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Live Theatre (Musicals and Plays)


willoyd

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It's not mentioned, and I can't find any threads within, but can/does this thread include live theatre? After all, I assume live music and live TV come under it?! I only ask because, whereas we will go to see a film once in a blue moon, we visit the theatre fairly regularly. This week, for instance, we went to the cinema (!) last night to see a live performance of She Stoops to Conquer being transmitted from the National - brilliant, absolutely brilliant - tomorrow night we're off to the West Yorkshire Playhouse to see Mary Shelley, and on Tuesday to see Love's Labours Lost. I much, much prefer live performance, even whilst still enjoying film, but no mention of the former here. Anybody else with the same preferences?

Edited by willoyd
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I though someone else asked about live theatre a little while ago, but can't find it now. I'm lucky if I get to go once a year, but I do enjoy the experience when I can, and I'd love to hear your thoughts about the plays you see. I have a friend who goes to the theatre a lot, and when I was younger, I used to tag along more regularly, and saw some amazing performance and actors, including the best ever A Midsummer Night's Dream from Kenneth Brannagh's Renaissance theatre company.

 

 

I've been tempted by some of the NT Live performances that have been transmitted to cinemas - how does it compare to being in the audience in front of the performance? It would be a bit out of my way to go to the cinema in my area that does show them, but not impossibly far, if I really felt it was worth it.

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I thought we had a thread on theatre too. Weirdly enough, I was thinking about it earlier today and I was planning on asking you, Chesil, if you knew where it was. If anyone could find it, you could! :) I found a thread on musicals; it started off with movie musicals but in the last couple of pages it turned into a conversation about live theatre.

 

Today I saw Love Never Dies (the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera). It was pretty wonderful. :D

 

ETA: Wait, are you talking specifically about plays, or musical theatre as well?

Edited by Kylie
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I couldn't find the thread I thought I'd read either, and wondered if it had been archived as it hadn't had any activity for so long .

 

I would include musical theatre as well as plays, it's just as valid to compare the stage version with a film version, I would say. I've seen a few over the years, but haven't been to one in ages. The most recent one I saw was Legally Blonde when Sheridan Smith was still the lead, and it was fantastic - much better than I'd been expecting, and perfectly light and frothy entertainment.

 

The problem for me is getting to the theatre, the decent ones are at least a couple of hours away, or it's a trip to London which makes it really expensive, but I will make the effort if it's someone I desperately want to see. I especially travelled to see different David Tennant and Richard Briers (one of my all time heroes) performances.

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I've seen Les Miserables (which was amazing but makes me want to cry) and Sister Act. My parents are taking me and my sister for a night in London for our birthdays and we're going to see Jersey Boys which I'm hoping will be good! (personally I was hinting at Sweeney Todd but I got overruled :giggle: )

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My absolute favourite show is Blood Brothers and I've been fortunate to see some great actors in the cast including Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson, and Con O'Neil. There is something just so so powerful and emotional about this show and it still hits me hard every time :-)

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I've been tempted by some of the NT Live performances that have been transmitted to cinemas - how does it compare to being in the audience in front of the performance?

It's different, but we've done it twice now (we saw Comedy of Errors a few weeks ago), and have found it a more than acceptable substitute! The advantage is that the cameras take you right in - it's like sitting in the front few rows - and with the directing we've seen, we've not missed anything by doing so. Indeed, I'd say the actors come maybe even more 'alive', especially with the big screen. You lose a little of the 'live' feel, but not much. To be honest, after only a few minutes you forget you're watching a projected performance, as you're totally involved in what's on the screen. Indeed, the performances were so close to feeling live that there was even applause at the end from around the cinema. The big, big plus is being able to see what have been two outstanding productions, and at reasonable prices (£12-13 a ticket) compared to travelling to London and paying London prices!

 

and I'd love to hear your thoughts about the plays you see.

Well, Mary Shelley was brilliant! It was produced by the same company, Shared Experience, who brought Bronte to the Playhouse last year (which we also loved), written by Helen Edmondson and directed by Polly Teale (who also directed Bronte). It focused on the 3 years or so from around 1813-1816, covering Mary Shelley's elopement with Shelley up to their marriage after the suicide of his wife. It's a phenomenal story, very moving, beautifully acted, and I was really impressed at how the writer managed to portray everybody in a reasonably sympathetic light in spite of the conflicts, leaving you to decide for yourself on the rights and the wrongs of what happened. I've been inspired to read more around the characters, and have acquired biographies of both Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft (MS's mother), as well as a copy of Frankenstein! After leaving the Playhouse, it goes on tour to Nottingham, Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle, Oxford, Winchester and London. I definitely recommend it, and will certainly be going out of my way to see more Shared Experience productions.

 

We've had to postpone our visit to Love's Labour's Lost to next Thursday, so will report after that!

 

I would include musical theatre as well as plays,

Definitely. My original question was focused primarily on live performance rather than the recorded performance that is usually the mark of film and TV (with some exceptions!). I'd include anything in the live theatre in this - plays, musicals, opera. This could be solved either with a separate thread, or by simply adding /Theatre on to the title of this one? How does one go about approaching that, can anybody advise?

