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What plays have you seen lately?

Started by Small Man Big Horse, September 18, 2019, 02:05:48 PM

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Small Man Big Horse

I'm not expecting this thread to go well as other theatre related ones haven't in the past, but I've been to the theatre a fair bit lately (mainly due to reviewing stuff for a website so I didn't have to pay) so thought I'd start a thread.

Come Dine With Mr Shakespeare - Four Shakespearean characters (Lady MacBeth, Cordelia from King Lear, Petruchio from The Taming Of The Shrew and Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night) all take part in Channel 4's reality tv show and only speak in quotes from the four plays, while a guy called William provides the narration and lots of one liners. It would have made for a great ten minute sketch but it's overlong at 45 minutes, I did find it amusing from time to time but its runs out of steam by the end, and it's a 3 star show at best.

Macbeth The Musical - A modern language retelling of the play with Avenue Q style muppets, with it some of from the perspective of the servants of the murderous Scottish couple. The script was largely smart, the songs amusing (if not the kind that you'll find yourself humming afterwards) and only one oddly tonally inconsistent bit involving a raped servant didn't quite work. Otherwise it was very likeable, though it's not quite good enough to be worthy of a West End transfer.

Typical - Richard Blackwood (of failed 90's comedian fame) is pretty outstanding in this one man play where a guy who heads out for a night out on the town only for it to turn increasingly nightmarish. I know Blackwood's easy to mock but this really was a stunning performance, and the play was incredibly affecting in general.

Arms And The Man - One of George Bernard Shaw's first successes, this is a deceptively frothy affair, on the surface it's just a mostly charming farce and a bit of a comedy of manners on the side, but it has a lot to say about the nature of war, men and women and love, and despite being an amateur production from the Sedos lot it impressed me a lot.

lebowskibukowski

Does the last two years count as lately? If so, Glengarry Glen Ross at the Playhouse, London.
Stanley Townsend was excellent as The Machine Levene, I think Don Warrington might have been a bit pissed.

Small Man Big Horse

Right now I'm happy to stretch it back to ten years! And I've never seen any Mamet live, but keep on meaning to as I am fond of his work.

Attila

I try to catch one in the West End every time I'm in London, so I see 5 or 6 a year.

Last ones were (on the same day) Joseph & the Amazing Techicolour Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ, Superstar.

I'd already seen each indivually earlier in the summer and decided to go up especially to see both on the same day.

I've some of my ticket stubs here, as they haven't been tucked into diaries yet, so in no particular order recently

1984 (in 2014)

Sunny Afternoon (before it was a hit, at the Hampstead Theatre, 2014. The whole cast signed my poster. I saw it several more times when it moved properly into the West End.

Joseph (touring company in Southampton, 2016) -- this is the one I've seen the most, probably about three dozen times, several different versions. It's coming back to the West End next summer, so I'll probably go a time or two, but fucking hell, were the tickets extortionate for this new version.

Romeo & Juliet (with Derek Jacobi, 2016)

Lazarus (2016 at a pop up theatre in Kings Cross)

Unreachable (2016)

The Exorcist (2017)

Don Juan in Soho (2017)

The Philanthropist (2017)

Young Frankenstein (2017)

Singin' in the Rain (2012)

King Lear (2018, with Ian McKellan as Lear)

Simon Callow in A Christmas Carol (2018)

There've been loads of others, especially since I've moved over here permanently (I try to see anything Derek Jacobi's been in, for example, and have seen The Tempest, Don Carlos, King Lear, God Only KNows, and a few other things), but those tickets are tucked up in my diary boxes and not handy.

I'll probably go see a show or two this Christmas when I do my usual London Christmas wander.

When I was at the last version of JCSS, I was sat next to a guy who told me he'd been going to shows in the West end 2-3 times a week for decades. Had a bunch of theatre buddies scattered about who did likewise.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Attila on September 20, 2019, 07:24:15 PM
I try to catch one in the West End every time I'm in London, so I see 5 or 6 a year.

Last ones were (on the same day) Joseph & the Amazing Techicolour Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ, Superstar.

I'd already seen each indivually earlier in the summer and decided to go up especially to see both on the same day.

I've some of my ticket stubs here, as they haven't been tucked into diaries yet, so in no particular order recently

1984 (in 2014)

Sunny Afternoon (before it was a hit, at the Hampstead Theatre, 2014. The whole cast signed my poster. I saw it several more times when it moved properly into the West End.

Joseph (touring company in Southampton, 2016) -- this is the one I've seen the most, probably about three dozen times, several different versions. It's coming back to the West End next summer, so I'll probably go a time or two, but fucking hell, were the tickets extortionate for this new version.

