Best of This Week’s Theatre Blogs – 25 Sep 2009
At what point is it okay to review a production? This week Mark Shenton blogged about the backlog of opening nights that has forced critics to go see previews – and one writer’s disquiet about this. Given the prevalence of blog reviews written whilst shows are still in previews it’s a debate that seems destined to be ongoing.
There was a theatrical problem of a very different nature being discussed on A Younger Theatre – the notion of theatre as a live event and therefore what happens when something goes wrong. For Struts and Frets, however, it was the build up to first night that was proving troubling – with the nagging feeling that there simply has not been enough time to get everything done.
Meanwhile on the London Theatre Blog, Matt Boothman wrote about the BAC’s Scratch Festival – and how it is not only the performers who embrace the fear of a live performance.
Finally, all thoughts of fear and reviews were forgotten on Steve On Broadway replaced instead with the sheer joy that A Little Night Music is transferring to Broadway…
Mark Shenton, Shenton’s View – The Protocol of Reviewing Previews…
“This gives the creative team time to work with their production, once they see how it lands (or doesn’t) in front of a live audience. Many writers, directors and actors don’t see the process as complete until that happens, and it’s usually a key part of the way productions are structured”.
A Younger Theatre – The Live Spectacle
“With electrical issues spanning nearly a week, shows being disrupted by power cuts, lighting boards breaking and a whole host of other activities, it is no wonder that my thoughts turn to how the very nature of theatre is that of “THIS IS LIVE””.
Struts and Frets – Terrified. Just puttin’ it out there
“If I drop a phrase or even mix up a few words, I impact several other actors and a stage management team, and I create a cataclysm. Couple that with my delightful ability to be distracted by several new things happening at once, and you have a recipe for stomach ulcers”.
London Theatre Blog, Matt Boothman – Scratch Festival
“It’s exhilarating to see the curator stand up following a performance and exhibit the same breathless uncertainty the audience is feeling. Because the BAC’s staff lead by example and don’t leave all the risk-taking up to the artists”.
Steve on Broadway – Send in the Crowds
“Also particularly noteworthy is that this production marks only the very first time A Little Night Music will have been revived on Broadway. Hard to believe for a musical that inspires swoons from virtually all comers who have ever seen it performed”.
