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Post by horton on Jun 9, 2016 8:21:36 GMT
Who dropped out as Judas?
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Post by horton on Jun 9, 2016 7:58:48 GMT
Andrew Lloyd Webber's autobiography would be his biggest work of fiction to date: he lives in a fantasy of his own making.
'The Master and Margarita' needs a composer like Adam Guettel at the very least. The trouble with 'Love Never Dies' was that it wasn't ABOUT anything- it was just a series of characters shuffling around the stage liking and disliking each other with as much reason as a Facebook status. If ALW couldn't understand his own creations, he'd never manage Bulgakov's!
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Post by horton on Jun 9, 2016 7:45:13 GMT
I agree 100% with BurlyBeaR. If the producers have been notified that Sheridan is not coming back at all/ not coming back till July they should make a public announcement.
If Sheridan is not coming back Natasha is not currently filling the role of an understudy; she is a replacement.
Continuing to promote the show with Sheridan's name and/ or face is false advertizing if they are fully aware she will not perform.
On the subject of being a fitting replacement, I think the romantic idea that an understudy has stepped in at the last minute will become old-hat quite quickly and the show will merely become an adequate revival rather than a must-see star turn.
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Post by horton on Jun 8, 2016 9:49:02 GMT
I really want to see this, but that trailer made it look dull as hell. Conflicted!
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 22:19:29 GMT
I'm not sure the creative team would be happy with all the effort translating into just a 6 week run.
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 20:53:18 GMT
It's ok because I don't count Harry Potter as Literature. As Truman Capote would say, "that isn't writing, it's typing".
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 19:57:43 GMT
Let's hope it doesn't follow the same trajectory as American Psycho...
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 19:56:22 GMT
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 18:11:28 GMT
How was the house?
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 16:23:22 GMT
I also worked on a tour of 'Equus' and have never known so much hate mail from animal rights activists. Apparently the fact that our horses were big blokes in masks didn't make any difference...
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 16:22:06 GMT
Just heard this. 'Amadeus' was my first professional directing job (I know, lucky me!)
Such sad news.
I have a very soft spot for the now unproduce-able 'Lettice & Lovage' (bombing London landmarks portrayed as an eccentricity)
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Post by horton on Jun 6, 2016 15:02:48 GMT
Cancelled previews are nothing new- I would always consider booking for the 1st preview to be somewhat of a risk.
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Post by horton on Jun 4, 2016 10:06:34 GMT
But the script is being published soon, isn't it? How will there be secrets after that?
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Post by horton on Jun 3, 2016 14:01:43 GMT
ALW's instincts are not that great at times:
Joseph, JCS and Evita- all originated with Tim Rice
Jeeves- that one was ALW...
Cats- was born out of a desire to not have to work with another bloody lyricist
Starlight- ALW really wanted to do Thomas the Tank Engine but couldn't secure the rights
Phantom- his vision in first draft a campy Rocky Horror-style show (have you heard the original demo? Oy!)
After that we the hit and miss period- with the exception of Sunset which is generally considered some of his best work, but even that had the whole re-opening shenanigans!
His undeniable talent has been in developing international markets for his successful works.
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Post by horton on Jun 3, 2016 10:05:34 GMT
They both need people to stand up to them.
The crucial part of the formula will be who works as his lyricist ad/ or book-writer.
Julian F seems to have found a good working method but the lyrics will need to be a lot more sophisticated than School of Rock- Glenn Slater...
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Post by horton on Jun 2, 2016 21:28:39 GMT
A lot of top people saw her under the influence at the Menier. How long does it take to properly dry out because I'm sure everyone will want her to be 100% before risking a return?
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Post by horton on Jun 2, 2016 18:09:02 GMT
Stuff Happens felt like a rehearsed reading in its original staging. Very dull.
This is a very limp programme in my view
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Post by horton on Jun 1, 2016 22:21:29 GMT
Found this really tedious, I'm afraid. Top problem: muddy sound!
As a piece it is so dated and left me totally unengaged emotionally.
Sorry, but the guy playing Joe could not reach the lower notes.
Such a disappointment.
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Post by horton on Jun 1, 2016 9:49:32 GMT
Well, you're definitely saying words, but most of them mean nothing to me, I'm afraid...
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Post by horton on Jun 1, 2016 9:05:32 GMT
Umm, we are aware that Harry Potter is a children's story, right?
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Post by horton on Jun 1, 2016 8:46:07 GMT
I'm sure the theatre professionals who work at the Globe realize it is a theatre, not a museum. Some people- possibly of a certain generation, political persuasion or narrow artistic view- have decided the Globe has to be a certain way; well **** 'em!
