115 replies to this topic

[dude-1981]

Strange views like this are why everthing at the NT is at least 2 & a half hours.

Peoples don't feel like they have got money's worth unless it feels like proper play.

(If you haven't seen Travelling Light, please forgive the sentance structure.)

[fringefan]

What on earth is strange about commenting that paying the same price regardless of play length might seem unreasonable to some?  I have owned it as my personal opinion, not a fact, and I am one of those yokels who neither lives nor works in London so has to pay a fairly hefty train fare (and spend quite a long time travelling there and back) and who therefore prefers to make the best possible use of time and money.  Furthermore, you wouldn't expect a restaurant to charge the same for one course as for two or three, so why should theatres not also structure their prices accordingly?  And if, for instance, you were a first-time theatregoer or someone who attended infrequently, you might be discouraged from returning... is this what theatres want or need?

[AnnieInTheStalls]

70 minutes sounds lovely to me; I just wish I'd been quicker off the ball and got tickets.

[The Suburbanite]

fringefan, on 28 January 2012 - 04:46 AM, said:

What on earth is strange about commenting that paying the same price regardless of play length might seem unreasonable to some?  I have owned it as my personal opinion, not a fact, and I am one of those yokels who neither lives nor works in London so has to pay a fairly hefty train fare (and spend quite a long time travelling there and back) and who therefore prefers to make the best possible use of time and money.  Furthermore, you wouldn't expect a restaurant to charge the same for one course as for two or three, so why should theatres not also structure their prices accordingly?  And if, for instance, you were a first-time theatregoer or someone who attended infrequently, you might be discouraged from returning... is this what theatres want or need?

It's a complete red herring to pin so much value on running time. If you paid your train fare and made your long total journey time for a 3-hour play that stank, would you really console yourself with the fact that at least it was 180 minutes of rubbish instead of 70? Or have your whole experience marred by the fact that a play, while absolutely superb in every respect, was only an hour? Would the 3-hour dog's dinner be the best possible use of time and money because of its superior length?

People will generally mutter in irritation about something being not worth the ticket price if they didn't like it, regardless of the running time. And a 1-hour production could in theory rack up operating costs comparable to a 2-hour one, making it tough for the producer to meet their costs if the ticket price were governed by running time.

If you have a long journey, isn't it nice for you to see a really good 60-80 minute piece and get home at a decent time?

However, I'm not convinced your views are in any way responsible for running times at the NT!

[dude-1981]

The Suburbanite, on 28 January 2012 - 07:35 PM, said:

However, I'm not convinced your views are in any way responsible for running times at the NT!

Yes, I wasn't really being serious with that one.

One thing though, couldn't this easily play twice a night like truth and reconciliation did only recently.  I guess that would be a bit much for a cast of two rather than the 20 odd that play had.  Hoping to score tickets for this on Monday by going in person while Marius Pontmercy is hunched over a keyboard at 8:59.

[dude-1981]

Cardinal Pirelli, on 22 January 2012 - 12:38 AM, said:

Looking forward to this, as are my other versions around the multiverse where they also managed to get a ticket, the ones that missed out are kicking themselves.

Having seen this play tonight and reading through this thread, this now seems a rather funny and clever comment.

Rather good, much, much better than the other play I saw by Nick Payne, Wanderlust.  Not sure if that had to be rushed or he was going for a certain style with that one.  What wonderful performances and staging as well.

[AnnieInTheStalls]

Did you get your ticket (dude-1981) on the web or in person?

[dude-1981]

AnnieInTheStalls, on 31 January 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

Did you get your ticket (dude-1981) on the web or in person?

Hello,

I got there about 8:50 and there were slightly too many people in the queue already, so it was all up to Marius Pontmercy who has the quickest fingers in town!

[fringefan]

Now I've seen this, and am able to compare it with Wanderlust (which I genuinely liked and enjoyed), I can say that I much preferred Wanderlust.  Constellations was too experimental, fragmented and repetitive for me (lines must have been a nightmare to learn!) and whilst I'm glad to have seen it, I'm hoping for a return to  normal form (literally and as I see it) in his next.  Not long to wait now...

[Pharaoh's number 2]

fringefan, on 05 February 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

I'm hoping for a return to  normal form (literally and as I see it) in his next.  Not long to wait now...

Why, has his next play already been announced?