32 replies to this topic

[Alnoor]

I would love to see:

Picnic by William Inge ( the film is one of my all time favourites)

and

Doubt by John Patrick Shanley.  I saw it in New York last year and want to see it again and again. Loved it!!!


Alnoor

[Job]

As well as the Ibsens above, I'd really like to see Conor McPherson's Shining City. It had such a brief run in its first outing and I couldn't catch it. I'd also like to see a good professional production of Cocteau's Oedipus play The Infernal Machine, a fascinating piece that I first discovered via an old set of Caedmon LPs way, way back but have never seen on any stage.

As for unashamed entertainment, it's high time we saw some good old melodramas again. Does anyone remember a fabulous production of Dion Boucicault's Streets of London at Her Majesty's some time before Phantom (another melodrama) took it over? And I loved Paul Giovanni's take on Sherlock Holmes, The Crucifer of Blood: a real audience-friendly thriller, full of stage magic and satisfying plot twists, that had a long run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the 70s or 80s.

Job

[Ian]

When We Dead Awaken was done at the Almeida in the late 1990 - I enjoyed it then (the rest of my group didn't    ).

It is a bit slow and rather wordy, but ultimately rewarding, although not my my favourite Ibsen.

I would like to see classy revivals of
A Family Reunion,
The Real Lady Macbeth,
Orpheus Descending,
Summer,
Night and Day,
Out on the Lawn.

[Jan Brock]

I'd have chosen exactly the same play as you, Jan. I've always wanted to see WWDA on the stage. And Rosmerholm too.

It would be nice if Ibsen enthusiasts like me could trade in a few Doll's Houses or Hedda Gablers for more productions of of his lesser-known plays. I'll never forget being bowled over by discovering gems like Little Eyolf (done by the RSC a few years back) and The Lady from the Sea (Almeida). These late plays of Ibsen all seem to have a rich undertow of symbolism and near-mysticism that puts them in a higher league than most of his other work.

Job

No idea how I came to miss When We Dead Awaken at the Almeida in the 1990s. I have seen Rosmerholm - can't recall where - Young Vic 1990s maybe.

[tsaurus]

I'd like to see some Calderon, other than "Life's a Dream" ... and perhaps revivals of some of the plays of Peter Barnes - perhaps 'Red Noses' or 'The Rulng Class'.

[whittlebot]

Stephen Daldry's magnificent AN INSPECTOR CALLS!

[Jan Brock]

Next time RSC do King Lear I'd like them to do the 17th century Nahum Tate version which has a happy ending - in fact they should alternate this randomly with the original so new audience members wouldn't know what was going to happen. I am loathe to suggest this normally but Antony Sher could play the King in both the comedy/serious versions quite nicely.

[armadillo]

I think it would be great to see some of the alternative versions of Shakespeare ( more common for 150 years than the 'proper' ones. How about the Measure for Measure with Beatrice and Benedict? Or Colley Cibber's Richard III (which some actors say is easier to follow than the original).

[Backdrifter]

Has there ever been a stage production of War Of The Worlds? Apart from that Jeff Wayne thing.

There are several Shakespeares I've never seen and I'd be happy seeing any of them.

Madness of George III
Bewilderness
Rutherford & Son
No Man's Land
Trachinae

oh, sod it, I'll have to stop there - I just realised I could go on all day.

[armadillo]

Wasn't No Man's Land at the NT a few years ago? With Coring Redgrave and John Wood (might be the last thing he's done). I  would imagine it will turn up again soon.