It’s finally happened: the RZ’s theatre-going habit has outstripped his ability to keep the site updated in a timely manner. Mind you, going to the theatre at night has been functioning as a perk for focusing on work during the day, namely the work of getting his behemoth of a master’s thesis written. As such, the RZ has seen the following shows but will not be writing full reviews on them:
Well @ Trafalgar 2: It’s funny, and raises some interesting questions, but also suffers from “hate all the characters” syndrome. By the last 20 minutes the RZ was hoping that the main character would go McDonagh on someone’s arse.
Our House @ New Wimbledon (Now touring somewhere else): How the original production won the Olivier is beyond the RZ’s comprehension - it must have been a painfully dry year. Not having been in the UK when Madness were the shit, the only thing keeping him from leaving this shitty production at the interval was the thought of spending two hours on the train to and from Wimbledon for an hour of theatre. Not that it was all bad - the choreography was great, the songs would be fun to play DDR to, and the cast tried their best - but the sound design was poor (there were lyrics?) and the RZ facepalmed repeatedly during the performance, the plot of which was as such: do the right thing and wind up an unemployed convict, do the wrong thing and wind up successful only to murder your mum by accident.
The Pretender Agenda @ New Players: An office full of scandal makes for a funny play, but it needed another workshop: the first scene could have been cut entirely though the play was overall entertaining and a good reminder of why you should always be nice to your temps. The cast was loaded with TV stars the RZ didn’t recognise (that all gave quality performances either way), but he suspects that only 10% of the audience (somewhere in the 50-75 person range) was NOT comped the night he went - most of the people in the stalls knew the author who was also in attendance.
Eurobeat @ Novello: Went with a friend who loves the trash factor of Eurovision this time. No surprise, she loved it. No surprise, Poland won. The RZ has shilled for this enough by now and doesn’t even work for the damn show.
Small Craft Warnings @ Arcola 1: Typical Tennessee Williams with the added bonus of an unrehearsed understudy coming to the rescue of a mostly solid cast (who all slipped accents a few times). Great speeches, but a bit of a mess. This was the RZ’s first time at the Arcola and he’s fallen in love with the space, not to mention the neighbourhood’s restaurants.
The Harder They Come @ Playhouse: The RZ popped in for the closing. Nothing particularly special or different, no speeches at the end.
On the RZ’s agenda for this week is a preview of Come Dancing at Stratford East and a lot of continued writing work along with the Osamu Tezuka festival at the Barbican (where he will probably hide in the back row of the cinema with his computer continuing to make last minute revisions).
Showing posts with label Novello. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Novello. Show all posts
Monday, 15 September 2008
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
THOUGHTS: "Shadowlands"
(A delayed entry and a quick one due to the subject's exposure and the RZ catching the plague.)
The press, blogosphere, and message boards have all had their say on this play from a movie which became a play then a movie and brought back again as a play. And with Shadowlands closing on Saturday, there isn't much to add to the comments. Still, as someone who fell in love with the first three Narnia books in fourth grade (the real first three - Lion/Caspian/Dawn Treader, not the reshuffled order they sell them under now), the RZ was intrigued at the possibilities this bio-play had to offer.
So, the story (briefly): CS Lewis reluctantly agrees to meet a pen-pal from the US when she visits England, as much out of curiosity as to who this frustrating and argumentative woman is as a hope to be left alone afterwards. The two meet, become fast friends, and much to the dismay of Lewis's social circle, fall in love only to have tragedy strike.
Charles Dance is touching and heartfelt as Lewis, and Janie Dee exudes life as his penpal-cum-lover (no pun intended), the fireball American Joy Gresham. Matthew Wright's modular library set is clever, though a scene in which Joy's son is shown to be entering Narnia is unintentionally comedic. The minor characters, including two understudies, represent the stuffiness and sexism of the age and ivory towers, providing much comic relief in a work that establishes up front that things are not to end well.
As for the play itself, the RZ must concur with those who found it charming, touching, and a powerful night out, though it's also a long one - 160 min. including the interval, and the first act especially tends to drag. That said, the quality of the performances makes up for the briefly flagging moments, and those who haven't made it to the Novello yet should before this one slips away into the shadows itself.
Where: Novello Theatre
When: Through 23 Feb., M-Sa @ 19:30, Th/Sa @ 14:30
How Much: £10-45
Concessions: Seniors can advance book Thursday matinees best available for £25. Students can go £22.50 best available stalls from 1 hr beforehand.
-----------------------
RZ Unofficial "Worth Paying": £30 for beautiful acting in a smart, moving production.
RZ Other Notes: This could go down as one of the most bungled transfers in recent West End history. After a successful run at the Wyndham, the transfer was done with as little down time as possible, and minimal marketing - the same poster as the prior run was used, just with a tag saying "Now at the Novello". A smart marketing firm would have used a new publicity shot to get peoples' attention to make it clear that the show was still running (and not competing with posters featuring the closing date at the Wyndham) and reset the piece in the public's mindset. On a more positive note, the show's official website is nice, featuring full cast/crew details and concession information.
The press, blogosphere, and message boards have all had their say on this play from a movie which became a play then a movie and brought back again as a play. And with Shadowlands closing on Saturday, there isn't much to add to the comments. Still, as someone who fell in love with the first three Narnia books in fourth grade (the real first three - Lion/Caspian/Dawn Treader, not the reshuffled order they sell them under now), the RZ was intrigued at the possibilities this bio-play had to offer.
So, the story (briefly): CS Lewis reluctantly agrees to meet a pen-pal from the US when she visits England, as much out of curiosity as to who this frustrating and argumentative woman is as a hope to be left alone afterwards. The two meet, become fast friends, and much to the dismay of Lewis's social circle, fall in love only to have tragedy strike.
Charles Dance is touching and heartfelt as Lewis, and Janie Dee exudes life as his penpal-cum-lover (no pun intended), the fireball American Joy Gresham. Matthew Wright's modular library set is clever, though a scene in which Joy's son is shown to be entering Narnia is unintentionally comedic. The minor characters, including two understudies, represent the stuffiness and sexism of the age and ivory towers, providing much comic relief in a work that establishes up front that things are not to end well.
As for the play itself, the RZ must concur with those who found it charming, touching, and a powerful night out, though it's also a long one - 160 min. including the interval, and the first act especially tends to drag. That said, the quality of the performances makes up for the briefly flagging moments, and those who haven't made it to the Novello yet should before this one slips away into the shadows itself.
Where: Novello Theatre
When: Through 23 Feb., M-Sa @ 19:30, Th/Sa @ 14:30
How Much: £10-45
Concessions: Seniors can advance book Thursday matinees best available for £25. Students can go £22.50 best available stalls from 1 hr beforehand.
-----------------------
RZ Unofficial "Worth Paying": £30 for beautiful acting in a smart, moving production.
RZ Other Notes: This could go down as one of the most bungled transfers in recent West End history. After a successful run at the Wyndham, the transfer was done with as little down time as possible, and minimal marketing - the same poster as the prior run was used, just with a tag saying "Now at the Novello". A smart marketing firm would have used a new publicity shot to get peoples' attention to make it clear that the show was still running (and not competing with posters featuring the closing date at the Wyndham) and reset the piece in the public's mindset. On a more positive note, the show's official website is nice, featuring full cast/crew details and concession information.
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