Edited by willoyd
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I love going to the theatre, although I don't get there as often as I'd like to. I used to be in quite a big theatre group when I was younger, and always wanted to end up on the stage professionally. Sadly I realised that I don't really have the talent or stamina for it!!!

 

I've seen excellent productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and Rebecca, probably a few years ago. Earlier this year I saw The Taming of the Shrew, at the RSC, and it was FANTASTIC!! As a result, I joined the RSC, and have tickets to see Twelfth Night in September. I also have tickets to see Singin' In The Rain in February, at the Palace Theatre, London. I'm ever so slightly excited!!

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Love the theatre. Apart from books I still rate it as the best value for money entertainment out there. I'm lucky living in Leeds as we have The Grand, The West Yorkshire Playhouse, and the Carraigeworks Theatre. We also have the yearly Shakespeare Festival at Kirkstall where they put on two plays over the period of a fortnight in the ruins of the old abbey. The last thing I saw was Waiting for Godot at the WY Playhouse. Beckett at his best.

Edited by Milo MInderbinder
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I used to go to the theatre a LOT when I was younger and had less debt :giggle2:. I saw musicals mostly but also saw the occasional play as well as performances like Stomp and the Blue Man Group.

 

Out of all of the musicals I've seen I would probably count Into the Woods, The Secret Garden and Phantom of the Opera amoung my favorites. I also loved Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Les Miz, Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Joseph, Rent, and I'm sure a few others I'm forgetting. I've seen Phantom about 4 times, once in NYC which was just amazing.

 

I also was fortunate enough to be in London many years ago and saw Elaine Paige doSunset Blvd. I also saw Hobson's Choice, Mother Courage and her Children, and one other play with Fiona Shaw but the title escapes me.

 

Our Town is probably my favorite play I've seen, followed closely by An Inspector Calls.

 

Like I said though, I haven't been to the live theatre in years. I also love going to movies so I do that often, and the past few years I've been to many, MANY concerts which is where most of my money seems to be going these days :lol:

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We did have a thread on musicals, but it seems to have fallen into disuse.

 

I saw the West End production of Singin' in the Rain a fortnight ago, which was pretty good. Next one up will be Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in June, which has opened to outstanding reviews. I've never seen a Sondheim that I didn't enjoy, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

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  • 2 years later...

There's a theatre group in my area that puts on a Shakespeare play outdoors every year, under a lovely big tree on the banks of the local river. I saw Macbeth there one year, but wasn't able to make it for the past couple of years for various reasons. This year they put on a play called Mucedorus (pronounced Mewch-a-dorus). I hadn't heard of it before so I Googled it and found out that it's a disputed Shakespeare play. Here's the info on Wikipedia:

 
Mucedorus is an Elizabethan play, performed up until the Restoration and surviving in seventeen quartos, making it the most widely printed extant play from the time. It has been attributed in whole or in part to William Shakespeare, but this theory is generally not accepted by Shakespeare scholars and Mucedorus is generally classified as apocryphal and not part of the main Shakespearean canon. The play was performed in front of both Queen Elizabeth and King James I. A revised and expanded version with additional scenes dates from 1610.
 

At any rate, the local theatre group thought it was worth putting on. Apparently it's the first time the play has been performed in Australia. I have to say, it was pretty enjoyable! I kept trying to work out whether it actually sounded like Shakespeare wrote it, but I'm afraid I only know a few of his plays, so it was a bit difficult to tell. Some parts certainly sounded Shakespearean, but others really didn't. Not knowing anything about the plot beforehand, it was a bit difficult at first (it takes me a while to settle into that style of language), but I picked it up eventually, and it was rather funny in places. :)

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I can't understand what's said on stage. I've been fortunate to see two mainstream, open to everyone plays in London; I already knew the stories, but I didn't understand what they said, ever. I also have difficulty in hearing listening to films and series, but that happens to me as well in my local language. Anyone else?

Edited by Sousa
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I can't understand what's said on stage. I've been fortunate to see two mainstream, open to everyone plays in London; I already knew the stories, but I didn't understand what they said, ever. I also have difficulty in hearing listening to films and series, but that happens to me as well in my local language. Anyone else?

I have that too, I much prefer to have subtitles or I can't understand what the actors are saying sometimes (though Dutch is slightly easier than English in that regard for me). I've been to several Dutch and English musicals, I usually have trouble hearing what the people are singing if there is music accompanying them. So I usually listen to the music, because I cannot understand all of the lyrics.

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I sometimes struggle to understand what people are saying if I can't see their lips move.  Volume isn't a problem, but if I can't see their face properly, occasionally I can find it difficult to distinguish words.  I don't often go to the theatre, but I've always had a good seat (my friends is a demon at buying tickets :lol:), so I've never had a problem there, and films usually focus on the person talking, but if there are phone conversations, that can be a little bit difficult at times.

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