37 replies to this topic

[Epicoene]

Alexandra, on 15 November 2012 - 01:21 PM, said:

Really? Because it's got a big star in it? That seems to be all that matters to some people on this board. Hence the moans about the Donmar not being what it was.

Harsh - HG always bangs the drum for site-specific productions. Also the Donmar isn't what it was but mostly because of the directors rather than the actors. Is Branagh a big star these days ? personally I rate him a bit more highly as a stage director than a stage actor.

[Alexandra]

Which of the 5 productions since the regime change do you think has been poorly directed?

[armadillo]

Ken is one of the greatest Shakespearians of our time and he hasn't done any on stage for 10 years. Why shouldn't people be excited? What a strange attitude to theatre that people shouldn't be allowed to look forward to performances by famous actors?

[Alexandra]

: And that is a classic internet argument which invents something that someone is supposed to have said and then argues with it. My query was with the hyperbolic but undeniably subjective suggestion that this was the most exciting theatre news in a long while.

[Honoured Guest]

I agree that my reasons for enthusiasm are subjective. I'm generally more drawn to theatre which starts with a blank sheet than to productions which simply fill a slot in a building. One reason is that, with the former, more of the audience tends to have a livelier interest because they've been attracted to that particular event, whereas with the latter many of them come out of routine because they like that particular theatre. It's also harder for creatives to make a distinctive stamp when they are filling a slot because they have less freedom. I haven't been to any of the Donmar's last five shows but I've been heartened to hear of the reconfigured stage and seating for Berenice because it's a clear sign that the Donmar is thinking about the whole experience. One of the strengths of the Royal Court Theatre is the incredible flexibility of the Theatre Upstairs and the imaginative reconfigurations of the Theatre Downstairs. I'm confident that Vicky Featherstone and Lucy Davies will build on this feature, given their previous work, and this should spur good writers to produce even better work because they know their productions aren't restricted to fixed proscenium stages or standard black box set-ups.

[Lynette]

I wonder what theatres will be like in the future. If the cuts carry on theatres will close and actors will band together to play in pubs and private houses...sound familiar? Oh and in ruined churches.
Seriously..it is interesting that we have been moving towards very small intimate spaces but perhaps performers want bigger auditoria now. Just a thought.

[Epicoene]

Alexandra, on 15 November 2012 - 03:10 PM, said:

Which of the 5 productions since the regime change do you think has been poorly directed?

None of them (inventing something no-one has said ? tsk tsk), but none of them have been brilliantly directed either unlike quite a few under the previous two regimes. For example, The Recruiting Officer was really just a run-of-the-mill production lifted by one brilliant performance.

[Epicoene]

Lynette, on 15 November 2012 - 11:32 PM, said:

I wonder what theatres will be like in the future. If the cuts carry on theatres will close and actors will band together to play in pubs and private houses...sound familiar? Oh and in ruined churches.

I see that notable member of the 1% Danny Boyle has been moaning on about "the cuts" at some event with other members of the subsidised artistic elite. Nicholas Hytner said the following:

"Hytner hit out at the Conservative's flagship cultural policy – the encouragement of philanthropic donations to the arts. He called it "a smokescreen" and "wishful thinking" and said the government had done "next to nothing to encourage what it terms philanthropy"."

Which is actually totally untrue as it happens - this government has made the biggesest change to the tax treatment of legacies left to to charities for a generation potentially to the great benefit of the arts.  But of course people don't know this, or choose to ignore it. I see the RSC has just received "multi-million dollar" funding from Ohio State University (due to a couple of USA philianthropic donors) which will enable them "to take more of their work to USA" so the funding model clearly can work if organisations can be bothered to try and obtain some donations rather than just wanting the money dished up on a plate by ACE.

[Lynette]

America has a totally different policy for donations. Let's see if the Ohio project translates to RSC work here. I'm quite happy if it spreads the word as it were in the US. Not sure if it will here. If it pays the bills, fine.

[Honoured Guest]

Lynette, on 15 November 2012 - 11:32 PM, said:

I wonder what theatres will be like in the future. If the cuts carry on theatres will close and actors will band together to play in pubs and private houses...sound familiar? Oh and in ruined churches.
Seriously..it is interesting that we have been moving towards very small intimate spaces but perhaps performers want bigger auditoria now. Just a thought.

Yes, all scales, from private houses to large-scale outdoor events, and with livestreaming to the world: http://www.telegraph...-community.html