Romeo & Juliet (with Derek Jacobi, 2016)

Lazarus (2016 at a pop up theatre in Kings Cross)

Unreachable (2016)

The Exorcist (2017)

Don Juan in Soho (2017)

The Philanthropist (2017)

Young Frankenstein (2017)

Singin' in the Rain (2012)

King Lear (2018, with Ian McKellan as Lear)

Simon Callow in A Christmas Carol (2018)

There've been loads of others, especially since I've moved over here permanently (I try to see anything Derek Jacobi's been in, for example, and have seen The Tempest, Don Carlos, King Lear, God Only KNows, and a few other things), but those tickets are tucked up in my diary boxes and not handy.

I'll probably go see a show or two this Christmas when I do my usual London Christmas wander.

When I was at the last version of JCSS, I was sat next to a guy who told me he'd been going to shows in the West end 2-3 times a week for decades. Had a bunch of theatre buddies scattered about who did likewise.

That's a great list Atilla, and I especially like your fondness for musicals, I'm a bit obsessed with Jesus Christ Superstar and would like to see it live but I can't imagine (and have yet to hear) anyone being better than Yvonne Elliman as Mary.

I wish I could afford West End prices but I'm flat broke right now so the only times I've been in the last decade is when either someone else has paid (which is why I saw Lloyd Webber's take on The Wizard Of Oz) or through a seat filling site, but not many come up on them and they go really quickly, so so far I've only been to Made In Dagenham.

Dex Sawash


One of my kids was in one, it was shit.

DrGreggles

Off to see this tomorrow:
https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2019/a-very-expensive-poison

Try to see something at least every couple of months.
Checking out the new Mischief Theatre play next month too.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: DrGreggles on September 20, 2019, 10:06:40 PM
Off to see this tomorrow:
https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2019/a-very-expensive-poison

Try to see something at least every couple of months.
Checking out the new Mischief Theatre play next month too.

That looks pretty intriguing, and the cast is great, I'd be really interested in your thoughts about it once you have seen it.

Attila

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on September 20, 2019, 07:49:55 PM
That's a great list Atilla, and I especially like your fondness for musicals, I'm a bit obsessed with Jesus Christ Superstar and would like to see it live but I can't imagine (and have yet to hear) anyone being better than Yvonne Elliman as Mary.

I wish I could afford West End prices but I'm flat broke right now so the only times I've been in the last decade is when either someone else has paid (which is why I saw Lloyd Webber's take on The Wizard Of Oz) or through a seat filling site, but not many come up on them and they go really quickly, so so far I've only been to Made In Dagenham.

Cheers -- as mentioned, there are loads more, those just happen to be the tickets right here on the pile in the drawer next to me. I used to bring students over from the US to study music every winter for about 5 years; we'd go to 5-7 shows as  part of the curriculum. It was great. We saw all sorts of things, mainly pop musicals, like Jersey Boys and the Buddy Holly one; We Will Rock You, Grease, Hairspray, stuff like that. But I'd sneak in other stuff -- 12th Night (with Derek Jacobi, surprise) one year, for example.

Sometimes I pick shows by who's in them, so I've seen Ian McKellan do a few things, lots of Derek Jacobi as noted, some of David Tennant's stuff (Much Ado About Nothing, Richard II, Don Juan in Soho), John Hurt, Paul McGann. I'm picky about musicals, but it was a no-brainer to go see Oliver! with Rowan Atkinson (I saw another one that he did, playing a schoolteacher -- Quartermaine's Terms, the one where he met and hooked up in real life with Louise Ford). Ages ago, My Fair Lady because Anthony Andrews was in it. Other good ones included Let the Right One In, The Ladykillers (which was fabulous -- I know Graham Linehan gets a lot of stick on these forums, but his adaptation of and the staging of the play was amazing), and Perfect Nonsense with Robert Webb and Mark Heap.

No idea what I'll go see at Christmas, but I'll probably try to get to at least two. If I don't go to live theatre on my London trips, I usually check to see what's playing at the BFI. But it's almost always a live show.

mjwilson

Fleabag (but as part of an NT Live broadcast to the cinema so I don't know whether that counts).

An incredible performance of Hobson's Choice at the Royal Exchange (Manchester), updated to the 80s and featuring a British Asian family. If that sounds gimmicky it wasn't,  it was a perfect choice.

Small Man Big Horse

Him Indoors by Cheekykita - A mix of The Mighty Boosh and The League Of Gentlemen, but much better than I've made that sound, this was a comedy horror about a journalist investigating the story of a woman with a tiny man living in her stomach, who before meeting her talks to the many odd people who live in her hometown. I liked this a lot, the ideas were strong, the jokes funny, and my only real complaint was that it was a work in progress and so only 40 minutes long, but apparently it is to be longer when finished.

