Last 10 things seen at the theatre #077

13th June to 4th July.


List the last 10 things you saw at the theatre in order:
1. As Is (Trafalgar Studio 2)

2. Luna Gale (Hampstead Theatre)
3. High Society (Old Vic)
4. The Clockmaker's Daughter (Landor)
5. An Oak Tree (National; AFKAS)
6. American Buffalo (Wyndham's)

7. King John (Shakespeare's Globe)
8. The Two Noble Kinsmen (White Bear Theatre)
9. The Taming of the Shrew (Hall Barn)
10. We Want You to Watch (National; AFKAS)

Who was the best performer in number one (As Is)?
Mostly Steven Webb but with some additional scene-stealing from Russell Morton.

Why did you go to see number two (Luna Gale)?
It just sounded interesting, that was all.

Can you remember a line/lyric from number three (High Society) that you liked?
Most of what I remember about High Society is dazzling piano-playing, both of the solo virtuoso variety and of the competitive duo variety. But I did nod very approvingly at this, the only correct response when someone is asking why you didn't take advantage of a drunk woman: "You were the worse for wine. There are RULES ABOUT THAT".

What would you give number four (The Clockmaker's Daughter) out of ten?
A hearty 9 for being extremely beautifully well done and for making me cry in an undignified fashion and for having many ginger men in the cast!

Was there someone hot in number five (An Oak Tree)?
Not this time, though as one of the two cast members is different every night, that doesn't mean there never is.

What was number six (American Buffalo) about?
Origami millinery and shouting about coins.

Who was your favourite actor in number seven (King John)?
There was a member of the audience called Morris, he was terrific. Other than that, points to Aruhan Galieva and Ciarán Owens for charm and sass respectively.

What was your favourite bit in number eight (Two Noble Kinsmen)?
I liked the scene where the wooer of the jailer's daughter was persuaded by the Doctor to pretend to be Palamon to woo the jailer's daughter. It was a genuinely funny scene, and I found the jailer's daughter a much more engaging character than the titular pair of idiots (who were not without charm but really were, above all things, IDIOTS).

Would you see number nine (The Taming of the Shrew) again?
It's one of the more easily enjoyable productions I've seen of Shrew, but that still doesn't mean it needs to be seen more than once.

What was the worst thing about number ten (We Want You to Watch)?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, I just feel that to choose a single worst thing about this play would be to suggest that there were things about it that weren't awful. As I don't remember a single thing about this play that wasn't incoherent, puerile, and utterly utterly dire, I simply cannot answer this question.

Which was best?
Either King John or The Clockmaker's Daughter.

Which was worst?
We Want You to Watch. I'm still furious about it. I can't believe I spent good money on such a pointless and completely unentertaining exercise. I want to use the word "amateurish" but a) actually "amateurish" shouldn't be used as a pejorative because a lot of amateur stuff is genuinely terrific and b) even the worst amateur show I've seen wasn't anywhere near as terrible as this was.

Did any make you cry?
There was some embarrassing ugly sobbing at The Clockmaker's Daughter, but I escaped everything else dry-eyed.

Did any make you laugh?
As Is, The Clockmaker's Daughter, King John, and The Taming of the Shrew.

Which roles would you like to play in any of them?
I don't have any special preferences, beyond always being up for Shakespeare.

Which one did you have best seats for?
Oh man! I originally booked a restricted-view side circle ticket for Luna Gale, but was upgraded to a restricted-view side stalls seat. When I arrived, the seat just wasn't there so they had to go and find one for me. Then an unexpected wheelchair user arrived so they had to turf me out and take the seat away again, so I ended up sitting in a full price clear view stalls seat and received a free drink voucher for all the shifting. So I was in my favourite low price seats for An Oak Tree, American Buffalo, and We Want You to Watch, and I ended up front centre for As Is, The Clockmaker's Daughter, and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and I had a great standing space for King John, but the Hampstead really truly do win this round. I also got upgraded from a £16 seat to a £90 seat for High Society (who is paying £90 for this, and why was I upgraded when my original level wasn't even shut?), but as there were no free drinks involved, sucks to be them. Luna Gale all the way.