Plague Over England By Nicholas De Jongh, new play next year Options

[Ms X]

This sounds as though it could be interesting - not least to see what sort of reviews it gets! It sounds quite a commercial premise for a play, anyway - gay men, the famous Gielgud, notoriously difficult critic writing it... I'm sure we'll hear plenty more about it in 2008.

Anyway, whatever the play is like it's good to think that the Finborough might finally get the profile it deserves with such a major play. As a Finborough local, it always amazes me that more isn't written about this theatre. I've seen some great productions there over the years - a couple not quite so good, of course, but always interesting at least.

[Eve]

This sounds as though it could be interesting - not least to see what sort of reviews it gets! It sounds quite a commercial premise for a play, anyway - gay men, the famous Gielgud, notoriously difficult critic writing it... I'm sure we'll hear plenty more about it in 2008.

Anyway, whatever the play is like it's good to think that the Finborough might finally get the profile it deserves with such a major play. As a Finborough local, it always amazes me that more isn't written about this theatre. I've seen some great productions there over the years - a couple not quite so good, of course, but always interesting at least.

Oh my god it sounds horrific. I know one of the actors in the reading at the court and they said it was a mess. I hope De Jongh gets savaged, and hopefully the critics will use deeply personal, irrelevant criticism (DJ's personal style).

I hope some quick witted editors have the good sense to send writers and actors to review this....

[Jan Brock]

Oh my god it sounds horrific. I know one of the actors in the reading at the court and they said it was a mess. I hope De Jongh gets savaged, and hopefully the critics will use deeply personal, irrelevant criticism (DJ's personal style).

I hope some quick witted editors have the good sense to send writers and actors to review this....

Ha ha - when will it be on ? Just in time for the panto season I hope. One wonders what Michael Billington will say about it (didn't he write a play for BAC once ? or maybe it was another critic). It would be a pity if the Finborough gets very popular because it would then be harder for me to get tickets, but to be honest they serve a very small niche market (theatre insiders and anoraks) as this production demonstrates.

[Backdrifter]

Doh. No-one looks in my fringe thread. I posted there about the De Jongh play nearly 2 weeks ago.

I've booked up for it - I thought, at £9 it's worth a punt. And it'll be my first visit to the Finborough.

I recall De Jongh directed a play a few years ago, that might have been at the BAC, and it was reviewed (not very favourably) by a bunch of directors.

[Ms X]

Doh. No-one looks in my fringe thread. I posted there about the De Jongh play nearly 2 weeks ago.

Sorry - didn't realise. Although actually I think it would be nice to have individual threads for some plays in off west end theatres - rather than just putting them all together in one thread. And I suspect this play might generate more attention than most!

PS Does the Finborough just serve theatre insiders? - some of its stuff seems fairly mainstream to me. I saw a musical there a few weeks ago and there's a farce coming up after the De Jong play that sounds quite fun. I don't go there all the time, but I seem to remember the things i have seen have been fairly commercial. Although I think I've got the Finborough mixed up with the Old Red Lion in the past!

[MrsDoyle]

I really must get my eyes tested but every time I log on I keep thinking this is about dentistry.

[Ian]

I really must get my eyes tested but every time I log on I keep thinking this is about dentistry.

P L A Q U E

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[MrsDoyle]

Brilliant
(Speaking as one who can't see the top letter of the chart with one eye!)

[Lynette]

How delicious. How do we manage to support the Finborough but savage de Jongh?

[Backdrifter]

Sorry - didn't realise. Although actually I think it would be nice to have individual threads for some plays in off west end theatres - rather than just putting them all together in one thread. And I suspect this play might generate more attention than most!

It's okay - I just thought I'd be doing the board a favour by trying to avoid a proliferation of threads about individual fringe productions which, because the runs are often short, would themselves be short-lived. And my experience of fringe threads is that they're usually under-subscribed. So I thought a single fringe thread might alleviate those problems, alas it hasn't proven to be the case.

"Plaque" (!) will be my first Finborough visit but I've occasionally thought of visiting it before. Its repertoire seems quite interesting. Irritating though I often find NdJ, I hope people don't go in rubbing their hands and looking forward to demolishing it.

What other critics have written plays, by the way?