Confessions Of An Ex-Drag Queen by Jack Stone and Lukas McCabe - A very lo-fi musical set on the wedding day of the ex-drag queen of the title, who goes missing and so his best friend Kristen has to try and track him down before the ceremony begins. It's a fun affair, the script is mostly amusing and the songs very likeable, and though some of the acting from the male lead was a little dodgy in general it was a very likeable piece.

EOLAN

I managed to get to see Mousetrap just in time.

Correctly guessed the culprit at the interval and the most comfortable theater seats I have experienced. 

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: EOLAN on November 18, 2019, 04:30:34 PM
I managed to get to see Mousetrap just in time.

Correctly guessed the culprit at the interval and the most comfortable theater seats I have experienced.

Was it busy, out of interest? I know it's a theatrical institution and a big tourist attraction and everything, but I'm still amazed it's managed to be financially viable after all this time. Also, what was the acting like? As I imagine it must be difficult not to switch on to auto-pilot after a while.

Small Man Big Horse

The Nativity Panto - At The King's Head in Islington, this was fucking awful. An adult pantomime in the sense that it had swearing in it, there was no reason for such a thing and the jokes, jesus, they'd have embarrassed a 1970's hack comedian. There was also plenty of reworded songs so Gina G's "Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit" became "Ooh Aah Just A Little Prick" and there were a few other even unfunnier examples too, like how the Spice Girls "Wannabe" became all about ordering breakfast. Ah, how I wish I was making this up, but I'm sadly not, and if someone suggests going to see this I'd stove their head in with a concrete block, it's the very least they deserve.

Attila

i usually go and see something as part of my Christmas-treat-to-myself in London, but didn't have a chance this year. But I've already got tickets for three shows coming up in the next year (I tend to book super early when stuff pops up; it's a bit mental I suppose, but there you go).

July: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (saw this new arrangement last summer a couple of times, and it's cracking after the tired out roadshow panto that's been touring around the country the past few years. Young Joseph actor was still a drama school student during most of the run, not graduating until the autumn. Sheridan Smith was really fun and clearly having a blast in the performances, too).

Late July: Sister Act

Late October: Sunny Afternoon (it's going on tour around the provinces, so I booked in a Saturday afternoon matinee in Southampton at the big ol' Mayflower)

Had been planning to go see Neil Innes this spring, but...yeah :(

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Attila on January 03, 2020, 12:09:41 PM
i usually go and see something as part of my Christmas-treat-to-myself in London, but didn't have a chance this year. But I've already got tickets for three shows coming up in the next year (I tend to book super early when stuff pops up; it's a bit mental I suppose, but there you go).

July: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (saw this new arrangement last summer a couple of times, and it's cracking after the tired out roadshow panto that's been touring around the country the past few years. Young Joseph actor was still a drama school student during most of the run, not graduating until the autumn. Sheridan Smith was really fun and clearly having a blast in the performances, too).

I've only seen the Donny Osmond / Maria Friedman version on video but I am rather fond of it, before Lloyd-Webber went all serious he could be a lot of fun. Well, I like this and Jesus Christ Superstar, anyhow.

QuoteLate July: Sister Act

Late October: Sunny Afternoon (it's going on tour around the provinces, so I booked in a Saturday afternoon matinee in Southampton at the big ol' Mayflower)

Had been planning to go see Neil Innes this spring, but...yeah :(

I've not seen either of these, but I hope you have a great time at them (and Joseph too, naturally).

Tonight I saw Mirror Mirror by Hawkwind's lead singer Robert Calvert, it's set in the near future where clothing reacts to your emotional state and you can get mirrors which show you how others see you. In to this world comes a fading beauty who is convinced that her mirror is malfunctioning, and so repeatedly calls out a technician to try and fix it, said technician is a clone (though acts more like a robot than anything) who attempts to resist her flirtations, and other than having a central thesis about the dangers of obsession with self image, it doesn't really have much to say, and all in all was unfortunately pretty bad, a 2/5 rating at the very most.

peanutbutter

How do people keep track of this shite though? I'm fucking awful at knowing when plays are on, do I need to check like 20 different theatres websites every month or so?


Really wanna see more Beckett at the very least (ideally not starring Daniel Radcliffe, though)

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: peanutbutter on January 03, 2020, 10:14:03 PM
How do people keep track of this shite though? I'm fucking awful at knowing when plays are on, do I need to check like 20 different theatres websites every month or so?


