't sacrifice female actors in the meantime.
Edit:. Ok. The WoS awards didn't erase women as winners. But they are not typical awards. The fanbase voting delivered some undeserved nominations and winners.
But I stand by the need to retain separate categories so as to protect representation.
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