There have been thousands of traditional OP performances across the years, and I'm sure there will be again, and many will be enjoyable: Rylance in 'Twelfth Night' is one of the Shakespearean highlights of my life; but surely there is space for some alternative visions, too?
OK, not every production needs to be "an introduction to..." but this production is so much more than Shakespeare for Kidz! From the hypnotic and evocative music to the luscious exotic setting and costumes, this interpretation sets out a very clear vision of the play's sexual anarchy and dalliance with hallucination. Theseus opens the play by boasting that he tamed Hippolyta with his "sword" which very nearly "did her harm" so it's pretty clear that Shakespeare himself was using a dash of the old sauce to please his crowd. Sadly, nowadays probably thanks to Britten's fairies skipping around the woods, we often imagine that the play was written as the primary school's bookend to the Christmas Nativity: a lovely pageant of delightful, pretty imps being winsome. B*****ks! This group of actors absolutely nail the sexual free-for-all the writing conjures. (My personal favourite moment was when Puck joined in Oberon's mounting of the sleeping Demetrius with a "well if I can get away with it" expression).
There are bold alterations to the text- some as gags- and some to widen the play's scope further: personally, I was delighted at the creation of Helenus- but if anything, I think Demetrius' struggle to accept his true sexuality could have been explored a little further. Sure, Helenus' camp is funny, but again I think his rivalry with a female could have been mined for just a little more emotion.
There was no doubt 99% of last night's audience was up for a party and I rejoice at that. Emma Rice has opened her account with a bold, coherent, entertaining romp, very much playing to her strengths.
I hope she manages to strike a balance, though, and recognizes all the potential of this theatre space and accommodates the more traditional alongside the experimental. That way we have a win-win.
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Post by horton on May 30, 2016 15:17:36 GMT
ok how do I post up photos and I'll put up everything I can dig out
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Post by horton on May 30, 2016 13:58:26 GMT
I also left halfway through Judi Dench's 'The Seagull'- I don't think anything at all had happened by the time I left- dull, dull, dull! I have it on good authority that Judi noticed you'd left and has never quite got over it... I'm not surprised- I was playing Konstantin...
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Post by horton on May 30, 2016 12:34:24 GMT
I can't agree with that "you've paid so do what you like" attitude: everyone else has paid too and there is no need to disturb them. I can't believe that the realization that a play is intolerable comes on that suddenly- surely it's possible to wait for a convenient break between scenes before leaving?
I have sometimes made a judgement call and not returned after the interval- Elaine Paige's 'Anything Goes' springs to mind when I realized I was at a party that everyone else seemed to love whilst I was just getting increasingly irritated. I also left halfway through Judi Dench's 'The Seagull'- I don't think anything at all had happened by the time I left- dull, dull, dull!
I also left the infamous Day Lewis 'Hamlet'- just before he did apparently.
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Post by horton on May 30, 2016 9:12:51 GMT
And so I did! Sunday was devoted to watching the whole sequence- I wasn't sure it make it all the way through in advance, but I can say hand on heart I wasn't bored for a second.
Rona Munro's biggest achievement, I think, is writing 3 plays that are tonally very different from each other, so you don't feel like you're watching one long history. J1 is a thoroughly Shakespearean romp through the wildest behaviour of the Scottish warlords. It is tense, physically bold but through the brilliant writing, also makes the audience invest in the characters- some epic loses the human dimension, but not this play which really has you rooting for J1 and Queen Joan, (a marvellous debut).
J2 is a very curious and disturbing play that refuses to jump to easy resolutions. Again, some outstanding character acting and a shocking ending- one of the things I loved was how the plays focus on particular episodes in the kings' lives- they don't feel the need to summarize the whole reign.
J3, again a massive gear shift, starting with a lively onstage song & dance. The writing in this is so clever, making you think that J3 is by turns charismatic, cruel, stupid, nihilistic, trapped, right and wrong. A tour de force for Queen Margaret, too.
I'm not going to single out specific actors because there is not one weak link in this acting company. This is landmark theatre but it never feels "worthy"- I'm not sure the plays are 'stand-alone' so if you can devote a whole day, it will be worth it!
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Post by horton on May 28, 2016 13:09:08 GMT
Maybe someone's locked in his dressing room. Oops I didn't say that!
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Post by horton on May 27, 2016 16:49:51 GMT
Which one has hit the bottle now?
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Post by horton on May 27, 2016 11:03:20 GMT
The James Plays this weekend in Plymouth
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Post by horton on May 26, 2016 13:42:07 GMT
Seeing the trilogy in Plymouth this weekend!
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Post by horton on May 26, 2016 9:19:45 GMT
Cumberbatch and Shakespeare- Emperor's new clothes. The next Branagh he sure ain't!
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