Really wanna see more Beckett at the very least (ideally not starring Daniel Radcliffe, though)

I write for a theatre review site and that keeps me up to date with what's on, as well as being a member of a two seat filling websites, though I always check the reviews of what they have up to offer on various different sites, it's just been unfortunate that on the last two occasions the reviews have lied to me (with the normally reliable The Stage giving Mirror Mirror a decent review somewhat bizarrely).

WestHill

Last thing I saw was BLANK at the Donmar Warehouse - a bleak but darkly comic look at the effects of the criminal justice system on women:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/blank-donmar-warehouse-play-review-alice-birch-clean-break-anniversary-jemima-rooper-a9164606.html

It was great.

DrGreggles

Anyone know of a good Tuesday matinee running in the West End at the moment?

Sebastian Cobb

Danielle Ward's The Half and Dan Freeman's The Joke, I largely went to see the latter because it had Robert 'the doc' Picardo in it.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on January 05, 2020, 07:32:06 PM
Danielle Ward's The Half and Dan Freeman's The Joke, I largely went to see the latter because it had Robert 'the doc' Picardo in it.

What was Danielle Ward's play like out of interest? I'm a big fan of her stand up, and heard mostly good things about it.

Shitfaced Showtime - A Pissedmas Carol - In which one of the actors gets very drunk before the play starts and does his best to make it chaotic. A more cynical person might question exactly how much of it is improvised, and how much is prepared beforehand, or whether the actor is really that drunk or is just exaggerating it a bit, but taking it at face value this is a fun show which takes Dickens classic and makes it daft, with many of the funniest moments being how the sober cast react to the drunk one, though the latter did have the odd strong joke from time to time. Probably best seen before Christmas to get you in the mood for the season, and with a few drinks inside of you too, I'm (very generously) giving it 4 stars.

sevendaughters

Round-up of the last year or so

TAMBURLAINE - claret-soaked adaptation of Marlowe at the RSC, intense stuff. Generally I don't like Marlowe as much as Shakespeare though.

TARTUFFE - again at RSC, Moliere adapted to contemporary Islamic Birmingham. some sliiiiightly embarrassing moments particularly with the kid actors but hit the right tone in sticking it to prophet figures.

EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON - performed by graduates of the Old Vic in Bristol, well-meaning climate change play with immense anger at corporatism running rampant (and also with a Moliere-esque nod to prophet figures) but the acting was uneven and generally I think the overly middle-class pool that modern actors come from ensures anything meant as gritty comes off as false.

touchingcloth

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on November 18, 2019, 05:21:04 PM
Was it busy, out of interest? I know it's a theatrical institution and a big tourist attraction and everything, but I'm still amazed it's managed to be financially viable after all this time. Also, what was the acting like? As I imagine it must be difficult not to switch on to auto-pilot after a while.

I have a friend who was in it for a while and know someone who has worked on the box office. It's financially viable mainly cos of the sheer number of tourists London gets (as you mentioned), but they farm out a lot of tickets to hotels and restaurants and voucher companies - hotel + meal + Mousetrap packages sort of thing.

Not surprisingly being in the cast doesn't sound like the most thrilling of gigs. Same director for years and years and years, and I think the sage sets and props since forever. I think the actors turn in good performances, though. Even on auto pilot a talented actor can, and it's not like West End shows of any calibre are wanting for talent.

Dex Sawash


Donna Summer musical tonight unless I get a divorce first.

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Brave New World in Blackpool. Quite a nice little theatre really, spoilt only by the lady next to me who stank of shit a bit.

DrGreggles

I see that Mischief Theatre's A Comedy About A Bank Robbery is finishing its West End run in May.
It's already toured, so it may be the last time it's on anywhere for a while.
Anyway, just wanted to big it up as I think it's really good and definitely Mischief's best work.

Also just booked up for To Kill a Mockingbird (with Rhys Ifans) at the Gielgud Theatre in the summer.

Small Man Big Horse

Fanny & Stella - Staged in a beer garden in Vauxhall, this is a musical about two drag queens from the creator of Taggart. It's the opposite of that dour crime drama though, being a high energy, very camp and very funny affair with a sharp script, but it was slightly let down by some mostly only average songs. There was one song towards the end which was really fantastic, and two others were pretty good and at least vaguely memorable, but the rest were just average pieces, fine, likeable, but nothing more than that, which is a shame as with a couple more great numbers it would have been something I'd be raving about, but as it is it's a production I'm glad I've caught but won't see again. 3 and a half stars.

Have to say it was lovely watching live theatre again btw, but I have to admit to being a little nervous, and found myself looking at the audience a fair few times to make sure they kept their masks on, but thankfully this was a decent bunch who did do that.