The Theatre

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone go to the theatre these days? Is it still a vital artform or dead as a dodo. On Thurs we went to see a performance of an Alan Ayckburn play by the Lisbon Players who are being turfed out of their spot after 72 years. It was fun but not really a strong argument for theatre's cutting edge...
 

jenks

thread death
I go quite a bit. I didn’t go to the they’re until I was 20 and it took me a long time to feel comfortable doing so.
I know it sounds dopey but I like the way that when it works it’s like a form of magic - conjuring something out of just words and movements. I’ve seen some amazing things in a theatre over the last ten years, so I’d say it’s not dead but I do think it has an image problem - middle class etc. And it’s usually bloody expensive.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I would like to go more... same with everything I guess.
The people we went with were criticising what they saw as overacting - which I thought was missing the point. But it shows maybe that (some) people don't know how to watch theatre.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Last thing I saw was Amadeus at the NT. Really enjoyed it. There something magical about theatre, as terrible as it can be.

I never go unless my parents make me though. Just one of the many things going on in London I don't bother taking advantage of.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
It's always fun... though maybe as a rule I tend to like the whole experience of going there, drinks etc, more than the play itself. I dunno, I still think the Shakespeare tragedies still have power. I remember seeing Blasted a few years ago though which was a bit different to the normal UK heritage stuff.
 

version

Well-known member
The main thing I remember about my local theatre is they used to serve these little cardboard pots of ice cream with a small spoon during the interval.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
That's exactly what I mean about the experience... something as out of the ordinary and intense as that can overwhelm the mind and, sadly, make the actual play secondary.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
My girlfriend said she could tell the theatre was middle class cos the toilets smelled strongly of asparagus.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Accidentally watched a filmed play yesterday. Wanted to watch the Polanski adaptation of the play Venus in Fur which is a film version of a recent play about a guy auditioning someone for a role in a play which is an adaptation of the book by Leopold Masoch. Does that make sense? Anyway by accident downloaded the wrong thing, a different adaptation of the play. In the original I think there are only two actors and the play takes the form of one long audition - this differed in that every ten minutes or so the scene switched to two different actors directed by a different director - but carrying on the next line in the same play. Does that make sense? Anyway this was filmed in the most simplistic sense, one level above just putting a camera in the corner on a tripod - so it felt like actually being in a theatre... but without a bar or loads of luvvies. Without that it fell a little flat. Or maybe it wasn't a very good play. Seems to me to be an overly common device to have people acting in a famous play and their lives start mirroring it - subtlty if it's an arty play, blatantly if it's a horror - and I'm not sure that this added much to the idea. Maybe I should check the Polanski version.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
That does sound cool. Where was it at?
I should say that for me a big part of the fun of theatre (and going to cinema too I guess) is discussing it with friends at the interval and the end. I don't want to dismiss theatre as merely all the stuff around it but I admit that for me it's a big part of the whole experience.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
80% of the time theatre is disappointing and overpriced, but occasionally it's brilliant (often when it's not overpriced). I went to see a very small-scale production Rebel Music recently, and loved it - nuance and heart. I like it when the performers are almost on top of the audience, that immersive feel.
 
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